“Tougher Than It Is”

Well there is no such thing as you

It doesn’t matter what you do

The more you try to qualify

The more it all will pass you by

Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is

Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is

Well the more you try to shake the cat

The more the thing will bite and scratch

Its best I think to leave its fur and to listen to its silky purr

Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is

Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is

Well there is no such thing as you

It doesn’t matter what you do

The more you try to qualify

The more it all will pass you by

Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is

Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is

Some people like to make life a little tougher than it is

From “Pressure Chief”. Cake. They are goo0000000000d. With or without ice cream, and from me, that’s sayin’ somethin’.

OK, the mohair/brown sheep poncho bit the dust. I spent Friday night rippin’. Now I have a GIGANTIC cake of double-stranded yarn, plus a smaller one, and I do not know what this yarn wants to be. Hmph.

Last night was unfortunate, because Polly decided to upchuck everywhere in the bedroom while I was in the bathroom…… nothing like coming back to bed in the dark & getting hit with that smell…… poor James, trying to sleep but I HAD to have the light on. Anyway, I’ll spare you the gorey details, but suffice it to say, whenever I have to clean something like that up, I always come dangerously close to getting sick myself, which is followed immediately by the thought: And you thought at one time about being a doctor? about nursing as a new career? Ha! I’d be the worst. Everyone should be grateful I skipped by on that.

So I have a few days to myself with the hubby on his hunting trip, and there’s pico de gallo to be made, a gajillion sewing projects and I’m in a holding hovering pattern over all my yarn, trying to decide what to do now. There’s always a “grieving period” for me after I’ve been knitting away & then it gets ripped (or the yarn is two dye lots, or the project becomes apparent it will not fit)…. not that I don’t want to knit, because I really do, almost like you took away my binkie and I have to have it back, but I hesitate to start something with gusto, because I think I’m afraid of history repeating itself.

Actually, I think I will finally get going on the Folly sweater. The flowers will make nice portable small knitting, and the cardigan, well, that will be nice big knitting. :)

Mindy Smith has such a haunting voice. Would that I could open my voice and have liquid song come out, but instead it’s (as Leo Kottke once said) “goose farts on a muggy day”. Does that stop me? No, but I don’t see Sony at my doorstep, begging to sign me.

I unfortunately got up at 5 a.m., bleah, but hey, this means Justified Napping later today, and have spent two hours working on installing updates & being computer nerd extraordinaire….. this system restore I had to do with Windows ME has f’d up a LOT of things, and while they’re all fixable, it’s just maddening to have to search down the solutions & then go into files and rename crap and create “fake” files to fool the computer into fixing itself. SHEESH!

On a completely unrelated note, I made the most awesome cheesy scalloped potatoes from scratch last night. the recipe is



here



….having a food processor makes it go lickety-split!

Well, it’s nearly Camp Cupcake time for Martha, and someone I know just finished the perfect scarf for her to wear up at the Big House. I say move over, because I was looking through MSL’s catalog, and she had this fantastic pumpkin, one of those sturdy carvable foam kinds, and it had holes drilled in it and you studded the pumpkin with suckers. It was awesome! And $45! (on sale now for $39, and that does include 200+ lollipops!) I thought, Self, we can make that! And we did! For $8. I have a foam pumpkin that I drilled (willy-nilly, not in the Martha Orderly Fashion) and then filled with mini tootsie pops. Two bags of tootsie pops: $3. One pumpkin half off at Michaels: $5. Drilling time: 15 minutes. Admiration from my husband and dogs, and today, my co-workers: Priceless!

I went home angry, stewed angrily to sleep, over getting my review & those who will be giving it & the timing seemed less than coincidental. Today, I decided I DO NOT CARE. I have the choice. It is on my plate but I decide if I will eat it or not. Today, I do not eat the slop. However, I am perfecting the art of moving it around on my plate for the appearance of consumption. I am tired of feeling vulnerable to other people’s notions of who I am, who I should be, and what I should be doing. When I get tired, I get very, very bristly & my armor goes up – AND – more importantly, I become dangerous. Did you see the glint of light off my incisor when I smiled just now? It is symbolic. That same glint will be there when I give my Academy Award performance in my performance review, just like it will be there when I interact with the people around me who insist that slop is really truffles, caviar and expensive goose liver. (Pate is not typing out correctly and I can’t get the little accent on the “e”)

Speaking of Pate’, Pierponts has the most fabulous (and expensive) appetizer: foi gras on french toast baguette (it’s savory. It is the greatest most decadent thing, ever. I saw the executive chef make it on a local news show one Saturday morning, and when we went for DS’ birthday, I had to try it. I mentioned seeing the chef to our waiter, who told the chef, who came out to our table – and made us a special chop on request. I love feeling like royalty!

That was the big message in my horoscope today. Whoa. How did the stars know I’d been planning some reckless furniture moving later today? I have revised my plan and will exercise extreme caution. It reminded me of how my horoscope in the Des Moines Register often admonished me to “use caution while driving”, this at a time I was in college & had no car. It was almost weekly. We Cancers must be seriously accident-prone. We’re certainly moody & prone to depression. And homebodies.

It’s funny when people say “Be careful!” or “Drive safe!”, because what they’re really saying is, “I love you! Don’t get killed on the way home! Don’t pick up any psycho hitchhikers or stick a fork in the toaster!”

The Chiefs won, finally! I did not stay up to watch the game. I did wear the Chiefs squiggle scarf yesterday, and laughed to remember James’ quesion: Is it super-absorbent? I said, I guess so, why? He replied, So it can soak up all your tears this season! He’s a true-blue fan, too.

Little Miss P is going to boot camp, with her new drill seargants, Cap’n James & Sgt. Jennifer. She has been such a little brat, running off the second the back door opens wide enough, NOT coming back even when she sees us, and then during the day, barking in her kennel non-stop. The instruments of training are coming back out: bark collar & e-collar. She refused, REFUSED to go to her bed last night & it took both of us to catch her, spank her, and get her on her bed. It’s like having a rebellious teenager who just won’t quit smoking dope & sneaking out to drink! Except without the backtalk and acne. And she still gives the best hugs! :)

Well it’s back to the kosher salt mine. Mmmm, now with extra sodium!

OK, today, I feel like I’m going through the day with a big ol’ schmear of vaseline on my eyeballs. It’s worse on the left eye than the right. BLEAH! All I want to do is go home and nappynap and I can’t because we have to CLEAN. Double BLEAH!

At least I get PollyHugs and JWoHugs at home.

So, last night I finished the Chiefs Squiggle scarf. It’s fun! It’s a bit wider than I typically make my fun scarves, but it should narrow up a bit from the weight of it when worn. Picture to follow.

Started a poncho, as it is mandatory for everyone who knows how to knit or crochet in this country to be knitting a poncho. I would hate for the Poncho Police to show up and discover I’d only purchased yarn & looked at patterns, nothing on the needles sir, can you give me a warning this time? The obligatory poncho is two strands of yarn – a raspberry-browns-pinks mohair with fuchsia Brown Sheep wool. I am using a couple of freebie net patterns as inspiration, and making my own up as I go along. First major change was to knit back & forth before joining in the round – I detest things tight on my neck, so hopefully a ribbed collar of sorts will give me the coverage, yet not restricting. It’s also a simple YO K2tog for one row, knit the second row, open lacey pattern. Increases every other row at the front point & the back point. It will get interesting when it hits about wrist length, because I’m pondering putting slits in for my hands! We’ll see. Not time to worry about that!

I have done nothing but knit & do paper crafts – I cut out ghosts for Halloween cards & leaves for decoration from the Paper Source shopping spree yesterday at lunch. Actually, it wasn’t much of a spree, given how much I’ve blown in the same amount of time there on previous visits! But cutting out the details with my super sharp scissors eventually was too much for my right hand – I played the Evil Zuma until late last night, and I think I’m overexerting it.

In the meantime, here’s a fun quiz – I was so intrigued to find out what yarn I’d be…… and then had to laugh. Could it have come out any differently?


You are Cashmere.

You are sophisticated and luxe. You can often be
found in high-end boutiques and hobnobbing with
the upper crust. You are one of the beautiful
people and you don’t let anyone forget it!

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

As for Polly? She’s already pulled one of the monster’s horns off his nose. Poor monster. Polly loves him though.

A confetti of fun…. Squiggle + Deco Ribbon. 

This is the wreath I made for our front door. Inspired by the wreath on the back of the current Crate & Barrel catalog, but much cheaper! I love Fall! 

Look! When Dad goes away hunting, I get a NEW TOY! It’s a purple monster baby and I LOVE IT! 

Polly & Her Kong. If the exposure had been better, you’d see big soulful eyes just begging you to play!