Happy April 22

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

I got all excited when I found out that you could get free CFL bulbs at Home Depot. Then I realized it was 30 miles away, and I would negate any good stuff by the amount of gas my behomoth vehicle would use. So, for my celebration, I shall stay here and plant my tomato plants and feed the silkworms.

And, Happy 89'er Day to my fellow Okies. It seems so odd to me that this place is so new in the history of cities. Maybe I will wear a sunbonnet and sing.

Serendipity Again

The plans for the day involved washing blankets (I think spring is finally here to stay), curtains and the regular laundry that didn't get done last night plus various errands. The errands went well...got done without any glitches. The laundry however was another story. Once again my machine decided to turn into a screaming banshee and no amount of rearranging wet stuff, repositioning the washer, or cussing would make it work right. So feeling way put upon, I loaded up wet blankets, throw rugs and the stuff that was still in line and off to the laundry I went.

Thought I would use one of the great big front loaders. Put my quarters in..all $3 but umm, it wouldn't start and there was no attendant there. Pulled everything out and split it between a smaller front loader and two regular washers. I find this laundry quite depressing. It's certainly not a good space. So I decided while everything was washing, I would go around the corner to the quilt store and get some needles with big enough eyes to hold the tying stuff for my quilt. As I was being helped, I heard someone say "She's not to be trusted with sharp things!" Laughing, I turned around to discover one of the few fiber folks I know around here. She was there taking a class but the classroom was cold so she'd come out front to stitch on her appliqued butterfly. We chatted a bit and she invited me over to see her silkworms. Well, not worms quite yet.

Happily I went back to the laundry to discover everything done....except the two regular washers didn't spin very well and so actually I'd spent money to end up with the same very wet blankets. Lugging them home, I discovered the mail had arrived. A bill, some ads, and this very cool card from Devorah! I love it! I think it needs a frame. I usually stand them up on my desk for awhile and then put them in my treasure space, but I'm afraid the laser strips will get bent and it's way too neat to have that happen.

Had just started pressing curtains when my friend called and said can you come now??? Oh sure...I'm ready for some fun. Not only did I get to see the silkworm babies, I was also given some to raise. They are bombyx silkworms, domestic ones. Who knew? The link tells all about the raising of them. The black spots that look like poppy seeds are really infants, the longer black things are a bit older and the leaves are mulberry leaves. Fortunately I have a mulberry tree in my yard...at least we 'think' it's a mulberry tree. Leaves look right. But that's the only thing they will eat. And they eat a lot! Something else to feed! *G* And it was such fun talking with someone who loves fiber. She also makes soap, and has a kiln and her daughter sews and her husband knits. My kind of folks!

And on the way outside to cut some for my new babies, I noticed that the blackberries are blooming. ohhhh my mouth is watering already!

So..if the washer wasn't acting up, I wouldn't have a new project, wouldn't have got to spend time with a fiber friend. And hey, maybe the card wouldn't have arrived. And, if I hadn't gone out to get mulberry leaves I might have not noticed the blackberry blossoms. It's all good. Excuse me, I have to go see if my jammies are dry.

Remembering April 19

Twelve years ago today it was bright and sunny. As I set out to do early visits on some patients, I was wearing my favorite yellow and white stripey shirt. I was happy and laughing. I did not know of the terror and sadness that would soon arrive in my life.
o, I wasn't in the Murrah building. I had, however, been in it several times, and when I worked in downtown Oklahoma City, had often eaten my lunch outside it on pretty days. At first, when I first, along with many others, crowded around a tiny tv in a doctor's office, I didn't believe it. The Murrah had reflective glass. This wasn't that building. It took awhile for me to absorb the fact that the glass was gone.When I was told to change into jeans and heavy shoes and then dispatched to help triage those rescued I still had hopes. They were dashed as we were told that the majority of the injured ones had been transported. And that those that were missing...well, it was unlikely they would need us.I was lucky. I didn't lose anyone that was close to me. But I did lose someone I'd known for years. And many of my friends and coworkers were more closely affected.

And more importantly at age 50, I lost the majority of my remaining innocence. This was Oklahoma for God's sake. Nothing like this would ever happen here. Tornadoes, sure. Bombings, no way! But it did.

And I learned. I learned that right this moment is what I have. I learned that you can't wait until a "good time" to tell someone you love them...that they make you smile...that you appreciate their help. Running an errand may be that last thing you do. Cherish the time you spend giggling with a friend, child, spouse, lover...or the clerk at the grocery.
Know too, that I cherish each of you.

Rain

Bad Blogger, bad bad bad

I'm sorry. I know I said I would be back on Sunday and I didn't make it. Thought of y'all though as I busied around here like a crazy woman.

I did get some things accomplished. Made a sandwich of my quilt top, washed the patio (no plumbing to clean out there though, Ann), and probably some things that I've forgotten now. I truly meant to take a picture of the quilt all spread out on the patio but ...I didn't.

I do have some things to show you. Nope, no knitting although some is going on. It's just not ready for primetime yet.

First, new friends. I first saw the big lamb over on Scrappy Knitter's place and thought her just the cutest thing. But when I finally ok'd it, they were out at Build A Bear. Who knew? I ended up getting her unstuffed on eBay. And who says lambs named Rowan can't wear a Hello Kitty shirt? She came with her own little companion who is named Petal and now they have a new friend too. On the right is my first ever lamb Pez...compliments of Scrappy Knitter. Too fun! She came inside a giant plastic Easter egg even. I had to take the front off for the picture and so that she could breathe easier. And it arrived on a day that was in real need of a fun surprise. Thank you!

And the gratuitous nature shot. These little pretties are called Star of Bethlehem, or wild onions since the bulblets they grow from smell like onions, or some people refer to them as weeds. The very idea!! They seem to like my yard quite well and so I consider them a wonderful gift from nature. It's just easier that way.

Oh and the headache went away finally. But it left my head sore. Really...kinda like if you bumped it on a corner or something. I swear, I just keep getting weirder!

How's your week going. Remember, tomorrow is HumpDay...the weekend can't be far behind.

Headache

That's what I've got. It's been with me for a couple of days now and I think I'm actually getting used to it. This morning I thought perhaps if I had less hair it would be better. So my hair is shorter but I really need to get scissors that aren't designed for clipping little stuff. It took awhile. It doesn't look that great...but it's one less annoyance. I think it's a combination of allergy and stress. Today I decided that maybe if I did some major cleaning, I'd feel more in control of my life. Good grief, I even washed the plumbing pipes under the kitchen sink.

On the knitting front, mostly it's been frogged. We still haven't had a softball game due to weather but I decided to just go on and knit and maybe get through the heel and gusset and could use the foot for softball knitting. Then I decided to try one of them on. What was I thinking? They would have been a nice fit for a child. So they're frogged and when the yarn relaxes a bit more I'll cast on the proper amount of stitches for my foot.

Last Wednesday the sun shined, and I took pictures. So that's what I have. Hope you enjoy them. I'll try to be a bit more upbeat tomorrow.

Softball Socks

Two of them to be exact...just barely begun but that's the plan. For, once again, it's softball season and The Girl seems to think I need to be at all her games. And I get fiddly just sitting there so...I need to knit, right? And I need to knit something simple so there you have it. I'm thinking though that until the evenings warm up, I might just spend the evening shivering. 40 degrees with wind. Ack! At least I won't be wearing a cute softball uniform and trying to look really good out on the field *G*

Specs: (because I'll forget later and can come back and look)
Yarn: Dancing from Knit Picks 41% cotton, 39% wool, 13% nylon and 7% elastic. I'm liking using it and I'm thinking they'll be a lot more comfy to wear in an Oklahoma summer than all wool. Of course, it's not in my catalog so I guess I'll have to Google more cotton sock yarns.
Pattern: 3x3 plain rib on US 1 dpns.

Began last night, and partially knitted during Wind in the Willows. It was excellent, and I'm afraid knitting was in my lap much of the time. I adored Matt Lucas who played Toad. He was just perfect!

Sunday Sewing

Don't get too excited. It wasn't a whole lot of sewing but I'm really happy at finally getting this done. I had these two fabric bags filled with flax seed and various herbs. The label says there is chamomile, peppermint, spearmint, rosemary, white willow, yellow dock root, cinnamon, valerian root, saw palmetto berry, lemon grass, yaroow, lavender, flaxseed and natural (but unnamed) grain. They can be heated in the microwave and smell heavenly. Almost makes having a headache or backache worthwhile. But the covers had gotten quite dingy, probably from the oils in the herbs...dunno. And, I always thought it would be cool to have a longer one that I could put around my neck and over my shoulders when knitting had made a few knots in that area too *G*.

So today, I cut them open and poured the contents into a new muslin sack...sewed up the ends and voila!

But that was a bit boring and besides I thought it would be nice to be able to wash the cover, so I made it a pillow case. Could be a bit shorter, but was afraid that since it hadn't been preshrunk, I would be in trouble later on. If not...I'll shorten it. The sack itself fits nicely around my neck and over my shoulders. And everything still smells lovely!

I had to get dressed to go eat dinner so since I was out, I gassed up the vehicle, bought some milk and bananas. As soon as I got home from the dinner, I changed back into my jammies and have been knitting a bit and will, in the fairly near future, be watching Wind of the Willows on Masterpiece Theater. I'm thinking an evening with Ratty, and Badger and Toad will be lovely. I'm not sure how it would feel to be told you'd be perfect for the part of Toad though

Tea Towels

I did very little of a productive nature yesterday unless you count napping and reading as being productive. *G*. I did, however, get the laundry done so I can actually wear clean clothes today.

But I digress. Because I want to talk about tea towels. When I was a youngster, those terry cloth kitchen towels were not in the stores. At least not in the stores in my town. Everyone used flour sack tea towels. And, unless you were way out of it, your tea towels were whiter than white and had little embroidered decorations on them.

These were in the laundry yesterday. I don't use them for drying dishes any more, but they made a nice place for the washed fleece to rest while drying (and disguised the baby gate 'drying rack' on the dining room table LOL) The one with the cherries on it was actually made from a bleached out flour sack. The others were probably purchased blanks from the dime store. The cherries used to be very, very bright but age has mellowed them. We go well together *G* Unless I'm missing a stash, these are all that I have left from the bazillion my mom made for me. My favorites were the fruit series (of which only the cherries remain) and this series that had laughing plates and dancing silverware. I remember making some myself but those also have been long worn out.

The women of my mom's generation, by and large, were stay-at-home moms. Even though my mom worked after my dad's death, she still had that image in her mind. And our house was filled with afghans and tea towels and pillow cases and all sorts of other embellished items. The kitchen certainly wasn't left out as a lot of time was spent there. And, if you have to dry dishes, you might as well do it with a dancing fork and a laughing plate.

I know as creative people we still add things to our homes that speak of our love of the place. And I think tea towels may be next judging by some things I have read on blogs lately. After all if granny squares and aprons are popular, can tea towels be far behind?

Oh, and you can go here and see a newer pic of me...and this one wasn't taken in a bathroom mirror!

A Change in Plans

This weekend was planned to be all about outside. Washing down the patio (yes that OCD thing again LOL) doing some trimming, maybe even buying some plants for the pots. The sky is sunny and bright although I haven't been out far enough to take a picture of it because this is what I saw first.

OOOps. Seems like a rather inside sort of day. And, so far, other than the usual Saturday morning tasks, I haven't quite figured out what that will entail.

I was sooooo tired when I posted last night. And Blogger was extremely slow. I was told by a non-techy person that Typepad is much nicer to dial up folks. Maybe I'll investigate that.
Maybe I'll get out that spindle and see if I can remember anything. Maybe I'll sew up the skirt that's been cut out for 2 weeks. Maybe I'll start a new sock. I just couldn't seem to get the ones I was working on to work. Probably user error because the pattern was simple and the yarn was exquisite. For whatever reason it just wouldn't happen. I want them to be different and special. Maybe my knitting fingers were tired. Maybe I should start a simple sock with inexpensive yarn.

Or maybe I should stay in my pjs and read. I have Susan's new book, a new copy of Spin Off. Or I could listen to a book on tape. At the bookstore I found Sense and Sensability on cassette for $10! Lots of listening there.

For those of you not familiar with my newest heroine Susan Wittig Albert, I'll give you a bit more info. I love reading her blog because it's about so many things. Knitting sometimes, gardening, animals, writing, and always about place. Busy person!

She, and her husband Bill, write 3 series. Well one is finished but the other two are still going on.

The first is the China Bayles series. I've been reading and loving these for a long time. China was an attorney who got tired of the rat race and chucked it in favor of operating a herb shop (and growing lots of herbs) in a small Texas town. And, solves mysteries with her friend Ruby who may be my other idol. Ruby is just too wild and cool. Lots of fun and you learn a lot about herbs in the process. And even dyeing and making paper *G* And lots of fun stuff if you follow the above link.

Second is the Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries. Obviously set in the Victorian era, they're made even more fun by having real people involved in the stories. From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Beatrix Potter, Rolls and Royce (who knew)...you get to get a new idea of who these folks were. Lots of research in these books.

And third, oh my word I love this series, are the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. I loved her little stories and pictures. I have to love Mrs. Tiggywinkle due to my propensity to iron a lot. But the lady herself was incredibly interesting. In a time when women were expected to do only certain things, she really stretched and succeeded. You won't find blood and guts in these books. But you will find lots of animals. Both those of Ms. Potter, but also of Susan's.

And there are non-fiction books as well. There is the Herbal Book of Days which is on my wish list. Well actually all of these are. So many books so much yarn...choices take time *G*. There is an anthology called Women Writing About the Southwest. There is a guided writing program called Writing from Life. (I wonder if there is a way to write an interesting chapter about cleaning the bathroom????). Work of Her Own which is about doing what your soul wants, I think.

If you go here, there are links to all the books in the sidebar and in the non-fiction area all open on their own page but the addy stays the same so I don't know how to link. It's magic, I tell ya!

Now to go have a soaky bath, pull some warmer clothes out of storage (sort of jumped the gun on that one) and see where this day leads. I hope your path today leads you to lots of contentment.

So Much Fun!

Jackie was totally surprised! She did notice someone carrying in a gift bag but as it was another coworkers birthday, she thought it was for them. We're so clever! She got a lot of nice gifts, from accessories and towels and some totally practical things like the mop I gave her. Actually she got two mop sort of things. Did you know that there's a mop thing out there especially for bathrooms??? Got a swivel head and a sort of triangular cleaning surface for going around tight corners. I shall have to see about this! LOL

I left work an hour early to head into the City. Actually I came home and took a somewhat abbreviated soaky bath. I'm glad I got to leave early because I think if I had had to type one more page of medical stuff I would have cried. Being busy makes the days go by faster and insures that I have a job but whew! The bath revived me and off I went. As I left the house, I almost picked up my sock bag so I'd have something to do if I was way too early, then laughed at myself and left it at home.

I was the first one to get to the book signing. Guess what she was doing. KNITTING A SOCK! Is that cool or what? I introduced myself as Susan aka Red Dirt Knitter since that is on my comment thingy. I got a great big hug and we started talking like we'd known each other a long time but just hadn't spoken recently. Rapidly we discussed knitting, dyeing, blogging, books, spinning, paper making, and on and on. I did, at one point, stop talking to take a breath. At least I think I did. Then as others arrived I tried to be polite but soon we were all talking books at once! I learned of two new authors I want to try. I mostly read female authors except for Tony Hillerman, but these guys sounded cool. Do I remember their names?? Nope. Well one was named McGarrity, I think. I'll google that. But the other one? Nada left of his name. I just know that he is from the west and that there is a good rapport between the main character and a Native American. Big clue, eh?? Sheesh.

Of course there was picture taking. Did I manage to get her books in the pic? Nope. Did I get her sock? Yep :-)

So now I have lots of new ideas to think about. But right now I'm going to go put on my flannel pjs (it got cold here!) and read Spanish Dagger. It's going to be even more fun now since I've met the author and know that in rl Susan Wittig Albert is just too cool! Thank you Susan!

Outside the bookstore there was this huge life sized buffalo all decorated in pearls. I could not get a good picture of the intricacy that I saw when I looked at her but I did also take a pic of one hip sort of up close so you can see.

So Much Fun!

Jackie was totally surprised! She did notice someone carrying in a gift bag but as it was another coworkers birthday, she thought it was for them. We're so clever! She got a lot of nice gifts, from accessories and towels and some totally practical things like the mop I gave her. Actually she got two mop sort of things. Did you know that there's a mop thing out there especially for bathrooms??? Got a swivel head and a sort of triangular cleaning surface for going around tight corners. I shall have to see about this! LOL

I left work an hour early to head into the City. Actually I came home and took a somewhat abbreviated soaky bath. I'm glad I got to leave early because I think if I had had to type one more page of medical stuff I would have cried. Being busy makes the days go by faster and insures that I have a job but whew! The bath revived me and off I went. As I left the house, I almost picked up my sock bag so I'd have something to do if I was way too early, then laughed at myself and left it at home.

I was the first one to get to the book signing. Guess what she was doing. KNITTING A SOCK! Is that cool or what? I introduced myself as Susan aka Red Dirt Knitter since that is on my comment thingy. I got a great big hug and we started talking like we'd known each other a long time but just hadn't spoken recently. Rapidly we discussed knitting, dyeing, blogging, books, spinning, paper making, and on and on. I did, at one point, stop talking to take a breath. At least I think I did. Then as others arrived I tried to be polite but soon we were all talking books at once! I learned of two new authors I want to try. I mostly read female authors except for Tony Hillerman, but these guys sounded cool. Do I remember their names?? Nope. Well one was named McGarrity, I think. I'll google that. But the other one? Nada left of his name. I just know that he is from the west and that there is a good rapport between the main character and a Native American. Big clue, eh?? Sheesh.

Of course there was picture taking. Did I manage to get her books in the pic? Nope. Did I get her sock? Yep :-)

So now I have lots of new ideas to think about. But right now I'm going to go put on my flannel pjs (it got cold here!) and read Spanish Dagger. It's going to be even more fun now since I've met the author and know that in rl Susan Wittig Albert is just too cool! Thank you Susan!

Outside the bookstore there was this huge life sized buffalo all decorated in pearls. I could not get a good picture of the intricacy that I saw when I looked at her but I did also take a pic of one hip sort of up close so you can see.

Friday Fun!!

I'm just soooo excited about this day!

My dear friend and co-worker Jackie, and her hubby just bought their first home. It's a modest home that's been completely gutted and remodeled just for being sold. It's soooo cute! And so THEM! All of us at work feel like we've been a part of this, since she has shared all the stories about looking, and paperwork and packing and sorting. There has been a Pasta Toss luncheon in the planning for awhile, and unbeknownst to Jackie, it's also going to be a housewarming party! Now, Jackie and her hubby aren't kids. And it's not like they are just starting their married life. So it will be even more fun. How often do middle aged folks get to have new towels and new accessories and even a new mop all at once. AND we have managed to keep it a secret which is pretty amazing since Jackie always knows everything that's going on! She and her hubby are probably the truly nicest people I've ever known and I'm so excited about making this special for them. I'm so hoping that in the last hours before this happens we don't blow it. Last night another coworker called me and we giggled and giggled about how clever we all are *G*.

Then, this evening, I'm going to a book signing at Full Circle Books in the City. One of my favorite authors, Susan Wittig Albert, will be in town and this will be my first time to meet her although we've traded a few eMails back and forth. (which totally surprised me...a real author answers my comments?!?!?). She writes cozy mysteries, as well as lots about the Texas Hill Country. And has put together this great Story Circle Network which helps women learn to write of place and experience. And, she knits and spins and gosh...just a really cool person and I get to meet her!

Edited to add: She also writes a lot about herbs and flowers. She has a lot of knowledge in these areas and uses that in her books too. I've learned a lot about a lot of things from her, and all the while enjoying myself immensely

I am so jazzed about today! What a fun way to end the work week! Hope your Friday is even better!!!! See ya later

I Can't Think of a Title

Well, the wool is relatively clean. It still has vegetable manner in it, and some of it is stained but it smells like wet wool which, to me, is a rather nice smell. Especially if I compare it with the "before" I rinsed it again to make sure that there wasn't any soap or other goodies and the rinse water stayed clean. I thought it all quite fun, but then I enjoy cleaning bathrooms too. >:)

Speaking of bathrooms, it's really clean also. While the wool was sitting in the kitchen sink, I decided to wash the bathroom down including the ceiling. It's all pretty and fresh now and smells like oranges *G*

And I finished knitting a dish rag while watching NCIS. Oh and I saved Mercy, the long haired calico from a disaster. Someone gave me a new candle and I lit it in the kitchen while I was putting the wool to soak. Mercy, sometimes called the Helper Cat was supervising and also trying to distract me with her swishing tail. So I'm trying to smell the wool and I realize I'm really smelling burning hair. Eww! Fortunately with the long hair only the tips were singed and she thought it great fun to wrestle with me as I tried to wet her tail down.

That's enough excitement for one night~ hope yours was fun too! Niters!

Scents of Spring?

It really is green here. The rains of the last two weeks have made everything just leap up and look for the sunshine. Today was the first mowing for my yard. Actually, last weekend I weedeated it. Not just around the edges...the whole darn thing. It looked like crap but at least the dog wouldn't get lost. My neighbor told me of a man looking for mowing jobs. He'd had him mow his and he was pleased so I told him to send him my way.

He arrived this morning about 5 minutes after I got dressed. In his mid-40s maybe..it's hard to tell. He's perhaps a bit slow but very nice. He looked at the back to see how big it was, and then I asked him how much he would charge. His reply "Whatever you want to give me". No way, I insisted that he tell me what was fair and he said he charged everyone $20. No way again...not for stuff that's about 10 inches tall and wet. I told him I'd give him more...his response was No, that that would make it too hard to count. I ended up giving him the $20 and then a large tip and suggested that he put it in the other pocket so it wouldn't get so complicated. He did a great job even trimming. I think I'll keep him *G*

So for awhile it smelled like fresh cut green stuff. The mint isn't up yet ...when that happens it will smell like a large package of gum. All enthused with this spring stuff, I decided to trim the hedge. I got part of one side done when I decided that it would be even more fun to audition for Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately my pirouette down the steps probably won't ensure me a place. But it did put an end to the hedge trimming for the day. No serious injuries... just several scrapes and creaks to contend with..that and my pride.

Partially restored with a cup of tea, I decided on a new project. Wayyyyyyyy back in the fall I went to this Fiber Retreat here. And at the end of the last day, someone left grocery bags full of fleece for free. Well, I think it was maybe the trimmings that hang down. Sorry I don't have the vocabulary. Anyway it wasn't clean...but hey it was free!! So I brought home two bags and then they got lost in the abyss that's also known as the utility room closet. I found them today when putting up the shampooer (yep...all carpet is clean as of 8:30 this morning). I put one bag full in a laundry bag thing. Added hot water and soap in the washer and set it to soak. Whoosh as soon as the water hit it, the "scent" hit too. Ohhhhhh barn scents! Took me back to when I was a farm girl for sure. I let it soak for a long time, then rinsed it, then did it all over again. It's still not clean but it's gone to take a nap on the patio so I can finish the weekend laundry. I don't know if it will ever be clean. But it's fun..and all I really want from it is some sheepy curls. Maybe I should just find a FFA kid and see if they'll sell me a few.

I'll leave you now with a couple of pictures. No sheepy mess, promise. But I hope you like my redbud tree and these iris leaves that have just shot up all of a sudden.

I'm Back!

Hooray for young geeky guys that fix things so you can wander around and visit with your friends!

I must say it was rather interesting being without this beast. The first couple of mornings, which is when I usually read mail and blogs, I was ready for work an hour early. Didn't help that Mary, The Cat Who Must Be Obeyed, decided that wakeup time was 4:30! She's elderly, I love her..but still..ack!

I sewed and sorted and shampooed carpet and knitted and frogged and knitted and frogged and read and had a few nice naps and knitted and frogged. Worked in the yard a bit but torrential rains have left it too soggy to actually do much good. I'm not complaining because we really needed it but I am a bit afraid that the dog will disappear in the back yard before I can get it mowed again.

I started new socks and got all carried away with myself and switched to metal needles after which I kept losing YOs which caused the frogging cause those guys can really travel. Back on bamboo now so hopefully that will work better. For some absurd reason, now my left hand cramps or goes numb after a few rounds...think maybe I'm a bit tense about those YOs *G*

Tornadoes in the area (none really close to me thankfully) brought a bit of excitement and I really should have taken pictures of the creek as the rains ran fast and the street by work looked like a river...but ummm...it was pouring rain. I probably shouldn't have laughed, but they showed a clip on the news with a Hummer stuck in high water. The street was closed but I guess that sign was meant for everyone but Hummer drivers. Nobody was hurt but I bet there were some egos that got bruised.

How's YOUR weather? Whatcha doing this weekend.

Birdhouse

I've mentioned working on a felted birdhouse and now I can show you since it arrived at it's destination today. I made it for Cat for her birthday. She was my color swap person...the one that I got to send goodies to, and I learned that she likes birds. So, when I saw this fun FiberTrends pattern, I thought I had a good excuse to make it. Besides that, she's nice and would say thanks and far enough away that if she tossed it I would never know! :-) And I'm incredibly proud that it got there in time since this was the yarn that took sooooo long to get here. It's kinda big, about ummm maybe 10-11 inches tall. One of these days I'm going to experiment on making a smaller one. It's a good thing that I eat a lot of oatmeal, or I would have been hard up to find something to let it dry on. After I took the pic on the left I realized that I needed to do a bit of tugging and straightening LOL. The roof 'form' was a funnel with major aluminum foil sculpting happening to make it gently rounded. I thought it was pretty obvious that it was a felted birdhouse, but then I'd been living with it for awhile. So, just in case she didn't realize that, I wired that little bird on the perch (which was a lovely stick from my yard...dried in advance. Heh, this thing was in the planning for a lot longer than it was under construction.

I started another sock last night but there's only 3 rows so you can barely see the yarn. I'll save that for posting when it's farther along.

Tonight's all about prewashing fabric and knitting dishrags. Housewarming gifts and summer clothes and some other odds and ends. I really need to be a sewing fool this weekend. They say we will be rainy all weekend. I hope so...we need the rain and once it gets here, my back will quit responding to the yo-yo-ing barometer. It hates it when it falls.

So what are YOU doing? Want to come to my house to iron fabric? I thought not. :-)

It's a Monday for Sure!

I guess the thrill of completing the socks and a couple of other things just sapped my energy because by yesterday evening I was sooooo tired. Just sort of out of sorts both in body and mind so I decided that an early bedtime might be just the ticket.

A friend had given me a cd that was purported to be a relaxation thing done by some Dr. from India, and I thought it might be a good time to listen to it. So I get all comfy with Hershey lying on my arm doing kitty pies on my neck as usual and the cd starts. I'm trying to not giggle every time he says Relaaaaaaaaaaaaaaax. But Hershey must have really been listening because he was almost immediately asleep! Usually he does kitty pies for awhile, dozes off, and then turns over with his back to me. (good grief...sounds like I'm talking about a husband!) Last night though, he barely started his pre-sleep routine before he was off to dreamland and I followed quickly.

So morning arrives and I woke up a bit before the alarm goes off. I was really pleased, it's ever so much nicer that way. I let Zoey out and stumble into the kitchen to feed the cats and pour that first mug of coffee. For Christmas, I was given one of those that can be timed to start so that coffee is waiting for me when I get up. However...there was NO coffee. And no water visible in the little window. I thought sure I'd set it up last night. Oh, but then I discovered that indeed I had set it up. It did start. Only problem was that I'd neglected to set the carafe under the brewing port!!! OMG a pot of coffee goes a really long way when it's all over the cabinet!!! It's all sort of cleaned up now...I have coffee. And I'll bleach things maybe this evening.

Please don't let this be a Monday Omen! But as Dave says, it's almost the weekend!

Sunday FOs

May I present my new socks?
Specs:
Yarn: Cabin Cove Kalidescope
Needles: US1 dpns
Pattern: Monkey designed by Cookie A and featured in Knitty.

Really, really fun to knit. The foot part fits really well and I love the fact that they didn't have a pointy toe. I shall have to do this more often. And even the kitchenering went fairly well although I think I still need more practice. The top felt a bit loose but they were still pretty damp when I put them on. They're back on the cookie rack drying in front of the open storm door.

Now what to do next. I'm thinking I want to do something with a sort of monochromatic yarn. Not a solid, but a pale something or other that isn't all one color. Like shades of blue but none too dark. And not stripey. Of course, I have nothing like that in my meager stash so I'll have to get out of that mood LOL.

Saturday Sky 03172007

And it's a blooming one! My neighbor's Bradford pear is really showing off this weekend. Too bad that I couldn't get a good shot without a power line running through it. But the blossoms against the bright blue sky are simply spectacular. In the close up one you may notice that it looks as if I have a prison tattoo on my hand. Nope, it was a reminder that I wrote yesterday..unfortunately written with a brand new Sharpie. I'm sure eventually it will all be washed off. :=0
The reminder was so that I wouldn't forget that Zoey the wonder dog had an appointment to see the vet for her yearly checkup. Since it wasn't until 10:30, sometime I decided that that would give me time to run to the west side of the City to Hobby Lobby and Petsmart, which is practically next door. And then, in bed last night I decided that I would just take Zo with me. She loves going on errands and doesn't get to do it often enough. I didn't SAY anything about it to her. I got up as usual, drank coffee, watched the news yadda yadda. But that dog was on my heels all morning. Wagging her tail, running for the leash etc. Too weird!

So, off we went. I was going to make one more try to get metal US1 dpns that were close to the same size as my Crystal Palace ones. Weird that I have 2 other sets and they are both two different sizes and significicantly larger than the CPs. These Susan Bates that I got today at least fit into the needle sizer about the same! I was at Hobby Lobby about a week and a half ago and their knitting stuff and needle felting stuff was 40% off. Imagine my surprise when I discovered today that it still was! So since I'd saved money on the needles I didn't worry about getting another package of nf needles and one of those brush looking things to use instead of the foam rubber that I've used before. Oh and some styrofoam eggs for an experiment.

Then off to Petsmart. Early...hardly any customers which thrilled Zo as that meant she got ALL of the attention as well as extra free cookies. We stocked up on Dentabones and she got a new collar and a lot of petting and then off to the vet.

I've been really good about not giving her any table food; cut down on her dog food; and I just knew that she'd either lost weight or maintained. But nope, she gained 2 lbs! :-( As soon as this bag of food is gone we'll try some more serious weight loss food. Happily though, he said her heart sounded quite a bit better than it did in November. Yay!!! We had to wait awhile as he was busy with this eensy teensy puppy whose mom had abandoned it. It was one of a litter of 5 and the only survivor. A friend of the momma's owner had taken it upon himself to try and save it and so far it seems to be doing rather well. But soooo tiny. It gets 2 cc of formula stuff every 2 hours and he sets the alarm clock so he'll be sure and not sleep through the night feedings. I was impressed. I sure hope it makes it without any problems. It was funny to see this big cowboy sort of guy with this teensy puppy wrapped in about 1/4 of a receiving blanket and tucked inside his shirt!

Now it's time to get some housework done so I can have some good knitting time. Both Monkey socks are ready for their toes!!!!

Mysterious Wednesday

Here's what it looked like yesterday as I wandered around in the park by my office. Spooky, eh? I entertained myself as I worked by making up little stories about what might be found if you stepped into the fog at the back of the picture. There were some interesting alternate realities rumbling around in my head along with the necessary Medicare stuff.

And today, it looks basically the same. It didn't last all day yesterday, and by afternoon it was warm and sunny. Hopefully that will happen today also.

But, if not, that's OK too. Because I have the DAY OFF! Yay, I love middle of the week leisure days. It's another lose it or lose it day. And, if I'm figuring right, I could do this every other week forever! I get concerned though because sometimes others are off, and if I couldn't take a day I would lose the vacation time.

Mysterious? Well, yes it is...sort of. Because I have no idea what all I will do today. So far, I've had a soaky bath and then put on clean pjs LOL. I've cut out some fabric that hopefully will turn into something later on. I've eaten my oatmeal and even some biscuits (I got up at 5 so it was time for a morning snack. I've read a bit and knitted a bit and now I'm typing a bit. Next up is a bit more fabric cutting. Or a nap. Or felted birdhouse construction. Who knows? Who cares?

Laters...

Important News!

I am so excited about this, you would think it was all my doing. Y'all go see! The marvelous Kirsten over at Through The Loops has her first pattern published in Knitty! I can't remember how I first found her blog, but it was a lucky day for sure. I've been amazed at the socks and hats and wonderful shawls she's made. I've so enjoyed the photos that she so magically seems to come up with (it helps that her kids are gorgeous and mostly willing models). She's so encouraging to me and I just hope that someday I can knit as well as her. And all that's well and fine but guess what!?! You don't have to be a size 2 with tight abs to wear this. And there's more than one size in the pattern. Y'all go see! Is this cool or what??????

There may be other good things in this issue but I haven't seen the rest of it yet. It will have to wait for lunchtime at work. My computer can go to specific articles there through links, or to the main page, but it can't wander around without freezing up. So I have something to anticipate on Monday.

In the meantime, I have printed out 3 copies of this pattern. One to mark on when and if I get brave. One to keep clean in case a cat leaves a hairball on the first one. And one to save so when she's rich and famous, I can say...I have her first knitty pattern :-)

Another Quiz

Your Dominant Thinking Style: Experimenting

You're all about looking at the facts, and you could always use more of them. You see life as your lab - and you're always trying out new things, people, and ideas. The master of mix and match, you're always coming up with unique combinations. You are good at getting a group to reach consensus.

What's Your Thinking Style?

I saw this over at Sara's and of course, I had to try it while I wait for the washer to fill with hot water. Felting ahead. :::crossing fingers::::

Was Saturday Sky

Well, not really. Actually I went to the park to take sky pics and ended up taking water pics which my computer would not let me post. The computer day was mostly called "disconnected". Probably a good thing as that meant I had no reason to sit in the desk chair, and I had a lot to do.

So the day was about scrubbing the utility room on my hands and knees (including moving the washer so I could scrub under that). General house stuff. Picking up a huge bag of trash from the alley. And no I don't like my neighbors any better this week. :-O Finally got all the propane heaters etc reboxed and back in their basement space. Laundry is done. Just one of those kind of days. At the end of it I was tired and grubby and felt marvelous at all that had been accomplished. And even the alley cleaning wasn't too bad since it was gloriously sunny and warm.

Only thing on the list for today is a bit of plant watering; clock setting; and being lazy. I can do this! What's on your list??

Oh...and the water pictures. Here ya go.

Hi, my name is Susan

and here I am! Slightly blurry...it's hard to hold the camera still while the timer clicks...but perhaps that is a good thing. And the color is a bit off. I really don't think my hair looks sort of green. I'll blame that on the bright light in the bathroom at work. I'd given up on ever getting a pic here at home so when I came in from a dr's run and made a stop with my bag still on my shoulder I got this idea. I did have to 'fess up though as someone heard me giggling in there and did sort of wonder what I'd been doing.

Last night, a bit of knitting was done on the second heel flap. More would have been done except I discovered a black/white Sherlock Holmes fest on cable and quickly became entranced. I love those old movies!

This evening, if all goes well, I plan on a trip to the City to pick up needles and cat food and maybe a stop at Michael's and Hobby Lobby too! Good times!

Collectibles!

and we all probably have them. Or, perhaps we sent some of them to Devorah for her knitters :-)
I saw this in the M******Stew*** magazine in line at the store and bought it so I could share this with you.

Yarn in the Mailbox

Yay it got here! Did I take pics. Yep. Did they work. Nope. If you really want to see, here's what I got:

Lamb's Pride Bulky in 76 Misty Blue and 8 Oak.

Crystal Palace Kid Merino in Ultra Blues and if you click on the scarf block in the corner, you'll see the Cat's Paw pattern that I got for free...and what I was really after. But this Kid Merino is really something. I think it will be like knitting smoke! Sooooo very light.

So...happy that at last that it all arrived, I gobbled down a bit of supper, fed the kids, and got in comfy clothes. I've read through the pattern using the bulky yarn so many times I think I already have it memorized. And yes, I have US 13 circs. Ready to go. Uh..maybe not. I needed 16" circs. Mine are longer and just don't work! Arghhh! I truly thought this time I had everything under control. So today I will call the LYS and see if they have some and if so, will they hold them for me until tomorrow evening when they're open late. I really don't want to order some from Yarnmarket and have them zip them to me fast. Or wait for Knitpicks. I want them NOW. It would be really cool if work was really slow this afternoon and I could leave early. Ha! Fat chance!

Now completely befuddled, I thought I'd start the heel flap on the other Monkey sock. But the phone rang. And rang. And rang. It seems that last night was talk to The Girl evening. She had a lot to chat about but couldn't seem to take care of all of it at once. Fun though with lots of giggling and story telling. And in between, I watered plants, wrote notes, and watched my forsythia bloom. I brought in some little twigs and stuck them in water and I swear, I'd be out of the kitchen for what seemed like just a few minutes and would return to find another one open.

It's time for that. It's been amazingly warm with highs in the high 60s in the afternoon. Glorious weather. Too pretty to be inside the office so I've made more runs over to the hospital than are really needed. So far, nobody has caught on that I'm just enjoying being outdoors.

I plan on having a fun day..hope you do too!

Gussets and Wishing

Yay...one of the Monkeys now has a gusset and I managed to even keep the pattern going down the top of the foot. I think that the vibrant colors in this yarn sort of obscure the pattern (the original at Knitty was made in a light greenish color) but I don't care. I just love the look of the colors! And sometimes I amaze myself. Something will go a bit off, and I can figure out what happened..and more importantly, Shazamm! correct it.

More would have been done but Mary, the old kitty, wasn't feeling her best and was in need of serious cuddling. So she snuggled and I sang her silly songs about IKEA. A catalog arrived in the mail yesterday (still no yarn). OMG, it's probably a good thing that the nearest IKEA is in Texas. I really get off on storage and organization and there is an abundance of options in their catalog. It's just huge! In my mind I designed a whole new living room and turned the second bedroom into a crafting haven, but with optional sleeping. I've often visited their website but it's much easier to imagine when you have a two facing pages with options. In this older house I am blessed with great kitchen storage, and a pantry. But closet space just is barely there. So pages and pages of bookshelves and drawers and tables and and and were just too much fun.

I guess it all firmly locked in my mind because I dreamed of furniture shopping, and I was wearing the Monkey socks *G*. And I apparently was having a great time dreaming because I turned off the alarm; convinced Mary to go back to sleep for a bit and slept until 5:30.

Yay and Boo!

Yayyyyy, we're going to State! The girls really played well. I was disappointed that the one that I actually know hurt her ankle rather badly Friday night and didn't get to play. She (and apprently the coaches/trainer/whatever) say it's a bad sprain, but if so it's the ugliest sprain I've ever seen. She's a senior so I know her disappointment was much greater than mine.

The school where the game was played was just spectacular. Edmond is known to be a town of $$$ and the school certainly expresses that. Now remember, we're in the gym part. And just inside the doors is a HUGE atrium filled with plants. I could have stood there all day. Down just a little bit were aquariums built into the walls! However, hotdogs and nachos seem to be the same all over.

Afterwards, and after taking what we thought would be a quicker route back to the City (not) we went to Incredible Pizza. I'm not sure if this is a chain...I rather imagine it is. But it's just HUGE. You pay one price to eat and whoa...there is a lot of food. Everything from the logical pizza to baked potatoes and cinnamon rolls. All very good, and what amazes me is that it's all kept so clean. There were a bazillion people eating and yet you never saw a dirty table. Swoop, down would come the young people working and shazamm all was clean and ready to go for the next folks needing a spot to eat. They have a movie room, a gym room, a family room, a cartoon room and maybe more. Those are the only ones I've ever been in. And then in the back is this HUGE area for games, miniature golf, bowling (both regulation and little kids) go karts, and tons of video games and shuffleboard type games and they don't seem to be that expensive to play. And a good time was had by all.

Only disappointment to my day is that there was no package of yarn on my porch when I got home. I ordered some yarn for a specific project as well as some extra stuff on the 15th of Feb. It was shipped shortly after that, minus a pattern that was back ordered. The pattern arrived on Tuesday! But still no sign of the yarn. I called and was told that the pattern was shipped first class, but the package was shipped regular mail. And that if it didn't arrive by this Tuesday to call them back and they would reship. So maybe I can get it by April????? I really and truly need it NOW. The yarn doesn't seem to be available locally or I'd just order more. Dunno. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the service I've received from other vendors. I like their catalog, I like their selections but maybe this will be my last order. :-(

A bit of knitting this morning, I think, and then perhaps some yard cleanup this afternoon. I have some incredibly messy neighbors and their trash seems to have been making it's way to my house. I think stuffing trash in a bag or trimming things will be a good energy outlet and I'll be so glad to come in and sit down and knit this evening, I won't even care that my yarn hasn't arrived.

Hope your Sunday treats you well~

Playing with Color

My Knitpicks order finally arrived. In it were sock needles (that I haven't used yet), replacement needles for the one that peeled off, some Wool of the Andes in blues and greens (which I forgot to take a pic of) that is destined to be an intarsia experiment in the future. But what I've played with most is the Telidescope. I walk around looking like I'm playing I Spy. And I discovered that the lens part of my camera will fit nicely into the eye piece.


So here you have...my calico cat Mercy









And here you have green yarn, brown box and a packing slip.





And last, but not least, you have a great pic of my rubber ducky bath towel.

Monkey continues. Both legs are now done and it's time to start the heels. But first, I'm leaving the house. Errands, and then I'm going to go watch basketball today. Our girls are playing in the district playoffs and I'm going with The Girl and her other sisters and various and sundry adults. Should be fun!

What are you going to do today?

Clever Business Practice??

A couple of weird things happened recently. Yesterday I had reason to call and speak with someone regarding a credit card account. The lady on the other end of the phone asked for my zipcode, which I gave. After just a moment of convo about the matter at hand she said something like "Ohhhh you live in __ ____! Do you go downtown on Burger Day? I used to go to that every year before I moved. And then went on to mention other places she liked to frequent in this area.
Now this would be really funny except that a few months ago I had reason to call them and that time it was a guy who also was from this area. By the time I finished talking to him, I thought we were best friends and totally changed my mind about what I was going to do. What are the odds that both of them are from this area? Maybe I'm just cynical, but I'm thinking they googled my town.

Then just moments ago, I was emailing my responses to my last posts and an ad came up on the side of my Yahoo page to entice me into setting up my own domain. For a knitting store?? Another coincidence? Or are they realizing that most of the mail that comes to this addy has to do with knitting or fiber? :::shrug:::

I am happy to report that Monkey #2 is now through the 3rd repeat. A couple of stalls while I picked up a stitch but on the whole all went well. I read somewhere that the reason for all the difficulties lately are because Mercury is in retrograde. Any one know how long this lasts???