No Alarm Clock Needed at my House

I am up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday...again. First time check? 5:36 AM. I have a lot to accomplish today, so that's probably part of it. It is 6:30, and I've already done a bunch of things around here. The first thing I did was check the basement. Last night I ran down there for something and saw this: 2' of water in my sump that doesn't belong there. Now you might think this is a bad thing, but I'm producing a direct to DVD feature called "Sumps Behaving Badly".

(Kidding. I'm not a film maker, just a com- mentator.) It's the second time in as many weeks that this has happened. My primary pump at the bottom of the contraption isn't functioning properly so the secondary pump is doing all the work. My loyal readers who have been following my blog since the beginning may recall the installation of this feat of engineering. I was incredibly excited, and was convinced that once the back up pump was installed I wouldn't have to worry about it again. THAT is the first joke of the day. Without mentioning the name of the firm, I will say that the plumber who installed this did not call me back two weeks ago when I started having problems, so he is no longer my plumber. I'm not going to beg the guy to come to my house, but I will take my checkbook and go elsewhere. We all have the power to vote with our feet...

It's 7AM, and the paint store opens at 8:00. I've decided on a taupe-y sage color for the green room, and my stretch goal is to have the painting finished before I go to bed tomorrow night. Remember the original color?

This is what the room looks like now... All primed. I have to say that I'll be glad when it's done. My former room mate, G's parents are coming today to get the stuff she didn't take when she moved out, so I can hopefully find a new room mate for Feb 1.

Are all y'all waiting for the Wii update? You'll have to wait until the end. I'm going to talk about knitting for a sec. Not as funny, I know, but this is supposed to be a knitting blog. After all the knitting I did for the holidays, I was completely burnt out. I just couldn't get motivated to knit anything, and I finally had the time to knit whatever I wanted. The two sweaters I'm doing are challenging enough that I have to pay attention, and I just can't seem to face them. My friend B has been banging out cowls and shawls, and suggested that I work on something small for some immediate gratification. I decided on the Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama in Manos del Uruguay silk blend. http://nibblingalong.typepad.com/darkside%20cowl.pdf It is a quick project but a really pretty pattern requiring only moderate concentration. Something perfect to ease back into the habit. My friends D, B and I are headed up to Yarns in the Farms (Beverly Farms, MA) today for a field trip. I have contractors coming to fix my upstairs hallway in February, so I'm not allowed to buy anything. More on the big project (it's going to take them a week - I literally gasped when he said it) in a future post.

So check me out... I've been working on my Wii fitness routine for nearly two weeks now. I think I screwed up my weight loss goal because last night it told me that my weight had gone down slightly, and if I wanted to make my goal I was going to have to gain 3 1/2 pounds. For the life of me, I cannot figure out where my goal resides so I can change it. Why are kids so good at this stuff? You should see my nephew work his Wii. I'm Wii challenged, but maybe that's the point.

So I'm off to the paint store. To be continued...