More than two years

and so many changes in my life.

At the end of January 2011 I was fired - due to the "economic downturn".

March of 2011 the last of my three grandmothers died, at the age of almost 99.

May 2011 I started a new job with a long commute and far less money.

May 2011 old car literally flamed out - bought new car.

August 2011 Dad died at the age of 72.

November 2011 the job moved and now I have a 75 mile daily commute.

2012 was chaotic, frantic, hectic... but death free. And, I kept my job, so that's a plus.

2013 has brought two suicides... and it's only the 5th of March. (Happy Saint Piran's Day!)

I feel like the hamster on the wheel and no one will let me off. I keep telling myself this is going to get better, but I think I might be a congenital liar.

This is going to get better.

Really.

Anyway... for sanity's sake the needles, hooks, yarn, thread, canvas, etc., came out of storage late last year and I'm knitting, crocheting, stitching up a storm.

So I don't crazy and start beating random people on the street.

Yarn therapy.

Because I can't afford meds.

If I can get the camera to work, I'll upload some pictures of what I'm working on.

Christmas gifts

Edited to add an LOL!


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When I handed out my wishlist for Christmas to family it included Dunkin' Donuts coffee, suggestions from the Nordic Needle (or just a gift certificate), a gift card for iTunes and gift certificates to Knitting Central in Westport, CT. My family, being generous and kind, filled my list to bursting. A week ago Saturday Mom called to say she saw a sign saying Knitting Central was going out of business - damn! I was going to use the gift certificate for more advanced classes in knitting but I think I'll use it for shopping this weekend.

Normally I hunt down yarn for crocheting and knitting projects as cheaply as I can (see Noble knits) because I'm cheap, but I'll be getting some really nice (and expensive, no doubt) yarn on Saturday. Knitting Central will continue its online store but the bricks'n mortar store will be closing in March. It's always sad to see those small businesses close and there are so few in southern Fairfield county it just makes it doubly sad to see. People like me are a small part of the problem. I just cannot afford the higher prices for yarn or stitching projects the small stores have to charge. Shopping online means I get more bang for the buck but it also means the small specialty stores cannot compete with the lower prices. Vicious circle. Economics sucks.

le sigh

~ ~ ~

For Haiti

Google Critical Response has a list of well known charities accepting donations for Haiti relief. Please give what you can.

And, if inclined, wish hangnails on Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh. Edjits.

Favorite Things

School shuns tech, teaches fountain pen.

How cool is that?

Okay... I have several fountain pens so of course I think it's cool. They sit upright in a old Waterford cream pitcher next to my computer at home.

"The pens improve the quality of work because they force the children to take care, and better work improves self-esteem," principal Bryan Lewis said. "Proper handwriting is as relevant today as it ever has been."

"I don't see fountain pens as old-fashioned or outmoded. Modern fountain pens are beautiful to use; it's not like in the old days of broken nibs and smudging," Lewis said. "We have a particular writing style and we have developed it very carefully and found a way that allows left- and right-handed people to write without smudging."

I'll preen a tad and admit I've always been complimented on my handwriting ~ it's even better when I use one of my fountain pens. I have one Montblanc (my parents picked it up for me in Europe a couple of years ago) and the rest are Waterman's. The pens I've bought for myself I have found at eBay.

Man I feel sorry for whomever has to clean up after me when I'm dead. I've got the oddest assortment of stuff in my life: fountain pens, mis-matched Waterford crystal, colored glass collection, gemstones, Christmas ornaments, Spode, Lladro, Wedgewood, Royal Doulton (no hand-painted periwinkles however), tons of needlepoint and cross stich, quilts, hand-made pillows, lace work, and several lambs worth of yarn... and this is after two tag sales and giving stuff to family!

Do you collect anything? Do you have too much stuff in your life?

~ ~ ~

Forgot to add that I won US$24 in poker on Saturday night.

Oh, and no one died from eating the cookies.