The Day After

So Christmas Day has come and gone, but the season never ends. In fact, it's just begun. We still have Sunday afternoon in Newton, Monday night in Cambridge, and next Saturday at our house. I have yet to finish Jeremy's scarf (which I think Sam is going to take credit for) and after that I'll have to start looking for another project to begin. Or I could actually FINISH something, like Mike's vest, before the moths get to it, but I'm at a pain-in-the-neck place and I'm not certain I'm up for the challenge just yet.

Christmas was a surprisingly nice day. I got up an hour before everyone else to lay out the Santa gifts, and make another apple pie to take to my mom's. We then opened all the presents and I think everyone was, if not surprised, then at least happy. Showered, and drove to Mom's for dinner. When we got there she had 3 other small dogs (that makes 4 total). Before dinner Sam, Anna, Mike and I each took a leash and walked those little rug rats. We also stopped at Butch's and picked up Tyson, but he certainly slowed down the walk. We looked like the Piped Piper of Palmer as we walked through the streets with all those dogs.

Butch and Terri, Jess and Dwayne came for dinner and it was fun, if not crowded. Mom's food was excellent. Eddie, Lynn, Carissa and Nathan came for dessert so the house became even crazy. Sort of like Christmases of old. Sam won "Pick" twice. She's got quite the streak going.

After all that we headed home about 7 p.m. and then the girls went out with friends and I pretty much collapsed. We did watch the movie "In Bruges" with Colin Farrell. A very DARK comedy.

Today, back to work. Anna went in at 9 this morning and at 5:30 she's still not out. That's a lot of letter opening. And I'm back in here from 9 to 5 tomorrow. Can't wait.

A Day of Shopping

Ok, I'll admit when I'm wrong. And I had mentioned to a couple of close friends that I wasn't all that excited to have my oldest daughter home from college for the extended period that she was going to be home (Dec. 14th - Jan. 28th without a chance of a job). I knew she would drive me crazy with her hours (late), her hording of glassware and dishes in her room, and general aimlessness. But I admit it. . .I was wrong. Her sheer joy of life, her warmth and general kindness make up for all of the stuff that drives me nuts.

Spent the day Christmas shopping with this daughter. Her generosity in the face of a shrinking bank balance amaze me. The fact that she continues to buy gift after gift for her sister, when that sister barely manages to come up with one gift, makes me want to both hug her and slap her upside the head. As she said though, "I keep thinking if I buy Anna lots of stuff, maybe she'll start being nice to me," shows her "half-full" way of thinking, versus my half-empty way. She must get it from her dad.

The shopping wasn't that bad today. Lots of stuff on sale and of course I spent more than I should have. But except for a new faucet for my Mom's kitchen sink (don't ask, Mike wants to take care of this gift for my mother), and some last minute grocery shopping, I think I'm about ready for the holiday. I'll do the shopping in the morning, make a couple of apple pies, go to Cathy's for Christmas Eve (I still wish the girls would go with us, but I understand), then come home and maybe we can all watch a movie or play cards or something together. In the morning it will be Santa time (with 19 & 17 year olds; but I can't give up the Santa thing yet), then off to Palmer to spend time with Mom, Butch, Terri and whoever else shows up.

I'd like to stop at the cemetery to say hi to Gramps and Auntie Rena on Christmas morning too. I know the snow will be deep, and I understand that I can talk to them whenever and wherever, but it still feels special to be there. Every year there are less and less people, people I love, and the missing is more acute with the more people around you.

I feel like this year the holiday flew at me with little warning. And now it's here. And then it will be gone.

It's that time again

And I could mean Christmas, but I'm actually thinking about snow. How could I not? It's only been doing it for 3 solid days. I've never shoveled so much in my life. And my lower back can certainly tell the tale.

Of course a weekend of solid snow, while pretty and relaxing with staying at home, certainly put a crimp in my Christmas shopping. I had to dash out to Circuit City for an inexpensive webcam and Christmas Tree Shoppe for a 4 picture frame for the girls to fill for Mike. It was a nice surprise to find that neither place was crowded and I got in and out in about 15 minutes (with what I needed!).

The joke here at the library has been that there has been no where to park at the main library or either of the branches. In it's infinite wisdom, the Somerville (MA) DPW decided it was more important to plow out all the schools (which are closed until after Christmas) instead of the libraries (which are open every day except Christmas). I hope someone is getting a raise over there for the prioritizing abilities.

So this weekend . . . finished Sam's scarf, got all my gifts wrapped (except for the ones that I've yet to buy) and got the tree up and trimmed. Haven't brought out all the snowglobes (Anna usually hounds me about that, but she's been quiet this year and I don't feel like dragging them all up from the basement). Mike went out and bought the tree on Thursday night when I was working. Anna wouldn't go with him and Sam was at school so this was another year he did it himself. All I can say is that Charlie Brown is laughing at this tree. It's just awful. And what makes it worse is that unlike other years when he spent $10 bucks on an awful tree, this year he spent $40 on an awful tree.

This tree was so bad that as we were turning it to find the "good" side, we couldn't find one. And big branches kept falling out as we were trying to find a good side. We ended up having to stuff them in but I'm sure they'll be brown and dry by the time Mike's family comes on the 3rd for the family holiday.

Ok I'm off. We had to cancel our dinner tonight (Ellen and Denise and I) because the roads were so crappy this morning. We'll do it next week. I'm sure it will be fun.

Just one of those nights

First, on an up note, the weather is awesome, at least temperature wise. The rain is a matter of taste (I actually like rain) but it being 60 degrees in December is a treat and there's no way around it.

The downside of warm weather is that it brings LOTS of people out and about, including the library. I've already saved 2 separate patrons with software problems (can no one ever learn to SAVE?). So I've taught people tonight 1) how to size photos in Word without losing their proportionality; 2) How to actually save a document and email to yourself; 3) How to do spell check; and probably other things that I'm trying to block from my memory. On the upside, it is making the evening fly by.

This morning I made an apple pie from scratch and a decadent chocolate cake from scratch (can you tell I love to bake?). Mike has the bookclub at our house tonight and made the main dish and cleaned the house. He also does a good part of the cleaning, which makes this a win/win for me. I get to go home and find yummy leftovers and a still-clean kitchen.

I've been slaving away on the scarves for Sam and her friends. Anna grabbed hers first off, so forget about her getting it for Christmas. I haven't taken any pictures yet but plan to and upload them to ravelry. Got more yarn yesterday so I'll get cracking on that. I'd love to be able to knit at the reference desk, but it's been so busy lately that I'd probably lose my place and rip out more than I actually knit.

Making my first foray to IKEA tomorrow evening. Although I'm excited to see what it's like (I've heard good things), it's not a shopping trip but a picking up trip. And then shelping the stuff back to Cambridge and spending an hour or more setting the crap up. So basically it's a ride to Stoughton, standing around, and then watching Mike put together a sink basin. Oh goodie. After a full day at work.

Haven't even begun to decorate for Christmas. We aren't having the family over until Jan 3rd, so I'm going to put up the tree later rather than early, otherwise it'll just be kindling by the time we have the family party.

Ok enough for now. I'm actually tired and still have an hour and 20 minutes before closing. The fun never ends.

Catch up time

So it's been a while. Thanksgiving flew by and how Christmas is on the way. I've got some shopping done (because I've been doing lots of it online) but have no ideas for my mom or for Mike. I've still got to finish up the lacy shawl I'm making her for her birthday. I had one finished (it's actually around my shoulders right now) but she liked the colorway of the one I was working on and opted to get that when I finished it. So it's not MY fault she'll get Christmas and birthday gifts at the same time (hopefully).

It was weird having the holiday dinner at Linda's instead of at my in-laws. It was nice but my daughters were seriously disappointed in the food. That's not because Linda's not a good cook; it's because my father-in-law is such a spectacular one. We really missed his stuffing and tortolini soup. But Sam cornered him at the end of the day and got a promise out of him that he'd make her stuffed mushrooms when she got home from college. And I know she'll hold him to that promise.

I've been knitting quite a bit (but not on mom's shawl). Sam's roommates (friends) each wanted a scarf to go with their winter coats and Sam asked me to do it because they keep stealing hers. I got one done and was well on my way to the second when Anna saw it and co-opted it because it went perfectly with her coat. So I guess I'll be making more than expected. But they go fast (double yarn and size 13 needles).

Last night was Anna's soccer banquet. She was again named to the GBL All-Star team and was Coach's Choice. That was the height of irony. But whatever. The season was difficult for her but she played extremely well, handled herself like an adult and managed to pull 4 A+s and 3 As for her first quarter grades. High school soccer will soon be a distant memory and bad coaching is something you learn from, even if soccer isn't what you learn. She's also found a job at Century Bank. We find that she's most organized and focused when she's busy. She may be lots of things but lazy isn't one of them.

All for now.

Another Rainy Saturday

It's funny. . . I only seem to find the time to post while I'm working on the reference desk or another public desk here at the library. Otherwise I'm too busy at work and have other things to do at home.

It's been an interesting week. Younger daughter went out to Amherst to visit classes and get (another) feel of the place this weekend. She drove out with friends but spent the last 2 nights with her sister. Tonight she's back to southwest to stay with the friends she had driven out with. I can't get a feel if she's interested in actually attending the school, but she definitely likes spending weekends.

I was glad she stayed with Sam for a couple of days. I feel like when Sam's home they are both so busy with friends that they don't have a lot of time together. I do know they talk alot on the phone and online but it's always been important to me that they keep their relationship strong. There's no greater gift in the world than a sister and I want them to cherish that relationship.

It's given us a taste of what life will be like in September when both girls are off at college. And what it will be like is QUIET. No loud music, slamming doors, arguments about the car, and waiting up for everyone to get home from socializing. Somehow it's easier to sleep if you don't know exactly where they are and aren't expecting them to walk through your door.

But it's also kind of lonesome. I'm already feeling the "empty nest" feeling. I'm guessing a dog is in my future shortly. The cat is nice, but only on her terms.

Feeling Blue

I'm hoping it's just been a long week. After constant dieting, I'm not seeming to lose any weight and I'm just discouraged and feeling tired all the time. And I should be excited that my sister will be visiting my mom this weekend and I'll go by to see her, but it just seems to feel like a pain in neck. Maybe when I get out of work a nice glass of wine will brighten my mood, but right now a long night's sleep would be the best thing, if I could manage to sleep through the night.

We found out yesterday that we didn't get the house that we had put an offer on. There were 11 offers and it ended up going to the people that bid $50,000 over the asking price. Considering that it needs probably another $150,000 worth of worth on top of the $559,000, I can't believe that people would offer above that asking price. I felt bad at first, but am not sure why. I didn't want to buy it in the first place. There's no driveway or garage, it's much bigger thanwe need (the point of moving out of our current home would be to downsize). So we were dazzled by the beautiful detail and ignored the downsides like no heat in the first floor apartment, rodents in the basement, lack of parking, etc. So all in all, we probably dodged a bullet, but it still feels like we lost something.

Am driving out to Amherst tomorrow and Sam has given me a long list of stuff she needs me to bring (snow boots, winter coat, nail polish, makeup, gel, I could go on and on). Some stuff I already have, some she'd like me to buy because, well, it's cheaper for her when I buy it. Oh, and could I spend the night baking for she and her friends, because homemade cookies are so much more tasty than the stuff in the dining commons. I hope someday they actually appreciate me.

I think I'll make the carrot cake cupcakes that I made a few weeks ago. They were really easy and really good. If I decide to stop by my mom's while I'm in western Mass, I should make some for them too. And although Anna is into day 2 of her eating healthy kick, I'm sure she'll want some too.

I'm glad I'm typing this, because I just realized I left my long list of stuff to get in my office. I'm going to run back there now before I have to throw everyone out of the children's room so we can all go home.

Oh, and regrets to the New England Revolution for losing last night. They definitely were the bad luck kids with injuries, penalties, etc. It just got sad at the end.

Another Wednesday Night

and I'm sitting on the reference desk, bored out of my mind. I miss the days in Belmont when people actually had questions that needed answering and not just monitoring computer usage.

Most people are yawning and tired after staying up to watch the political speeches last night. I must say McCain was much more gracious than I had anticipated; probably more so than I would have been if I had lost. I only hope that Obama doesn't disappoint. He so inspired the youth to get out and vote, he's got a huge responsibility now to live up to his hype. Almost more than an ordinary human would be able to handle. I don't envy him the stress.

We put an offer in on the house on Prospect Hill. Have not heard yet whether we will get it or not. Not sure if we want it or not. It's a gorgeous place but needs an enormous amount of work. Maybe this is the project that will fill the empty nest I'm anticipating in September. Maybe a puppy would be a smarter and more manageable project.

I have begun another shawl, either for me or my mother. I'll have to see which colorway works best with my gray coat. But I am seeing her this weekend so I guess I'll have to be satisfied with the one that's currently not finished and give her the one that is.

Finally Friday

It's been a really long week. I worked a Sunday afternoon shift this week (at double-time). The deal I made with myself is that I'd work 1 Sunday a month and give the $$ I made for that shift (about $275 takehome) to my older daughter at college for spending money as long as she did the internship that I thought would be a good experience. And I certainly don't mind sitting on a reference desk for 4 hours doing not much, but it makes Friday all that much sweeter when it finally rolls around.

I finished my nephew Steve and his girlfriend Audry's housewarming afghan last night. It's a little shorter than I wanted, but I'll block it tonight and then DH and I will make plans to meeting with them for breakfast or something and give it to them now that the weather is getting colder. I like how it came out and I guess the cat did too because I hadn't had it off the needles for 10 minutes before she was stretched out on it like it was her job (actually I guess it is her job; she does nothing else but eat).

So now that that project is finished I've given myself permission to start on a shall/scarf to go with my winter coat. I hope I finish it before winter is over. I was going to knit during the staff meeting today, but the discussion of budget cuts, cuts to state aid, city hall crap and then my depressing news and the computer situation didn't seem like knitting was appropriate. Sort of like Madam Defarge.

I'll post some photos of the finished afghan here if I can get any that look good. When I take a photo, the color is off. The yarn name is Nutmeg, but in photos it looks either too red or too dark brown.

Quieting Down?

Well, I feel like things are settling down somewhat on the homefront, but reaching chaos status at work. Why can't things balance out to a steady pace?

College daughter has found her phone, stopped hating her friends, and picked up school work as a priority again. I don't ask that she be perfect but I do expect responsible. And her "lost weekend" just pissed me off. And after losing and finding her phone, she felt that me buying her a new one was in order. Think again, honey. You don't get rewarded for stupid behavior.

Younger daughter is nearing the end of her sports for the fall and has finished her applications to the 2 colleges she plans to apply to Early Action. With days to spare! She has handled the teacher and guidance recommendations, the essay and all aspects of this mostly herself, except for needing me to cough up my credit card number to pay for the application. NOW SHE NEEDS TO GET A JOB, of which she's not all that motivated. We thought she'd be working at the library with me, but because of the state of the state, we have a hiring freeze until further notice.

If I start thinking about how short staffed we are and how much work I have, I may weep as I sit at the reference desk. I'm not sure how I'm going to get all that needs to be done actually done. It's almost like looking at such a mess that you don't know where to begin. I'm trying to break things down into more manageable pieces and giving the staff some responsibility for handling their own stuff. We'll see how that works out.

Longest Day Ever

and it's only 3:32 in the afternoon. It started with an anguished call at 4:00 a.m. from oldest daughter who was, according to her, "somewhere safe and inside" but her phone, ID, $12 and key to her room were missing. The friends she went out with had left (or "ditched" her) and she couldn't reach them because all their numbers were stored in her phone. Luckily she was at a friends house but wanted to be in her own room because she wanted to be undressed and sleeping.

I convinced her to just sleep where she was and get up in the morning, head back to the dorm and have her RA let her in. I was sure that all her stuff would be there (she thought her friends might have taken it). Of course, she went to sleep and I stared at the ceiling worrying. As my husband went back to sleep he said, "Well at least no one died. A call at 4:00 a.m. usually means dead." He is definitely a half full kind of guy.

On my drive to work, she text messaged me from her computer to let me know she was in her room, had her keys and ID, but her money and phone had been stolen and she was never going to talk to her friends again. So I got to contact the cell phone provider, put a hold on her account, find out how she could get a new phone (which she is going to pay for), call my mother and tell her that the luncheon she had planned with this daughter and her friends would have to be postponed, and then go to work to do an 8 hour shift on the Reference Desk.

You know I always wanted daughters, but perhaps sons would have been less drama.

I'm just about finished my shell made out of Berroco Glace Colors. I have to sew up the sides, so it's been sitting there for about 3 days. I hate to sew up the seams. And I'm a quilter. What is this block I have about doing a mattress stitch?

Well, had wanted to watch the Red Sox in game 6 tonight (*goooo Sox) but I'll need a small nap first. 4 hours sleep might be okay when you're 19, but not at my age.

Up and Down Week

Well, it's been a fast and furious week, that's for sure. I titled this "Up and Down" but I'm having a hard time time coming up with the ups. Younger daughter has had a difficult time this week with her soccer coach (long and stupid story) but when one of the kids is upset, that's when they like their mother. Older daughter needs a colposcopy (not sure what it is, but I think it's a modified biopsy) and has to go herself tomorrow a.m. It's times like this that I wish her college wasn't quite so far.

Knitting wise, I've been moving right along on my nephew's housewarming gift (an afghan). The repeat is easy and if I make a small mistake, you can't really see it. I'm liking the pattern and may make it again for the graduation gifts I'll be making for my younger daughers' friends. I did this for the close friends of my older daughter too. There's something about having an afghan to snuggle under when you're away at college. Almost like a hug from mom when she's not there.

Work has been ok. Figured out all the technical problems I was having with the new computers I was installing around the library and at the branches. I've also worked out the bandwidth issue (installing another T1 line, although until June it will need to be at our expense) and have talked to Comcast today to get support for our wireless.

Hopefully, the weather this weekend will be nice (last weekend it rained for 4 straight days) and I can get some work done around the house. I did get a haircut and highlights last Saturday, but darling hubby hasn't even noticed yet. I expect he will when he looks at the Mastercard bill.

Until next time. . .

Another Try

Well, I wrote a long entry yesterday and when I hit publish, the post was lost. I was feeling discouraged about the state of the new computers that I purchased for the library; they would not print to the LAN printers. Not print. . .they couldn't even see them. But after much thought and trial and error, I have the first one printing. Now I need to install 4 more and I'm not sure how I got the first one to print. So it's g0ing to continue to be a long week.

On another front, I'm not sure I'm going to continue knitting the tank I had started for myself. I'm using a sport weight yarn instead of worsted. Because of this, I made a larger size. I'm thinking it's going to be too thin and too big. I'm going to continue on the back and then try to get an idea of if I like it or not. For some reason, I must have a totally distorted body image. Everything I've ever made comes out way too big. That's one of the reasons I've been sticking with shawls and afghans recently. If they're too big, who cares?

Went to my younger daughter's soccer game today. She played really well, but I know so far her senior year has been really difficult and frustrating. She's been feeling overwhelmed with school work, college applications, soccer (she's captain again this year so feels she must be a positive influence, even when she's not feeling it), boyfriend, thinking about getting a job, etc. It sucks that so much pressure's put on a 17 year old. I fear what she'll be like next year, especially if she goes into engineering, like she plans. I don't remember ever having this much on my plate in high school. But then again, I didn't play a sport (I wasn't allowed to, even if I hadn't been a total klutz; I was a girl) and didn't really care all that much about school. But I did start to care at the end of college!

Ok, off to work again.

ps: just found the post I wrote the other day. It was in drafts so I've let it go.
pps: Happy happy birthday to my beautiful sister. I miss you and wish you were closer.

Computer Woes

I've been feeling overwhelmed the past 24 hours, with the clusterf*** of the computer situation her at the new job. Yesterday, I worked in the East Branch in the morning, did the iii Java update and felt things were moving along swimmingly. THEN the crap hit the fan and in a most unexpected way.

I went over to the West Branch after a very abbreviated lunch (got to talk to my older daughter on the phone as I ate and she walked back to her dorm from class). Had a brand spanking new computer for the public; had worked out all the glitches (or so I thought) before I left my office, so all I would have to do is swap out the old one and drop this shiny new computer and the public and library staff would love me. And it goes relatively smoothly (as smoothly as things go with computers). So I do the iii update on those Circ computers and am about to leave when !!! oh, I forgot to connect the new computer to the public printer.

And then the problems begin. The new computer can't SEE the printer. And I can't figure out WHY. The IP address is good, all the numbers look fine, so what's wrong? Well, I don't know. The only thing I can figure is it's because the new computer is a WinXP and the computer that the printer is attached to is Win2000. So I've been researching this morning as I do my 9-1 in the Children's room and I think I have an idea what it might be.

After leaving the computer problems behind, I ran and did $150 worth of grocery shopping, home to unpack and put it all away, and then begin Mike's Birthday dinner. My girls usually want a homemade cake (Decadent Chocolate Cake from the Silver Palate Cookbook) for their birthdays, but Mike always wants my cioppinio (sp?) which is an incredible amount of work. We finally got down to eat about 7:30 p.m.

Did do about a half hour of knitting on this tank I'm making. I have no idea how this is going to turn out. I took apart 2 different projects on Saturday and I hope this one doesn't follow suit.

Another Saturday in Paradise

Ok, so that's a joke. I'm doing my 7 hours here at the Reference Desk and I'm feeling uninspired. I've answered a bunch of repetitive questions about how to get on the Internet and how to print. If I could do my knitting while I sat here, it would make the time go so much faster. But all I can think about at the moment is that I've got the tank in my bag in my office and it's calling my name to be knitting it. And that afghan at home by my chair wants me to be adding rows to it. And here I sit.

One thing I have been able to do is mentally spend $$ on all the yarn that is on sale in my SumptuousYarnSale.com email. I think I've picked out my next 3 projects and have the yarn choices all ready. But this is a common problem for me. I continue to buy more and more yarn, with projects in mind, but when the time comes for me to begin a new project, I go with something else entirely.

Gave DH his birthday present last night and I think he really liked it. I bought an iPod Shuffle and loaded it with 249 of his favorite songs from about 25 different albums. Buying the thing was easy; uploading all the music to iTunes and synching it to the Shuffle took more time. Good thing he was out of town for 3 days this week.

Blogging Virgin

So I've never been able to keep up on a diary (not even when traveling, when it's fairly important to remember where those pictures were taken), but I'm going to make the effort now. My new job has required me to do a 6-9 shift in the Children's Room and as may be obvious to many, it's not that busy in the Children's Room later in the evening. So, here I sit, reading blogs and deciding it's time for me to take the leap. Even if I'm the only one reading this.

I'd love to pull out the knitting project that's sitting in the bag by my feet, but I'm guessing it would be viewed as fairly unprofessional. That said, I might get some of the kids that are wandering through interested in something besides games on the computer and DVDs of Hannah Montana and the Cheetah Girls.

I've just finished the book How to be Single by Liz Tuccillo. My mother wondered if my reading that particular book said something about the state of my marriage. Perhaps? Something to consider.