Idle Hands

There has been precious little knitting round these parts.  But I have not been entirely idle.

• there's the j-o-b, or technically two of them.  We're now at the point where there's one job during the week, and another on the weekend.  Lovin it. NOT.
• there was the part where Rhys' sister came to visit (the picture is when she and I shared wasabi shumai--whoo! That's my MIL's finger, btw) and I took the kids to Mystic aquarium and we had an AWESOME time.  Great place in the summer--I think it would be kind of limited in the winter, though, for those in range.

• there was the part when we packed up our entire house (except the kitchen, but including the basement) and moved into 3 rooms of our house.

• there was also the part where a giant backhoe came to our house and replaced the sewer line  (which had a charming habit of periodically deciding that *out* was not its only direction, and liked to spill our own raw sewage into the basement, which, I'm here to tell you, is a charming feature in a sewer line, (again) NOT).  We're looking forward to not experiencing that springtime ritual again.
• a giant freakin loan has been taken out, and a giant freakin check was deposited into our bank account, which will soon become a giant freakin money suck out of our bank account and into the builders' bank account, and strangely we're eager for this process to begin in earnest (see above with the moving into three rooms, note for the record that the mamas will be on a futon couch in the *dining room* until further notice).
• let's pause now for a moment to breathe deeply with me, find our roots down through the charkas, here, as a group, and say, collectively "motherfucker, bloody hell, that's a lot of shit you got going on!"  Because we wouldn't be wrong about that part.
• On the upside, it means more sleeping space for Cummington next year, just saying.
• Sadly, it means my fantasies of a party for the Fiber Twist will not come true this year.  Next year, people, we'll be roasting marshmallows over our new fireplace (!!!) while comparing purchases, okay?  This is what keeps me going.
• I also have fantasies of re-establishing the old solstice party, though it's not entirely clear that construction will be complete by Yuletide (kill me now, won't you?).
• But yeah, all you five people still reading here are invited, 'kay?
• There are socks, but they're not done.  There's spinning, and I haven't sent the wheel off to Marcy yet either, yet I'm not spinning much either.
• I'm seriously trying not to become one of those people who can talk of nothing but her home renovation.  And on one level, I think I might be successful: there are people in my life who have heard almost nothing about it, and I have no interest in reviewing the great Oak vs. Maple Debate with the vast majority of people in my life (verdict: maple, somewhat to my chagrin; don't ask).  I mean, if you're not living here, how could you possibly care, right?  Yet I have been captive to a few friends' renovations (not you, and not you either, and not you, except mom, maybe you a little, but since you're my mom you get a pass), and I really don't want to bore people with the minutiae of my renovation.  Yet, my life will, for the next few months, consist primarily of the following scintillating topics:

               - the main job, which I pretty much can't blog about except to say that I have attained what appears to be the pinnacle of my career as measured by syllables and punctuation, sporting, as I do as of July 1, not one but TWO ampersands, and a twenty-one syllable title.  Envy me.  I know you do.

                - the old job, in which I must work weekends to make exciting (!) SPSS tables, in addition to the SPSS tables I'll be making at the main job (I will note for the record here, as a follow-up to my last, scintillating statistical software-related post--because I know what keeps readers coming back!--that SPSS tables is worth learning if anyone but you reads your tables.)  Email me for more info if this is relevant to your life.  n=3, I know.

                - the renovation, and all the ways I'm enslaving myself to a salary and a regular job.  You know, the good stuff.

• I'm just hoping there will be a little knitting between now and then.  And of course, you know, the nervous breakdown, which Henry, Rhys, and I seem to be pacing each other on (Eleanor being the world's most flexible and easygoing child person).
• No promises.
• As an aside, is this actually my government? Okay, a) we're sorry, still, world, truly.  Apologies.  Also, I'm someone who has actually donated embryos to research, personally, like, yes, me, and my personal gametes.  As I mentioned to you in prior letters Mr. Bush, on a variety of topics, I shall repeat myself when I say MY BODY MY CHOICE.  Motherfucker.  I think I left off the "motherfucker" part in the letter to the white house, though.  Because I, unlike some other people (see first link above), have a concept of propriety.  In some contexts.  Shut up.
• Lee Ann is okay.  We IM'd a couple nights ago (I was like "whoa, this is actually *her*!) and she's just as Lee Ann as she ever was.  When they went spelunking inside her skull, they didn't take any of the Lee Ann-ness out.  She's theorizing they did something to amplify it, and she might not be wrong.  Spiff better stock up on chocolate is all I'm saying.
• In other net-connection news, I've had lovely meetups with Wooly Headed Ruth and Kat with a K over the last couple of weeks.  I ran into the manager of Webs at the pastry shop (don't ask) the other day, and she said most of their traffic these days comes from people stopping by on their way to somewhere else on vacation.  Apparently I'm not the only one who plans yarn stores in their itineraries.  I only got one ball of sock yarn, and I haven't even cast it on yet.   I may not be entirely well.  I'll try to keep in touch, but if I don't, just figure I'm too busy watching them tear down my house and writing large checks for the privilege.

Comments

[Diane]

I'm another one who doesn't mind hearing about your renovation (been there, done that).

How about this to make you feel a bit better? Since you lent your Hitchhiker to LeeAnn and she chose to blog about it, I asked her how she liked it. Let's just say, a Hitchhiker has been added to my household and I like it lots!

[claudia]

Did someone say "party"?

[Chris]

Hee hee - I think a lot more than 5 people made it to the part where you invited us all over. Woot woot! We shall descend upon your house like a horde of locusts!

[jessie]

Definitely maple. Oak is so '80s. What about cherry?

I am interested in your renovations, having lived through a zillion of them myself (only to sell the house and start with another work in progress, but that's another story).

I want to see pictures of the fireplace and all that goes with it.

[CarolineF]

I'm with you. Oak. Oh well there will be oak somewhere in your future to compensate. Can you get an oak spinning chair or something?

I read in the paper yesterday that Bush was a member of DKE while he was at Yale. That explained a lot, at least to me for whom Deke was the big drunk dummy Amherst frat during my days in the Valley. Oops that wasn't very nice was it? I should have said motherfucker instead...

[Kellee]

Bamboo is nice.

Renovations are fun (seriously, keep telling yourself that. sometimes it helps.).

Parties? Even better.

The two jobs thing, though? Ick.

[Lisa]

I'm with Carole! I'll bring chocolate and graham crackers for S'mores. Or maybe you'd prefer liquor? Or both...

[Beth S.]

That which does not kill you will make you stronger. (Fingers crossed for the not-killing part.)

Meanwhile, much sympathy!

[Juno]

The new sewer line is verra exciting news. Verra, verra exciting.

Also, maple=good. Floor?

And you wanna hear about my new roof? I'm getting one. It is Very Very Expensive - though I concede not as expensive as adding a new house to your house - which is why no more shoes or yarn for me for a long time.

Sob.

[Sneaksleep]

I stayed with my folks during part of their rennovation, which was really just redoing the basement into a library, so it didn't require moving into just two rooms of the house. Still, it lasted months longer than expected, and my dad works from home and likes peace and quiet. Anyway, in the end it was totally worth it, and is now their favorite room in the house (though I'm sure all those books have something to do with that too).

Be strong, and we won't mind if you post about the rennovation occasionally. I, for one, enjoy peeking inside your head. ;-)

[Kristen]

I swoon at the sight of cherry but am on a plywood (or knotty pine?) budget for the next few years. The house I grew up in has been nearly 100% renovated, somehow or someway, since my parents bought it 27 years ago - I think eating dinner in the living room and playing the paino in the kitchen are some of my favorite childhood memories.

two jobs? I'm more excited about the 21 sylable title and amphersand, but do hope that being busy will help the renovation time to fly by. (I am fighting off the urge to put sock yarn in the mail to you. It certainly doesn't sound like you have enough, and being that I have to pack all of my yarn up I seem to have copious amounts to share...)

(your Cummington party and my graduation are veeeery close to each other, so please count me in (for at least that weekend...) somehow knowing that will help the next 44w2d pass quickly.)