Goodbye, 2008

2008 is FINALLY over and done with! And, not a moment too soon for me and my loved ones - - it's been quite a tough year in many, many ways!

• January started out with Dad having his first of 8 surgical procedures. Between all of them, he spent almost 7 months out of the year living with us while recuperating. We love having him here with us, but the poor dear missed his own home and just wanted to be back there, where he belonged. Finally, he was well enough to go back home, and is doing very well! There are still some residual effects from his last procedure, though - - still some numbness in his right hand, and trouble using two fingers on that hand - - but we are hopeful for a full recovery in the coming year.
• June saw me getting my Jeep wrecked, with myself and my nephew inside. We were rear-ended while stopped at a red light by a van going at least 35 MPH. There was over $4500 in damages to my Jeep, but fortunately no one was seriously hurt. After a couple of weeks of sore muscles and body aches, I am fine; my nephew is fine; both of the other drivers involved were not injured. And, my Jeep is all fixed up bright and shiny and looking good!
• July found me losing one of the best bosses I have ever had the privilege to work with. Due to unfortunate circumstances, he had to leave the College and go elsewhere. It was a very bad situation, and thinking about it, even now, makes me VERY angry. So, I won't.
• August found me taking MY turn with the Doctors, instead of Dad. I had a soft tissue mass removed from my right hand. It was larger than they expected, so instead of being off work 2-3 days, I was off work 10-11 days! It was a nice break, but - - I couldn't use my hand to do anything, which was so frustrating! But, the Vicodin took the edge off that! :-)
• September finally brought some very welcome GOOD news - - after 20 months on the market, we finally sold the other house - - FINALLY! Due to the poor housing market, we took a bit of a beating, but at least we are no longer stuck maintaining two places!
• December brought me a new boss, and from the looks of it, she is going to be great to work with. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Here is hoping 2009 is good for us, and also all of you as well!

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy!

BRRRR!!!!!

Today it is a whopping 4 degrees outside. FOUR WHOLE DEGREES.

The winds are gusting up to 36 MPH.

The wind chill is MINUS EIGHTEEN FREAKIN' DEGREES.

Now that's cold.

But, I'm learning a new skill that may come in handy for these cold winter months . . .

Forthe first time since I was a kid - - around 4th grade, I believe - - I am trying my darndest to learn how to knit. Why? Oh, I don't know, it just seemed like the thing to do at the time. Back then, I took knitting classes from a classmate's mom, and being an active child with the attention span of a gnat, never finished anything.

I don't know how it's going to go this time - - I still have this SERIOUS ADHD thing goin' on - - I can't seem to sit still long enough to get a lot done at one time. I hear people say they sat down one evening and knocked out a scarf in a couple of hours; well, I'll be lucky to finish one in a couple of months! After a few rows, I have to get up and DO something to keep from going a little crazy.

But, I am persistent if nothing else, so here is how I'm doing so far:



This is a scarf pattern I saw on Crazy Aunt Purl's blog, and it sounded pretty simple, so I decided to try it. My friend J (Knitter Extraordinaire) went to JoAnn's Fabrics with me, and she helped me pick out the yarn and the proper needles. This yarn is JoAnn's "Licorice" in black. It's a multi-textured yarn with a mix of black/white/gray, and the different textures give it a real funky, chunky feel.

And, it's oh-so-soft, and will feel yummy on blustery Illinois Winter days (like TODAY). It uses a straight knit stitch, which J showed me how to do, and is extra-wide, using 25 stitches across.

It's been slow going, but I'm getting there!

Finally! They Got Him!

They FINALLY got him:



At approximately 6 AM CST, FBI called Governor Rod Blagojevich's house and asked him to come to the door. He asked if they were joking; they were not.

What happened next? THIS:



He and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, have been arrested on Federal corruption charges.

Maybe the day has finally come when Gov. SON-OF-A-BITCH will get his . . .

Yup, it's been a GOOD day!

It's Holiday Bazaar Time! **UPDATE**

The Bazaar went great! In spite of the nasty weather, we had lots of business. I have more to tell, but right now we are busy clearing out the garage so we can actually PARK in it, and I won't have to scrape the windshield in the morning anymore . . . which will be a very, very good thing.

More later (and pictures, too).



My "Second Annual Holiday Bazaar" is tomorrow, and it's bigger and better than last year. We have 4 people involved in it this year, and have Holiday items galore - - baked goods, Avon, Stained Glass Ornaments, crafts . . . you name it, we probably got it!

Should be fun - - pictures will follow . . .

Wish us luck!

I. HATE. SNOW.

Very much so.

Yesterday we woke up, and the ground was covered with the first snowfall of the season. It wasn't too bad, though, because a lot of the grass was still showing through, and the driveway and roads were still clear. Hmmm - - not TOO bad, I guess. I can handle this.

BUT - -

This morning I got up, and everything was covered. COVERED. And, the wind had kick up, with gusts up to 30 MPH. Blowing and drifting everywhere. Slip-sliding into work this morning. Drifts all across the roads at lunchtime (thank goodness for 4-wheel drive!).

I am NOT ready for this! But then, I never am.

Mother Nature, you can bring Spring back any time now!

Please?