December 2006 Archives

Well, it's time for a retrospective look on the past year. There's been highs and lows, and I'm certainly glad to see this over.

One of the low points is that, of course, I was not able to find a job. Yes, I've gone through so many job interviews and gotten better, more or less. But I'm still without a job offer. At least I got called back for a second interview - that's quite an improvement. A big goal for 2007 is to get a Job. Especially with MDSWF coming up before I know it . . .

I'm not going to enumerate finished projects because I didn't finish many of the projects that I had carried into the beginning of 2006. Another goal - stick a fork in these and call it done. At least I was able to finish a small project with my hand-spun yarn.

It's my hope and prayer that 2007 will be a better year for Bruce and me. Some of my resolutions:

I will be more sociable and get back to going to knitting groups. There's talk at Holy Cross Orthodox Church (which we visit once in a while) about starting up an knitting group that would meet Sundays. I hope to go there once in a while.

I will work on getting the deaf ministry going at St. Nicholas Cathedral. We've lost an interpreter since she's gone back to school to pursue a master's degree. I've spoken to Fr. Constantine to see how their search for another one is going, and we will be getting together after Epiphany to discuss this and other issues. If you know of any sign-language interpreter who would be interested in interpreting Sunday mornings (our parish does pay the interpreter for doing this), please send them my way!

I will read more. Since I don't have money to buy books, I've been going to the library to check out books. I'm there so often that they know me by sight now. I do need to work on returning books on time. If I keep checking my account online more often, this shouldn't be too hard.

I will work on my sewing. I really need to get back to the sewing machine. I'm stuck on the bag that I'm making - there's a step in the directions that I don't quite understand. But once I get this figured out, I should be back on track. And I do need to get the rec room straightened up so that it's a more inviting place to sew. And umm, Hubby needs to finish the plans for a sewing cabinet for me . . .

If you are a Mac user who is looking for a job, and a programmer who needs to keep up with what's happening in the field and thus has to print out a lot of documentation, and who likes to be able to move around the house freely, then this Canon MP830 All-in-One printer probably isn't for you, despite assurances from the CompUsa Printer Guru wearing a light jacket with a Canon logo that "Canon was the best" when it comes to compatibility with Macintosh computers.

Despite the fact that it can plug into the wireless router with no problems at all, Macintosh users wishing to print out must plug their computers directly into the printer, unless they have a spare Mac that is being used as a server. Here's the mind-boggling fact: the previous incarnation didn't have this limitation, and of course it's discontinued.

To add insult to the injury, Mac users cannot use the fax when trying to fax from their computers.

Luckily, Hewlett Packard is not this dumb. HP OfficeJet 7310 does the job just as well.

Troparion, Tone 4

Your Nativity, O Christ our God,
Has shone to the world the Light of wisdom!
For by it, those who worshipped the stars,
Were taught by a Star to adore You,
The Sun of Righteousness,
And to know You, the Orient from on High.
O Lord, glory to You!

Since said recipient is now in another state with her in-laws and being kept busy by her two active children, I can safely reveal the Firefly hat that I'd been working on. I spun the yarn for both orange-yellow and red portions. I had a bag of Corriedale wool dyed in orange and yellow that I'd been planning to get rid of as I find the color combination a bit garish. Then I realized this would be perfect for a hat in the style of the knitted cap that Jayne receives from his mom in a Firefly episode.

I don't remember what wool breed the red portion is from, but I do believe I used leftover red dye that I had used to dye my Easter eggs. This dye is seemingly inexhaustable and a little from the packet that I got from some place specializing in Greek food items will go a long way indeed.

This will make my friend very happy indeed! She'll be getting it next week when they stop by. Here's another closeup of the cap . . .

I guess I'd better get my 6 weird thing out while this meme is still going strong. Soo . . . here goes . . .

1. I eat my dry cereal without milk. I can't stand soggy food and I don't like the way milk tastes. I must have my orange juice when I have breakfast or I feel out of sorts for the rest of the day.

2. I will eat a lemon without batting an eyelash. I have a high tolerance for acidic, tart food.

3. I get very nauseous every time I see something on tv, or read in the newspapers and magazines, about eye treatments, injuries and such. My eyes are my ears, so there's that fear of not having full use of my eyes. It takes great effort not to think about this as I have a very vivid imagination, and I will sometimes have to leave the room or change the channel.

4. I'm very interested in the 16th century history and I'm always thinking of what I'd be doing if it was 1516 in Venice or 1534 at the Spanish court. If you asked me to give you the genealogical background of an royal figure, I could probably draw out the family tree, and even tell you how interrelated their descendants were (especially the Hapsburgs). I'm always having certain years floating around in my mind. 1500s to 1560s pop up very frequently; 1570s to 1580s less often and the 1590s very rarely show up in my mind.

5. I will dream of something and years later everything happens exactly as I had dreamed. Most of the time I will forget what I've dreamed, and then when that event occurs I will almost instantly remember that I've dreamed of this. I may be psychic, but I don't put much stock in it.

6. I can go for a long time without eating sweet food, and then have moments where I just have to have something sweet to eat every day, whether it's a bit of dark chocolate, or an eclair. I've even been known to nibble on bits of brown sugar if I can't find any candy or such in my house.

So I'm watching "Hidden Potential" on HGTV where they're showing a young couple with a 2-year old daughter three houses with ideas for renovating into an "open" floor plan. Second house is a lovely Colonial built in 1790s and selling for $399K because it's so "old". And the designer has ideas for changing the entire floor plan into a modern style, possibly knocking down walls? What. an. idiot. Desecrating a well-kept, old house with history should be a felony crime.

His photo blog hasn't been updated for the past two weeks since his mommy and daddy have been busy with work and traveling lately. But Kai seems to have discovered a new toy - a skein of Brown Sheep Wildfoote sock yarn! Of course, he's not supposed to be playing with it as it belongs to Aunt Lola, let's just enjoy the moment, shall we?

As I mentioned couple weeks ago, I had two job interviews. These went okay. It looks like I'll have to go back for another interview, this time with an interpreter since they "couldn't" understand what I said. Meh. These two places aren't exactly on the top of my list of "Dream" companies. Well, more to the point, not on the list. But in the short term, it will have to do.

Right now I'm working on an Xmas present, even though I vowed that I wouldn't try to knit my hands off trying to get anything finished. Yet here am I, working on a small project that I hope to complete the shaping tonight and then add more features. I'd show you a picture, but said recipient may be reading the blog. Once i get this done, I can move on . . . I think.

This meme sounded too much fun not to pass up . . .

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I prefer hot chocolate. Actually, I favor hot mulled cider over hot chocolate - I've never been much of a milk drinker. Egg nog is usually served at my parents' home, and of course, hubby loves it (gotta keep a close eye on his egg nog consumption . . . )

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Isn't it fun to tear all those wrapping paper off? I'm looking forward to seeing Kai playing with all those wrapping paper.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored. It's prettier that way.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Never have . . . my family just wasn't too into decorating with greenery.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Always in December, about a couple weeks before Christmas. We aren't getting a tree this year, though - too expensive and we aren't going to be doing any holiday entertaining, so what's the point? We'll just enjoy the tree over my sister's . . .

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Smithfield smoked ham. It's a true Virginian delicacy, and my father prepares it for Thanksgiving and there's usually enough to last till Christmas. Yes, some of my roots lie in Virginia . .

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Going over to Grandmother's home for Christmas dinner.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember when I learned the truth - I must have put two together when I woke up one night and saw some unusual activity beyond the dining room to the indoor porch where we would have our Christmas tree with all those gifts underneath it.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Not as a child. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It's more prone to getting opened on Christmas Eve if I suspect it's fiber-related.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? When we're in the mood and in good shape financially to have a tree, we decorate it with old and new ornaments. I have a nice assortment of ornaments that I have collected over the years, and some which my parents passed on to me when there was no longer a need to put up the tree at their home.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it! Hate the cold, though.

12. Can you ice skate? Unfortunately, no.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Umm, hard to remember right now. I'm sure there were several gifts that were my favorites, but as the years go on, some supersede others as the favorites.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? I love being with my family, some of who I only see a few times each year.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Well, right now I don't really have a favorite. I love to bake, though, and sometimes I'll try a new recipe. I suppose if we're fortunate enough to have children of our own, we'll come up with a favorite holiday dessert.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Being with family.

17. What tops your tree? I think it's a star. Or is it an angel? Didn't put the tree up last year, so I don't remember what I have.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Do I really have to answer this question?

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night, Holy Night. I love this solemn song.

20. Candy Canes… yuck or yum? Umm . . . for the most part, yuck. I'm not a big fan of peppermint except in chewing gums.

Well . . . it looks like a good number of comments, for some truly bizarre reason, have been going into the Junk Comments section, along with with **** comments that make you feel like taking a good long shower with gritty soap after wading through these. Yuck. I've liberated the legitimate comments, dating back to July, and junked the rest. I guess I'll have to don my raincoat and galoshes and wade through the Junk Comments section on a more regular basis. Sorry if you were puzzled at not seeing your comments show up . . .