Bad Weekend!

It is really quite astonishing how quickly a weekend can go from great to crappy. This past Saturday, I decided to move the Chimena (an outdoor fireplace thingy) up onto the patio. We hadn't used it so far this year and I decided that since it was one of those coolish days temperature-wise it would be nice to sit out back with a little fire going. Wrong! I moved the thing close to the patio, so I wouldn't have to carry it that far (It is relatively heavy) and then got myself into as perfect a lifting position as I could -back straight, knees bent, feet apart. (all the stuff you are supposed to do when you pick up heavy objects) The next thing I knew my lower back went BWOING! and I knew I was screwed. Yep, you guessed it, I pulled my back all outta whack. It took me about 15 minutes to get INTO bed on Saturday. Don't ask how long it took me to get out to use the facilities! I ended up spending the rest of Saturday, all day Sunday and most of the day on Monday in bed (yes, I called in sick - there was no way I could sit all day day on Monday). I went into work today and managed to make it through. The worst part was getting up out of my chair. After about an hour sitting, my back did not want to change positions. It is a good thing I sit right across from the restrooms - I didn't have far to stumble - er walk, ya, that's it walk.

The one bright spot is that since one of my roomies is home most of the time (he has a seriously bad back), I had gotten him a subscription to Netflix. I figured he had pretty much watched about everything on regular TV. With Netflix, you can watch movies immediately on your computer. So, I spent most of Sunday and Monday watching movies in my room from my computer. Which is way out of character for me. (you can stop laughing now). I am not really a movie person, but there is only so much you can do all by yourself laying flat on your back. (I still hear giggling in the back row) I watched 3 or 4 movies from their Gay and Lesbian selection, most of which were OK. Attempted a couple of Anime movies, which I didn't get at all. I even looked through their Sci-Fi section and didn't see anything that particularly interested me. There are a lot of not-so-good movies out there, many of which are now available from Netflix immediately on your computer! I guess these are the ones that get paid 1/2 a penny in royalties per viewing. It seems like all the good movies are still only available as DVDs. We did get the first DVD today, which is quite amazing since I set up everything on Sunday. I just have to see if my roomie actually uses it or not. At least Netflix is a present you can cancel if it is not liked or used.

Its Official

Yes folks, it is official... I suck at making cider. 2 batches, 2 failures. The first was not a total failure, it was at least drinkable. The second however, is a complete, total, horrid failure. I doubt I could even use it to make apple cider vinegar. Yes, folks, it really is that bad. To say that it is bitter is like saying Freddy Kruger just had long fingernails. I will put my apple cider attempts on hold until next year and go back to beer making. I have, so far, had much better success with beer. I may, however, try some strawberry wine this spring.

Christmas

Well, Christmas is just about over for me. I have just a couple of presents left to get and I'll be done. I have made most of my family Christmas stockings for gifts this year. I've got one more left to finish, but that should not take very much longer. Above is a grand picture of all the stockings so far this year.

Apple Cider

Well, My first attempt at making cider was less than successful. The results ranged from tolerable to horrible, depending on the bottle. It was strange to have such a wide variation between bottles from the same batch, but what can I say. I have managed to drink most of it, more or less, although I think the last few bottles may just get dumped.

I have just bottled a second batch. (yes, hope springs eternal) I started the fermentation on Sunday, so I knew I'd be bottling about this time. I didn't use any fresh apples, just fresh apple juice and some apple concentrate. I couldn't find any high acid concentrate (granny smith type) so I had to settle for regular old concentrate. I tasted some right out of the fermentor and it was OK. I'll let you know in a couple of days how this batch goes.

Hercules Mulligan and DL Token

Last Friday night, the Marquise and I went out to the 'Nog to see Hercules Mulligan during their monthly performance out there. It was good to see them out at full strength! All four of them were out, Julie, Mike, Dave and Chris. Julie on the fiddle and the concertina was great. Actually, I think I liked the concertina a little better than the fiddle. It provided a little "depth" to the 3 or 4 songs she played that was not quite there with the fiddle. Mike did a great job on the banjo, which is usually the case. I'm not sure I've seen him with a bad night. Chris and Dave seemed to enjoy the company up there and were a little more relaxed than the last couple of times I've seen them. It'll be fun to hear them once they have had some more time playing together.

The big surprise of the night was DL Token. They were the "headliners" for the evening. Normally the Marquise and I leave after the Celtic band has done their set. For some reason, we stayed around to hear these guys. I think we were both interested to see what was coming. During their set-up, I only saw the two guys with their guitars. I thought that was a little strange considering the second band of the evening is usually a good sized band (usually 4 or 5) and usually has a full drum set. The Marquise and I were wondering how these 2 guitarists were going to stack up. Well, about 5 minutes before the band was supposed to start in comes a third member with (not sure of the name) lap? drum. A single drum you hold between your knees and play with your hands. Whatever that is called, he had one and he could flat out play it! I kept looking over there because I was expecting at least 2 drums, if not more, for the rhythms he was creating. The 2 guitarists were equally as talented as the drummer. The 3 of them produced a sound that most larger bands can't even match. I think the Marquise and I have found another favourite local band! Our musical dance card is gonna get real full at this rate!

Braces

I haven't updated y'all on my Great Braces adventure in, oh a year or so, I guess. Well, everything that has happened since the last post has been pretty much as expected; I go to the Orthodontist, she changes out the wires to a larger gauge, adds a stronger band, I go home with teeth that hurt. As soon as my teeth get used to the new stuff, I go back and start all over again. But, there is good news and not so good news. The good news is that I have the final wire placed on my lower teeth and the gap in my upper teeth is almost closed (of course, this is the gap that the Orthodontist caused, but who's keeping score?). I'm on the final stretch now! The bad news is that the final wire on my lower teeth feels like it could be used to construct a high-rise! And, if that were not bad enough, I now have rubber bands on the braces to pull the upper teeth back. There is one on each side, stretching from the upper jaw to the lower. It's gonna be interesting to see if I can talk on the phone tomorrow!

Oh, BTW, I changed the color of the band on my upper teeth. It used to be silver, it is now a dark blue. Yippee!

Knitting and Crocheting

It has been awhile since I updated y'all on my latest projects.

Currently I have 2 projects going on right now. A baby blanket for a co-worker's daughter and a pair of kilt hose for myself. The baby blanket is a lace pattern and I am using leftovers from previous projects. It is really amazing how much of a "stash" one accumulates progressing from one project to another. I get half a skein here, a ball there of various yarns left over from completed projects (not to mention the occasional just gotta have it purchase) and the next thing I know, I am almost overrun with yarn! I have odds and ends in drawers, on shelves and in bags. So I have passed a "Rule": for every project with new yarn, I have to complete a project with yarn from my stash. We'll see how long this Rule lasts.

My second project is a pair of kilt hose for myself. This is gonna be interesting. Not only is it the first pair of knitted socks, it is also my first pair of knitted kilt hose. The main difference between kilt hose and socks is that I have to keep in mind that the hose have to come up and over my calves (which are much bigger than my ankles...is there a joke in there?). So along with being much longer, they have to be fitted. And, of course, I am doing this sans pattern. I don't need no bloody pattern! (Yes Virginia, there is some testosterone in Ricky.) I wonder how many times I will have to start over? Anyone wanna place a bet?

Oh, almost forgot. The Marquise and I went to Yarns, Etc this afternoon to visit with Hannah. Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for Hannah) she was fairly busy. Usually at least one or two other customers in the store, so we actually did not get a whole lot of time to visit. We did pick out a really interesting yarn for a scarf for the Marquise. It is still out in the truck, so I'll post the particulars about it later. (I know, this kinda blows the Rule, but it's for her Christmas present... thats a good reason, right? Right?)