A long rambling entry to follow - I'll put the knitting stuff up front, so those who don't care can skim and move along.


Murphy's little nose is way out of joint about these catnip mice - he steals and cuddles them every chance he gets, it's hilarious. I MUST make him a teddy bear of his own ASAP. Meanwhile, I'm cranking away on Pink Lady bags - I completed and felted the blue one over the weekend, and just finished a chocolate brown version. I had a hard time kitchener stitching the handle of the blue bag - I was at the nursing home at the time, my husband was very restless, and the ability to kitchener stitch is obviously impaired by stress (that was the day of the Overly Friendly Couple in my previous entry). I had to rip the damn handles out three times, and finally sat down at home yesterday morning and stitched it up right. Who could believe that EIGHT stitches could be so hard to finish!? I think I need to stick to my mice at the nursing home. I think I'm going to order some bright colors of Cascade 220 from Threadbear this week. I found some Mary Engelbreit buttons at JoAnn's, and they are just perfect for these Pink Lady bags and my targeted customer base - the herds of middle and high schoolers who show up at the church fall festival, allowances in their hot little hands. End of knitting stuff. I make felted bags and felted mice, it's all I can do these days, sorry it's so boring.


Great accomplishment of my weekend - toilet repair. The master bath toilet's flusher-parts had decided to quit working. Our lovely Florida water eats right through them; it's fairly normal to have to peform a complete toilet-flusher transplant every year. I've never had to deal with this myself - my husband was a virtual Bob Vila, he could do anything around the house - plumbing, electrical, tile, you name it - and he LIKED doing it, so I was glad to let him. This was my first time solo-ing on a toilet guts transplant, and I am proud to say I figured it out, got it done with a minimum of cursing, the toilet flushes again, and nothing is leaking. Go me.


Other news - after some limited success on Weight Watchers, I have hit a plateau that shows no sign of budging. I lost 11 pounds on WW, very, very, very slowly - then I gained back a couple. Then I lost them. Then I gained 4. Then I lost 3. Basically, I've been at the same weight now for months, and I'm still roughly 20 lbs from where I want to be. I'm over it. I am going to try the South Beach Diet. Hate the name - maybe in other parts of the country it conjures up Beautiful People, but it makes me think of Trendy Overpriced Restaurants and Silicone Boobs Everywhere. Bad marketing name aside, it sounds pretty good, and sensible - a more laid-back Atkins approach, more balanced. Poor Dr. Atkins, he didn't live to see the recent news stories vindicating his theories about his diet. And it's time for me to get real and stop pretending I'm still 25 - I'll be 45 this month, with a family history of heart disease and Type II diabetes, and a slowly widening ass. Gone are the days when I can drop a few pounds by having salads for lunch, I really need a lifestyle change. And since I'm already in the middle of the Mother of All Lifestyle Changes, I might as well work on my health and eating habits while I'm dealing with the rest. It gives me something to focus on besides learning to do my own home repairs, right?