Oh Ho Ho!

Here's hoping your holidays are being kind to you. For myself, I am feeling remarkably chipper, having just shut the back door on the second cold of the season.  Amazing how good I can feel when I have been feeling so lousy.

I am in the midst of holiday things. The usual suspects...shopping (almost done), wrapping (not started), creating gifts (getting close), cards (procrastinating by writing this) (and since it's been 8 months since I have done 'this', that says much about the Christmas cards...). Not baking much, not much partying, really looking forward to seeing some of the kiddos for the holiday.  We are fortunate indeed.

I have been a busy little camper, working, knitting and spinning, traveling...but apparently not blogging. Here's to new starts and catching up and keeping up. (Maybe!)

New Routines

I am a creature of habit.

I have a morning routine that I like to follow without much deviation, at least until I have had my first cup of coffee, and exercised (most days).

I follow pretty much the same sequence of roads to work and home everyday, changing lanes to turn almost at the same place.  A detour will cause a flare of chagrin!

So here I am now finding myself...in between.

Not in between old routines and new habits, but old habits and older routines!

I follow an older route to work now, and park in the same place in the same parking lot.  There are different lab notebooks used...than used to be, but completed request forms are still the same, and filed the same place the same way...in the same useless manner!

New old co-workers are warning me about the new electronic document control system, but it is the same as at my recent previous employer, so I am one up on them.  There is some construction of walls redoing labs, painting, etc, so we are all on a level playing field there.

So much is familiar, but I am still outside my comfort zone.  I still don't have my routine.  I don't know what all is going to be expected of me.  I NEED THESE THINGS.

I NEED A COMPUTER IN MY CUBE!

Nothing for it, really, to get in the groove, except to keep at it.  The rest will come.

I'm Baaaaack!

Sort of.

I'm temp, so kind of a there, but not feeling.  I mean, how much do I really settle in?

But it's good to be back.

I know the bathroom!  I know the hallways!  I know half the people who I work with! (Which for someone who struggles with names is such a blessing!) I know which doors to come in and out of!

There has been and is some remodeling of the labs going on, but still...some of them are like....Home!

No computer yet.  A few days for that, but I bet it will be a new one, and not a thrown together leftover.  No badging to get in either.  All new techie fingerprint scanning opens the doors.

And when I got home...I found this!

Hand for scale.  This is my most tee tiniest and earliest birdiest iris!

Two days after snow, and I have a bloom and two buds!

I am one happy camper!

PS  Thanks, thanks, and thanks for all the well and good wishes from everyone!

Weekend Wrap-Up

"What am I going to wear for my first day on the new 'old job'?"

That occurred to me while Wonderful Guy and I were on the Bandit, motorcycling a bit to enjoy the beautiful day, after our spring snow storm of Friday and Saturday.

See. That's my problem. It's the same job, but not quite. It's with mostly the same people, but not all. It's not the same company, and certainly my status will be different.

Nothing like uncertainty to keep one on her toes. Keeps the mind sharp and focused. The senses alert. The stomach churning and the nights sleepless...

There is just enough familiarity to lull me into a false sense of calm. Then comes a wave of panicky lightheadedness...of thinking "You are starting a new job tomorrow, and you are not even getting READY! YOU NEED TO MAKE PLANS"

The place has undoubtably changed...what if what used to be the breakroom was part of the remodel? AGH! There goes my lunch routine...better plan to grab a bite out tomorrow at least.

What should I take? Mug? Periodic chart? Family photos? Chemistry books? Better to wait to see...

...where will I be sitting? As a temp, will I have my own computer? Probably. Surely. I hope so.

And what if the dress code policy has changed? Well. They should have told me! That's the rebel hippie in me coming out. I am wearing jeans. I do a fine job in jeans, and if they have a problem with jeans...well, then....I will wear something different on Tuesday...

Dear and gentle readers, you had no idea how neurotic I could be, did you? Except for Dearest Sister, that is, and Wisest Sister has surely had her glimpses.

I have had two dreams in the last four nights that I have been on my way to work on my first day, and could not get there. The roads were changed, or closed, or under construction. To my credit, I did not make Wonderful Guy follow my route to work on the Bandit today to assure me that I could get from here to there...

Ch-ch-changes

It's my last week at this job, and I have been handing off duties. Not difficult, nor tedious, but odd. I take pride in doing my job, and even doing it last week, ostensibly for the last time, it was very strange to think...it was the last time.

So now mostly after tomorrow, when we finish up, it will be someone else's task. However they do it, it will be theirs to do.

And come Monday, I will be back at my new place, with all it's changes since I left there four years ago. I have had no anxiety or apprehension about the new old job...until this week.

Now I am sort of freakin' out.

I think it is more about changing out the familiar for the unknown, even though I know alot about where I am going and what I am going to be doing.

Strange, huh? Not really.

I have had a pretty light load for quite a while. Really busy at times, but other times maybe needing to gauge my efforts so I didn't end up with nothing to do completely. Also, times have been very, very flexible. Really, when one isn't getting paid regularly, the motivation to be on time, or to stick around until 5...well, it wanes. Especially after promises of compensation are not held to.

I will be working as a temp, being paid hourly, and being paid very well hourly, and it will make a difference when I show up and when I leave. Also, while I look forward to getting my edge back in the lab, it will be a challenge. I hope I can meet it.

And I believe the time is right for this change. The old place...I don't think I can stick it out any longer.

In other news, Grandbebe Girl and her parents came over for Easter brunch. While she didn't bring her birthday hand knit Easter Eggs, she was wearing her Baby Surprise Jacket. Her momma tells me she wears it alot. What. A. Charge. Knitting something that gets used...wow. Also, I hear tell the baby bed has been unfolded and remade into her 'big girl', completely tricked out with the quilt handmade by Dearest Sister and myself.

She loves the things we make for her!

Happy New Year...

And Happy Blogiversary to me.

I started this little effort of mine one year ago today, with the goal of just trying to write intelligibly, learn a little more about these here new-fangled innertubes/webs, develop my photography/photoshop skilz,mad to the next level, and just in general, put myself out there a little more.

Check, check, check, and check.

Gosh. And golly, too. Other things I have marked off my ubiquitous list....

I learned to spin in January, and knitted my first pair of socks this spring. I bought my first raw alpaca fleece and successfully processed most of it, spinning it up successfully, and knitting a pair of sox for me and Wonderful Guy. I have become adept at garter stitch graft, kitchener, and picking up and knit.

I cleaned up 'the Rocketeer', sewed a bit, and ordered the manual.

The planting area in the back yard is expanded. The growing season was successful, and I enjoyed my yard as much as any year.

The kitchen is painted a new color, and has a new floor, along with the garage entry, and laundry area. Which I am loving!

We traveled to Philly (I got there twice!), Yellowstone, and Vegas by Utah. We also made it back to Kansas to see Wonderful Guy's dad and step-mom, and I got to see Wisest Sister at the same time.

About the only things still on my list of things to do for the year is getting my passport renewed, a little project I have had in my mind for the front yard for some time, and some scrapbooking goals.

"When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer." (Hans Gruber, Die Hard...my favorite Christmas movie ever)

Not really.

I am working on my list of goals for this year.

Briefly....

• Quilt for Grandbebe Two
• Quilted ornaments for Christmas
• Fence project for yard
• Knit and spin up stash
• Hone photoshop skilz
• Paper crafting efforts
• Maintain serenity in spite of life's best efforts! (Personal growthy effort)

So anyway, I have some FO's to show off.

Wonderful Guy's sox...on my new sock blockers!

Another Tomtom pocket, this one is for Youngest Daughter and Bebe Daddy. Pattern is Claudia's Clutch from LionBrand. It fits the Tomtom GPS perfectly, is a quick knit...very quick, and I have knit probably 8 of them. I use antique buttons to spiff them up a bit. This one is out of LionBrand Homespun and Lion Suede.

A gift scarf, out of Silk Prism/Raw Silk from LambSpun. The giftee reacts to wool, so this yarn will be perfect for her. And it is finished as off last night.

And my ongoing entrelac effort (my shawl pattern derivation). Which will continue until I run out of the Tesoro Sensations by JoAnn's that I go on clearance for about 1.25/skein. I had 12 skeins to begin with (in my stash). Why they quit making this I don't know. It is wonderful squooshy wool stuff.

Today I am casting on the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket, by Mason-Dixon Knitting (website, pattern is from their first book, downloadable on Ravelry though). I am using Paton's Classic Wool Merino (in my stash) and some Moda Dea Washable Wool (also in my stash).

I am starting the new year fully loaded! Better watch out.

Right after I put up the holiday decor....

Maybe I should have a celebratory contest for my blogiversary/new years goal achievement. I will think on this a bit, and rummage around to see what I can find to give away...

A...is for Always...

…..Always, and forever, with all my heart!

Five years ago next month, Wonderful Guy surprised me with this ring. He selected it all by himself, with just a little help from Best Dog Ever.

After not hearing from him all day, he called me at work to tell me he thought we should eat out that evening. I had plans right after work, but if he could wait, I was up for it. When I arrived at his place, dressed very casually (read hair twisted up, and sweatshirt with jeans), I find out he has a nice seafood restaurant in mind. No time to change, nothing to change into, and anyway it’s Colorado, and he’s okay with what I am wearing.

Over a glass of wine (I was beginning to sense something here), he starts to talk. He began with how our friendship had grown and deepened, how we had helped each other’s hearts to heal (another post for another time), how we had learned to laugh again with each other, how I had talked about ‘maybe being ready to possibly do something a little more definite committment-wise’ (almost my precise and unequivocal words!), and how, if we were going to move in together, he wanted there to be a definite promise of something permanent down the road. Or something like that!

It gets a little foggy in my memory because at that point he reached in his jacket pocket, and I thought, “He is going to bring out a ring.” And that is exactly what he did. Yep! Fogged my memories right up! And me….with my hair twisted up with a scrunchy wearing a sweatshirt.

To me, it is the most beautiful ring ever, and the relationship it symbolizes has grown and deepened in ways I never knew possible. This is the second time around for both of us, after very long first marriages where the X’s chose to leave. We have made concentrated efforts to learn new ways of doing things. We have let go of many old habits, and with the promise of an open and honest relationship above all else, we are growing a deep, unconditional love for each other I have never known.

Always, and forever, with all my heart, Wonderful Guy.