What Can I Say. I Lead a Dull Life.

My back yard at sunset.

Nothing going on in my life except counting the days down to retirement. Four weeks and two days. The really good news is one of those days is a holiday. That means I only have to go to work for 21 days. Just 21 more days at the hole of heck. The end is in sight and I am pretty happy about it.

I will miss my coworkers. They are nice folks.

This is to make me think of warmer times

It Is Too Dang Cold

I tried to set up the valet parking for myself. I had tried last year and for some silly reason none of my co-workers volunteered. This year I tried to make it easy for each of them. I set up a schedule and assigned them each a day. Pigs that they are, each and every one of them declined the opportunity. How very cruel of them. I don't get to work early after all. Now I have to walk in the bitter cold from my car to the building. Life is rough.

Good Looking is going to make the good bye cards for me to give to these "we will not provide valet service" folks. I am now thinking that the cards are too good for the likes of them. I may just allow them to have a glimpse of the card they could have had if they had been nicer? What do you think?

Five Weeks and a Day

When I made up my mind to retire I had a 40 week wait until my retirement date, the same length of time for a pregnancy. Waiting for retirement and waiting to give birth have a lot of similarities. For both of them time has a strange Sci Fi quality. It both barely moves and moves with the speed of light. Many times this wait to be retied, just like the wait to see that baby seems to be never ending and then all at once the due date is just around the corner. The big difference is, even with a lot less preparation I feel a lot more prepared for retirement then I did to be a first time mom.

Hopefully I will enjoy retirement as much as I enjoy being a mom.

Because I have 5 weeks and a day. Just 5 weeks and a day. Just 5 weeks and a day. I am excited. I am making plans -- in fact I'm making a list and checking it a lot more then twice. And I have no interest in worrying about who is naughty or nice.

Axe Murder

Some people just don't get the axe murder theory of life. The rules are simple and if you abide by them you will be safe in most instances. After all everyone knows the axe murder is waiting to get any of us but only at certain times.

Rule one--if hubby is out of town, you can't backtrack unless you have a good reason. For example, you can't leave the house after dark unless it is absolutely necessary. If you need to take the kids to a party, you are safe. But if you go out to get the book you left in the car the axe murder might be waiting. And, you can't backtrack and go down stairs once you have gone up for the night. Now you can make numerous trips up and down during the evening, even late into the night; but once you know in you go up for the night you have to stay until dawn at least. The Axe murder moves into the house as soon as you go up - and stays till dawn, but he never goes upstairs.

Rule two--eating out. The whole family is safe from the axe murder so long as the mom does not sit with her back to a main aisle.

Rule three-holes in the walls and dark corners. Of course one should never linger long in a place with holes in the walls or ceilings or dark corners because the axe murder could easily be waiting.

It's obvious I am 55 and alive and well, so these rules have saved me from the axe murder all these years.

I was out Saturday with Sweetie and Good Looking. Sweetie and I talked about my theory of the axe murder and she thought I was goofy. Silly Sweetie!

Getting Ready To Say Good Bye

I have 6 more weeks (and half a day) left to work. This morning I’m thinking of all the friends I’ll miss, the family I am leaving. While I am ready to go, leaving my co-workers makes me sad. I want them all to know what they have meant to me over the years, how much they have added to my life. I plan on writing them each a short note, telling them how important they have been to my life. I want to, I need to … but somehow I don’t know how to start.

First I think I’ll start with Ke, I’ve known her the longest and she is my husband’s ethical twin. But then I tell myself-I can’t start with her. I have too much to tell her. There is too much to say, but I can’t say it. I can’t tell her how much she has meant to me over the years, it’ll sound mushy and neither of us are the mushy type. It will be easier to start with someone else and work up to Ke.

So I think I’ll start with La-she’s the newest. But she has only been here for a few days and I don’t know her well enough to say anything personal. I have to have more time to get to know her.

I could write one to Dy, but we are sisters in so many ways, each one of 5 siblings, each cursed with a big mouth and each the mother of two. How do I write a note saying thanks for sharing this time, when the time isn’t over yet?

Or Ti-Ti is a younger, cuter, more energetic version of me. We have similar parenting styles; we are both goofy and have a good sized touch of the free spirit. How do I put in words all she has added to my life? She makes me laugh. She pushes me to parent more and help the boys grow up and learn to cook and do their own laundry. She has a big heart.

Or My, My is the me I would like to be. She is kind, loving and generous. She used to be the one to organize all that needs to be organized, though now a few of the newer co-workers have started to share that responsibility. She always has an open ear and a willing heart. At the same time she is strong and self assured. She may not do it often, but when appropriate she can and does put a transgressor loving in their place.

Pt – Writing his note is the one that will be the hardest because it is the one that matters the most to me. And I don’t know where to start.

Rh-she loves my boys almost as much as I do. And I love her son in the same way. I always find myself smiling when I think of Ruth. She is smart, creative, generous and loving.

De-she lent me her daughter-to watch my boys when they were young. De is a person who believes in commitment and honor. She is a strong woman and a caring woman.

In fact I think the reason the people I work with are so important to me is they are all loving, caring people. They all reach out and help. I will miss them all very much.

New Year's Resolution Update

I broke the “knit from the stash” resolution. Three times. It started out innocently; I went to a store to buy some blue Lamb’s Bride Bulky to finish the rainbow bag I am making. They didn’t have any bulky, but they had worsted in a blue color. Even though I don’t really like the blue they had I bought it and some sock yarn-after all sock yarn is always allowed. That add to the stash purchase one. Add to the stash purchase three also started out innocently, since I didn’t like that blue, I decided to see if another local store had a better blue. They didn’t but they had these incredibly beautiful, hand painted skeins-expensive hanks-very expensive hand painted hanks. So I had to buy two. And a fun scarf yarn and two eyelash yarns that were on sale. All in all it added up to add to the stash purchase number two. All I can say to explain add to the stash purchase number three is this addiction is a disease. I had yarn on the mind and I realized that the yarn I bought for the hoodie came in two huge hanks that needed to be winded into balls. It would take forever using the hang on the chair method and I would be busy when I retired. Much to busy for that. So I ordered a knitting swift (I blame Wendy of Wendy Knits) and a ball winder and some cotton yarn. And I still want some Lamb’s Pride Bulky, since I am out of money I need to wait.

I have kept the no booze resolution, even through a party we hosted, two dinners out, and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I do miss it a little.

Boy A is "The Man"

Boy A made a wonderful, delicious dinner last night. Spaghetti and meatballs, Cesar salad and peppermint ice cream with hot fudge sauce. He planned the menu, looked up the recipes, guided the shopping trip and made most of the meal. Granted he would not put his hands in the meat mixture to form the meatballs and he asked for some help here or there, but he did a great job, made a fantastic dinner and I am very, very impressed. He gets a gold star.

This age is so interesting, he veers between being an angel and a devil, sometimes the shift is just minutes apart.

I was catching up on my blogs last night and saw that Vast Verandah dissed my loved Crocs. She posted a picture of a pair of manly orange Crocs walking (on some man’s feet) around the National Zoo, saying no woman should allow a man to leave his house dressed in Crocs. The good news is even though Hubby loves his orange Crocs he would not leave the house with them one. He too things they are way too ugly to be worn in public. I love my Crocs! Both pairs. I have the blue “professional” Crocs and the purple everyday ones. I continually have to talk myself out of buying a third and fourth pair, I mean they have pink, lime green, bright yellow. How is a girl to limit herself to just blue and purple? And I wear them frequently. They make a statement. Of course it is a different statement to everyone who sees them, but to me they say I am me. I am free to dress, think and feel in a way that makes me happy. And wearing Crocs makes me happy.

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

But things will get better.

I Resolve

I’ve made and flubbed New Year’s resolutions for way too many years. John Kelley in his column in the Washington Post had a novel idea. Instead of making resolutions for himself and then failing miserable within a few days, he decided to make resolutions for people around him, his wife, his kids, fellow commuters, co-workers. I really liked the idea. I started with making resolutions for hubby and the boys and was moving on to the pets, but I gave up. Hubby and the boys made it very clear that if I made resolutions for them they would make them for me. I gave up on my list for them because I couldn’t make them see how very unfair that was. They kept saying things like what is good for the gander is good for the goose and turnabout is fair play. I disagreed strongly, but … it looks like I lost.

1) I did make three resolutions for 2007. I am giving up booze for a year. It is just empty calories and all I would have to say it has lost its thrill.

2) I will eat dessert once a month, only once a month. The reasons for no booze apply here too-empty calories and the thrill is gone. Well, the thrill isn’t really worth the price.

3) This one is retirement related and just plain boring so I will save you and not write it down.

I guess I really made four resolutions. Number 4 is modified from Wendy Knits. She is knitting from her stash for the next nine months. I’m knitting my projects until I am completely finished, including blocking, putting together and wearing at least half of the following list:
finish Kathy’s Christmas present 75% complete
finish MIL’s Christmas present – scarf made from Moda Dream yarn 75% complete
finish Al’s Christmas present – scarf made from Lion’s band suede 75% complete
finish my lavender sweater - Paton’s Grace and 30% complete
knit lap blanket – blues and greens from the stash and only barely started.

Start and finish the following
Quivet scarf
Oceania Hoodie
Sari Silk Vest
Mason Dixon felted rectangle
Felted bags from
Noro
Lamb’s Pride Bulky

Quilting projects that need to be finished
kimono silk which just needs to be quilted
Boy A’s which needs lots of finishing on the top before it will even be ready to be quilted

Of course according to Wendy, socks are not included in the knit from this resolution. That is good, because I plan on taking a class to learn how to make socks in March and will need to really practice

I think I have plenty of projects I need to finish before I spend money on another one. So my goal is to complete at least half of the above list before I add any new projects. Thank goodness I am retiring- it’s the only way I’ll have time to get any of this done.

My gripe is my laptop is on the fritz again. I miss it, though I think the boys miss it even more.