High Tech

Today's world is decidedly high tech. However, there are a few situations where low tech works just fine or better than high tech.

For example, cat-proofing your kitchen. Raven has turned into quite the intrepid explorer. He has been spotted on tables, counters and even on the fume hood over the stove! He has learned how to open (and close, thus concealing the evidence) cupboards. He roots through the garbage. It's like we never feed him or something. Which I assure you is not the case. We have even set out an extra food bowl for him where the other girls can't get at it to give him a little extra.

So, the other day, when I came downstairs and found garbage strewn about and the cat-food cupboard open and the cans of food tumbled every which way, I took steps. Very low tech steps.

Step one:

Empty vegetable oil jug refilled with water and placed on garbage can lid. Not as inconvenient as other possible items to weigh down the lid since it has a nifty handle. and so far Raven has not discovered how to lift this much weight!

Step 2:

Loop an elastic band around the handle of the drawer, pass through cupboard handle and loop back over drawer handle. Raven can pull the door open a centimetre or so. The door then snaps shut on him. Makes a little thumping noise, but that's it.

Voila! Low tech cat-proofing! With bonus points for cheapness.

ciao

What Is That?

Could it be? Yes! I think it is! Light! There is light at the end of the tunnel. How exciting.

I would now like to direct your attention to the picture below.

That, my friends, is the last square. The final square. I thought I had 5 more to do, but decided to count just to be sure. Good thing. As I only had the one left to do. So I did it!

Now to the ironing of the squares so that they will stay semi-flat for seaming. Then the seaming. shudder.

I think I need some chocolate.

Ciao

Handspun, not Mine, but MINE

A while ago I won something from the Farm Witch. It arrived today. Isn't it lovely?

150 yards of gorgeousness. Now, what to make? When I finish the never ending mitred blanket, that is....

ciao

It's a Very Furoshiki Chrissmoose

As some of you may remember, a while back I was absolutely fascinated with furoshiki. So this year, I decided that some of the presents would be wrapped furoshiki style. The rest are in my usual newspaper-gift-wrapping. Does it make me odd that I won't buy wrapping paper but I will buy cloth to wrap presents in?

Anyway, when I was at the One of A Kind Craft Show the Hoi Bo booth had handkerchiefs with screen printing done on them. I bought them and wrapped some presents in them!

I may not be an expert, but I am rather pleased anyway.

The gift-wrapping inspector approves.

Merry Chrissmoose

Fingernail Friday-Snow Edition

Little did I realize that when I got my nails done the other day, that the friday weather would be like this:

My fingernails this week are rather appropriate, however accidentally that came about:

Snowflakes!

(Just for you, Bezzie, I picked an alternative caffeine product for a prop instead of using a coffee cup! )

Swag!

Scout had a contest and I won something! A book. A very cool book.

The most interesting project I think are the felted rings. You needle felt some roving into a cicle and then felt some other roving in a design on top or attach a bead etc. Very neat. I just may have to try it. There are some lovely other projects too. That is just the neatest one!

Adventures in Pharmacy

Due to a migraine, no real knitting has happened for a few days. Thus, it is time for another installment of work stories.

I had a lady come in to get something for her kids to keep them from being carsick. When I pulled out the Gravol (dimenhydrinate), she said that her brother-in-law out west used something that didn't make him sleepy. So I suggested the ginger tablets (also made by Gravol). Ginger has been used for centuries to settle stomachs. Nope, she was having none of that. She wanted the mystery product that her BIL used. I asked if this product was a patch?(scopolamine) Nope. I had no idea and suggested she get him to tell her the brand name or, ideally, the ingredient in whatever he was using. She whipped out her cell-phone and called him. What was the mystery product? Dramamine. Of course he wasn't at home (he was on his cell) so couldn't tell her the active ingredient.



However, with my 18 years of pharmacist experience, I knew that the active ingredient is the same as Gravol. She kept insisting it wasn't. Finally, I just had to tell her that the only thing we had was Gravol. Did she want it or not? As I was ringing her sale up, her cell phone rang again. It was someone in the parking lot. She had blocked them in with her company car. Since the phone number was on the vehicle, the blocked in person called her! She was all huffy about it.



Umm, this woman came in. Was rude to me. Refused to believe me when I told her something true to AND blocked someone in the parking lot. Nice person.


Onwards. Same day, a couple of hours later. Client came in with paperwork from her new job. Said paperwork contained (supposedly) the drug plan information for billing. she wanted her kid's $100 medication billed to the plan. I explained that I would try, but the paperwork typically doesn' t have all the info we need. Sure enough, there were 2 sets of numbers. One for the actual insurance company. One for the third party computer claims company. But no indication of which 3rd party computer claims company. There are many. There was also no indication that her particular plan was accepted online. I tried to take an educated guess and wrestled with it for 15 minutes. With her standing in front of me getting irritable. Finally gave up and told the lady that without the 3rd party company name, I couldn't do it, could she come back when she had the actual card in hand? She got all huffy and angry and stalked off.



Apparently, I was supposed to be psychic and know what plan to use. Lady, if Iwas psychic, I wouldn't be working. I would have divined the lottery numbers ages ago and I would be living the good life. Somewhere warm. With a poolboy and a masseuse on staff. Oh. and a personal trainer to get me off my ass so it didn't become the size of HER ass.

That is all

Squirrel Nuts

Quite a while ago I worked in a nice little pharmacy in a heritage building. Our front door looked out to the park. Quite a pleasant view. It was a nice day, so we propped the door open and I happened to look out the door at just the right time and saw this:

A squirrel. On the stoop. Clutching a horse chestnut still in it's spikey green covering. not something I usually seee. Of course, I am usually in the back of some huge department type store. So just seeing sunlight is unusual and noteworthy. Never mind squirrels with nuts.

heh.

ciao

I'm So Excited

And I just can't hide it. I'm about to lose control....

Okay, maybe not. But I am excited! I have made my very own yarn barf.

That's right. My first plyed yarn off the Lendrum! Woo and hoo!

Close ups:

It's definitely thick 'n thin, but it is soooo soft. I don't have very much. Not sure what to knit with it. Any suggestions?

Fingernail Friday!

Bet you thought I'd forgotten, eh? Nope. I left my house at 8:30am this morning and have spent all day running around. I didn't get home till 6:10pm. One of the things I was doing was getting my nails done. So as not to disappoint my fans, of course.

Today there are 2 pics, as I couldn't get fingers and thumb in the same shot.

Thumb:

And fingers:

Yup, I've got seasonal fingernails, folks!

Ciao

Mmmph

I am having a 'meh' kind of week. I really didn't feel like going to work this week. Then something like 12 shifts got cancelled on me by a client. Fortunately, I managed to fill them, so the issue is revenue-neutral, but I found the way the company handled it extremely irritating.

I blame the lack of sunlight. We are getting very few hours of daylight right now. The few hours we do get have next to no sun. Today the sun came out for a whole 10 minutes. While I was at work. Trapped inside. Days and days of grey nothingness. Why should I want to get out of bed?

I think Pagan has the right idea.

Curl up and sleep. Ignore the world.

Sweet dreams, all

Pothole

Last weekend I went to visit my sister. Which meant some primo knitting time on the train. My goal was to get 3 of the 13 squares I need to get done for the mitred square project. I thought I was going to do it. But I hit a bump in the road. A snag. A rough patch. A pothole in the speedway of knitting.

Check out the brown stripe the arrow is pointing to. Look a little thin to you? It is. It's WRONG. I have to rip back. I don't want to. Waaaaahhhhhh.

In other news, my sister and I did get her Christmas tree up.

It's a miniature tree for her small apartment.

Here it is lit up:And a close up of some of the decorations.

A teeny (not handknit) sweater, a couple of Starships Enterprise, I believe, C3Po and a Borg Cube. That says "We are Borg. Have a happy holiday. Resistance is futile"

ciao