The Tiger in my Bed Kept Me Up Half the Night!

I'm talking about the kitten...what did YOU think? Yeah, Zuni discovered that unsuspecting toes, covered by a mere sheet, make great playthings. This discovery was made around 12:30 AM. And again at 6:00 AM. That combined with very unrestful sleep (my back/shoulder thing was really acting up last night) made for a tired slinger today. That, combined wtih a day when nothing would work, combined with other stuff, has left me feeling tired, on overload, and just needing to hole up tonight. So my dear ManchVegasknitters, I will not be joining you. The thought of actually getting in my car and driving anywhere makes me want to go crawl under a pile of covers...'cept it's too hot for that!! Work challenged me in a big way today. For those of you who don't know what I do, I am a Software QA Analyst - that means I beat on software and make sure it won't break before it gets sent out to the customers. OK yeah, it's a bit more involved than that, but that about sums it up. So Monday and Tuesday were spent trying in vain to re-create a problem in a previous version that has been fixed in the version we are working on. Finally, much to my great joy (I'm talking a chorus of angels sang), I was able to produce the error just before I went home yesterday! Yay!!! That meant that today I could actually start testing it on my system, which has the latest and greatest version of code. So I arrive at the office primed to finally sink my teeth into this one, thought about it the whole ride in, so I get everything ready and on the very first run, it bombs. So I spend the next hour or so going through various checks, only to find that it works everywhere else in the universe except on my system. So, the remainder of my day was spent uninstalling/re-installing, lather, rinse repeat, beg for help (I love my co-workers, they rock!) and at 5:25 pm there was still no solution. Now, usually when there is a problem, it can be reproduced on other systems. Nope. Only mine. THere is a plus side to this. While all the uninstalling/re-installing was happening, I was knitting. It kept me calm. My co-workers should be very thankful for this. Only I realized at 5pm that I had made a mistake and have to rip out a couple rows. (note to Laurin: no frogging is going to happen - I promised I would save all my frogging for when you were present, and I will keep that promise!) One of the reasons I love my co-workers is conversations like this: (Scene: Melissa has just tried the 4 millionth attempt at resolving this situation. Her co-worker, M, has been helping out, but at the moment is elsewhere. Melissa very calmly rises from her chair and proceeds to the QA Lab, where she decides she will make some Iced Coffee using the Iced Tea machine that was purchased for us. (Melissa only just found out this week that said Ice Tea machine can also make Iced Coffee).

So, I grab all the neccesary items and proceed to make the Iced Coffee. At which point, the following exchange occurred:

M: It didn't work, did it?

Me: (smiling) Nope

M: Yeah, I saw you come in and state you were going to make Iced Coffee and I figured.

Me: (smiling) Yup!

About 15 minutes later I returned to the Iced Tea machine to see how my Iced Coffee was doing. What I found was a rather light coffee colored pot of water. (insert big sigh here)

OK, I'll go make regular coffee in the regular coffee machine!!!

Yeah. That was a splendid idea. Only, I made the coffee and then promptly forgot about it until about 15 minutes before quittin' time.

So yah, it's been *that* kind of day!

On top of all that...it just seems like there is an awful lot of *stuff* going on in the world this week. People seem to be really wound up and the energy feels really frenzied. That's reason numero uno why I am hiding out tonight. I am just on overload from all that is going on around me. And I don't know what to do about it. People just seem - for lack of a better word - fried, on so many levels. Even tonight, when I was walking Rusty, I was coming up my street and this guy (who I think is a complete and total a**hole) was publicly fighting with his son (who was practically in tears and is 18!) out on his front stoop, dropping the f*bomb every other word (note: I know those of you who know me would say, whoa, but YOU have quite the potty mouth yourself. To you I will say, indeed, that is true, but I don't stand out in public and run my mouth for everyone to hear).

So, I am choosing to stay in tonight, though I will miss you all (but perhaps Friday night in Windham is happening and I will see you then?) 'cuz I just can't deal with the general (chaos) public at the moment. Instead, I am going to make something yummy to eat, play with my doggy and my kitty, and do some knitting.

Oh. Yeah. Knitting. Let's see. This past weekend I worked on the Forest Canopy Shawl. I did 2 rows and realized that I started on Row 1 when I should have started on Row 3. Had to tink those 2 rows and am going to put in a lifeline before I proceed. I may do that tonight. I did finish the second sock that I an knit-testing for Heather. Heather, if you are going to be at Y&F on Friday night, bring the other one and we'll take pictures!! I am itching to start a new project...I am going to force myself to wait until the weekend though. I guess tonight I will work on Thuja (the sock I messed up at work today) and perhaps I will get at least the first one done!

It's love...

HEY!! What's THAT!?!?!?!?!?

Z: Hey, I'm Zuni. You smell...

R: ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyigotsakitty!!

Phew...he's exhausting!!!

Bonus..

Two in one day! Had a great visit with Cindi tonight! (thanks to Lora for the conversation on the way down!) This years dorm is in a great building on Brattle St., a much shorter walk to Harvard Square, but a much longer walk to classes which might suck a bit this winter. We walked over to "the burger shack" where we both decided to try something new. I normally get the Ted Kennedy (cheddar and mushroom) and Cindi the Bill Clinton (BBQ sauce and cheese). This time we both went with something new. She had the Professor Skip Gates (teriyaki with a slice of pineapple) and I had the Michael Bloomberg (mayor of NYC - I had to ask, never heard of him) which was a burger with cheddar, chili and sour cream. Wow. Deee-lish. Waddled back to her dorm (which is part of something called the Episcopal Divinity School, see the pic, it's really cool!!) and as I was heading over to my car, I heard this really cool Indian music and chanting coming from the building across the courtyard. The door was open, so I crept in to check it out. I stood in a brightly lit hall outside an open doorway that led into a small, dimly lit room. In the hallway, lined up neatly, were all the guests shoes. Now, I am not at all drawn to the whole having a guru thing - but I do appreciate the many ways that people chose to worship and pray, and satsang is one of the more joyous ways, I think anyway. I wasn't drawn to go in and sit, it was nice just to hang out in the hall and listen and feel the good energies. After a while the chanting came to a close, and Swami Nityananda began to speak. I listened to him for a few minutes, then gave a little prayerful bow of my head and continued on my way home. I love stumbling upon something like that. Just a little slice of someone else's life. They are doing something called "In the Footsteps of Bliss" where they are going around the world, for the next year, to all the places where Baba Muktananda had touched people's lives. There is a quote on their website that says "May all beings be content". So thank you kind chanting ones for bringing a smile to this heart tonight.
Content. Yes, content is good. I am at a place in my life where I am content and that makes me happier than, well, anything!
So, to all who have commented on my earlier entry - guess I have a few pies to bake, huh? And Mel, I will send you some more pictures of that bone, a different angle and you will be able to see that it is definitely a leg...I'll measure it too, because whoever's leg it was, wasn't very tall!!

Roadtrips and stuff

Road trip...

ARE WE THERE YET???

YOU SMELL LIKE GOAT!!


NO THANKS...YOOOUUUUU PICK 'EM FOR ME!

So Saturday afternoon, after it stopped raining, me and Rusty took a mini road trip to Londonderry to Macks for some apples. For those of you not familiar with Londonderry, it is just south of Manchester and has many large apple orchards. Much of what you buy for apples in your grocery stores in this region most likely grew in Londonderry. I used to live there and loved driving through the orchards year round. Spring when they are in blossom is uplifting. Fall when the aroma of the apples is in the air and the "pickers" come to town equally delightful. Now in the past I have never welcomed fall so early. Oh usually by the first week in October I am into it and over being grumpy that summer is over. But this year I am already into the fall thing. And I haven't even put my shorts away yet. Not to mention being hopeful for a few hours at the beach this weekend. But I digress. By the time I had purchased my apples (Jonamacs - my fav, along with a few Paula Reds and Gingergolds for pie) the sun was out, so me and Rusty took a walk in the orchards and visited with many ducks, geese, and swan, and of course, with the goats. Came home and then on Sunday, produced these:

PAH!

Now, being that I reside alone, I needed to pass on one of these pies. So, in a neighborly gesture, I brought the pie over the the crackhouse. Now, those of you who know me in person, know I am talking about the house across the street from me. I don't like to blog about people and their problems, so let's just say that the family over there has their issues, and I have suspected that some drug dealing is going on over there. Friday night things got a little heated over there, as they sometimes do, and I went over to talk to them. Makes me appreciate my own life very much. Anyway, I present to you...

The Crackhouse

The crackhouse is actually only the left side of the house. I wanted to zoom in on the front porch so you could see the remaining items out there from roommates moving in on Friday night. It's now Tuesday afternoon and all that stuff is still out there. And today was trash day. So anyway, when I brought the pie over it was hilarious. The little girl who lives there peeks through the blinds on the door window, then opens the door a crack. I hand her the pie and a bag of apples, and there is the mother in the background yelling thank you. And the door closes. Now, I had no expectations, it just struck me funny.

The Tenement on the Corner

this is where the loud people who yell at their kids all day, and at each other live. They also set fire to the porch of the house across the street this past summer in the middle of the night because a convicted sex offender lives on the 3rd floor. Yeah, if you check the registry, she was convicted 10 years ago and it was a one time thing. Not condoning that by any means, but I do believe in second chances. Someone from the Tenement did get charged. This house is just disgusting. I cross the street when I walk by, that's how bad it is over there...

Other than that, I had a nice relaxing weekend. Did all my shopping and errands on Friday and the rest of the time was mine, all mine!! I did squeeze in some knitting, 'specially watching 3 Red Sox games and a Nascar Race! I also spent some time working on a little art project, inspired by something I read about on Ray's website. I have *never* enjoyed drawing or art stuff very much, but after having it come up in conversation with a couple of different people, and Ray's site and some internet research, I went out and bought a nice set of colored pencils and some drawing paper, and I spent a few days making this:


It's called a mandala. It's weird, because prior to deciding to try making one, for the past few months I have been dreaming about them. And even seeing them in my head, only I don't possess the artistic skills to be able to draw some of the things I see. But, perhaps I can learn? Anyone out there wanna teach me? Or I suppose I could take a course...anyway, I really enjoyed this process. I mainly worked on it in the morning when I would get back from my walks with Rusty. It was kind of a meditation and I can't wait to start another one!

So a few random things...

These are the S + P shakers that Cindi brought me back from France!!

This is Zuni, who hopefully will come home this weekend!

I found this on the beach when I was on vacation. Anyone know what it is? I think it is the leg bone of a small animal, like racoon, but someone else said maybe it was seal?

and there is something very wrong with a Charmin TP commercial being choreographed to the Halleluia Chorus...

Feelin' Silly...

Yeah, TOUCH my handmade socks kitty and you are TOAST!!

I'm Baaaaaaaack!!

I think it has been a good month just about since I was last able to blog. I have been computerless for a stretch of time here, only able to check e-mail at work (no time to blog or anything) and though I could read e-mail on my old iMac at home, I wasn't able to reply to anything.

Honestly though? I haven't really missed it all that much. Yeah, I do miss reading my blog friends and will get caught up eventually. But I have found that I enjoy mornings more without the computer. Sometimes I read, or knit, or journal instead. Or sleep in a little. And I wait until I get to work now and have a sec to check the e-mail. On weekends, I'm up for hours before I even think to check the e-mail. I like it.

Vacation was soooooooo great. I will post about that another time, when I have my pictures. The fabulous Heather hooked me up with her hubby who has repaired my laptop for me! I totally jumped the gun by ordering this new system...but in the long run it will work out for the best. When I work from home, it is better for me to sit at my desk rather than on the couch with the laptop. And, I *love* my new 19 in flat screen monitor...oh YEAH!

Life has been good, although kinda busy. Cindi is off at school and I do miss her. My nephew left yesterday for Washington State to be with his girlfriend. Send him some good thoughts as he drives across the country all alone. I will be calling him soon to see how he's doing.

Well, one more thing before I go...if you at all like music, please go check out Aksara's website and listen to some samples from their new cd, Comfort and Grace. They have an amazing sound and are a really special group of women. Music and sound are so healing, and so important, and they manage to combine the two in their own special way.

I promise to be better about updating now that I have the new 'puter.