Saturday Sky

A very clear, and warm day without even the slightest breeze, which is probably why these sail boats on Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City have no sails furled..or unfurled, whichever is correct. At one time, I shared space with a friend whose parents owned a sail boat and we and our friends spent a lot of evenings sailing. It was so very peaceful. A glass of wine, stories to tell and good friends to listen to them. And then suddenly a lot of activity as sails had to be moved to catch the wind. Obviously I don't remember any of the language, but I can still remember the fun.

It's been a very busy day and this was my break in the action. There's a nice trail frequented by bikers and roller bladers and joggers and walkers (both human and doggie) and I found a comfortable spot to take in their action. Then it was back to the list. Things to do, places to go, money to spend.

At long last I'm home, barefooted and ready to curl up with some yarn.

Hmmmm

It's been a strange evening, not only because Blogger ate my whole post and I have to do it over because I really need to get it up so you can answer my questions. How's that for a really run together group of words?

The question is this. Teach me about what I think is self striping yarn. This is Regia silk that I got in the summer...and in rl it's tan, gray and white. Lovely soft yummy yarn. Pretty, if subdued colors. So I start a sock and this is what I get..

Ha, you'll never know. Blogger just won't do much this morning either. I do so love upgrades ..NOT. I'm sure it will be better but in the meantime, I'll so some more experimenting myself.

On a brighter side, I got the funnest card from Ann on Monday. I tried to post about that too, but alas it was used to provide Blogger calories because it disappeared too. Oh well. The important thing is that I got it and loved it. Thanks Ann

A Cheatin' Saturday Sky

Heh, posted on Sunday and picture taken on Wednesday evening. I do try *G*

I truly meant to take a pic of Saturday sky but it looked like a lot of others, blue skies, with an occasional cloud. The weather was lovely. I think it may have gotten up to 80 but the wind was blowing so it seemed cooler.

My initial plan for a quick errand run yesterday turned into several hours. The library went quickly, the post office wasn't crowded (how weird that was) and I got the packages mailed in no time. Then a quick stop at the quilt store for one fat quarter to go into a Christmas present turned into a really long visit. It's usually quite crowded on Saturday but everyone must have been at the State Fair, so there was the owner, one of the employees and me. I had a new magazine with a pattern I loved, and they didn't have it so I came home...ate lunch and took the magazine back. We all admired the pattern and then went through the magazine page by page. It was a magazine featuring various quilt shops all over the US. So we imagined what her store could be if it was larger...picked out the bldg she needs to own...set up all the displays..heh, lots of 'play like'. And then went on to projects she'd like to make and tips on the one I was thinking about.

Oh how I wish there was a yarn shop like that here. Or even somewhat close. Of course, I'd be spending all my money and living under a bridge! I did suggest that since a lot of knitters I know quilt, or use fabrics to make bags and such, that she could have both in her great big store. Purl Soho...or Purl on the Prairie? *G*

Then I came home and worked outside. I had my favorite 'working' book on tape to accompany me. So me and Rita Mae and her fur babies mowed and trimmed off some branches, and repotted some plants.

And all of that gave me a BIG appetite so I came in and made spagetti and have enough left for supper tonight. I'm not used to eating that much for supper so the rest of the evening I was pretty much prone with a book in my hands and/or listening to the OU game on the radio. Knitting would have required me to at least sit up a bit *G*

Today, I'll hopefully get the rest of the plants repotted, and there's a huge Norfolk Pine on the patio that needs a shower and then come inside for the rest of the fall and winter. I have NO idea where it's going to go. And hopefully I'll finally get to the can bank.

And also some knitting and some tracing of pattern onto freezer paper.

And, there are a couple of posts in my Blogger draft section that I wrote earlier in the week but couldn't get loaded. Hopefully they really are in the draft section. And if so, you may see a lot more of me today!

Enjoy this day!

A Day at the Fair

This post was written on Friday, about a trip to the State Fair on Wednesday. After about 7 hours walking around and eating, and looking and grinning, I was way too tired to post when I got home. And Thursday was about work and getting my joints to move *G*. So I wrote it on
Friday and then had an incredibly hard time getting the pics to load and just stuck it in the draft folder. So here I am again and I'll try to get this up.

So Wednesday was the day! I was so excited that I had a hard time getting to sleep Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning, though, was a different proposition. I spent much time in eMail and just piddling around the house. I had made myself a promise, that no matter what, I wouldn't hurry. This was simply going to be a fun day. No chores, no nothing responsible.

And it was!

I had sooooooooooo much fun at the Fair but oh my, I surely paid for it in my hip joints and legs. This office worker body hadn't walked that much in a long time. It was so worth it though! I LOVE going to the fair and have only missed one I've gone to every fair but one since I was in the 7th grade, and in my eyes, every one of them has been wonderful.

It was really windy but not uncomfortable. I thought of Laura, and took a picture so she can see the wind.

As soon as I cleared the gate I saw CORN DOGS. Must have one. So munching along with the appropriate snack, I started seeing all the amazing things. Signed up to win an amazing number of giant screen tvs, new roofs, siding, trips, $$$, sewing machines. If you could sign up for it, I did!

Sat in numerous brand new cars, ranging from little compacts to Hummers and beyond. Probably the only time I will sit in a Hummer. There were folks looking at it and I invited them to go riding with me. Hahah a couple of them played along although we didn't quite agree as to where we were going. Finally, with a big sigh I said "OK fine..you drive!" and got out. We all had a big laugh. The guy beside me said "That's what my wife says and then I know I'm in trouble!"

Visited cows and horses and goats and sheep and stayed for quite awhile in the AGtropolis building watching chicks hatch and bunnies sleep. They have this big pile of dirt, rock etc in the middle of the building and there are sheep and goats in there. Last year, I laughed out loud watching the goats play King of the Hill, but this year they were all having a nap. :-( There was supposed to be a spinning demo but nobody came. That's what happened last year too. The first one is scheduled for 4:30 and I'm thinking that maybe it's hard for them to get from work in time to make it. I did get to see and touch some fleece; a 4H fleece that got a blue ribbon. The red ribbon winner was really dirty and I so wanted to take a hunk of it home and wash it, just to see what that would be like. But probably stealing wouldn't be a good thing.

I took a break with a gyro and listened to a very good string quartet play everything from pop stuff to classical. By the time they finished, I was rested enough and refueled so off I went to see other sights.

In one building there were some lacemakers and basket makers demonstrating their craft. The basket lady was making a basket of pine needles...well the top part was pine needles and the bottom part was a gourd. Way cool! She was talking to someone who'd stopped by and actually knew about basket making and it was fun to listen to them discuss technique and such.

The lace makers were making bobbin lace. OMG I'd heard of it but never seen it done. Now that would cause me to pull out every hair on my head! A bazillion bobbins with really thin sewing type thread. She said "Well I have a pattern" and showed it to me. Hmmm lots of dots. A few of them were red. Yeah...I can sure see what to do. NOT! I visited with her for quite awhile, and all the time she kept moving those bobbins...over and over and under. Occasionally she would move one of the pins that held the completed part. I'm thinking that I ever make lace it will be of the knitted variety. What's amazing to me is that long ago, if you had lace, this is how it was made. Geez, I bet it was only for the rich and famous!

I just love listening to people talk about their passions. It's such fun to watch their eyes light up, and the smiles on their faces.

Next stop was at the wine makers area (vintners?). There are a number of winerys here in the state which I find odd. I think of us as wheat. But these people surely proved me wrong. For $1 you can sample a wine. Supposedly an ounce but I know what an ounce looks like and these samples were a lot bigger than that. And yummy! I know zip about wines and sometimes I have some that does absolutely nothing for me. But luckily, all the ones I tried were quite good. Must-buy-wine. I circled the names of the ones I tried and hopefully I can find some of them, if not here in town, at least in the next town over. Our liquor stores aren't too inspiring. This area had a lot of folks stopping by, and since everyone was taking their time, a lot of chatting with strangers was done. I found myself really wanting to ask "Do you knit?" but I refrained. *G*

Then it was off to tour the mobile homes. I have always wanted to live in one! Weird, eh? And perhaps not the best choice for Tornado Alley. But I am fascinated by their use of space.

Unfortunately the wind kept me from riding rides. Well, the two of those I wanted. One I guess really isn't a ride. Just a bunch of little seats that are on a cable and they take you for a nice ride up high above everything. And the 'boat'. I love feeling like I am flying. And the needle was also closed. It's not a scary ride, just a ride up a high needle and it goes around. What was hysterical to me was that it's wind powered. I guess sometimes too much power is a bad thing! I did ride the ferris wheel.

And then it was time for a funnel cake and some people watching. I'm not sure which was best.

And after lots of smiling and getting all excited and walking and walking and walking I came home. Almost 7 hours of fun was over. But there are, of course, souveniers. Lots of 'project bags' thanks to siding contractors, the state of Oklahoma, the AFL-CIO and others.

Yesterday at work I spent much time groaning quietly as I asked my legs to move :-) Thoughts of going to quilt group segued into a better idea. Quality time lying across the bed giggling at My Name Is Earl. I did stay awake for CSI but it made no sense to me and I was asleep before it was over.

Today I am moving much better! And hey...it's almost the weekend! Yay!

Hope your day is going well, and that fun things are coming your way.

Yadda Yadda

I really have no new knitting content unless you want to see a washcloth without a mistake LOL. At least it's done and I can mark that off the list. Well, once I get it in the mail which probably won't happen until Friday. But still...it's done.

So, I thought I'd share some old non-knitting stuff. This is the first quilted wall hanging I ever made, and probably the most fun. I didn't have a pattern. I just went to the park and scooped up some leaves and smashed them and traced around them. Well all except the squarish ones. That was something I traced. Once it was done, I was wishing I'd left them off. But oh well. It was all done with fusible interfacing and machine stitching for veins and stuff. And then the background was sort of quilted in what I interpreted as wind...cause it's windy in OK. The pumpkin was done using freezer paper and was a bitch. And the little mini punkin I got at the store to be my model was almost mush before I got one that I liked. And you can't see it well, but I embroidered branches on the border to suggest bittersweet with bead for the little bittersweet thingies. I think I need to change out the beads and get some that show better.

This one I call Crying Moon. I think I did have a pattern, I know I had it for the bear. But I don't have it any longer and have NO idea where it came from. I made it in the Fall '02 at a very sad time in my life. My little dog Cassie, who had been such a wonderful companion/friend/silly one was in the last days of her life. She had heart disease and by then, although she wasn't hurting or anything, she had little energy and just liked to snuggle with me. So every day I'd race home from work and spend the rest of the evening just being with her. I can't just sit, so this was one of the things I did...and the last thing I did before she died. It was made with just whatever I could find to cut up. So the bear and the tree are pieces from flannel shirts. The moon..I have no idea where that little piece came from and the background was leftovers from a heating pad cover. The binding was from a shirt that I got at a garage sale across the street, I think. And the stick came from the back yard LOL. I didn't have all the binding on when she left me, and I just stuck it all, including the stick in a box under the bed. But then, the next summer I finished it to be sort of a wonderful memory of her.

So that's that for today. Now...it's a vacation day, and I'm off to the Great State Fair of Oklahoma. The 100th!

Maybe I Should Go To Bed

So, I started a simple face cloth yesterday evening and finished it tonight. It's part of a gift that needs to be done..NOW. I was knitting happily along (I do love the decrease end the best) and there was OH NO, a knot in the yarn. So I tinked back a ways and cut the yarn and spliced and hoped like hell it wouldn't make a lump. Too bad you can't spit splice Cotton Tots.

I decided that I would go make some tea and then weave in the ends so I just put it on the table. When I came back to it, I saw this. There towards the middle a single line of knit stitch suddenly becomes a double line. WTF? Only thing I can figure out is that when I did the splicing I somehow turned around and went back the way I came. :::banging head::: Oh well, I guess I get a new face cloth and the fun of knitting another one. Sigh.

Lightning, Thunder and Blintzes

The day started out with many bangs! But I like thunder and rain, and the rain also brought cool temps so I had the back door open and the front door open and let all the lovely air get pulled through the house.

It waited until I had just taken a few sips of coffee and logged on. I think I managed to visit Ann, and then shut down fast. The storms were supposed to come through in the night. Obviously they forgot to tell them that. And half-awake me hadn't paid any attention to the weatherman.

So...the rest of the morning was without computer. In a way, it was sort of nice. I have a tendency to sometimes get lost out there and before I know it hours have gone bye bye. This morning, however, I read the whole Sunday paper. Well, ok...most of it. Looked at all the ads and picked out all the things I wanted. Ate breakfast slowly. Made some melt and pour soap. Knitted a bit on the red scarf while watching the Sunday morning news shows. Read a couple chapters in a book. Ate hot dogs at 10:30 *G*

And just in time to leave for the wedding, the rain quit.

The wedding was my first Jewish wedding. It was very interesting and I liked it a lot. They had little booklets from the bride (my friend) and groom, that told just what was going to happen and the significance of it. Went into great detail with some history and meaning. And, unlike most of the weddings I've been to lately, it lasted quite awhile. I always think it's such a waste...everyone gets all fixed up pretty and 15 min later it's over. The rabbi talked about them personally. Very nice. And there was a lovely young woman violinist that almost made you cry when she played. So very beautiful. Nice to learn a lot; enjoy the celebration; and have beautiful music too. And I even got to say Mazel Tof!

Then the reception. I was a bit uncomfortable since I knew very few people other than Debby's sisters. But everyone was very friendly...maybe it was because I inadvertently got in the wine line twice ;-0

Besides the usual cheese, nuts, and fruits there were things I had never tasted before. Well, I've had bagels, but the one I got was every so yummy...sort of cinnamon-y and some other spice that I don't know. There was an older lady in front of me in the line. Actually, she was probably my age...I always think I am younger than I am. But anyway, I digress. I told her that I didn't know what I was putting on my plate, and that I hope she had good taste because anything she got..I got. She told me that I had lox (I'll pass on that next time), a cheeze blintz (to which I added sour cream and berries - to die for!!!!!). And then we got to what I thought was a casserole or hot dish. But turns out it was noodle pudding (kugel?) Also to die for although I could neverhave imagined having noodles in pudding.

Only one thing, for me, was missing. I have a dear Jewish friend that lives in NYC. I haven't seen her in years, although we still do those catch up letters a couple times a year. Once when I was visiting her, we went to this delicatessan and got this little container of liver something. All smushed up. It sort of looked like baby food. And we sat around eating it on crackers or little tiny pieces of dark bread, drank wine and solved the problems of the world and figured out where to go shopping next. Perhaps memory has made me remember it better than it was, but I was sorry that I never got to have it again. Or to even know what it was called so I could look for it. Silly me, I should have asked someone there. I just remember that she told me had I been Jewish I would have been raised on it.

I also saw a new (?) hair style. A young woman who was dressed VERY nicely had what appeared to be dreads that had almost come all undone. Like a halo over them. I've never seen anyone wear their hair like that before.

A lot of new things today. And such a fun time. Oh, and it stayed cool. Coming home it was 60 degrees out. I put the window down so I could enjoy being cool.

Now to eat a bit more and settle back with some more knitting. Maybe, just maybe I'll cast on a sock.

Hope your day has been treating you nicely!

Saturday Sky and Saturday Yarn

Windy, windy, windy today. I went out by the lake to take pictures and thought I was going to blow over. Supposed to maybe rain tomorrow. And if there is any moisture in the southwest, surely the winds will blow it up this way.

But rain or not, it's happy in this house, because look what came in the mail. Dave of the fabulous Cabin Cove's yarn! Isn't it gorgeous? And it's soooo soft. I took the band off and untwisted the skein before I remembered that I hadn't taken a picture to share. And I learned that I have a lot to learn about twisting up the skein. *G*.

I started another scarf (not that I finished the first one yet) and I have fabric cut out for some cards, and I really think I need to start another pair of socks. Perhaps first though, I'll spend some quality time with this yarn and maybe even find the end so I can wind it into balls.

Life is good.

Fabric Play and Cat Chaos

I spent last night snipping and ironing and just playing with fabric. Tonight is the first night I'll go try out that quilting group and I had nothing to take to work on. So I thought I would quickly put together a couple of ideas I had for the fall cards. So out came the fabric, scissors, fusible web and came up with these. And the lovely background is my ironing board cover *G*. Of course, along the way, I had several more ideas but it was Project Runway night so they'll have to wait.

So...after all was done, I had a bunch of little snippets of fabric, too big to throw away but not big enough to fold. They needed a little box to live in. So off to the box stash and I grabbed this white box and went around tossing pieces in it, then curled up to watch tv.

Crash. I heard stuff falling in the dining room and discovered two of the cats on the table just going wild. Rolling, meowing, scooting everything off the table. Except the box. It was empty and they were in it, on it, around it. WTF? I gathered everything up and then realized. Oh yeah, last winter that box held catnip mice that I'd made for cat friends. I guess that scent never leaves. Sorry kids!

Thanks Jamie

Nope, I didn't get another package in the mail and I have no idea if Jamie knits. But she surely brightened my day.

Even after the insurance paid off, that MRI that I had ended up costing me hundreds of dollars, which surprise! I don't have. I was expecting a rather large check in the mail and I was going to make a down payment on the bill, and then schedule payments. But the large check didn't come (more about that later) and I was afraid that since I hadn't initially called them, they might not be pleased with my rather minimal payment plan.

I noticed on the bill that I could eMail them. Yay! I just hate calling people on the phone if I think they aren't going to be pleased with me. Pitiful, I know. So I took the easy way out and eMailed them yesterday.

Here's the response:

Yes, I can set up payments of xx.xx (small amount) per month. If you will tell me what date to use as your due date, I'll set that up also. Be sure to give yourself mail time, since if it's not here on the due date it will show as delinquent. And then the "nasty grams" start :-). And, if anything happens that might delay the payment such as an emergency, be sure and call me so I can fix that. Thanks. Jamie.

A real person. That smiles. And that didn't give me that shit about "can't you put it on your credit card? Or "let us arrange a loan for you". Yay Jamie. I should knit her something! hahah

Now about the check that didn't arrive. In our insurance plan, after you meet your deductible, you can turn in meds and be reimbursed for 80% of them. The docs I see have champagne med taste apparently cause they eat up a large amount of my paycheck. And only one of them has a generic version. But hey, my arms and legs work and my brain too, in it's own quirky way. My original plan was to wait until November and send them in for Christmas money, but this hospital bill changed that. Now the plan was to pay off part of that; get a new jacket and maybe even a couple pair of slacks for winter; oh and hey..maybe a bit of yarn and some new Knitpicks needles. Heh. Priorities.

So I got the printout from the pharmacy and sent it all to the insurance company in August. I hadn't heard a word. And I didn't remember taking this long so the girl in HR checked into it. Oh my, they had discovered that for some reason anything coming in as meds was put into the "correspondence" file and nothing was done. Hello? I guess I shouldn't write them a letter about anything, since obviously nobody will ever read it. It's been re-faxed and hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll have the $$ and can make Jamie happier.

Emboldened with her response, and a short note from Cookie, I set about learning to cable. Happily I thought "Ohhh in the morning, you can post a pic of your bit of cabling." Not to be. It looked more like pink cat vomit. Hahaha! I know that when I am trying something new, my tension gets much tighter. But hello, I think you are supposed to be able to get your needle out of the knitting without cutting yarn! So no pic. And nobody was injured. And today is another day!

Hope yours is a great one!

And You Thought My Shoes Glowed....

Awhile back, Ann of Mason-Dixon Knitting was on a cleaning/sorting/tossing adventure at her house. She had a contest to see who could guess how many trash bags of stuff she was tossing. I entered...I didn't win. But the winner got a giant trash bag of yarn...the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Now Danielle, who did win had been on a plan of finishing UFOs and decided that rather than add all this to her stash she would share it. So she had a contest too..to guess what she was making. I entered that, and again I was wrong.

So the winner got to pick out what she wanted and then Danielle put the other names on slips of paper and this time I was one of the winners of the Good/Bad/Ugly yarn stash.

So today it arrived: May I present the Ugly complete with sticky note from Ann. This is 5 spools, 160 feet of floresent nylon twine. Kite string, level string...very sturdy string! Someone had seen a pattern in Magknits for a dog collar and leash so Zoey may be very well decked out in the future!

But that's not all. A nice skein of cotton for a ball band cloth...and pattern. I love the colors!
And, because Danielle felt sorry for me, I also got this marvelous Rowan Kid Classic (70% Lambswool, 26% kid mohair, and 4% nylon) Do you see? ROWAN! OMG I never thought I would have Rowan yarn. It's soooo soft! I've just about squished it to death already. And there was candy (sorry it's all gone) and to top it off some hand made stitch markers from Danielle. They are wonderful. She's really got a lot of talent!

So, that's how my week started off...and I plan on it getting even better. It will be hard to top today though.

A Pic-less Post

I think I need to take a lot of miscellaneous pictures so I can just stick one in here and there.

Yesterday was a good day. Socks finished. Lots of football. Scarf knitting. Sock patterns look through. Yes, my needles are lonely.

My biggest accomplishment that I can't show is my bookmark file on this computer. OMG there were a bazillion of them and I really couldn't find anything except my daily reads. I did wonder, at times, why I had bookmarked some of those pages. But after much deleting and moving and sorting it's much more manageable. All because of a t-storm. Normally my Kitchenering is done in front of the computer as I scroll up and down through the pics. But the weather guy said thunder was coming. I'd have to shut down. So logically I thought I'd just print out the page. That is, if I could find it. Took awhile and I decided it was definitely time.

Then last night, during time outs, I loaded pics into my Yahoo albums. I have 70 some photo folders on this computer from uploading from the camera. That's way too many. I worked through #40 just uploading pet pics. Not every folder had a cat or a Zoey, but it was funny how many did. 5 pics of a sock..and a cat. LOL. So hopefully soon, I can get some of those cleaned out and off the computer. I'd really hate to lose them. I thought about just putting them on a cd but I can't get it to work. I really need a techy person in my real life :-)

So, now it's Monday. Whee! Oh well, I don't want to wish my life away, but still...it's getting closer to the weekend. Yes!

At last!

The Harlot socks are done!! Can you see me doing the happy happy sock dance? Actually the shoes aren't quite that bright and they pretty much match the turquoise in the yarn. Well, even if they didn't there are so many colors you would think they matched something.

When I die I shall probably ask that all my socks be cremated with me cause I don't want anyone to see the Kitchenering (Paris that's what 'sewing' the toe end up is called). I try and try and for every part that looks good, there's a part that looks like a kindergarten kid did it. I have good instructions, which I try to follow carefully. Sometimes that's a bit hard though when you have a good ' friend' trying to help

The real Harlot says that there is a STR color named after her now but it's not on their website. I'm wondering what it will look like. Have any of y'all knitted with STR? I'm fascinated by the colors. Are the old ones like Fire on the Mountain self striping?

Now it's time for a celebratory hot dog, and then figure out what to do with the rest of this day.

Sunday Sky

By the time I got through with the front yard yesterday, I was too tired to point the camera up. LOL. The weatherman says rain is on the way, yay! We need so much to really get down in the dirt. And, since I was a good girl and worked outside yesterday morning, I won't have to feel guilty. Heh.

The Real Me

I got this from Laura. I love these tests, especially when I turn out so well.

Katharine Hepburn You scored 7% grit, 23% wit, 52% flair, and 23% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women. Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the Classic Leading Man Test.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on grit You scored higher than 99% on wit You scored higher than 99% on flair You scored higher than 99% on class

Link: The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Yea, It's the Weekend

It's still pitch dark so no Saturday Sky yet.

My back pitched a fit (a chronic thing...sometimes it's ok, sometimes it's not. Just have to deal with it) on Thursday so not much has been accomplished since then on the knitting scene or sewing scene or much of anything scene.

Well that's not exactly true. Yesterday was one of those Save The Vacation Days day off. Maybe the most logical thing would have been to rest, but I've never pretended to be always logical. Being as it's a payday week (and hey...the check made it to the bank) there were lots of errands to be run..ran..whatever. I thought that just in case things got worse, those needed to get done. And they did. Granted, it took most of the day LOL. I normally walk pretty fast, but I discovered that if you are walking really slow, people actually talk to you. So there were some fun conversations with strangers in Walmart.

The last stop was at the quilt shop. Partly to get one little thing, and partly just for the eye candy. Of course I found much I needed but only a couple of little pieces actually came home with me. The best part was laughing. OMG I haven 't laughed that much in a long time. I've known the owner since we were in Jr. High, and she's just as much fun as she ever was. Maybe even more now.

They had mentioned in their newsletter that they were setting up sort of quilting uhh meetings. They had a meeting for organization and a number of people signed up to meet on certain nights. It was storming the night of the meeting and I didn't go. I assumed from what I heard (yeah I know...don't assume) that these were most excellent quilters. I've had some uncomfortable experiences in trying to join set groups. Twice I was told that I needed to be more proficient before I joined. So, screw that. But it seems that these folks are more into giggling as well as working on things and sharing ideas. There are still a number of different bunches of people meeting on various days/nights. But Thursday night seems to have morphed into a "whoever shows up, shows up" sort of thing. It sounds fun, and I plan on going.

I have good friends, but unfortunately none of them are the least bit interested in knitting, sewing or anything similar. It will be nice to be among like minded folks. Now, if I can just find the knitters!

Today the front yard needs my attention. Fortunately it's small. My back seems much better so far but my muscles are sore from walking funny so moving around out there will be a good thing. Other than that...I have movies to watch, a football game to watch (crossing fingers) and socks to knit. Toes, here I come!

Y'all have a good day too!

Some Knitting Content

Not a lot...but hey. Our phones rang constantly yesterday. I guess going 3 days without talking to us made everyone lonely or something. I was so tired of smiling while I answered the phone (it really does make you sound nicer).

I knitted a tiny bit on the restarted scarf but even counting 3 rows of knit was more than I wanted to do.

So, the socks came out of time out and I went round and round and round. Would have probably gotten farther along, but decided to see why Drum and Bugle corps were on ESPN. If you don't actually watch, you miss the whole thing cause there are few instant replays.

And now it's Hump Day..ohhh I like these Mondays off, I think!

All Clean and Pressed

and nowhere to go! Finally all the fabric that I got for about a dollar at the auction has been laundered and pressed and folded. Now I need to get a keeper to put it all in. It may have to live in a copy paper box for awhile. I have NO idea what I will do with any of it. The stack on the left is quilted stuff with fabric on both sides. I may have a patched slipcover for my chair. Who knows? There were also 5 huge pillow cases made from really heavy fabric. Those have been appropriated for the 2 regular sized pillows that have been appropriated by the cats.

My little blue collar heart has been so happy on this day of days. I love a holiday that's all about me LOL.

Crikey!

I am so saddened by this news! I loved watching his shows and learned a lot. And I so admired his conservation efforts. I guess though, if you have to go, it's best to go doing what you love.

I'll surely miss you Steve!

Sunday Fun

I DID put on my shoes, got my errands done and managed to spend very little money. Michael's was packed. I guess everyone was stocking up for a playday today. I overheard a cell convo..well one side of it..where a woman was telling her friend that she had become hooked on beading. It was so fun to hear her excitement. And then there was perhaps a grandmother and a young girl searching out yarn for a project. And it was the young one that was telling the older one about how she was going to knit it and exactly why she was choosing that particular yarn. I got some inexpensive yarn (Lion Brand) for the Red Scarf project...and guess what? It's red! LOL. It has little nub thingies of other colors all over it. And it feels soft on my face and it's machine washable and dryable. Perfect for a student?

Then to Barnes and Noble for a look around. I had heard that the new Vogue Knitting had lots of socks, so I wanted to check that out. It does, but they were all far away from my level of skill. So back on the shelf it went. I did get a mystery and got to watch a performance. Not of a singer or artist but of a lady in the check out line who, when she cut the line and was called on it by the checkout person really had a fit.

Then off to my next stop...The Express Personnel Clydesdales. The man who owns this huge personnel business also owns a HUGE ranch (I think like 3500 acres or something) and raises prize winning angus cattle. I drive by this impressive place often and admire the miles and miles of white fences and their huge house that looks more like a resort. And also by the Clydesdales but I have never stopped before. If you click on the link, you'll see the barn which I knew long before they were there. I like to go to the City on backroads sometimes and this is my favorite route. At a T intersection there stood this really old magnificent barn that was slowly going away. But when they bought the property, they hired some Amish barn people to refix it. And it's magnificent. As are the horses.

I loved watching this guy getting his bath. There were quite a few visitors there, and everytime some kid (or me) talked to him, he'd quietly nod his head as if he were acknowledging them. And there was a baby that was a total pet slut. Every once in awhile he'd pull his head back in, but at the slightest sound of someone coming his way, out it would come again and I swear he'd smile as we petted him. His pic sucked tho so use your imagination.

I am including this shot not to show the coaches, but to show the ceiling. How cool is that? I'm tellin' ya, this place is way far better than my house, and probably cleaner too.

I had a great time seeing the horses and the exhibits and the gear and just everything. This guy is the coach of the OKC Blazers hockey team. Mr. Express owns the team and I don't know if Sauter liked horses before but he surely does now.

I drove home through the country. The return of clouds meant that the colors were brighter. Fields rampant with sunflowers and ditches loaded with Queen Anne's lace just glowed. Nice thing about 45 mph speed limits means that you get to see more.

Then home for to finish cleaning out the utility room closet and mop the floor, and then a soaky bath and some laundry and some knitting with the new yarn. A very good day!

And I thought that today I was going to need to mow. Well, I still do, but oh dear it's raining. Bummer...that means I get to play! yea for rain!

Mid-Holiday

Ohhh I just love knowing that even after today, I have another day off.

Yesterday was a great day. Got some more cleaning/sorting done but instead of just pushing, pushing to do more, I stopped. Managed to get the scroll saw loaded into the car ..it's going to be a pay it forward thing and I have to take it to work to give it away. Heavy little bugger and it was behind other stuff. All that stuff is where it belongs (or in the trash).

Had a serious talk with sock 2 and actually got the heel gusset done and am rolling along toward the toes. So both socks are now much closer to being done. I have NO idea why I have had so much trouble. It's not the yarn or pattern, I know it's me. But things that I've never had trouble with before have been quite stubborn. Almost scared me. Or maybe I just freaked myself out. I have been known to do that. heh.

Zoey the wonder dog and I played beauty shop this morning and she's much lighter now. Poor baby is getting fat. The prednisone that she has to take for her weird allergy has succeeded in keeping her from eating her feet off, but she has an appetite more suitable for the Jolly Green Giant. Next bag of dog food will be some sort of diet stuff. She doesn't get table food except on Saturday when she gets the ends off 2 weinies. And she only gets 1 "cookie" a day, and I break it in half so she thinks she is getting 2. She and I both have waist problems...maybe it's contagious. Or Mel's fault.

I knitted through most of the Sunday morning news shows and now I'm fixin' to get dressed and go shopping. Well not for much. But I need some interfacing from Hancocks (Walmart doesn't have what I need) and oh whoa...Michael's has a 50% off coupon. Maybe yarn for the Red Scarf project. Surely I can find something there that I 'need'. Yep...betcha I can.

And maybe on the way home I will have another sort of adventure. There is this cool place that I've always wanted to visit but always had something else that needed doing...but if they are open today, I think I'll stop.

I've been hearing on the news a lot about how American workers don't take vacations much anymore. For a variety of reasons, but the main one seems to be lack of cash and/or demanding jobs. I have almost a month of vacation days in the bank...and am close to losing some which means occasionally I take a day off in the middle of the week. I have no problem with asking off if I am going somewhere, but I feel really bad about asking for a week off to just stay home and play. And I don't have any extra $$ for trips. They have downsized us so much that it's really hard to keep up, and sometimes we don't but we try hard. And if one person is missing it gets really crazy. And I really like them and don't want to put them out like that.

However, I've been lately feeling a bit resentful. I am taking a couple days off in October for a fiber thing. It's right here in town so that will be fun. In the meantime, I've been making a list of places close, museums and such that I either haven't been to..or at least not for a long time. And I shall go be a tourist if even for a couple of hours. And maybe I will come home refreshed.

sheesh...this was going to be a really short post and I've babbled on forever. And I don't even have a picture. oh well

Saturday Sky

My Saturday Sky is gray and damp. The earth is happy to feel the rain, and until the mold spores take over the world, I am happy too!

It's really nice to have a 3 day weekend. One day always seems to get eaten up with errands and things that just don't get done during the week. However, I have no out-on-the-town errands to do so if I go anywhere, it will just be because I want to do so.

I had planned on doing some dyeing on the patio today, but it appears that's postponed. And perhaps that's a good thing. One of the remaining skeins from Dye-O-Rama has apparently had a really wild time in the closet. So, if I get tired of more sorting and tossing, I can sit down and quietly (and for hours probably) untangle. It would be nice if life could get untangled in such a relaxing way.

Hope your Saturday Sky is just the one you want.

Ohhhh Pretties in the Mail

A lovely way to end "end-of-month-hell".

Sara had told about her friend Pat. Pat is a crazy quilter...a most incredible artist and one of her creations has been selected as a contestant in the $100,000 Quilting Challenge. Can you imagine being that good?!?!?!? So of course I had to go see...and oh my..wondrous things and links and all that fun.

So I wrote and said how much I loved her work, probably asked questions yadda yadda and we have had a bit of a correspondence. I mentioned that I had found a site in Australia where you could order little packets of fabrics. No fine fabrics in my stash to play with. Then, out of the blue, I received an email from her asking me to name 3 favorite colors. LOL I couldn't decide so I wrote some colors on slips of paper and drew 3 and the choice was warm brown, terra cotta and teal. Ohhh I'm glad I didn't draw orange and black or something. She said she would send me a packet of bits and pieces so I could try this myself.

It arrived today. Oh my gosh, there are the most amazing fabrics, silks and embellished fabrics and velvets and ribbons and beads and maybe the most amazing thing...pictures on silk! I don't know how they got there LOL.

I will probably wear them out just fondling them before I ever get up enough nerve to actually cut something. I did get a book at the library. Ugly book but a lot of information. I can't believe I am so lucky.

Oh...and I won something this week too! More about that in another post. And no, it wasn't Publishers Clearing House *G*

Did I Pass?

I took another test. Which is a way of saying I don't have much to say. Not that my life isn't exciting. Let's see. Last night I went to the library since they close early on Fridays and won't be open over the long weekend. That done, I came home and ate oatmeal. And then...oh get ready for this...I went to the grocery (well Walmart) where I not only bought more oatmeal but also new underwear! And apples! Wow!

Then I came home; put stuff away; washed a load of towels and brushed Mary who was not impressed. Then...oh it gets better...I read some blogs and took a bath and went to bed. Nothing creative at all.

So...I took the test and here are the results. And yes, I look like this. Hush now, Paris! *G*

What Type of Soul Do You Have ?

You are naturally born with a gift, whether it be poetry, writing or song. You love beauty and creativity, and usually are highly intelligent. Others view you as mysterious and dreamy, yet also bold since you hold firm in your beliefs.
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