Saturday Randomnosity

I'm pretty sure that is not really a word.  But it is now at least in my personal lexicon.  I don't know that it will ever reach the popularity of my favorite personally-made-up word, "Elstwise," but there you go.

Anyway, my brain is to scattered to focus on a focused post so you get this one.

I have just started two pairs of socks.  One pair is for myself, and is Halloween themed.  The other is a pair for The Tim, allegedly for our anniversary on October 28.  Or his birthday on November 18.  Or for Christmas ...

Added to just generally feeling like crap, I am now getting a cold.  Great.

Tomorrow, I'm going to go to Rosie's for a few hours, to see how I do.  I'm not doing a whole shift, but I want to see if I can handle at least a little time.

Apparently I am the only person not worried about getting Ebola.

The Phillies sucked this year, the Pirates lost in the wild-card game, so now I want the Baltimore Orioles to win the playoffs and go to the World Series.

Though I have now lived in Philadelphia for many, many years, I will likely never pronounce the word "street" as "shtreet."

Also, in Philadelphia, there is a Street Road.  That always amuses me.  I do not, however, think there is a Road Street.

Unlike the rest of those around me every day, I am looking forward to the cool weather of fall.

Not everyone has to love animals like I do, but I am suspicious of people who don't like animals at all.

Also, people with no sense of humor concern me.

It's a cool, rainy day here.  Perfect for staying in and watching the Notre Dame football game on TV.

Next Saturday, Dug and I will be participating in the Mutt Strut!  We had so much fun last year, and this year we have even gone past our [admittedly humble] fundraising goal! Having said that, you are more than welcome to still donate here.

I am also looking forward to next weekend because it is a long weekend for us - we get the day off for Columbus Day.  Yes, I know it celebrates someone now considered a monster, etc., but it's A DAY OFF PEOPLE, LEAVE IT ALONE!!

And on that happy yet threatening note, my blathering for the day is finished.

Have a wonderful weekend!  :-)

Please Don't Let the Door Hit You on Your Way Out

That is, if your name is Heat and Humidity.  This past week has been brutal - and when, like me, you are no fan of heat and humidity, it's enough to make you give up. Though I don't like it, in late July and for the month of August, I realize that is summer's M.O.; but in the last week of May, and the first couple of days of June, it's just plain wrong.  Yes, I am more than aware that at least we are not having tornadoes or floods.  And for that I am grateful.  But I still reserve the right to complain based on geography.  The weather forecasters are saying that a rain storm will come along tonight and break the heat, and we'll go back to 70s in the daytime.  I am holding on to that hope ...

My other big complaint (aren't you glad you decided to keep reading?) is that I fear I may lose some of my vacation time.   If you know me, you know that this is the equivalent to Armageddon for me.  I had not made specific vacation plans, since our trip to Ireland last October was likely the only big vacation we could afford to take for a while.  I just figured that I'd take some time when I decided to take it.  Which ordinarily is no big deal, as far as work is concerned.  But then my boss quit suddenly and unexpectedly, and our full-time assistant left to go to graduate school.  And the only other person in my department had already had all of her vacation time approved.  All of which is during June. Our FY at work ends June 30, and we cannot carry over more than 5 days.  Well, I hadn't been using my time since I thought I could take my few days during June, when The Tim had vacation time. So much for that idea.  I even appealed to the higher powers, and was just told that I "should have planned better."  Sigh.

OK, on to other things.  This should not turn into a whine fest.

Last weekend, it occurred to me to take my camera when Dug and I went out for a walk.  We headed over to the dog park, which is within one of the local parks, Schuylkill River Park.  In the past couple of years, they have really fixed it up (not that it was that terrible before), and now it's especially nice.  Here are some pictures for you.

 Community garden

 The park

 Entrance to the community garden

 I love these flowers!

 Community garden gate

 Part of the meadow

Main park entrance

This is all approximately 4 blocks from our house, and you go through a lovely little square with a fountain to go there.  When you walk a little bit beyond the park, you can cross the railroad tracks and walk along the Schuylkill River Trail, right along the river.  There are people, dogs, walkers, runners, cyclists, kids, and it's really a nice place to be.  We do live right in the city, but we don't have to travel far for trees, flowers, and the other sights and sounds of nature.  I think it's the best of both worlds.

In other news, I have signed up for this:

You may or may not know Kelbourne Woolens, but they are the distributors of Fibre Company yarns.  Not only are they local, but both of the owners used to work at  Rosie's, which is where I got to know them!  Added to that, Kate Gagnon Osborn is foster mother to both Pip and Dug!  So when they announced this KAL to accompany the debut of their new yarn, Meadow, I resisted at first, since my knitting is not that advanced, particularly in KAL-ville.  But then I thought about it, and figured, why not?  So I signed up yesterday, and now I can't wait until the yarn arrives and I can see what/if I can do this.  A lot of my knitting friends are also doing it, so I should be able to get some help when I need it.  I'll keep you posted. 

:-)

So that's all that's new here for now.  I hope you have had a good weekend, and that if your weather has been problematic too, things settle down sooner rather than later!

At Long Last ...

Fall is here!  After putting up with a summer that was way too hot and humid (and that started in April), I have been looking forward to fall even more than usual.  I should say that August wasn't actually too bad, at least here in Philadelphia.  But it only made me happier that fall was on the way.

Granted, yesterday was 85 degrees here, but leading up to it, and then today have been the kind of days I most associate with fall.  Bright and cool, when even a walk to work is better because the weather feels so good.  And then cool enough at nighttime to want to cuddle under a blanket.

I'm also happy because today I felt like cooking, and it was a good day for that - turning the oven was not an event to be dreaded!  A couple of weeks back, we got a head of cabbage in our CSA shipment.  Neither of us were in the mood for coleslaw, which we'd made the last time we got one, but I got it in my brain that I wanted to make cabbage rolls.  So today, I got the stuff together and made ten rolls that I put in the oven on a relatively low temperature to cook for a while.  The house smelled so great, and they were yummy.  Best of all, there were plenty of leftovers, and cabbage rolls - like some other foods - taste even better to me the next time around.  I also used quinoa instead of rice just to see if it would make any difference, and though the taste was overall the same, the rolls stayed together better.  Though I couldn't swear to you that the quinoa was the reason ...

So right now as I'm writing this, I'm watching a football game (the Steelers vs. the Raiders - I started out watching the Eagles vs. the Cardinals, but something called karma seems to be doing its job on Michael Vick today, and though I'm all for that, I hate to watch the Eagles lose.  It's complicated).  Later The Tim and I will watch the Emmys and enjoy ourselves by mocking ahem, commenting on people and things.  Because of course we are perfect, and could do everything better, I'm sure ...

Of course, I'm knitting too - a pair of socks that have been on the needles way too long, but that are good TV knitting.   Earlier this afternoon, I finished a good bit of the knitted teddy bear I'm making for my newest great-nephew, Parker.  Hopefully I can finish in the next few days, and send it to him, so that he is not in college by the time he receives it ...

Hooray for fall weekends!

September

Well, here's another topic that I wanted to take on:

Ten Things You Love About September

1.  During September (even if it is towards the end of the month), fall starts.  I love fall, particularly after the really-crappy-way-too-hot-and-humid spring and summer we've had.  YAY!

2.  More than January, September always feels more like a fresh start to me.  I guess it's the leftover school-starts-in-September thing.  But it's another chance to start anew.

3.  Sweetzels Ginger Cookies start to appear in the supermarket.  They are regional, I think, and soooo yummy!

4.  Things are a little quiet in the museum at work.  Summer day camps are over, so they aren't visiting, and school field trips don't start right away.  It's nice to leave the library and not be run into by screaming and misbehaving children, and their "chaperones."  (In quotes because, well, they don't seem to be actually paying attention ...)

5.  Apples.

6.  New TV shows.  I'm not one of those types who a) doesn't even own a TV, or b) only watches PBS.  Granted, there are not a lot of shows I go out of my way to see, but I like to check out what's new each year.

7.  Walking and bicycling.  Theoretically at least, the weather is nicer for enjoying these activities.

8.   Coziness.  Fall weather leads to the feeling of cozy, as far as I'm concerned.

9.  Better knitting weather.  It's more fun to knit a hat, or mittens when you can actually imagine actually putting them onto your person.

10.  The holiday season is not too far off.  I don't want time to speed by, but I really enjoy Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmastime, and once it's September, those - as well as our anniversary and the BD of The Tim - are looming on the horizon.

YAY September!!