Have you ever woken up with a stomach like a stone and a feeling of dread that your day is going to be a roller coaster ride of misery? I spent most of my day like that.
Which, as it turned out, was just some intestinal distress that passed shortly after lunch.

I have spent all week at work feeling rather miserable because I had some kind of throat infection thing going on, but I couldn't afford the doctor's visit without insurance ($84 just for the visit, not including any medication he might has prescribed). The dry pain in my throat kept me waking up quite often during the night, which made me very tired by the time I had to get up and trudge off to work. I have opened every day so far this week, but today I close. That's going to be misery in itself, and I'll talk about that soon. So, having the morning off today, I fell asleep around 9 last night, woke up for about half an hour when Patrick came home from work, and then fell dead asleep until about 9 this morning. I can't stress how nice it is to get real, unobstructed sleep. Also, when I woke up this morning, my throat wasn't hurting and it seems my 'thing' has devolved into a small, slightly congested cold. That I can handle.
Closing tonight is going to be... an ordeal. I highly doubt I am going to get out before 11:30. Most likely closer to 12. This is because the new Twilight movie came out today, and it's a Friday and we're going to be flooded with pre-teens, teenagers, and moms who are all going to or coming from the movies. I know Matt isn't going to be prepared for all the extra business in addition to our regular rush. I know it for a fact, because when I mentioned yesterday to him how busy we're going to be tonight, he looked at me mutely for a minute and then promptly ignored my warnings. My shift is not going to be fun. At all. At least I'm off all weekend.

On her blog, my mom was talking about when and where is it appropriate to knit? I don't knit at work. I can't, plain and simple. And that's okay, I don't want to give someone a scarf that smells like pizza. I used to knit at D&D on Monday nights, but that was when our group was still getting comfortable with each other and our characters, and sessions moved slowly as people learned their powers and skills. But now that we've whittled the group down and everyone is used to the way things work, encounters move faster and as the main healer of the group, I need to pay a lot of attention to my fellow adventurers. And sometimes knitting even plain stockinette stitch takes too much focus away from where it needs to be. And that's fine.
I knit mostly at home in bed, and sometimes when my friends and I are having a casual hangout. I used to knit when we visited Patrick's mom, but with the addition of needy dogs that weigh as much as I do, I had to put it away. I get teased for my knitting at work most of the time if I have it with me because I'm going out right afterward or something, and while it doesn't really get under my skin it annoys me that they feel the need to pick on me for that. Jeeze. It's bad enough I get all kinds of jokes about not watching TV. "Hey Kate, do you watch [insert popular show here]? Oh, wait, right, you don't have a TV."
It's really bothersome that they automatically equate "does not watch TV" with "does not own TV." I do own one. It's attached to my PS2. No, no cable. No satellite. No rabbit ears. Just a game system and at one point, a DVD player. That's all. I do not feel the need to have my existence proven to me by being able to gasp about the latest Gray's Anatomy episode or laugh at the guy who sang so badly on American Idol. But I've gone over this particular point of anger before.

My knitting hasn't happened lately. I actually haven't picked up the needles in almost a week. I've been too tired at the end of the day to do anything more than stare at the lovely cream alpaca that Dan's scarf is made out of in hopelessness and sigh as I lay back and let the kinks pop loudly out of my back.
Speaking of kinked backs, does anyone know a good way to keep my spine from compressing while I'm at work? I'm standing in approximately three positions for six or seven hours a day, all day, and while my Danskos help a lot with back pain, they can't do away with all of it. And I can't stop and do a ten-minute stretch routine every hour, either. I stretch in the mornings, and before I go to bed, but other than that, any tips? Or maybe some helpful hints on a back rub solution that will ease my muscles back into shape at the end of the day without requiring Patrick to knead them to death?

A lullaby for you
Hoshi wa kanarazu kagayaku kara
May tomorrow be wonderful too
Itsuka wa idaku kibou ga aru kara
Te saguri no yami demo, hitori ja nai
A lullaby for you
I know the stars will keep shining
May tomorrow be wonderful too
We'll find our hope someday
And even in the dark, we're not alone
~JYONGRI, Lullaby for You

Limerick?

Hello from Royersford! I am up here to visit Em, Jim, and Colleen. Well, the plan was to hang with Colleen for a few days (since I hardly ever see her anymore) and seeing Em and Jim was just an added bonus.
Thursday we stopped by Friendly's to say bye to Patrick before I left, and we were both starving so we got some food and ice cream and went on our way. Patrick pouted.
The drive back up to PA was filled with lots of laughing, because Colleen was telling me all about how crack-a-licious crazy the Twilight plot gets (He doesn't want to have sex with you, Bella, because he's got this big diamond-hard man-vampire-hood that would break you) and I gotta say, maybe I'll force my brain to overlook the writing style just to laugh myself into soiling my jeans. No, really. To hear Coll and Em tell it, the last book is quite a piece of.... work. Yes. Piece of work.
Friday Coll had to run out on me for orientation for her new nursing classes, so I slept in, took a shower, ate my left overs from friendly's and then plunked myself down on the couch to play Dragon Age: Origins. Good game. The battle mechanics are a little funky, but the level of detail that goes into creating and maintaining your character is pretty nice. Coll got back and we headed out to Moritomo for some good Asian cuisine. The pork katsu was delish, and then we got desert. I ordered red bean mochi ice cream. Mochi ice cream are little balls of ice cream that are covered in mochi, which is rice that has been pounded into a chewy cake-like consistency. I love mochi, though my friends think I'm strange for it. Colleen got fried cheese cake. Oh my god. Yum. I didn't think it would be as good as it was.
I was wrong.
Today we're going to Shady Maple, an Amish smorgasborg for breakfast and then we're off to check out the semi-local Asian market, which apparently sells smart toilets. And sushi-grade fish. I could get into this place. After that, there's an all-you-can-eat sushi place for lunch (we plan to spend a long time in Assi) and back to NJ to show off OUR asian market before Colleen has to go to work.
I'm off tomorrow as well, so I'll be combing through my room and reorganizing the stuff I have already boxed in preparation of moving. There's some extra stuff I've got to shift around, and a few things in trash bags that should get sorted out and dealt with.
Hooray for mini-vacations!

Ahaha, this is so exciting!

Well, I am finally starting to feel back to normal. I'm still a little sniffly, and my hearing will take a little while to return, but my voice is coming back and I'm not running a fever any more. This is good news.

The Peppermint Blanket is chugging along nicely, and Dan's scarf is making its way up the FO path at a slower pace, but it is enjoying itself in all its alpaca goodness. This is also good news.

I am back to a semi-normal schedule at work. This means a steadier paycheck and the chance for much better tips. This is still more good news.

A local apartment complex has accepted our (mine and Patrick's) application. We are residents of apartment A-1 as of December 1st. This is truly excellent news.

And that is my feel-good post for Monday. See? They aren't always terrible.

Bleagh...

The end of my week hasn't been so great. I fell asleep on Wednesday night with a scratchy throat which I thought was from the dry, cold air I was breathing. So I filled up my water bottle and figured that'd fix it. I woke up miserable. Within an hour and a half I'd developed a fever, a massive headache, and a mostly-gone voice. I called my doctor and he phoned in a prescription for me for some antibiotics. Patrick went to class and came back with some orange juice and soup for me, and a thermometer so I could track my fever's progress. It was a flighty thing.
I called out of work, and I think I gave my manager a heart attack when I said I had a mild flu strain. I said I'd be back today, and he got all defensive. "You don't know that, the flu could last for five days or more." I said that as long as I wasn't contagious I'd be in attendance. Especially since we got a new deal in: any size pizza with any number of toppings for $10. I was told that yesterday was sheer insanity. It didn't help, of course, that all the schools had off Thursday and Friday for an in-service.

Well, I've cast on a scarf for my friend Dan. He asked for one and I promised I'd make it, and I've been putting it off. So he's getting a cream alpaca one-row scarf. Hopefully I'll have it done by Monday? I don't think so, but I'll let my hopes be dashed to the rocks. I've also made progress on the Peppermint Blanket, but I don't have any pictures of that yet. It's about a foot-and-a-half on each side. Patrick still hasn't done anything past his center square. I've given up waiting for him because I believe he is what I call a "Sometimes Knitter." He knits when he feels like it, which is usually when I am knitting in front of him. I don't often enjoy knitting in front of other people. Certain people, anyway. I don't knit at D&D any more because I feel like everyone is staring at me. And in a kitchen the size of a bedroom, and when you have eight or nine people crammed around a tiny table.... there's not much elbow room and even cotton socks are just another layer of fabric on an already overheating body.

Well, I'm going to go watch a movie now and knit a bit on Peppermint Blanket. It'll keep my lap warm as I count down the time to work. I probably shouldn't be going, but my bank account keeps tugging at my shoulder and reminding me that I'm not saving as much as I should be. I'm not staying late, though, even if we're busy. It's only a four-hour shift. I just hope we won't be quite as busy as we were yesterday. I don't think I could handle it.

can you hear the calling of the raving wind and water?
we just keep dreaming of the land 'cross the river
we are always on the way to find the place we belong
wandering to no where, we're paddling
down the raging sea
~Yuki Kajiura "to nowhere"

Stop! Picture Time!

To answer your question, Bells, no you weren't too late. I had Patrick choose the winner at random, and I've sent an email off to the lucky lady. If you didn't win, have no fear. I'll run another contest later. With goodies that are just as cool.

Well, Patrick and I finally made it to the Ren Faire. We were rained out two weeks ago, if you recall, and when we woke up today and saw the sky looking like this:

...we were very worried. But I'd checked the weather and by the time we got up there, the clouds were lightening drastically. It was still chilly, but in November we'd expected it and dressed prepared. Turns out the faire doesn't open until 11, so we got there an hour early and ended up walking around the front gates for a while.

There were some heralds who stood around and looked cold as they waited for the opening of the gates.

Some Halloween decorations were up, too. Lots of hay bales and gourds of varying shapes and sizes. Most of the hay had grass growing on it, which I found funny.

And there were some bagpipers too, to keep us entertained as we waited. It was pretty cool to watch them play, because bagpipes always look so difficult. Later on we saw a woman with a hammered dulcimer, too. It was pretty neat.

There was an archery demonstration I didn't get pictures of, but the guy who was doing it was amazing. He was getting killing blows with every shot up to 100 yards away from the target. Even after that distance, though, up to about 130 yards away, he said, he'd be hitting someone. Think of 20,000 men all lined up close together. That arrow's going somewhere.
After the archery was the joust. It was a lot of fun to watch, and Patrick spent most of his time laughing at their antics. It started with just some general feats of amazingness, from races to equine tricks. My favorite knight was Sir William Coffington. When he announced himself, his claim was that he couldn't lose "because his hair was fabulous today." I'm going to post a bunch of the jousing pictures together at the end, so you can see them. I was quite impressed at the tricks they were turning. Sir William is the one with the black and white(silver) flag.




There was also a royal falconer, with a peregrine. What a pretty bird.

Well, out of the six comments on my last post, only three (four if I count Emily) were entries. Tomorrow I'll draw a name from a hat for the winner and let you know. It's a shame more people didn't stop by--I have some awesome little goodies for the winner.

Halloween has always been a strange holiday to me. I know all the history behind it and all that jazz, and that's not what makes it strange. As I've grown older, and as I watch my generation progress, I'm beginning to realize that young people my age--and even younger now--are turning any holiday they can into a reason to have a party and get flat-face drunk. Now, I don't hold anything against them for doing so. Well, no, I DO hold something against them. Halloween, to me, has always belonged to the kids. Nine-year-olds walking around as princesses and power rangers, gathering up huge sacks of candy that will only last them two weeks. That doesn't mean that adults or older kids can't celebrate, but I always wonder if there is a holiday out there besides Christmas that isn't being used as an excuse to get drunk?
There's a girl I work with who turns 18 this February. She has more drunk stories than almost any of my legal friends. It's depressing to listen to this young girl talking about going out that night to get "shit-faced." I do not deny her her right to drink, though I wonder when parents stopped teaching kids the meaning of moderation, or tolerance. When we made it so easy for morals to be ignored so that 17-year-old kids think it's cool to drink and smoke all the time, or worse yet do drugs.

Sorry, I didn't mean for this to turn into such a serious post. Just some introspective thought.

Anyway, I have to go prepare for work. I'm working the cut table tonight, which means that I spend all my time tethered to the oven. Hope I don't sweat to death.

Happy Halloween!

October Surprises

Well, after the little run-around yesterday morning, I've come away today with a painful knowledge of how I beat myself up sliding around in the mud. Half of my back muscles are strained from jolting them after my footing slipped, my legs are still exhausted from climbing, and my hands, arms, and the back of my neck are scratched all over the place from those damn sticker bushes.
In addition to that, last night at work was not a wonderful time at all. A birthday party of 30 people filtered in slowly, claiming they'd spoken to a manager three days previous. After checking the schedule and some small communications with the people on that day, we'd deduced that they hadn't been in contact with us about this at all. Whatever, I said, I'll take care of them if Cat can just cover a few extra tables to help me out.
Those 30 people took over and trashed half of our dining room for about two and a half hours. Now, I'm used to cleaning up after big parties, and it was no big deal until I found the confetti on the ground. And the streamers, and the cake that had been ground into the carpet. And the table flooded by a spilled drink. And the empty party poppers that had, before use, contained no small amount of said confetti and streamers. As they left (thank god I asked Erik to add gratuity to the bill) they said, "Wow! We really left a mess for you, didn't we?"
Yes, yes you did. Jerks.
So I started cleaning. It took me a little over two hours to tame that half of the dining room back into some semblance of cleanliness, with some help from my manager. The other server, Cat, left without assisting me in any way.

Patrick picked me up, and we went home. I goofed around on my computer as I relaxed for a bit, and then we went to bed around 12. I slept like a log, and didn't wake up until almost 10. It was very nice, until I rolled over and cringed as my back protested. But I said all that already.
I've spend most of my day off today knitting, working on a project with Bob, and doing laundry. Relaxing. The knitting has been very peaceful, especially with two snoring dogs keeping my legs warm. Even if I can't feel my feet any more.

So! This brings me slowly to today's title. I'm having a blog contest! My first one ever. Here's how to enter: leave a comment and tell me the story (abridged, if you can, please) about your greatest knitting improvisation, and what (if anything) you learned from it. It could be a pattern change, an equipment substitution, or you can tell me about how you knit with three fingers and your mouth that year you broke your wrist.
I'll pick the best and I have goodies for the winner. Doesn't it sound like fun? Spread the word among your friends, anyone can enter.

Hope to hear from you!

Well I was layin' out wire on number 9
Now when she come down to earth
And she was talkin' real loud
All about she was gonna save the universe
I went and snuck a lil' peek in her blue eyes
And words just aren't enough
She had me off and runnin'

Yoko Kanno ~ Diggin'