Mail delivers frustration (and yarny goodness)
posted in Knitting, Rants, STR and Stash |I’d like to preface this post by saying that this may very well come across as a spoiled brat type of posting. I can accept that, I suppose, but I will challenge it by asking this – since I have only been exposed to mail delivery in one way for many many years, does it really qualify as spoiled to be disappointed in the new (less efficient!) way? I will also say now there will be a picture of my March Rockin’ Socks Club March colorway, so if you don’t want to see it, run away now.
I guess I should explain myself. I grew up on Long Island, in NY. My mail was always delivered to the mailbox that was at the front door – attached to our house. If something didn’t fit in the mailbox, it was left between the screen door and the front door, or a note was left that the package was left with a neighbor, or could be picked up at the post office. (I’m not even discussing the speed at which said mail is delivered – that’s a completely different rant.) When we moved here about 18 months ago, I had my eyes opened to another version of mail delivery – the kind where no matter what size the mail is, it will be shoved by any means necessary into a finite sized box at my curbside. This means if the item is too large and the mailbox doesn’t stay closed, and it’s raining, oh well, looks like everything is getting wet! It also means if you have items that are sent in a hard cardboard protective folder to prevent bending, but the item is jammed into a box with eleventy hundred other things, your “please don’t bend” items are getting bent. I understand the mail carriers here don’t get out of the trucks to deliver the mail, and that is why the mail is curbside. I can’t understand why they think it is ok to cram things in! I can’t tell you how many magazines are destroyed because pages are shred apart. How many of my RSC patterns/pictures have been creased and mutilated – not because the BMFA folks packaged it poorly, but because my mail person(s) have no qualms about bending something that is obviously resisting said bending.
Anyway, in spite of my mail persons best efforts, I received some goodies in the mail yesterday! Once again, my RSC pattern was bent and creased, but my March yarn survived.
I’m not sold so much on the colors (although i think they are prettier in person then shown here, click to see bigger) for me, but I do know someone who would probably love them… The pattern this month is gorgeous though and even if it isn’t in this colorway, I will be knitting up a pair (at least). You’ll have to forgive the lack of image for the pattern, I’m sure you can find it on Ravelry since mine is all crinkly.
I also got some other stuff in the mail that faired better than the pattern did. Thanks to Sheepishone (ravelry link here) I scored some sKnitches Syncopation Self-Striping in the “Serioulsy?” colorway (say that 3 times fast!). I love the description of this yarn – click to see bigger and you’ll see how accurate it is!
blue scrubs, lab coat, Meredith’s grey, anatomy red
It was my 1st purchase from sKNITches, and it was fast, friendly, and won’t be my last! I have NO Idea what pattern I will work this up in, but they will become my Thursday night Grey’s socks no doubt.
Speaking of socks, it seems like forever ago I took a class with Cristi on toe up socks. I learned a lot, but never actually made a grown up pair. (I made a practice pair of baby sized toe ups right after the class to embed what I had learned). I had started a toe in some pretty Trekking, and somehow lost track of it until a few days ago.
I picked them up, knit away on the foot for a bit, and I am almost ready to think about what I might want to do on the leg.
Those increases look pretty severe, but the sock fits so nicely on my foot – weird since my foot shape is nothing like that, but I’m not worrying about it. I just hope I can remember what I did on sock one when the time comes to work on sock two – a problem I wouldn’t have had I used a 2 at a time method. Maybe the next pair…
I’m also still slowly but surely plugging away on Hypotenuse. 2 full repeats down, 14 to go (as of this posting, not as of that picture – it was still shy a few rows of a repeat there)! It’s great TV knitting, and I love the way the alpaca silk feels.
Pi is still in progress, but I have a boo boo to fix (yes, another one. I was cocky and was knitting on it at the Charlotte Purls meeting on Saturday, sitting outside int he gorgeous sunny day chatting with Aimee and Monica (blogless), and I was humbled. I will fix it, just not yet.
There was one other thing besides the bills and a ruined magazine in my mail box yesterday – a set of Pattern Tamers! I’ve been wanting a set of these for awhile, and when Scout got them back in stock, I knew I found the perfect way to spend the balance on my gift certificate – I ordered a set in the rulers ribbon, and I love them! (as an aside, if you click the pic for the full size, you can see the taco salad recipe we use. We substitute ground turkey for the beef, and I use a lot of salsa as a condiment with it, but otherwise, it really is THAT easy.)
My mini vacation days are whooshing by, mainly because I’ve been trying to get some much done (I have to run out in a few to do some more too). Tomorrow we go to the accountant for taxes (joy. We usually do our own thankyouturbotax, but with closing on the house in October and all, we want to make sure we are covering our butts.) and I have one of two plans for dinner (still trying to confirm one so I can either postpone the other or confirm that, if that makes any sense at all) and then Friday – I AM DOING NOTHING. NOTHING!! No really, I am going no where, I am seeing no one. I am sleeping late (for me, 7 is late, but I will take it) No laundry, no errands, no responsibilities AT ALL (except letting the tile guys in to fix the grout that cracked some as the house is settling). I plan to shower only to put new PJs on, and really just be a lump, knitting and catching up on the shows I planned to catch up on already by now.
Because I was reminded I hadn’t posted an update lately on my girl, I thought I would share this pic snapped yesterday morning – complete with evidence of her Carolina clay stained feet. She was following the sun around the house, napping in it most of the day.
She is still having her issues walking, sitting and standing for any real length of time, but she is still as happy and loving as always. We give her Omega supplements, and I bought an entire closeout of her favorite treats (click on agile for details) for hip and joint health (ask Aimee – she was with me when I bought all 18 bags! REALLY. Trinity loves them, they are good for her, and they were being discontinued at the store I bought them from – what would you have done?)
I have to get out and drop off my paperwork to the new job, and a few other errands, and if this headache goes away, I will head down to BAM for knitting tonight (could be my last Wednesday night for a bit so I am going to do my best to be there). Happy Wednesday!
