Spring is coming, spring is coming....

A foot of snow this week! Enough already!!!

Aside from that, there's not much going on here. Keith is still out of work, struggling to get the State of IL unemployment started. He made the 2 hour round trip to open his claim--a week later they sent him a notice saying he isn't eligible. So, today he has to make the round trip on snowy roads to deal with it again.

I'm still knitting socks and waiting for Spring!

Keeping warm?

Keeping warm in an RV in below zero temps can be a real challenge! I sort of have it down... Thermostat is set at 65 and we have lots of blankets.... :D

Winter continues...

Yup, anywhere that corn will grow is no fit place for people to live! December was filled with rain, freezing rain, more rain, ice, some sleet and a little bit of zero degree temps. We had a couple of 60 degree days and now we're back to yucky with really cold headed this way! We keep salt in a lidded bucket on the top step of the porch now!

Keith is still slogging off to the refinery to drive around in a truck, picking up the equivalent of dumpsters... It's still not dirt work, but it still pays well. We just knew they'd lay him off at Christmas time--but not! In fact, I think he's worked longer this time around than any time since July! I'm pretty sure they aren't keeping him around for his charming personality--he grumbles and growls all the time about the stupidity he sees all around him there....!

I just keep knitting, altho a friend mailed me a box of assorted beads that I may have to dig into and make something from! But first I have some socks to finish!

ReRun got to visit the vet yesterday, so he's been snipped and is a bit 'ouchy' today. I almost hated to have it done, because it seems like every time we've had a male puppy done, we've lost him within a year. Now, don't get me wrong, I would gladly give him to a good home that doesn't mind having a dog that stubbornly insists on leaving 'surprise packages' around the house--even tho he may have just come in from outdoors!



Now, back to my needles, while the wind howls and flaps the slide-out awnings and the furnace hums.....

Holiday 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!

My apologies for not updating more often... I've been doing a pretty fair job of keeping up my crafting blog, but neglecting the "Travels"! Maybe because we haven't moved from this spot for nearly 2 years???

The world of new highway construction work has been almost non-existent, so we've been treading water here, where we don't have to pay rent, at least! :) Since July, Keith has been working a job thru the Union Hall...running a fuel truck or hauling off debris pans at the local Marathon refinery. The Hall sends him out, he works a week or 3 and then gets laid off. A few days later, the Hall sends him there again--and so it goes. He's never been off for more than a week--it's usually less. I think he's been laid off 5, or maybe 6 times since July! We were hoping he'd get laid off this week...but NOOOOO! We've got deer to process and Christmas shopping to do! Guess we'll just go out on Friday! :D

Anyone who wants to read what I've been crafting can visit my crafting blog

Meanwhile, we hope you have a great holiday!

Fall

What a difference a month makes! Leaves are falling, we're getting bombed by acorns--no walnuts to crack this year! Normally, I'd be frantically gathering and rubbing through persimmons, but I've got so much pulp in the freezer, that I can't get excited enough to launch into that! And it's COOLER! Yippee!

Today is Dawn's 4th birthday! Wow! There was a big 'blow-out' at the other grandparents' house yesterday. They gave her a new saddle for her horse, but she was too busy to try it out much. Her brother spent most of the party riding around, tho. He's 11, and just the right age to really enjoy horse riding for the first time. :)

This afternoon, the kids are coming here to sit around the campfire and roast hot dogs. We saved our gift and told Dawn she'd have to come here to get it. :D Dora the Explorer, suede cowgirl boots--of course! And new books to read aloud.

Keith is still working day-to-day at the refinery. It's a very dependable job, since they could lay him off any day...and then call him back 3 days later! What a way to live! Most of the guys won't even go out on a call for this company because it's so undependable and there's no overtime work--and they might miss a 'good' job call! But, at least it's only 10 miles from 'home' and the work isn't taxing! It's not 'pushing dirt', which is what he wants to be doing, but it's a job. We still haven't agreed on what we'll do this winter....

I finished crocheting the monster round tablecloth, which I keep telling people I may use for a shawl! LOL! Lana seems to think it'll fit her dining table--but that table is always covered with laptops! She hardly needs a lace tablecloth for that! I haven't launched a new project yet--can't decide which way to go. With winter coming, I may take another stab at knitting socks....

ReRun the pup is still determined that inside the house is a better place to do his business, but we've made some progress, at least. I've done some researching and am pretty sure that we were sold a Heinz 57 dog instead of a 'designer' Yorkie Tzu. Without a DNA test, there's no way of knowing for sure, but he appears to be at least half Scottie--in looks and temperment! They are notorious for being stubborn and independent and just, plain hard to convince, when it comes to toilet training!

Last weekend we went CAMPING! Well, we took the truck camper and hour away and parked it in Richard's driveway, surrounded by 7 acres of woods, and built a campfire.... :D Closest thing to camping we've done since last year! It was fun. His newly re-acquired house is being remodeled and they had borrowed a ladder to use in place of the 10' one that had disappeared, along with most of his former possessions, at the same time his ex moved out. So there was much drywall mud and paint being applied. Lana has been designated the official color coordinator (no surprise there!) and is in charge of Painting. We watched. :) Keith applied his chain saw to some offending brush and a downed tree. Josh banged on his drum. Richard applied mud and tried to write during his breaks. And then they cooked and we ate. Not exactly our typical camping trip, but ya takes entertainment where ya finds it!

Labor Day Weekend

While half the Country is out playing, Hubby Dearest has gone off (after a full week of work!) to mow our son's hay, again. I don't know why.... We have no livestock to feed, he's already put up enough for the horses who live there on the farm. But, mow he must!

They didn't lay him off yesterday, as expected, so he still has a job on Tuesday. We had a half-plan to head up to Decatur with the truck camper next week, where he could 'show up' a few mornings on the pipeline job that's going there. I had even scrounged around until I found camping facilities at the Fairgrounds! That would be Plan B, now!

The puppy has begun to "get" the whole concept of going outdoors to do his business... I'm cleaning up less puddles now! Of course, he's now hiding to leave little packages for me, and telling me he has to go out, when all he wants to do is root for acorns and chase bugs...but it's progress! :)

Meanwhile, the round, crocheted tablecloth is getting HUGE. I'm on the fourth round of six rows of pineapples! Right now, I'm on my way out the door to mail a package of beaded jewelry to my friend in Canada--to hopefully be sold at an Arts and Crafts Fair in mid-September.

Happy Weekend!

PB&J

Tonite on the News, we learned that a nearby school system has been 'asked' by the parents of a child with severe peanut allergies, to make ALL the lunches "peanut free". INCLUDING the lunches that kids bring to school from home! The school has AGREED. Said the principal, "If we can save a child's life, it's worth the extra trouble."

There's a LIST of banned foods on the "peanut free" list, besides peanut butter...like bread with a peanut warning on the label, anything cooked in peanut oil, etc.... Where does this leave the poor people who have to send pb&j for their kids--because it's cheap?

Excuse me? What if (here comes the radical idea from the grouchy old woman) the parents of the allergic child just pack a peanut-free lunch for their child???? They might even threaten her with death if she eats anything that hasn't been packed into her lunchbox?

What's next? Or maybe I'm just being cranky.

end of today's rant
Meanwhile, in other news... Keith's little 3 day job at the Marathon refinery has been extended to Monday, at least! :) The round crochet tablecloth is back to pre-ripout size. The puppy is still not being terribly cooperative with his potty training. (A friend called today wanting me to board her 10 week old puppy for 3 days--NOT GONNA HAPPEN!) My knee is 'out', but better.

The excitement just never ends, here on the Hill!