is chivalry dead?

ok, here's the deal. we live on a semi-busy street (it's a snow emergency street, which means no one can park on it.). we also live at the convergence of about 5 streets. some poor kid with a duded up car (spinners, fly paint job, etc) ended up killing the car in the middle of making a turn. so he was blocking both lanes of traffic. fortunately, the way the streets run, it was relatively easy to get around him (except for the SUV bozos who would rather drive on the grass than go around him!). we sat and watched all kinds of guys (and i do mean people of the male persuasion) go around him, making faces, gestures, and honking. We being me, steph, her roommate, and the little boy they're babysitting. finally, i'd had enough. i fetched liam from upstairs, and he, steph, and i walked over and asked if he wanted a push. he had a girl with him. SHE got out of the car, and helped us push it into a driveway of a house that is unoccupied. apparently, as she was walking to the back of the car, she called him a punk ass. steph said, no kidding, you should be steering! now, he did say thank you, but if that girl was his date, i'm pretty sure he's not getting another one, because apparently the poor schmuck was out of gas. and if she was his sister, i'm doubly sure he's getting the tongue lashing of a life time.

i suppose my whole point is, why didn't he get out of the car? it took three women and a young boy to push his car out of harm's way. go figger

i am a bum

i know i haven't been posting much lately. i haven't been doing a ton. i've been busy spinning for crown mountain farms, and packing, and doing a little knitting. i've also been working for ms. vi part time, which, amazingly enough, seems to eat a large part of my daytime while mark and the boys are gone. i suppose i'd better get over the habit of not doing anything once they get home. i don't get enough done. in fact, i should be packing, rather than talking to y'all. however, i'm not thinking about that right now.

what have i been working on? i've been doing this. ravelry is really, really cool! go see what i've been doing!

other than that? bleh.

Dancing with the Stars was fun to watch. I'll miss it over the summer. I need to see if they're coming to omaha again for their live tour. They were here in january, and i wanted to go, but decided i couldn't spare the money at that time. i really can't now, either, but hey. ya gotta live!

The honeymoon has been postponed again. This time it's cuz mark's dad has been ill lately, and while they are doing tests to figure out what is going on, we don't want to burden them with trying to to take care of the boys, so we've put it off again. Good-bye, Fold! i may get there someday!

Here's the pain in the tuckus part. My brother and his wife MAY be renewing their vows at christmas time this year. they live near savannah, georgia. If they do this, it will be around christmas time. Add that to the fact that the last few times we've seen them, they came here. They've been here 3 times, including the wedding. It's our turn. But do you think i can get mark to put it down on the board? growl!

anyway, i gotta get back to packing, sigh. i'm off like a herd of turtles

i've seen this around

but most notably, natalie. i likee!

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns (i'm assuming clapotis falls in this category?)
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street) (i see a naked stop sign near by!)
Continental(i tried several times. with the way i knit, i just can't seem to wrap my mind around the purling)
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone elses handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit (more specifically, male children, to include Sean, lol)
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art (Isn’t it all art? :))
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously (don't like the socks on 2 circs to begin with, why do this?)
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener
BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere (go see this post to find out why)
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

wow. i seem to be a wee bit prolific. i suppose that's what happens when you knit for 31 years, and don't even know "it's too hard for a beginner." granted, i just recently started doing things like socks, but mostly because i didn't want to, not because it was too hard. it's all just sticks & string to me. (except steeking. i need a drink to even type that!)

so, my challenge to all of y'all. what have you done? leave a comment so i can see your lists!

here's some fun!

i'm sick of talking of the basement, so i'm not gonna!

go try this:

Take 60 seconds to do this, I guarantee you will show someone else, it's too funny not to.
1. go to www.google.com or http://maps.google.com/
2. click on "maps"
3. click on "get directions"
4. type " HOUSTON " in the first box (the "from" box)
5. type " London " in the second box (the "to" box)
6. scroll down to step # 25
Follow the steps above and then read step number 25.

i thought mapquest was bad.


also, i got my sock club kit from the loopy ewe! i won't discuss it at this time, so as to not be a spoiler for anyone who hasn't received theirs yet, but i ADORE the yarn! it's so luscious!

i've got pics, and batteries, but i'm lazy, and haven't downloaded pics yet, so you'll just have to wait a bit more.

i'm off to S&B!

here's the deal

life just got flipped, sigh.

i did end up pulling all the carpet, and the pad underneath. the boys didn't have school today, so they [s]slave labored[s/] helped, and we got it all pulled. however, the bozos who put in the carpet didn't bother to try to scrape up a lot of the black pad that had been glued in in a previous application. i also have a feeling that there's been leaks before, and i think i know why.

there is a concrete pad (patio, for lack of a better word) that directly ajoins the foundation. there has been some settling, and off to one side, where an additional pad had been attached, and caulked. well, there's a snake den just to the south of that, which kind of caved in/sunk last summer, and that auxiliary pad tilted. i think it threw the whole patio system off, and all the caulking that had been put in place was screwed up, as well. there are marks on the wall in that room, but just where the patio hits. not where there's just dirt. when i could finally get in the room and examine the walls, i realized there were damp marks that ran from the previous marks down the wall. mark wants to test the theory, and spray it with the hose. i don't think that would do it, because we got (according to channel 7) SIX INCHES OF RAIN IN 24 HOURS.

what i do know is that people were buying pumps all over the place sunday. mark ended up having to pay twice as much for a more high-end one than he had intended. it did the job, though. as i sit now, the dehumidifier (which sat in that 3 inches of water, AND STILL RAN!) is valiantly trying to eliminate humidity from the air down there, and the concrete that is bare is actually starting to dry.

here's what's odd. i know i've owned the house for 3 years. however, i do believe there's been more water in that basement (which actually sits a good foot lower than the main basement) than just what happened yesterday. when i was pulling up the wood cleats that they use to tack the carpet down, it was SOGGY. not just wet. as in, it's so wet that you could squeeze water from it in spots, and was so bad in spots that it almost splintered when i pulled it up. and many of the "nails" tacking it to the cement were rusted to the point that they snapped off, rather than come through the wood. and this with a flat-bladed screw driver.

and the bugs! living on the bottoms like i do (i only live about a mile from the missouri river, and i have a feeling at one time, before the army corps of engineers, this was a flood plain), there's a certain expectancy of bugs. however, i've never seen so many pill bugs, and curly worms (little worms that form a "c" when they die) and water bugs, and even a few LIVE millipedes (how they survived all that water, i've no clue). it was downright scuzzy.

mark and i are debating what to do at this point. his house is in no shape to sell as it is right now. my house, barring the basement debacle, just needs a coat of paint, and a little spiffing up, since it was in relatively good shape when i bought it (barring the leaking tub, and the busted sump (which will be replaced with the sump we bought yesterday, thank god for a sump i don't have to jiggle any more!)). mark wants to sell both places, and buy a new house. i'm having a really hard time with that. i love my house. granted, the bedrooms upstairs are tiny (each room is about 10X10), and the bathroom, which is so small you have to leave the room to change your mind, sits between them, but my living room and kitchen are HUGE! my living room is 15 x 20. my kitchen? is l-shaped, and standing in the part by the living room, you can't see the stove! it's got a bay window, and a breakfast nook area (my bookshelves are actually there, lol), and an enclosed porch. it breaks my heart to think of giving this house up.

original plan? move in here, let steph & her roomie rent mark's house as long as they needed (she's already warned me it's temporary, until they can find a deal they can live with (the roomie's stepdad has offered to buy a house and rent it to them, if they can find something they can live with), then fix it up and sell it. there are a few downfalls to this house: mark can't stand in the main basement without hitting his head, there's no garage, and no outbuilding for things like bicycles and lawn mowers (liam's old bicycle actually was stolen off my front porch! yes, they're a wee bit light-fingered around here. i've had 2 lawn mowers and a propane tank stolen as well). but my porch has been my get away. i'd sit out there any time of day or night. if it was too dark, i'd crack the front door, and listen to book tapes. if i was cold, i'd sit on the futon mattress, and wrap up in my grandmother's quilts. this is hard.

now, steph will be moving in here. she doesn't need 3 bedrooms, and they can use the bedrooms upstairs while i redo the one downstairs. and while the market is soft right now, there are lots of houses for sale in this neighborhood. i like this neighborhood. it feels like it's small town, even if it is attached to omaha (florence was annexed by omaha in 1917). it's the furthest north point still claimed by omaha, but not considered a part of NORTH OMAHA (there's all kinds of nasty connotations with that. think east st louis). it sounds like some of the stuff will be going into storage, at least for now. we'll actually share storage with steph, since she won't have anyplace to put her stuff here (the main basement, while dry, is full. i really need to get down there, too).

sigh.

can i cry now?

calgon take me away

cuz god knows i need a bath. as many of you may know, we had torrential rains in omaha last night. i was a little worried about my basement because 2 1/2 years ago, i did end up with some water in it, although it all ran to the sump, and we ended up having to sweep the rest of the water into it. i was worried this time because the sump was disconnected because the pipe broke. that part of the basement is fine.

what is going to be my bedroom is flooded. it sits about 8 inches lower than the rest of the basement, and as of right now, there is 3 inches of water in it. i tried to use the wet vac, but it's too heavy for me to haul up the stairs full (it holds 16 gallons (do the math. a gallon weighs 8#. that means, when it's full it weighs 128#. not happening). and it fills up in 25 seconds. literally. so, i filled it half full, and for 15 seconds of sucking, it's 10 minutes to haul it up the stairs, out the door, and dumping it. it took me an hour to do 4 loads. i gave up. mark is over there now, and i'm thinking we need to buy a pump we can hook a hose to, and get the water out that way.

mark thinks it may have gotten in through the window wells. i can't get at the walls to check for dampness, cuz i'm damned well not wading through that crap.

the really bad part? we're supposed to be moving into that house in 3 1/2 weeks. and my grandma's dresser is in that room. sigh.

Edit: It just started raining again. sigh. At least, we bought a pump, and it is doing it's level best, considering it's pumping through a 3/4" hose. maybe i'll be able to figure where the water came in from now. i'm pretty sure it's the window wells, at this point, because while the carpet by the bulkhead is slightly damp, it's not soggy like it should have been if that's where the rain came in. oh shit! i'd better shut the bulkhead!

i wanna rock!

apparently they're having a mother's day giveaway over here

see?



go, enter, they're giving away cool stuff!

wouldn't you just figure

i am slated to get an afternoon to myself, and i have to forgo it because mark has to work late. growl. i was going to spend the afternoon spinning, then go to S&B. crap. at least i know they won't keep him TOO late, and i'll still get to go. now it's just a matter of whether or not i'll get to go over to my house before i go or not.

and yes, i'm posting from mark's puter. it had major surgery, and now i can post from his puter again. no pics, cuz i loaded the camera software on my puter (no sense in putting it on both!), so you'll just have to be patient.

i have a feeling liam is going to fail 8th grade. he let his homework fall behind AGAIN, and i'm so sick of this. he's got 15 days of school left, and i highly doubt he can catch up at this time. i don't understand. why not just do the work? right now his video games and tv for the SUMMER are riding on him passing, and i honestly don't think it's going to happen! as it is, i talked to his counselor at the middle school, and she told me about a program that the high school was doing (credit recovery they call it! what happened to summer school?), and i filled out the paperwork as soon as i received it in the mail, and i think liam is in. i spoke to the dean of students from the high school today, and he said that more than likely liam would be in (there were only 60 open spots, for an incoming freshman class of over 300! (and that figure may be low!)) as i had physically handed it to the office at the high school, rather than mail it in (and i'll tell you what! i had to park 2 1/2 blocks away and walked to the school. it wasn't the 2 1/2 blocks that killed me, it was the fact that it was ALL UP HILL! (i'm getting too fat, sigh)). he's also in for a busy summer band-wise. i got a letter from the band instructor at the high school, and they are doing stuff ALL SUMMER LONG! they're having a meeting on may 31, then practicing for some marching engagement 3 days in july, and then having a week long band camp to focus on the marching in august. and his middle school is having a band camp as well. i'm going to be hearing trombone all summer long.

speaking of trombone, liam's spring concert was last week. this kid is amazing with this horn. he just started last august, having only picked up an instrument for one week in the 4th grade (the school he was attending was trying to pump up band numbers by having younger kids enroll, but they weren't coordinated enough to make it work, so i ended up taking the trombone back (shout out for dietz music, here! they not only let me take the trumpet back, they refunded ALL of my money, because of the school's decision!)). after one semester, his teacher decided to move him to advanced band. eighth grade advanced band. with the kids who have been playing since 5th grade. it's the only class he's getting a good grade in, sigh. and he's the only trombone player in the 8th grade advanced class, lol. when they were playing, i could definitely pick his parts out, lol. mark intends on working with him on his trombone all summer long as well, and teach him to pick out notes by ear. he's already learned half of iron man (yes, my kid is a metal head, just like his mama, lol)


and go read this.

i wanna be her when i grow up. i have always loved to learn. when i was in junior high, i cried the last day of school, because it was ending. in fact, right now i'm fighting the urge to go enroll at metropolitan community college, and take a few classes just for snips & sniggles. that's where i got my culinary arts degree, and i enjoyed it. in fact, i think my cook whites might just still fit (they make those things amazingly baggy, lol!) who knows. i just know i love to learn.


and (drumroll please!)

AN ANNOUNCEMENT!

there will be a fiber festival here in the omaha metro area May 11-13.

It's the Bellevue Fiber Festival
Friday: 3-6 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
It's at the VFW hall @ 2108 Franklin ST (gotta love google maps!)

there will be food provided, so if you want to just come and hang out, need to pick up something, or take a couple of classes..stop by (tonya's words. thanks tonya, i'll be there!)

anyway, i must dash. i've got a few things i can do while i wait the hubbie's return.

TTFN!