Whine!

Most people would tell you that I'm a pretty even tempered individual.  I wasn't once but after the head bleed and surgery five years ago I decided not to let things get under my skin anymore.  Near death experiences tend to do that to you! Still, there are some things that bother me especially this time of the year.  Tax season brings out the worst in me so I've decided that when something makes me fuss I will simply say one of three things:  "Oh phoo!"  Or "Drat!"  Or "Holy Toledo!"  This my effort to stay peaceful.

I had to define the three categories and these are the examples I came up with.  "Oh phoo" things consist of moments like discovering an expensive yarn has broken ends about 100 yards into the skein.  I've sent back a few like that and others I have either knitted the end into the project or felted the ends together.  Six of one, half a dozen of the other, it is nevertheless infuriating!  I understand that no one is perfect and yarn spinners have moments, the same as accountants, when they say to themselves, "What was I thinking about when I did that?"

 

Then there are "drat" experiences like when a knitting pattern says you cast on X number of  stitches and increase every X number of rows until you have a certain number of stitches and are so many  inches from the beginning row.  Then it tells you that the gauge is 4 rows to an inch, or 40 rows = 4 inches.  Nope!  If I use the size 7 needles recommended, or even size six--oh "drat" let's use size 5 needles.  Still nope!!  It would be many more than the specified number of inches from the beginning so I have to increase every row to end up anywhere near where I should be.  Oh drat!!  Is it me or is it the pattern?

 

"Holy Toledo" comes with a whole list of irritations and I call them my "go away and leave me alone for at least 15 minutes or I'm going to blow" moments.  Things like "These two skeins are from the same dye lots but don't look like the wool was dyed by people in the same county."  Or my personal favorite, "As you requested, I have just finished your tax forms for the three years during which you filed no returns and what do you mean you had them done by 1,2,3 Accounting Blockheads to save time, and since you are not picking them up you don't think you should have to pay me for them?"

Anyway, there is nothing to whine about with the Sour Ball socks or the Ziggity shawl.  Still not getting as much knitting time as I would like but that is a symptom of the time-of-year.  Right now I'm spending my time on year-end financials and end-of-year tax reports.  'Tis the season.

Life is good!