Holy Lack of Posts, Batman!!

I haven't been on here in FOREVER!!! My fiance and I have been doing a lot of cleaning up in and around the house lately. It just became time to get rid of a lot of the crap in our lives, clear out things from our past that we no longer need and move on with our lives. It is still a work in progress, but we are getting there. We both go through phases of going at the mess gun ho, and then we both get fed up with everything and just give up for a while. We are at a give up for a while phase. The office went through a MAJOR purge, the attic has been going through a purge so we can put our stuff up there, and we have been working on the mess in our backyard and garage. One of my goals is to get the dining room clean. It really became a catch all for both of us. When I moved in, that was where everything got dumped and it was the same thing for him. We are finally getting stuff put where it needs to be or just getting rid of it. It has taken us quite a while to get to this point, and it is going to take a lot of work to get through it, but we will.

My fiance is still unemployed. He has had a couple of "helping out a friend" type jobs, but there aren't really any steady jobs out there. My business has been slow, but it is finally starting to pick up a little. I am still trying to get things knitted and crocheted so we have Christmas gifts to give out and so I can try to sell some things online. We shall see how that goes.

In other news, this past Saturday, I did most of the work and changed my spark plugs in my car. I know, knits, photographs, works on her car, and she's a girl??? It is just something I always wanted to do. Yeah, it isn't a typical "girl" thing...but so what? I want to do it, I am going to do it. Yeah, I got picked on a litte, but who cares? It isn't going to stop me.

So...Ummm...yeah...

I never got those videos of the flooding to post...I still have to post up a bunch of knitting projects...I can't keep up with my projects on Ravelry...OH WELL!! Yes, the basement is fixed..washer is working questionably...........

Then the Waters Came....

Well, for me and Darrin, 2008 didn't really go out with a bang...it more or less went out with a kersplash. Now, I know what some of you may be thinking...we did not do the polar bear thing. Darrin decided that Monday, December 29th would be a good time to install the dishwasher...he told me that it was going to get done, it was going to get done. He installed it ok, it ran kinda ok. The next day, our water pressure throughout the house just seemed a little low. Darrin went into the basement to double check everything and make sure that the water was turned up completely and that the pipes were flowing ok. He came back upstairs and I had him check the upstairs kitchen faucet...the water was trickling out of the faucet. Darrin was really perplexed at this. He went back to the basement and found that the water was coming in through our stone and sand basement walls. This is photos of the aftermath of it all. I was so panicked while it was happening that I didn't even think to get photos of the water actually coming in through the walls or the 2-3 inches of water that was on the floor.

Darrin had to call the city to get them to turn off the water to the house. December 31, the plummer came to work on the water main so we could get water to the house. Those of you that live in Upstate NY, you know how lovely the weather was that day.....

But even the snow couldn't stop that plummer from doing his job.

More photos of the flood can be found here.....

http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/photogirl3886/basement%20flood/

There will be updates.....

As soon as I get calmed down enough to get the photos off of my camera and phone. Let's just say that the past few days haven't been fun and lakes do not belong in a basement.

Please say a little prayer

I thought it might be a good time to post this. If you read this, please say a prayer for Darrin's Aunt Gerry. She is having surgery as I type this. I am praying for a speedy recovery, strength, and peace for her. This is the prayer shawl that I made for her. She told me that she was wearing it last night before she went to bed. It was made with various types of yarn that I found in my stash and on clearance at A.C. Moore.

I also made scarves for Darrin's sister and mother. These were made with Moda Dea Tutu yarn that I got on sale at Ocean State Job Lot.

I really haven't felt like posting lately

It isn't like I haven't been getting projects done, I did 4 prayer shawls in 2 weeks and I now need to make 2 more, along with all of the Christmas knitting and crocheting. I have been photographing everything...I just haven't had the motivation to blog about them and get the photos into my photobucket. This time of year always gets me down. There is always so much to get done and so little time to do it in even though I start during the summer.

Darrin and I went to New York City with his family yesterday to see the Radio City Christmas Show. It was great. His family kept asking me what I wanted to see. I have been to NYC 3 times before, I always did a little sight seeing while I was there. I didn't even have a list of yarn stores to visit! LOL The only down point was when we got a phone call from his friend's wife. She called to tell Darrin that his friend's granddaughter (who was about 4 months old)had passed away yesterday, suddenly. His friend couldn't even function yesterday, and understandably so. He had lost his other granddaughter 7 years ago. I need to make prayer shawls for Darrin's friend and wife. They really need prayers and comfort right now. I don't even know what to say to them except I'm sorry, but what does that really do? It is always so bad when a child dies, but what can one really do to comfort the one who is experiencing the loss. I guess we could just be there for him when he is ready to talk.

It has been 8 years...

...and even now it still hurts. My grandma died 8 years ago today. Today, my mom, our friend Marie, and I walked in the Race for the Cure. Mom and I both did it in her memory. I really wish that she didn't have to die of breast cancer. It is the worst feeling in the world to know that she had to go through that.
As I sit here today, I will be continuing something that she taught me as a child. I will be crocheting. I will be doing something else that she taught me, to care for others and give your best. I will be crocheting a prayer shawl for Darrin's aunt, Gerry who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Seems kinda strange that I am making a prayer shawl for Darrin's aunt who has the same cancer that my grandma did. Prayer Shawls weren't popular when grandma had her cancer. If they were, I would have made her one. Just like I am for Gerry. It would have been pink, just like Gerry's...for breast cancer awareness. I really hope that Gerry likes this. I know she is going through a hard time coming to grips with going through this again. I will post a photo of the shawl when it is completed.