You Know What That's Like...

You know that feeling. You were just pointing out what seemed like simple facts, then as if there's an echo it returns to your ears. And then that "oh $H!&" feeling takes a hold. This last weekend at the knitting retreat, surrounded by a bunch of gay guys, I gave up trying to keep such phrasings from coming out and just ran with it.

And how was the retreat you may ask? Wonderful. I got one knitting goal done, and three singles for the newest yarn that is currently hanging to dry after it's bath downstairs. I was able to ply it up yesterday morning.

This morning however, I couldn't force myself back to my knitting goals. It's been too long since I spun anything and the wheel won't give it's hold on me up yet. So I started working on a little braid of merino, alpaca, nylon, and silk mix just for fun. I'm thinking I'll have a nice little hank of sock yarn soon. I did continue workingman that little bit of scarf you see there next to my three bobbins. Someday it will be an actual scarf!

This little guy was on the from t porch steps when I got home one day. Very pretty.

So, I told you it's been a crazy month here. I quit the pharmacy. It just became too much in a couple different ways and the most healthy thing to do was to see what my options were. Right now I'm at the yarn store only, and I'm loving it. I've actually had 2 days off in a row! Wow.

Then a couple weeks ago on my way home from the morning dog walk I hit a deer. I know, it still makes me a bit sick thinking about it. Luckily I, nor the boys were hurt. The deer that I thought was done for actually ended up getting back up and hopping away into the woods with it's tail up and flashing white, though she was only on three legs. I'm still hoping that fourth leg was okay in the end. As you can see from the picture, the car isn't to badly damaged. I dropped it off yesterday to get repaired. Fingers crossed that whatever is wrong with the battery will be found out and fixed too.

And before that, while the guy was out for a dog walk they ran into a skunk. Yep, they were skunked. Tucker got it the worse. He actually had the thick gunk in his fur and of course being the fluffiest of the dogs, he stunk for weeks. Well, not stunk. He just had a bit of odor le'weasel on his head and face, especially if he got wet. There wasn't a lot we could do as it was on the skin around his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It just had to break down and dissipate with time.

Because of that he wasn't able to go into the store with me at all for a few weeks. Sullivan being a shy boy goes, but normally only on short days as he just doesn't take to all the activity. See that mope!?!

Our fall colors weren't very spectacular this year. I even tried running down to Saugatuck since I hadn't been there yet and to see what the colors were like closer to the lake. They weren't that great there either. The trees went in stages this year. The reds were early and were off the trees by the time yellows and golds turned. The oaks stayed green even then and now are just drab brown and most everything is down off the trees. I noticed how bare the trees were when I was on my way home from the retreat this last Sunday.

But we did get to walk on the water and have a nice jaunt around the town. Saugatuck is a very pretty little community and as it seems most pretty little coastal town are, is home to many artists.

All Hallows Eve is pretty quiet out here in the country so I spent the evening at work with a little party of knitters. Much chat, food, wine, and fun was had by all.

I miss the Trick or Treaters, but not enough to want to live in a big city. Maybe enough to live in one of the small towns but I like where we're at.

Though living out here and being on our own well we also discovered a draw back. Last year the water heater was replaced and suddenly in October our hot water started to smell vaguely of sulphur. Then not so vaguely. Then it got to the point where you nor the dished felt clean after a scrubbing and the house was starting smell of it. When my friend Matthew asked if he could crash here before the retreat I realized I really wanted to get this fixed.

I know, that sounds expensive, but after just a bit of re-plumbing to allow us access to the hot water heaters tank, it was quite easy. Jut one bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some time. No more stink of sulphur until next time.

Like I said, we've been a bit busy. But I've been enjoying the time home. The time with the boys, and the guy. The time to just be a bit.

And obviously blogging hasn't been high on that list. But I'm still trying to keep it up guys. Thanks for the reminder emails, and the wondering where I've been. It's all encouragement to get on the computer and get something written.

We can all use encouragement, no? These pictures are encouraging me to get up off the bum and walk the boys while The Guy finishes up the new hen house for the winter. Gotta keep those girls warm so they keep laying us eggs!

One of the other things that has kept me from blogging has been negativity. Mine in particular. What causes it? Mainly,w watching the frigg'n news. I know, why do I do that to myself? It's not so much the local news, it's the national news.

Everyday the sheer amount of stupidity, finger pointing, lack of accepting responsibility for our actions, and complete lack of respect or even caring about ones neighbors and worse, ourselves gets me down. Leaves me feeling like trying to write a light and funny blog post is the last thing I want to do. But perhaps, I should. It might make me feel better.

Maybe that needs to be a challenge to myself as we head into the winter months as it seems when we're huddled against the cold, it's even harder to find laughter and light.

I'll see what I can do on that note. But for now, I need to wrap this post up and really, get the kids out.

See, they're begging to go. Maybe I'll take the little one too? She's been spay this last month and could probably use the outing as much as the boys.

To bad she doesn't enjoy as much as I'd hoped for. But oh, she still loves to try to run out the back door when her boys go out without her.

Speaking of the boys, this one doesn't appear to be too upset about being caught on the pillows, does he?

Of course, this bed belongs to this one, and he knows it.

What, you don't want me sleeping on the blanket? Allergies smallergies.

Ahhhhhh.

All these pictures of leaves, leaves, leaves. So heres a video too. I tried playing with he slo-mo action on my phone. It took way more time than it probably should have for me to pull it together. Some people are so not tech savvy.

Oh, and I finally wrapped up that little shawl lI was making out of my handspan yarn! Ooooh, pretty.

Of course I had run into a little problem on one of the eyelet rows and decided that I just wasn't that worried about it. I had thought I had possibly dropped a stitch and searched and searched and then just decided I must have missed a yarn over and in the grand scheme of things, that isn't something I'm going got lose sleep over. When I took it into to show off at the halloween party, Lisa had it in her hand for 30 seconds flat and said, "Oh no Q, You dropped a stitch!" Go figure. I was lucky as I had blocked it somewhat aggressively and it didn't ladder down and now it's been caught and taken care of, so yay!



Oh, and when trying to find that new Adele video everyone's been crying about, I found this version, and can you say "Wow?" What a voice this little girl has. Maybe I need to just spend more time on youtube with awesome singers and watching Ellen clips to feel positive enough for blog clips that add to the smiles across the internet, no?

Oh, and I found this guy while cleaning windows. He made me feel happy. But then, I like nifty not bitey bugs. They rank right up there with frogs and snakes. The spiders I cleaned out of the house seem to be laying low. I just had to take care of it when I could find 4 on the ceiling of the bedroom. It was time for a clean sweep. Literally.

 So, time to leave you, and it's only fittingI leave you with one last leaf. Look, that was two posts for November, and if you scoff at that, it was two more than there were in October.