Yes, I’m lying in bed posting from my phone. Just lazy, not sick or anything. Oh, and I just downloaded the app to make it possible.
I remember this time last year, right after my dad died, I was incommunicado at the funeral. Unfortunately for all of you, that won’t happen again. Not only can I post from my phone, I almost have the laptop I got for Xmess up and running. You’re doomed.
After some spectacularly nice weather and warm temperatures, we have some flowers and trees blooming. It’s too early, and is kicking up my seasonal allergies. At least we aren’t snowed in like last year. My apologies to those of you who are.

Apple Blossom Amaryllis

My Amaryllis has four blooms. Now to see if I can get it to rebloom next Christmas.

Well, it was a nice holiday season for me. We had a Solstice ceremony last Monday, after a festive dinner. I even took in a “stray”, a gal I knew who had just separated from her partner and had that day given up her dog because she couldn’t afford him on her own. She fit right in with the rest of the misfits in my circle, and being an Indian, added a nice Native American flavor to the ritual.

Mine, all mine.

The Boyo gave me a laptop he scavenged somewhere for Yule. Like many things he scavenges, it’s missing a couple of things. In this case, a hard drive and power supply. Those should be available from the local computer recycler, though. It also lacks an operating system, so I think it’s going to be running Ubuntu. Not only is it free, what kind of geek would I be if I didn’t walk on the Linux side once in a while?

The Boyo plays Santa

After that he was off to Bellingham for four days of playing Santa with his family. With him not having a vehicle this year, I really couldn’t go to a place where they shut down public transit on Xmess. I much preferred the peace and quiet with books and knitting, anyway. Solstice has passed now, though, and soon it will be geocaching weather again.

The only bad thing was that he took my security key card with him, so I had difficulty getting in and out of the building. I ended up hiring my “stray” to walk Friday, and had jammie days while he was gone. And today, when I took her out, I wished I had spent my time making my wheelchair chaps while he was gone. My feet and legs got cold. Must do that soon. Before or after baking? Hmmm…

My pre-lit X-Mess tree has been a disappointment, however, since only the lights in the middle are working now. Another piece of crap made in China. *sigh* Maybe it only needs fuses or something. Not gonna mess with it now, however.

I made pumpkin bread and banana bread to send north with The Boyo, and got back cookies and more banana bread. *sigh* I think I might have to bake again. My body is craving X-Mess cookies. They didn’t send nearly enough.  On the plus side, my Amaryllis grew a foot in the last week, and should bloom soon.  I’m looking forward to that! And neither my poinsettia nor my Norfolk Island pine has died. I heartily recommend Aqua Globes. They are excellent if you are lazy, like me. Or just too distracted/busy to water plants. Using them finally even got my African Violet that never blooms to bloom. Yeah!

Well, I’m off to see what kind of trouble I can get into. Or go to bed. Later, folks.

Oh, and WordPress, next time you close support for the holidays, can you at least leave the FAQ’s up? kthxbai

It’s a little late for some of you, but here’s a little something I put together for you.



• The Boyo and I had a nice Thanksgiving. I cooked turkey drumsticks I found hiding in my freezer, with all the trimmings. Only bad thing was I went to get the trimmings the day before, and had to go to two stores to find pumpkin. And I forgot to look at the weather rock before we left, so didn’t take a lap cover or put Friday’s coat on. We were both totally soaked when we got home.
• The microwave has been replaced, thanks to a generous birthday
  

  OOOOH! Shiny!

  gift. And I was able to play the “cripple” card and get it delivered. Unfortunately, I had a “measuring by eye” fail, and it was too big for the place it used to live. But it has a new place now.

• My sister turned loose of some interest on the money she is safeguarding for me, and The Vet Bill From Hell is almost paid. New batteries have also been procured for Ms. Scarlette, because the ones I had wouldn’t last to January, much less February, when I could have replaced them without help.
• I’m having inspection next week, and unfortunately, I’ve fallen off the Flylady bandwagon. So I’ve got a lot to do in the next week. Well, after I clean, I can sit and knit. There’s a reason I signed back up for Netflix.
• It’s hella cold here right now. It’s been below freezing every night for a week now. Fortunately, there hasn’t been  any moisture, so  we didn’t get snow. They did get some on the Olympic Peninsula, but not around here.  I don’t think Ms. Scarlette will go in the snow any better than Epona did.  That is supposed to change, and the weather report calls for light snow tomorrow.  The city is putting out the big guns, which they damned well should after Snowmaggedon last year.
• My rent is going down. This is good because my bus pass is doubling the first of the year. And I still haven’t figured out what to do with my Medicare. I can’t afford a $113 increase, but I also can’t find any other plan that lets me keep my doctor. So far. Still looking. Can we just have universal healthcare already?
• 

  The Halls are Decked.

  We decorated my apartment for Giftmas on  Tuesday, complete with eggnog and cookies. The Boyo, and my Best Gal Pal came over, and we got’er done. The giftmas tree is new this year, and I got to put my antique ornaments from my grandmother on it. That yellow stuff in the window behind the tree is sun, or so I’m told.  I’m not used to seeing it in December.

• One of the things the vet did that helped incur The Vet Bill From Hell was put Friday on some Rimadyl, a NSAID for dogs. Consequently, she seems to be having less pain, and to even be a bit more playful. I hope I can afford to keep her on it. (Actually, it looks like it will run about $20/mo if I get it from 1-800-Pet Meds.)
• Canned dog food is good for getting the pills down now that the peanut butter trick doesn’t work anymore with Friday.
• Unexpected checks in the mail. I got one a while back that came out of the blue, some money from my dad’s estate. Much appreciated. I just wish everything would have broken down before it came. I got another check the other day that was appreciated, too. I expected to get a refund from this place, but thought it would be in the form of a gift card. Was glad to get it in the more fungible form of a check.
• Knitting buddies. I have lots of knitting buddies now. I go and knit with the Downtown Seattle Knitters every Sunday. Besides the irregular meeting of Sit & Knit.  And the Chronic Bitches and LSG on Ravelry. I have lots of knitting buddies. I wish geocaching buddies were as easy to find.
• It’s not raining and the wind isn’t blowing right now.
• The chili was good, especially after it sat for a couple of days. And cornbread.
• Homemade macaroni and cheese. That is all.
• They are going to come Tuesday and fix my bedroom window, which I haven’t been able to open for months.  Wish they would have fixed it when it was hot, and I needed to open the window, but it will be ready for next summer, at least.
• Got a birthday card from The Boyo’s mom. There may be more in the mail tomorrow. Or not. I’m not very good at sending even e-cards these days. *sigh* Although my brother did write a birthday message on my wall in Facebook.
• If I want birthday cake, I have to make it myself. Oh, wait…

• Western Washington is have drenching rain and high winds. It doesn’t affect Seattle much, but people are losing power all over the place from trees blowing down. No geocaching until Spring.
• We are once again battling ear infections in Friday. And once again have the Vet Bill From Hell! That $600-900 a year for vet insurance isn’t sounding so bad now. Except that I think she’s so old none of them will cover her now. And from the comments I’ve read, pet insurance is just as good as human insurance at discovering ways to make sure they don’t pay out.
• The microwave broke. Unless I get one for my birthday next week, it will be March before I can afford one. But I discovered this primitive appliance called a stove. There’s one in my apartment.
• The batteries are dying on the wheelchair. So far, they are only giving me warning lights. Pray they hold out ’til February, when the vet bill will be paid off.
• One of my knitting buddies has promised me all her acrylic yarn. I’m going to have a Stash Enhancement eXperience!
• My house is messy and dirty, and I haven’t slept in ages. Oh, wait, that’s not new.
• I have a new therapist. I like her. Not enough to knit for her, but I like her. She may be knitting fodder next giftmas.
• After going down last year, my Medicare is going up this year. By $113/mo. And we are not getting a cost of living raise on Social Security. I will have to change to a different plan that doesn’t cost as much. And I will cry. My present plan is well rated, the others, not so much. Single payer  healthcare can’t come soon enough.
• I made the first chili of the season last night. The new chili powder I bought is pretty potent. Remind me to lower the dose next time.

OK, I’m gonna go crawl in my Snuggie and read a book now, they’re due at the library soon. I can’t wait until I can knit and read at the same time.

That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing lately, sitting and knitting. It doesn’t help that when I stand, my left knee hurts, and when I sit in my wheelchair, my right hip hurts. I wish they would leave me one good side. *sigh*

Basketweave dishcloth

So, what have I knitted lately? Nothing too adventurous, unfortunately. I have done a couple of dishcloths. Why in this particular nauseating color, I don’t know. I use one, The Boyo asked for the other for his birthday. They really are nice for scrubbing dishes, or they make good shower poufs for body wash, too. I do them mostly to learn new patterns in cheap crappy cotton before I try to knit the good stuff.

And speaking of the good stuff, the best yarn I’ve got is some that is 18 % mohair. This is the first time I’ve had any yarn that wasn’t 100% dinosaur fiber (acrylic). I’ve done another scarf with it, and have one that is a work in progress. The scarf I adapted from the Lucky Thirteen pattern on Ravelry. With modifications. I never could get the holes right, so I only made them on the end of the scarf rather than the intricate pattern that was called for. I haz the L, as we

Lucky Me Scarf

say in my favorite Ravelry forum, Lazy, Stupid and Godless. And in this case I haz the S, too, because I couldn’t figure it out. Although it goes nicely with my coat, it is a wee bit too long for a 4′11″ woman sitting in a wheelchair. I do believe it is going to get washed, blocked, and given to someone taller for giftmas.

The work in progress is also going to be given for

Work in progress

giftmas, but I’m not telling to whom, because they sometimes read my blog. For this one, I don’t have a pattern, it is just seed or moss stitch all the way, which gives it this kind of nubby

Seed stitch

texture.  I hope to make a hat to go with it, but we will see if I’m too S to do some of the patterns.

The Boyo has requested a hat for giftmas, too, and that is in my queue after the other hat. He saw one at when we were at the mall the other day that he liked, and that I knew I could make. Except, again, I don’t have a pattern. I think I’m going to have to find hats that have the things I want and take “One from Column A, and one from Column B.” Which is pretty ambitious for somebody who just started knitting.

And I have a whole bunch more cotton yarn with which to make more dishcloths, so guess what a lot of folks are getting for giftmas this year? Well, we’ll see how long I can keep up this ambition. Usually, all my holiday ambition craps out about November 30th, so we’ll see.

So the ACAM system in our building is down for the second time in two weeks. This is the system that operates the proximity cards that unlock the front door. Which means we now have to carry a key to the front door.  And the “disabled” door buttons no longer work. You know, the ones you push to open the door when you are in a wheelchair.

What that means for me is that it is a pain in the tushy to leave or re-enter the building. I do it, I have to. Unless I want to get Friday a litter box. (NO, just NO.)

I fear this is the beginning of the end, and something will need to be replaced for the doors to work. I vividly remember the elevators continually failing before they were replaced. I also  remember the six months it took to replace them when only one worked at a time.  And then it was still an adventure to get in the elevator, you never knew if it would stall and trap you.

Oh, well, I guess I should quit bitching. It is less of a problem than being on the tenth floor without an elevator, and with bad knees.

P.S. I have no idea what the acronym ACAM stands for. Perhaps the engineering types have some idea.

My apologies to all of my (few) readers. I have been very depressed for the last few weeks and did not feel like posting. Because I don’t think you want to read whining all the time. I’m finally feeling better after an increase in my meds and some other things. And I want to thank the people who reached out to me during this time. It was much appreciated.

So what have I been doing all this time? The folks who are on Facebook know. You can check Cache of the Day for new finds. I knitted a scarf. This thing has only taken me about two years to do because I didn’t know how to knit. I finally learned. This thing came in a kit, and was really too small for anything when made according to directions. So I had to improvise, and ended up with a scarf that would fit a child. It found a new home in a charity knitting project. Right now I’m knitting the gauge swatch for a sweater.

I’m now taking a class in photography, to better use my camera. We aren’t allowed to just put it on Auto and go. I’m having to learn stuff like f-stops and shutter speed. And now it’s finally starting to make sense. But I’ve taken a lot of really lousy picture lately. The header is one that turned out OK.

Other than that, I’ve pretty much just been hanging out and reading murder mysteries. After you haven’t blogged for so long it’s easy to put it off. I’ll try not to do that anymore.