This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

 

So, if the fries are made with organic potatoes does that negate the frying or is that like having a double cheeseburger, large fries and a diet Coke?  Just curious.

 Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

MAJOR Frustration...Also Known as XBox Live Customer Support SUCKS!!!

I am going to warn you now, I am getting ready to go on a MAJOR rant and it may not be pretty, so I appreciate your patience.

Number Two Son has an XBox Live account.  This account allows him to play games online with his friends. We pay an annual fee for this service and while it's not crazy expensive, it ain't cheap either.  Because he is a minor, I am the "co-signor" on this account.  Whenever there are changes to Term and Services, I have to agree to them. I log into this account about once in a blue moon, so it's not surprising that I forgot my pass word.  No biggie, or so I thought.  WRONG.  The email address associated with that account is an email account I know longer have because we changed  ISP. So if I try to reset the password they send the request to the old email address.  Being the logical person that I am, I decided that I would call tech support to rectify the situation.  BIG MISTAKE.  I explained the situation to tech support and they sent me an email to reset the password and it says it will send the email to reset my password to....the old account.  I have had this conversation with tech support no less than 5, that's right I said FIVE, times. and they still don't get it.  I have spent well over four hours of my time on the phone repeating myself to no avail.  I have a folder full of emails, each of them totally useless.  I have three trouble tickets, none of which have been resolved, but two have been closed out.  I have been sent emails that I was told to reply to and have gotten the response back that this is a "non monitored alias" and that no one will respond....Really?  That was probably the most honest answer I've had through this process that has lasted over a month and a half.

Tonight, as I sit here waiting for a return call, yet again, I have reached the point that the people at XBox Live are going to detest my name. It's the principle of the matter now.  It might of been just $60.00, but the frustration that has ensued has far surpassed that....

Oh yeah, now the brilliant people sent me a customer service survey...."How'd we do?" Do you really want to know?  Yeah, I didn't think so, but I'll spend a little more time on it just so so they really know how I feel.

Update: The call was returned and their "computer system" hung up on me before I spoke to a person.  Then I received another call and as I explained the situation again (without yelling or cursing, I might add) the customer support representative hung up on me.  I went to bed.  The saga will continue tonight. I know you get more bees with honey, but I'm feeling full of vinegar right now.

Plugging Back In

Hello Everyone!  I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving!  I have so much catching up to do.  I unplugged Wednesday evening and pretty much stayed that way until this morning.  I decided that I wanted to be totally in the moment with family and it was so worth it...even if I did forget my camera....duh!

We were able to spend a lot of time together getting to know this young lady...Number One Son's girl.  It is so obvious to me that he adores her. She is very sweet and patient and as much as I love my son, I know these are qualities she needs to possess.  We are a loud, trying group and we like to pick.  She didn't back down and has a wonderful sense of humor (another must with this crew.) She'll be back again at Christmas and we are looking forward to it.

The other frequent guest at our house was Number Two Son's girl.  She's new...as in they made everything "official" this past week. They are "in a relationship" on Facebook, so it must be real...right? Seriously, she also seems to be a sweet girl with TONS of personality. We are still getting to know her, but she can hold her own as well.

Should I even talk about the food?  It ranged from smoke salmon to country style steak and ham, green beans to broccoli salad, pumpkin and pecan pie to chocolate cake....all of it was delicious and I enjoyed EVERY bite...and then some.

And this year, something new happened.  My mother-in-law came to my mother's house for dinner....this is the first time that I have had a Thanksgiving meal with both of them at the same table in the 20 years I've been married to this man of mine.  I can see that a relationship is finally building between them, dare I say slowly but surely? I hope this is a preview of things to come.  One can hope.

I'm off to catch up on some reading...seeing how everyone enjoyed their holiday.  Thanks so much for your kind words last week and letting me vent.  Sometimes all I have to do is get it off my chest and I feel better.  Have a great Monday!!

Testing

I thought we had past this, but I am being tested.  My boundaries, his maturity, my patience...just how far can the envelope be pushed?  How far, before this mama blows a gasket?  How loud will it get when she lowers the boom...or will she be really calm?  Calm is prevailing, but not without a lot of counting to ten.  Patience is quickly dwindling and just when I think it might snap, I get a "Thanks Mom.  Love you." He knows what buttons to push. And then I remember how quiet it's been.  I remember how much I've missed him.  I remember that while I still see him as my child, he is trying his best to grow up.  Some of the ties loosen a bit, but not all of them....some lines just can't be crossed...yet.  In time, but now just isn't that time.

With that being said, I am so glad to have my family and guest home.  We, as parents, are learning a new dynamic as they mature and we are learning a new place of letting go.  Not always easy, but the rewards are amazing. It's nice to know that there are times when I'm still needed even though my rules seem ridiculous, because they know so much more than I do...right? But we are all learning, so that is a step in the right direction.  This growing up isn't easy.

Since this the season of gratitude, I have so much to be thankful for...healthy, some what well adjusted children :), a loving husband, a roof over my head and food in my stomach.  And really, that's saying a lot. I have so much more than so many others. I have friends and family who love me and I have you.  So this Thanksgiving I recognize that I am truly blessed and hope you are as well.  Thank you for all your kindness, friendship and support.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Saturday Morning

A good start to the day...

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

Thursday....

I can't believe it's already Thursday.  This week has flown by.  I am starting to feel much more like my old self.  THANK YOU so much for all your well wishes.  You are such a sweet group!!  I'm sure the kindness you all sent my way has definitely improved my health!

This year, SAFF was so wonderful.  Tons of laughter and friendship.  I always look forward to this trip and I'm glad to say it doesn't let me down. I mean seriously, how can you go wrong with Cosmos, Mudslides, yarn and wonderful friends?

Last year, my focus was on all the yarn....so much yarn!! Malabrigo, Miss Babs...these favorites were there this year and of course were purchased.

This is the Malabrigo.  If you have never splurged on this stuff....do so.  It is heaven. So wonderful to work with and the colors are AMAZING! I haven't decided what this will be when it grows up, but I know that it will be gorgeous.

This is Miss Babs Yowza...phenomenal Merino.  I do have plans for this. I want to make the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and selfishly, I am making it for me...but not until after the holidays. I guess you could say it's my gift to me.

This year, while the yarn was gorgeous, I kept gravitating to the fiber...tons and tons of glorious fiber of all types and colors.  I thought I went on overload last year...Ha!  A whole new door opened for me and I dove in.

I bought a pound of undyed wool to spin and practice dyeing techniques with it.  I've decided that I will dye it after I spin it as I don't know enough to dye the fiber before hand.  I did buy some already dyed wool.  There was so much of it and if I were a rich woman, I would have brought home a lot more. Here's what I did buy..

I almost don't want to spin this because it is so glorious as it is.  Rachel, one of the girls in the group came back to the house with this and I knew I had to have it.  Pictures do not do it justice.  I managed to get the last one.  See, it was meant to be...even if I just stare at it for a while.

These two are from the same vendor.  He had the most vibrant colors.  I will admit that I can't wait to spin this up because of the variegations it will create.

I'm still learning about plying, so I'm not sure what I will do there, but oh the possibilities!

I might have to see if Rachel and Fru want to come visit for a bit of spinning time to help a girl learn. Rachel was able to finally teach me how to use a spindle successfully.  She makes it look so easy!

So there you have it.  My SAFF purchases. I was very pleased with them....Oh wait!  Forgot something :)

Sock Monkey tape measure! Cause everybody needs a little something silly to make them smile.

Hope you enjoyed your glimpse into my trip to the mountains.  This is just a tiny bit of it and while it's wonderful, it doesn't compare to the ladies I spent the weekend with....the ones I've known for a while and the new ones added to the fold.  They make the whole trip worth while.

On The Mend...

For the most part. I can honestly say that I hope nobody gets this bug I had.  It's miserable. It affects EVERYTHING...your stomach, your head, your sinuses.  Ugh.  A co-worker said that she didn't think I've been this sick in the seven years I've been here.  I think she's right.

I went back to work yesterday. And came home exhausted.  I mean seriously tired, as in crashing hard tired.  My mother in law showed up with chicken soup and cornbread...God love her!  We ate, I sat down on the sofa and promptly fell asleep.  Woke up a bit later and went to bed.  The worst part is that I woke up this morning tired. I wish I still bounced back like I did when I was younger.

Obviously, not a lot was happening while I felt like I was close to death was sick. Here's a picture of the start of a hat for Car Guy.

Just a simple ribbed hat in some scrummy Berroco Loft. Please ignore the glasses that made it into the picture (I don't know who's those belong to...ahem) and notice the gratuitous chocolate shot.  That is the chocolate that Car Guy brought back from Ecuador - delicious stuff.  I think it's deserving of a hat, don't you? Confession time - I've finished the hat and just haven't gotten around to taking a picture.  I mean that requires getting the camera and then forcing Car Guy to model for me. And in all honesty, I just don't have the energy right now.  How pathetic is that?

You know what else is pathetic?  I still haven't showed you SAFF pictures.  I'm feeling very lazy right now. Hopefully I'll get over it soon.  Like tomorrow.  I have to get up at the crack of dawn and get Car Guy to the airport by 6:00 AM for his flight to Bogota, Columbia. Hmmm....maybe a nap is in my future.  You thing anyone would notice?

This Moment...ack..

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

Yeah, about that...I've spent this week at home with the flu...I think. I haven't left the house since Tuesday when I voted. I won't go into the details other than it hasn't been fun. I am starting to feel like I might be rejoining the human race...as soon as I can ditch this fever...soon please.

So here is some yarn I spun and plied before I got sick. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

Hope You Did Too!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

Just a little silliness for a Friday...drive Monkey!

Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

Quick note:  Monkey was made by my very talented friend Dawn and Monkey went to SAFF with us. He was a great navigator.

The Grind

So, have you ever noticed how difficult it is to get back to the old "grind" after time away?  Yeah, that's where I am at the moment.  Trying to get back into the rhythm of everyday when I want to go back to where I was over the weekend.  Was the weekend perfect?  No, of course not.  Was it one of the best weekends I've had in a while? Absolutely.

 

But let's face it.  When you can sit on that porch up there and see this view...

  

Life is pretty good.  Add to that, the amazing company and fiber and life is good.

I have to give major kudos to Annie...Girl, you ROCK!  Your planning found us the best house and the food was phenomenal.  I think I gained every bit of weight that I've lost back....it was so worth it!

And the ladies I got to spend the weekend with are so amazing....we even added a new knitter to the ranks!  Chelsey bought her first yarn and on Saturday night, with a big vodka tonic at her side and more teachers than she knew what to do with, she cast on her first scarf!

And thanks to Rachel , I can sort of spin with a spindle...yeah, I'm still working on that, but I'm much better than I was. And now I have PLENTY of wool to practice with....

Here's just a little sample.  It's got sparkles in it...I know, I'm such a girl sometimes. Once I get the pictures downloaded, I'll share all the gorgeousness.  Let me just say that my little plastic card had some serious smoke coming off of it.

On a more serious note, we are all fine here.  We have some extra company since Karen and Deb can't get  home to New York, but I'm so thankful they are here. Sandy is still sending some serious winds and a bit of rain our way, but we are safe and sound.  We are so much better off than so many of our neighbors to the north and on the coast.  My thoughts and prayers are with them all. 

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

SAFF...Day One

So day one, and we arrived safely. The house that Annie found us is unreal. It's sad that we have to stay in such squaller...ahem. And food...holy cow? I'm posting pictures, but this is being done from my phone, so I can't guarantee the order. I think they are pretty self explanatory.

About That Time

Oh look!! The countdown is almost over!!

 

This time tomorrow, I will be stacking all the stuff I'm taking with me by the door....my suitcase, the food (Oh Lord, the food!), the wine and the projects (way too many)...both a must...and my fat pants.  It's all about the priorities, ladies.  Today is the planning...do we need to bring linens...who has a large cooler....Is it 5:00 yet?  You know this is going to be the LONGEST day ever!

We'll be meeting Fru there. Suz is winging her way from down further south and should get here some time tonight. And "Mom & Aunt Karen" are on their way from Yankee land.  Jen already warned us that Mom and Aunt Karen have appetizers and cocktails planed (YEA!) and, as she put it "are probably going to go overboard because they are moms and they need to feed everyone."  Works for me!

Annie spoke to the person who owns the house we are renting and he warned us that the bears are "active."  Yikes!!  He said to just keep the trash inside for as long as we can....Hey! That's no way to talk about us?!?! JUST KIDDING!  I've decided if they come, we'll just let Nicole have a go at them.  She's Sicilian, originally from Lawng Iland (Long Island for those who need an interpreter) AND she's pregnant. The bears don't stand a chance...just saying.

From last year at SAFF.  Left to right - Suz, Annie, Me, Dawn and Mel

Can you feel the excitement? And do you know what the most wonderful part about all this is?  It's not the yarn/fiber, although that is wonderful.  It's not just the long weekend away, even though I need it desperately.  It's these women - these funny, brash, strong, incredibly intelligent, amazingly gorgeous, outspoken, unbelievable women...and that's the short list of their attributes. I'm sorry if you get tired of hearing about how wonderful they are, but friend like this, well they are worth more than any amount of gold in the world.  They are a part of my treasure.

So for the next four days, I might appear to be quiet....trust me, I'm not.  I will be having the best time. If there is down time, I will try to check in and see how you are doing but please know that I am thinking of you and wishing you could all join us on this adventure we love so much.  Take Care!!

Happy Birthday!!!!

Just a quick pop in to say Happy Birthday to this man of mine.  He turned 50 today and is spending his birthday traveling from Peru to Ecuador...wishing he was coming home.  Love you Honey!

{Magic of the Mundane}

Today, I am joining Sofia over at Sofia's Ideas for Magic of the Mundane. I so love this idea because it totally falls in line with my desire to get back to simple. It can be a picture, a poem or song, a short video or anything else that celebrates the Magic. So often, we get caught up in "where we're going" that we forget to look at the beauty of "where we are."

I must confess that I've been away from these posts for a while.  I got into that "busy" mode and just didn't take the time remind myself how important these "mundane" bits of magic are....until last night.

Car Guy has gone on another business trip...Peru this time.  I had to get up at "O'Dark Early" to get him to the airport yesterday...6 A.M.  Ugh. Saw him off, went home and crawled back into bed to catch just a little more sleep....for about an hour.  And last night, sleep was elusive as well.  Isn't it amazing how you get so used to that presence in the bed next to you that when it's not there, neither is sleep?  I've been sleeping next to this guy for around twenty-one years. I jokingly refer to his body next to mine as the "lump" that hogs the covers, or my "heater." But when that lump/heater isn't there, things just aren't "right." I miss the careless hand on my hip, the occasional foot tangled with mine, the warmth that I can snuggle into on chilly mornings because he's pulled all the blankets over to his side of the bed...He's a snuggler and that's how he ensures that I snuggle back. It's just one of those things I take for granted until it's not there. When he gets home, I'll be heading to SAFF (3 days left!!!!) so I won't see him for a week...I hope I have a bed to myself this weekend...or someone who won't freak out if I accidentally try to cuddle.

This....

OH. MY. GOODNESS. This is a little slice of heaven in the form of pizza. I never knew. It had (because it's long gone) prosciutto, figs, feta cheese, arugula and a balsamic reduction. I know that I'm forgetting something, but that's no problem. I know where I ordered it and how to do so again...that's all that matters, right?

This moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Happy Friday!

 Just wanted to say a quick thank you to Tracey for the beautiful grits spoon and lovely pot holder (love them!) and to Kim for the Tree Blocks that I've won recently.  Seriously, I never win anything and it appears my luck is changing....except, I still haven't won the lottery.  Oh yeah!  I have to buy a ticket first...duh.

Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

Ramblings

 

Lots of "stuff" swirling in my head today.  Changes are happening.  

Number One Son  has a girlfriend now...no, it didn't take long to find one.  She seems sweet...and smart, she did pick my son after all.  She doesn't appear to take any crap from him either. That's a good thing.  I overheard conversation while he was home on fall break - no I wasn't eavesdropping, we were in the same room and I was sort of included in the Skype conversation by way of "Hey, this is my mom." He mentioned that he needed to iron a shirt when he got back to campus and he asked if she was going to to it (What?!?!) and she told him he could iron his own shirt...see, smart girl. We get to meet her Thanksgiving.  I'm not sure she's aware of what she's walking into....hmmm....should we warn her?

A friend who has been patiently waiting may finally get the answer she's been waiting for.  I don't want to mess up the juju, so please just send some good vibes this way. It is so worth it.

Something is definitely in the air...allergy wise.  I don't know what set me off, but I woke up this morning with the sneezes, water eyes and general itchiness that comes with an allergy flair up.  Now I ask you, what could be causing this in October?!?! Thank goodness it's not a cold.  Yes, there is a definite difference in the feel of them.

Feeling restless yet tired today.  Tired of working.  Tired of the everyday that we have to deal with, well, everyday.  It may just be anticipation of getting out of here soon, but it does jangle my nerves a bit and makes my feeling reside very close to the surface.  A shimmering of constant irritation is not an attractive accessory today.

This time next week, I will be in a car with Annie, Suz, Domenica and Nicole heading towards those mountains up there and a long weekend at SAFF.  I am getting quite impatient.  Something about a weekend in the mountains with my girls and yarn goodness just does my soul some good.  Those mountains bring me peace.  I don't know why, but I always feel centered there.  So much so that even Car Guy notices a difference in me.  Someday, I'll get there to stay.  Until then I'll take the weekends I can get.