Bad Blogger Repentance

I am a Bad Blogger. And yes, I feel that should be in caps as a "title" of sorts. I really need to get myself into a more regular blogging schedule of any kind, huh. Oh well, at least while I've not been blogging, I've been busy doing other stuff. Like...spending far too much time at the L&V Daily Chum. Along with my morning coffee and usually with the Freaky Kitty on my lap, I sip and click and waste half the morning seeing what's new and fun in the fiber world. I have also been canning up blackberry jam and preserves (which all came out better than I expected) and Apple Pie in-a-jar (some of which needed a second round through processing and some which never did seal up right. Grrr but not a problem as I'll just bake a pie this afternoon). I've learned that it takes about an episode and a half of the L&V ladies' podcast to wash, cut, peel and slice the 28 cups of apples for a single batch of 7 quart jars for the A P i-a-j recipe. (In case you're wondering - and I know you are - that's about a 5 gallon bucket of home-grown apples). I've also made some soap - glad I noticed we were down to just one bar - and have been out in the garden some too. The zucs are just now starting to really kick into gear so my battle with our infamous huge slugs has also kicked in.
I've knit very little in the past week...only on a couple of take-along projects and not much at that. I really do need to figure out how to make-do with less sleep so I can knit more. And why do I need to knit more? Because I've been a very naughty girl. With my fav LYS going out of business, I've been dropping in every 4 or 5 days and watching the "I won't go any more than 35% off" swoop down to 60% off on everything in the shop. I've managed to control myself by mainly filling out the gaps in my needle size inventory but have also succumbed to the temptation of a wee bit of yarn. Not much but enough to feel guilty over. You see, it all started when I got anal about checking my status with Ravelry. They are still in Beta mode and I love their html choice for the "where am I on the list" site...it's called "antsy". How cute is that and true too. I have 8296 people ahead of me on the list but I'm ahead of 9135 other antsy folk. There are currently 17932 fibery knitting people on their waiting and hoping list. Did you ever think there might be that many knitting people in the world?!? But, back to how this all started...they are all about organizing and sharing knitting around the world. Sooo...one must be ready and organized with inventories and photos and lists and patterns and more when one receives one's invitation. Well, I went stash rootin' and discovered that I was down to only one grocery sack of real stash. One. Grocery sack. How sad for me, right? But, being on a yarn diet, I had to think long and hard and came up with this theory: I am only allowed to buy myself yarn that is either on sale, from a yard/estate sale or otherwise deeply discounted in some way. ( I have done phenomonly well on this self-imposed diet and only broke it once - in a little tiny way - when doing a yarn shop review that I later shared on the Lime 'N' Violet Message Board. That was the pattern and single skein of Galway Paint that the 4 little felted bootie/slippers were crafted of....does it count since I got 4 botties out of it?) However...confession time...I do have a couple of bags of yarn hidden around the downstairs and have slipped a few (OK, many), sets of new needles into the needle case and buried that packaging in the recycle bin. Good thing the Old Man doesn't read this blog, huh. (Guilty giggle here). I'll make it up by baking that apple pie later on. Hmmm...might even surprise him with french vanilla ice cream as a topper too. Yeah, that'll work.
See? It's not about guilt...it's about justification. Of which, I am "the Queen".
OK...two more 5 gallon buckets of apples waiting for their turn under the knife, the bearded dragon habitat needs cleaning (Giz says Please!), if it's not gonna rain again, I should wash the car, must take pics to put here - these posts are boring without any eye candy...and oh, I'm sure I'll think of more that needs doing.