Long time, no see!

Hi, all!

I don’t know if I’m too busy or too lazy to blog on a regular basis (probably some of each), but it’s high time I popped in and said hello.

I’ve been doing a lot of knitting lately (I’m kristinkay26 on Ravelry if you’re a Raveler you want to see what I’ve been up to). I have a sweater I’m in the process of crocheting and I haven’t touched it since October or November. I should finish that up since sweater weather is going away soon according to Punxsutawney Phil. But I’ve really been bitten by the knitting bug. I’ve also been bitten by the yarn shopping bug. That bug is fun at the outset, but when I have to find a place to store all the yarn, well… it gets a little cumbersome. But I have lots of lovely yarn to pet. I just can’t find all of it when I want to. And where to store the leftovers for a scrap project??? I have three socks that need mates and I’m working on a fourth sock. And mittens. And a cowl. I have knitting ADD. Not that we’re surprised by that.

Speaking of pets (how’s this for a segue?), I’m taking my sweet kitty in for surgery this Thursday. She’s got a 1cm stone in her bladder. We also found out that she’s got hyperthyroidism and is on medication now. Bill’s a real trooper getting those pills down her throat. I sometimes try to help keep her still while he pops the pill, but I think he’s got a rhythm down now and I’m in the way when I try to help. I’m told I’m supposed to keep her “quiet” after the surgery. She’s been pretty lethargic so hopefully that won’t be a problem, but she does like to jump up onto the desk and the bed, and that’s about a 3-foot jump or so. We brought an ottoman into the bedroom as a step up to the bed for her, but she hasn’t figured out what it’s there for yet. Hopefully she’ll figure it out before she jumps onto the bed and says “ow” because it hurt to do it.

Other than that, things have been going okay. Ups and downs and all arounds, just life on its normal course. Hope you’re all doing well, and I’d love to hear from you! I’m not on Facebook as much as I could be, but if you leave me a message here or there I’ll see if eventually. :-)

Blessings,

Kristin

Spiffy...

My tracking history for something I bought online:

Wolf Point, MT, United States	07/19/2012	6:00 A.M.	Train derailment.
Hodgkins, IL, United States	07/17/2012	10:54 A.M.	Departure Scan
	07/17/2012	7:54 A.M.	Origin Scan
United States	07/16/2012	9:58 P.M.	Order Processed: Ready for UPS

Whoops.

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Quick update

Hi, all!!

As of late, I’ve been doing some knitting and crocheting (and not much else, like writing blog posts or keeping up on Facebook).

I’ve crocheted some socks and fingerless gloves, and I’ve knitted a tank top (VERY basic pattern). I need to make some adjustments to make it fit. I won’t say my gauge was dead-on, but I don’t know how I could have gotten the width to grow 6” on both the front and back pieces. At least I was consistent.

I’m knitting a VERY basic shawl right now (because the cool Seattle weather is bound to come back eventually) and next destination is socks. I’ve been bitten by the Ravelry bug and have lost mymind. I continue to be optimistic that I can learn the language and techniques that mystify and intimidate new knitters, like “short rows” and “magic loop” and all the abbreviations that seem to make sense to the rest of the knitting world, but not me. I love the internet.

One ball of fun is that Bill and I got to go to Boston for a short vacation at the end of June. I’ve gotten to check off Fenway Park on my list of places I have to go before I die. And on the 100 year anniversary. Pretty cool. We decided not to stay for the rain delay that drove us all from the stands at the top of the 7^th (they made us leave the seating area - there was thunder and lightning) so I didn’t get to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in Boston, nor did I get to hear if the Mariners are the only team in baseball that plays “Louie Louie” for their seventh inning stretch. So far they are. Thank goodness. I still don’t get that. Save it for the Huskies. Od post pictures, but they’re on my phone and I just realized that I thought I had my phone charging for the last 3 hours but the connection was loose so the battery is dead. You can look on FB on my timeline on June 25^th. Make sure you click the picture to see the whole electronic scoreboard.

Well, I guess that’s about all I have right now. If you want to see how some of my projects are shaping up and you’re on Ravelry, look me up (Kristinkay26).

Blessings,

Kristin

Hello, February, as you speed by.....

Time for another update, but I have no idea where to start or what to cover.

Bill and I are both gainfully employed;

Our parents are all in good health (as are we);

I have a sudden obsession with crocheting, yarn, and recently knitting. Many people post their projects to their blogs… but that requires that I TAKE pictures of my projects. I have pictures of a few of them, but no really good ones. I’m thinking about getting a foam head next time I go to Hobby Lobby so I can show my hats and scarves. I’d rather get something with a face, but I’m thinking that the foam head is a lot less expensive than something that has fake skin and eyelashes. Oh, sorry - I looked on the Hobby Lobby site and it’s called a Styro Head. My mistake. ANYWAY, $5 seems pretty decent for a photo prop. If anyone has ideas on how I could dress her up, let me know.

I have a phone that’s smarter than I am. I think I can use it to share pictures on my blog, but I don’t know for sure if I can, and if I can, what it would look like. Stay tuned for experimental posts.

You can find Bill and me on Facebook (but not often).

You can find me on Ravelry (kristinkm) and Twitter (@kristinkay26);

Or you can keep checking here and I’ll “see” you in August or so. Unless I start getting obsessive about sharing my projects or figure out how to share pics from my phone. :-)

Blessings,

Kristin

Sharing a Smidgeon

Okay, for not posting for as long as I have this may seem like a lame update, but I wanted to show you my latest art acquisition. I won a raffle in October for a pet portrait, and here it is, a beautiful work by Frances Downs.

More another time.

Blessings,

Kristin

Putting the "ug" in August

I told myself that I wasn't going to post again until I had "good" news... not that things have been horrible, but this year has had its personal challenges for me. Well, since I don't see a fairy tale ending in sight anytime soon, I'll update you all who have been so good at checking my blog and pinging me on Facebook.

March 10 - I left my work family of over 6 years to take a job still within Boeing, still within the same organization, but a different role in a different location. Between the different work statement, different programs, and different people, it has been an uphill climb at best for me these last five months. All of my emotional energy is expended at work, and I have no motivation or concern for most other things. The learning curve has been more of a roller coaster, and I continue to hold on and try not to scream. ;-) It is getting better, but it's still a source of great stress for me. I was battling some emotional health issues before that, so it's been doubly hard.

July - Lucky me, I received my first ever Washington state jury summons. At least they had the courtesy to make it after my vacation. The fun part will be when I have to explain to them why I never updated my name on my voter registration so my name is no longer as it appears on the summons. Do they have wi-fi in jail? It's rather inconvenient, though, since I just got back from vacation and I'm going to be out of work another 1-5 days. I hate burdening other people with my work.

August 4-8 - Just to show that not everything in our lives sucks, Bill and I went to Minnesota for his family reunion for his mother's extended family. It was my second reunion, and I actually remembered a few people there that I had seen in 2008. However, I did manage to embarrass myself by calling someone the wrong name... I hope they don't think too poorly of Bill's choice in a wife. ;-) All of Bill's mother's five siblings made it, and 4 of Bill's 6 siblings were there, along with cousins galore.

August 5 - I got an email from our pettsitter during vacation that she found a flea on Milla. We figured out after a fashion that Bill probably brought the fleas from his rental house that he checked in on before he left for vacation. Fleas are a catastrophic deal for us because fleas LOVE to chew on my mother, so Bill, Milla, and I are quarantined for the foreseeable future from my mother. *sigh*

August 12 - I went to the doctor for a follow-up appointment after a mammogram that I had in July. No worries... I've been called back for all three mammos I've had. Then they wanted an ultrasound. Never had that before. Then I was informed that they wanted to biopsy a most likely benign tissue they had found. It looked fine to the doctor, but since it was new since last year, they wanted to check it out. Okay, I hate the idea of needle location and surgical biopsy, but I don't have cancer in all likelihood, so it's just an inconvenience and another couple of appointments and more days away from work where someone else has to cover my stuff again. I thought that was the worst news I was going to receive on Friday.

August 12 - About 1:30pm, as I'm running errands, I see that I had missed a call and voicemail from Bill. How I didn't hear my phone, I don't know. Bill had received a voicemail from his mother, telling him that his brother Steve (age 57) was dead. I could go on for pages about it, but some of the details are sketchy and may have to be retracted later, and you really don't want all the information or to read about all the thoughts, opinions, and feelings I've had in the last two days. The tentative date for Steve's funeral is August 27. I may stay behind and give Bill's parents the money I would have spent on airfare to help defray funeral expenses. Or, i may go with him and miss another day of work for travel. Please pray for comfort for Steve's parents, siblings, and children, and for strength for the family as they go through the logistics of taking care of business associated with Steve's death.

I hate to end on such a crappy note... maybe I'll have some good stories from jury duty next week that I can share and cheer us all up a little. ;-)

Blessings,
Kristin



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Bill got a job!!!!!

For those of you where were wondering / praying, Bill starts a job this week. It's a 12-month contract position with Microsoft. Of course we'd rather have something direct and permanent, but we're sure this will lead to good things one way or another. God is good!!!

More news another time...

Blessings,
Kristin