Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your Thanksgiving is the best one ever!

If you haven't checked out the Panopticon, do so now! Franklin is always fun!

I've been thinking about all the things I have to be thankful for. I'm going to leave out a lot of them, because they sound too much like complaints, not thanksgiving.

But here are some things I can be unreservedly thankful for:

• New, 19 inch LCD TV this year!
• I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab this year!
• It looks like I'm going to be finished with the Steve Canyon on DVD covers and slipcase before the end of the year! It was fun to do, but I'll be glad when it's finished.
• I have a commission to knit Christmas stockings, and it looks like I'm going to have another commission to knit more stockings, which could earn me enough money to get a refurbished Mac laptop! This seems to be the year of technology.
• After three years of Social Security that hasn't gone up at all, while prices of the things I need soared, SS has decided to give me an increase of $4 per month. The thing that's good about that is that they made it retroactive to 2007, and they're giving me all the extra that I should have been getting in a lump sum of $240 in January along with my regular payment!
• I'm reasonably healthy, as long as I take care of myself, and can still walk around, even if it does hurt.
• I discovered a local yarn store in my area (Yarn Cloud), which had been there for a while, but I didn't know it. They have great stuff!
• I discovered Chiaogoo lace needles, the best ones in the world, and bought a batch of them!

I'm sure I'll think of more things to be thankful for!

I have to go. I want to finish up the current batch of stockings for tomorrow so that I can get paid for them!

Have a great weekend!

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Happy Veteran's Day!

 Happy Veteran's Day!

I hope you've been having a happy Veteran's Day! I intended to post something for it earlier in the day, but I've been so exhausted the past few weeks and especially yesterday.

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Since I live in HUD subsidized housing for senior citizens and disabled people, November is time for our yearly inspections.

Since I have some environmental allergies, I asked about air conditioning before signing my lease, and they lied, or at least made it sound like the apartment's environmental conditions were completely different than they actually are.

The result is that I was sick for about 50% of the first year I was here and the time I've spent sick has been longer every year. About a month ago, after four courses of antibiotics (this year), and an emergency room visit (which cost Medicare about $3,000!) I finally got to be reasonably well, about two weeks before they shut off the air conditioning again. I've had some high temperatures in my apartment and my choice was between heat stroke with the windows shut (it's been 110 degrees in my apartment with the windows open) or an allergic reaction that's likely to give me severe sinus congestion with a high probability of another infection that could have me taking antibiotics again for another year or more.

There are no good answers here, except getting a portable air conditioner, which the manager strictly forbids, no matter how sick it makes tenants.

So, I'm coming up on nearly two years of feeling like I have flu almost nonstop.

The result is that my apartment is not as neat as I would like it to be, so I've been cleaning.

Inspection was on Thursday, early in the morning (when I'm usually so sick I'm still asleep). I was really, really afraid that they'd evict me, but, to my great relief, I passed the inspection.

I don't want to talk about this anymore, though, because it's just too depressing.

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In the meantime, I'm doing some minor art to be printed for a friend who is actually going to pay me for it later in the month! And, as if that weren't good enough news, I also have a commission to knit some Christmas stockings, plus they're adding on a few extra, which will boost the total amount I get for that.

So, I've been pretty busy.

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Tuesday, I ached all over from my exposure to ragweed, but I went out and voted anyway. I felt like somebody had beaten me up by the time I got home! The bus stop I used is right next to a thrift store, and I went in because I had a long wait until the next bus.

One of the neat things they had was a small wing-back chair. Now that I know I'm not going to be evicted (at least not for another year), I plan to go back tomorrow to see if it's still there. I really hope so. It's comfy, and the arm rests don't bash my elbows like my current chair. I really hope nobody else has bought it before I get the chance!

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As far as knitting stuff is concerned, I've been knitting Christmas stockings on commission, and Christmas presents, which I can't show here. So, I'm very boring as far as knitting goes, and probably will be for a while.

But I hope you've been doing some great knitting and I wish you a fabulous weekend!

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