WARNING: Post holiday, picture heavy post PART 2

Hey, alright! Blogger let me add more pics. So, this is part 2, and if you haven't seen part 1, it's below.

Here is Annie with her new Bratz doll and pony set.

And here is Annie with her new Soda Pop girl. It's the Vanilla one, incase you're wondering. She got the Cherry one on Christmas.

Here is the Christmas tree, after *Santa* visited.

Here is Annie, opening her Gameboy Advanced.

Here is Katie, after opening her Nintendo DS Lite box. And I say box. Let me explain. See, in our family, we have a long history of trick gift wrapping. It all started when my mom's brother opened all his gifts one year and re-wrapped them. My mom hid them and told him that she returned them all. Then, when he was dating his first wife, he wrapped a ring box, and then proceeded to nestle and wrap it until it was almost as big as Christmas tree. That was when I was about 9. Then, when I was 12, I over heard that my Grandma got me a 13" color tv for christmas. When we got her house Christmas Eve, I was so excited. I rushed in and started searching for it. But to no avail. Then they started handing me small packages to open, and they were filled with rocks, canning jars and old church hymnals. And after telling me that I had been bad that year (which was a crock, because I was a good kid on honor roll) and making me cry. The moved Grandma 3' tree and the tree skirt to reveal the wrapped tv. So, when I say she opened the box, this is what she found in it:

It's a trashy novel.

I can't remember what Annie had just opened, but she sure was excited about it.

Here is where Katie opened the socks that Annie got for her.

One last pic, I promise.

And here is where Mr. Vincent decided to join the fun. Every time I get a new cat, I always worry that as soon as I put up the tree, the new cat will destroy it. I have been very lucky on the account, as none of my cats have ever touched the tree (but they have always sat under it) until this year. Now, mind you, this isn't his first Christmas, but as I sat infront of the tree, handing out gifts, he walked up and did one of those causal cat yawn things. You know, where he yawned as he leaned toward the tree, so there just happened to be a few fake needles in his mouth. And that being the case, he just had to chew on them. Until I yelled at him, and then he went to sit under the tree.

Ok, I've bored you long enough. Later.

WARNING: Post holiday, picture heavy post

Say that 3 times fast, why don't cha?

Ok, so just to prove that I still knit, and to show what took up so much of my time, here are the pics of *most* of what I made for Christmas gifts. First up is the socks:

From left to right: Nana's, Jeannine's, Cousin J's, Cousin S's and Neice J's.

Next is Mom's IHS and hat:

This is a progress pic, I still need to take a pic of it finished, and of course, that's my IHS laying (folded double) on top for scale. Mom loved it! She was so proud that I made it for her, and preened for the rest of Christmas day. And notice that I made a matched set in Ohio State colors? GO BUCKS!

And, moving on:

Here are 2 of the 3 pairs of fingerless gloves I made. The tan were for dad and the navy for Neice S. I did finish the camo ones for dad, after I burned the crap out or my hands baking cookies, so I still need to get pics of those.

And, now for a few of my favorite shots of the girls opening gifts:

Here is Katie opening the first gift at Nana's on Christmas eve. It was a waterproof watch.

Here is Annie opening her first gift at Nana's.

Here's Grandma Nana.

And blogger has decided that I have reached my limit for this post.

It almost didn't happen

It started out to be such a good day. All I had to do was finish the second fingerless glove for dad, bake the cookies, bake the Hawiian sweet potatoe cassarole, make the spinach dip, and wrap all the hand made gifts. Not a problem. Famous last words!

I got up, worked a few rounds on dad's glove, then made my way to the kitchen. I started the first batch of chocolate chip cookies, and as I was swapping off the pans in the oven, I burned myself! Not horribly, but enough to stop me from knitting, or doing anything else. I got myself at the base of my pinky, on the side of my right hand, and a very wide stripe across my left thumb. You know, right where the knitting needle sits as you knit. And not just a mild burn that you can force out of your mind and work past. No, it began to blister right away and hurt beyond all reason. Well, from there, Amy finished putting the cookies in the oven, and I one-handedly mixed the 2nd batch of chocolate chip and peanut butter blossoms. After the cookied were done, she wrapped the gifts for me. I then retreated to the Dungeon with a baggie of ice to see if I could knit. I found that if I wrapped a band aid around it tight, then I was able to knit past the pain. But as soon as I stopped knitting, the pain came back with a vengance. I got ready and we headed off to Grandma Nana's. We had a great evening. And when we came home, I was able to finish the 2nd glove. So, here shortly, I'm going to head to bed, after Santa makes his visit. Then when I get up in the morning, I'll weave in the ends, wrap and be done! I'll have pics in a day or two. In the mean time:

Merry Christmas to all & to all a good night!

Almost to the finish line

I have another FO! I am that much closer to being finished with my holiday knitting! I finished the IHS hat late last night, for the second night in a row. Tuesday I was knitting until 1 am, and last night I did finish around 11:30, but I picked up the scarf and worked on it some more. I think I crawled into bed around 12:45. So, that leaves me with:

• half of the IHS to finish
• 1 pair of fingless gloves

Then I'm done, done, done! I'll have pics, as soon as I remember to charge the camera. Then all I'll have left to do is bake cookies, and wrap the knitted gifts. And this years cookie selection will be (not that it's changed from last year):

• Chocolate chip cookies
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• My version of Russian Tea Cakes

I usually like to make different kinds, but mom asked for them again this year. Especially the Russian Tea Cakes. Now, when I say *my version* of this recipe, it's because I stumbled across it. The only thing different is that I use granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar, and walnuts instead of pecans. The original recipe is the *secret kiss* recipe from my Hershey's cookie book, just no Hershey Kisses incased in the middle. Mom goes nuts for them and has to have a batch all to herself. That's why I made her a batch for her birthday, which is today.

Well, I'm gonna see if I can sneek in some knitting here at work, since it was *supposed* to be slow and it been everything but, and maybe I'll have pics tomorrow.

Getting closer

I have finished another Christmas Knit! Yippee! I finished off cousin J's socks last night. So, my Christmas knitting list now looks like this:

• 1 pair of fingerless gloves in Lorna's Laces Camo colorway
• 1 IHS in red
• 1 hat to match the IHS

I never would have finished those socks if I hadn't sat in my corner of the office, with my back to the room, and casted on, worked the cuff and leg. It helped that my boss stayed in his office most of the day, and it was a small project. I can usually get away with small ones, as all I have to do is drop it in my lap and scoot closer to counter to hide it. And ya know, I have no idea why he has a problem with us knitting in the slow times. I mean, he lets us read about knitting, talk about knitting, blog about knitting, and even work small cross stitch projects, but if we knit, he gets angry. When I asked him one time, he said it was because he was a jerk (but not in so nice of words). But, maybe he'll be in the Christmas spirit today, and I might be able to work on the IHS hat. Ya never know, it could happen. Plus, today is the office Christmas lunch. If not, I'll still try to work on it under the desk.

On Sunday I knitted for as long as I could. At around 10 pm, my hands just gave out. They flat out refused to knit anymore, so I gave up and went to bed. Monday, I was distracted by many other things. Like trips to the gas station for cherry coke and caramel popcorn, phone calls from best friend that is a truck driver (Hi Miss Tami) and then American Choppers. But, I am getting closer to finishing my knitting. And I'm with Lexa, I think I'll start way early next year, like in June.

Oh, and I have have joined the A Cardigan for Arwen KAL . Now I just need to pick out my yarn and color. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I was thinking of going with the good ol' back up, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in either Chambray, Rain or Hush. I am leaning more toward Chambray, and maybe the Hush, as I don't really have a sweater that's light in color.

Back to normal... well as normal as I get

This weekend wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But let me start from the beginning.

Saturday, I couldn't sleep in for the life of me. I woke up around 5:30 am, and hovered inbetween sleep and awake until about 7. I watched cartoons with the girls till about 9, then we started getting ready. I wanted to leave at 10 so I could be at mom's by 10:30 and we were leaving at 11. But, as my life goes, mom called and told me to stop at the post office to fill out a form to get her stamps that the machine wouldn't hand over the night before. It took her money, kept the stamps, and the cash return button was broke. I figured it would be a quick in and out. Yeah, right, when have I ever been that lucky? There was a mile long line. I finally get up to the counter, fill out the little slip and asked for the holiday stamps that mom wanted. The guy behind the counter looks at me and said, "I'm out of holiday stamps. I can give you your $7.80 and you can go back out and fight with the maichine?" I told him no, she would have to settle for what ever I brought her. I called her and told her to be ready when I got there, that since I had to drive, I wasn't getting out of the car. When I got there, she came out, got in the car, and when I looked, we were 8 minutes ahead of schedule.

We were doing really well, and as we got to Chillicothe, mom decided that we needed a potty break. So, we got off the highway and I pulled into the Speedway at the bottom of the ramp. Mom and Annie went in to potty, and as I sat there, I decided that I needed a hot chocolate or something. So, Katie and I get out of the car, go inside, flagged down mom when she came out of the potty. We all picked our snacks and drinks, and as I'm capping off my cup, I realize that I don't have my car keys. I look at Katie and asked where my keys are. She looks back at me with a blank look in her face and says, "I thought you had them." I look around, look back at her and say, "Does mom have my spare?" She nods and says, "Yeah...... I think." Well, mom was already paying for her snacks, so we got in line. As mom turns to walk back toward us, I asked her if she had it with her. When she said yes, and I replied, "Good, go unlock the car." She gets this horrified look on her face and says, "Oh My Goodness! You didn't?" All I could do was laugh and nod, and she rushed out to open the car. I couldn't stop laughing, and the lady in line in front of me was looking at me like I was nuttier than a bag of walnuts. I was still laughing when we got to the counter to check out and the guy behind the counter asked me if I wanted a bag. I said, "No, we're going straight to the car with it, providing mom got it open." He just shook his head and laughed at me. When we got out there, she was sitting in the car, and when I got in, she gave me the mother lecture. You know, the one where they go on about how someone could've broke the car window and stole the car (in the 5 minutes that I was actually in the store). I just looked at her as I started the car and said, "Mom, you know going anywhere with me is an adventure."

The rest of the drive to Waverly was uneventful, but we realized that we were way early. So, we found a little store for mom to look for flowers for my sister's grave, and generally goofed off for out a half an hour.

We finally got to the church they were using, as the family church is way too small, and the funeral home isn't much larger. We get inside, and everyone was sitting or milling about chatting. I was glad that no one was wailing or boo-hooing uncontrolably. My Auntie Elaine stood up on the other side of the room and flagged us over. Now, there was a little anxiety about taking my mom with me, as this is my bio-dad's side of the family, and mom hadn't been around them in 30 years. Not that I was worried about anything my mom would do, but I was more worried about what my bio-dad, Jeff, would do. See, he's the black sheep if the family, the bad egg, as it were. But, I didn't see him anywhere, and thought I might get lucky and he wouldn't show up. I hugged all my aunts, Auntie Anita, Auntie Meshell and Auntie Yavonna. As I hugged Auntie Y, my eyes misted a little, and she grabbed and said, "Don't cry, 'cause if one of us cries, we are all doomed." And as I looked around, I realized that I have never seem such a large funeral party, if that's what it can be called. I went and hugged my grandparents, and it was my grandfather's mother that we were there for. Everything went nice. There was the occasional crying outburst as the preachers were delivering the "sermon", as it were. And let it be said that there was never a bad thing anyone could say about that woman. She was always smiling, her door was always open, and she always made sure you ate something from fear that you would get too skinny. The only thing that casted a cloud was when I noticed my father arrived, at the very last second, and I mean just as we were bowing our heads for prayer. And when it was time for the funeral procession to go to the graveyard, it caused some major traffic back ups. It was the longest procession I have ever seem. It was over a mile long, and I was only a quarter mile back from the hurst. When the graveside service was done, most of went back to the family church for a potluck. And in true family tradition, it was louder that all get out, with plenty of good food and good humor. We had a good time.

From there, we went back to Auntie Y's to relax a bit and talk. And we got home around 10 pm.

There was one funny part about my bio-dad (well, at least I found it funny). I'll tell ya about it tomorrow.

And thanks for the kind comments. They really help.

Just because I need Christmas cheer

So, I'm trying to put myself back in the Christmas mood, and I am barrowing the Christmas meme going around.


1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Which ever one has the alcohol in it.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Everything is wrapped, and I make sure I do it, unlike when I was a teenager and my mom was too busy to wrap my gifts. She would put everything in boxes and have me wrap them. I offered to do the samething this year, but she told me no.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Tree - white, house - colored

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, 'casue I don't have anyone to kiss.

5. When do you put your decorations up? I have been know to put the tree up during the Ohio State vs. Michigan game, but I usually wait till Thanksgiving weekend.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? My new found favorite - Hawiian Sweet Potatoe Cassarole

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Going to my great-grandparents house and then to my grandma's to open present.

8 . When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was around 8 or 9, and I just guessed.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Always at Grandma Nana's, and occassionaly 1 at home.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? First the lights, always. Then the glass ornaments and then the ribbons, the angel last.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it.

12. Can you ice skate? Somewhat.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My sugar plum teddy bear (remember those?), which was ruined in the basement of my 2nd apartment when it molded.

14. What’s your favorite thing about the holidays? The look of excitement on the girls' faces as they open all the gifts they wanted.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Christmas cookies

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? dinner at Grandma's house on Christmas eve.

17. What tops your tree? An angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving - it feels really good.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? White Christmas - the Bing Crosby version

20. Candy canes yuck or yum? yum, especially the cherry flavored ones.

21. What’s number one on your Christmas list this year? For everyone to have a good time.

Due to yesterday's bad news, I didn't get to work on the fingerless gloves for neice S, but I did work it at lunch, I have made it past the little finger on the first glove. And I should have plenty of time to work on them tonight and tomorrow on the way out of town, as mom is going with me, and I should be able to get her to drive. That's a good solid hour and half. So, my goals for this weekend's knitting are to get the gloves finished, and the Simply Lovely Lace socks in light blue done for cousin J. After that, all I am left with is the fingerless gloves in Lorna's Laces, colorway camo, for dad, and the IHS and hat for mom. I'm hopeing that since next week is the slow week in the office (the week before Christmas) that my boss breaks down and lets me knit in the office again this year.

And now for a little randomness. I found this link on KnittingNurse, it's so cute. I can't remeber which blog I found this link one. This guy lives about a 20 minute drive from my house. And I guess he now has almost the whole block sync'd. I may have to make a drive out there this year. And I found this one on Rabbitch's blog. I almost laughed myself sick.

And thank you, Lexa, for the comment you left on yesterday's post.

Christmas time is supposed to be for happy times

It seems that on the years that I have very little Christmas spirit, the Fates see fit to suck away what's left. At about 7 o'clock this evening, I got a call from my Auntie E, and it was not a call just to say hi. It was a call bearing bad news. She told me that my last living great grand parent, my g-grandma Peachie past away at about 2:30 am. All I could do was cry and listen to her as she gave the the details for the funeral arrangements. Now, I do realize that I am lucky to have had a great grandparent last well into my adult life, but it still hurts, because I loved her dearly. And I do realize that she is in a better place now, as her condition was getting worse as time wore on. Also, she had a good, long life. She had 13 children, and out lived her husband by just over 32 years, Grandpa Hayden died when I was 4 months old.

But this isn't the first time I have lost a grandparent at Christmas. In 1997, my grandpa Earl finally succumbed to his Lukemia, and passed about a week before Christmas. Katie was just about 2.

Then in 2000, when I was 9 months pregnant with Annie, and very ill from deep fried turkey, my mom called me on Christmas Eve morning to let me know that my great grandmother Erna, who immigrated from Germany in the 50's to marry my great grandfather, had passed at 2:30 am, from a massive heart attack. All I can remember doing was telling her no, that grandma didn't die. My great grandfather was the one who found her, and after that, he gave up on life. The love of his life died, so he figured it was time to go as well. I remember him saying a few years before that he would rather die first, knowing she could handle the pain of loosing him better that he could handle the pain of loosing her. One month later, we had to attend his funeral. He literally layed down to die. It was a little bitter sweet, that in between, Annie was born. She was the reminder we needed that life does go on and needs to be enjoyed.

So, this evening I rifled through the closet to see what I have to wear that will fit me, as most of my clothes are my skinny clothes. I found my dark brown slacks, but nothing to go with them. So, off to the store I went with Miss Amy. And I embarassed to admit it, but I bought a sweater. But like Amy said, it's not as if I could have made it myself by Saturday morning on such short notice. I found a nice, long, cabled sweater with a hood in a heathered brown, and a tan tank top made of bamboo. I hope it's appropriate.

You know, having gotten that all out, I feel a little better.

In memory of Grandma Peachie 1913-2006

Another one down

I'm blogging from the work computer, as I didn't bring my laptop with me. I'm leaving at noon today because Annie has a school holiday play at 1:30, and she has the first speaking line of the play. I'm taking Miss Amy's camera with me to video tape it, and if I can manage to upload it to you tube or photobucket, I'll share it with you.

Last night I finished the fawn colored fingerless gloves for dad. But it was a struggle. At 10 o'clock my eyes wanted to shut so bad, but I only had 3 fingers left to go. I forced my self to sit forward and buckle down as I watch Popeye on HBO Family. And in the little odd moments, I have been plugging away on tha pair of Simply Lovely Lace socks for cousin S, and have one done. So, that leaves me with:

• 2 pairs of fingerless gloves
• 2 1/2 pairs of socks
• 1 Irish Hiking Scarf in red
• 1 matching hat

Let's see if I can do it. Today I'll cast on for another pair of fingerless gloves, and hopefully I'll have them done Friday night. And let me just say, my wrists and knuckles are starting to really hurt. Once I get my holiday knitting done, I'm taking a break.

A wee bit closer....

Over the weekend I finished 2 pairs of ankle socks for Christmas gifts. I don't have pics of them yet, but will soon. And it'll be safe to post them, as they are for my grandmothers, and neither of them have access to the internet. And that being the case, here is what I got done.

For Grandma Nana (mom's mom) - a pair of lacy ankle socks in Knit Picks Memories color Yukon. I used 1 50 gm ball and just made it, as grandma has a big foot. I started these on Saturday night, got the heel on the first sock and finished them on Sunday.

For Grandma Jeannine (dad's mom) or Grandma Ja-Jean as the girls call her (Katie couldn't say her name right when she was little) - a pair of lacy ankle socks (same pattern as the others) in Knit Picks Memories color Red Hat. I used 1 50 gm ball and had more left over than the other pair, as Jeannine has smaller feet than I do, and I have little feet. I started these on Friday eveing at mom's while the girls helped mom put up the tree, got to the heel and finished them on Saturday.

So, that leaves me with 3 pairs of sock, 2 1/2 pairs of fingerless gloves, a hat and 3/4 of a scarf left to make by Christmas Eve. So, I am off to lunch to cast on for a pair of Simply Lovely lace socks for my cousin Savannah. I'll be able to post picks of these, too, as she doesn't even know I have a blog.

Till later.

I'm still alive, I think?

I have returned from Death's door and blogger exile!

First, Death's door. Ok, so maybe it wasn't that bad. But, as my ex always used to say, I did lay down and die. When ever I get sick, my body decides that I must shut down to get better. So, every moment I was not at work (and few at work), or driving to and from work, I was sleeping. And even though sleeping is really good for me, it put me way behind in my holiday knitting. I still have 5 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of fingerless gloves, a hat and a scarf to finish by Christmas Eve. I'm insane, arent' I? But, on a positive note, my boss was generous this year and handed out a bonus. And for the first time in my adult life, I am finished shopping and wrapping gifts for the girls. There will be no Christmas Eve shopping for me this year, and I won't be up at midnight, desperately looking for movie to watch while wrapping. The only thing I have left to get is a gift for Miss Amy, but she's easy to shop for, she'll take yarn in it's unfinished state. And thanks to said boss, my girls made out like bandits this year. And, unbeknownst to the girls, they even got me something for Christmas. I bought myself a very plush, micro-fiber robe from Bath & Body. It is now in the possesion of Miss Amy, who will have the girls wrap it, none the wiser that mom knows about it. They'll get a kick out of it. Especially Annie. Katie will probably know what's going on, but that's the price you pay when you have a smarter than average 11 yr old. So, from here till Christmas Eve, my fingers will be flying to see how many items I can get finished. I figure, if I spend every evening in my recliner and every weekend, I should just make it. I already have half of one pair of fingersless gloves done, and a good start on the scarf. The hat should only take me the better part of a weekend afternoon. It's the socks that worry me. For one pair I have to kool aid dye the yarn, but only 2 colors, thank the stars. Oh, and almost all of the socks will be ankle socks. Less time that way.

Oh, and as for the weather here in the heart of Ohio. Let me just say, "DAMN, IT'S COLD!" It was only 12 degrees when I got up this morning. Yikes!

Now for the exile part. It seemed that every time I felt well enough to blog, blogger wouldn't let me. It sucked.

So, from here Christmas, I can promise that blogging will be sparse at best. And just incase I don't get a chance to say it before then:

Merry Christmas

Happy Solstice

Happy Hanukkah

from my family to yours!

I have returned from my (mis)adventures in the dungeon!

Wow! That was long week. And in that time I have wrestled with a dragon of a trundle drawer, got lost in a book (or two), made several gallons of chilli, rearranged my point of view, and slept like Sleeping Beauty. Let me explain.

Toward the end of the week I was still in my funk. On Thursday, we got to bring home a couple of new (and I mean brand-spankin'-new, still in the plastic in the box new) recliners that the owner didn't want after they got them home.

Friday night, as I left mom's, I noticed a book she just finished and barrowed it. When I got home, I sat myself down in my new chair and started the scarf for mom's christmas gift and the sock for Alejandra.On Saturday, I happily read my book as I cooked a triple batch of chilli for Miss Amy.

On Sunday, I stayed in my chair to finish the book I barrowed from mom, and when I was finished to took a much needed nap, 'cause I slept for about 4 hours. That evening, I decided that I wanted to work on my Candle Flame shawl, but couldn't find it. Here is where the quest begins. Katie and I searched high and low. No sign of the Candle Flame shawl.

On Monday, as I sat at my desk, I contemplated my room, otherwise known as "The Dungeon", and how to rearrange my view of my little corner of the world. Now, in the old house, I had a small bedroom (granted it was the same size as the room the girls shared) and somewhat spacious living room. In the new house, my bed room is the finished family room in the basement (with it's own full bath, which I love) and is the size of both the livingroom and bedroom of the old house put together. As it is large, I have my bedroom and living room furniture set up, and I had it arranged into the two serperate areas. This is where it gets messy. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that that shawl was somewhere in The Dungeon. The question was "where"? So, Miss Amy agreed to help me rearrange and locate the missing shawl. An hour and a half into a two and half hour job, I finally located my Candle Flame. Where was it, you ask? Why, it was behind a speaker, which was under a kitchen chair, that was in the corner of the room, piled high with 3 baskets of my clean laundry, as I didn't have enough storage for all my clothes. And I have a lot of clothes, it's just that my arse is too fat to fit in them right at the moment. Anyway, by the end of the night, every stick of furniture had been reallocated, and every single inch of carpet had been vaccumed. But I still had a mountain of clothes everywhere that needed to have a new home. Also, in that process, I found another of the books I barrowed from mom, and later fell head first into it.

Now, where does the "dragon" come in, you wonder? Well, that was last nights adventure. See, my mom had a white trundle drawer that went with a twin sleigh bed that I got for her spare room. She didn't want it, and had no use for it. I had the bright idea (and I don't mean that sarcastically) to use it myself. I mean, come on. It's a drawer the size of a twin bed, with 3 sections and really nice casters. Can we say storage space for all those clothes that I will fit back into? (Really. If I would just make sure I did my 20 minute workout 3 x's a week, like I should, I'd be back in those clothes within a couple of months.) But, back to the "dragon". I barrowed mom's power screw driver, the one with all the fancy attachments and lights, and went home with the intent to get it "popped" together, and be done with it. Yeah, right! First off, mom didn't charge the screw driver. So, I let it charge for a little while and got to work. Needless to say, it was more than a little on the dead side, so it didn't last long, and I frequently had to stop and set it up to charge for a short time so I could continue. So, (and here is a nice Spongebob reference for you, Amy) two and a half hours later, I finally had the thing put together and ready to slide under the bed. I stood it on end, slide across the floor to the far side of the bed (near the working fireplace) and angled it to slide it under the bed. Now, here is where things go slightly askew. I was too close to the fireplace and the bed to lever it down enough to get the wheels under it. I was also stuck in the position of the drawer resting on my legs, with the back edge of the drawer wedged into the pile of the carpet, not budging. About that time, Annie came down to ask me a question. I had her go up and get Amy, and had Amy pull the bed about 6 inches further away from me so I could drop the drawer low enough. It wouldn't really have been a problem, but the bed frame is the antique bed frame from my grandfather who past away when I was in high school. If it had been anyother bed frame, I would have just shoved it over with the drawer.

So, now that I have been long winded, I'll drop off of here and prepare to leave work, go to mom's, sit and have a beer with dad, chit chat with Grandma (who just got out of the hospital today after getting over pnuemonia) and then go home, put away clothes and watch Top Model.

Later!

Is still knit, I promise.

And I have pics to prove it. So, let's dive right in. Here are my Yukon Leaves socks:

You can see the pattern a little on these. This pair also kills 2 birds with 1 stone. There are my Socktober fest socks, and the socks for my October credit for the SAM2 KAL. And I love this colorway. It's Lana Grossa Meilenweit Fun #138.

Next up we have the fingerless gloves I made for my dad:

I made these with Knitpicks Essentials in grass. They are really soft and warm.

And I caved, I made my first dish cloth. I used the same Yukon Leaves pattern and converted it the dishcloth.

I know the pic is lousy. I had to use the flash, and the kitchen counter is white.

And just for Halloween, here are the pumpkins we carved last night:

This one is Annie's. I cut it open for her, she gutted it, told me what she wanted on it, and I carved it for her.

This one is Katie's. It's a little blurry. I cut it open and she finished it herself.

And here is mine. I went traditional with it. We love to carve pumpkins. There is nothing better that getting messy gutting them.

I'm going to cut it short, as I'm watching Most Haunted Live for Halloween.

Happy Halloween!

WTF??????

Blogger ate my template, again. This time without any help from me. So, if you notice that things have moved, or there are new things, or things are missing. That's why. So far, I have spent the past half an hour fixing things, and I'm not done. So, I am going to sit here, watch Most Haunted on the Travel channel, and keep fixing it (sigh).

On a good note, Amy and I have planned a trip to the Circleville Pumpkin show. We only have my kids this weekend, and we haven't told the what we are doing yet. My kids and I have never been, so this should be fun. I know! I have lived my whole life in central Ohio and have never been to the Pumpkin show. So, I'll have pics, you can count on it.

Later.

ETA: There. Back to, somewhat, normal. Although I have lost several of blog ring codes. If anyone knows how to get them back, please help!!!!!

This week's progress

Well, I have finally finished my Harvest Sock Swap pal's sock. But I won't be posting any pics, as I like to keep it a surprise. I just have a terrible time keeping myself from casting on for the second sock. Plus I really like the yarn and pattern I picked out, so that makes it doubly hard for me. I had better hurry up and finish my shopping, or my pal may get a complete pair of socks, and won't get to knit the second one.

In other knitting, I have casted on for my dad's fingerless gloves. I casted on Monday, and I only have the thumb to finish on the first one. I have also casted on for a pair of sock in the Yukon Leaves pattern for my self in the Lana Grossa Meilenweit Fun, in colorway # 138. I love this color way. It reminds me of hiking in the hills of southern Ohio and looking out over the canopy of changing leaves. As soon as I make real progress on it, I'll post a pic.

For the last week, Annie has been very sick. She has run fevers, had a runny nose, coughing, sneezing and been pukey! Yuck! When I got to mom's yesterday to pick up the girls, mom told me that I had to wash her coat and sweater, as she puked during recess and didn't tell the teacher, she just brushed herself off and zipped her jacket up over it. Gross! When I asked her about it, she said,"But mommy, I didn't tell the teacher because I didn't want to come home, I wasn't done with recess. Besides, that's what happened to the first kid who puked, he had to go home." Well, it apparently wasn't alot, or very nasty, as there was no stain or smell. And the sweater and coat got thrown in the washer promptly. Then, she sat on the floor next to my bed all evening, coloring as I knitted. At 8 o'clock, she packed up the coloring books and crayons and climbed up on the bed with me. Now, she is a chatterbox, let me tell you. I swear she is powered by Energizer most of the time, and she gets worse as she gets sleepy, to keep from going to sleep. However, it was time for America's Next Top Model. So, as my fingers flew furiously on dad's glove, I tried to concentrate on hearing the tv over her. Finally, I gently shushed her so I could hear. This must have done the trick, because she got really still, which means she went to sleep. Here is what I saw when I got up for a potty trip during a commercial:

There she is, fast asleep with her trusty side-kick, Candie, the Build-a-bear dog. Don't worry, I did change her out of her jeans and into her penguin pj's. She slept there peacfully until about 10 o'clock when she started coughing really bad. Then we had a repeat of the recess incident. Poor baby. But, since she is on a funky school schedule, and they have not school on Friday, she doesn't have to go back until Monday.

About a week and a half ago, one of my managers loaned me the first season of Lost, stating that I have to watch it because she knows that I'll just love it. I still haven't gotten near a dvd player with it, I have to crack down and watch it so I can give it back to her. Maybe that's what I'll watch tonight as I knit.

Later.

Picture Sunday

This has been a very busy week. The washer broke down, and cost a lot to repair. And work was a little on the stressful side. So, I have been knitting to relieve the stress. I have gotten past the 3 repeat on my CPH, but have set it aside so I can get my Harvest Sock Swap pal's sock started, and almost finished. I'm not going to post any pics until after I send it and she has received it. However, I do have some pics to post, so here we go.

Here is the 3rd Sophie bag that I made. This one I gave to Miss C at work, she absolutely adored it.

Here is the hat that I made to match my Irish Hiking Scarf. It turned out great, not too snug, but it screams pom for the top. And I hate poms, but I may have to bite the bullet on this one. Now if only I can get a chance to go hiking some time soon. Couldn't go this weekend, as Annie is horribly sick and had to stay home from school.

Here is a shot of my Central Park Hoodie, a very out dated photo. This was when I only had 2 inches of the ribbing done. I have since gotten 3" past the 4" ribbing. But it shows the Black Cherry Heather color true.

I may have a long drive to and from work, but I do get some great natural displays of beauty. Like this one:

This was the sunrise on Thursday on the way into work. And this is what I got to see on the way home:

This is one of my favorite farm houses. They worked wonders with it. It has been completely restored. I hope some day to have such a great farm house. But look at the fall leaves all around it.

And finally, inspired by this post by JessaLu. My sock yarn stash.....

I didn't think I had this much. And this is only new skeins, it doesn't include any of the left overs I have stored in a basket. In there I have Lorna's Lace, Claudia's Handpainted, Cherry Tree Hill, and Knit Picks (Memories, Pallette, self-stripping and Essentials), Trekking, Lana Grossa and Regia.

That's all for now, as I want to finish my movie "The Lady Eve" (1941; Henry Fonda & Barbara Stanwyck). And lunch is approaching, which left over homemade cheesy potato soup that I made for dinner last night. Yum!

What's up this week?

Feeling better, still not up to speed, but I'm surviving. I have casted on for my Central Park Hoodie, and have worked to about 2 inches past the ribbing. I completed a beanie hat to match my Irish Hiking Scarf. I made another Sophie bag, a gift for a girl at work (who squealed in delight when I gave it to her). I have pics, I just haven't uploaded them to my laptop, yet.I am having second thoughts on the pattern I have picked out for my Harvest Sock Swap pal, so I think I'll pick a new one. Other than that, nothing else new, so, Top Model is on. Later.

On "The road to Wellville"

Remember that movie? I loved that movie. Anyway, warning.... this post will be pic heavy!

I am feeling a little better. So, here is a pic of my yarn from Knit Picks.

From left top: Essentials in Grass, Memories in Red Hat and on the bottom is the my Wool of the Andes Black Cherry Heather. Let me just say, this pic does not do the Black Cherry Heather any justice. It is really not that red. And, Central Park Hoodie, here I come!

While I was bed-ridden over the weekend, I did do a couple of left-over stash projects. I made a couple of Sophie bags. One for me and one for Katie. Here is my Buckeye Sophie bag:

For scale, here it's sitting on top of my dyer just before going into the washer. Next up is Katie's:

Here, it's laying on my laptop for scale. I call it the Barney bag, because this purple reminds me of Barney. Now for the after photo:

Katie's turned out just ever so slightly bigger. Hmm?

Oh, I forgot to show you this:

I went to mom & dad's one Saturday about a month ago and played in the wood shop. Mom helped me make this swift. It's a little on the rough side, and next time we know what mistakes not to make, but it still works great.

I think the last couple of pics that I'm missing are of my car after it came out of the body shop, and the pic of where Mr. Vinny decided to get into my bag of roving and play. Bad Kitty!!! I'm still trying to figure out how to fix that. But I'll post them when I find them.

On the knitting front, I have come up with about 6 pattern design ideas to help fund my trip to Scotland. Now to come up with the yarn and motivation to finish the designs. The motivation shouldn't be the hard part. Coming up with the money for the yarn, on the other hand, will be the hard part. I have started another left over stash project. I have taken the left over yarn from my Irish Hiking Scarf and started a matching hat. So far, so good. I realized on Sunday, that between my car accident (not being able to knit because of my shoulder) and being sick, I missed finishing my socks in progress for my SAM2 September credit! :( But now that I am slowly, but surely coming out of my sickness haze, maybe I can make up for that. And now I'll say good night, as I am so tired from my first day back to work this week.

A little on the better side?

I feel a little better. I had to stay home from work for the past couple of days, during which time, I mainly slept. My body must have finally decided that enough was enough, 'cause I finally ran a fever (at 102) this morning. I slept until about 1 pm, and have slowly feeling better. Baby steps, I guess.

My yarn for my Central Park Hoodie has finally arrived. I went upstairs to fix Annie some mac-n-cheese for dinner and found the bundle sitting on the dinning room table. Pics to come later. And let me say, I love the color. Black Cherry Heather from Knitpicks.

Over the weekend, I took advantage of my bed ridden time to do a couple of stash buster projects. I used my left over Galway from last Christmas to make a couple of Sophie Bags. One for me and one for Katie. I'll post pics in a couple of days, when I feel up to it.

I am still working over the design ideas in my mind, during my lucid moments. I have had a suggestion for a bag, which I have a good idea for, but I need to get it on paper and work out the schematics. And Miss Tammi has suggested that I need to just design several things, as once I get started, I'll come up with more. Which she's right, as soon as I started thinking of the bag, several more ideas popped up.

But I am done for now, 'cause I'm really tired after typing so little. Later.

Better late than never.....

I have finally made up my mind on what yarn to use for my Central Park Hoodie. I have chose Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Black Cherry Heather. I can't wait to see what this color looks like in person. I placed the order this morning, and it's in stock, so if our luck with Knit Picks holds true, I should have this on my door step tomorrow afternoon, and no later than Saturday. I also order some Memories sock yarn in Red Hat for my step-grandmother for a pair of socks for Christmas. And I got some Essentials in Grass to make a pair of fingerless gloves for dad to wear hunting.

Also, I have made a vacation goal. I have always wanted to visit abroad, especially Ireland, Scotland and England. I have set my sites on Scotland. I have decided that within the next 3 years, as soon as I can afford it, I will be taking a week to go to Inverness, Scotland, by myself. Or with a significate other, if I have one by then. If not, then I shall go play in the Highlands alone. I have even picked out the hotel that I want to stay at. It's directly across from a castle that sits in the center of town. And there are lots of other castles and battlefields that are a bus ride away. So, I think to help myself along to this goal, I am going to design a pattern to sell. I'll pick a charity to donate half of the proceeds to, and save the other half for my trip. This way, I'll be helping others along with saving my sanity. Now, what type of pattern should I design? I know it will have a celtic theme. Should it be a scarf, socks, cardi, bag or shawl? I'm open for suggestions, so let me know what kind of patterns you'd be interested in.

Back from Death's door

Ok, that was a bit of an exaggeration. But I did spend all weekend in bed, and left work early on Monday. I have finished the meds the doctor gave me, but don't really seem to be getting better. The illness just seems to be moving on to new areas. It started out as a sinus infection, now it's trying to settle in my chest and I now have an ear infection. I almost can't hear out of my right ear. So, since I am still sick, I have no motivation to knit, as much as I want to. Good thing I started early on my stuff for my Harvest Sock Swap Pal. I have the yarn, picked out the pattern, and have already picked up a few goodies. Before I got ill, I had come up with a theme.

So, here's to hopeing I get better soon.

We temporarily interrupt this blog....

due to illness. It seems as if I was struck down overnight. Since I had a 10:30 doctor's appointment for my shoulder (from the accident), I had her look at me for this sudden cold. Turns out that I have a very bad sinus infections. I am now on antibiotics and cough syrup. When I got back to the office, I did what I could concentrate on, and then fell asleep sitting up right in my chair. My boss (who so graciously brought his germs into the office earlier this week), looked at me and told me to go home. I have been in bed ever since. I want to sleep, but my head hurts so bad that I can't. So, I will take a few minutes to answer some comments from the past couple of days.

Ashley writes:
I bought the traditional. The Elizabeth are gorgeous though and that's what I'd really love. You know, after learning to spin on a drop spindle I didn't have any trouble with my traditional. In fact, I wanted the traditional, because I didn't want to grow out of a beginner wheel. Something to think about.Isn't spinning great? Looks good so far, and you picked such a pretty color of roving.

Thanks for the advise, Ashley. I have really been going back and forth on which wheel to buy when the time comes.

Cortney writes:
Which LYS did you buy your roving at? I haven't really found a good source here in Columbus yet, though I've seen some at both Heavenly Creations and The Yarn Shop. I'm seriously coveting a wheel also. I'm dropping major hints to the hubby since we have an anniversary coming up.Also, are you having any trouble keeping your spindle turning? Mine keeps untwisting because I can't draft fast enough, so I'm having to "park and draft."

I did get this roving at Heavenly Creations. I haven't been to The Yarn Shop, yet. But The Knitter's Mercantile did have a few small sample bags of pre-dyed roving from Ciber Moon out of Utica, OH. I have the same problem with trying to keep it turning in the right direction. I have to "park and draft" too. Although the girl who showed me how to use it did say that she had to do the same thing in the begining. So, I guess it's par for the course.

Ok, I'm going to try to sleep now, if I can, since the girls are watching the Fantastic Four in my room. I'll bog when I feel better.

Back from the edge of the blogosphere

What a busy week! I did get my car back from the body shop of Friday. My baby looks pretty, new and shiny. They detailed inside and out. I still have to take an "after" pic. But you can't tell that my car was ever in an accident. Then, after I got my car back, Amy and I hit the Applebee's for happy hour. And it must have been family night because we ran into one of aunts, her husband and my cousin who was up visiting. Then, as we take our seats we run into family of Amy's ex, and as we were leaving we run into Amy's cousin. Applebee's had a very busy night. Over the weekend, I stay in my dungeon (bedroom) and watched movies. The kids were camping with mom all weekend. Then, Monday I got bored, made a trip to Michael's at lunch and bought a few things. Those few things were some pre-cut dow rods, little brass hooks and a couple of wooden car wheels. See:

I know, kinda bad pic. Then I sat at my desk and made this:

A drop spindle! And I bought the cute little wood tray next to it, now I need to figure out what color to paint it. But back to the spindle. Once I had that, then came the next logical step, a trip to the LYS for some roving and a quick lesson on how to use it. I'm still not doing well, but I'll eventually get the hang of it. Now that I have decided that I love to spin, will be the next logical step, a wheel. I took some time while I was bored at work to do a little research (in the sparadic times the wireless router was up). I have decided come income tax time, when I buy myself 1 very expensive item that I really, really want, I'll be buying a Ashford Traveler. Granted I really want the Elizabeth or the Traditional, I'll start with the Traveler and work my way up to the others a few years down the road. And I thought it was so cute that the roving I bought had the names of the sheep it came off of, on the tag. And here is the beginning of my first attempt:

I have more pics to show, but America's Next Top Model is on, and it's the 2 hour season starter.

Later!

A little better day

Today was a little better. My week seems to be looking up. See, yesterday I was catching up on my blog reading, as I neglected it because of last week's drama, and I was commenting on blogs. Then this morning, when I checked my e-mail, I have one from Sheri from Just in the knit of time. Seems that my comment put her comment total in the double digits for a single post. And being the sweetheart that she is, she is sending me a prize. Pop over and take a look. Go ahead, I'll wait........ See, isn't that fab. 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces in Rainbow! I'm so excited. I never win anything. And I mean NEVER! Then, when we got home today, in the mail box was a post card from Connie in Austraila. I'll scan it and post it. She is a friend from my Post Card Swap. This is the second post card from her. She writes that it's spring down under, and everything is in bloom and beautiful. I'll have to send her one of fall from here. I wonder what our mail man thinks. Boxes and post cards all month long, from all over the world. It's at times like this that I'm grateful for all the friends I have made through the blogosphere! Y'all are wonderfull!

An new week...

Here's to hopeing it turns out better than last week.

On the knitting front. I am almost done with my Rogue. I finished the hood over the weekend, and I only have the sleeves left to finish. I had decided that I would not knit anything else until I finished it, but, with the stress lately, I think I need to cast on for another pair of socks. Or, I can knit the second sock for the one that Juju knit for me. I must have stress relief, I had to drop my car off at the body shop today, and it's not supposed to be ready until next Monday. Although, they did tell me that they would try to have it ready by Friday. Maybe the planets will align just right and they will have it ready.

I have just signed up for Warm Hands. It looks like fun. And, since I just learned to knit gloves, mittens should be a breeze. That, and Annie asked for some in her favorite color, green.

And I have found something, that if I ever get my butt to shrink back down, I must knit. It's in the fall edition of Knitty, and it's called Intolerable Cruelty. This is just too sexy. If I ever get a date again, I'll have to wear it. And let me stress the if. *sigh*

Please take a moment to remember the tragic events that happened five years ago today. And the men and women that are bravely defending our Freedom. And on a personal note, Hope you come home soon, Bubba! (to my friend and co-worker, Owen, currently serving over seas.)

A shiny happy moment (warning: picture heavy)

Welcome to the Cosmic Karma Smack Court! (sound People's Court theme music here)

I have heard from her insurance company. They find her at fault, despite the fact that the cop didn't. However, they only find her 75% at fault, and so they are only going to pay for 75% of the car repair, rental car fee and cost to replace the child safety seat for Annie. And to continue the saga, my shoulder has gotten worse, and I have a doctor's appointment for tomorrow. Her insurance company wasn't too happy to hear that. But oh well. They say that I was 25% at fault for not making sure their customer wasn't going to do what she did. Like I can channel Miss Cleo from behind bars, huh? Well, as far as the damages go, there is about $2400.00 worth of damage to my car, and here is what it looked like right after the accident:

Not bad for hitting a pick up truck, huh? You can still see the dew on my hood. Well, if this is $2400.00, then I wonder how much this would be:

But, anywho! I drop my car off on Monday, and it will take 6 business days to repair. And now on to better things.

And thanks to Maggie and Ginny for commenting on my accident. Atleast I'm not the only one that's outraged by the lack justice by the attending police officer.

Here are the belated pics of the goodies that Alejandra sent to me.

Here is everything as it was in the box.

Here are 4 skeins of Angora Soft yarn in a very light grey. It feels so yummy!

Here is a cross stitched book mark for when I read. This pic doesn't do it justice. It's white, not cream as it looks, and the design is done in blues.

Here are some delicous teas.

Here are some scrumptious chocolates. There were 6, but I ate one as soon as I opened them.

This pic is very blurry. But it's a great lip balm that's made in Paris.

And here are 2 post cards for my collection from Buenos Aires where Alejandra lives. I scanned them to show them better, but blogger won't let me upload them. Argentina is a beautiful place that I would love to visit some day. Thank you so much, Alejandra! You are a great Secret Pal. I'll be making you a pair of socks and sending them to you soon.

And for more goodies. Today I got my Summer Sock Party package. My party pal was Juju, and here is what was in the box:

She made me the Broad Ripple sock from Knitty. It fits me perfectly! And look at the goregous tin. It's a Singer tin that I had looked at many, many times in the sewing store but never bought. I love it. Sitting on top of it is a blueberry candle, a scissor fob and stitch markers. The envelope has a card in it that has a pattern for a winter poncho on it. And in the letter Juju tells me that she used to live in Miami and the color of the sock reminds her of that area. The blueberry candle is "all Maine", she says, as she has tons of blueberries growing in her back yard. I love blueberries, especially when they are fresh. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had them growing in my back yard. The scissor fob is so cute. It matches the sock colors with green and blue flowers and leaves. And the stitch markers match the fob. Oh, and the yarn. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's Lana Grossa, right? I love Lana Grossa, it makes such comfortable socks. Thanks Juju!

And just to share a few other pics on my camera:

Here is my Moon Flower plant, just outside our front door. These blooms are huge, they only last one night and are about the size of a tea saucer. In the pic above of my Summer Sock Party sock is one that is opening tonight.

Here seems to be the last bloom of my poor rose bush for the season.

Here is some Lorna's Laces in OSU, made just for a shop in Dublin, OH called Temptations. Go Bucks! Gotta have my scarlet & gray yarn.

Here is Annie, my little camera ham!

Here is Moonie's new favorite place to lounge, in the shoe crate by the front door.

This one, just because it looks like the loveseat was eating Katie.

Here is Moonie sharing Butter's bed, to Butter's displeasure.

Here is Vinny, sleeping peacefully on the couch cushion he tipped down.

And finally here is a FO!

Here are my fingerless gloves. These I made ribbed all the way to the fingers. They fit much better than the first pair. And these colors match the sock Juju made me! These will come in handy this winter at work. See, our office is in a warehouse, and where I sit is in a corner with one wall to the dock (that's not heated) and an outside wall. I have froze my butt off in that corner for the past 4 years.

I guess it's time for bed. Night!