More Fun in The City

Saturday, after a minimal of weekend house stuff was done, I headed back to the City. This time though, it wasn't to eat with friends..at least I didn't think it was.

I'd discovered an email in my bulk mail about a Natural Dye thing at the City Arts Center. Oh ack!! It asked that you call and tell them you were coming and here it is the very day. But I emailed back and Abi graciously told me to come on. So..I did!

We were given some information about the dyes we would be using. Ummm I've forgotten some of them but I know for sure there was cochineal (from bugs) that made red, logwood that made graying blue, and indigo that heh..made blue. I think I was too excited to remember too much. There was a big group there. Some ladies that looked like socialite sorts, some really fun teenagers, some young boys..maybe pre-adolescent that were more fun than anyone, mommas and girls and grubby dyeing people like me.

When I first got there, I talked to some teenagers who were winding what appeared to be jute..or something...from huge spools onto swifts and skeining it up. I asked them about it, and it was going to be dyed at a later day and used for weaving.

What fun! We were all dyeing silk scarves..there were 75 available and you were allowed to take one home and the rest they were going to use as a fund raising project for the Natural Dye Studio. Well...we went through the 75 and they found more and I think around 90 were done plus bandanas and little bags. Everyone was talking and sharing ideas and we all were just sure that our most recent idea would be the best.

I was most fascinated with the indigo. Put the fabric in to a count of 10, pull it out..it's lime green. And as soon as the air hits it, it starts turning blue. I wish I'd taken pictures of it. And, if you wanted it to be darker, instead of leaving it in longer, you came back about 20-30 min later and dipped it again. And so forth. I really have to learn more about this! Oh yeah, and it doesn't smell the least good. We all did all of our own dyeing except for the indigo pot and a really nice woman named Leah was in charge of that and ever so patient as all of us asked questions and crowded around.

Towards the end of our session, a henna artist showed up doing free henna tattoos (not sure that's what they're called). I missed out on that because I was still dyeing stuff and you can't get your hand wet. I should have asked her to do my ankle but it might have been rather difficult to drive home barefooted. Someone also brought a bunch of pizzas. I didn't miss out on that! Sat there with a wet scarf in one hand, pizza in another and having this slightly intense conversation with some young very punk looking kid. I think he was a lot smarter than me!

And how very cool our workspace was. A HUGE room. Big metal sinks, lots of long tables. And you could just thumbtack your scarf to the wall if all the clotheslines were filled.

Someone lucked out and ended up with a silk stole. I don't know how she made it look like that and she didn't either. I think it was my most favorite.



There were a variety of things done.



This was my effort at camouflage.



And this was my time with indigo (primarily) along with some overlapping cochineal and logwood. And this one came home with me.




And that's about all that happened on Saturday. No knitting. I was so tired, and when Earth Hour arrived, like a good girl I turned out the lights and that was it for me until 5 AM this morning :-) Today's been all about getting stuff done that didn't happen yesterday. Tonight maybe knitting!

Friday Night in the Big Town

First of all a big thank you to Crystal for the info on the red box! Really helps when you know what you're looking at!

No knitting last night tho. It was a girl's night out in Bricktown a special part of Oklahoma City. It's been quite awhile since I've been down there and whew..it's really grown with lots more to see and do. Eleven goofy women out and about. What a good time we had.



We ate here at the Bourbon St. Cafe and it was very, very good. There were oysters and pork shops and some really different salad. On my dinner plate was a very tasty, tender steak. YUM! (And it had paprika sprinkled around to look pretty!) And in my glass Shiner Bock. A far reach from my usual "eat out" at a fast food place.

After dinner we walked around and laughed a lot and then rode the water taxi on a great trip around the canal. We've already tentatively planned a return.

A really fun evening and it's really nice to spend time with friends doing totally different sorts of things.

Today may hold totally different adventures barring unforseen roadblocks. We shall see. But for now, I need to do the ironing! See ya later! Hope your day is a good one.

Riddle Me This

With apologies to Ms. Gilbert, here's the beginning of my Bird in Hand mitten. Apologies because I've changed something. Watch a DVD, think I'm a designer? No, not at all! I was supposed to be doing plain knitting for a few rows and then an Estonian Braid before the color started. And try as I might, I just couldn't figure out the braid. So I did a few rows of 1/1 ribbing followed by a rows of purling. This is soooooooooooo fun although I am very slow. It may be a lifetime project.

Now, I'm puzzled though. See on the pattern ... the little red box? I don't know what it means. I thought about emailing Ms. Gilbert, but I figured it's probably something most everyone knows, so I thought I would try y'all first.

Oh and yes I write on my hand. For things I can't forget. I may lose a stickie note but hopefully I won't lose track of my hand. This has to stay until in the morning.

It's been a really good week here. Fun knitting, good weather, and yesterday when I took a fall on the sidewalk, nothing got really hurt except my pride! But that's ok, cause nobody saw me. Heh.

Sunday with Elizabeth, Meg and Jane

I'm a visual learner. I learn much more easily if I can actually see what's happening, whether in person, via large photos, or on video. When I first started knitting I ordered a DVD from somewhere that allegedly would be the be all and end all. What it turned out to be was a lot of philosophy and pretty music and although it did show someone knitting, a lot of the time it was shot from the front. Fortunately Dave, I think, clued me in to knitting-help.com and I was able to more easily learn some of the things that had puzzled me.

So in my quest to learn stranded knitting, I read that there was a really good way of trapping the longer spans of yarn on A Knitting Glossary with EZ and her daughter. I looked it up and it was $40 which I didn't have. (later learned it's in Stitch and Bitch too). Then later in the week I saw a really cute sweater pattern online and thought the next time I went to the yarn store, I would see if they had it so I could read the instructions and see if any of them made sense.

I survived the laundromat experience, got to the post office too late to mail my stuff and decided a little rest was in order. I popped in one of the discs that I'd ordered from Netflix (joined on Wed, discs arrived Friday!!) and settled back. Mailman arrives and in the mail was an unexpected check for $45+ from the cafeteria plan. (I didn't realize I'd already spent more than $500 on meds this year). And faster than a NY minute, I was in the car and headed for the LYS.

This dvd is the MOST amazing thing. Three hours of instructions on most anything I could think of and a lot of things I didn't even know I didn't know. And both of them are so personable and Real. It's just a joy to watch. If you haven't seen it maybe your library can get it for you. It's just wonderful. I can't imagine how it would have been to actually know either of them.

I'm afraid I haven't actually put any of it to use because you see, there are those 2Miss Marple disks (they're watched now) and one more movie. What a lovely weekend I've had!

Not Down for the Count

Whew..what a week! Started out innocently enough, just a typical Monday morning. I did notice my back was a bit more cranky than usual, but that happens. Off I go to work. And I hadn't been there long when it felt like somebody had just whapped me with a 2x4 across my lower back. I shifted around in my seat a bit and kept on with the paperwork generated over the weekend. But it just kept getting worse and by 9:30 everything hurt. My bones, my muscles..heck even my skin hurt. One of the bosses stopped by to ask a simple question and I answered with "I don't know...my skin hurts too much to think" And as tears trickled down (I hate that) I was sent home. Home..what a lovely thought.

Getting my shoes off was the only major thing I faced the rest of the day and I discovered that I could actually reach them by using the letter opener. A MacGyver moment for sure!

Tuesday was a bit better, I got up, got ready but after being up for a couple of hours it all came back again. And until Thursday most of my time was spent with either ice or a heating pad and not-so-interesting daytime tv.

Back to work on Thursday..not one of my more stellar days but I got through it and Friday was a bit better. Glad to be done with that week for sure. Now the challenge today will be getting two big laundry baskets full of wet clothes/linens to the laundrymat so I can dry them. Fortunately pjs don't weigh much!

There was only a bit of knitting done. Sitting up was difficult and I can't seem to knit in a supine position. Lots of practice though on my stranded project. Well, not actually the project but the swatch. I did get gauge on #1 dpns and then it was off to investigate stranded knitting. There wasn't a pattern. I'd just make up something, rip it back, do it again etc, etc. I really don't do well 2 handed. I'm a "picker" and I just couldn't seem to get any kind of tension with my right hand. I tried that little wire knitters thimble on my left hand (oddly enough I bought it at a WM sale bin for 50 cents one time...had no idea what it was for but it said "knitter" and was cheap) and that sorta worked but still it just wasn't right. So far my best has been just running both yarns through the same fingers and every once in awhile sort of regrouping. I've seen a sort of plastic thing that will handle several colors of yarn. Maybe I can try one of those.



So, soon it will be off to the grocery and the laundry, and then hopefully home for knitting and a movie. Yep, I signed up for Netflix on Wed, and yesterday came home to find 3 DVDs in my mailbox. So Friday evening I spent in the English countryside with Miss Marple. A very good time was had by all..well except for the villan :-)

Ravelry Etiquette

Question. If you want to add someone to your "friends" group, are you supposed to message them and ask if it's ok? This isn't someone I really know, but rather someone that I read and admire.

Monday Post on Tuesday

Monday's post had to be stopped quickly due to thunder/lightning and it didn't save. So here it goes again.

The weekend was just great! The laundry was finally all dry and I discovered that ironing during the Sunday morning news shows is therapeutic. Worried about the economy? Get rid of a wrinkle. Frustration at politics in general? Set a crease. And so it goes.



A tip. If you hang your laundry in the kitchen doorway to dry, do NOT fry chicken while it's up there. It certainly negates any clean laundry smell.


But the highlight of Saturday was finally hearing Mama Squid's voice. I was so excited and I'm afraid I babbled quite a lot. Oh well, I do that here so she's probably used to it. Thanks Devorah!! It means a lot to me.

Later that night, I discovered that Kate Gilbert's Bird in Hand mittens now have a KAL just starting. I've loved this pattern since I first saw it, but I don't know how to do stranded knitting. Then I discovered that the KAL is a part of WEBS "Ready, Set, Knit" podcast. And on that page there were instructions and such to download. I may figure this out yet! And have new friends to listen to. Haven't made it that far yet but pages are printed out. (Adding to the stacks, Devorah :-))

Oh goodness! It's thundering again. I'll be back and even put in the links.

Back again. OK where was I?

Sunday. So, the ironing's don. A beautiful day and a perfect one for a drive to the City. Finally I got to go see my long-hospitalized friend. She's now in a LTAC (long term acute care) ICU and oh...it's the most wonderful place. Her room is huge. Big, big tv. Nice furniture. Looks more like a very large living room with a lot of light. And she's doing much better! Go Em!

And there was a quick stop at a LYS for one skein of Cascade 220. White. Nothing exciting but I needed a contrast for the turquoise color in my stash. Oddly enough, one of the LYS' has quit carrying that yarn. They now have a new-to-me yarn called Riverstone, I believe. I'll have to find out why.

Then home for more listening to podcasts. How cool that in some places you can actually have knitting shows on the local radio station.

And then there was swatching. I took the pic before I really measured because it was bedtime. Let's just say that I didn't get the stitches per inch that I needed. And to keep me company while I swatched, I enjoyed a phone convo with Sara! Does giggling affect swatches? So..more swatching in my future.



And apparently, more thunder. Bye!

Wednesday was Great...

Thursday, not so and I have my doubts about today. But, at least it's been interesting.

I wanted to balance my check book before leaving out. And it was no where to be found. Apparently my purse tumped over in my desk drawer and it fell out, but it took quite awhile to come to that conclusion. So, after a rather late start, I headed out. Too late to get to the tea store; I'll just have to call them and check. But I came home loaded down with 4 cases of canned cat food and a big bag of dry (after numerous times of being without a vehicle I tend to stock up *G*) and a new shedding brush that looks just like a small curry comb. And new printer cartridges. And new tennis shoes (a good thing since the old ones just lost their soles). Simply Knitting with a great leprechan pattern and Knit Simple with some great sweaters found it's way into my shopping bag too. Oh, and new nail polish for my toes. The weather was glorious (76F on the way home) and everyone was driving with their windows down and chatting/waving/grinning at the stop lights. Motorcycles galore. A couple was in front of me for about 15 miles. And everytime we had to stop, the girl on the back turned around and grinned. Finally, we were side by side at a stop light and she and her boy both chatted with me as we waited. "Have a great evening" he yelled as they took off. Too fun.

When I was getting out of the car, I managed to slop some soda on my purse. Not a real biggie as it's made out of windbreaker like fabric, but it was sticky. So I dumped everything out on the table and threw it, along with a jacket, some sweats and other such things in the washer.

Yesterday morning, I pulled the jacket and purse out and threw them in the dryer. Clickity bang went the plastic toggles on the jacket drawstring. I disengaged the part of my brain that's annoyed by that and went on with my morning. Finally dressed and ready for work, I went to retrieve them and discovered that apparently a couple of gel pens were clipped inside the bag. Well, they were...but they'd spent a great deal of time banging around in the dryer. OMG what a mess. Lots of ink (fortunately not on the jacket or purse or any of the other stuff in that load of wash). I had just read, the night before, on Ravelry that hair spray would remove it from the drum. Do you know how high you can get spraying hair spray in a very warm dryer? I got the most off and stumbled off to work. Last night I used the last of the hair spray but still there was ink. Now for my latest and greatest discovery. That pre-treater SprayNW*sh does an amazing job with a lot less fumes! And, I finished drying things, plus some towels without a trace of ink. Yay!

So now we get to Friday morning. Hoping to get a jump start on weekend laundry, I washed sheets this morning. Put them in the dryer. Turned it on. It hummed. But it doesn't go around. So, if you stop by today please don't be alarmed at the sheet draped over the dining room table. And if I'm not home, just wait. I'm just at the store getting clothesline! Ahhh challenges. It does keep life interesting.

A Question about Netflix

I'm thinking about signing up since my DVD player is now functional and I have a question and I haven't found an answer on their site.

If you choose a multi-disc selection like a season of tv show, does it count as one, or does it count by the disc. And, do you get them all at once or one at a time.

Thanks for any info you can share. Oh, and if you use them does it work as well as they say?

Midweek Miscellaneous

Hi! Me again. This time with no new pics of fluff. And I want to get more repeats done on the sock before it shows up here.

Bumble Vee, yes, I would be really happy to send you some of this but somehow we need to email so I'll know where to send it. When I post at your 'house' does my eMail addy show up? If so...that will work. Perhaps inspired by your place in the blogsphere, I have this need to knit my Build a Bear lamb a shrug and make her an Easter dress. So off to the bookcase this morning to look through Knits for Children and Their Teddies. Ah yes, there's a shrug in there. I guess I'd better get busy on those socks so I can start something new. :-)

I'm off work today. Another use-i-or-lose-it vacation day. I'd love to have a whole week off but that is just so hard on the ones left there. We aren't overly staffed.
And, while I'd like nothing better than staying in my jammies all day, I'm off to the City. The cats tell me I need to go restock their food from Petsmart and I agree. And maybe there is a new Simply Knitting at the book store. And last night somewhere in blogland I stumbled on a new-to-me tea called Red Rose. It supposedly very good AND it comes with a little figurine in the box. I'm such a sucker for surprises! So, I'll stop at the only tea place I know about and see if they have it. Maybe not. They're rather fancy,schmancy and most of the tea I saw when shopping for a swap pal was in big glass jars with shiny silver lids and you they scooped it out into your bag. Worth a try though. I'll let you know.

Have a good one kiddos!

Good Morning Starshine

~~~fleecy, shining
gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen

That's what I was singing as I tried my hand at carding. No, of course I don't have hand carders. But I have two dog slicker brushes. And, after having washed them before work, I happily sat down to continue my fiber adventures while singing songs from "The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical". My old hippie soul was happy even if my experiment left something to be desired.




The depth of the brushes is only about 2 1/2 inches at the widest point and their oval shaped so even that is a very small part of the whole. And the length of the fiber is longer than that. I tried using them sideways but the teeth are curved towards the bottom so that didn't work. But I did try..and sing :-) And I took some of what I managed to card and spun it on my leg. The twist didn't stay, but hey..for a bit I had yarn that held together!



And little poofs of fairy hair. So light, so soft. Can you be in love with some little pieces of fluff?



And Bumble Vee, the ultimate goal is for me to become a spinner. But for now, who knows what will happen with this stuff. You want some of it to play with???

Sunday Washday

After a Saturday spent cooking (potato dumplings and cabbage, cranberry orange muffins from a mix, and potato chip nachos..a quick lunch) and regular Saturday things, I was ready for a Sunday of laundry. No, not my clothes/bedding/whatever. It was time for fleece washing.



Using fairly small amounts at a time, I ran the hottest water...added some Dawn and then soaked the fleece for about 20 minutes. When I drained the water, the residual dirt stuff was like sand. No really nasty stuff. And bits of vegetation occasionally. Then I'd do it all again. Oh yeah, and I spun it out in the washing machine between soaks. When it all seemed clean it was time for rinsing. That took almost longer than the washing! Late in the process, I read online to add a bit of vinegar to the rinse water. Wow! Water that had lots of suds was suddenly clear and the fleece didn't smell like vinegar either. Amazing!

After it was all spun out, I set up the dryer thingy and put it out to dry. Big clumps of wet stuff. But as the ceiling fan did it's thing, I discovered that I could separate the clumps a bit. A few needed more attention so more washing occurred. But by the end of the day it was all pretty darn nice.

And amazingly enough, the cats paid almost no attention to it.



Hershey the guard cat was actually more interested in letting me know that he thought it just might be dinner time.

In real life, this looks much whiter but I can't seem to make it happen in my camera. And the Lucy Neatby button? It came in a package from my LYS, was on the table, got knocked to the floor when I was putting up the dryer thingy and I guess I just picked it up and put it there. I didn't realize it until I saw the pics. Guess I thought I just needed a bit of "pop".



The pics were taken yesterday evening and things are much fluffier this morning. There are still really damp spots, but as I find them I separate them a bit. Someday it will all be dry. Then comes the next fun :-D

What a great idea

I stumbled across a blog tonight and saw this hat. You'll have to scroll down a bit.
Is this not cool? I wonder how it's done. Make two hats from the top down and somehow bind them off together? I don't know Tienne, but what a knitter she is. A lot of great knits coming off her needles.

Also commenters whose info says their blog is called Car Rental probably doesn't have much to say and their links probably shouldn't be clicked. Is it time for those annoying code words again?

Oh Look!

When I got home from work today, there was a good sized box on the front porch. I brought it inside, let the dog out and fed the cats. One cat was missing. Oh, there she is! Up on the table rubbing all over the box and 'talking' to it. She's watched Pretty Woman too many times, I think.



I finally lured her away with kitten food (only used for sick kitties or holidays) and of course then the others needed some. But finally with full tummies they all went off to have a nap and I got to open the box.



I was really wondering what it would smell like. I knew it had been skirted so I wasn't worried about that, but would it smell like wool? I don't know what others may think, but I think right now it smells like hay. And soft? ohhh my! It's amazing. And it's so pretty just as it is. I almost hate to wash it or try to do anything more than just gaze at it. Look at the little curl on the end of this lock.



I apologize for the bandaid but it was necessary. A nasty file folder tried to cut my finger off. And exaggeration for sure, but ouch!

Soap

Ohhh...what an exciting title! But I get excited about small things and my friends get tired of hearing some of it so I'll just talk to myself here..and maybe a couple of y'all.

The grocery nearest my house is not a big showplace kind of store. A lot of space, great prices, a lot of brands you've never heard of. But there is some good stuff there. There are a lot of Hispanics here and this store has a lot of products made in Mexico, or labeled in Spanish. A cool area in produce with bushel baskets of produce I don't recognize. The bestest shredded cheese. And occasionally loaves of bread whose bag is decorated with this a soccer player.

But this is about soap.




Ingredients: Tallowate (lye, steam and fat), cocoate (fatty acids of coconut) and scent. That's it. No long lists of chemicals, and who knows what all that I see on other labels.

Lots and lots of lather.

And the scent? Well one would think it smells like roses, but actually it smells like clean.

And price? It was on special for 35 cents! I wish I'd bought a dozen.

In other news, soon I will be the proud owner of a pound of angora fleece. A wonderful person in my local fiber group has been very, very ill. She was in the hospital forever almost, and is now in an LTAC (long term acute care)facility. Recently it was shearing day at her family's place and they listed all the fleece on the list. Duh..that sounded weird. So, I spent some of the can money on one of the smaller amounts. I've bought curls from them before just cause they're pretty. I've been instructed on how to clean this fleece and I can't wait. I hope it's not offended that I have no clue of what to do with it after that. And, some day I hope I get to go meet #556. Come home Emm!

And in even more news (can you stand the excitement?) while I watched primary returns from the neighbor to the south and the cornfields, I got the swift and ball winder out last night and wound the lime green yarn. I think it might become Monkey socks. Probably not in time for St. Patrick's Day, but hopefully before summer LOL

Tub time now so I can slide down Hump Day cleanly! Love ya!

Lamb or Lion

Mostly VERY windy. The weekend was way warm. Tshirt weather outside, and mostly cloudy. All that has changed and today we are to have a bit of SNOW. It won't stick as the ground temp is too warm. Well maybe on a bridge or something like that but I don't think there will be any great photo ops.

I went to WM yesterday afternoon and one of my purchases was a yard of Peltex..a very very stiff interfacing to be used as a bag bottom. And no, it won't be that big. *G* Getting it the few steps to and across the porch was a trip as it really wanted to be a big sail. And I didn't want to smash it and make creases.

The hat continues. I've got my muscle memory of 1:1 twisted rib back so am able to watch tv while I knit. Or in my case, DVDs. I have some of those really cheapy ones that you sometimes see at checkout lanes and watched a couple of them. One was various mystery/detective tv shows. Can you imagine Dragnet without the DUM DE DUM DUM music? I'm not sure why they could put the show on there but not the signature music. It's not a intricate hat but I like the way the top looks in it's photo. We shall see. I'll have to get a ballon and make a hat stand.



I'm using Paton's Wool Merino Natural Mix I'm really liking the way this feels in my hands. The color could be more exciting :-), but it was on sale and this was the color choice.

The yarn I dyed is going to be drying for awhile I think. Not probably the smartest day to dye..moisture in the air is definitely going to effect the drying time. But I suddenly wanted lime green yarn and amazingly enough I got it.

Yarn: Knit Picks Bare Fingering
Dye: 4 packs of lemon-lime Kool Aid and a squirt or two of McCormick's Neon Green food coloring.
Dissolved in a coffee pot of water..poured on the yarn and microwaved for 3 - 3 minute cycles with rest periods in between. I didn't pour all of the dye on the yarn..much of it accidentally went down the drain. The yarn did take up all the color.
Just to be sure, I washed it and the water remained clear.


Maybe it will be socks. Maybe it will live forever in the skein. I just needed to dye.

Off to get ready for the day at work.

Hello March!

I've had a bit of a vacation this weekend without leaving the house. I read a comment in the Harlot's blog about this new place. I've seen her name before but I just didn't connect. What a shame, I've really missed some good stuff but have had a super time getting caught up last night and today. It was iron a shirt; read an entry; put stuff in the dryer; read an entry. I did manage to get most tasks done and then spent the rest of the time in my chair. Lene is an amazing woman and her blog is sooooooooooooooo wonderful.

I dyed some yarn, I've started a hat..more things to talk about but severe weather is coming in and I must shut down.

Oh yeah!

Well, guess what! I have phones AND a functional DVD player.

"Dave" arrived right on time and quickly and competently got to work and the end result is grand. I wish I lived in a more modern place where most of the phone jacks were actually wired into the house but mine are more of the jury rigged/Radio Shack sort. Part of the problem seemed to be an old alarm system and the rest of it I didn't really understand and probably never will. But who cares? It works.
He did say that he enjoyed the challenge.

And,while he was scurrying around here trying to track down the problem he mentioned that he had spent most of his time with the company doing the cable tv stuff. I just happened to mention my problem with the dvd and presto chango in a matter of minutes that was all functional. Probably done so that I would sit in the living room and watch Fargo for the umpteenth time and quit asking questions. We talked a bit about those rather complicated instructions in the book. He said "I'm a guy. I don't read them". Maybe my masculine side or whatever is the reason I can't understand. :-)

A really great guy, as have been all the folks that I've dealt with at Cox. And certainly an attractive one too. I was also entranced with his tool bag. A really nice gatemouth with a lot of pockets. I wish I could figure out how to make one and use one of those metal frames that will stay open and then close. Another thing to think about. I did a bit of Googling this morning on gatemouths and stumbed onto this knitting bag. Hmmm

I also dealt with some yarn ends on probably the fifth try on my Cupcake mitts. Not that the pattern was a problem. I kept changing my mind on what colors to use. But I liked this and though it would be a cute one when finished and embroidered. There's only one small problem..or maybe it's a large problem. My large hand won't go through the small cuff! So maybe tonight I try with worsted and larger needles. Oh yeah and I have to finish watching Fargo although I can practically recite it! I just love Frances McDormand's character.

Time to get ready for work. Hope you have some fun today!

No Bruises

but I spent much of this weekend figuratively, if not literally, banging my head on the wall.

My old DVD player bit the dust a while back and I recently got a new one. Do you think I can get it to work??? of course not. I do sometimes have trouble reading instructions. I read them, even out loud, but somehow the words don't translate into proper actions. Saturday night I was ready to throw it out the window. Sunday, being a bit more grown up, I sat down in a quiet house, read slowly and highlighted passages that were important. So at long last I think I've figured out what I need to do. If this means anything to you, progressive scan won't work with my tv so I need to change that in the set-up. K...fortified with a fresh pot of coffee I set out to do just that. But now I can't get to the menu. I push setup..nada. I know it's there, I've seen it before.

I think I hate progress in technology. I remember my first VCR. Quite simple. You hooked it up to the tv and pushed play. To record, you pushed record. To record in the future you chose the day and time. The last one I had seemed as if you needed a college education to do anything other than play. And this one won't even get that far. I am soooooooo not techy.

Of course you know that. That's why I have no links in my sidebar. I need a 12 year old to come over and help me.

Ohhhh, and when I got really tired of all that, I decided I'd call a friend and whine. Picked up the phone..no dial tone. Went to the bedroom phone, no dial tone. Off to the playroom..samd thing. I called Cox..they rebooted my phone. No dial tone. There is someone scheduled to come out this afternoon to see what's up. Oh this should be good. It's Monday, coming up on the end of the month and I am way behind. My boss is going to love it.

But hey, I woke up this morning. I can move around. None of the cats have thrown up a hairball. Life is GOOD!

I do hope your's is even better.

This and That

My goodness! It's almost 12:30; I've been up since 5 and have accomplished very little. Well that's not completely true. The dog has a haircut and I've vacuumed and I've eaten a big bowl of oatmeal, two peanut butter sandwiches and some potato chip crumbs.

Other than that I've been reading online. Somewhere in the early morning blog reading time I saw a reference to Persephone books. I wish our economy wasn't such that ordering from England was so costly. I especially wanted to read Mrs. Miniver. Silly me, I didn't even realize it was a book. But Google told me otherwise and I've now discovered a whole bunch of books I can read online! Not as satisfying as being curled up in the corner of the couch with a throw wrapped around my feet, but still. I've now read Mrs. Miniver and have started An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott that I found there also.

Last night I found a drop spindle group on Ravelry as well as one for penpals. I'm resisting to go back and read some more there. Have to ration out all that fun!

Someone sent me a link to the most amazing horse dancing thing. I'm not sure what it's really called but this is pretty amazing. And now I'm wondering if it will actually show up here. (edited to add. No it didn't imbed so here is the link.)

Say, does anyone know where I might find 7 inch zippers, where I can actually see the colors? I found one place online but the colors were just names. I want to make a wallet.

I've been having a bit of a ponder. I want a for-real spindle. Mine wobbles quite a bit. It's homemeade and I think it started out pretty well but it got dropped and bounced down a bunch of steps awhile back and it's not been quite right since. I've sorta kinda picked out this one. Scroll down to the cherry one. And then I'd need to order some fiber. I'll wait a bit on that because I want to get some from the Farm-Witch cause I really like and respect her and her yarns and fiber are lovely. But soon...even if I don't have a new spindle.

Also I would dearly love to do business here. (It's usually about $10-$11a skein) I truly love Rowan Calmer and would love, love, love to have a sweater's worth. A sort of plain almost tshirt looking sweater with short sleeves. Oh how I wish I was skinny! LOL I don't have a pattern so I don't even know how much I'm looking for. Add to this mix that I have $89.50 in can/survey money. Not enough for all of that so I need to really think this out. At any rate, it's more fun to think about stuff like this than a leaky roof with spring rains soon. :-)

I can think about it while I weave in some yarn ends


And do some mending. So how are you spending your Sunday?

Total Confusion

My brain just isn't coping. After a busy weekend and an extra day off on Monday I totally have lost touch with the calendar.

Yesterday, to me was Monday all day and into the evening until I turned on the television and saw NCIS was on. UH oh, I totally missed the Tai Chi class. Thankfully my $$ pay for a certain number of classes so I won't lose one. Will have no clue what I am doing on Thursday though as we learn something new each time.

But, that being said, this confusion could be a good thing. For if I am a day behind, then Friday will arrive before I expect it and that's wonderful.

Unfortunately, I woke up this morning and truly believed it was Thursday. Now Friday will take an extra day to get here. :-(

Might as well just go with it. The weather man said, and I quote "Freezing rain which is ice" No S*** Sherlock. I could have never made that connection. And so, with that forecast in mind, and confusion rampant, I'll leave you with a picture of a summer sky.

Amazing! Exhausting!

That's about all I can say about the weekend. I had such a wonderful time but I was so trashed by the time I got home. I guess I'm not used to such fun...or perhaps riding in the vehicle for a long time.

The trip down was uneventful and mostly dreary. Rain, rain and more rain. At least there were only a few slick places close to home. I was able to knit on my sock but mostly by feel. It was so dark outside. We did stop for lunch on the way and it was actually a treat to see a bright Dairy Queen. Good chicken strips too!

We got there maybe an hour before the reception was to start, but much of that was actually finding the place. I changed clothes in the vehicle. which The Girl thought hysterical. Especially when pulling off my jeans (after putting on my skirt/slip) I almost lost my underwear!

The reception was held in a community center where there is an active art program. Geez, I wish I could live there. Many pieces were on exhibit and they were just wonderful. One that fascinated me was a great big quilted heart block. The background was stipple quilted but what was amazing was that the heart was done log cabin style and the little strips were 1/4" wide! Lots and lots of them. I can't imagine being that exact. No matter how hard I tried I don't think I could pull it off.

The bride/groom were ever so happy but the most fun for me was seeing folks I haven't seen in probably 20 years. It's such fun when two families come together unexpectedly.

And then, finally we went to our rooms for a brief break. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Burleson. I've never ever stayed in such a fancy place. Downstairs there is an exercise room with weights, treadmills and steppers and such. And a swimming pool and a whirlpool My room was a single..big king sized bed, but since it didn't hold two beds, I also had a sitting room! (If in the picture menu at the web site you can see it..it's the top left pic) Lovely little loveseat (which I discovered could be made into a bed), great big tv with digital cable...all those channels! It also had a kitchen area with a microwave, a refrigerator, a coffee pot (with coffee) and in the cabinets there were even disposable plates, bowls and utensils! I had an iron and ironing board and a hair dryer and in the lobby on each floor there was a washer and dryer. Amazing! Each day there is a free breakfast downstairs..not just donuts and fruit. On Sunday it was omelets as well as cereals, pastries, muffins, breads, bagels and a toaster too! At the time, I asked that someone go get me a burger and I'd just stay in my marvelous room all evening :-). I hate to think what it cost. Goodness knows that if I'd been paying, it would have been a Motel 6. Isn't it fun that they even monogram the pillow cases???



Staying in wasn't an option so we changed clothes and rested a wee bit and then headed back out for more fun. Off to visit "the kids" who are all grown up. At Eric's a dream came true. I've heard loads about his dog Joe but had never met him.
Here he is meeting one of our group at the fence. Notice he is sitting down.



I had a chance to get up close and personal with him. He is such the sweetie! He has a smaller dog buddy Pippy, but she's definitely camera shy so no pics of her :-(



Eric is some sort of computer/business person but he's also an amazing woodworker and I was quite happy to go visit his shop adjacent to the house. I've never seen so many saws/routers/drills/joiners in one place. Fun! When we came back outside this greeted us.




I'm not sure why I got all tippy taking the pic. It was just huge and seemed to go on forever. I couldn't find a way to get the whole thing in my viewfinder.

Finally we all arrived in the same place and headed out for dinner. A party of 12. And had a great meal served family style. Yummy green beans. I would love to know how to make them.

I was surely glad to see my bed that night. I wanted to knit for awhile and enjoy the tv. I think I lasted maybe 30 min and went to sleep with my dpns in my hand apparently. Only woke up once when one of them poked my cheek.

Sunday morning came way too soon. Sunny and bright at least while we were in Texas. I opened my drapes and window to enjoy some fresh air and discovered a Sunday paper outside my door. Just like being at home. Almost. And about 5 pm Sunday evening that became a reality. A fun time, but always good to be home even if I do just have to 'know' which of my pillows is soft.

Home Again

But Blogger's picture thingy is down so you'll just have to wait for the pics of Joe and my wonderful, elegant motel room. Now...how misleading is that sentence? Heh..

Texas Bound (Maybe)

The plan for today is going to Texas for a wedding reception. It's still at 0710 kind of still up in the air. There's been some freezing rain with more expected but at the last news it's barely freezing and the ground temp is somewhat warm so maybe it's just bridges and overpasses. Thankfully I'm not driving!

The best part (besides getting to see folks I really love be happy) is getting to stay in a motel tonight! I LOVE staying in motels. Yah...I've heard all the horror stories about the bedclothes but I still love it.

Packing took longer than it should for just an overnight stay because I lost my list. Egads! And didn't even realize it until bedtime last night. So, everytime I did anything, I'd put it on the list. Brush teeth, check. Eye drops, check. Teddy bear, check. Jammies...well you get the idea. I woke up in the middle of the night and thought "Knitting". So I got up and put my sock bag on the table with the faux bowling ball bag travel case.

Now, if for some reason it gets cancelled, I won't be complaining at all. I busted my butt last night doing laundry, ironing, even stopped on the way home for a few groceries. So, I could be sitting here in sweats knitting, sewing and making spagetti.

Oh, and I printed out the "Rabbit" personality thing from a previous post and took it to work. My idea was that others could take it and we'd have a new and fun tool for enhancing work place cooperation. The general opinion was that mine was "soooo true"...but nobody else would take the test. I don't know if they just thought it was too stupid, or another of those weird Susan things. I was disappointed.

Of course the fact that most of them are either sick, or getting well, or getting sick might have something to do with it. There are some really rough GI and/or respiratory things going around. Thursday when I made one of the hospital runs, the ER was packed and there were people on gurneys in the halls with their IVs hooked up.

Crossing fingers and traveling with Zicam! Hope your weekend is way fun! Tell me what you're doing.

I'm Feeling So Rich

I don't know about y'all, but I definitely have a beer budget and sometimes champagne taste. But tonight I'm feeling quite well-to-do.

With Valentine's fast approaching I've been seeing lots of ads for floral establishments or websites. Now I know that practically fresh flowers just aren't. Perhaps a plant that will last awhile. Or something more ummm concrete. Fresh flowers just don't last long and then what do you have? But another part of me finds it quite grand. Someone (or yourself) saying that you deserve a thing of transient beauty. You're worth wasting money. Ha..in my mind it all makes sense. So, I satisfy those urges by purchasing fresh flowers at the grocery. They're really quite nice, and since the Moonies don't seem to be selling them on the street corners anymore..well, you get the idea.

So today I find this very tasteful and beautiful website showcasing their Valentine offerings. I picked out a very sweet arrangement of deep red roses in a little vase..not long stemmed, cut short so that the whole thing appears that it would look quite sweet. Hmmm $80 !!! Well of course I'm worth it but dang..it's out of state and so I just can't order them :-). Scrolling down I discover a fuschia Phalaenopisis orchid. 3 blooms, 5 buds and a tasteful black container. It's a bit more, $100.

But wait..look at this!





Two blooms, 3 buds, tasteful (?)gray plastic container and it's in my house. With the added bonus of a handpainted dowel rod to support it..oh and a lovely purple hair tie to anchor it to the dowel. Purchased by me, for me after Valentines last year when it was marked down. I think I paid $8-$10 at W*lmart. And I haven't killed it and it's rewarding me with Valentine blooms this year! I'm not just feeling soooo rich! I AM!

Still Here!

Whoooa, I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted. I guess when I talk to y'all in my head, it should be while I'm at the keyboard. Sorry.

Lots going on here. Well, perhaps not a lot if compared to truly exciting lives, but certainly in mine.

WHEELS: First of all, after a couple of months of really unreliable transportation which culminated in antifreeze all over the driveway...and then after a couple of weeks while my vehicle was hospitalized, I once again have wheels. It was a great day when Lily came back home and I could drive without a light coming on or a gauge getting wonky. There is NO public transportation here. Rides to work weren't a problem and I occasionally got to go to Walmart but other than that I was home. Fortunately I can entertain myself pretty easily.

Then, the weekend after I got Lily home, there was an advertisement in our local paper about Tai-Chi classes starting. I knew the person getting it organized, called and signed up. I have been hoping for this for a long time. And I LOVE it! I used to have a tape given to me by someone who had studied for years but the tape broke and I was never quite sure what I was doing. Our instructor is a hoot! And no, I'm not going to try for a Jackie Chan movie. This is designed for seniors, although he does occasionally show us how the movement we are working on translates into martial art. But hey maybe I can be in a laxative commercial someday. And, yay...it doesn't requite that I go out and buy special clothing or mats or blocks or knit a mat bag. Or sit on the floor! I can sit there, I just can't get back up.

Yesterday I zoomed around doing errands and worked in the yard a bit, gave Lily a bath, did laundry. All that Saturday stuff. Today was going to be about staying in my pjs all day with some blog reading. I stopped at Laura's early...then followed a link to her friend's so I could look at a picture and at the end of that post saw a reference to these Cupcake Mitts. Oh the crow in me rejoiced at the bright colors and mixedy up stitches! Reminds me a lot of Kristin Nicholas' work..not that I've ever actually seen her books but I surely like the pictures! And, there was still a pattern left. Must have! Which would have been rather simple if I could have remembered my 'name' on Etsy or my password on Paypal. (I've been really trying to be frugal). Finally I got it all together and the pattern arrived in my mailbox. Gotta love the innernets!

But wait..it calls for DK yarn. I have nary a skein. OMG, I must have it NOW! So, sacrificing jammies, I got dressed and headed for my new (almost)LYS..SWAK in the City. I'm so glad those Guthrie ladies decided to open a store closer to me!

And the yarn? Berroco Comfort DK. Yeah, acrylic but the softest yarn I've ever felt. Love it!


So now, once I make supper and clean up, it's back to jammies and my knitting needles. I'll have to explain to the sock I just started that it gets to nap tonight so I can at least get a few rows done.

And...in case you wanted to know more about me...

Your Score: Rabbit

You scored 21 Ego, 14 Anxiety, and 18 Agency!

IT was going to be one of Rabbit's busy days. As soon as he woke up he felt important, as if everything depended upon him. It was just the day for Organizing Something, or for Writing a Notice Signed Rabbit, or for Seeing What Everybody Else Thought About It. It was a perfect morning for hurrying round to Pooh, and saying, "Very well, then, I'll tell Piglet," and then going to Piglet, and saying, "Pooh thinks--but perhaps I'd better see Owl first." It was a Captainish sort of day, when everybody said, "Yes, Rabbit " and "No, Rabbit," and waited until he had told them.

You scored as Rabbit!

ABOUT RABBIT: Rabbit is generally considered Clever by his many friends and relations. He is actually a much better reader and writer than Owl, but he doesn't consider it worth mentioning. Instead, Rabbit's real talent lies in Organizing Plans. He organizes rescue parties, makes schemes to reduce Tigger's bounciness, and goes on missions to find out what Christopher Robin does when he's not at the Hundred Acre Woods. Sometimes, however, his Plans do not always go as Planned.

WHAT THIS SAYS ABOUT YOU: You are smart, practical and you plan ahead. People sometimes think that you don't stress or worry, but this is not the case. You are the kind of person who worries in a practical way. You think a) What are my anxieties about and b)what can be done about them? No useless fretting for you. You don't see the point in sitting around and waiting for things to work out, when you could actually work them out today and save yourself a lot of time and worry. Your friends tend to rely on you, because they know that they can trust you help them work things out.

You sometimes tend to be impatient with people who are less practical in their ways. You don't have much patience for idiots who moan about things but never actually DO anything about them. You have high expectations of everyone, including yourself. When you don't succeed at something, or when something goes wrong despite your best efforts to prevent it, you can get quite hard on yourself. You need to cut yourself some slack and accept that everyone has their faults, even you, and THAT IS OKAY. Let yourself be faulty, every now and then, for the sake of your own sanity.

Link: The Deep and Meaningful Winnie-The-Pooh Character Test written by wolfcaroling on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(wolfcaroling)

Thumb Up!

Not thumbs up as there is only one. This went a bit better although I still ended up with a couple of gaps. The whole mitt seemed to take forever. I looked through a plethora of patterns and instructions. The majority of it came from EZ. Only problem was that she reminded me of my mom. You know how moms do. You ask a question about how to prepare some dish and they'll say soemthing like "Add ____ until it looks right" As if you knew what this uncooked something was supposed to look like. So I'm knitting along and she said something to the effect of "When it's time for the thumb, do blah blah blah." I don't know when it's time for this thumb. I'd stuff my hand in the mitt and think ok..it will go here. and then when I actually did the knitting with the contrast yarn, I'd realize it was too high or too low. So...ripppit! This yarn held up nicely through all my do-overs and I had a lot of fun with it.

One thing I really liked was that after the ribbing was done, EZ said to make it smaller by doing some K2Togs, I can't remember exactly how it was written and besides I guess I'm not supposed to say. But you did that for several rows and it really snuggled down the wrist and then you went back up to the regular count. It really seems to make it feel more comfy and secure.

I think it's mate will be a gusset thumb again and hopefully eventually I'll be able to do either and well. It's the year of the thumb?

But tonight, I think I shall crochet a bit. It's been a long time, hope I remember how.

What are you doing these days???

They've got me pegged

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Duh!

I forgot to even show off my award.

Apology,Warning and 10

First the apology. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life because of blogs. And this holiday season, and even after, I received the nicest packages from Ann, Laura, and Cookie. Because I blog, I took pictures of them so I could show off a bit. I truly thought I had done it..showed off, that is. I was horrified to realize I hadn't so was going to do a make-up post. That's when I discovered that not only had I not posted, but I'd not uploaded the pics and yesterday I most diligently emptied the camera card. I am soooo sorry. Thank goodness I also thanked them personally. I received yarn and Hello Kitty goodies, and rubber ducky goodies and Christmas goodies. You'll have to wait for next year to see the Christmas things but I will try to get pics up of the yarns and fabric soon. Damn brain!

A warning. Unless you are incredibly rich, or your husband/partner is or you're well connected with influential people, DO NOT BECOME SERIOUSLY ILL. A coworker who is younger than me is facing this now and it's incredible. I knew that the medical system is flawed, but I didn't realize how badly. The one drug that they've successfully used to treat her illness costs $5000 a month! Her insurance would pay 80% of it, that leaves only $500 to come up with when you are too sick to work. The solution is that she can obtain it for free from the drug company. Hooray, right? But only if she totally quits her job and is ruled indigent. Thank God or someone that she and her mom fairly recently went in together and bought a little house. I just hope (besides hoping against hope that the drug works) is that her mom can afford to keep up payments, utilities and food. If it were me, I'd be s**t out of luck. Quit my job and I'd be in the street. Well, not really. I have a couple of friends that I think would take me in. But I wouldn't be able to take my cats and dog and as far as I'm concerned I just don't think I could cope with being sooo dependent on a friend. So...either get rich in a hurry or stay really healthy. Just because you have insurance, you are still not safe.

Now on a brighter note, Devorah and Cat both honored me with this award.

Oh heck, I forgot to copy the rules. Not to matter cause I'd probably break them anyway. I do know that I am to share 10 blogs with you that Make MY Day. I'm also supposed to tell them I did this but, nah..probably won't as some probably don't even know I exist.

Every day I stop by Dave's and Devorah's and Sara's and Cat's and Ann's (hoping that she'll post) and Paul..hoping that he posts too. What ARE the two of you up to anyway? And Katya's and Cookie's and the Harlot's These are my friends. I truly believe that. Even the Harlot..I've learned a lot from her and in reading her books I sometimes think she's read my mind a couple of times.

But I thought I'd share some other blogs I read and really enjoy.

Alicia at Posie Gets Cozy...Alicia is the greatest! I love her pictures, her home, her pets, her husband. Don't worry Andy! If you've read the Hallmark magazine that's on the stands now, you will have read an article about her/by her. She, to me, is an incredible inspiration on how to turn something perfectly horrid into something much better. I can't wait until her book comes out! And besides, her puppy Clover is too cute for words!

Julie at Little Cotton Rabbits..I'm lucky enough to have won one of Julie's rabbits. Took me a really long time to click fast enough, and quite awhile to save up the change. What an incredible knitter, and even better, what an incredible mother who faces the challenges of raising a lovely family while dealing with autism. I'm so thankful that she has allowed me to be a part of her community. Go now to see Edgar the Elephant! Adorable!!

Kirsten at Through the Loops. One of the first that responded to a comment I made, a very good designer and the lucky mom of some beautifully photographic children. One of these days I'm going to get really brave and make that blue sweater.

And then there's Vicki at Sereknitty. She takes some of the most gorgeous photos and knits beautifully. And I'll always be forever grateful that she put my blog in her sidebar. OMG was I ever excited the day I discovered it.

And from the sidebar at Sereknitty I found Ree at The Pioneer Woman. OMG what a woman!! Sometimes I read and laugh until tears run down my face. This is a real woman married to a rancher and the mother of a bunch of punks. But wait...there's a whole cast of characters! And a lot of horses and cattle and kids and AMAZING photography and she's from my part of the country. And that's not all...she cooks! Big time. Not that winky-dink-drizzle-a-stream-of-sauce-and a tiny piece of something on the plate kind of meals...real food. And, you don't have to have a gourmet market to get the ingredients. I love Ree and I bet you will too!

From my area to far north, meet the Lynne, at Socklady Spins She knits the happiest socks I've ever seen..and monkeys too! And if you want to know about the weather in Newfoundland or see some great snow pics, this is the place to go. Oh good, the weather forecast has been upgraded..it's only supposed to be mid-20s below zero this week instead of in the -30s.

Then, there's the Farm Witch who spins the most incredible yarn; raises kids and animal with equal success and tells stories like no other. And has a heart as big as forever.

And Loribird at From the Wool Room I first 'met' her when she was still in Alaska. She's one busy lady and now is back in college. I can't see how she does it all!

And don't forget What Housework? Besides writing, and dyeing and knitting and tending to her family, there are chickens and Milo..just don't let Milo near your hand.

Is that 10?? If not, make up the rest on your own. The dryer beeped and I need to go work on a mitten thumb...yes the quest continues!

Ahhhh Wednesday!

The last two evenings have been quite busy (and for the most part, unexpected)and knitting time was almost non-existant. I did manage to get the cuff on mitten #2 done while listening to The Girl chatter about boys. But tonight, ahhh tonight..there is absolutely nothing on the schedule. So, I'm hoping once supper is over it can be me and the cats on the couch with yarn. :::crossing fingers::::

What's up in your world?
xo

At Least It's Colorful

And if you don't notice the weird thumb, it doesn't look like the knitting is too bad. That's because you can't see the area between the top of the thumb and the mitt. OMG I ripped that out a bazillion times and still it looked like swiss cheese. It's a bit weird because I've made fingerless mitts that have a partial thumb and I don't remember having that much trouble. I need more practice, I guess. Oh, and yeah, if you're going to make the thumb a different color, you need to start it on the gusset. But I did get really good at M1s.

Yarn: Plymouth Encore from stash
Needles: Crystal Palace Size 6 dpns
Time: ??? off and on yesterday but the cuff was done.



Another source of color in my space is much better behaved. Well, unless you remember that Christmas cactuses are supposed to bloom in December. When it was little, I used to put it in the dark for awhile and bring it out so that it would bloom then. Now, I figure who cares. I would hate being shut up in a dark closet. So it just blooms whenever it wants, and actually blooms more than when I did it 'right.



So there ya go. Happy Monday xo

Much Better!

Yay, I can get my hand in there! That's all that got done because knitting was preceded by a plant showering/watering and the clean up involved when the sprayer handler decides to, for some reason, point it at the kitchen as opposed to pointing it at the plant.



And that's all from me for now because I went back to sleep after the alarm, and after shutting old Mary out so she couldn't drool on my ear until I woke up. And then got entangled in Jonathan Bosworth's site while eating my oatmeal. So...laters xo

Oops

I'd planned on showing you one FO and one in progress shot this morning. But best laid plans of mice (and yes this is a pun)and Susan.

First up the mitten. I really want to make some stranded mittens. Like Bird in Hand that just amaze me with their beauty.

There's a couple small glitches:
a. I've never done stranded and this doesn't seem like the place to start.
b. More importantly, I've only made one baby mitten and it was definitely a beginner effort and not one to keep to wear or give away.

So, I downloaded a basic mitten pattern. Got some yarn out of the stash and cast on the amount of stitches called for using #4 dpns as called for. I knitted the cuff. I thought I'd try it on. Uhhh I can't even get my fingers through it. I counted..count is right. I took it off the needles and onto stich holders so the stitches could thread out. OK fingers will go through but not my thumb. I think I need to use larger needles. Maybe I knit too tight. Frogged and into the basket.

Then the mouse. I've been making some little catnip mouseies. I started out with a pattern. A cute one. But then switched to just some ribbing and stockinette. They don't last long around here because Zoey the wonder dog LOVES catnip. And she has big teeth. So, if you turn your back...it's ripped to shreds and she's eating the spilled catnip. Someone I love just got a new cat and I thought this would be a good little gift. I've been experimenting with different sized needles and have finally settled on 4s as they give a good close knit fabric. So...to last night. Zipped through the mouse, ready for the bobbles that become ears. Yeah, these are fun now. Bobbled ready to make them pointy and shazamm it was if I'd had a small explosion in my hands, knitting and needles went 6 different directions and bobble went kaplooey.

I went to bed. There's always tonight.
xo

Oh Christmas Tree

No, you aren't confused. It really is January 8, and yes the tree is still up. Almost all of the other decorations have been put away and replaced by whatever is supposed to live in those places. But I just can't take down the tree. I don't know if it's because I enjoyed it so much more this year since I was home more, or what. I really started to take it down, and was hit by such great sadness as if a dear friend was going away, never to be seen again.

Sheesh! However, I also decided what the hell. I'm old enough now to not care too much about what I'm supposed to do. So it's still up and still twinkling. And, if passers by laugh when they see the lights through the windows, they'll just attribute it to my general weirdness. After all, I also sit on the sidewalk and take pictures of my feet (to show off new socks) :-)

Weird Weather!

Saturday was in the 70s..yesterday it was 75. In January! Still going to be warmish today but the cooler weather returns on Tuesday, or so say the weathermen.

Saturday seemed to be a very sleepy day. I slept well Friday night but still woke up sleepy. I was doing dishes and realized that I was thinking about how good it would feel to be lying down :-). So the day was interspersed with little naps. Or long naps. And not a whole lot was accomplished.

So Sunday, which according to Cat was Jammie Day became the day to get things done. Laundry and ironing is done. The car is washed. Gave the dog a haircut; not as short as it usually is but at least her feet don't look as big as a saucer. House vacuumed. New windshield wipers were purchased and installed. The patio was swept.

I did manage to mark one thing off the "not weekly" list. The junk drawer in the kitchen is all nice and tidy! Yay me. It was driving me crazy and I'm so glad I don't have to think about it any more.

BEFORE



AFTER



Oh, and a trip to Walmart to purchase plastic drawer things. They had a special and I got two. Well, actually purchased one...stuffed it full and went back for another one "just in case I get more yarn". Most all of the yarn in these drawers is worsted. There is 1 skein of Cascade 220; a couple partial skeins of the same; 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon (where did that come from??) and a lot of Lion Brand wool and Woolease; and a number of skeins of Paton's wool. Ha...I'd buy it on sale because in the old storage system I had no idea of what I had. And some Plymouth Encore. Lots of playtime ahead for sure!

But best of all, some serious porch swing sitting. The winds were too strong for knitting so I read a library book and daydreamed and watched kids out on their new Christmas skate boards and bikes. Nice!

Now it's Monday once again. And I have a job and I love my coworkers so I'm going to be happy about it.

Laters. xo

Friday Night in the Big Town

Yes, at long last it's once again Friday night. Such a time of anticipation and ... uhh laundry but never mind that.

And so how would such a unique individual as me spend such a night? Creatively? Obsessively? Perhaps a bit of both. Much time has been spent this evening doing this



Pattern sorting. There are sooooo many downloaded patterns around here. I hesitate to even think about going through them all. But there were a big stack here on my desk. Three stacks were made:
1. I think I really like this and maybe someday I'll try to make it.
2. I've already made this..loved it and want to make again.
3. I really really really love this and want to make it. Now what do I have to gather in order to do it.

I'm thinking that there are going to have to be a number of 16 inch circs purchased fairly soon. Too bad I can't seem to gather a bunch of patterns that use the same size. Maybe those new bamboo Knitpick ones. I have discovered that my hands truly like bamboo better and they don't get cranky so quickly. I guess it's that they're warm.

And some research needs to be done too. Some of the patterns call for yarn I've never heard of so I'll have to try and figure out what might work since often the pictured yarns are too expensive for my pocket.

Lists have been made, now it's time to put it all up so I can go to bed and dream about knitting hats and bears and mittens. Or maybe I'll just dream of Jon Bon Jovi again.

A slight distraction

Ya gotta wonder about dreams. I woke up the other morning and knew that I'd had a dream that would make folks laugh if I told them about it. But I couldn't remember a bit of it. Hours later, sitting there at work in front of my keyboard I remembered. And burst out laughing. It seems I dreamed that friends of mine were telling me that this guy really ummm..well, really wanted to get to know me very, very well. Wanna know who it was?



I don't have any idea why I would dream about Jon Bon Jovi. Certainly nice scenery though.

I am Somebody

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Countess-Palatine Susan the Strange of Lesser Wobbleton Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

so there!

An Omen??

I wrote a rather long post yesterday with pics and everything but alas it has disappeared.

Is this an omen of how 2008 will treat me? Or is this a good thing since somewhere in there were a list of goals...and I seem to have forgotten what they were. At least now I know why nobody commented :-)

I do remember part of it though. I want to wish you and yours the very best in 2008. And may all the bad things forget where you live.