Bridges & Traffic

We here in the Tri-Cities area FINALLY get the bridge work done and then I read this. I have to say I'm really glad I don't live in San Francisco right now!

The truth is that I didn't mind the delays so much as I minded the other idiots on the road. The signs say for miles to merge left and so like a sane person I do and then just as I'm ready to get onto the one lane open on the bridge here comes some moron racing up in the right lane and dang near pushing me into the divider as he cuts in front of me. Everybody knows that there is a lane on the left coming from Pasco merging into the left lane on the bridge right there!

The other incident that didn't really put me in danger but scared me a bit was on 182 between TRAC and the other bridge. I'm driving along noticing there's a lot more traffic due to the blue bridge being closed keeping a close eye on everybody when in my rear view mirror I see a jacked up brand new pickup behind me swerve into the left lane cutting someone else off. The scary part was that he swerved so hard the entire truck was tipping sideways. I thought he was going to end up rolling over and causing a major pile up.

Really glad our bridge construction is done and I'm not in SF. At least we didn't have pieces of the bridge falling on us! :)

What I'm Up To

Listening To: The Final Detail by Harlan Coben

Looking Forward To: The weekend! I will probably end up having to work most of it again just to get as caught up as I can but at least I won't have to answer the phone and deal with 15 interruptions an hour. Never did get to the movie last Friday, as the coworkers bailed at the last minute, so I might head out to one sometime this weekend.

Reading: Cut to the Quick by Dianne Emley

Watching: The vehicles pour into the yard. Thank God the cut off day is Friday!

Working On: Vehicles, vehicles, vehicles. I still haven't touched a crochet hook. I know this auction is good for business and that it's job security but I hate getting slammed. We're up to 243 vehicles. Help!!!!

Sunday in K-Town

Sunday we all went out to K-town for Mom's birthday. Meg brought baby Alli who looks just like her daddy who couldn't come because he had to work at the hospital.

Jennifer with Meagan and Alli.

Amanda, her two boys (Trent and Tyler) and husband Chris with baby Alli.

Chris and Alli

Tyler with his new Bakugan toy.

Trent with his ever present Nintendo!

We all helped carry mom's new greenhouse from the shop (where they assembled it) to the yard. Dad is inside anchoring it to the ground.

Three of mom's five cats. Only the momma of these three is a house cat now as she's kicked the four babies out to the cellar. Her furniture was taking a clawing!

What I'm Up To

Enjoying: My new necklace! She's got some cool new stuff she did that isn't in the shop yet that you can see here.

Listening To: The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson

Looking Forward To: Working all weekend to get caught up. (Sarcasm doesn't translate well to text.) Though we might take off early tomorrow and go to a movie.

Reading: Frankenstein Book Two City of Night by Dean Koontz

Watching: Whip It

Working On: The November auction. Vehicles, vehicles, vehicles. I just physically inspected about 100 of them. So far there's about 225 listed and they're still taking consignments for another week. Now I need to spend the next three days doing paperwork to get caught up with the 100 that are already here. Washington keeps changing the rules on me this year. In the last six months they've implemented the federal DOT Number form requirement AND the new automatic $5 donation to the state parks and rec program unless "opted" out on the Title Application (ANOTHER new form). There they go making my job even more complicated than it already was! I haven't even touched a crochet hook in over a week.

Ohhhh but the good news...I finally found a program (Synergy - it's FREE) and figured out how to get one keyboard and one mouse to work with both my desktop and laptop. Now I don't have to physically disconnect the keyboard and mouse from the desktop and plug them into the laptop. The keyboard and mouse stay plugged into my desktop and I just scroll the mouse across the desktop screen over to the laptop screen and the keyboard types on whichever computer the mouse has active. Now I just need to figure out if it works with a configuration like Mom has, i.e. two monitors hooked up to a desktop and one monitor hooked up to a laptop. ~~~ Oh no I'm turning into a computer geek! I'll take whatever makes my job easier though!

Dust Storm

Interesting view of the dust storm I was in on Sunday.

2016 Olympics & Other Ramblings

Ok, so maybe I'm not patriotic enough but could we just be happy for Rio?!?!?! What's with this sense of entitlement? Seems to me the US has had the games here quite a few times in recent years and there ARE a lot of other countries out there who participate!

Very, very happy that one of my favorite sites A Bunny A Day is back! Loving her latest painting as seen here. She has a new fashion blog where she also sells some of her jewelry at Scarlet Buffalo. (I will not mention how much of my day can disappear while browsing these two inspiring sites. - You never know when the boss will stumble upon your blog. )

This seems to be the week of blast from the past people. Giz stopped by the office today and so ok we've seen him within the last few years but he is from life about 20 years ago. And the one that really surprised me...I answered the phone (again here at the office) and who should be there but Aunt Joan?!?!? For those of you not in the know this is my ex-aunt who I haven't seen for at least twenty years. She's coming to visit the weekend of the 16th, so to my sisters...get ready because Mom will want to have a get together!

Current mood: Feeling a shopping accident at the local yarn store coming on! I really should stick to the cheaper yarns...the $15 a skein silk yarn makes a $60 scarf. (Makes for an expensive "hobby.") Ahh well have to spoil myself sometimes. :)

Rose Bud Scarf

Laines Du Nord Cashsilk

50% Merino Extrafine Unshrinkable Wool

25% Silk

25% Cashmere

Rose Bud

72" Long by 3.25" Wide

Driftwood Scarf

Sirdar Just Bamboo

100% Bamboo

Driftwood

74" Long by 4.5" Wide

The first images on these posts are web images that show the color of the yarn as my photo skills are not that great. This yarn is very hard to photograph well and is even more "shimmery" than the first image shows. I'm really not happy with the way the pictures of this one turned out so I may try again tomorrow in the sun.

Deep Ocean Scarf

Knit Picks Swish Worsted Yarn

100% Superwash Merino Wool

Deep Ocean

61" Long by 4.5" Wide

Squirrel Heather & Onyx Heather Scarf

Knit Picks Swish Bulky Yarn

100% Superwash Merino Wool

Squirrel Heather & Onyx Heather

79" Long by 6.5" Wide

Forest Heather Scarf

Knit Picks Swish DK Yarn

100% Superwash Merino Wool

Forest Heather

67" Long by 4" Wide

What I'm Up To

Listening To: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Looking Forward To: Fall, I love watching the leaves change colors and sitting in front of a nice fire. Reminds me of when we were little and all sat around the wood stove listening to my mother read to us at night. Helpful hint for parents: Reading something like Congo by Michael Crichton to your 4 five to ten year old children right before bedtime may not be the best idea. I seem to remember being terrified after the scene where Amy bites somebody's ear. ~ Thanksgiving, Christmas and then in Feb. Puerto Vallarta! (also trying to talk some people into going back to Maui in August - Hey...if my sister can go to Hawaii twice in one summer I can take two vacations in one year!)

Reading: Mounting Fears by Stuart Woods and The Whole Truth by David Baldacci

Watching: Hell's Kitchen - Pulling for Dave (the one with the cast on one arm)

Working On: Kids settlements for CBJLS ~ Titles, gearing up for the fall auction season ~ Taking pictures of all the crochet projects I've FINALLY finished. There's a fairly wide range of yarns this time as I've been experimenting with wool, cashmere, silk and bamboo blends! Hopefully, I'll get those posted either tonight or tomorrow.

What I'm Up To

Listening To: The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross

Looking Forward To: CBJLS next week.

Reading: The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver

Watching: Julie & Julia

Working On: Designing and printing movie tickets, reformatting data for sheep entries (already have the swine and steers done), basically all the last minute details to get ready for CBJLS. Also working on finishing up a few more of my crochet "work in progress" projects so I can finally start some new ones.

Getting Caught Up On All The Work(s) In Progress

Lion Brand Yarn

Lion Suede Prints

Sage

4 Inches Wide by 124 Inches Long

Crochet

Lion Brand Yarn

Lion Suede Prints

Canyon Print

3 Inches Wide by 87 Inches Long

Crochet

Lion Brand Yarn

Lion Suede Prints

Desert Print

4.5 Inches Wide by 64 Inches Long

Crochet

Swish Worsted Yarn

100% Superwash Merino Wool

Delft Heather

6 Inches Wide by 44 Inches Long

Crochet

My Niece

Yeah!!! Congratulations Meg & Billy!

What I'm Up To

Listening To: First Family by David Baldacci

Looking Forward To: Birth of my first niece (due on the 22nd)!

Reading: Last Known Victim by Erica Spindler

Watching: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Working On: Getting all the pre-entry forms from exhibitors for the fair. New superintendents in the barns so things could be interesting this year. Hopefully all goes well.

RIP Eric & Kurt

Probably very few people know this (my mother didn't even remember) but the very first time I heard rock music was the Christmas that Harder's gave me the AC/DC For Those About To Rock tape. Somehow I seriously doubt that Bill and Vivian were the one's to pick out my Christmas present that year. So I owe Eric & Kurt my eternal thanks for introducing me to something that has been and always will be a huge part of my life...music.

What I'm Up To

Listening To: The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son by Rupert Isaacson

Looking Forward To:  Camping at Umatilla National Forest south of Pomeroy, WA the weekend of June 26th. 

Reading: Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner

Watching: Terminator Salvation

Working On: All of my "work in progress" crochet projects.  Need to actually finish a few before starting yet another one.

What I'm Up To

Listening To: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Looking Forward To:  Les Claypool concert at Knitting Factory in Spokane on June 24th

Reading: Apploosa by Robert B. Parker
Mercy Street by Mariah Stewart

Watching: Wolverine

Working On: Onyx and Squirrel Wool Scarf

What I'm Up To

Listening To: Dawn by Elie Wiesel (book on tape)

Looking Forward To:  Dinner at The Moose with the work crew on Thursday.

Reading: Final Justice by Fern Michaels

Watching: Nothing

Working On: Titles for the May Consignment Auction.

May is going to be absolutely insane what with all the freaking auctions the boss has scheduled.  I'm going to be buried under a stack of titles so deep I won't be able to enjoy the view of my new painting from A Plush LIfe which I'll have to take photos of and post for all to enjoy!  I actually put this one on my wall here at the office so I'll have to do some more shopping for my walls at home.

Scarf & Necklace

Lion Brand Yarn

Lion Suede Prints

Seacrest

7 Inches Wide by 71 Inches Long

Crochet

These photos ARE all of the same scarf.  (In about 50 years or so I may figure out how to run my camera.)  The last photo shows the true colors of the scarf.

Necklace
The green cord in the necklace is actually the color shown in the swiped pic below.

Tree measures approximately 2.5 inches by 2 inches.