Another Day - Crochet Gift

Well, here it is another day at work. Be careful what you wish for. Isn't that the old saying? I wished for a little income of my own. Having been home with the kids for so many years I was pretty sure it would be difficult to find a job. SO...I looked through the want ads and applied for a few office positions that were taking resumes over the Internet. Well, that was in late February '07 and by mid March I was employed and a member of the working force. Now I am making money, which was supposed to feed my craft habit. I don't have the time to craft that I did before, or go to the gym. Which by the way I really was enjoying going in the mid morning time when there was like 4 other people there. But, now I can't give up the job because my kids have become way to dependant on mom's wallet to pay for gas, dates, cell phones, clothes, well you know the story.

Perfect example was this week end. I get paid, looked like I was actually going to be able to bank up a little extra in the old check book. No such luck. Spent $50 on ink for the printer so I could actually print a little something out once again. Got it set back up with the old computer system that for a long time it played happily with. Seems Vista doesn't get along with printers too well. At any rate, hubby was doing our oldest DS's taxes and needed to print out a hard copy for records (we have lost too much to hard drive crashes to take chances) only to find out that now that computer won't communicate with the printer either. It was a really great all in one printer too. SO...we conclude that it has to be the printer, off I am sent to the store to find a replacement. "Get one that goes with Vista" he says as I head out the door. Now understand that when it comes to the hardware of what works with what, I am a total imbecile. I can make an electronic scrapbook page (with a software program) can make great greeting cards (with my Printmaster) but to determine on my own which printer is the best? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! At any rate, $100.00 (plus some sales tax) and I am walking out with a new all in one Kodak Share printer. I picked it because it is new (Vista compatible) and ink is cheap (will see how much one really prints) and the other similar printer was wireless ready and hubby didn't want to have to buy more stuff to make it workable. Of course, not one printer in the store was compatible with the $50 worth of ink I had bought earlier that day. He was able to get it working with the old computer, and was able to print out the copies of the tax returns. Oh, and earlier that day, had bought an inexpensive keyboard that would work and was not like typing on piece of cardboard, only to find the extra keyboard we had a few hours later, after hubby had moved things around to make the house wireless. This is so DS, 18, can use his laptop int house. He has a computer in his bedroom already, uses the laptop to chat on MySpace while laying in his bed, instead of getting a job to pay for his own dates. Back to the story though. I was tickled to death to get to finally print out a crochet pattern after having been with out a printer since mid summer. Although, it took forever because the old computer only sends a little bit of info at a time. So, we go to bed (this was on Sunday of course) so we can get up and go to work while the kids sleep in to honor Marting Luther King day at school. Won't even get started on what I think of making a person's birthday a federal holiday. The next morning, wanted to print off something else, only to find that over night the computer had now quit talking to the new printer.

Now, DS 18, needs to use our computer to print out something off the Internet for class assignment. Dumb me was thinking he needed to use ours because he doesn't have Word on either of his computers. He has a working printer I realize and find out that his computer has a pop up problem which keeps him from being able to print. This makes no sense to me, I think he just doesn't want to deal with all the pop ups he has that don't get blocked now that he has all the stuff loaded from MySpace, AIM, and what ever else they use to pop up and in for chatting. Needless to say, I was a just a bit miffed at paying almost $200 to be able to print and still could not. It is supposed to be working now, seems he forgot to tell the old computer that the old printer was no longer there. But, it is running so slow it is almost like playing with our first dial up service. Amazing what you get use to. I remember how excited I was when we came home with a Commodore 64, plugged in like an Atari game. LORD DID I JUST DATE MYSELF?

Oh, and my computer (the newer one with Vista) now has a printer error and won't let us add any printers so hubby is going to run the restore disk. Pray for me blog friends, the last time he did this we lost everything on the computer. I know that in time we will get all of these marvelous gadgets up and running, but all that gadgetry has turned us in to an instant gratification type of society. We want it now by golly, and now we will get it. Guess I will just have to entertain myself the old-fashioned way and use the hook and needle for some creative releases.

On that corny little lead in note, I finished the gift set for my co-worker's new baby girl. I crocheted a little hat and booties to go with the quilt. Personally, I think they turned out just cute as could be. I used lavender fun fur to trim the edges of the hat and booties. The back of the quilt is a deep royal purple fleece so his wife can just throw it in the washer. Two more guys I work with are expecting as well. I was told that today when everyone saw the set I gave. Guess I better get started on a couple of more quilt sets.

I had posted earlier that I joined a crochet pot holder exchange with a photo of my first pot holder that I promptly sent off to person in charge of the exchange. Was so pleased that I managed to get it to her in a timely manner, even more pleased when she emailed me that it had arrived. Only, one problem, having never done this type of project, I failed to realize that it would need to have another layer added. She was very kind and supportive about it, mentioned it would make a great dish cloth. To that I replied asking if she knew of any groups for dish cloths I could join and told her to just send mine back to me and I would fatten it up and mail back. I have however already started on a new one that I will make sure is thick enough to be of use this time.

On the sewing front, received a crazy quilt block from my avocado group for the "Green" round robin I am a part of. In the previous posting, along with the photo of my "nakkid" block, I sort of explained that the round robin is done in green. In fact, it is actually a color study of sorts. All the fabric, all the trims, threads, embellishments, are all to be green. Karen's block arrived today and her creative juices were really flowing as she took an image of a Victorian lady and printed it in green for the focus of her crazy quilt block. I will post before and after photos of my contribution to her block in the weeks to come. I have a month to work on it and send it to the next member so have a few days to put some intelligent thought (yes I know that is an oxymoron when coming from me) in to determining just the right touches for Karen's Victorian beauty.

Of course that is time period I am just in love with. Simpler times, way more morals and higher ethics, family and honesty was important, and according to the romance novels they had a lot of spice for the more intimate side of life. I think I lived that era in a former life, but if I did was probably, pretty sure any way, I was a soiled dove. Well, enough of the playful thoughts. I am off to read my emails, check my free pattern of the day sights, and then maybe work on the spinning the yarn I am currently in the middle of. Literary yarn that is, one of the many unpublished romance novels I like to create as a means of emptying my head that goes a 100 miles a minute when it is time to sleep. Until I post again....