Here we are again

Well, here we are again -- the random ramblings sort of rambled away and disappeared, didn't they? Life has ben very interesting for the past year-and-a-bit.

Let's see... In May, hubby and I did our 5-year wedding anniversary cruise. We had rough seas in the open ocean, as you can see from the photo. We had a fantastic time, and we're both looking forward to doing it again when we don't have raging colds!

In June, the property where I was boarding Dancer and Tes was sold, so I moved the horses and followed Andrea to her new temporary place. (It's temporary because she will be moving elsewhere sometime this fall.) We all worked our tails off to get the new place ready in late June and early July. Then hubby and I helped our friends with the Pirates of Puget Sound at the Tall Ships Festival for the July 4 weekend.

However, my feet didn't stop hurting after all of that. The pain was bad enough that I actually went to the doctor for the first time since I went to the doctor to ask about the arthritis in my hands in 1997 or so, and he laughed me out of the office. After x-rays and much hemming and hawing, they finally decided that I have osteoarthritis in my feet! So I've been trying to be good and take vitamins, but they make me ill (literally), so we're still working on that.

I'm still working at Ben Franklin, with my own company and with the horses. However, I decided earlier this year that retail management wasn't for me, and that I would much rather concentrate on my business matters and on the vaulting team. The head coach Andrea will be moving elsewhere this fall, which means I needed to step up and start coaching the team between her visits! Fortunately, I also have coaching help from the previous team captain, Cortney, and the current team veteran, Sarah, both of whom are fabulous, invaluable young ladies. (Boy, that makes me sound like an old lady, but it sure feels like it some days!) The whole team is fantastic, and I'm endlessly proud to be in it with each and every one of them.

So we'll still be talking about all the things we didn't before, but hopefully on a more regular basis. Lots of photos to share, and many more to come.

It also looks like Blogspot has added a few more features, and I now have an Etsy shop and a Facebook profile, as well as a few more things, so hang on tight while I figure out how to get those linked as well!

It's a bad sign when the cat doesn't trust you with a knife

I haven't cut myself with a knife for over a year. And yet my MIL is convinced that hubby is terrified of me using a knife. She bought me cloth butcher's gloves (the non-commercial kind) because of this supposed fear. Hubby, of course, was nowhere around in order to help me defend myself against the accusation. (I do a lot of defending on my own for 3 months every winter while my MIL is here -- what else can I do when 2 British-Canadians gang up on an American, no matter how non-typical she is?)

Fine. Everything had settled down, and Mum and I were going to have some cheese and crackers for lunch that day. Our male cat Oscar is a lovely, random little boy who feels (and often IS) guilty about a lot of things and will suddenly tear off around the house. I pick up the knife to cut a slice of cheese, an what does Oscar choose to do at that moment? Yup, nails into the carpet, and off goes the grey streak to the other end of the house. What does Mum say?

"It's a bad sign when the cat doesn't trust you with a knife!"

Fortunately, we had a good laugh about it and continued on. Having your MIL living with you for 3 months is not for the faint of heart. This is now the 3rd year of this arrangement (I won't go into the details of why), and we seem to have most of the problems worked out. Granted, I'm running around so much that very little designing is getting done, but when I finally do say that something must be done that isn't on her schedule, I'm allowed time to do it. So it's a matter of putting my foot down at strategic times.

Also in this process, I'm learning how to knit socks! It's using a photocopy Mum has from a 1940s pattern book, and I'm using size 3 needles instead of 2 (because when I was ready to start, I didn't have a set of 2s), so they're a little bigger than they should be, but one sock is done, and the other is ready to have its heel turned. Woohoo!


Oops. Thanks, Zoe. Let's try that again...


Also on the finished project list is a cabled scarf from Big Needle Knitting. This is my first cabled item ever. I've finally figured it out! I've also discovered that I really kinda dislike working on the bigger needles. Go figure!


A couple of fun bits of news. 1) Lulu.com sales continue. (Yay, and thank you, whoever you are!) 2) I'm now on Ravelry! I think there's a sidebar option for that here, so will attempt to add that shortly. Screen name: horsenround.

Well, it's time to go. I'll try not to leave you hanging for another 13 days this time. I have a friend & client coming over to go through web site things this morning. However, before I go, here's a lovely pair of bookmarks from a costumer friend whom I will be visiting tonight...



Aren't they gorgeous???