Thursday, October 24, 2013

S**wing outside


NO!  I told myself that fall is far too fleeting (alliteration there) to take for granted but myself didn't listen.  This is the view from the dining room at an ambitious snow flurry.  You can see that the trees have not yet shed all their leaves yet, but tonight will probably do them in, as well as the porch flowers.  The flowers are looking pretty whipped already, but there are a few blooms hanging on.  I will  miss them.  We bagged the outside chair cushions and stored them away earlier today; 40 degrees is a little cool to be lounging outside, no matter what the view.

I am totally ticked at my knitting project, a scarf that is supposed to be a gift.  I dropped 3 stitches in the middle of the 125th row (of 250 total) and they 'ran' (like a stocking) down several rows.  I tried to catch them and hang them again, but I just can't.  If I could ravel it back to the row before this I would, but that would only leave me with the entire thing off the needles, all 38 stitches of them.  So I kludged a repair that isn't too awful and went on. Hate it.  The first time on this pattern, I messed up 4 times; the second attempt only one stitch, and now this.  I have been so careful, I don't  know what went wrong.  Grrrr.

Today I got my copy of my blog from Blog2print.  They take your blog between whatever dates and come out with a hard copy, with index, and photos and your selection of a cover, and so on.  It is printed on nice magazine-type paper and bound nicely.  I did this once before, after 7 years of the blog, but I took it to Office Depot and had it spiral bound.  I had the original bound blog done because blogspot had been having trouble ( this is when it was run by blogexplosion) and I was afraid I'd lose the entire thing.  I couldn't figure out how to just download the entries, and in the end, a hard copy is better all around.  Now no matter how the computer interfaces change (floppies to CDs to thumb drives, for example), I have a hard copy.  The copy that came today is for the last 3 years, beginning with the entry when I found out I had breast cancer.  Reading through it, I am pretty pleased, it sounds more coherent than I thought it would,  since usually I only glance back at the previous entries.

Bumper sticker: "Don't get me started.  I don't come with brakes."

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Wondering

I have been writing this blog since 2004 and in all that time I think I have gotten less than 150 comments total, on hundreds and hundred of posts.  How do I go about getting a more comment-y response?  I read other blogs and write comments and my blog address, but so far that has yielded very few (like 40) remarks, most from bloggers that I didn't visit myself.  A few exceptions (and I thank you for that).  When I read back over my posts, they sounds reasonably coherent and rant-free; is it that the topics are too boring?

I stand corrected: there have been 430+ comments, including 50 or so from just the last 8 posts.  But why aren't these being posted?  I can read them on the http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8929312#publishedcomments page, but not here with the posts.  What gives?

Any insights into this will be much appreciated.

Bumper sticker for the day:  "Does your train of thought have a caboose?"

Monday, October 21, 2013

Photographer extraordinaire

Well, not really.  I have been doing some photos outdoors this week, but I am not satisfied with the results yet.  I wish there were some way to get a higher elevation, so I can look down on the house and the front yard foliage.  I have been known to climb a ladder to photograph the swimming pool (that entry is on here somewhere), but that is not high enough.  I'll wander around tomorrow, weather permitting.

I have taken several photo classes over the years.  The latest is from Better Photo, an online critiqued variety; the problem is a combination of the high price per class, and having to devote a great amount of time to the assignments.  They have been sending me emails nearly everyday, and I guess they are suffering from a downturn of students due to the economics of the day, less discretionary funds to go around;  I know I don't currently have $395, for an 8 week course, to do this.

Am I scary enough?

This is BC who thinks she actually fits in this box.  It looks like she burst out of it.

Bumper Sticker:  "Sometimes life just sucks the jelly right out of your donut."





Saturday, October 12, 2013

Sliding Right Along


Well, I kinda let things slide here for a bit, but I promise to do better.  Or at least make the attempt. 

It is 5 am and I am finally sleepy again, so I will work on this tomorrow when I am not so zombie-ish.

This is my daughter, at the pumpkin place we went to on Saturday.  So much to see!  A live band, all kinds of vendors, flowers everywhere.  I amazed myself at all the walking I did, mostly due to having a shopping cart to push and keep my balance.
It has been several years since we were there, we must remember to go again next year.

I am slowly working on the third knitted scarf, like the first one but without the errors.  It is white, with a lovely soft hand.  This one will be a gift.  Assuming all goes well.

It is very foggy here this morning, everything outside sounds muffled.  The bird feeders are still being used pretty much all day, I worry that this mild start in weather will hamper their migration, maybe we should take the feeders down?  This is the first year for them, all the outdoor cats are now too fat and too lazy to lie in wait for a bird snack.  One of the outdoor cats has disappeared, a tomcat; they come and go, looking for love (of the female cat kind) I guess.  Maybe he will turn up again.  He is a black cat, I worry when I don't see them near Halloween.


I got my hair cut and I hate it.  Maybe it will be OK once it grows out a bit.
Bumper sticker for the day:  "I've got a perfect body but it's in the trunk and beginning to smell."