Oh the joys

Of not being in charge! I am quickly adjusting to my night shift schedule. I really like working graveyard shift. It is sooo nice to have my life back the way I like it. I can cook, craft and get my house in order. I have accumulated so many crafting supplies and it is piling higher in my room. I need to get rid of some things and have started to dispose of things I don't need. I am slowly going thru my closet to make room. That means yes, getting rid of clothes I haven't worn in years. I, my friends, am a pack rat. I know it and I am really trying to declutter.

My ultimate goal is to paint my living room in the Corvette orange I have had sitting in the middle of the floor for over a year. I have to clean and declutter first.. That will take awhile. It's ok.. With my new schedule, I get home at 8:15 am, feed the animals, sleep til 1pm, and then do what I want. To say there is less stress in my life is an understatement! I feel like jello. It's just nice to know that I can easily fall into my old routine. I was afraid the years added since I last did this would take a great toll. Surprisingly, I can still do it! It's nice to know that I can stretch anyone's two day weekend into 3 days. How? Well, I work Sun- Thursday nites (or Monday - Friday as the VA puts it). When I come home Friday morning, I stay up for as long as I can to squeeze every moment I can out of my day. I don't come home too exhausted to do anything but sleep. Thank the good lord, I am able to enjoy my life!

for those days when I will be too tired, or when I need to nap when the sun is still out, I invested $20 in room darkening curtains. (Royal blue to go with the pale blue or green I want to paint my room.....eventually!) They work really well...my only fear is that now I will not want to ever wake up, thinking it's still dark outside!

They work really well! I only closed one, and it is pretty dark in my room!

I mentioned feeding the animals....here is a couple of family of kittens we have acquired:

It's like a kitty commune. All the moms feed all the kittens at various times of the day. Pretty funny, but all are taken care of. Our dog, Marley (little australian shepherd)

LOVES playing with the kittens. She picks them up like little toys and "plays" with them. We yell at her to drop them, and she gets this look like..."What...they like it when I play with them.....really they do!" The moms don't like it too much; they circle Marley and growl. Marley growls back until one of us breaks up the stand off.

Here are a few things I've been working on. First, my Elizabeth Hiddleson Pineapple Centerpiece:

I am really happy with the way this is coming out. I work on it whenever the boys are driving me around. The next is the tablecenter that is too small for my table: It is too small for my table, but I did find the clear table covers at walmart. The cats will leave it alone!

That's all for now. Time for the NASCAR race from NH....I have on my swimsuit and the clouds are swirling in, and it is raining......

Another long time between

.....my posts. Sorry to have been lax, but in the almost month I have not posted, I have been working at my new job, getting my boys ready for the end of the school year, coaxing Steven to finish his online algebra class, chauffering the boys to and from work and girlfriends houses....oh yes, and crocheting a bit.

First off, the new job is absolutely awesome. Who would have thought that not being in charge of something could be so freeing? I loved my job as a supervisor MOST of the time. It was great when things meshed and hummed and ran well. It was even kind of fun solving problems and making things run right again. The long hours and time away from my family led to more stress. It is definitely nice to know that I still have the skills I attained so many years ago in college; I still have and can put them to use! I do my first night (yes, graveyard) shift on this coming Saturday and Sunday. I CANNOT wait! It is so nice to perform my job and leave at the end of my shift. I get home and can make dinner for my family. Yes, and be there to help with school tasks so the boys can graduate on time.....Oh yes, and home on the days Steven needs to go have his Senior pictures taken. I really do love working the night shift! Almost like you don't work at all.

I have been crocheting some too. Working on varigated squares for an afghan for an exchange. Also these couple of things:This is a wreath/candle ring for a contest. If I win, I get all the entries from the contest. If not, I send it away and make another. It was supposed to be a wreath, but the patriotic bear is too heavy; I didn't have time to get another before I submitted the picture. I decided to make it a candle ring.

The above is a soap sack that I tested for Suzetta of Suzie's Yarn Stuff. I really like this pattern. I finished it in less than an hour. How do I know? I began it when there was 55 minutes left during the 24 hours of Le Mans and finished it before the checkered flag waved. It's an easy pattern and I placed a bar of cranberry glycerin soap (smells lovely!). I told Suzie I liked the pattern, but next time I will add another row of lace to the top.

Oh, I also had time to purchase a new i-Phone. 16G. I really like it, but have to admit, I spend way more time on it than I want to.....but I do have my blog saved on it. Better than a laptop!