Some People!

Disgusting (not gross, just disgusting human behavior) thing I saw today:

There is some kind of metal working shop that shares our
road/alley/parking lot area, and they have a huge construction
dumpster. Last night as I was leaving work (at 4:30pm, so it was still
very much daylight outside) I saw two trucks pull up and a man get out
of one and throw an old lawn mower into the dumpster. Argh!

In a positive(?) development, tonight we learned that our little man,
Mr. K, is capable of defending himself, his home, and his family from
intruder kitties. Our two little ones were on the screen porch, and
the neighbor cat (who had previously hissed and growled at both of
ours) was outside looking in. We heard a commotion and turned around
in time to see Mr. K -- tail fluffed to three times normal size, hair
standing up all along his backbone -- trying to get at NC through the
screen. He actually hissed and growled himself. We'd never heard it.
Our mild-mannered linebacker kitty standing up for himself. It was a
proud moment. Of course, little man spent the next hour running from
window to window -- tail a-flickin' -- watching NC make his way around
the yard.

Warning: Knitting Content

The Lorna's Laces socks are done. I have to say the yarn was very easy to work with and quite soft both in the working and in the wearing. I am, however, not thrilled with the way the color works out. These socks were knit with the color "Rainbow" and while the yarn certainly looks like a rainbow, the finished project is nothing like (save a small portion at the turn of the heel which is entirely an accident). The colors didn't pool for the most part, though I did notice a strange doppler-like effect on both the leg and foot.



Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, color "Rainbow"
Pattern: Basic top-down sock, 72 stitches, 3x3 rib, slip-stitch heel
Gauge: 9 stitches/inch on a US1

A Day of Adrenaline

Got up and forwent(?) the gym this morning to help with the last minute packing, then headed off to work for a couple of hours before THE MEETING.

Before I could get to the meeting, however, all heck broke loose back at the homestead. (This would be the all-packed-in-boxes-and-we're-ready-to-get-the-*bleep*-out-of-there homestead.) M called me at 9:15 to inform me that the mover (who was supposed to show at 8:30) wasn't there yet. I figured he was getting a truck or rounding up his troops and told her not to worry, but to call him.

10:00, no mover; 10:15, no mover; 10:30, I have to get my behind out of the office for the meeting. On the way up the highway cell phone rings -- still no mover, but a good luck wish.

Make it to the meeting with mere milliseconds to spare; apologize to the editor, explaining that our mover is MIA. He shared an amusing-in-retrospect story about their last move home to New England from Texas, and I relaxed -- somehow everything will be okay.

After the meeting (and the Wonderlic -- more below), I called home to find that our dear, dear MS had, indeed, forgotten us. He was having a nervous breakdown and on his way to the house with some hired day help (all of his men were on the job he forgot us for) and his trailer to get us moved.

And move us he did. Less than 5 hours after they showed at the old house, they were pulling out of the driveway at the new one. Record time, I say. And nothing was broken, no woodwork or floors in either house gouged, and everyone in a fairly good mood.

Cats, not so. They didn't like one bit being dumped at a stranger's house, and our poor little Mr. K hid under the bathtub when we went to pick them up. When we got them to the (very disarrayed) house, Lady B was a little disgruntled but soon realized that this was all her stuff. She marked a few things and spent the rest of the night wandering about making a mental map of the place. Mr. K was less accepting. Poor little traumatized thing: he hid, wanted nothing to do with any of it, discovered a quiet bedroom upstairs and has pretty much stayed there since.

Yeah, the Wonderlic. Not so bad, really. Most people don't finish, and neither did I (got through 48, though). Pretty confident that I at least did well enough that I

Breathe Deep(ly)

And tell us, how did you spend your Easter? At the new soon-to-be parsonage, we spent the day tearing down curtains and letting the sun (and fresh air) shine in!

Between sunrise service and 10am, we began the process of un-sealing our new rental property which we discovered had been hermetically sealed for a very long time. In fact, when we opened (after much effort) the front door, we found insulation wrapped in newspaper from October 24, 1997! We also discovered that at some point the front step had heaved so that the storm door scraped badly when opening. Guess everyone will be a backdoor guest.

Since our "landlady" had discovered the secret hiding place for the window and door screens, we got to work taking out the storms (yes, these are those old "afterthought" storm/screen frames which require the removal of storms to put the screens in) and putting in screens. Someone (late husband, most likely) had kindly numbered all the storms and screens, making matching up much easier.

I swear, when we finally got about 1/3 of the screens in and opened the windows wide to the fresh air, I could hear the house breathing deeply. I certainly was. Fresh air, even cold, Easter-morning fresh air, is such a relief after closed-up-and-recycled-for-nearly-a-decade air.

The curtains were a project and a half. Each window had (at least) two drapes and a half-curtain (oh, every window also has a roller shade). When we finally got them all down -- not a quick or easy task considering the sheer number of curtains, the multiple rods per window, and the height of the windows -- they made a pile about 3-1/2 feet deep across the laundry room. I kid you not.

We would have gone home and packed after all of that, but ... the packing is DONE! Okay, there are still those few things we need tonight and tomorrow morning, but that's it. We are so ready to move -- no, I take that back -- we are so ready to be in the new house.

Did do some research on the Wonderlic Personnel Test. It doesn't look all that scary -- just some basic SAT-type questions: a bit of logic, and bit of simple algebra, some reading comprehension. Nothing I can't handle. Actually looking forward to it (I'm one of those sickos whose only real nightmare about the GRE involved sitting still for an entire morning).