by Kat | Mar 7, 2008 | General
Yes, that is correct – I can wrap up my tenure with Michigan’s Unemployment Voice Activated Services – or “You can call me Marvin”.
This is no longer The Home for the Unemployed!!
Yes, you read that right – last night I got the phone call from MetroHealth and they offered me a full time position!!!
I begin on March 31st – full time, days.
Yes, days.
I originally applied for the only open position – part-time nights and I was gearing myself up for the changes that would make to my life. But, somehow, miraculously, a full-time days position has come available and they offered it to me!!
I need to truly thank my friend Sandy for her assistance – she introduced me to the people I needed to talk with to get hired there in the first place. And, I need to thank God for His goodness in bringing the position I needed.
I have been unemployed for a LONG time – and it will feel so good to be back in the workforce!!
And, when do I re-enter??? March 31st is my start date. This is just perfect – I don’t have to stress about Easter and work, I don’t have to cancel on any classes I am taking. How perfect is that?
Okay – I am off to find a BLS class – I need my certification prior to starting!!
by Kat | Mar 6, 2008 | General
and by the end of the day it will stand for EMPLOYED! Or at least I hope it will – I know I have a job, but I am waiting for HR to get the paperwork together. Until I have that, I am in a bit of limbo, but that is alright with me.
Yes, that is right – yesterday I went to take my state test and ….. I PASSED! WOOO HOOOO!
It was all in all a very emotionally draining day – I had a funeral to attend in the morning for someone who was just 23 days older than me. We grew up together – his family and my family were close. His mom could easily be my “second mother”. Somedays life makes no sense at all.
So, after that I flew home to change clothes – I had to wear my school “scrubs” to my test and get myself to Grand Rapids to the testing site. I was worried about being there on time, but I made it with a five minute window to spare!! The test is set up in a “hospital” type room set up – and you have a “student actor” and a manikin to perform your selected skills on. There is a dour-faced tester who observes everything that you do. And, this dour-faced tester reads you the test instructions word for word – (ummm, hello, I can read). This always amazes me – you mean that you do not have to read to take this test??? She then reads word for word the skills that have been selected for you to perform. Yeah, well – my student actor was nice and, fortunately, I can talk to anybody – about anything. Even the manikin – yep, I am just chatting away with the manikin as I give her a partial bed bath. And, when I get to her right arm – oops, she is missing it. “Whew, one less thing to wash”, I say – I thought the instructor was going to wet herself she laughed so hard. She then says to me, “I had no idea the manikin was missing an arm”… So, I passed the clinical exam and the written exam!
I felt I deserved a bit of a treat, so I headed off for City Knitting to get some yarn. Okay, I know I don’t need any yarn… but I am taking a dyeing class there on March 15 with Rita Petteys of Yarn Hallow Yarns fame and I needed to get yarn to dye. I am excited to take this class!! Very excited – I did not select any “white” yarns to dye, I picked out more natural shades – some grey laceweight, some pale brown and cream alpaca, and something else that I cannot remember right now. Anyways, my treat for me – just because.
So, when I arrived home last night I was ready to collapse – but I had to run Heidi around to get a few things she needed. But, when I arrived home there was a package waiting for me at the door!
My Spa Swap package had arrived! Renee was my partner for this round of Lynne’s Special Swap and she sent me a package that is sure to energize me!! Renee must be my twin because we sent each other amazingly similar packages!! She sent me some wonderful things! And it all started with a card that she made by hand! She packed in my “Spa Day” package some great Burt’s Bees products! I love Burt’s Bees! My lips, hands, feet, and elbows thank you Renee!! She also sent me some aromatherapy soy candles! I wish you all could have smelled the aroma that wafted out of the package when I opened it – mmmmm, so nice. Another votive candle to add to my “tub collection”. I mean how special is it, gentle readers, to draw a nice hot bubble bath and light a gajillion candles and sit and soak. She tucked into the package a nice little portable journal so I can jot down notes. This I am going to tuck into my spinning bag – and I will start to keep better notes about what fibers I have and what I have spun. She also sent me some dark chocolate truffles… Oh. My. Gosh. Mmmmmmmm. Last, but not least – she sent me some Deram in Color Smooshy in Happy Forest! Now if this stuff does not make you energized, I don’t know what will. Smooshy is truly what this yarn is. My feet will certainly be doing a happy dance with socks knit from this on them. I will have to browse Ravelry and queue something up! And, hopefully I have my May Day Socks done soon so I can start knitting them!! Renee, thank you so much for such a great swap package! It so rocks!! And, thank you to our Swap Mama Lynne for matching me up with such a great partner!
Alright, I had better get off my butt and get something done this morning. Have a good day all!
by Kat | Mar 4, 2008 | General
Hello Everyone! Well, I am knitting and knitting and knitting – and there is a bit of spinning thrown in for balance.
I wanted to show you my Totally Tubular Edge – it is just so cool, dudes! Thank you Ysolda!
As you can see I am working away on Gretel. I am almost done with chart #1 and skein #1. This is a fun knit and great practice for cabling sans cable needle! I am loving this technique! It makes cable knitting so much faster – and there is much less stretching out of the stitches with them hanging on a cable needle. I hope to have this hat finished this week!
Next there is a May Day Sock Sway update. Last time I had told you I had picked the pattern and the yarn. Well, the yarn arrived – STR Mediumweight in Tanzanite. This picture does not do the fiber justice at all – it is a deep, vibrant purple. The pattern I selected is so appropropriate for me to send – after all I live in Holland – Chrissy Gardiner’s Twisted Tulip Socks from the latest IK issue is perfect.
As you can see I have cast on and have about an inch of the cuff done. The pattern is flowing right along. I love how the twisted knit stitches stand out. Those of you who are Blue Moon Fiber Arts STR fans will know that the yarn is perfect – soft and squishy. Perfect for socks for my pal. The chart would be a nightmare to read, but I recently got some highlighter tape – wow, that stuff rocks, gentle reader. Totally rocks!
What else is on my schedule for the day? Well, I have my state test tomorrow for my CNA certification – so I am doing a bit of review today! I also have an orchestra concert to attend tonight – Heidi will be playing. There is spinning tonight as well – let’s all hear it for how to juggle a hectic schedule. I will go to the concert to listen to Heidi play her 3 songs – then head off with Alice in tow to spinning!
Stay tuned tomorrow for an update on how I did. I will also have a big announcement coming soon – a long awaited big announcement.
Have a great Tuesday all.
by Kat | Mar 2, 2008 | General
In my on going effort to learn new things – I am happy to report that I figured out the Tubular Cast-on Friday. There is a most excellent UTube video for help from the amazing Ysolda
With her lilting voice she brings you along with her as she deftly shows you how to do this incredible cast on. As she knits with you, she makes it so much easier than stumbling along on your own.
So, I am well into my cables as I am knitting Gretel. I am certain that I will most definitely get some use out of this hat yet this season – because while it is warm out now – winter is sure to give us a few final blasts before spring ushers him out for good.
And, yesterday I had the most wonderful day – I spent it in Lansing on a Knitting Trip to Selbu with the amazing Terri Shea and her Selbuvotter Mittens. She is a most amazing educator and her knowledge of the history of Selbu knitting makes it so fascinating. I have one mitten completed and I am hoping to get the second cast on tomorrow. It is a quick and fun knit.
One last tale from my Wild and Crazy Adventure to Petosky – we did some shopping in the local consignment shops. Ummm, can you say good deals? Yes, I managed to find a few. And, we filled to large garbage bags with woolen sweaters – stay tuned for some creative genius. Yes, we will be stitching and a felting! Wait until you see….
Have a great Monday everyone!
by Kat | Feb 29, 2008 | General
Or Not All Fast Food Is Created Equal.
Whew, are you caught up from my whirl wind post from yesterday?
Just when you thought you had your feet back on the ground here I come to send it all whirling again!
One of the things we picked up at Kim Clare’s Farm and Woolery was her mom’s cookbook.
Cute, huh? Well – the recipes inside are something to behold. Until Sandy and I had read the cookbook, neither of us was aware that you could stay awake until 2AM reading recipes out loud and laughing hysterically.
I know – who knew!
So, on our 3rd night there – yes, we were only going to say 2 nights – but that class on wet felting allowed us to stay an extra day. Anyways, back to night #3. We had stopped again at the Pellston Market to get some more cheese (a bit of Rogue River Blue and some Triple Cream Brie. Gentle reader, you have not lived until you have had these cheeses with some fig jam on top. Yes, Fig Jam. Oh. My. Gosh. I swear I heard the Hallelujah Chorus being sung by a multitude of the Heavenly host. Honestly.)
Again, I digress…
Back to the Pellston Market. We were waiting for them to shave us off a couple more slices of cheese when what do our wondering eyes behold.
Microwave dinner in the freezer.
Microwave dinner you say?
Let me just tell you, not all Fast Food is created equally.
How does Curried Chicken Breast on a bed of Israeli Couscous with Pernod soaked golden raisins and oven roasted tomatoes sound?
Not like any fast food I have ever eaten.
We had it with a desert mousse – Frozen White Chocolate Towers with a fresh Papaya Puree’.
Are we pitiful or what?
So, we noshed on some cheeses, sipped some wine and while we waited for the microwave to cook our dinner we began to read the recipes from “Louise’s Recipe Collection”. I swear we were not intoxicated – knitter’s honor! But, we could not stop laughing at some of these recipes. If you do not know how to make Finger Jello, email me – the recipe is in here. If you do not know how to make “Fast Salad” (aka, lime jello fluff – you all remember that stuff, cottage cheese, dry jello, Cool Whip, and a canned fruit – our house made it with crushed pineapple) that recipe is in there too. There is a macaroni salad that has 2 cups of mayo, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of vinegar in it – I am not kidding you. I could not make this stuff up if I tried! Under the “Main Dish” section was this little gem – and although it is not really little – I had to share it with you today. Maybe we can start a nationwide shortage of maraschino cherries – Manhattan drinker’s beware!
So, without further adieu – here you go, gentle reader:
Baked Oatmeal:
42 ounce box of Quick Cook Oatmeal (yes, 42 ounces – get the Sam’s Club Special)
2 pounds of brown sugar (you got it, 2 whole pounds – better get that at Sam’s while you are at it)
4 tablespoons of baking soda
4 cups of milk
8 eggs (huh? only 8 eggs – that must be a typo.)
2 cups of melted butter (are your arteries clogging yet????)
2 cups of maraschino cherries (if you drink Manhattan’s you may want to stock up – and if you happen to go the your local market and find no maraschino cherries on the shelves, don’t say I did not warn you)
2 cups of raisins
Mix oatmeal, sugar, soda, raisins and cherries. Beat eggs, milk, and butter together and add to dry ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 2 inch full size pan (huh, I’d say the largest freakin’ pan in your kitchen and hope that it is big enough!!) Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Serve with milk and bananas.
The author has hand written this note in my book – “for a large crowd“.
I am not kidding you folks – can you see what we spent the evening laughing about? There is one recipe in which you must take the pot of tomato jam and place it on your head, stirring constantly – watch for lumps. How the heck do you see what is inside the pot with it perched upon your head!!!! We almost died on this one. And then there is the recipe for Prefect Poached Eggs – no, not Perfect – Prefect – must be extra special eggs that either Roman Magistrates or Jesuit Priests make. My face hurt we laughed so much – seriously.
So, next time you find me I will be whipping up a batch of Tomato Jam – I’ll be easy to find, look for the girl with the pot on her head.
Just a bit of eye candy to end your day on a more serious note… some yummy Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 3-Ply on the right and Handmaiden Silk Rumple Kid Mohair on the left.
Have a fabulous Friday and get cooking!
