Monday, September 3, 2007

September already!

September horoscope.

Your confidence is about to climb as troubles of the past begin to melt away. Life is about to swing upward again, dear Cancer. It's been a long wait, but worth it! Wait and see! You Go, Astrology Lady! From your lips to God's ears!

It's so trite to say that the year is flying by, but damn, it is. It's already September, and though I am working toward getting the house on the market, the two houses up the street are well maintained and fairly priced, and they haven't sold. It's discouraging, to say the least.

Today is my last day off before it's back to the Despised Job. I slept so well last night, no work-related dreams, just deep, restful sleep. I want to sleep that way every night.

I am bored by my knitting. My obsession with Flat Things is running its course, and I think the next obsession will be sweaters for myself. But I have no appropriate yarn for these future sweaters, which means I will have to buy yarn, so I am taking my time making up my mind about them. Inspiration will strike, but it hasn't yet. I'm bored by everything I'm working on right now, and I am just plugging along to finish them. Blah. I may start another Flat Thing, like maybe the Flower Basket Shawl in that Misti Alpaca I bought in Asheville last year, just so I have a project that isn't acres of stockinette (the Big Purple Sweater) or ribbing (the Red Scarf scarf, which is almost done, and the Boy's socks).

If I am going to do the Flower Basket Shawl, that means I must fiddle around with the provisional cast-on, which I know is very easy but for some reason I can't explain tends to kick my ass. I think I'll practice it a few times before I cast on for real.

Speaking of Boy, or at least of Boy's socks, Boy's birthday is right around the corner - on 9/9 he turns 27 years old. How the hell did I get old enough to have a son that age? Granted, I was a young mother, but not "knocked up in high school" young.

Of course, being the kind of mother I am, I will stay up all night knitting him a fabulous sweater and baking him cookies send him a check. He has a decent job with good prospects for the future (at last - this was not easy to do in Asheville), but the boy is trying to put together cash for a downpayment on a car that was built in this century. He drives an ancient little Honda affectionately known as the Millenium Falcon ("She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.") It runs fine, but it really looks like a POS, as in "Inspires fear that important parts will fall off on the highway." Last time we spoke he mentioned that he wants to get something newer, something that doesn't get an attitude about starting on chilly mornings, so I will do my part and make a contribution to the cause.

I made two trips to Goodwill this weekend, but none to the gym. I try to tell myself that cleaning out the closet is as good as 3 miles on the treadmill and lifting weights, but this is a lie. Today I will not shirk the gym. The theme for September: Move forward toward my goals. No shirking allowed.

7 comments:

Bess said...

Ha! I want a car like that too. :D

And I am trying hard hard hard to think of all my good resolutions as Adding Good Things to my life - nutrition, strength, time to be awake - as opposed to "cutting out bad things" like .... junk food and lazing about all afternoon - even if I am knitting.

What's the countdown to the real vacation? How many days?

Anonymous said...

How do you do the provisional cast-on? The easiest one I know is to crochet over the needle ... just slip stitch with the yarn behind the needle and grabbing it over the needle with the hook. Much better than chaining and trying to pick up the "purl bumps" on the back of the chain.

Charlotte

Catherine said...

I've done it both ways, it's the picking up the live stitches at the end of the process that I loathe and find awkward as hell. Especially in laceweight alpaca. What was I thinking? I tried a few times this morning, couldn't hit on the right needle size to get a look I liked, and decided I am not in the mood for laceweight alpaca. I think I need to start a small sweater of some sort.

Catherine said...

Bess, the real vacation is about six weeks away. I agree about Adding Good Things rather than taking away/doing without. I know adding those good things vastly improves my quality of life, so it's true.

Elysbeth said...

You might have to bury a St. Joseph in the front yard. Makes the house sell faster. Just remember to take him with you to the new home.

Catherine said...

elysbeth, a few weeks back we had a discussion about burying St. Joe, and I linked to where I will get him. I'm counting on him at this point. One of the houses up the street just dropped their price by $15K in one move. It is well maintained, a nice house. If it doesn't sell at that price, I am not sure what I will do.

dragon knitter said...

i've made the flower basket shawl. IT'S JUST A FEW STITCHES (i'm thinking something like 4 or 6?). if the provisional is bugging you that much, just do anormal cast on, and pick the stitches back up.