Good morning to you all! It is going to be another great day. We sure are having a mild winter, one day warm, one day cool, but hasn't really gotten cold at all except occasionally at night. I told Jack yesterday I look forward and dread spring, look forward to warm weather again and dread because I have to go in for surgery and muck up most of my summer swim time.

Susan: The haircut before last the woman messed it up so much the only thing I could do was wear it like it was a bowl cut. I couldn't spike it at all and she cut into my cowlicks instead of the way it was supposed to be done so it was a total mess. I had to put up with that for about 10 weeks until it grew out enough for someone to fix. When I went again, I told the woman about it and she said that that particular person never listens to anyone including the customers just does her thing. She apologized and said from now on to come in and get it redone for free or if it can't be fixed they give you a free cut the next time, but it was right after my surgery and I couldn't face sitting in that chair. I kept this girl's name and will ask for her from now on as she did a great job this last time.

My son knew how upset I was about B and sent this picture. Is it not adorable? Jay keeps telling us as soon as Jackson is old enough he is going to get him into martial arts, but this is ridiculous! It does look like he is ready to put that foot into a kick and do the yell though, doesn't it?

Jean: I keep doing silly things with regards to the cat, like I started to ask Jack on Saturday at the commissary if we needed cat litter, I got up to come in here to post and picked up the dangling yarn so he wouldn't pull it off the table, stuff like that. He was always so ornery when we made the bed, jumping on it and we would put him down and jumping on, etc. Last night Jack and I stood and cried just putting on the clean sheets. I actually think I hear him meow more than anything and start to go look for him to make sure he isn't locked up somewhere accidently. I know little by little it will lessen, but it is pretty hard right now.

Well, today is clean the upstairs day and the dog refuses to do it, Jack went to work, so that leaves me! I guess I better get started and get it done for the day.

Have a good start to your week!
Faye

Good morning, ladies! We're back to cold, damp weather again - 44 degrees at noon! Must be winter.

Faye, Jackson is adorable. I still miss the cat we had before Cupid. She was a "talker". She'd be waiting for me at the door and start and meow as I came and follow me upstairs and kept on meowing - just like she was telling me about her day. She'd carry on a conversation - you talk, she'd answer. If I could have understood Cat we'd have been in business!

More later!

Good morning ladies. It is quite cool this morning but I think it is supposed to warm up some.

We got the most gorgeous embossed pet sympathy card with handwritten notes from the vet and the vet techs. I just sat and cried. I thought it was so sweet for them to care enough not only to send a card, but each one wrote a little note inside.

Jean: We have decided against getting another cat or even another yorkie, which we have long thought about. It is so hard when you have to put them down that we just don't want to go through it again as we know eventually we will have to deal with it with Fortune when he gets old. My sister offered to bring me one of her cats from California, but it was just a decision the two of us made together not to bring another pet into the house. Fortune is a bit confused about him being gone, but there is nothing we can do. Jack tells him, "He's not coming back buddy," when he seems to act like he looking for something.

Susan: Butterscotch talked to me all the time. We carried on conversations. I would talk and he would give me a quick meow back then I would talke and he would answer. It was pretty funny. He wouldn't do it with anyone else. He also taught himself to sit for treats like Fortune does. That was always a hoot and he would groom Fortune and Fortune would return the favor! So we had lots of funny and sweet things to think about with him.

I have a totally lazy day today so I am going to work on the second sweater, which is a beautiful red. I am deciding whether to make it all red and buy a pretty scarf to match or stripe it or something. I just started the bottom but I only have one more row until I start the body of the sweater so I have to decide so I can make a design for it if I wish. I am leaning towards just getting a scarf as I will have a lot of red left over if I make it more that one color and will have to either order or go out and buy other colored yarn.

Well ladies, time to go. Hope you have a great Tuesday.
Faye

It's snowing! But 40 degrees so it won't stick. Stan is doing better. He had a rough day yesterday for some unknown reason but is better today. The wound has all nice pink skin now and is healing. Doctor said he'll be going home soon with the wound vac and a visiting nurse to do the dressings. I'll sure be glad. Going to the hospital gets boring fast...and a lot more boring for him stuck there in bed.

Faye, we decided not to get another pet, too, for the same reasons. Then Cupid decided to move in with us (he did live 2 doors down but she got a dog and he hated the dog) so now we're in for

Good morning to you all! SNOW! Ick, you guys can keep it. It was cool all day here yesterday, but supposed to be 51 today and sunny so that is ok.

I ordered a scarf to go with my sister's sweater and I think it will be great. I included the start of the sweater and the scarf to give you an idea. I also ordered her this pin
called Kindred Spirits which I think she will like.

I think I started a fire storm. I did those two bags for my friend and am sending her another one I did and no one wanted to give to her other daughter. Like I said, I did the work for free and though she gave me $60, I probably spent $85 with the buttons, the shipping on those and the yarn and the priority shipping for the boxes. I didn't charge her a dime for my work either. She is a close friend and I am close to her dd's and sister. Well one of her sister's friends now wants a bag for her 19 year old dd. I told my friend flat out that it would cost the lady $40 to make the bag and that was if she could wait until I brought it up in April when I come and not mail it to her. I mean, that is only a $20 profit, not near what some of the knitters make but I am not doing it for supply costs alone. So we shall see. I told my friend I was working on my sister's sweater (who she knows as well) and that I needed to get it done before I do something else. If the woman needed it for a birthday or something, she was going to have to pay me more to stop doing my sister's sweater. I think that is only fair.

Susan: Hope Stan really starts feeling better soon. He sure deserves some time feeling really well. I know you have to be worn out always running back and forth between home, job and hospital. I am thankful that Jack can take 10 days of his sick time under the city's FMLA policy while I am in and since it is a planned operation and the doctor operates on Monday and Wed, I want to schedule a Monday surgery so we have the weekend before the whole next week I would be in the hospital and come home by the following weekend and then Jack would have another week off to be with me at home.

Jean: Kind of sad when you look forward to a kid being absent from school isn't it? I have to say you must put most of this back on the parent for not helping the kid have a love of learning when he was small even before school. Things like reading to him and such when he was little. Even kids who have trouble in school can be helped by doing things when they are toddlers. Parents nowadays are too wrapped up in themselves. My grandson might have a really high intelligence that is partially genetic, but truth be told, his mom and dad started reading to him when he was about a year old and had toys that helped him learn as well as have fun. Jackson has the same thing lots of bright fun toys where he can improve motor skills and such and lots of books she reads to him already. Ole Nonny makes sure he has books. I bought him a couple at Christmas that didn't get here in time and I will take them up there in April when we go.

I guess I better get off my behind and get my morning chores finished. I stayed in bed when Jack got up, but kept thinking I heard an alarm go off so I finally gave up around 6:10 and came downstairs.

Have a great Wednesday! Hump day half the week is over. Jack has Monday off as I imagine you do too, Jean. Poor Susan, you probably have to work, huh?

Faye

Good Morning! Sunshine today but still 36 degrees.

Faye, you are right I do have to work Monday.

Jean, Cupid got his name because he has a white heart shaped patch of fur on his dark grey back. He is a sweetheart, though!

Stan will be coming home on Friday after his dialysis treatment. We'll be having the visiting nurse and the wound vac as well as his aide so everything should go fine.

I'll be glad to get to our routine and eating better. I've been eating dinner with him and the food is not the greatest.

Susan

Good morning to you all. I hope your day is going well.

I had a rough night last night. My back ached most of the night and I was very crampy. I am not sure if it is female stuff as I still am on and off with it or just gas build up. I know I am pooped that is for sure. Maybe I can nap in the recliner this morning and get a little rest.

Susan: Glad Stan gets to come home and be comfortable in his own home. Hospital food for the most parts is the pits. If they give me an unrestricted diet, I may have Jack bring me in some fruit and stuff to snack on. They have grits every morning at the hospital and I hate them and it takes them forever to set up a routine where I can order what I want for breakfast. They also have stuff like biscuits and junk like that. Ah well, it is only for a week, but then I imagine Jack is going to have to do the cookie so it will be real simple that's for sure.

Jean: I would have thought you guys get off MLK day. It is like everything else all political and racially motivated. Sad but true. Jack has off Presidents' Day too and that is the day of my barium test. I so look forward to it!

Nothing else happening around here. I haven't heard a peep out of my friend so I don't know what is going on with the handbag situation. I just thought I should be upfront about it. Like I told Jack, if I did this bag for free, then I would be expected to do others for free and I am not going to do that. As I said, I don't knit for $$ I knit because I enjoy it and do it to make gifts for friends and family. I do hope she isn't miffed about it, but if she is that is to bad.

Well, I am going to start morning chores and get some knitting on that sweater done.

Have a good Thursday to you all and keep warm!
Faye

Good morning to everyone. It is pretty chilly here this morning. I took out the trash and went and unlocked the gate in case some of the things I am waiting for are delivered today and found it to be a little brrrr. Nothing like Jean is getting, but cold to me.

I did sleep in an extra couple hours this morning, but I wouldn't call it sleep exactly. I would doze and wake and doze and wake and then the smell of sausage wafted up the stairs and I think cooked sausage stinks so I sprayed the whole house with citrus air freshner when I got up.

Jean: Hope you enjoy your day Saturday. I am a road tripper kind of gal so I would enjoy going more than likely. Of course, I stay home most of the time and you are out working so I imagine being able to stay home and work in your house would be better for you.

My computer sure seems sluggish. I deleted my temp internet files and did a disc clean and will do a spyware clean in a few minutes, but I guess I am going to have to get Jack to clean out the temp files that are stored somewhere in the computer that I can't find because the darn thing sure is slow.

We are supposed to get the rugs done that we never did do when Jack was on vacation, but I don't know if we will do them or not. I want them done before his sister and bil come here on the first. They may or may not visit the house as they are just passing through and we are supposed to go to dinner together, but just in case. The problem the week he was on vacation was I didn't know we needed more shampoo and when we went to do them, it wasn't enough so we put it off and I never went and got a couple bottles of shampoo!

Well, I better get those chores done. I should clean the downstairs today, but I imagine it will wait until tomorrow. It isn't like it is filthy or anything, just time for weekly cleaning again.

Have a nice weekend everyone!
Faye

Good morning to you all. A brisk 34 out right now and not to get above 38 so it is going to be cold here, but a near heat wave for Jean. BRRRRR!

I see my son and dil are getting very cold weather too. Their wind chill is like -20 or something like that. Some of their area got ice last night so the roads are bad I guess. We had planned on going up there this weekend with Jack having Monday off before we changed our minds to wait until April so I am sure glad we won't get caught up in that stuff.

I fell asleep half an hour before my program came on so guess I will have to watch it on the computer. They show it on the tv shows website after each episode or at least they have up until now. I am going to check when I get finished posting.

Gonna get the downstairs done today as there isn't much else to do and too cold to go out and do anything. I will let Jack run the errands if we need anything.

I am coming along with the sweater. Almost to the spot where I separate the stitches into front and back and knit it separately for the armholes. I will be glad to have it finished up. Her pin came yesterday as did my friend's "apple" pin, but no scarf yet. The payment hasn't come out of my bank so I emailed them asking when I could expect shipment.

The "apple" pin looks great on the yellow sweater. It is only a little bigger than a quarter so it is a nice size without overwhelming the sweater. I had also bought her a "Lucy" mug that has some friend saying on it. I got it at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum at the Venetian when we were in Vegas last year. She is a big Lucy fan too.

I better get up and get chores done and the cleaning started. Have a great weekend and keep wrapped up and warm.

Faye