Well it is that time of year again. Time for the annual Tour De Fleece. I think I signed up for a couple of teams. Yesterday got off to a rocky start. However today was fantastic. I spun, plied and washed over 200 yards in mini skeins. A mini skein is when I start out with any amount less than 1 ounce. Usually in the 1/4 to 1/2 ounce range. I have 9 mini skeins in the garage drying, I am sure they will all be dry by morning since the high was over 110f today.
After everything got plied and washed I started spinning again. I am using my Louet spinning wheel for some larger skeins and every one of my spindles. If I can't play with all my spindles during the Tour De Fleece when can I get away with having so many spindles out at once?
My goal is a lofty one this year. I want to spin enough yarn to bring in at least 1 of my overflow bins of roving and fiber in from the garage. I am thinking of putting all the Tour De Fleece yarn in a basket to see just how much I can spin in the next couple of weeks.
This does bring up the conundrum of the Tour De Fleece. I am still on a yarn diet and for the most part doing very well, but the Whole idea of Tour De fleece is to set a goal to learn something new, this is not going to happen with Eric on the road to recovery. Perhaps spin a very special skein of yarn with some wonderful fiber that I don't spin often, I don't have the skills or have planned for that one. So this basically leaves volumes of yarn spun. I guess I will have lots of yarn for very creative projects in the coming months.
Well I hear the washer and dryer calling my name so it is time to call it tonight.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Customer Service Tongue and Cheek
I would like to send out a huge thank you to a national company that manages a slew of shopping malls across the country. The one that if you give you them your e-mail address they promise to send you out an e-mail you can exchange for a mall gift card for your birthday along with a weekly email of sales and coupons. This year they did something very different than in the past. They put a limited number of days after your birthday to exchange your email for the card. That happened to land when Eric was very sick. I tried to explain that I was home taking care of a very sick child and missed the days.
What happened next was to say the least very unexpected. I was treated very rudely and harshly. More like a criminal than a customer. There were no exceptions for sick kids. I really left that office hoping and praying that she was not a mother of any child. Her tone of voice, body language and words were very harsh. This left me very upset. I have done a lot of shopping in that mall. I usually get the gift card and spend more than they give me along with shopping through out the year. I left their office very upset about being treated so poorly.
So I walked around the mall and thought about this while I racked up steps and did no shopping. I also thought about how with the growth of e-commence, that this was a very stupid move by the mall. Why go out when the outside temperature is over 100f? I can just order everything I need on line and for the most part save money and not pay for delivery. I can also save money on gas. I wondered about what their merchants would say and do if they knew that the mall that takes a nice chunk off their bottom line in rent would say. I think I now know why small local businesses are no longer populating that mall.
I would like to think that in this age of a stagnate economy with a very slow recovery that a national corporation who owns and rents retail space across the country would go out of their way to be nice to the locals. With each location costing millions to buy, renovate and manage, that they would be the first people to make sure that their customer service was the best in the industry. I might just be one customer going out to pamper myself. I would have spent under $100.00, but think of the domino effect of ticking off customers. How this will effect the merchants bottom line which in turn will effect your bottom line. What will Wall Street think about your shrinking bottom line.This current crop of analysts needs instant gratification. They want to see the money now, not 6 months from now. They don't care what you did for them 6 months or a year ago, they want the money and profits today. Not to mention that a shrinking bottom line will negatively effect the price you pay for interest on your loans and bonds. Which might in turn effect your salary and bonuses.
I have to say that the only person who was truly happy about the events at the mall office today was John. There is only one reason for that. I only bought a drink which I had a half price coupon for. I spent less than $2.25. I still came home relaxed after the walk and racked up over 8,000 steps today so far.
I have decided not to publicly name the corporation in my blog today, I really, really wanted to. My reasoning is that I would really be embarrassed to have my company called out for such horrendous customer service. If you happen to be upper management at the national office of a large company that buys and rents out mall space I will only give out the answer to the unmentioned company's upper management and no one else. After all everyone has a bad day now and then. It is also my sincere hope that the rest of your company is run much better.
On a different note. Eric is still home sick and spent much of the day sleeping. The stomach bug took a lot out of him, but the post viral asthma is worse. He is almost up to his normal feeding rate via the g-tube. It is my sincere hope that he can go back to his day program on Monday. Please send positive thoughts his way. I think I have enough yarn and fluff to get me through. I have also figured out I can walk around the house for 20 minutes per hour 5 times a day to get close to my 10,000 steps.
Well it is time to go cook dinner.
What happened next was to say the least very unexpected. I was treated very rudely and harshly. More like a criminal than a customer. There were no exceptions for sick kids. I really left that office hoping and praying that she was not a mother of any child. Her tone of voice, body language and words were very harsh. This left me very upset. I have done a lot of shopping in that mall. I usually get the gift card and spend more than they give me along with shopping through out the year. I left their office very upset about being treated so poorly.
So I walked around the mall and thought about this while I racked up steps and did no shopping. I also thought about how with the growth of e-commence, that this was a very stupid move by the mall. Why go out when the outside temperature is over 100f? I can just order everything I need on line and for the most part save money and not pay for delivery. I can also save money on gas. I wondered about what their merchants would say and do if they knew that the mall that takes a nice chunk off their bottom line in rent would say. I think I now know why small local businesses are no longer populating that mall.
I would like to think that in this age of a stagnate economy with a very slow recovery that a national corporation who owns and rents retail space across the country would go out of their way to be nice to the locals. With each location costing millions to buy, renovate and manage, that they would be the first people to make sure that their customer service was the best in the industry. I might just be one customer going out to pamper myself. I would have spent under $100.00, but think of the domino effect of ticking off customers. How this will effect the merchants bottom line which in turn will effect your bottom line. What will Wall Street think about your shrinking bottom line.This current crop of analysts needs instant gratification. They want to see the money now, not 6 months from now. They don't care what you did for them 6 months or a year ago, they want the money and profits today. Not to mention that a shrinking bottom line will negatively effect the price you pay for interest on your loans and bonds. Which might in turn effect your salary and bonuses.
I have to say that the only person who was truly happy about the events at the mall office today was John. There is only one reason for that. I only bought a drink which I had a half price coupon for. I spent less than $2.25. I still came home relaxed after the walk and racked up over 8,000 steps today so far.
I have decided not to publicly name the corporation in my blog today, I really, really wanted to. My reasoning is that I would really be embarrassed to have my company called out for such horrendous customer service. If you happen to be upper management at the national office of a large company that buys and rents out mall space I will only give out the answer to the unmentioned company's upper management and no one else. After all everyone has a bad day now and then. It is also my sincere hope that the rest of your company is run much better.
On a different note. Eric is still home sick and spent much of the day sleeping. The stomach bug took a lot out of him, but the post viral asthma is worse. He is almost up to his normal feeding rate via the g-tube. It is my sincere hope that he can go back to his day program on Monday. Please send positive thoughts his way. I think I have enough yarn and fluff to get me through. I have also figured out I can walk around the house for 20 minutes per hour 5 times a day to get close to my 10,000 steps.
Well it is time to go cook dinner.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Slow Progress
The good news of the day is that as of this evening Eric is back on his formula. We did go for a slow start but he is all smiles. It is my hope that his post viral asthma does not keep him up tonight.
I had a pretty good day today. I started on my pile of finishing work. The pair of slippers, 2 kerchiefs and mini wash cloth will be available at the Next Taglit Fundraiser for Eric's day program. Because of the I-cord on the scarfs you will notice my counter is up over 1000 more stitches on the million row challenge. I am also blocking 2 wash cloths (not counted yet) that will go in my Etsy store when they are dry.
Besides the finishing work I did get another square finished on Teri's blanket, that makes 193 squares done and some where around 50 to go plus the border. I am almost finished with another kerchief. I spent the night spinning small bits of fluff, mostly 1/4 ounces samples from my last Phat Fiber box. I even spent a few minutes cleaning in the craft room. We are having company in November and I am not sure they want to sleep in a bed of yarn and fluff. I need an early start. I can give them some closet space, but the drawers a full of yarn.
Tomorrow I will do some more finishing work with the goal of listing a few new items in my on line store. What would you like to see first hand spun yarn or hand knit items? I only have a small backpack full of things to be finished for tomorrow with most destined to be sold on line or at the next fundraiser.
While cleaning I found the pattern that I was looking for, so tomorrow I will pair it with the yarn. Well I think since Eric will be home again tomorrow I should get a little extra sleep tonight.
I had a pretty good day today. I started on my pile of finishing work. The pair of slippers, 2 kerchiefs and mini wash cloth will be available at the Next Taglit Fundraiser for Eric's day program. Because of the I-cord on the scarfs you will notice my counter is up over 1000 more stitches on the million row challenge. I am also blocking 2 wash cloths (not counted yet) that will go in my Etsy store when they are dry.
Besides the finishing work I did get another square finished on Teri's blanket, that makes 193 squares done and some where around 50 to go plus the border. I am almost finished with another kerchief. I spent the night spinning small bits of fluff, mostly 1/4 ounces samples from my last Phat Fiber box. I even spent a few minutes cleaning in the craft room. We are having company in November and I am not sure they want to sleep in a bed of yarn and fluff. I need an early start. I can give them some closet space, but the drawers a full of yarn.
Tomorrow I will do some more finishing work with the goal of listing a few new items in my on line store. What would you like to see first hand spun yarn or hand knit items? I only have a small backpack full of things to be finished for tomorrow with most destined to be sold on line or at the next fundraiser.
While cleaning I found the pattern that I was looking for, so tomorrow I will pair it with the yarn. Well I think since Eric will be home again tomorrow I should get a little extra sleep tonight.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
MTBF
Well I am glad that nights like last night with Eric being eyrpy and sick all night are getting less frequent then when he was in school. When Eric was in school we counted the actual days he made it to school. In his last year of High School he missed 6 out of the 9 months. Eric's MTBF* is now running between 30 and 45 days at a time. This makes it a little easier to stay up for 20 or 22 hours straight. I did manage to grab a nap today around 4:30 am for a couple of hours. I also grabbed a second one after lunch.
Eric is feeling better and his temperature is finally under 100f and the eyrping has stopped. He will still be home tomorrow. I am hoping that he will be well enough to get out of bed for a while. I would really like to start Eric back on formula tomorrow.
Last night I did manage to get 5 loads washed plus 4 more this morning. I am happy to say that Eric made only 6 out of the 9 total loads. I still have 2 loads to fold but I am positive that they will wait for me to fold until tomorrow. Not that being up with a sick child most of the night is ever a good thing, but to put a positive spin on it, I got all 9 loads of laundry run through the washer and dryer before it hit 95f at about 10 am this morning. I am not quite sure what the high was today but at noon it was around 102f and that is not the peak temperature of the day.
I do admit that I did do a lot of knitting, enough to make me regret not taking any time to spin, just ask my elbow. Although nothing got finished. I am quite positive that I will get my PhD* in knitting quite soon. I worked on at least 4 projects during the last 24 hours adding a few inches on this project or that. I really think I was much to tired to really think about serious knitting, in other words getting something off the needles or a project done that involved counting. I did not even have the energy to do any finishing work. This is very bad because the pile is getting very large.
Well it does sound like Eric has fallen asleep so I will take advantage of the moment and get some sleep.
*MTBF - Mean Time Between Failures
*PhD - Projects half done
Eric is feeling better and his temperature is finally under 100f and the eyrping has stopped. He will still be home tomorrow. I am hoping that he will be well enough to get out of bed for a while. I would really like to start Eric back on formula tomorrow.
Last night I did manage to get 5 loads washed plus 4 more this morning. I am happy to say that Eric made only 6 out of the 9 total loads. I still have 2 loads to fold but I am positive that they will wait for me to fold until tomorrow. Not that being up with a sick child most of the night is ever a good thing, but to put a positive spin on it, I got all 9 loads of laundry run through the washer and dryer before it hit 95f at about 10 am this morning. I am not quite sure what the high was today but at noon it was around 102f and that is not the peak temperature of the day.
I do admit that I did do a lot of knitting, enough to make me regret not taking any time to spin, just ask my elbow. Although nothing got finished. I am quite positive that I will get my PhD* in knitting quite soon. I worked on at least 4 projects during the last 24 hours adding a few inches on this project or that. I really think I was much to tired to really think about serious knitting, in other words getting something off the needles or a project done that involved counting. I did not even have the energy to do any finishing work. This is very bad because the pile is getting very large.
Well it does sound like Eric has fallen asleep so I will take advantage of the moment and get some sleep.
*MTBF - Mean Time Between Failures
*PhD - Projects half done
Monday, June 24, 2013
It's Going Around
Last night I woke up with the cold de jour. So I spent the day on light mommy duty, just the usual laundry and a little picking up. In deference to feeling yucky I only did 2 loads of laundry. I did get lots of rest and fluids in. I think I managed to get enough sleep in today because by dinner time most of the swelling went down and I was actually feeling well enough to make a light supper for John and I.
That turned out to be a very good thing. Just as I was topping Eric off for the night the wild eyrping started. Which left John wondering why he changed the beds today. I also have 3 more loads of laundry to do to night. This in turn lead to the decision not to fold any laundry tonight but wait for tomorrow instead. My goal is just to get it all washed.
What amazes me is that Eric and I got different bugs. Did I mention how much I hate summer bugs? Oh well, it must have been my to do lists that started it all.
I am waiting a bit before I hook up the pedialyte. Well I guess it is time to start knitting and see if I can get anything done.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Not an Idle Summer Day
It has been a very busy day. It started off shopping at the Friends of the Pima County Library sale. I found a slew of good knitting books in excellent condition for a very reasonable price. Most of these will be raffle prizes at future guild meetings. The hard part for me will be letting most of them leave the house. They are all that good. I also found a lot of books for Eric, so if you like to read aloud to a very willing audience please feel free to give me a call. Then it was off to Starbucks for a much needed caffeine break. I also found a replacement for one of my favorite coffee/tea mugs that found it way to the trash can in pieces. I just wish that people would let me know when they break something. Darn if we did not go a little out of our way to Savers. I did find a Lego set for $1.00 for my friends son. The funny thing was I promised that we would try to find a set of Lego's if he agreed to go with us. I just love good karma. That was not the best deal of the day. I can't say much more about it, although the person I have this in mind for will just love it.
Then it was lunch with John followed by a short nap. I did manage to get one project off the knitting needles, however so the needles would not feel useless I cast on the next project. I did also find the time to do a little spinning this afternoon.
Since I am handing Eric over early tonight to John, I think I will call it an early night. My to do list is a mile long for tomorrow.
Then it was lunch with John followed by a short nap. I did manage to get one project off the knitting needles, however so the needles would not feel useless I cast on the next project. I did also find the time to do a little spinning this afternoon.
Since I am handing Eric over early tonight to John, I think I will call it an early night. My to do list is a mile long for tomorrow.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
A Quiet Day
Today was a very quiet day around here. Only 2 loads of laundry got done. I was going to take Eric to a movie today but he slept through it. So I played a few computer games, made a shopping list, got to the grocery store. I also found time to hang around with a friend. A new project hit the needles too.
I am just waiting for Eric to fall asleep so I can call it a night.
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