"Unfortunately Penny"

Thanks Naomi :)

Unfortunately, Penny could very well be dead. (It has been a rough week!)

Unfortunately, Penny’s daily care has been increasingly more difficult to maintain for her adoptive parent. (oooh interweb grammar... blech)

Unfortunately, Penny is very nervous at our Shelter. (perhaps?)

Unfortunately Penny was not used to being handled, nor was she housetrained. (oi! I may be skittish but i am definitely housetrained!)

Unfortunately, Penny only asked him if he wanted some of it. (what?)


Fun, thanks :)

still alive

This little meme has been doing the rounds and I thought I'd throw it on (as it were) just to prove we're both still breathing. I'm ok, he's ok, life has just been weird. Transmission will resume when I can think of anything worth saying



Me: What is your favourite thing about my knitting?

Monkey: My socks.

Me: What is your least favourite thing about my knitting?

Monkey: Pointy sticks on the floor.

Me: What is something I have knitted, that you recall as good?

Monkey: Peacock Shawl.

Me: Do you think knitters have an expensive hobby?

Monkey: Hell yeah. (Adds after I give him a look) I think you make it expensive... it's not like it needs to be.

Me: Any hobbies?

Monkey: Being awesome?

Me: Do you have a stash of any kind?

Monkey: Old computer bits?

Me: Have I ever embarrassed you, knitting in public?

Monkey: It was very embarrasing when you were knitting that uterus-bag-thing in public (He means the Snatchel which I have never knit, he is mentioning the most embarrasing knitted item he can think of)

Me: Do you know my favourite kind of yarn?

Monkey: Of course. You like yarns about pirates.

Me: Can you name another blog?

Monkey: Ooh, I would call it 'Pomegranite Sunrise'! No, hang on... 'Chunder Muppets'! (chortles at own hilarity). I know many other blogs. About knitting? knit and tonic, crazy aunt purl, um, cast-on, the yarn harlot.

Me: Do you mind my wanting to stop at knit shops wherever we go?

Monkey: Not as long as I'm not required to have an opinion about anything.

Me: Do you understand the importance of a swatch?

Monkey: I do. But I also know you never make them. Even though I know you understand the importance of a swatch as well.

Me: Do you read my blog?

Monkey: When you tell me to.

Me: Have you ever left a comment?

Monkey: Yes.

Me: Do you think the house would be cleaner if I didn't knit?

Monkey: There wouldn't be as much stuff in it, so probably.

Me: Anything you'd like to add?

Monkey: (burps) No, wait, don't put that in! Ohhh...


Thankyou and goodnight.

all the meme

apparrently i'm a little stressed.
I hadnt really noticed until the insomnia kicked in and now... it's Saturday and i had the house to myself for most of the day and i have no good reason to be anxious but i am. I sorted the stash. I groomed the bunnies. i finished the socks for Monkey's Mum. I posted excess stash on ravelry. I skeined yarn for dyeing some self-striping 8ply.
I think I might be going crazy (crazier?).
Maybe it's still the effects of healing from the op last week and I'm just expecting too much from myself. But I cant help falling into a head-space which says: I'm always sick with something, I can't take leave for everything and I cant work and be useful at home in the same day when I'm crook.. which feels like always. I spend my weekends trying to catch up on housework and marking and then suddenly it's sunday night and i still feel like i need a weekend. Add to that the guilt of being a total burden to Monkey (i seriously cant remember the last time i cooked dinner and he works as many hours as i do) and constantly piking on plans because I'm either feeling sick or feeling so tired I know i'd be a total buzz-kill... and I'm feeling pretty useless right now.

I have some issues at work at the moment too. The Knitting group i started is going great guns and the kids are mad keen on it. It's one lunchtime a week and they're nagging me to do it more often. We've seen some amazing results already; one girl with huge behavioural problems is sitting quietly and focusing on a crochet square for an entire lunch... this is a kid who has been known to climb out windows on second floor during classes. Another girl who has been really struggling to connect at school... her eyes just lit up! She's a natural, she had a scarf by the next meeting. It's just great, the kids get so much out of it it feels really important.
but apparently it's not important enough for the school to deem it worthy to cover the odd playground duty for me so i can run it regularly. not only wont they cover it, they make me chase people to swap duties with me.
I know it seems like a tiny thing but it's just so... typical. All we ever hear is "we really appreciate you donating your time/we need volunteers/we need your enthusiasm/we need you to take initiative and use your specialist skills to help the school and the students/helps to make things run smoothly/supervise concert, social, P&C night etc etc" and then the next thing is "oh you have an extra in your only line off today/have you done enough hours/we wont cover a duty for something you're choosing to do".

cough

ok, maybe my stress does have a root. No bloody wonder there's such a high drop out rate for new teachers.

Now, because it's too dark to take proper pics of recent FOs, I'm going to do the meme that has been doing the rounds.


1) What was I doing ten years ago?
I was halfway through term two of year 8. I was madly in love with a boy called Sam and my favourite class was Art. My favourite song was Foolish Games by Jewel (before she went skanky) and I never missed an episode of Dawson's Creek (thought Dawson was a tool but wanted to kiss Pacey).

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
Dye self-striping yarn for a commission BSJ. List yarn on Ravelry. Finish socks for Monkey's Mum. bi-annual stash toss. blog.

3) Snacks I enjoy?
salt and vinegar chips are my oldest friend. I also love minties and redskins (but not while my mouth is still hurty). Tsatsiki and corn chips. Sashimi with soy and a really fresh wasabi.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire?
Hmm. Pay off house. extend house so Monkey has room as well as my stash and maybe space for kidliwinkles one day. Pay off car. Get hitched. Restock the school library with textbooks that arent growing fungi. Retire early and set up a yarn store/ book store / cafe with classes on spinning, knitting and specialist techniques and really good chairs. Fund research into alternate fuel sources. am i broke yet?

5) Places I have lived?
I lived in my parents' house in Qbn for 21 years, my bundah home for nearly 2. I realise I am very, very lucky to have moved only once.

6) Jobs I have had?
Sales assistant in Childrenswear department of Target. Sales assistant at Kookai. Volunteer at St Vinnies. Sales assistant at Hidden Treasures, little womens boutique in the Woden Hospital (HELL). Sales assistant at ReVamp in Qbn, selling antiques and collectables. Am now an English teacher at a Canberra High School.

7) Peeps I want to know more about?
Elizabeth Zimmerman, Jane Austen, Eleanor Farjeon, Ringo, Marilyn Monroe. If you want to be tagged and have get to do this then go forth, but I ain't tagging anyone.


Peace,
Ms Spider

blech

So I went to work on Tuesday.
This was apparently a Very Stupid Thing. I am now worse. I have not stopped coughing for 24 hours. and yes, this made sleep awkward, nay, impossible.
my throat hurts, my lungs are crackling and squeaking and wheezing and every single cough hurts my whole body - clearly i am too flabby for tummy-crunches, even sickness induced ones.
cough lollies arent working, cold and flu tablets aren't working, even the ridiculous size of my stash (all of a sudden) hasn't helped.
I think it's bronchitis or pneumonia. the earliest appointment i could get is tomorrow afternoon and if i havent ripped out and eaten my own liver by then through sheer frustration then i think i'll have done well.
Yeah, sleep deprivation makes me cranky. sorry guys.

the last of the stash arrived on monday and tuesday. There is a lot of crap, as was expected, but i did well too. lots of sweater quantities of 8ply in colours i can wear, 6 packets of Jet, 4 packets of Merino Spun... lots. Anyone who looks at friends activities on Ravelry has every right to be shocked. I'm trying to feel guilty, really. But it's just... i was looking through some old knitting mags today and i realised - i have the yarn to make every thing i like in this stack. I can even choose the colour! pretty happy about it :)

I'm not going to post pics... yet. if you need a shock you can go see my flickr account... that's where new stash starts and if you work back to page one you'll see the recent uploads. this may take a while.

I dont think i got tagged but everyone's doing it so i'm going to.

7 Things
1. I am apparently wired so i really get a buzz off full packets of yarn. You know, the original manufacturers bags with 12 in them, all neat and dust-free... goosebump. Even the ickier novelty yarns... that new bag thing. sick.
2. I love teaching essay writing. Well, essay argument planning. I think that too many teachers do it in a really painful dry way and i love getting up there and scribbling all over the board and arguing about which episode of the Simpsons we can use to exemplify Homer's abusive behaviour, etc.
3. I am really driven to squeeze blackheads and pimples. and i dont get that many. I find it really distracting if i'm talking to someone with a blackhead on their nose... and usually it's not because i'm grossed out and i want it to go away... i just want to squeeze it. Pity my Monkey.
4. I like the smell when you strike a match.
5. I've never smoked anything - except when i was 6 and i rolled a gum leaf up in a piece of newspaper... this may be WHY i have never been driven to smoke since.
6. Despite now having several very good female friends who i adore, i don't understand women. I find it very hard to figure out what is expected of me... men are simpler really. So i often come across as aloof, bored or kind of... conceited i guess, when really i just feel awkward.
7. I don't drive (see previous post).

ok. brain dead now. am going to try to sleep semi-upright on the couch to help with the coughing. grump grump grump

Ms Spider

watch out! too exciting by far!

Saw this over at Randomknits and thought i'd yoink it because i dont have the brains to come up with anything by myself. (and no, i cant de-italicize this and i don't know why)

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night.

Monkey. I can't remember why though.

2. What were you doing at 0800?

On the bus on the way to work/school.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?

Watching Jonathon Creek and knitting my thistle shawl.

4. What happened to you in 2006?

I broke up with my then boyfriend, fell in love with my best friend (Monkey), went to Vanuatu and moved in with Monkey.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud?

"It's a meme".

6. How many beverages did you have today?

2 cups tea, 2 cups miso, 2 bottles of water, bottle of ice coffee milk. So far. there are some alcohols in the frigidaire that i may partake of later.

7. What color is your hairbrush?

Cream and black. My mother gave it to my brother for christmas but he gave it to me because he has no intention of ever brushing his hair again. it's a pretty good one.

8. What was the last thing you paid for?

Erm a serving of hash browns and an iced coffee flavoured milk at the school canteen this morning - healthy!

9. Where were you last night?

At home... knitting and watching Jonathon Creek. Does anyone sense a theme here? Oh, i did drag monkey out for a walk when the air got nice and cool.

10. What color is your front door?

Brown woodgrain.

11. Where do you keep your change?

In my purse, but i have a jar for 5c pieces because they annoy the crap out of me.

12. Whats the weather like today?

Too hot. It's just started to freshen up which is a huge relief. crazy 12 year olds are more crazy in 25+ degree weather.

13. What's the best ice-cream flavor?

I'm not really a big icecream person - my teeth are a little sensitive. but vanilla choc chip is pretty good. really strongly flavoured ones make me thirsty...

14. What excites you?

Yarn, knitted lace, cables, fair isle, gorgeous colours.. i have been known to drool a little when discussion of a nice yarn starts up.

15. Do you want to cut your hair?

Well... yes and no. I like it long as i think it suits me and i like being able to tie it all back. But it's getting pretty ratty and i really need to trim it. and yet... the length is nice! (that's me in the green top 4th pic from the bottom.. can you believe people tell me i'm blonde???)

16. Are you over the age of 25?

Nope. 22. Feel much older though.

17. Do you talk a lot?

Depends who i am with. I am capable of enjoying a companionable silence, but i do tend to do the whole internal monologue thing...

18. Do you watch the O.C?

Nope.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven?

I work with a truly lovely teacher called Stephen.

20. Do you make up your own words?

Way too frequently for an English teacher.

21. Are you a jealous person.

I have been from time to time. I dont think i'm ever jealous without good reason.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter 'A'.

Antionette.

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter 'K'.

Kylie.

24. Who's the first person on your received call list?

Another high school calling me to see if i was available to relief teach soon.

25. What does the last text message you received say?

"No dramas! Am heading out so will swing by. Got you a little something too!" (monkey lost his phone so no mushy giveaways today ;)

26. Do you chew on your straw?

No.. and i'm not entirely sure what that means.

27. Do you have curly hair?

No

28. Where's the next place you're going to?

To work tomorrow morning. I am clearly the most deeply exciting person ever.

29. Who's the rudest person in your life?

Mmmmm. i could say... but that would bring me down to their level.

30. What was the last thing you ate?

A fairyfloss flavoured zooper dooper ice-block

31. Will you get married in the future?

absolutely

32. What's the best movie you've seen in the past 2 weeks?

8 femmes. If you havent seen it then you must, immediately. If you don't speak any french then stick to stocking stitch though ;)

33. Is there anyone you like right now?

I like many people... is this like a weird high school "do you like Billy?? as in like-like??" thing? i like-like Monkey... stupid meme

34. When was the last time you did the dishes?

Yesterday afternoon when i got home from work.

35. Are you currently depressed?

well yeah. but lets not make a big deal over it

36. Did you cry today?

Nope. well, my eyes always water when i yawn, does that count?

37. Why did you answer and post this?

I thought i'd better blog and my lace is growing too slowly to make interesting photos...

i aint gonna tag anyone... if you want it then take it.

Peace out,

Ms Spider xo