It should go without saying that this week was heavy on the work and light on the blog, which, is exactly as it should be, if you get paid to work and blog for free. And I do.

The week was simultaneously forever long and went by in a flash. Go figure.

This weekend I hope to:

Go pay my $0.20 late fee at the library and pick up a few books

Start our spring cleaning- slowly. My goal for this weekend is to get my house plants in shape and clean the base boards.

Tiberius is signed up to attend his very first Greyhound play group. I can’t wait to see him run with his ilk!

Croissants! This month I chose the challenge for my baking group and I’ve put it off until the last minute. I’m making them tonight. Or tomorrow morning. But definitely before I got to bed on Sunday night.

This weekend we’re watching BSG season 2.5- and I can’t wait to see what happens! BSG! BSG! BSG!

Spring is coming soon.

Spring is coming soon.

Spring is coming soon.

Spring is coming soon.

Spring is coming soon.

Spring is coming soon.

Spring is coming soon.

Spring is coming soon.

(repeat)

Josh and I are homebodies of the highest order, but we do enjoy a nice night out on occasion.

This weekend we dressed up and headed out for a date.

After 6 months of living on the South Side we’ve got the Metra/El/Taxi system down to a science. For the longest time we’d defer to the Taxi because it was easier, but now we plan our outings before hand and save that money for cocktails.

It takes about a half hour to get from our place to Millennium Station by Metra, and from there we can grab the El wherever we want to go. The trick here is to bring something to do on the Metra, and the trip is over in no time.

Lately I’ve been working on my knitting. Josh brings his fancy phone.

(Sometimes we get these old white-guy conductors who feel like they need to ask us if we’re lost when we get on the train. Like it is unfathomable that a young white couple would live in our neighborhood- that attitude is starting to get on my nerves.)

But, clearly I digress.

We went to dinner at La Madia. They’re one of Josh’s clients, so I was prepared to pretend to like it, even if I didn’t actually like it, but the food was amazing. The atmosphere was very chic. And the cocktails were to die.

This cocktail was a black peppercorn infused Gin, grapefruit juice, gomme syrup and lemon. I’m certain I can find a way to adapt that and make it my beverage of choice this summer… I’m thinking infusing a simple syrup with the black peppercorns and going from there.

Oh, forgive me, but I love a pun, even a bad one.

For the longest time I’ve limited my knitting to simple, beginner projects like scarves and hats that don’t require any finagling. I don’t know what came over me this weekend, but I decided to pick up some sock weight yarn and a package of needles and jump in.

Thanks to the internet I was able to take a lesson and find a pattern right from the comfort of my couch. How luck are we that we have the while world at our fingertips?

I used to wonder why anybody would bother knitting their own socks, and though I had a bit of a bumpy start, now that I’ve got the hang of it, I see the appeal.

The yarn is so delicate, and each section is working pretty quickly. It won’t be perfect, but it’s a good start.

I’m feeling wildly optimistic lately.

The other night it snowed. Josh was out with some friends and I was out in the yard by myself with the dogs. The snow was falling ever so slowly, and the light from the alley and the houses nearby made it glitter like diamonds.

I was overcome with this serene peaceful feeling. Life is good. Life is beautiful.

And spring is right around the corner.

I read once that February was so short to make up for it’s being so dreary.

And it is dreary. But it’s also almost over. And spring, well spring is the best. I love the crisp mornings. I love the rainy nights. I love light coats and galoshes. Frilly dresses and cold knees. Pink lipstick and baby vegetables. Spring cleaning and taking care of the house plants.

True, it’s still cold, snowy and grey. But it won’t be for long.

The snow will melt, the sun will shine, and my shoulders will feel warm sunlight again.

Here’s the thing.

I work in a steel mill. While I don’t talk a lot about work here I’ve certainly made no secret about that.

Steel mills are no frills. Cold. Dirty.

One of the perks of working in less than comfortable surroundings is that I get to dress for comfort; I wear jeans, steel metatarsal boots and a hard hat to work every day. I usually wear a t-shirt and a hoodie, if I have a meeting with a big wig I might trade that hoodie for a sweater. Fancy. I don’t have to do my hair or wear make-up to work.

A few days this week I am in a training class. Still, in the mill. Still, boots, jeans and a sweatshirt.

But someone felt the need to wear cologne. A lot of cologne. To the class where we’re stuck together in a small room for 8 hours.

Generally speaking I have nothing against perfume. I occasionally wear a fragrance my husband likes. But I adhere to the following rules my grandmother taught me:

1. 1. People should only get a hint of your fragrance if they are hugging you, or are otherwise in your personal space
2. 2. Never wear it if you will be in a large crowd (like a wedding, or the theater)
3. 3. Never to restaurants where it could interfere with another person’s dining experience
4. 4. Never wear somewhere other people’s attendance is required. If they don’t like your perfume, they should have the option of leaving.

I certainly don’t have any choice but to sit here and allow my sinuses to become more and more irritated by this man’s cologne.

If you are one of the many, many people who live selfishly oblivious to these rules, please hear my plea. I don’t care how much you like your perfume, not everyone feels the same way. Many people, like me, actually have allergies to any number of fragrances that you find unobjectionable. And please stop wearing so much. I don’t want to smell you coming. Subtlety is key. Less is more. You are not the exception to these rules.

I’m doing my annual financial health check. I get my credit report and check for errors. I find an error. A credit collection agency is trying to collect $76 for a phone bill I never had ten years ago for an account billed to an address at which I never lived.

Phantom phone bill.

I called the phone company to attempt to clear up this credit damaging issue.

I explain the situation. They ask me for my account number. For the account I never had. I remind them that I don’t have an account with them.

They ask me for the phone number associated with the account. I remind them that I never had a phone number with them.

I give them my name and social security number and they inform me that they have no record of my ever having an account with them.

Eureka! That’s my point exactly! The representative on the other end of the line offers to transfer me to her supervisor, who is better equipped to help me. I breathe a sigh of relief, until…

She asks me for my account number.

Our weekend revolved entirely around- you guessed it, the dogs.

Murph loves riding in the car, when I lived in Denver I used to take him everywhere I went. Here in Chicago it gets too hot/cold to take him along everywhere if he has to wait in the car, and frankly, I don’t really go anywhere anymore.

This weekend’s agenda included picking up dog and cat food and spending a few hours at the dog park.

At first Tiber had some trouble getting into and out of the car, but he learned pretty quickly from Murph. I made them a great big dog bed for the back of the car (I think I’m officially one of “those women” now) and they seemed perfectly content to snuggle down and snooze.

Ty’s other big adventure was his first bath. Every time he leaned against me he was giving me hives and we had no idea what kind of kennel funk was all over him. In the summer we have a nice place in the basement where we can wash the dogs but in the winter it’s pretty cold down there. I wanted to try out the self serve dog wash facilities at a nearby pet “boutique” and it was amazing. Very quick and easy. They have everything ready to go, you just wash and dry and they clean up.

Ty did great! The blow dryer freaked him out a bit, but all in all it was painless. And totally worth the $18 to not have to deep clean the house after bath time.

P.S. You can check out February’s Daring Cook’s Challenge on my “EATS” page.

Valentines Day’s not a big deal in Eisenbergia, but we do have some fun plans this weekend:

Tacos tonight at the Mexican Inn

Playing in the snow with the pups

Some serious video game playing

A visit from Josh’s aunt

Sleeping in (which, with a puppy… I’m hoping for 7)

Battlestar Galactica Season 2

And finally some charcoal and yarn with my name on it