King of Nothing

When I was 17, I dreamed of being king. And having everything I wanted. 

How about Queen? It’s still of nothing. Normally it doesn’t bother me that I’m just a worker-bee. After all, what would all the Kings get done if it weren’t for the worker-bees? Probably not much. Their job isn’t to do the work. It’s to get the credit. Have they earned that status? Some, yes. Most, no.

 

There is definitely a hierarchy where I work. And when you are at the bottom you are reminded, continuously. It may not be overtly, but it is definitely in a most nebulous fashion. Take today for instance. We were told we had visitors in the building and if they came by your area to please help welcome them.

I had been working on a large project most of the morning. I stepped out to warm my cold coconut coffee, (you don’t waste those little K-Cup things), and said hello to a fellow worker. We had just completed a joint project and we caught up on that, then drifted to some chit chat. I was preparing to return to my office when the tour came through the hall and stopped at a poster hanging in her window. The guide said, “let me introduce you to a very important person here, the coordinator of a notable state project.” She dutifully stepped into the hall. I dutifully stepped further into her office, out of the way.

At the end of an animated conversation with the group the guide prepared to move them along. She turned and said, “Don’t you need to introduce Jamye?” He hesitated and said, “Oh, yes, this is Jamye. She’s in charge of CTE. She’s in that office over there.” He pointed in the general direction and I spoke to the group and explained that CTE means Career and Technical Education. That was it. I was dismissed as they moved along.

Did I do this to myself by moving further into her office? Or am I conditioned to know my place? If she hadn’t spoken up I would have been completely ignored. Should I have rushed out with her and told them that what I do, even though I am Queen of Nothing, is just as important? I don’t know.

Why is it that someone who has a title thinks it’s unimportant for another to have one as well? I was reminded of a conversation with my then boss, years ago. I had to sign forms in the blank with a title even though I didn't hold that title. He said a title meant nothing. It was the quality of the work, etc., not a title that defines a person. Titles are unimportant. I, apparently in my smart *ss mode, asked, so instead of superintendent would it be okay to call you custodian? Interestingly enough, the story changed and a title suddenly meant something!

In the grand scheme of things, I suppose it doesn’t really matter. I could pass that group in the hall and they wouldn’t know who I was. I will most likely never see any of them again. If I did, I’d have to introduce myself or be introduced again because none of them said their names. And in reality I have a title. I have lots of titles; Mom, Mamye, friend, daughter, wife, sister. They are all cherished. They also mean much more than a work title.

As my friend Lynn told me; your value doesn't decrease, because of someone’s inability to see your worth. Thank you Lynn. I’ve got to stop wearing my feelings on my sleeve!

But that was long ago and my dreams did not unfold, so I'm still the King of Nothing. 

We finally had our last Christmas this weekend. The littles came over. We ate and visited and opened presents then ate some more! It was a good time for all. There were a lot of presents and a birthday too! Evan turned 10. Seems impossible.

Christmas prime rib. Yummy!

Presents and cousins. Belle was hiding!

The first grandchild is already ten years old!

Caleb asked me to make him a scarf. He wanted green and blue with hot pink on the ends. I had some bright colored green, blue and yellow yarn and he thought that might work! He liked it. It’s always good when someone appreciates your efforts!

Smashing! Handsome little dude, huh!

If I could rule, I'd dance my cares away, find romance everyday. 
I wouldn't have to listen to this poor fool say, "I'm the King, I'm the King, I'm the King of Nothing."

I Fought the Law

And the law won… 

The other night when I got out of the car to open the gate I noticed my right headlight was out. Darn. I planned to get it fixed but I figured I was fairly safe for a while being that every third car (it seems) has a headlight out. It worked on high beam and there were a couple of times I just left it on high. Nobody blinked their lights at me so I supposed it wasn’t too obnoxious.

One headlight...Cockeye!

When we were kids, my sister, brother and I played a game with cars only having one headlight. If such a car was spotted we called out “Cock-eye!” If there were three of these, you got a wish. (It was a lot safer than the slug-bug game!) I think this was something my mom and dad played because mom was the one who told us. I believe we may have added the three for a wish option but the original saying was hers.

Running errands after work made it dark when I finally headed home. All was well until I was a couple miles out of town. A car whizzed by as I set my cruise control. Suddenly the dreaded red lights came from the shoulder of the road. I just knew the car who whooshed by me was in for a ticket. I pulled over, because that’s what you are supposed to do when you see flashing lights on an emergency vehicle and darned if he didn’t pull in behind me. I knew he’d probably made a mistake because I wasn’t speeding. I didn’t even think about that blasted headlight.

Just the other day I’d heard some people talking about what was expected when you were pulled over by the police. I put my hands on the top of the steering wheel so he could plainly see them. I didn’t turn the dome light on; are you even supposed to? But he had the spotlight going and could see clearly where my hands were.

He got out of his car and headed to my driver’s side, all the while shining a bright flashlight in the windows. He didn’t approach the door but stayed behind shining his light in the backseat and all around. He finally came up to the passenger side and I lowered the window to speak with him.

This state trooper was a kindergarten cop! He was so young I wondered if he shaved. It gives me an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach to think how young these men (and women) are, defending us and taking chances every day for our safety. It’s humbling in a way.

Age requirements to become a state trooper in Texas

He explained he’d pulled me over for the headlight. I told him I knew it was out and was planning to get it fixed. He asked a lot more questions; where was I going, where had I been, where did I work, and what did I do and so on. I guess that’s routine but I really don’t know. He asked for my license and current insurance card. I had the license but the insurance card was another thing entirely. My oldest son is the insurance card police at our house and he hasn’t been there to make sure I’m legal. It had expired in January. The trooper was nice though, and said he could look it up. He kept inspecting the inside of my car.

Let me tell you a little about that. It’s a mess. When you live in it for two or three hours a day you sometimes become lax. I keep what I need in the passenger seat, Kleenex, candy, water, my purse and whatever else I think is useful. If someone wishes to ride with me all of that goes in the backseat. And it doesn’t always come back out. So there are piles of miscellaneous junk. I guess it was a lot to look at.

How they used to do it. Picture from http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/PublicInformation/hpPhotos.htm

He took my information and walked back to his car while I patiently waited. He finally came back with the dreaded ticket book in his hand. Actually I think it was some kind of computerized thing but I didn’t see for sure. He was still looking around the car. I had a glass of tea from work and the ice had melted so it was a nice whiskey color. I wondered if that was what he was checking out so I told him what it was and offered to let him smell it if he wanted. He laughed. He then wrote me a warning which I graciously accepted. I told him thank you for what he does and he looked at me strangely and said you’re welcome. Then it was finished.

I thought about the polite young man who actually had the power and authority to do whatever he felt was needed when he stopped me. And I thought about how he was someone’s little boy and how proud and worried they must be for him. And I got the headlight fixed because I doubted I’d be that lucky if stopped a second time.

Guess my race is run, 
I fought the law… 

Not much knitting going on. I have a couple of finished items except for working in the ends. I'll post pictures when that's done. But now I’m doing a scarf for someone who took knitting lessons and didn’t get a feel for it. I tried to salvage her work so it would be a part of the item but it didn’t work. I’m just about finished.

Drop stitch scarf for a friend.

The yarn is really more brown than this picture. Pretty though.

I’m reminded of a silly knitting joke involving a policeman. It goes something like this: A policeman spots a woman driving and knitting at the same time. Moving up beside her, he shouts out the window......"Pull over"!! "No," she shouts back, "Cardigan!"

Be nice to the state troopers and they’ll be nice to you. And be thankful for what they do.

I fought the law and the law won…

Tickets and Passports

I’ll take a holiday far away…

There’s certainly something to jetlag. I’m just now starting to feel ‘back to normal’, which translates to just tired every day, not exhausted. But it was worth the fatigue! We had a great time.

After a grueling airline experience (another post) we arrived at the airport in Amsterdam. Bryce stood at the gate greeting us with a hand drawn Texas flag! What a sweetie!

Bryce welcomed us to Germany with a Texas flag!

We grabbed the luggage and headed to a store for a snack. With sandwich and suitcase in tow we found the rental and the adventure began. It was a station wagon, which was funny because when the kids were little they played some weird game about station wagons. Most kids play strange car games with VW Beetles, but not mine. Anyway, as we were driving, if we saw a station wagon, the person spotting the car would say “Station wagon alert!” I still don’t know exactly what that means but I think we all said it as we loaded the vehicle.

I was worn-out but I didn’t want to miss anything so I tried to stay awake and look around as much as I could as I settled in the back seat. Alan, not so much. He was reclined and snoring almost as soon as we left the parking lot! We were on the way to Hamburg.

Highway scenery is much the same in Germany as it is in the states. It just seems to flash by at a much faster rate!

Scenery along the way.

An import. Chevrolet Camaro!

A corn field where the corn as tall as the eaves on the barn.

Cattle grazing in the field.

Hay field with fresh mown hay.

Perhaps that’s because there isn’t really a posted speed limit on the Autobahn. Speed limits do apply at intersections or somewhere to be cautious like a construction zone. Generally, the Autobahn only has an advisory speed limit of 130 kilometers per hour (81 mph) in some spots and no limit at all in others. Staying with the flow of traffic had us practically airborne.

No speed limit.

I  was in the backseat, tending to my knitting which keeps me from grasping the ‘oh shit’ bar and clawing the windows when the driving makes me nervous.

Don't look, just knit!

As we were driving I noticed a sign. It said “Ausfahrt”. It was blue, with white lettering and was shaped with a point on one end, looking to me like an arrow.

Exit? Ausfahrt is a lot more fun to say!

Of course, just saying the word as I thought it would be in English immediately made me laugh. Think what "aus" and "fahrt" would break down to. Wouldn’t you laugh too? As we came upon another sign saying the same thing, I chuckled silently to myself. Passing still another sign I decided it must be pointing the way to a German town, probably a stinky German town, and giggled some more. Finally I said it out loud and asked Bryce just what it meant. Actually vocalizing it, with a Texas accent made us all laugh out loud. Then Bryce told us it just meant ‘Exit’. Prime example of lost in translation.

After dozing for a while it was time for a rest stop. We pulled off the road to a convenience store to use the restroom and to replenish the snacks. Before I went in Bryce explained that there weren’t any ‘free’ restrooms. There was a charge of .70€, about $1.00, to use the facilities. But you did get a voucher back which was .50€ that you could use in the store.

Vouchers to use in the convenience store after you pay to go to the bathroom.

Well, it wasn’t what I was used to but he had the right coins so I headed in to do what we stopped for. All went well and I did what you’re supposed to do when you finish and prepared to flush. I didn’t have my glasses on and sadly, I can’t read a thing without them. There was a divided button on the wall that I figured was meant for flushing so I pushed it. In some hotels I’ve occupied, there have been split buttons for flushing. One part is supposed to be for “number 1” and the other for “number 2”. I thought it might be the same. Instead, a square object came out, the toilet seat started to rotate and it was cleaned for the next person. Well, that was all good but it still hadn’t flushed. I pushed again, and because I couldn’t see, managed to press the same spot. The square piece, which I figured out was some sort of squeegee, came out, the toilet seat rotated and it was double clean for the next person. But it was still not flushed. So, concentrating this time, I managed to push in the right place and finally got the job done. I definitely had the cleanest seat in the place by the time I managed to flush the toilet!

We were soon on our way without further adventure. We arrived in Hamburg and found Bryce’s flat. It had been a long day. We were hungry and tired. We headed out for food, another post. Stay tuned!

Hamburg, Germany, officially known as Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,  gets its name from the first castle built on the site, as per the orders of Emperor Charlemagne in 808 AD.

The intersection of Bryce's flat.

I’ll run until the end of the time 
The second hand slowly unwinds… 

Remember a month ago (wow, a whole month since I posted?) when I told you about the scarf exchange and showed you the pictures of the scarf I made? Well, I sent it off with a couple of other surprises and it got to Caroline. She said she loves it! I’m so relieved.

Caroline took a picture of her scarf package.

And while I was gone I got my scarf from my friend Beverly. It’s beautiful. It’s the Easy Drop Stitch Scarf. It’s made of Ella Rae Lace Merino, a yummy superwash fingering weight yarn. There were some other goodies in my box as well. There was the cutest little pin, a yarn dot it was called, that says, "Shut up I'm counting!" and some awesome knitting ball knitting needle point protectors that made me laugh.

My secret scarf package!

Easy Drop Sticth scarf from my friend Beverly.

A Yarn Dot!

Point protectors that look like balls of yarn!

What a fun surprise to come home to!

Our last goodbye to what we know, 
We’ll pack our bags and hit the road…

Run That Body Down

How long you think that you can 

Run that body down? 

How many nights you think that you can 

Do what you been doin'? 

Who you foolin? 

I’d rather stay up late than go to bed early. I’d rather stay in bed than get up at the butt crack of dawn too. I’ve always been that way. I try to get to bed early but most nights I have too much to do to get there. Do I finish it all? No! After I get home from work, fix supper, load/unload the dishwasher (or not), wash clothes (or not) I just want to sit in my chair. Before I know it, it’s close to midnight!

On a good night I’ll get 6 hours sleep, maybe. At the 5:30 a.m. alarm in the morning, I’ll hit snooze and stay in bed as late as I can without being late for work. Breakfast is a travel mug of coffee, sometimes  accompanied by a Rice Krispie Treat or a PopTart on the 45 minute drive to work. I usually stay in for lunch but occasionally I’ll go with someone and get out of the office. By afternoon I’m dragging and think maybe a cup of coffee or a Coke might help. After an almost always stressful workday, another 45 minute drive home and supper, it all starts to catch up with me. Multiply it by 5 and by the weekend all I want to do is sleep in and sit around all day.

They say that if you start exercising you’ll have more energy. I have stairs in my house. Does that count? I go up and down the stairs, coming in and out of the house and also take laundry down and bring it up. And I knit. Surely that’s credit for some sort of exercise?

I know I’ve got to do better. It’s not fun being so tired. I don’t want to be the little old grandma in the chair who can’t do anything when the littles come over. I want to be able to do everything with them and for them. With that said…I’d better go to bed!  

I came back home and I went to bed 

I was resting my head... 

I didn’t really make any resolutions this New Year. I have some things I want and need to improve on, but I haven’t written anything down. Yet. But I still might. One thing I have decided, along with several of my knitting pals, is to complete some UFOs. UFO means an unfinished object. I’m an expert at UFOs. I finish the knitting part and I’m done. I don’t bother to weave in the ends or sew on the buttons or block something unless I’m forced to. Forced by myself that is. I just start knitting something else!

January in particular is the month to finish some things. So I’m giving it a try. Right now I’m working on the shawl I started (and stopped) for my sister. I know of three or four more needing the ends worked in. I haven’t taken the time to get all of them out, but I know there are plenty.

Assorted ends to work in and a couple of buttons to sew on

Trouble is, I also want to start things. We knitters call it ‘startitis’. And I have it bad! I haven’t cast on anything yet, but I did have a request for a scarf, much like the one I did as a gift for Christmas.
So now I have an excuse! But I’ll wait and do that as soon as the shawl is finished. I need a carry along project anyway, right?

Working on Judi's shawl

It’s supposed to snow tonight. If it was enough I might not have to go to work tomorrow! Then I could sit around and knit or something. It sounds good because I’m already tired.  

Kid, you better look around. 

How long you think that you can 

Run that body down? 

How many nights you think that you can 

Do what you been doin'? 

Who you foolin?

Shopping...

Well you know that it's going to be alright.        

I think it's gonna be alright.        

Everything will always be alright.            

When we go shopping....       

I used to be a champion shopper. I liked them all, from the department to the discount stores. My car seemed to automatically swerve towards a WalMart if there was one on the way to my destination. I knew the layout of the mall and every store within. I don’t know when it changed but something happened and shopping didn’t seem as much fun anymore. It could be the lengthy lines of people waiting to get out of the store. Often it takes longer to get out of the store than to do the whole shopping tour. Or maybe it’s the apathy of the store personnel. Then again, it could just be the rudeness of people in general. Whatever the reason, I just don’t like to go much anymore.

This year most of my Christmas shopping was done online. It was so much easier to sit in the chair, click a few times then have whatever delivered to my door, or at least to my husband’s office than to go out hunting and fighting the crowds. It worked really well until I messed up and accidentally had things delivered to an old address on one account. The stuff went to another town. Luckily, the people living in the house knew my name and delivered everything to my daughter!

Maybe not having a willing shopping partner has taken some of the joy out of my quest. There were times, years ago, that my friend Debbie and I could stay in a small town WalMart for two or three hours, just looking at ‘stuff’! But there’s nobody to shop with nowadays. My husband would rather go to the dentist than take a trip to a mall! Now make it Academy or Tractor Supply and he’s a world class shopper! Sometimes my daughter will go with me. Otherwise, I’m on my own. I really don’t mind shopping by myself, most of the time. I can take my time, look at what I want, for as long as I want, try on, dawdle, and generally, just do my thing! But it’s fun, with the right companion, to shop away!

After all the Christmas visitors left, we (my husband and son and I) decided to take an impromptu shopping trip. My oldest son is a great shopping buddy. He could win a prize in the shopping Olympics! So we got a hotel room, piled in the car and took off to San Antonio for a shopping day. We were up relatively early the next morning and headed to an outdoor mall called The Shops at La Cantera. It’s semi upscale, with Neiman Marcus (a good store for me to walk right through) to Macy’s. In fact, we even saw a Payless Shoes there so there’s something for everyone. There happened to be a Bass Pro Shop down the way and an Omnimax theater, so Alan just dropped us off and our fun began. We were looking for bargains and we found a few!

The Shops at La Cantera

Perhaps my favorite treasure was a faux fur coat in a leopard print. Why? Because I could I guess! It was 85% off the regular price. As my sister always says, I couldn’t afford not to! Bryce thinks it’s hideous. And it could be, but I’ll wear it anyway. It’s just for fun. And when I’m in the nursing home I’ll make sure to wear it whenever he comes for a visit!

Fake leopard and I love it!

Quite the haul!

We found a lot of things and had a good lunch. That was our recharge and we went until we couldn’t go anymore. There were so many stores and not enough time! Seriously, even if we had taken another day and night, we still would not have seen everything. Finally, with both of us near exhaustion, and Alan Bass Pro’d and Imaxed out, we headed home. One stop at Rudy’s Barbeque and four and a half hours later, we were snuggled deep in our beds with visions of bargains floating in our heads! It was a good trip.

So shutup 

And never stop. 

Let's shop 

Until we drop...

After that little jaunt my shopping interest is renewed! Of course, I’ll have to wait until I’m in another town because Odessa is severely lacking. One thing I did (sadly) miss out on is the “Happy New Year and Sale” at The Tinsmith's Wife in Comfort, Texas. All their yarn is discounted 25% throughout the rest of 2011 (Wednesday, 12/28, through Saturday, 12/31). That place is one of my all time favorite yarn shops. Their selection is unbelievable. But I really don’t need any yarn anyway. (What? Who said that?) So it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t have a project in mind and I would have bought yarn so it saved me some money! (Insert a small sob here.)

Speaking of projects, I had a Christmas knitting success! Ty’s friend Jenni, came home with him for the holidays. He had requested a rainbow scarf for her so I knitted one. It was fun and turned out pretty nice. I decided to add buttons on the end so that she could button and loop it, making an infinity or eternity scarf, or leave it unbuttoned and wear as a regular scarf. That’s about the only Christmas knitting I did this year and I’m sure glad I did! She liked it.

Wrapped three times

Up close of buttons. Crocheted loops to fasten

Worn like a regular scarf

Buttoned and looped twice

It's never enough 

Until you've got all the stuff.

When the going gets rough 

Just shop with somebody tough...

Rikki Don’t Lose That Number

We hear you're leaving, that's OK.

I thought our little wild time had just begun. 

I guess you kind of scared yourself, you turn and run. 

But if you have a change of heart… 

When my daughter was small, like most little girls, she had a doll. This doll was a typical ‘baby’ with a cloth body, plastic head and limbs. The baby didn’t have hair but had paint symbolizing hair on the top of its head.
When she first got her doll she wanted to name it. We suggested a few things but she wasn’t interested. One day she proclaimed her doll’s name was Richard. And Richard was a girl.

Richard and Callye were always together.

First off, we didn’t know anyone named Richard at that time. I was a stay at home mom with her so I tried to think of a movie or television show that might have had someone named Richard as a character. Nothing came to mind. But she was adamant. Her doll’s name was Richard. And Richard was a girl.

Richard became part of the family. She had dresses and little booties to wear, but most of the time she was nude. She was very durable, too, as sometimes she was held by the leg or the arm and she still stayed in one piece. It was probably lucky that her features were permanent, or as permanent as paint can be. She had many adventures, some good, some not so good!

A doll like Richard. And it's a girl doll.

One morning as I was folding laundry, I had a movie playing in the background. There was a fight scene and the two men involved were yelling at each other and one said, “I’ll beat the hell out of you.” Richard and Callye were playing house in another part of the room and I glanced over to see if she’d heard. She was busy feeding Richard and had not even glanced at the television. Later that night as we were sitting together, Callye picked up Richard by the leg and started pounding her on the floor. I said, “What are you doing?” She calmly said, “I’m beating the hell out of Richard.” She’d heard.

Richard went everywhere with us. Well, almost everywhere. One Sunday, Alan was on a hunting trip and Callye and I were getting ready to go to Sunday school and church. We were dressed but Richard’s clothes were nowhere to be found. We searched high and low but alas, there was no outfit for Richard. Being the resourceful mother I am I suggested that Richard lay in mom’s bed while we were at church. It took a little negotiation but that’s what was finally decided, and Richard stayed home.

Years later, in the teacher’s lounge, a colleague, who had at one time been Callye’s Sunday school teacher, and I were visiting. We were talking about our kids and their old toys and I mentioned that Callye had loved a doll named Richard but Richard was a girl. She got a funny look on her face and said, “So that’s it!” I asked what she meant and she told me this story: One Sunday morning, a long time ago, Callye had gone to Sunday school. She told her two teachers that Richard couldn’t find any clothes and stayed at home in mom’s bed while daddy was gone.

I was mortified. We lived in a small town and you know how small towns are. She reassured me that she hadn’t thought anything bad, that Richard must be a cousin or something. Yeah, right!

Richard, who was a girl, was a part of Callye’s (and our) everyday life for a long time, but as it happens she eventually outgrew Richard. And I eventually lived down the story that quickly circulated through the school.

Richard isn’t lost. We still have her, packed away somewhere, probably without clothes, waiting to sleep in somebody’s bed! But she'll never be forgotten.

Rikki don't lose that number. 

You don't wanna call nobody else. 

Send it off in a letter to yourself...

Well, I had to tell my sister the shawl wasn’t going to be on time. I’ll finish but I can’t make the deadline. I haven’t had much time to work on it and it seems for every two inches I finish I take out three. I just need some down time and I can whip it out. So, in the meantime I decided on some instant gratification! I saw a scarf on a lady in Ruidoso, probably last year or maybe the year before. I really liked it but she was a stranger and I didn’t want to ask if I could look at it. I should have. I went home and sketched out what I thought it looked like. Then I got busy on other things and lost the paper and didn’t really think about it again.

Loops is a great yarn store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My oldest boy used to live there so I got to visit occasionally. But he’s moved so I just get updates by email and Facebook as to what’s going on there. The other day I got a note about a simple, Neck’s Best Thing scarf. Voila! That was it! That was the Ruidoso scarf! Or at least it was close enough. They were even so kind as to give a FREE pattern! I love when that happens. And it’s a real pet peeve when something says it’s free only to be free if you BUY a bunch of yarn first. But I digress. Anyway, I had some bulky yarn I’d picked up for something or other so I took it out and gave the scarf a try. I used a size 19 needle and cast on 7 stitches. I liked it fairly well but something was missing. I took it to work, for an impartial opinion, and the verdict was, MORE FRINGE! So, that was easy enough to fix, and I did. It’s kind of cute, don’t you think?

The first try. Added more fringe.

It was fun and I liked getting something finished in a short amount of time so I couldn’t stop at one. But this time I thought I would change it up some.

Cast on 7 stitches

US 19, 15mm needles

I found some other yarns I had around and added them to the fringe. This one looks kind of Christmasy.

A little sparkle.

 These are fun and I am already thinking of some other variations.

Up close--yarn is Charisma by Loops and Threads

Fringe a little longer too.

Thank you Loops for sharing this fun pattern! If you’re interested in seeing other creative projects head over to Our Creative Spaces and look around!

The Christmas season brings back memories; Memories of people, places and things that are packed away, maybe not thought of often, but never forgotten.

Rikki don't lose that number,

It's the only one you own. 

You might use it if you feel better, 

When you get home...