The Day After

Good morning All,Well, I called in on Monday and did have to go to jury duty. Unfortunately, I didn't get picked for a jury yesterday. I was actually looking forward to at least getting questioned but it never happened. I just sat there all day and read a book, went to McDonald's for lunch, saw Andy Avalos from NBC weather in the McDonald's and walked around downtown. That was the best part of the day; just walking around and enjoying the beautiful city.

I did manage to finish a Danielle Steel book that I borrowed from the library; 44 Charles Street, while on jury duty. It was a great book and I really enjoyed reading it. I have to call the library and see if they can take me off the loan so someone else can get it. I borrowed it as a Kindle book and you can keep it for 2 weeks. I'd rather let them know so maybe if someone else is on the list they can get the book. What a great service! See Tom, I can save money by not buying books! I have several books and movies on holds at the library. It's better than buying them and having them sit around the house. I even have Iron Lady on reserve and can wait until it comes in!

As promised, I have a few pictures to show of some of my finished knitting projects;

This is the Easy Drop Stitch Scarf pattern from Ravelry. All done!

I finished the Honeycomb Cowl I was making and have another one on the needles in a lime green color.





These are the two-at-a time socks on circulars (and of course, a cute bag for them!) I know, it looks like a bra or something else but it is actually the two toes of the socks. Very nice project taught by Cat. Our homework was to finish them until the heel by Sunday but I don't think I'll be able to do that unless I quit work and work on them constantly! Oh well.

That's it for now.

I am now walking to the "L" in the morning and not having my DH drive me. It's great exercise for me and I think he wants to get to work a bit sooner. As long as the weather is nice, I might as well get some exercise. So, I'm closing and getting ready to walk and enjoy the peace and quiet of the morning.

It's Wednesday so only two more days of work after today!

After a Long Absence....

Yes, I am still alive! I did not have a great week last week. Suffice to say, I think I'm finally back to normal (whatever that is for me!) We were all a bit sick on Easter Sunday but my DH especially. He had whatever it was the worst! I had a tooth pulled on Monday and was taking an antibiotic which also gave me a bit of a tummy ache in addition to whatever else. I was tired and not feeling great until about Friday evening. Nothing serious, just a general blah feeling.

But now I have my appetite back (unfortunately) and am full of piss and vinegar!! : )

I went to a knitting class yesterday at Woolly Lamb taught by dear Cat. (Not Cat Bordhi!) This is a very talented young lady from our Thursday night Open Knit Night. She is teaching us how to knit two socks at the same time from the toe up on a 40" circular needle. It is something I've been curious about and I needed a bit of a challenge knitting socks. I am known as the "Sock Queen" of Woolly Lamb and needed to try something different. After a rough start (thanks Mary for the help - she is a great Chicago Public School Teacher too!) I managed to get all the increases (yes Cat, INCREASES and not DECREASES as I was calling them!) done and am ready to just knit, knit, knit for a while. It's not as hard as I thought it would be so I am encouraged. It's also pretty fun!

I was not able to take any pictures of my completed projects so I promise to get something up on the website before the end of the week. I'll even post a picture of my tiny little toes beginning my toe-up socks!

Today I have to call in to see if I have to report for Jury Duty tomorrow. I'm hoping I get called so I can give the judge a piece of my mind after what they did to Gregory this past summer. He went to see if he would be on a jury and the judge as well as the lawyers berated him and accused him a lying about something. They also accused him of pretending he went to Marquette by asking about the mascot! I couldn't believe how terrible they were to him. Isn't the judge supposed to protect potential jurors and not abuse them and not let the lawyers abuse them! I was so made when he came home and told us what happened. Oh well, we'll see what happens for me. I guess I should be careful so I don't open my mouth and get put in the slammer myself!

I watched all of Season 1 of The Game of Thrones as well as the first episode of Season 2. Now I have to catch up on the second the third episodes. I just love that series! I'm also reading The Hunger Games now and am slowing getting caught up in that. Thanks Gregory! I just love that he and I both love to read and I can relate to the books he reads! So many books to read and not enough time! Thank God for working downtown as I read a lot now on the train and at lunch time.

Well, speaking of work, back to the salt mines!

Good Morning Chicago!

For the second day in a row, I've worn my winter coat! It's cold here in Chicago, especially in the morning! Oh well, not much longer and we'll be crying it's too hot!!

No train issues today! : ) The man that sat next to me this morning couldn't get far enough away from me! It was a pleasant trip to work.

Woke up with a swollen jaw this morning. I guess my mouth is rebelling against all the Novocaine shots and drilling, prying and yanking on Monday! I have no pain but my cheek is a bit swollen. I took two Ibuprofen and put some ice on it this morning. I can't take the pain medication or the 600 mg Ibuprofen because they both make me sleepy! I thought I would fall asleep at my desk yesterday! I went to bed at 9:00 last night! (I apologize but I had no energy last night and couldn't put any pics on my blog!) Between the two of us, we couldn't even fix dinner. We just made do with whatever was quickest and we didn't starve! David was on his own too!

I tried to do some work on a baby blanket I knitted to embellish it a bit but couldn't concentrate enough. After four tries, I just gave up! I'll wait for a while before I attempt to do it again.

My DH gets his staples taken out this morning. I hope it doesn't hurt him too much! He'll be glad to have then out as he's been having headaches and thinks it may be related to that.

Time to get to work and make a living!

Good Morning Chicago!

What is the train etiquette when someone sits next to you on the "EL" and invades your space? This morning a man sat next to me and just about squeezed me into the side of the train. We both had heavy winter coats on but being on the outside, he shouldn't have squeezed me in so much! I wanted to ask him if he would like to sit in my lap! Then of course, being a man, he had to sit with his legs spread and leaning up against my leg. I didn't move, I held my ground. I figured maybe he's getting his jollies by having his leg up against mine....It didn't do anything for me buddy!

Too bad for Princess Colleen, huh Mama?!

Had a tooth extracted yesterday unexpectedly. I went for a consult and Dr. Chuck talked me into getting it pulled. I'm glad I did it then because I sure would have been nervous waiting two weeks to have it done. I woke up this morning and had no pain. It's probably partially due to the fact that the tooth has a root canal but with all the digging, drilling and stitches (must be 100 up there!) I figured I'd be home from work! Not so. I am glad there's no pain because I was really dreading it. Oh well, now for the implant or a bridge.

I am happy to report that I finished my March Woolly Lamb Knitting project as well as my April one! I will post some pictures tonight. They both look absolutely beautiful! I would love to make one more of each and I have the yarn for them! I also have the pattern and yarn for our May project; yoga socks. Everyone loves them because there's no heal or toes! I may make mine into pedicure socks instead (with a heal.) Speaking of yarn, for some reason on Easter Sunday, I started going through all my yarn. I organized all my Plymouth Galway and Encore yarns by colors and put them in plastic bags inside a Rubbermaid tote bin. I also put them on my Raverly page and offered them for sale or trade. I also found some yarn that I will never use and plan on giving to Sonia and Eunice. I hope they don't mind! I have sooo much yarn I could almost open a shop. It really is exciting to think of new projects with some of the yarn I haven't seen in years. I got on Ravelry and found some great patterns. I also frogged my butter colored Galway wool afghan for the second time. It's such a huge project that I put it away and then when I take it out again (or find it again) I forget where I left off. Also, my stitches didn't look great - way too loose - so I'll start again. This time, I'll note where I left off! the yarn is so beautiful that I want to make it into some kind of blanket.

My DH is feeling better today. He had a terrible Holy week beginning with falling at work and opening a gash in his head. Four staples later, he's doing better and will get them taken out tomorrow. He also picked up some kind of virus and was very sick after dinner on Easter. I initially thought it was something we ate but we all ate the same thing and no one else got as sick as he did. Gregory and I had mild tummy aches. We think it must have been a virus and it worked itself out of his system. He even stayed home from work yesterday - you know he's sick when he stays home from work! I know my cooking isn't that great but I don't think I could have poisoned anyone!

Oh well, off to work now. Will be posting some pics tonight.

The Best News!

Just time to let everyone know that my DS David was notified yesterday that he passed the Bar Exam! We went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and celebrated with margarita's. The owner of the restaurant gave us a free flan for dessert! We are so happy and so proud of our dear son!

Congratulations David!!! You did it!

No Tom, It's Not 50% Frustration Over For ME!!

This morning my DH stated that 50% of the frustration (work) for the week is over today. I, not so gently, reminded him that I have to work on Friday - Good Friday! This is the first time in 15 years that I've had to work on this day. Oh well, maybe I can come home earlier. I learned in Germany that starting on Good Friday and running through and including the Monday after Easter is a holiday and no one works and no stores are open. I like that!

Speaking of work, as everyone knows (or those who read my blog - Mandy - this means you!) the dreaded monthly report will be printed overnight tonight (Tuesday.) It's really not a mind numbing exercise as much as it is busy work. It's a matter of sorting out papers and distributing them to partners, lawyers, etc. Last month I sent out over 1200 envelopes. I really don't mind too much because I come in early and will be able to get some overtime which will help me with the purchase of my IPad! I have help from several of our "runners" as they're called - college students who are here for the sole purpose of doing things for us whenever we want. It's a great deal for them and an even better deal for us! We always have help whenever we need it. They are very nice and work hard.

Well, I got a good start on my April UFO project last night. I think I will be able to finish it this month. I have a bit done already and will be working on it diligently! It's a vest knit in Maggie Jackson linen and I have had the back done already for a year or so. : )  Now I'm working on the two fronts on one needle. Brigitte suggested doing them this way so they're both the same size. I like it because they're both being done at the same time - time saving!

My DS comes home from school on Thursday night for Easter. I'm sure he'll be tired and looking forward to sleeping in a few days! Maybe I should wake him up early on Friday morning to come to work with me and help! Ha-Ha!!

Have a wonderful day and if you're in the Chicagoland area, I hope you wore a coat this morning as it's going to be cooler when we go home!

Back To Work!

I hope you saw my Maggie Wrap posted on Sunday. If not, take a look because I'm especially proud of it!

Well, the weekend is over. : (  It's back to work for a lot of us. This week is especially bad because tomorrow starts the dreaded monthly report and I have to work on Good Friday. Oh well, at least I have a job. While my DH, DC (dear children) and DD (dear dog) are sleeping, I will creep out of the house and go to work.

At least I was able to enjoy the weekend and enjoy my time at Woolly Lamb on Saturday AND Sunday! I plan to go there on Saturday this coming weekend too because there won't be any knitting on Sunday! Liz brought her little Bianca in on Saturday. She is just too cute! What a sweet little puppy! Speaking of puppies, out dear little Sable is doing very well. She's eating (hamburger and spaghetti!) but she's eating something. We got a new dog food from the vet that she likes better than her old stuff, however, we ran out of it yesterday so we need to get some more. Otherwise, she's fine!

Tomorrow I begin shuffling papers for the monthly report here at work. I've become used to it and sort of relish the quiet of the room I'm in. I have a radio and sit and compile all the reports for 4 or 5 days. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it! : )  I have help at least half of the time so it's not too bad. It's my job....  I may not be blogging too much this week so miss me!

Tonight is my Monday knit class. I'll start, once again, on a Maggie Jackson vest that was started at least 2 years ago. I have the back completed and now just need to do the two sides and the collar - how difficult can that be? I love this Monday class because it spurs me on to get some old UFO's (unfinished objects) completed! My goal this month is to finish that vest! I can do it if I put my mind to it! Of course, I'll be posting a picture as soon as it's done.

Have a wonderful Easter!

IT"S DONE!!!

As promised...the Maggie Wrap is done!

I will love wearing this beautiful wrap!

And this is no April Fool!