Joy of Yarn

Whatta Walk

Took a drive on Saturday up to Millerton, NY with the pups. Chloe chose to stand in the car, on the entire ride up, excitedly looking out the window. We walked 7 miles on the Millerton Rail Trail. What a great place to walk and what a beautiful day we had, blue skies and cool breezes. Sydney was exhausted when we finished. Chloe was tired too but both dogs were extraordinary.

Here is our family portrait:   

As we were walking back to the car, I noticed a cute little yarn shop and had to stop in. Twisted was a great little shop with a large sectional in the front of the store. Women sat busily knitting and talked with each other. It was the type of shop that I'd love in my town.

Eeeeeeek!

Look who's living on the door to our deck (photo courtesy of my husband) And yes, it is as large as it seems:

School

A pic of the dogs and me - hair not blown out, no make-up, relaxed as can be during the summer.

School started. Well more work started. I came home feeling like normal people with normal jobs must feel, tired, yes, but not utterly spent and fall-into-bed exhausted. We did not have kids today so I had the full day to set up my room (a bit), plan for tomorrow (a bit more) and talk with my missed buddies (a bit too much perhaps). I ended up staying later to make copies as we didn't find out who our kids were until later in the day and I couldn't plan much without knowing levels. Oh yes, we need to make copies of all the work because we do not have enough workbooks for the kids. Anyway, I feel pretty set for tomorrow. Many of my more problematic kids have either been moved to other classes or been discharged, thank goodness, and hopefully the ones I have are manageable without a great deal of stress. I knit a bit on my sock during lunch.

I've also gone meat-free and I'm trying to eat better. Taking care of a puppy in the kitchen, this summer, put on a few extra pounds. I baked and baked and baked.

I'm trying hard to manage my stress better. After work my husband and I walked the dogs in town for about 45 minutes, and Chloe walks at a pretty good clip. It feels so good to walk them and see their wagging tails.       

Winning

OK, I didn't win. Big surprise.

But I'm still knitting! Big surprise there too. Happily working on the Mitred Quilt out of Plymouth Boku. That pattern is really a fun one. And working on Wendy Johnson's Diagonal Lace Socks using Dream in Color Smooshy in the Butter Peeps color, another fun one. I missed working on socks. Pictures soon. Gotta get outside for this bee-u-ti-ful day!

Lotto and Retirement

So it sounds so desperate to say, "I really hope that I win Lotto!" I mean, how many other people are saying the exact same thing? And isn't it similar to saying, "I hope while walking in the street I find a bag of money that someone dropped after robbing a bank." Or, "I hope I find a diamond in the street worth millions." Or, "I hope that the bank makes a million dollar error in my favor and never finds it." Of course, if I suddenly saw my bank balance a million dollars over what I had, I'd be too afraid to spend it anyway but that's another story. Anyway, it does sound desperate and unrealistic, but it does happen to some people, so I'd like it to happen to me.

I talked to my husband today about what I'd do with the money. How many people must do that. Number 1 - I'd quit my job, yeah big surprise. And we'd move to that place in the country that we want, nothing big, a small house on a lot of property, where we wouldn't hear leaf blowers and dogs barking and Gina, our neighbor, cursing and yelling. And maybe buy some electronic gadgets. I'd like to try a Kindle and get a Mac and do some traveling. And buy two new cars. My husband would like a mini Cooper and I'd like maybe a Honda Civic or a Prius, I guess. We don't have these major wants, no, I can't say I'd buy a huge ring or a huge house. Just these little things. I'd donate to some causes I believe in. And I guess I'd invest the rest. But I'd really like to win.

My friend Linda and I knit yesterday while sitting by some local stables and she told me about someone she knew who met a man who won 47 million dollars. The man bought this woman a car and a house and a diamond. 

Well Thursday, I spoke to a person over at the Retirement Department of the State to see if I could get some concrete ideas of when I could stop working at this stressful job and how much money I could get from my pension. He didn't have many answers. Actually he only had one answer. I will have 20 years with the state in 2 1/2 years. That brings me to March of 2012. And then he went on to tell me how I really should stay until I'm 62, to which I replied, "Do you know where I work?" And he suddenly recalled some horrible kid in his high school who flipped out and spray painted his name around the whole school and he was sent to the school I teach at. And I replied, "Well I have 8 of that kid in my classroom." And he became quiet and said, "I understand." But like I said, he couldn't tell me how much I would be getting. I had to fill out a new form for that and the form should take about 6 months to process. Welcome to working for New York State. But at least it gives me a date to aim at and I've already been thinking of steps I need to take to do some things in the house before we sell it. I also think about moving to the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania as my husband and I really liked that area. I looked at some houses on-line and the prices are reasonable. Maybe keeping my eyes on this prize will make the days at work, the days that feel like five days long, more tolerable.    

Buford

A friend of ours just lost Chloe's stepbrother. It has shaken me badly. Buford was a wonderful dog, as red as an Irish Setter. He is the boy who made me get Chloe. It was ten years ago that I walked into a local carpet store and met my buddy Buford. The owner of the store told me that Buford's mom was having another litter and next I was flying to Omaha to pick my girl up. Chloe has been the best dog I could ever ask for. Buford, like Chloe's mom, had Lymphoma. I think he was diagnosed a few years ago and had a few rounds of chemotherapy as the cancer had come back. We last saw him about three weeks ago when we brought Sydney down to the store. He seemed to be doing well and looked healthy. He always snuggled up to me and nudged closer and closer as I pet him. I find it so hard to believe that he is gone and it makes me feel, even more, how vulnerable Chloe is. She is just two years younger then Buford.