HELLO!!! I AM IN PHOENIX!!!!

not the south pole. People - 34 degrees with 25-30mph winds (feels like 26 degrees) is NOT, may I repeat, NOT Phoenix weather. I had to break out a heating pad to create a bed for the little Anza girl, and even give Misty extra blankets. The good thing is, it is sunny. So now that I finished my outside chores down at L's house with the goats and such it is time to focus inside. I am thinking I will work on unpacking and storing my Christmas stuff. Afterall it feels like Christmas weather. :)

We are truly getting settled in, bit by bit. I never imagined it would be such a slow process, but I am trying to be patient with myself. I must say though I have finally gotten my Treadmill mojo back and am trying to be very consistent with it. I really want to get back in shape, so my blood pressure and breathing/asthma are not hassling me so much.

It really has been quite busy with multiple trips back east since buying the house, but now we have actually been settled in for 3 consecutive weeks - I have this month yet, and then the visitors will start arriving. Looking forward to Mom & Dad coming out, Dad will definitely feel like he is back on the farm. There is more fencing to be done, and reworking of some doors and tables. By then there may even be some grass to mow.

Sorry I have been so off the grid lately, but hopefully I will soon be back into some sort of a routine that will help keep me doing what I like. Been also doing a lot of research on my future dye business and have started the process of gathering plants, ordering yarn, and experimenting with some small dye batches. We shall see.

Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and warm during this crazy, crazy weather.

And so it is Solstice

First let me wish all those who celebrate the Solstice and Yule a Blessed Holiday and hoping the start of the longer days brings you much joy and wonderful times with family and friends.

I must say this is probably the first time I have watched the sunrise on the shortest of days and have plans to watch the sun set as well. It really was quite a spectacular. I find I am enjoying getting into the rythm of life right now. I just take a break and walk out to the pasture and stand there with Fox and Spice and just pet them, and talk to them and marvel at them. I spend time just wandering around and looking at the sky and the mountains outside my kitchen window. I really enjoy learning about the goats, and the coyotes (although I must admit the latter still makes me quite nervous and jumpy when I hear them during the night).

I guess when it really comes down to it I am a country girl at heart, and while I always said that, I still found that being in the city was OK. After just a short time here on our big 2 acres, I just don't think city life can compare. I am sure I will continue to love to visit and marvel at all there is in the cities, but the rythm out here fits me so well.

Now, if I could just get the rythm going to get all these boxes unpacked and put away. Made the mistake of having 'unpackers' here for a couple hours the day after the household goods arrived. Eeeeekkkk!!! There are things unpacked that I would not have touched for at least a few weeks. Oh Well, it is done, and now I have to figure out how to deal with it.

Well, I just figured out that Rick downloaded all my pics onto his computer... hafrumphf!!! Once I get my pics I will post them and you can see my sunrise and sunset pics.

Blessings to you all and may you make the most of the shortest day of the year and be comforted to know that they will all be getting longer from here on out.

It feels so good

to know that the kitchen floor is clean enough to run in socks on (although too cold right now). See our tiles are pretty much the same color as the dust and dirt here in AZ - which if you think about it, is a good thing. It will be tougher to tell how dirty the floor is, unless of course you decide to go barefoot, or in socks. My goal is: Thursdays will be clean the kit floor, hallway, laundry room, and main bathroom, floors day.

I think this morning they may be some oatmeal cookies going in the oven... we shall see.

Change of subject, this morning I sat on the window seat of what will eventually be our Master Bedroom and watched to most beautiful sunrise. For me this is pretty impressive, as sunrise tends not to be my time of the day. Now I just have to figure out how I can set up the room to stay in bed where it is nice and comfy cozy and still watch the sunrise. Hmmmmm

I shall take the camera with me the next time I venture over to that part of the house for a sunrise. This house is definitely even more than we imagined it to be. Continuing to find out all kinds of neat little things about it...some good, some... well a bit more challenging. :)

We have internet - it must be official

So, not only did we make it to AZ, we now own our forever home in AZ AND have internet and phone service. What more could one ask for. Last night was officially our first night staying in the house (well the guest house anyway).

Bit by bit we are getting things done. I have been baking and doing laundry today, and will soon make a run to the grocery store. I have yet to thoroughly clean the kitchen floor so I think that is today's chore. Since it is the size of a one car garage, and there are multiple layers of dirt it will definitely be a process.

So I am off to vacuum, swiffer, wet swiffer, and then enviro steam.... what fun this afternoon will be. :) Pictures will come soon I assure you all!!

We Made It!!

Here we are in Sunny Phoenix, AZ!!! Only problem was, as we drove into Phoenix, it was raining! Although the folks here really don't mind the rain, since they don't get much of it. I personally think Rich brought it with him when we picked him up from the airport in Albuquerque to make the rest of the road trip with us.

There are definitely some challenges moving from a 2500sq ft house into a 1 bedroom hotel suite for temp housing. There are a number of things I did not take into consideration. Live and learn!

We are in escrow for the house here in AZ, but are still in limbo. We are suppose to have a closing date on or before Nov 19th, but we just have to wait and see about that one. I am hoping for 'before'.

Lots to do, but hoping to keep up on the blog for the next while at least.

I am sure there will be lots of pics as we make our way into the house and get it ready for us. There will also be lots of knitting pics, I have made some really good progress on my holiday knitting. Amazing how much progress you can make when riding cross country.

Knitting Pictures.... Finally!!

So here they are folks, my long awaited knitting pictures. I am making great progress on my 15 Stitch Blanket. I really enjoy working on it, especially when I am brain dead, watching TV, or want to be doing something while talking to other folks (even non-knitterly type folks).

The socks are a gift for my Mom for Christmas. No worries here, as she is a non-computer person, and will never see them before the big day. The funny thing is, she is on this road trip with us, but because I have been spending all my time either in the truck with Rick or by myself in the hotel room, I can work on them without her even suspecting.

The Concert Scarf is for Brittany (Josh's Girlfriend). I really hope she will like it. I think she will though, as she has mentioned that she likes working with fiber as an art medium. It will be fun to give hand made gifts this year.


I have a few other projects in mind to complete before the holidays, and with the remainder of this road trip, plus 2 other flights back east (one for T-giving and one for Christmas), I should be able to get all my project done in plenty of time.
Now if I could just get rid of the cold, I would be in prime knit mode.

Oh and we are officially going into Escrow on the house in AZ. Infact our realtor told us, the bank and owner are pushing for a closing date on or before Nov 19th. Woo Hooo!!! That means we would move in the weekend before the Tues we leave for PA for T-giving. Never a dull moment with us, that is for sure.

So Begins the Great New Adventure

I promise soon there will be pics. First I need to recover a bit from all the stress and insanity of getting us out of the VA house and on to the road for our trek cross country. It went relatively smoothly with some hiccups, but once we really got started things settled into a routine. Right now we are camped (in a Staybridge Suite) in Columbia, MO. Rick is doing some research for his historical biography that he has been working on for years. Mom has already done the laundry routine, and Dad is being really great about walking Misty. Me, well, the stress seems to have gotten the better of me, and what I thought was allergies from all the dirt and dust we kicked up while cleaning the house... now seems to have turned into a sinus cold. I am really hopping that with a couple good nights of sleep, and just a bit of relaxing I can kick it to the curb before we get back on the road. I have managed to do a fair amount of knitting already. Made some good progress on the Scarf for Brittany, started Mom's Christmas Socks, and even did a bit of the 15 Stitch Blanket.

Will post pics as soon as I am able, but for now it is off to bed for an afternoon nap. Sleep.... it does a body good (especially one that doesn't feel well).

Not Much Knitting

...but lots of packing, purging, and being crazy. The count down is on and there are only 7 days left until we pull out of the Tidewater area and head for the Valley of the Sun.
Life in house Griset, is busy most all of every day either working here in the house or attending to all the many things that must be done to enable our departure. Some of those include visiting with friends and such. We will most definitely miss all our wonderful friends here in VAB and the surrounding areas, and are hopeful that they will all manage at some point in the future to come visit us in Phoenix. So far we have visitors set for March, April, maybe May, and then next Oct (Taos Fiber Festival), so if you are planning a trip let us know we will gladly welcome you.

As of right now, we are still in the waiting process to see if the bank will accept our bid and the house we hope to call home soon. We now have a Realtor for the house here in VAB and he is eager to help us get the house on the market (and even thinks he may have a possible buyer - wouldn't that be lovely?), plus we are dealing with the selling of the house Rick's in OK.

Honestly, I will be very glad when we actually hit the road next weekend. By that point everything that has to be done will be, and if it hasn't been done - it is just too late by that point.

Hardest part will be saying Goodbye to the boys. While Rich, will be meeting us in Albuquerque to finish the trip with us and spend some time in Phoenix - we won't see Matt or Josh until Christmas. It will be strange, but by the same token, we can keep so much closer in touch now than if this had been even 5yrs ago. Gotta love Skype and so on.

Don't be surprised if you don't see or hear from me until somewhere around the 13th of Oct., as that is when we will pull into Columbia, MO for Rick to spend a few days in the archives and historical societies doing research for his book. Me I will be decompressing and just hanging out for some of that time and tooling about with Mom and Dad.

Will try to do at least one more post with knitting pics in the next day or so.

Catch you ALL on the flip side.

I am so Touched and Honored

Tonight the crew of Ladies from Yarn for Breakfast threw me a send off that was just wonderful. This group has grown and morphed over the past 4yrs to such a phenomenal group of people. We have had lots of folks join us and move on, and quite a few who joined us and then just stayed, and then there have even been a few that joined, moved away and then returned to the area to rejoin us. There have been babies added, spinners became quite the force to be reckoned with, and dyers are squeezing their way in as well - along with, of course the core crocheters and knitters. I am so honored to have been able to help this group become what it is. A FABULOUS fiber community in the Tidewater area.

A HUGE Thank You for all of your very thoughtful contributions to the Pattern book (free ones of course). I LOVED the Yarn Bowl of cupcakes and especially the "ball bands" they are priceless.

I think that, were it not for the access to email, facebook, meetup, and the like - I would have been just a pile of tears tonight. I will miss you all, and yet we will still be able to stay in touch over the ethers as if I were still around. I truly hope to see you at some time out in the Valley of the Sun - when you have had enough of the winter doldrums, or maybe a bit too much humidity in the early summer - then just let me know and I will help book you a cheap seat to a vacation in the desert.

If I am lucky, maybe by the time you all start visiting, there will be critters on the property and yarn being dyed in the stalls... we shall see.

From the bottom of my heart and with the utmost sincerity... I thank you ALL!

Sorry No Pics...

I know, I said I would have Rick take pictures, but life has been crazy - as it is wont to be when there is a major impending move. Today is a mini Yard Sale in preparation for tomorrow's regular yard sale. Today I shall put out the main furniture bits and work on pricing stuff for tomorrow. It feels good to know that we are going to try to sell some of this stuff. Plus whatever doesn't sell tomorrow goes to Habitat for Humanity or the Salvation Army. Along with that there are a whole bunch of clothes to be donated - and Rick hasn't even gone through his closet yet.

I must admit, my stress is definitely getting the better of me. I have not slept well for several nights, and last night my asthma decided to put in an appearance. Can't tell if it is just the stress or Allergies (since I have been stirring up all kinds of long settled dust and such), or both.

Anyway, I am definitely looking forward to getting rid of some of this stuff - we really do have too much stuff around here. I want to be able to live more simply, I just seem to lack the willpower and the where-with-all to make it happen. Which is probably why stuff just seems to accumulate with us. One good thing has been ALL the stuff we have found in the garage from previous attempted home projects that is now making its way back to Lowe's and Home Depot, is definitely adding up to nice store credit gift cards. So when we start purchasing stuff to work on the new hause it has already been paid for. Both stores are really quite good about scanning stuff and either noting that it is theirs or not and then doing store credit. This is especially helpful since I live with a man who likes to go and buy at least 1 if not 2 of all the items he "thinks" he might need for a job.

So I am off to start price marking and sorting some more stuff. Wish me luck. :}

Needing Everyone's Mojo -

It is official as of this morning, we have the bid submitted to the bank for approval (since it is a short sale house you have to get the bid approved before doing ANYTHING else) of the house we hope to call HOME some day soon. I figured I would give you just a few teaser pics.

This first one is the view standing either at our front door, at the sink in the kitchen, or from the table in the dinning room.


Next we have a view of the covered patio area which then enters to the pool, and further off in the distance is the coral/pasture area. This area can be seen if you walk from the front door directly straight through an odd sort of room (don't yet know what it will be), and out a set of french doors.


Finally we have a view of my new kitchen. Yes, it really is as big as a garage (since we think it was at one point a one car garage on the original house). Totally looking forward to making lots of great food and fun in that kitchen.


So, for now, that is all the pictures. When Rick gets home later today I will try to remember to have him take a picture of me with the sweater (with its ruffle) on. I will also go take pics of the socks I finished and will post both of them a bit later on. Might even take a picture of the scarf I am also working on, and maybe even my scrap blanket.

But, for now, it is off to go do some more purging and getting ready for yard sale this weekend. It may not be a spectacular one, but if someone else can get use out of some of this stuff then all the better for it.

So - the Birthday Swirl Sweater became...

...the Birthday Spoke sweater. After frogging it a second (or was it a third) time, it finally settled in that it was not meant to be the previously noted pattern. Luckily Jessica found this wonderful pattern and said "THIS IS IT" this is what that yarn needs to be.
So without further ado.... The Birthday Spoke Sweater in all its spendor:



I will do my best to follow this with a better picture, since I also added a small ruffle edging to help give it some length and weight at the bottom and really show off the overlap.
Plus I have also finished other socks and scarves and such, and will try to get them on here as I can.

For now, though, it is back to purging, organizing, and cleaning in preparation for moving.

I Am Back and On The Move

Yes, it has been a year since my last post, and thank goodness the blog is even still here. It has been a crazy busy year with lots of changes and things going on.

Here is the fast version: Still knitting as much as possible. Never did get the Dialysis job (long story - not pretty). Rich graduated from VCU and is now in a nice apartment with a friend, and writing for a couple Richmond magazines and part of the Theater Critics Circle and doing well. Josh is now a Sr at GMU and spent a summer semester in Paris (now like the idea of living abroad even more). Matt is graduated from HS and is now a freshman at JMU and hopefully figuring things out.

Rick has acquired the long waited for Luke AFB position in Phoenix!!!!! Yay for us!!!! We are now moving to Phoenix and will be leaving the Tidewater area on the 10th of Oct. Eeeeeekkkk. Bummed to be leaving my friends, but so very excited to finally be returning to the Valley of the Sun. We have a house we are working on but nothing is final yet. :( Putting as much good energy out there as we can, and planning that we will get what we are meant to have.

Going to try to do some regular blogging now, and hopefully help myself stay focused. Posts will probably be somewhat picture slim, but will do my best to add some nice knitting pictures and some road trip pics when the time comes.

It is Done and Re-Begun

I have frogged the Birthday Swirl Pullover, and even now have managed to restart is and am about 1/2 way through the swirl. I feel better doing it this time. The pattern is not so foreign to me, and I know where I had issues before. I am as convinced as ever that this was the right thing to do. Now, I have some good car knitting time coming up over the next several days, and plan to make some very good progress.

So Li, I say.... Go For It, make that cardigan into something you will either wear, or keep warm with. :)

Hopefully soon there will be pics. Sorry I am so bad about that kind of thing. Just so you don't think I am a total goob... here is a pic of Rick's 1st of 2 Beach Rib Socks. He likes them, and thinks I have found the perfect sock recipe for him. It is just that it is miles and miles of k3p1 rib - aaaaarrrrgggghhhh. But alas, the yarn is not a solid color and that was the deal.

A Bit of Peace

Have you ever noticed, the peace you feel, when you finally come to a decision about something that has been nagging at you for a while?? Well, I have come to that peace.

Both, the shawl - Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend, AND The Swirl Pullover are being frogged.

There I said it in public. On Saturday at Yarn for Breakfast I was still hemming and hawwwing about it. Then, just before we all started packing up Jessica helped me with starting the frogging process on the shawl. See, she handed over her absolutely adorable little 2 month old to G-ma Vickie (who proceeded to put him to sleep) and held the shawl and unraveled while I wound the yarn onto the swift. That way I didn't have to watch all the stitches being undone. That also meant that when I got it home, It was already being frogged, and I had no idea where it was on the pattern, so finishing the job was not painful at all.

Next there is the Swirl Pullover.... that one is going to be tougher. Again, talking to Jessica and a number of the other knitters, and seeing what you all said here, I decided that no amount of blocking was going to make that sweater fit the way I would feel comfortable in it. So ..... I shall frog it also, and drop from a 4.5mm needle to a 4.0 needle and make the next size up. I really am quite set on this yarn for this project. It was proven to me over and over when I would look at the nearly finished sweater, and then try to convince myself that it would stretch.

I have not yet started that frogging project, as it was disheartening enough doing the first one. I figure I will give myself a couple days and then start that one. In the mean time I am trying to finish Rick's sock, to help keep my mind off things. :)

I am quite OK with it all now, since I know that I will eventually have the sweater I have been dreaming of, and a fabulous shawl as well. Plus, I will be that much better at following the directions for both of them, having already been there once now.

Made It Home

We are back in the Tidewater. Luckily off tomorrow, so hoping to take it easy on my back. All the many, many, many, hours of sitting, took its toll, and it (my back) went into spasm for 3days. Oh Joy. I did get a fair amount of knitting in... finished the left sleeve of my Swirl Pullover -

QUESTION TO MY KNITTING FRIENDS... is it ok to attach the sleeves and then block... or should the oddly shaped body be blocked - sew the shoulder seams and then attach the sleeves (since I would really like to attach them via 3needle bind off). I am not always good about following directions, but with this one I am not sure. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Worked on Rick's sock to the point where he needs to try it on, so I can see how soon to start the toe.

Worked on Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend lace shawl by Renee Leverington. Slight issue there - you see it was the first lace project I tried, and it has lanquished being worked on sporadically for at least 2, if not 3yrs - there are many glaring errors, and the most recent of which - (since now I really know what I am doing) is a bunch of missing stitches. I fear there is a very large Frog Pond in my future - much deeper than "nee deep" (as my DH would say). I am having difficulty bringing myself to frog it (I am on pattern 4 of 6), but at the same time the mistakes are so glaring.... Maybe this week. Then I will restart it, and it will go much more smoothly, and quickly.

Pictures to follow and tales of vacation adventures (in our world there are always 'adventures')

Off for Vacation

Today is pack out day, and tomorrow morning we leave for parts northward.

First to Indianna PA, to take a look at IUP for Matt - from there we go east to the other side of the state to Mom and Dad's on Monday. Tues brings a new floor installation in their kitchen, followed by Westminster Choir College on Wed (another 3hr to and from drive). Thurs = a 3hr drive north to lovely Ithaca College in NY. Friday - we "rest" while getting ready for Saturday's Clam Bake with the big family gang coming in.

Believe it or not I am old enough to have my 25yr HS class reunion, and that too is on Sat. So Rick and I will split time with the clam bake, and then off to a picnic-y type class reunion.

That brings us to Sunday and a lovely ride back into the humid zone.

Hope you all have a great Holiday Weekend next weekend, and we will catch you soon.

I Have Been Reminded....

recently, in fact that I have not been blogging. I guess it is time remedy that situation.

So, to bring you up to date on what has been happening in the DoG household.... After Misty's surgery, and a brief few days away for Rick and I, we have been spending time working (as usual), and trying to get things done around the house. We helped Matt acquire his first car (Taurus station wagon). Pretty good deal for what he paid, and it will certainly help tote around all his stuff. Being a musician, he will probably also have friends with lots of stuff (music, instruments, amps, instruments...and so on).

Rick has been working like a fiend, but the upshot is, following his recent IG inspection, there 24 superior acheivers chosen out of 'a couple hundred' (not sure exactly)... and YEP he was one of them. As well he should have been, since the final week before the inspection he was making his way into the office even with a concusion.

A concusion he recieve while riding in the passenger seat of the Passat (while I was driving) and his Mom was in the back seat, and being rear-ended at a stop light by a hit and run driver. Yep!! We really know how to keep the summer interesting.

This of course has meant that I have been out of work due to neck, back, and blood pressure issues as a result of the accident. Luckily Rick's Mom faired the best of us, but she is currently having physical therapy for shoulder issues.

My beloved Passage had its rear end made concave, and some frame issues. So far the word is, she is not totaled. YAY!!! don't want that for my girl. She went into the shop yesterday and will probably come out by the time we come home from vacation.

Yep, we have a vac coming. We leave Sunday to take Matt on a college exploration expidition. Frist Indiana University of PA, then Westminster Choir College, and finally Ithaca Universtiy. I'm hoping for Ithaca as one of the top finishers. Anyway, then we will help Mom and Dad replace the floor in the kitchen, have a family clam bake, and Rick and I will attend my 25th high school reunion. Haven't seen most of these folks since the day we graduated. Should be interesting.

Yes, as now, I am still employed at CWC, but not sure how that will do with my current physical situation. Will find out after vacation. Rick has been told he must now keep his work week to 40hrs, and some days he comes home at 2:30pm and other days he doesn't go in until 9am. Woo Hoo. We have been looking at property in AZ, in hopes of taking advantage of some really low prices on land, so we can build our forever home. We shall see.

Don't worry there are still dreams of 3yrs in Germany in our future. Just not sure which part of our future yet. :)

Will do my best to keep up with blogging, and even post some cool knitting pics soon.

Been Surprisingly Busy

While hours at the store have decreased significantly, and I am still only working 1 night shift/wk, I have managed to be quite busy over the last 2wks.

Helping Rachael whenever I am able (especially when not so great movers were testing her patience and sanity), and dealing with Misty, who we originally thought had contact dermatitis and a UTI. After a week of intensive medication treatment, it was noted that she was not getting any better. So my wonderful holistic/chiropractic vet set "get her into the other office and lets get an xray". My nursing background kicks into instant radar gear... puts some major pieces of the puzzle together and figures we have two options. Kidney/Bladder stones (those of you who have had either one know they are not even remotely fun to deal with) OR TCC (transitional cell carcinoma). As it turns out they mimic each other almost identically with the exception of the age of the dog. Since my dog is only5.5/6yr old and the TCC 'usually' occurs around 10-14....I was definitely hoping for the stones.

So yesterday morning, off we go to get our x-ray... Dr R comes back in chuckling... puts the film up on the box and my eyes are immediately drawn to this rather large white circle in her bladder area. "Yep, that is the stone". This thing, according to xray, is probably about the size of a golf ball!!! Hence why we have been having all the troubles we have been having. Because it is so large, it cannot be dissolved with meds and diet... it must be surgically removed.

Off to surgery she goes... and home last evening, a bit loopy, a bit drugged, but home none the less. Fairly good night, and then this morning has been interesting. Now that her pain medicine has kicked in, though, she is much more content. Which should mean I can now get some things accomplished.

The challenge is to keep a normally ver active dog, 'quiet' for 7 days... wish me luck.

Rick and I are off for a couple days starting later tomorrow, and then when we return his Mother will arrive for 3wks. Who knows when I will get to post again, but hopefully soon. Maybe there will be some serious Swirl Pullover progress, as well as a sock finish. I am, if nothing else, ever hopeful of good knitting time. :)

Where Have Been and What Have I Been Doing

Holy Cow!!! (or should I say Sheep). 2 months since my last blog... bad blogger bad. I must admit though, I have been quite busy, not just sitting around eating bon bons you know. I have been knitting:











...and I have been working. THANK GOODNESS THE OPEN REMODEL IS COMPLETE. So now that it is all done, hours are being cut back significantly both due to economy stuff, and having over spent the payroll to deal with all the insanity associated with the remodel.

Oh, and let us not forget I have been busy both keeping up with the girls' vet issues and cleaning up after them in numerous ways. The only ones that are pic appropriate would be these:



Needless to say, I was most unhappy about this, although they did not eat or destroy any yarn or knitted items during this masacre. Of course I came home last night only to find that they again went through the same bag, took out most of the same stuff, except this time they got into my lip stick and lip plumper (I could not tell who had the more plump lips by the time I got home) and a tube of Delica Beads that - oh by the way- were seed beads!!!

Anyway, I am recovered at this point - I think.

I have also spent some of my time away from the blog being hostess to my good friend Rachael and her husband Michael as they work their way through the process of moving from Germany here to Virginia Beach. It has been fun, and I now have contact with beach time. Been a long time since Rick and I have spent any time out at the beach, but we are enjoying it.

Oh, and on the knitting front, I am working on my Swirl Pullover with the yarn I got from MDSW (of my last post). I think the sweater is going to be quite stunning color wise. I definitely like Tess' Designer Yarns. Well worth a look see at her stuff.

I am off to finish laundry, and prepping some cabinets for painting... yes the kitchen remodel is still a work in progress. I must say though, with the drop in hours at the store, I am trying to catch up on stuff here at home that has been neglected.