Thought for the Day

I'm reading "Simple Prosperity" by David Wann and found this funny quote by Sally Feldman:

"Currently, more money is being spent on breast implants and Viagra than on Alzheimer's research. So in the very near future there should be a large elderly population with impressive breasts and magnificent erections, but no recollection of what to do with them."

Hmmmm.

Nothing I can say could top that little ditty, so I'll just shut up....

Look closely..OMG

A week ago, one of the boys was home sick. We needed to run to Wal-Mart to pick up some medicine and saw this van. Needless to say, we were stunned.

If you look really closely, you will see that the trash in the van is not just completely covering the dash area, it is totally filling the passengers side AND THE ENTIRE BACK UP TO THE CEILING!!!! My son was trying to get me to take the picture at a closer distance, but I figured with my luck the owner would walk out about the time I start taking pictures. And the owner would no doubt be someone who was in a bad mood.

We don't need any more doctor visits here at Casa Crazylife, so I snapped from one row over.


Exactly how does this person see out the windows? At first I thought maybe it was someone who lived out of their car, but the reality is that all the stuff in the van were papers, old buckets, paper cups (a lot of them!), food wrappers...I can ignore a little paper in my car, but whoa...

I had come across a small car in much the same condition when I was in Newton last week. I wonder if these people are related.

On a "lighter" note, this was a busy week.

Shelly was out of town on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so Jackie, Mimi and I kept the shop. I was soooooo thankful they were there! I really don't see how Shelly does it. There were several times when I was winding multiple skeins of yarn, Mimi was ringing someone up and Jackie was assisting a customer with a question and vice versa. Thank God (literally!) there were three of us. I am sure there are lots of times that happens to Shelly when she is the only one in the shop....

On the knitting front, I am just about finished with a really neat hat that is destined to be a shop model. I was going to have it finished this weekend, but I was pretty tired and didn't get much knitting done. It also didn't help that hubby kept trying to engage me in conversation while I was trying to do the stranded colorwork on the hat and I ended up losing track of the proper pattern repeats. I had to rip back 4 rows, which really made me cranky. I will work some more on the hat while everyone is at school and work tomorrow. I would really like to get this felted so we can block it. I'll post pictures once it is felted and blocked. I was also working on a second pair of basic mittens but I frogged them today. I really should not knit when I am tired. BAAAAAAAAD things happen. I think I am going to put them aside so I can finish my fiddleheads and cast on a pair of socks. I am really trying to only have a couple projects on the needles instead of a lot of projects and getting none of them completed. It really feels good to wear something you've created.

On the house front, I am going to take an hour tomorrow and do a purging of papers and other stuff that is sitting around not being used. I will start working the chore sheets that I downloaded off SimpleMom's blog. They are really good resources to keep you on track. I am trying to get a system in place before the winter sets in. I am using the picture of the van above to motivate me into getting the clutter under control.

And I am going to clean out my car....

Sunday posting...

What a busy day!

I opened the yarn shop this morning and ran it for the day. Since we didn't have to call the police or fire department, and we ended the day with a functional computer/cash register, I am assuming I did it half right in the very least. There was a pretty good amount of people in the shop today, which was nice. This is the first time I have run the shop without Shelly being somewhere around the corner, so it was a bit intimidating, but it did turn out to be not a big deal. At least I hope...


Now I just have to learn to run the register at the Beadery so Julie can leave when she needs a break from the shop on Wednesdays. I am pretty darn blessed to be able to help out at Twist in Wichita and The Beadery in Newton. Both shops are run by really talented women. There is a lot of creativity flowing out of both shops. I love it! I always leave inspired to try new techniques and yarns/tools. I am going to have to take a couple classes on lace knitting though. That is an area I am weak and I have noticed more knitters are looking for answers in that area. I'd like to be able to give them information instead of a blank look....

This had been a very busy weekend and I didn't get much actually done around the house this weekend, as I had hoped. Hubby and I did just finish planting some shrubs that have been languishing in their pots since I bought them a couple weeks ago. They were at the "plant me or I am going to croak" stage. I did get them on sale, but it would have been a shame to waste the money. Plus one was a northern snowball bush, which I was thrilled to find. It is going on the side of the house that is a little out of the way. I want to have a "secret garden" on that side, complete with a little table and chairs to escape. It does have a weird slant to that part of the yard, but I intend to build it up a bit.

Saturday night, Hubby and I went to Best Buy and "just looked". I probably should not do that. Now I REALLY think we NEED a 40" LCD TV with surround sound...We do need a new TV --our current TV is 21 years old and is just starting to act like it is going to retire itself. I was shocked at the new TV's. Very nice! I do help the old set lasts until after Christmas since we really shouldn't make that big a purchase until after Christmas.

And how was your weekend?

Dear Wichita

As some of you may know, we are experiencing quite a little deluge of water in areas right outside my little town, namely in the big city of Wichita (note: If you do not live here, it is pronounced wi-chit-ta, NOT wah-chee-tah like one of the national news shows kept saying when they finally caught BTK, but I digress). So here goes:

Dear Wichita,

Due to the recent floods and rains of epic proportions, I feel that an apology is in order.

After a full year of living in this house, we decided it was finally time to give it up and get the deck rebuilt. For some reason, the idea of taking the fast track to the downstairs via a hole no longer seemed be an attractive proposition. That tort law class I took in college just made me a total killjoy...

As some of you also know, it rains every time we change residences. Since this was only going to be a home improvement project and not an actual move, I thought that we were safe from anything falling from the sky, except for maybe volcanic ash, small planes and large birds...but that is another story altogether.

I was wrong.

So, from here on out, whenever we are going to do anything that involves a solid plan and beautification for the purpose of safety and liability laws, I will warn you. This will allow you, dear Wichita, ample time to stock up on the basics like inner tubes, oars, waist high wading pants, lumber and schematics for large boats...

And to have ample time to start assembling two of every animal on earth.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Crazylife

When Cats Pray

I found this on Mrs. Fussypants blog. It was just too funny not to share. You really should go check out her blog. Lots of funny and sarcastic little tidbits.

Project updates.....

Here are the fiddlehead mittens (a work in progress) that I have been raving about. The yellow isn't showing up true--it is a really nice shade that sets off the other colors around it. I have completed the first one, with the exception of the lining and thumb. I cast on the mate this weekend and will complete the thumbs and linings at the same time.

I love this pattern!!!!

It has not been all knitting at Casa Crazy Life. I love to make sterling jewelry--below is a little sampling of some of the earrings I made this summer. I did decide that I will be buying half hard sterling wire, not the full hard that I bought. Bending the shapes of the ear wires--especially on the blue and green dangling pair, was a little bit of a challenge. I did most of these at The Beadery in Newton on one of the Wednesdays that I hang out there. Julie, the owner, made a really neat set of the dangle ones...I love going there on Wednesdays. If there isn't nobody with yarn questions/issues, Julie and I create jewelry...You ought to come by and create something too. Newton is just 20 minutes from Wichita--it takes me a full 30 minutes from Haysville, which is not much of a drive at all. It takes me almost as long to get to the other side of Wichita. There are a ton of really neat shops in Newton, in addition to Julie's. Email me if you want the scoop!

Yes, the mate to the butterfly seems to have flown off. That means I will be searching under the nightstand for it's mate. I seem to have a cat the likes bling too. I have smacked a paw that was reaching toward these earrings more than once!
I find that I wear this pair the most. It is comprised of sterling silver wire, sterling beads and carnelian beads...it is a little modern, but not so modern that it looks out of place. Very clean and classic lines. The inspiration for these came from the book " Perfect Match". They aren't exactly like the pair in the book, but the one in the book was the springboard for the design. It's an awesome resource for handmade earrings.

This has been a really rough start to the week for me. I have had repeated dreams where I am missing buses--the only bus to a particular destination--trains, classes, picking people up, and any odd assortment of possible ways to miss something important. If it is a no show possibility, I did it in at least one of my dreams.

What's up? I am not really sure.

Our schedule has been pretty wild lately, which may have an awful lot to do with it. I really need to find a way to get some sort of organization to this parade because these dreams keep me off kilter all day and I wake up upset. I walk around with this nagging feeling I've missed something important, or forgot to pick someone up.

Not good....

Poll Reveals 430 New Demographics That Will Decide Election

From the Onion---too funny!!!

Completely AWESOME HOUSE alert!

I lurk on Judy Wise's blog often. It is the ultimate creativity blog that just gets me totally inspired. I am going to have to go to one of her workshops to just soak in the creativity mojo!

While looking (and looking...and looking) on her site today, I came across the MOST AWESOME HOUSE EVER on the July 12, 2008 post. GO...NOW..Does it take serious creative balls to paint your house purple, or what?! And it looks great! Hubby, being a little less adventurous than I, might disagree, but my hat is completely off to this homeowner!!

There is a purple house here in Wichita, near Lincoln and Broadway--however, I think it would benefit from the white picket fence, white trim and tons of flowers that the other house has. Isn't it funny how just a few detail can make such a huge difference?

Damn. I want a purple house...

Yeah!

I got an email from Loops yarn shop in Tulsa detailing a trunk show, presentation and meet n greet for Gina Wilde of Alchemy Yarns. She is going to talk about her new book "Shibori Knits" on October 24th. I zinged off a request and got one of the 30 available slots.

Yeah!

It looks like it is going to be a really interesting event. I love felting! And not coincidentally, the Friday before the presentation my friend Cindy, my hubby and I are flying to Mitchell, Nebraska to tour the factory and sale room of Brown Sheep yarns, which is my ultimate favorite felting yarn. Cindy and Cute Man are the pilot and co-pilot--I'm just along for the yarn. Just how much yarn can you shove into a Cessna 182? Well, if all else fails, they do ship...

YEAH BABY!!