Where I Mess Things Up

I've already told you that I'm nosy. And I love to see other people's spaces whether I know them or not. There's just something so interesting. So I was delighted when Dave showed off his knitting/spinning space and had links to other people's. But, I figure fair's fair so I have to show you mine. As bad as I would like for it to be, it's not worthy of being featured in a magazine unless maybe there is one called ...well, I'm not going to go there.

This is the "curl-up" place to knit. It's never this tidy as usually besides myself, there's at least one cat and a mug of tea or coffee and who knows what else. I took advantage of the cat's having supper while Zoey was outside to get this shot. There paws are involved though as that throw is supposed to be on the back of the loveseat.
You can see in the lower left a round box. It holds most of my needles and all sorts of other stuff. It really needs to be cleaned out. The little bag with polka dots is currently the sock bag. That's open to change. Sometimes I use the one that clips to your beltloop, or my pretty pink bigger one. Just depends on the day, I guess.

The cigar boxes on the cedar chest/coffee table hold stitch markers and little balls of waste yarn and rulers and needle gauges..that sort of thing.



Inside the cedar chest are several groups of yarn. It's not full of yarn (I wish), for there are other throws and pillow covers and stuff that's for this room in the bottom of it. Used to be a real pain in the butt to find anything, but some judicious recycling of a copy paper box and a Christmas box makes it much easier to get to the lower half. I'm quite fond though of just gazing at the colors. And wondering why I still haven't unskeined my Cabin Cove or why I really don't want to knit my Cherry Tree Hill. They are just there for petting, I think.




Then there is the Playroom. It's about all sorts of projects and only recently came into being so it's still a work in progress. It was a bedroom. Last bulky trash day the old mattress etc went bye bye and it's trying to find it's way. But with the keyword up on the wall, it knows the way to go.



It's a good room to use for things that need a lot of light (like an intarsia chart) and/or somewhere to spread it out. I can 'drive' my dining room table in there easily and set up the sewing machine. If I want to cut fabric (NOT my favorite thing to do), I elevate the legs of that table on bed risers which brings it up to the right level. I cut out much more happily if my back isn't screaming at me. The shelves in front of the windows originally were full of plants headed for a Walmart. Once they were unloaded, the shelves were scrap but I grabbed them first.

Since I can't actually see the picture on here, I've sort of forgotten what all you CAN see. There's a chair. It's really a lawn chair covered with a quilt..Mid-century Modern and made from double knit fabric. *G* Oh and the lovely footstool...another copy paper box, painted and "upholstered". And the magnificent old bedspread on the floor for Zoey. She has a for real bed in the bedroom but she really prefers this. It's hysterical to watch her "arrange" it.



I had knitting to show off...but then..well, trouble. First of all, Laura wanted to see my intarsia..the first. It's over 1/2 way through, having been restarted 3 times. So I took a pic of it Friday night.



Then I thought that I would wait to post until I had even more done. It had been several days since I'd worked on it, so first I made sure I had all ends woven in. Usually, I'd just quit whenever I was tired and then the next time I'd weave in any ends. So that done, off I go. Well yesterday, I discovered a glitch a couple of rows back. I should have just put it down..I was tired, it was late and obviously my brain had turned off. I'd woven the ends in so well I couldn't get them out, so I thought I would just cut it and go back to the row before that. Uhhhh you can't just pull on the yarn and have the whole thing unravel at once. So now it's just a mess, with some areas raveled back farther than the next color. I'm going to have to think about this. Or...start over. I do enjoy doing it.



Then there's this felted bag. Somehow in my magnificent mind I had decided that things shrink in width more than in length (it's the opposite) so I knitted this hugely wide bag. Uhhh, it's still way to big to do anything with. I'm thinking maybe saddle blanket? Rug? Or cut it up into smaller pieces.







I'm thinking I'm going to work on a sock. I have one started. Just a plain 2x2 ribbing. Maybe I can manage to do at least ribbing without messing it up. Or maybe a nap. /shrug

Upstairs, Downtown

I really love old buildings, and I'm nosy... well, make that curious. It sounds a lot nicer. And one of my fantasies is to live upstairs above a shop; of course, I own it and it's thriving. Perhaps I read too much.

However, when the chance to explore the upper stories of some of the buildings downtown, I jumped at it. It was part of a Paranormal Convention held here last weekend. I would have loved to attend everything, but I found out about it too late and it just wasn't in the budget. This part, though, I could manage nicely.

So after a brief rest after the alpaca adventure, off I went. With new batteries in the camera and drivers license and keys in my pocket, I wasn't burdened with a bag which would leave my hands free and me a bit more mobile.

There were 4 buildings on the tour but I will just tell you about 2 of them. One of the others was basically just walking through some attorney offices (?). The 4th was quite interesting and my guide, a young man in character was delightful but I have no pictures. More about that later.

The is known as the Babcock Building.





It's housed a ton of different offices on the upper floors and a lot of shops on the bottom, but now only the first floor is functional. There was a secret door. One of those hidden in paneling. Each floor above it had a hole in the floor in that space. Not big enough for an elevator..actually I'd guess about 2 feet square. Your guess is as good as mine as to what it was for. And although this floor wasn't safe enough for all of us to walk out on, I'll have good "image ups" about this being my parlor. And it's snowing. And I've brought up some lovely yarn from my yarn shop. And I'm knitting something beautiful. Dream on.



And this is now known as the Russell-Murray Building and houses a hospice business. Not patients, but the staff and management have their offices on the first floor and part of the second.



I actually did this tour twice. Once while it was still daylight and then again just before I went home. I had two different guides, so I got a lot more information. It was built to house a grocery on the first floor and a hotel on the upper floors. Later, in the 20's, there was a bordello on the upper two floors. The 2nd floor had the better quality "girls" and two bathrooms! The upper floor had one bathroom, and screen doors just like you'd have on your house for ventilation. I can only imagine what it must have been like on a hot summer's day. Ewww! One of the doors on the second floor had a peephole with this little doohickey that you could slide back and forth. Not, however, so the room's occupant could see who was in the hall. It went the other way. So that the person in the hall could see into the room. Hmmm.

They had gathered some things with the idea of setting up a little scene in one of the rooms from when it was a hotel, I guess. There was a bed made up, a rocking chair and this dressform which I'd love to have!






Three folks were getting it set up, and one of them asked the others if they believed in ghosts. And, then the rocking chair rocked back and forth three times. Everyone had been standing still, just relaxed. And the one that told the story is someone I trust and who has an excellent reputation for not being a flake. So...hmmm.


There were decorating ideas galore. I could live quite comfortably with this linoleum.



I might have a bit more trouble being comfortable with this wallpaper.




There was all kinds of stuff in this building since the upper floors hadn't been used for anything but storage since probably the 60s. Unfortunately much of it was removed by thieves. What's really scary is that a lot of it was done at night while the hospice administrator worked late. The thieves apparently put a ladder on the flat roof of the next door building and then climbed in a 3rd floor building. She said she would, at times, hear noises but attributed them to pidgeons. Scary.

They restored the woodwork on the areas they are using...it's a beautiful space. But some things hopefully are being loved and cared for elsewhere.



One thing that I found really interesting was that apparently people had much smaller feet when these buildings were built. I wear a size 9 shoe, which isn't tiny. But in almost every building, I had to come down rather like a crab because the stairs were so shallow. We even measured, and with my heel way back against the back of the stairs, my toes were way out side of the step's edge. They probably wore them down going up and down stairs. Since all of the ceilings were really high, so were the flights of stairs!

Remember when I said I put fresh batteries in the camera before leaving? I can go a long time between battery changes, but I carry extra ones in my bag. The interior pics you see here were taken in daylight without the flash (although I had to do a bit of highlighting in Picasa). And there were probably a total of a dozen pictures taken before the batteries went *poof*. I had to go out Sunday to take the exterior pictures. Perhaps there were some things that didn't want their pictures taken. /enter Twilight Zone theme.

Look!

This is what greeted us as we walked through the parking lot after work. We have some new nurses and one of them, as she walked around me standing out in the middle, asked "What in the world are you doing?"

Before I could answer, one of the others said "She's getting her camera out. She takes pictures of everything..even dirt"



And this isn't real..I played with the controls in Picasa but I really think it's cool so I'll see how it looks here.



And now, there's thunder rumbling, so I'll shut this down and get comfy with some knitting.

Quick Post

I'm working on a post but it's still in draft stages. I get so confused with all the html I see instead of just a picture.

But for Laura, a picture. More big sky. More prairie, but this time some of it's baled.



It's getting closer to the weekend!

Alpaca Saturday

A bright, breezy day for going to visit some alpacas. I've forgotten the exact title but it was something like Alpaca Farm Day and surprisingly there is one not too far from me!
Chisholm Trail Alpacas is a family owned enterprise and they were all very friendly and knowledgeable. But the stars of course were the alpacas. There were pregnant mommas separated from the youngsters we got to know. No upsetting them in their "delicate condition". So they looked on and probably gossiped about all these goofy folks that had descended on their home.

There was also a guard llama (who happily didn't spit on any of us) and guard dogs who were extremely happy. I'm glad they didn't see me as a predator. You all probably know a lot more about alpacas than I do. I didn't realize there were two distinct types. I got to meet a suri whose fiber, when ready to be sheared will resemble dreads I'm told, and huacayas whose fiber is shorter, sooooo thick, sooo OMG it is wonderful. These little guys have really nice fiber and in fact, some was carded and entered in a contest and won a blue ribbon.



They were a bit skittish but, at the same time, quite curious. Here they are looking to see whose walking through their backyard.



A woman and her little girls, one still in arms and an older one arrived and it was so cute watching the older one interact. She was very good at being calm and patient and the alpacas were entranced by her. I sat down on the ground in hopes of getting some good shots of them and suddenly there was an alpaca bumping the back of my head with his nose. At that point, I forgot about taking pictures and was all about sitting still so we could get better acquainted.

I loved this little one. Named "Oklahoma Rising" after a song written for the Centennial and called Okie. I love the color of the fiber and the sweet expression.



Indeed, I fell in love with them. I don't have quite enough land here but that didn't stop me from buying my very own Okie!



Then after a quick stop at Hastings where I found one copy of Simply Knitting; it was time for a lunch stop at Long John Silver's where I got a 10 % discount AND a free ice cream cone! Ahhhhh life is good! And there were more adventures to come.

Which you will hear about after I get this house cleaned up a bit; groceries purchased and the laundry finished.

Just a Kid at Heart

Your Inner Child Is Surprised

You see many things through the eyes of a child. Meaning, you're rarely cynical or jaded. You cherish all of the details in life. Easily fascinated, you enjoy experiencing new things.

How Is Your Inner Child?

Almost true. I can be quite cynical at times but I'm working on that.

Ridin' Down the Trail

Since it's our Centennial year interesting things have been going on and this week we get to share in one of them.

Cattle Drive 2007...minus the cattle. It was hot and they'd all taken to the trees and I couldn't get there from here. But do go look at the link. And if you like cowboys and cowgirls...real ones...there were a lot there. Part of our Centennial Celebration the drive will end up in Caldwell, Kansas and has roughly followed the Chisholm Trail.

You could drive in from a gate on Route 66, but I chose to go from Fort Reno. It's a real fort..or it was. Still in use as an agricultural experimental station, and in the process of having the buildings restored. People still get married in the chapel but I don't think anyone is allowed to be buried in the cemetary. I don't know if it's on their site, but Black Jack, the riderless horse in President Kennedy's funeral was raised and trained here.

OK, so the lady at the visitor center said, "Go down the road that says you can't go down it. For awhile it will be paved, then it won't. You'll see a sign that says "wagon rides". Stop this side of the sign and wait." Simple enough. I got a bit distracted on the way. No, not distracted; attracted. So stops were made and pics taken. Like this somewhat secluded site




But at last I got to the sign and the wagon was returning with it's load of folks.
I clambered up in the bed of what, during the drive, is a chuckwagon. And it's a really authentic wagon but there's been some restoration done.




As we bounced and jiggled and shuddered on what appeared to be barely a worn path, I looked out across the horizon. And imagined how it must have been to come here when it all looked like that (without water storage thing LOL).



When sunflowers slapped you as you rode by them and the sound of locusts and horses snorting and snuffling as they ambled along were the soundtrack. Until you heard someone calling to their child. Or someone laughing. Or someone crying.

The horses, Dan and Pat, were getting rather tired of ferrying us city slickers but they gamely did as they were supposed to when our driver said quietly "Get up now boys" And perhaps they knew they were going to have a nice break with a bath before some evening festivities for bigwigs.



We arrived at the camp. It was getting on towards supper time and there were scents of meat being cooked over a fire. There were guys standing under the shade from a wagon cover, laughing and doing that punch-in-the-shoulder dance. And nary any cattle to be seen. Well not exactly true. You could see vague shapes and colors that didn't belong in the trees. The Oklahoma sun wasn't going to be beating down on them.



Today they'll be moving on north. And I wonder, if in this rather secret space, there just might be prairie spirits laughing because they were there when the fort was alive.

Zoom, zoom, zoooooom

Did you see that flash of light? That was me flying in here on my new cable modem!!
However, it involved me it got really complicated.

The installer was scheduled to be here between 1-4 yesterday afternoon. We are incredibly busy at work so I worked until the very last moment and zoomed home. The guy was here just shortly after that and told me that it would probably take maybe 30 minutes. He left at 5 pm. And I had no internet. TV was iffy but it got better once he drove away (??). Prior to that, every so often it would just lose signal for 10=15 seconds.

He had used 3 different modems; replaced all the cable in my house; replaced all the splitters and finally replaced the line from the pole to the house! And talked to various and sundry supervisor type people on his Bluetooth. Finally he said that his supervisor was going to come. Someone named Dan.

No internet but the tv was working which was a very good thing since OU was playing football and it was televised and I would have been seriously unhappy if I'd been unable to watch. So I made a quick sandwich so that supper would be over before 'Dan' arrived.

Except Dan didn't arrive. And didn't arrive. And didn't arrive. And finally it was dark. I though perhaps I'd misunderstood and that he would arrive on Saturday. But then I picked up the phone to call a friend....and I had no phone either. So cell phone in hand I went outside and watched a spider and chatted with some nice person at the service center who thought maybe she could reboot it. Nope.

So it was decided that someone would come today between 10:00 and noon. And while the clock was chiming a new guy arrived. He just left. It seems he had to re-do everything the first guy did. But it's all functional and I am a zoomy girl.

All's well that ends well. And there were benefits. I got all the laundry done yesterday including the ironing. I was at the grocery at 8AM and everything is put away and the rest of the day may just be play. Now I am going to go take a picture so I can see how fast it uploads.

And slowly but surely I'll replace all the bookmarks. And get used to using IE at home. I kinda miss my Firefox.

Things Should Go Faster

after tomorrow. I'm scheduled to step nervously into the 21st century. After a bazillion hours, I will finally get cable internet. And I won't have to schedule blog posts (well the photo part) for large blocks of time. Either that, or I will have a lot of extra time because it doesn't work at all *G*

In the meantime, while I scoop litter, make my bed and have a bath I will upload pictures that hopefully will result in new knowledge. Last winter, I bought an orchid at W*Mart. I asked questions at a real nursery, repotted it with the stuff they recommended and once the blooms fell off, just watered it and dusted the leaves. They told me that the woody stem would dry out and just break off. That didn't happen. They also didn't tell me about these shiny, gray things that are growing out from the base. Are these roots? I have a little bird that clips on the pot and one of them was getting a bit personal with that yellow thing...wrapping right around it.

The long stem turned really vibrant red/orange and now it's drying up.




But what to do? Does it need a bigger pot?? Is it planning a takeover?

The 'preview' of this pic that Blogger shows me is a bit weird. Actually it shows 2 of the same pic. But since after I click on the 'add' or 'post' all I get are lines of code, I have no idea what it will actually look like on the blog. If it's goofy, sorry.

It's Time!

For the Great State Fair of Oklahoma! It's the Centennial celebration and I went on opening day. I usually go on the Sr. Day (which is next Wednesday) so I can get in free, but my boss will be off this coming week. However, for opening day they had a special admission price of "100 pennies for 100 years" Hey, I can afford a dollar!

I just had the best time. Ate lots and lots of fair food. Saw cows and goats and chickens and people. Heard squealing pigs and squealing children...and squealing young at heart on the rides. It was just warm enough, and just cool enough and just breezy enough. As the baby bear said, "It was just right"

Every year I hear folks say "It wasn't as good this year" "Or it's getting smaller". Perhaps I am not perceptive enough, but to me it's always big and bright and huge and colorful and ever so much fun. Or perhaps as they get older their fascination fades. Thankfully mine is just as much there as it was when I attended for the first time in 1957. That year for the sesquicentennial, the theme was Arrows To Atoms. And I remember wondering if I would be around for this year. But probably if I was I would be too old to go. LOL. My thinking has changed.



It was wonderful discovering that my friend Susan's Centennial Quilt had been awarded a blue ribbon. She designed it and even included a picture of the "home place" I was absolutely smitten with the fabric used in the letter K. It was wheat!




I didn't stay as long this year as I was to get together with a group of fiber friends in the evening and I thought it would be good to get home in time to clean up a bit. And to be able to enjoy a bit of my souvenir. ohhhhhh the sugar!

Too Funny

The part of the test (that's in the last post) was at the very last. It doesn't show on this copy but there was a graph at the bottom that showed how you scored in relation to others your age.

I was 99% higher in each group. Do you suppose that's because most folks my age aren't testing themselves to see what Sesame Street character they most match? I'm so sorry. I bet they're doing important things. :-)

Tickle Me??

Your Score: Elmo

You scored 60% Organization, 66% abstract, and 62% extroverted!

This test measured 3 variables.

First, this test measured how organized you are. Some muppets like Cookie Monster make big messes, while others like Bert are quite anal about things being clean.

Second, this test measured if you prefer a concrete or an abstract viewpoint. For the purposes of this test, concrete people are considered to gravitate more to mathematical and logical approaches, whereas abstract people are more the dreamers and artistic type.

Third, this test measured if you are more of an introvert or an extrovert. By definition, an introvert concentrates more on herself and an extrovert focuses more on others. In this test an introvert was somebody that either tends to spend more time alone or thinks more about herself.

You are mostly organized, more abstract, and both introverted and extroverted.

Most people either love or hate Elmo. I hope you love Elmo, because that's who you are.

You are both somewhat organized. You have a good idea where you put things and you probably keep your place reasonably clean. You aren't totally obsessed with neatness though. Elmo has the same basic approach. His place is pretty tidy, but he doesn't spend all of his time cleaning it up.


You both are abstract thinkers. You definitely are not afraid to take chances in life. You only live once. You may notice others around you playing it safe, but you are more concerned with not compromising your desires, and getting everything you can out of life. This is a very romantic approach to life, but hopefully you are also grounded enough to get by. Elmo's whole life is based on fantasy and his imagination. In the beginning he was a regular character, but now he spends most of his time in this fantasy world.


You are both somewhat extroverts. Like Elmo, you probably like to have some time to yourself, but you do appreciate spending time with your friends, and you aren't scared of social situations. Elmo spends some of his time with real friends, but he also needs some time just to chat it up with his goldfish.

The other possible characters are

Oscar the Grouch

Big Bird

Cookie Monster

Ernie

Snuffleupagus

Kermit the Frog

Grover

The Count

Guy Smiley

Bert

Hey, don't be a grouch! If you liked the test, let others know by rating it below. Feel free to vote for your favorite character too.

Link: The Your SESAME STREET Persona Test written by greencowsgomoo on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Early to rise..

means that now I can watch Knitty Gritty reruns on HGTV! My expanded basic cable doesn't get the DIY network so I've never seen it. While being bored enough to be reading early morning tv listings in the paper, I discovered that it comes on HGTV at 6 AM here. Now I know why I've been waking up so early. So this morning by 6 I'd answered comments and an email, fed the kids, scooped the litter boxes, had breakfast and a bath. And no, I'm probably not going to make a cribbage board but unless I forget everything I saw, I've learned a bit. And even if I forget it all...starting out the day with a knitter isn't a bad thing, for sure!

Sometimes you're the dog,

and sometimes you're the hydrant. At least it's been somewhat of a hydrant day.
First off, my favorite skirt, a light sagey green slickery thing accidentally got into the wrong load and it's now a light terra cotta slickery thing. Uhh. I'm not sure how that happened. I'm sure it's a chemistry thing. Not a bad color but it should have given me a clue as to how this day was going to go.
Next, I wasted much time trying to download pics from the camera to my computer. Apparently they're having a trial separation. Or maybe the divorce is already final. I tried reloading the stuff that came with the camera to no avail. I then decided I would go borrow my friend's cord (we have the same kind of camera) and see if that was the problem. But the thermometer said 103 and I decided I didn't want to borrow it that bad.
All was not lost however. I could scan the new sock I was working on so that you all could be properly impressed. Apparently I'm not ready for gansey socks. Having restarted 5 times, and never getting past row 4 of the pattern (I did really well on the ribbing part :-), I decided that they not only needed to go to time out, they have possibly gone to that part of my brain that never remembers anything. Gansey what???
There weekend started well. Early yesterday morning, The Girl and her aunt and I set out to do a bit of back to school shopping. Fortunately, much has already been done and she's also the proud owner of some of her big sister's outgrown stuff so it wasn't a frantic *have to find something NOW* sort of trip. Very relaxed and happy and laughing sort of shopping adventure. Not much time spent on clothing...more time spent in Staple's looking for just the right binder. And I got a new clipboard that will actually hold my magnet board. My old one was pretty worn out and suddenly the magnet board and pattern would just go sliding away. And all that shopping caused a great hunger so there was a HUGE breakfast! I love, love, love, big country breakfasts but I detest cooking them. So that was a real treat.
And this evening after stuffing that sock into a dark corner, I sat down with some fat yarn and str8 needles and figured out how to knit backwards. Not tinking to undo something. But purling without turning the knitting around. It was working quite well. Maybe intarsia is in my future.
AND, in spite of the summer heat that finally got here, it's pre-season football time! And if I close the curtains, I can pretend it got dark early and it's truly fall!

A Knitted Garmet

Completed even.
My first wearable other than socks.
Specs: Rowan Cashcotton DK..less than a 50 gm ball left from something.
Needles: CP bamboo #2 and Bates Str Red #5s
Pattern from Knits for Children and Their Teddies by Fiona McTague. One of the books I bought on sale awhile back.
Made for: One of my bears LOL

So here is Barnsie wearing his new vest. The pattern sort of came from this book. Except I got mixed up and ended up making up part of it as I went along. Didn't help that B's tummy is rounder than the pattern called for. I can empathize with that. Happens to me too. The weirdest part was the ribbing that goes up the sides of the front and around the neck. I just thought that I'd be picking up stitches to knit it. But instead, I was to just knit long strips then sew them on. And I totally didn't understand the button holes. I figured out how to make them, but couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do in between. B likes it a lot!


Completed even.

S is for Skyline

I so enjoy the photos that folks share of their cities. I love to see the skylines with all the interesting buildings and I sometimes imagine what it must be like to live around all that incredible scenery. My scenery is more wide open. Well, not at my house. Here I can't see the sunrise until it's above the house next door and by that time it's just sun. And I can't see the sunset unless I go a few blocks away because the trees block it. But I took this just outside of 'town' as I returned from lunch out with friends. Sky and grain elevators! And yes, it's black and white.

T is for Tea..and Yarn too!

Awhile back I signed up for Zoe's Yarn in a Teacup Swap. I sent my packet off awhile back and forgot to take a pic. Sorry. But it went off to near Boston and was nicely received. It wasn't a secret swap, so I'd emailed with my sendee about not only her likes/dislikes but also about what she was going to send off. She'd found this really cool tea, but was a bit concerned that since she was sending to a Brit, they might think she was being snarky. I thought it was fun and apparently her person did also. Anyway, I came home the other day to a packet from her..and I got my very own tin of Boston Tea Party tea. And it's good too! Thanks loads again (blogless) Kate!


I hadn't heard anything from the person sending to me..no emails or anything and was afraid maybe something had gone wrong. So, on the last day I sent a note off to Zoe. Whoa..she gets results fast! By the time I got home that afternoon, I had a note from my sender saying she always waits till the last minute to do things, and doesn't do much emailing. I was so glad that nothing had happened to her.



And now her package has arrived. In the questionairre, we were asked if we preferred to drink our tea from a mug or a cup. I stated that I drink from a mug, but that I would love to have a real cup and saucer. Look! This is the most gorgeous cup and saucer. I can't get it to show up well, but the glaze/finish/appearance of the white parts are like mother of pearl or something..a lustre finish. I'm sorry I don't know the right word. But it is so pretty. And yummy tea, and oh yes..chocolate too. Part of which is gone. And goodness, look at this yarn. It is soooooooo soft. It's Berroco Ultra Alpaca. 50% alpaca and 50% wool. 215 yds. I'm thinking mitts? Maybe. I want it to be something I can feel and I love fingerless mitts. The color is kind of wonky in the picture but it's sort of like a celery color. And one last surprise! oops I forgot the pic. But it's one of those huge magnet ball of yarn/needles. I've wanted one but couldn't really justify buying it. I'm ever so happy! It was well worth waiting for. Thanks (also blogless) Laurie!

Still here..

and goofy as ever!

I had this really great post that I was going to do for today. It involved some really odd tombstones and great sky and was accompanied by pictures. However, when I uploaded the pics in my camera, they weren't there. Now I know they were there at one time, because I sat in the car and looked at them to make sure I got what I wanted. But now they are nowhere to be found..although the one I accidentally took of the front of my tshirt is there. Weird, eh? I'll have to try again later in the week.

So, instead I'll paste some text from an email I just sent to the Kandahar guy and crew. Because I'm too tired to write it all again. So there.

Here ya go!

t's been a rather goofy day here. I had several projects going at once. I'd brought home some work that I wanted to have done before Monday. But it makes me crazy if I mess with it too long (all numbers, and I am so not a number person) so I'd take breaks. and during them, I was either trying to move a double bed mattress and foundation to the garage (it will eventually go out for bulky trash pickup) or painting the legs on an old dinette table. One of those from the 50's with the formica top and chrome legs. Unfortunately the legs were a mess but I found some bright shiny spray paint and hopefully since I scrubbed them really well and primed them too, the paint will stick. That went pretty smoothly. It's supposed to come in the house but uhhhh, I don't think I can get it in. So will have to ask for volunteers tomorrow at work. The idea is that this unused bedroom will be a good sewing/project/hang out sort of room. It will be so nice to make a mess and not have to pick it all up before I am through.

Getting the mattress out was a bit trickier. I wrapped it in heavy plastic so it would slide easier. And cut little slits so I could hang on to those carrying bands. But my 'wingspan' isn't quite long enough so I could really only manage one end at a time. Thought I'd take a moment's rest when I was about half way through and leaned it against the door frame. Alas, the mattress decided to lean the other way and bonked me in the head; knocking my glasses off and sending the cats who were supervising off in all directions. Didn't hurt me or the glasses but it was pretty funny!

No real fiber stuff to show. I am knitting a little sweater for one of my bears. Mainly because knitting a little sweater isn't as scary as attempting a big one. And since lately I have the attention span of a gnat, that's about all I can manage. Hopefully I can be a bit more focused in the coming week, but I wouldn't want to bet money on it.

What have you been doing for fun??

Susan's Sunday

I think Sunday is becoming my favorite day of the week. Somehow either Saturday is busy with errands and chores, or else I'm so tired I sleep too much. But Sunday...ahhh it's a nice day.

I worked outside in the front yard for awhile this morning. Mostly trimming and cutting back the lantana that is preparing to take over the world. So much needs to be done and now I have a plan. Using a book on tape as a time measure, I've discovered that I can work for about an hour and a half in the early morning before it's too hot and before I tump over. So, if I did that every day, the yard would be in much better shape and so would I. There is only one problem...work. I just don't think I can manage heading out there at 6 AM and then coming in by 7:30 to do a real fast breakfast/bath/get dressed and leave for work. It's true. I need to be able to retire :-). Ummm if only logic worked that way.

I do have a completed project to show you. The bag with beads. Beaded bag. Whatever. It was a kit from Halcyon yarn, and I had exactly enough beads! Actually there was one extra and it broke. I was unable to get my ribbon through the accent beads they sent, and these will someday be switched out for something more appropriate. But here ya go. And what, pray tell, am I storing inside? Uhhh clean underwear? I really had no idea what I was going to do with it, or what I would put in it but it needed some 'stuffing' for it's photo op. Now, looking at the picture, I wish I'd stuffed it taller instead of squatty. Oh well..maybe next time. I really had fun with it and now want to make something else that has beads involved.



Specs: Beaded Bag Kit from Halcyon

including Jaggerspun wool which I really loved working with but no little about.

Needles: Size 5 CP bamboo and bright magenta metal needles for K2K parts.

I also made a dog bed today but it's nothing to write home about although at least it's better than the worn out one it's replacing.

And now I shall return to knitting a little square, which I'm told will later be turned into a little rabbit. Magic?

Naked Ladies

Got your attention? They're in my front yard..and no they aren't human. I'm always surprised when they bloom because I can never remember where they are. There are a couple coming up right in the middle of some shrubs too.





And yes, the grass needs mowing. The whole yard needs probably about 2 weeks of attention, at least 8 hours a day. I get really enthused about working out there when I'm at work. But somehow, when I get home and it's hot and muggy and the skeeters are dive bombing me, I lose that enthusiasm and hope for an early freeze.

It's been a good week here. My friend and coworker Jackie gave me a really good excuse for going to Hobby Lobby. Also visited was Petsmart and a huge Walmart where we acted like real yokels as we gazed in astonishment at all the stuff we don't have in our store :-). An evening of shopping (needle felting needles,cat food and a yummy salad kit for me)was topped off with ice cream and sprinkled with tons of laughter and good conversation. I was delighted to realize we never talked about work. Although she's not a knitter and has no desire to be one, she is a crafter and delights in making her home a wondrous place.

Today all of the usual Saturday morning things were done early and then I changed out a wall plug. Somehow part of the plastic just broke off and it looked most pitiful. Probably old age hit it. The new plug went in easily and I'm always so pleased when everything is back in the wall, lights are working and I'm still alive!

I just took a break and spent it staring at a chair. I have this channel back chair that's seen much better days. There's a broken spring that extends below the seat. And well, the fabric is..it's old and worn and just icky. I can't get a slipcover that will fit it, and yesterday my friend Jackie just about convinced me that we can re-upholster it. Despite it's rather severe looking shape, it's extremely comfortable if you want to actually sit UP as opposed to slumping down on the love seat. Now I have to get up courage and try to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up. And what a lovely (?) way to spend a day...kicked back and staring at a chair.

And the beaded part of my little bag is done and the decreases for the bottom are started. It's been fun to do although I think if I make another one, I'll try to convert it to knitting in the round instead of a flat piece that must be joined. I did need purling practice though. It's been a long time since I've done rows of it. Now if I could just figure out why I need a little knitted bag with beads on it.

What plans do you have for the weekend??

What's Rich?

Sunday evening after watching Miss Marple solve another crime, I was treated to an unexpected pleasure. In the 30 minutes left until 10 pm, there was a program called The Queen Family. According to the link they are traditional music icons. I'm not overly fond of current country music. I don't hate it. It's just, for the most part, not something I look for. But traditional...bluegrass, blues, acoustic..oh yeah. The older the better. And this little program had some amazing music. And really interesting people.

But something I heard (and have heard many times before) has been working in my brain. One of the women said something like 'We were poor. But everyone we knew were poor so we didn't know it.'

Growing up as I did in a small Ohio village to start with and then in a small predominately farming town in Oklahoma, I certainly wasn't rich. The earlier years may have been financially easier..I'm not sure. My daddy worked, my mom stayed home. But he was often ill for long periods of time and then died when I was going into 5th grade. After that Mama went back to work and we got on with life.

I always had good food and was pretty spoiled I think. However, the must-haves of my teen age years didn't cost much. Very few of my peers had their own vehicles..and then they were older cars that they had worked on. There were a few rich kids...they lived in 'ranch style' houses! *G*

Each school year I chose fabric and patterns for 3 outfits which my mom made. Hopefully, I hadn't totally outgrown the clothes from the year before..but that didn't often happen. I got one new pants outfit. I was hard to fit even then so these tended to end up being Christmas gifts and I'd better take care of them cause there wasn't going to be another one until the following year.

My friends and I traded clothes. And my friends were of all financial ranges so sometimes you got to wear really cool stuff!

We did all the usual stuff..played until dark thirty when we were young, and chased boys and girls as we got older. Our outside influences were American Bandstand *G*, or maybe movies.

I never really dreamed of being rich...and didn't realize until I was much older what a struggle my mom had in holding us together.

But here's the point of this wandering soliloquy. I hear about welfare moms repeating the process because that is what they know. And I believe that to be true.

I wonder though if having so much information available today on how the 'other half' lives is a good thing. Is it a good thing that young people can know that you can make a better (if dangerous)living as a drug dealer as you can a teacher? And, if it's imperative that you have an iPod and an Xbox and the right shoes (that cost a LOT) and you're not wealthy..what are you going to do? Save up? By the time that happens the cool thing has come out with a new model that costs more. Is it so important that you mug someone for their shoes or their gold teeth? Who made it that important? Advertising agencies? Ourselves?

Haha! This post really wasn't going to be about money. It had a whole other focus but my brain obviously went off on a tangent. And now it's time to get my butt in gear and get ready for work. I'll make a note of the tangent and post about it later.

Cleaning and Cats

After putting up the new light fixture and changing out the bulbs in the other one, I realized that the utility room needed some serious tidying. There were odd paint bottles in the cat food bin along with 2 hard drives (how DO you get them to disappear?)The workbench had all sorts of clutter. So under the supervision of the cats, I got busy. Dave's cat has a lovely knitted afghan in a window sill with a view. My guys prefer the workbench which is part of the reason it doesn't get used as such any more. Another reason is that in the winter, it's cold out here and in the summer it's hot! It's really a converted porch (that's about to fall in, but I try to ignore that part) and I think the insulation is quite lacking. You should see the lovely blanket that hangs over the glass doors in the winter! Oh..I'm so classy!

Ramen Noodle Yarn & Explanation

Keep scrolling down. After individual posts with just a picture there is a post. For some reason, when I add a pic, once it's added instead of showing up like a picture, it shows up and row upon row of html, which is a b*tch to move to it's proper place. and now..the photo

Brown Felt

Felted Leaf

A For-Real Post

Saturday was a mish-mash day. A bit of house cleaning. A bit of laundry. A bit of home maintenance (if changing out florescent bulbs and hanging a new fixture on it's chains in the utility room count). A couple of errands. Some reading, a small nap. Some frogging and some real fun.

Only 2 errands..the library and the postoffice. New books to read and listen; package for my Yarn in a Teacup person mailed. All July bills sent off. (of course, the first August bill arrived yesterday also :-O

I'll spare you pics of the utility room lights, and move right along.

It seems I rarely have something completed to show; so that was a goal this week. However, I wasn't pleased with how the beads on the beaded bag looked. I'm sure some could do it and it would look super, but mine were rather unwieldy. So I decided to try Fluffy Knitter Deb's way. Frogging commenced and once I'd got myself back to that part of the bag, I decided I was hungry and needed a sandwich. I'm knitting it on CP bamboo str8 needles. The kind that have actual little knobs on the end. Which was apparently extremely intriguing to Hershey. Besides, obviously I wanted this off the needles. Instead of just nibbling on it, he took it out...and then sort of tugged and walked all over it I think. So..what to do but create.....Ramen Noodle Yarn! Scarily enough it really was the right thing to do. Those beads had to come completely off. He knew more than I did! Removing the beads really str8nd the yarn a lot so it's begun again but I'll spare you 5 rows of stockinette. Maybe later today I'll have something to show on that front.

Moving right along. I had some wool white felt. I wanted brown. I cannot remember why, but dying was fun. I soaked the felt in vinegar water for awhile and then saturated it with brown dye made from some generic sort of Wilton color. A rich brown. After it soaked awhile, I nuked it a couple of times with a rest between and shazamm, brown felt. I love the mottled look of it. Now if I could remember what I was going to do with it. I just know it was on my list for shopping outside. Brown wool felt. Hmmm. The oddest thing though was that there was a bit of dye left in the Pyrex..and, it had become green! I guess I need to read up on color! I know I've seen women with greenish brown hair. Wonder if they used icing color?

And last but not least, a leaf. I'd read in a new Interweave magazine on Felting about cookie-cutter needle felting so I really wanted to try it. In the pic it sort of looks all one color but in reality it's more mixedy up. I took tiny bits of roving in two colors, pulling them apart until sometimes there were only two uhh hairs?? And alternating the colors and sort of just tossing them in a little box, fluffing occasionally. It was sooooooo fun! And then using the cookie cutter as a sort of mold, started felting. The only thing I didn't care about was sticking myself. Now I want to see if I can just make a little sheet of fiber..no mold. Just a square, and then use the cookie cutter as a pattern to cut it out. And I wish I had some coppery colored pearl cotton..I could make some veins for it. I'm sure they have some at Michaels *G*..but I'm really trying to not spend a lot of money and there's no way I can go there and walk out with one skein of pearl cotton. So, I've dressed myself in bummy clothes to make it less likely that I'll go walking out the door. And maybe I should post a sign that my gas went up 20 cents a gallon last week.

Late in the afternoon, I sat outside on the porch swing for awhile until the skeeters found me. It was very warm but not miserable. And, for a change, very quiet. All the lawn mowers had gone back to their spaces. People must have arrived at where they were going because there was little traffic. And so, I sat there reading with only the sounds of the locusts to keep me company. It was sooo lovely.

Anyway, more fun coming up on this last day of the weekend. What are y'all doing?

Well...bad word! When I upload a pic, I get only html words..and no way of moving it. I'll try posting them one at a time all by themselves.

More about Me

I saw this over at Sheri's and thought it would be a fun thing to do while the oatmeal cooked. It's a long test..took me all the way through breakfast! But at least it didn't tell me I belonged in Slytherin! And I'm in such good company. ~~~waves at Sheri!

The sorting hat says that I belong in Hufflepuff!

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same."

Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Digory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament.

 

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Another Test

I saw this over at Sara's and although I probably should have waited until I wasn't yawning my head off, I took it. And look how cute I turned out!

Your Score: The Otter

Here's your results! Your spirit animal has a Nobility ranking of 11 out of 18.

Your spirit animal is the otter. Playful, curious and fun animals, they are truly the start of what can be considered a noble creature. Otters are good at figuring things out, and make great friends. You are lucky to have one as a spirit animal. Otters are fairly rare as spirit animals.

***Wondering how this animal was chosen for you? These questions were carefully thought out to see how important you hold certain virtues such as: humanism, self-knowledge, rationalism, the love of freedom and other somewhat Hellenic ideals. Some of the questions were very subtle. Your score was then matched with an animal of corresponding nobility. However, you shouldn't think this was a right/wrong sort of test, but more of an idealistic values test. It's ok to not hold these values, you'll just get an animal spirit of lower stature if you do!***

Link: The What is Your Spirit Animal Test written by on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

~~Hey now, you're an all star..

get your game on. Play!~~~ Oh sorry, I was singing. I watched that new tv show The Singing Bee tonight. I had so much fun. And, if I'd been brave and actually on the show I could have won some money. I love to sing! And I can't sing worth a flip. I can't remember what I need to go do, but I can remember song lyrics that nobody needs to know. So I had a great time watching the show and trying to help the contestants. Although I'm not too good with more recent songs.

I don't think I'll try to knit anything that requires counting next week when it's on though. But I caught the mistake in time, frogged back and now have one repeat (4 rows) on my little beaded bag done. One thing about frogging back when there's beads on that row...you don't have to move them all down. They are just about in the right place.

And, more excitement. I had to go to W*mart tonight for eye drops. In my store, across from the drugs is a section that I guess you would call seasonal. It's been a place to find lime green plastic glasses and such but now....are you ready??? School supplies! OMG how I love school supplies and/or office supplies. New crayons and folders and notebooks and pencil cases (good for holding dpns). Glue sticks in bulk packages. Highlighters. Rulers and compasses. All good things to me. I did weaken but I only got a new folder and new crayons. The crayons will go to work. From time to time we have little ones (kids or grandkids) come visit at work and my crayons disappeared. They were in pretty bad shape and I probably, in some moment of needing space and organization, tossed them. I didn't realize they were gone until they were needed for one of my young friends the other day. But now that's remedied and ...I had a good excuse for purchasing them. Even more fun would be to go to Staples and check out school supplies there, as well as all the nifty office stuff. Can one become a collector of sticky pads?

And, it didn't rain after the sun came up! It rained in the night I'm told, but I slept through that. And now it's time to go sleep again. Good night, sleep tight.

Dear Commenters,

If you commented yesterday, I responded in the comment box. Unfortunately I am unable to also respond by email. I scooped the litter boxes and took a bath and still one of the emails was loading. I can understand. Sometimes I have a hard time getting going in the mornings too. But I didn't want you to feel ignored.

And now for news. Guess what? It's raining! hahaha, here we go again. Started yesterday afternoon and it looks like most of the week is going to be rainy, at least part of the time. It rained really hard just west of here...rained normally here...and then started pouring again as it moved east. I haven't checked the basement. I'll just be like Scarlett and think about it tomorrow. Maybe.

On the knitting scene, some actually got done. I've finished the eyelet row and a few more rows of stockinette and tonight I'll actually get to knit in a few of those beads that up until now have been more of an annoyance than anything else. I did spend a bit of time trying to figure out how you could do an Icord with a spiral of beads around it. I decided I didn't have a clue and turned my book on tape back on *G*

Ohhhh I forgot to say that I've ordered some more books and they are on sale. I saw a link to this place on Mason-Dixon Knitting and off I went. I am in love with all things Rowan, although I've never knitted one of their patterns. Perhaps what I love are the photos and the general *feeling*. Ethereal Britain is far way from red dirt. And at these prices, I can actually enjoy the books. I got A Season's Tale, the one pictured at the top of this page, as well as Denim People and that book about knitting for kids and their bears. I have no little ones to knit for, but I do have a bear who is tired of waiting on the summer sweater that I'm making up as I go.

But now, as a long-ago friend used to say, I must away. Time to get ready for work. Not much left to do as lunch is packed. Oh wait...I guess I should change from a housecoat. And maybe do something with my wet hair.

Duh..with an excuse.

I just noticed this morning that although I made a space, I left out the picture of my treat from Barnes and Noble.
But I have an excuse. Ann says I am a ..

and Ann is always right....Right? *G* And this Rockin' Girl Blogger was so busy rocking out that she forgot to insert the photo.

I'm to tag 5 other people. So, I'll tag Laura, Katya, Zoe, Kirsten and Vicki.

Is There a Prize?

If none of the numbers on your lottery ticket are even part way close to the winners? I thought not. But it was 7-7-07 and 7 is my favorite number so I thought it worth a try. I guess, though, that having a totally sunny day for the first time in forever was enough good luck.

I celebrated the sun by going shopping after the usual errands were done. It was rather odd to just leave whenever I felt like it instead of trying to dodge rainstorms.

I was on a mission though. I had a trunkful of stuff to drop off at the thrift shop ran by the no-kill rescue pet shelter place. And I wanted to buy some tea. I signed up for the Yarn In A Teacup swap and I thought it would be nice to include some tea. Now, I drink a lot of tea but almost all of it comes from the grocery. I do NOT have much tea knowledge. I trust my chai and the ones made by Celestial Seasonings, and then local tea for iced tea. However, I had discovered that there was a tea shop in the City. So, off I went.

A Time for Tea was in a strip mall but quite nice inside. Lots of people enjoying a summer afternoon lunch...or maybe a fancy tea. And tea to purchase?? Ohhhh my yes. Lots and lots of teas...none of which I had a clue about. So, I went by the name. The lady that rang me up said it is very good. But what was she going to say? "It tastes like poop?" So, blogless Kate, that's all the clue you will get. *G*

And since gas prices went up almost a dime/gallon in a couple of days, it was important that I do other things since I was already there.

Hobby Lobby was kind enough to have a small package of roving (I'm thinking up a needle felting thing).

Then,Barnes and Noble provided me with iced chai, a new Simply Knitting magazine with little sheepy needle protectors and this..



Yum! I can't remember what it was called but it was worth every cent.

And then I went to the yarn store. It was good to see one person that I hadn't seen since last summer. Everyone was all agog about knitting the Mystery Shawl and as it was the day for the Saturday afternoon knit-in, it was quite busy getting tables set up etc. And then the owner's new granddaughter came to visit. At the advanced age of 12 days she wasn't really impressed, but her older brothers were so funny as they competed at helping take care of her.

And then it was time to come home to the little red dirt house. Time to kick back and look at the new magazine. And time to go to bed early. Shopping can be tiring.

This morning was about yard work until I was ready to tump over. And there's tons more to do. All the rain has made everything..but especially the weeds...grow and grow and grow. A soaky bath and a long nap somewhat revived me. And a supper of fresh corn on the cob, cucumbers/onions, tomatoes and cottage cheese helped too. But I'm thinking that the rest of the evening is going to be rather low-key. Yesterday's mail brought a kit to knit a beaded bag. I think I shall go string some beads.

See yas!

Happy Independence Day

Hi and here's hoping you've had just a lovely and fun filled holiday. Or, perhaps a long nap! I've had the last 2 days off..well Tuesday and today and it's been busy although not quite what I had planned.

Crossing things off the list:

Make 19 neck coolers for Sprite's guys. Done.

Actually I made 21...you remember? I sometimes can't count worth a damn. Actually one of the extras was planned as I had to get a different brand of water crystals and wasn't sure how much to use. So one was a beta cooler and will be mine. The other extra one was just there. And then today, I read in a magazine a note from a grandmother who was asking for cards and stuff for her g'son in Afghanistan. So he'll get the other one. Along with some treats that won't fit in the box for Danny and crew.

And that was all that was on the list. A great 2 days of nothing that had to be done. That is, until I took some stuff to the basement yesterday and discovered that some of the 12+ inches of rain that we've had made its way in somehow. It takes a really long time to suck up much water one gallon at a time. Every 3 gallons that were dumped into the bucket had to be carried upstairs to dump so I've gotten a lot more exercise than I'd planned. And I spent some time on the pity potty, but everything is pretty much dry now..and the sun shined yesterday AND today. It did rain for awhile this afternoon but didn't last long. And I'm ever so tired but smiling.

I'm thinking that going back to work can be a good thing *G*