I’ve finally made it to Clue 4, Chart 9 of the MKAL! That’s the last step, y’all!
I’ll make sure to get a better photo of it once it’s blocked but at least there’s a wee bit of progress.
The rows are long and it’s getting heavy (about to join my third hank of yarn), so it’s starting to be a bit of a struggle. I’m glad it’s almost over!
…but I’ve also hit that weird procrastination thing that I develop when projects are almost done. I can’t count how many quilts I have ready to be quilted/bound but just haven’t, or clothes to be hemmed, or yarn ends to weave in.
I keep telling myself there are only FIVE rows on the final chart! Well, ten, but I never count wrong side rows because those are so easy to bust out that I just do them after each charted row. I only have one tail to weave in and I thinking washing yarny things is fun.
I need to get the blocking done before Thanksgiving. We’re having guests over and of course I block on the guest room bed. I don’t want this lingering over me through the holidays. I’m still aiming for a row a day so it should be completely done by the end of next week! Fingers crossed!
…and for fun. My friends on Facebook are really churning these out right now. I’m not complaining — some of them really make me think!
50 (yes fifty!!) Things You’ve Never Been Asked…. I always enjoy reading these and seeing a quick glimpse into my friend’s lives. (Just copy this & change the answers..)
1. What is the color of your toothbrush? Red, white, and silver
2. Name someone who made you smile? K. Which is super nonspecific because almost everybody I talk to daily has a name that starts with K. Surprise! Go fight who it is amongst yourselves. ;P
3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Curled up in bed, wishing an asteroid would destroy the earth. No, I’m not being ridiculously morbid or dramatic (or maybe I am?!) — I’ve been having a bad gastroparesis flare for a few days. The nausea has been pretty rough and the pain is so out of control that I’ve not been able to sleep. I’m feeling pretty done with everything right now.
4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Exact same thing as 8 a.m. The nausea/pain didn’t lessen enough for me to get up until about 15 minutes ago. Now I’m in my computer chair until this wave passes enough that I can make my way downstairs and try to be productive
5. What is your favorite candy bar? Probably a Kit-Kat
6.Ever been to a strip club? Nope
7. What is the last thing you said out loud? “Quit chewing on that plastic! Give it here!” Cats, am I right?
8. What is your favorite ice cream? Butter Pecan or Chocolate-Marshmallow Swirl
9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Water
10. Do you like your wallet? I better! I made it! (Picture at the bottom of the post!)
11. What was the last thing you ate? Soup (aka broth) for days. I’d like to be able to eat real food again soon. /grumbles
12. Did you buy any new clothes this weekend? I did buy the hubs a new coat and gloves. His were worn out.
13. The last sporting event you watched? Footage from various Gloucestershire cheese races. Part of me wants to join in, part of me knows I’d die.
14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Maple Bourbon Bacon. Sound ridiculous? Oh, it is. I get it from the Adirondack Popcorn Company in Lake Placid. It’s worth the trek just for that popcorn!
15. Who is the last person you sent a text message too? The hubby
16. Ever go camping? Of course!
17. Do you take vitamins daily? Not anymore
18. Do you go to church every Sunday? Negative
19. Do you have a tan? Only a little on my feet…and of course I’ve been wearing shoes with cut out cat ears so my feet have the slightest bit of a cat’s face as a tan. Hubs thinks it’s hilarious
20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? Depends on the day. Pizza is more of a comfort food, Chinese has more flavor
21. Do you drink your soda with a straw? Sometimes. I have reusable metal straws when I do
22. What did your last text say? “You are so unreliable it’s unreal”
** (I’ll explain that angry answer at the bottom)**
23. What are you doing tomorrow? Hopefully feeling like cleaning a bit and cooking. I’m not obsessed with the thought of real food at all, nope. ^_^
24. What terrifies you? Not much, really. I get pretty panicked if I find an outside door open and can’t find one of my critters, though.
25. Look to your left, what do you see? The MKAL chart! I print all of my pattern charts and color them so I can read them quicker.
26. What color is your watch? Black
27. What do you think of when you hear Australia? Koalas and, right now, massive wildfires
28. Favorite Soda? Coke
29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Depends on the car. I’m still being crazy and now allowing food in my car. I don’t want to lose that smell! If we’re in the older car, I’ll sit fat and happy where I am, thank you.
30. What is your favorite number? Don’t have one
31. Who’s the last person you talked to on the phone? My mother
32. Any plans today? Taking the car in for its first service appointment
33. How many states have you lived in? 4: Raised in VA, year of college in SC, lived with hubs in GA, then we moved to NY later
34. Biggest annoyance right now? Stomach. It really needs to stop hurting and start working again. Maybe the plastic-chewing cat. I really don’t want her to get hurt
35. Last song listened to? “Succumb” by Seven Spires was playing when I started. They just released it a few days ago so it has been getting a lot of play on my end! Now listening to “Lonely Night” by Jorn. Jorn Lande is one of my favorite vocalists and that one just came out today! I know what two songs I’ll be binging all weekend!
36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? Oh yah. A completely useless skill I taught myself in fifth grade when I was learning music scales. Already need to know A-G backwards, might as well add the rest!
37. Do you have a maid service when you clean house? LOL I wish. I frequently refer to myself as the House Elf
38. Favorite type of shoes you always wear? Remember the tan line? Yup, Skechers BOBS Cattitude shoes are totally where it’s at for me right now
39. Are you jealous of anyone? I mean, yah, a bit. It’s not soul-consuming or anything like that but the person that popped into mind doesn’t realize (or appreciate) what they have, so it waivers between wanting to slap them with reality and being a bit jealous. They’re very vocal about how much they hate their life because they think they deserve everything and aren’t getting it on the timeline they’re demanding. For example — nobody loves them because they’ve never lived in a real house, yet they’re close to and still have all of their family. I’d trade every house I’ve ever lived in, including the one I own now (and I’d still pay the mortgage on it to boot!) to have my Dad or sister back for a day — that’s not even a question. It’s all perspective…so I guess part of me is a little jealous because I wish that the worst things in my life were living in apartment or not getting McDonald fries delivered to me when I wanted them. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
40. Is anyone jealous of you? I had somebody recently tell me they were jealous that my husband is always posting about me on Facebook? Does that count? It’s kind of a weird one
41. Do you love anyone? Oh, I suppose
42. Do any of your friends have children? Of course
43. What do you usually do during the day? Usually dink around the house, cleaning and crafting
44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now? Nah. I dislike quite a few people but I don’t have room in my life for hate. Hate is an obsession and not healthy. Who needs that kind of negativity?
45. Do you use the word ‘hello’ daily? I’m more of a “hey” person so nope
46. What color is your car? Blizzard pearl (aka shiny glittery white)
47. How many kids do you want? I’m happy with none
48. Are you thinking about someone right now? Well, I wasn’t. This question kind of shoves people into your brain, now doesn’t it?
49. Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yups
50. How did you get your worst scar? I would’ve said laparoscopic surgery — I have a really wicked scar at my belly button that looks like a large spider crawling out of it (the incision had to be expanded to remove the organ and then my body rejected the stitches) — but the jelly fish sting a month ago looks like it’s settling into scarring. It’s much more bright red and angry so right now it wins

** “You’re so unreliable it’s unreal” **
That text sounds a lot meaner than it is, I promise. Oh, I was angry…but I was angry for a reason: I’m stupid as hell sometimes.
I’d locked myself outside, in the snow, in my pajamas, without shoes, with one of the dogs (luckily the big dog that loves snow so at least one of us was having a blast). I was slowly turning into a popsicle. There are three houses nearby but nobody was around: one guy is a contractor and wasn’t home, one house is vacant in the process of being remodeled, and the last house is now for sale and also vacant.
Hubs was over two hours late getting home from work on that snow, icy day without letting me know he was going to be late, so I was pretty sure he was at the bottom of a river. He was driving my car because it has AWD, which he scratched last time he drove it, so I was already nervous. My car connects to the driver’s phone via bluetooth so if he was conscious and in the car, he would’ve known it was ringing….but he wasn’t answering his personal cell, his work cell, or his desk phone. He has two of them with him all the time, I only call/text in emergencies, and don’t forget the car connects calls through the speakers. There was no reason not to answer unless he was dead in a ditch.
I was pretty cold and angry and a little panicked. Hubs drives me nuts, but I don’t want him dead. Not then. I kind of did when he said he’d ignored the calls/messages because he was close to home and wanted to finish the podcast he was listening to. It would’ve been really amazing to know that instead of trying to figure out which window I could break to get in the house if I grew desperate enough. For the record, it’s the garage window. It’s old, single pane, low to the ground, and easily isolated so the rest of the house doesn’t turn into a freezer. I didn’t have to break one that day but at least I know which would be my victim for the future.