A Quick Post!

We have had a very busy couple of days. For the past couple of days, Miss Amy and I have been helping our neighbor. He is selling Corn Hole games, and we are helping him sew the bags. Which means I have dusted off my serger and sewing machines, which I haven't used since Jess's b-day party. So, needless to say, our floors have been covered in feed corn and thread. And we have more to finish today.

Looking at Katherine's post about her WIP basket, made me wonder about what I have mine. From what I can remember, I have 2 shrugs, 3 pairs of socks, 2 sweaters and 1 shaw. Which has made me come the conclusion that I have to finish at least 1 pair of socks this weekend, as I have been chosen to test knit a sock pattern for Chrissy, and I want to have my "turbo jet fingers" warmed up for that as soon as the yarn arrives. And I am so excited about it and can't wait!!!!!!! What fun! I also want to squeeze in time to keep reading my new book. I'm about half way through it, and would have finished it, if we weren't busy with the corn bags.

More Later!

Time for a change (also known as writter's block)

I decided that it was time for a change, and put a little more red in my hair, which is something I haven't done in a long time. Also, I haven't worked on my knitting since Sunday. I guess it might be due to the fact that I have been mostly busy at work of late. Last night I spent the evening reading blogs and e-mails. And normally I wouldn't be blogging this late, but I can't seem to climb (and I mean climb, as my bed is one if the really high up ones) into bed and fall asleep. Partly because I have a new book to read. See, today at lunch, I went to Miss PJ's to get this:

It just came out today. Miss PJ bought it for me as my birthday gift. I love Laurell K. Hamilton's books. This the 14th book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Series, and I can't wait for the 5th book in the Merry Gentry Series to come out in December. I blame Miss Rachel for this one. She is the one who handed me the 1st book of the Merry Gentry Series, the got me hooked on the Anita Blake books. But, maybe by emersing myself in someone else's make believe world, it'll help me get past the ever-growing writter's block I seem to have developed. See, I love to write short stories (that sometimes grown into more) just for the sake of writing. All the while hopeing that maybe one day, I'll write something worth the effort to try to publish it. It's been this way since 6th grade. But lately, the things that help me write just aren't working. Maybe the latest installment of Anita Blake will help.

On a different note, the other night when I told the girls to get showers, this is what I saw in my bathroom:

This is a familar scene. Both cats on the bath mat waiting for someone to finish. (And please excuse the basket of clean laundry at the edge of the photo, sometimes folding it just doesn't happen.) This is a tradition in our house. It started with the dog that I used to own, Chassy, my Australian Sheppard. Moonie (the black cat) learned it from Chassie, as Chassie used to wait to make sure that myself or Katie was ok when we were finished. And here is who they were waiting for:

It's Annie!

Busy Weekend

It was a fun, but busy weekend. It went a little something like this:

Friday (my birthday): Wanted to get up at about 8 am, got up at 9am. Got my shower and got the girls motivated. Went to the BMV to renew my car tags, had to back my Trekking sock back a row while there, as a few of the DPN's came out, but made up that row and got a row ahead, while waiting. From there, in the pouring down rain, I headed to Miss PJ's house, stopping to get the girls Mickey D's for lunch along the way. After lunch, Miss PJ, the kids and I headed to the salon to get our hair done, and did a little shopping. Nothing major to the hair was done, I got about 2" off the back, and had the front layers around my face done the proper way. And I found a cute little camo t-shirt with Mikey Mouse on the front in silver studs. I dropped Miss PJ and her son off to her house, and found out that Miss Tammi and her husbeast weren't going to be able to make it to dinner that evening, as they were both still in alot of pain, from the broken bones (it's a long story, but they didn't try to kill each other,yet. They just has seperate work related accidents.) So, I stopped and picked up Jess (my adopted daughter, as Miss Tammi calls her) so she could go to dinner with us. Then, once Miss PJ's husbeast found out that he would be the only male attending dinner, he wimped out and stayed home, to give us "Girls Night Out." I dropped the girls off at my moms for the night, and went home to get ready to go out. So, Miss Amy, Miss PJ, Jess and I went for our yummy dinner at the Japanese Steak House. During dinner I had a glass of plum wine (my favorite) and 2 Mt. Fuji's (a frozen slushy drink of rum and fruit juice that's green, with a cherry on top). As we made our way back to the car, we decided to walk a block over and go to Comm Fest (Community Festival), it's held every year around the weekend of my birthday at Goodale Park. We roamed for a while, taking in the sites, sounds and smells (a few of which we didn't want, like the painted bedpans that smelled as if they had been used, and not washed before being painted.) Miss Amy and I bought some hand made soap that was Rosemary and Spearmint. And we generally had a blast. Jess stayed the night at our house, as I was a liiittle to toasty to drive. We watched the Skeleton Key, which I have seen lots, but love. And Jess argees with me, it was good movie, and you never see that ending coming out of the left field.

Saturday: Got up around 9:30, took Jess home and went to pick up the girls from mom's. We spent the rest of the day doing laundry and I worked some more on my Trekking sock. I finished the leg, turn the heel and started the instep. It'll take no time to finish. Katie helped me rearrange my room a little. Then I picked up my Candle Flame shaw and finished the first repeat. We watched movies for the rest of the night.

Sunday: We watched movies for the day, mostly Harry Potter, and I worked on my Candle Flame shaw. I got another whole repeat done.

Today: Monday back to work, and even though we have a Dion and Mr C back at the office, it was still busier that it has been in months. I ate my lunch at my desk, and as one of the managers approached with more in his hand, I threatened to stab him with my fork. Granted it was a cheapy, plastic fork, but it might have actually hurt with enough force. After work, I got to mom's to pick up the girls, and they showed my Super Mario 3 that mom had bought at a yard sale for $0.50. That sucked me in. I used to love to play that game. I picked the control pad and showed the girls how it's really done. They didn't think mom could play a game like that. But considering that I beat Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on the PS2, they should know better.

I'll have pics of my Trekking socks soon, and pics of the progress of the Candle Flame shaw.

Also, Thank You to all everyone that wished me Happy Birthday by comments and e-cards. My Secret Pal even sent me a great e-card. Muchos Gracias!

Busy Week

It has been a very busy week. At work, we have been short handed, as Mr. Dion is in Chicago, his mother passed away late last night. We've all been sending him postitive energy to help him in this difficult hour, and we have been trying to fill in for him at the office.

On a happier note, I just set the reservation for the Japanese Steak House for my birthday dinner on Friday, cause my birthday falls on Friday this year. All I can say is YUMMY! I have taken the day off of work to do the usual things like get my car tags, get my hair trimmed and spend the afternoon with my bestest friend Miss PJ. Then we have 8 o'clock reservations for dinner. Miss PJ and her husbeast are going, along with the clutzy gang of Miss Tammi (who broke her thumb yesterday) and her husbeast (who broke his ankle last week), as well as Miss Amy and me. I can't wait. I love going there, and I have only been there twice before. Out of the group, only Miss Amy and I have ever been there. This should be fun, going with a group of newbies.

If you haven't checked out the Summer Sock Party '06 blog lately, yesterday I handed out the pals and Kate won the set of custom stitch markers. Go check it out and everyone's blogs.

Happy Knitting and Happy Summer Soltice!

A quick update!

Well, this one will be a quick post.Friday night Katie and Annie opened their gifts from my Secret Pal. They took off so fast that I didn't get a chance to take any pics. However, I can discribe them, from the brieg glimps that I got. Katie got a cute little piggie pen and scratch pad. Annie got a set of magnetic dolls with clothes. Maybe I can catch them later and take pics.

On Saturday, I helped Miss PJ put up her new pool. Normally I would have hurt myself during this. Nope, not this time. I hurt myself when I got home. I was talking to Mr. Vinny and showing him the medicine I had gotten for him, when it suddenly seemed as if the stairs went out from under me. I hurt both of my elbows, my shoulders and my tail bone. But, I live to knit another day! Later that night, I decided to watch The Skeleton Key. I was a lot better than I thought it would be, and I loved the twisted ending! I love movies that you can't see the ending coming. When I dated Mr. C, we used to love to watch suspense movies, and see who could guess the ending.

On Sunday, I decided to start my candle flame shaw with the Knit Picks Gossamer in Leprechaun. Not too bad, so far, for my first attempt at a shaw. I'll take pics later.

Today, when I woke up I felt so sick and my back hurt so bad, that I stayed home.

I have closed the Summer Sock Party sign ups, and not too bad. We have 15 participants. Stop by if you'd like to see who they are. And speaking of participants, I had Diane leave a comment that she wanted to join, I have signed you up, but I still need your info. Please email me with it, so I can hand out the pals tomorrow. I will need your info my 5 pm. Thanks.

Yipee for Secret Pals & a Contest

Hola to my Secret Pal! When I got home last night, there was box on my front porch, all the way from Argentina! I was going to do a teaser post today, as there were gifts in the box for Katie and Annie, but my mom has decided to keep them another night, and I just can't wait to post about all the good things that where in the box for me. So, I'll post about what they got after they open them. But here's what was in there for me:

Here is the box, and a tube from Brittany for the replacement US 1 DPN I broke, the first time I used it.

Here is everything that was inside the box. Neatly packaged and labeled.

Here is crocheted scarf, that is heavenly soft! And this pic does the color no justice, it's a nice burgundy.

Here is box of European Blend tea. Yummy! It's apple, chamomile, cinnamon and honey. Does my Secret Pal know me or what?

Here are some chocolates to share with the girls. If my spanish isn't too rusty, there is milk chocolate and white chocolate. Yum! Yum!

Here is a hand crocheted and beaded flower lapel pin. The color is really a pretty dusty rose color.

Here is a beautiful, painted button. Now I need to find the perfect project for this, that way it's show cased just right.

Here is a lovely hand carver, wooden pin. I can think of so many uses for it. Shaws, scarves, my hair.......

Here as absolutely delicious hank of yarn, labeled "For your favorite thing to knit". Again, this pic does not do the color justice. The colors are much deeper. And it's so soft, all I can do is hold it!

Here is lovely, hand crocheted bag for my little things. This is just so perfect, I was looking for something that I can put in my purse to hold the small things I need. That way if I don't feel like toting around my large purse, I can pick this up and go.

Here is an absolutely fabulous crochet mag in spanish. What a great way to brush up on my spanish. And some of the patterns are goregous!!!!!

Here is the gift for Annie, waiting for her to open it when she comes home tomorrow.

And finally, Katie's gift, waiting for her return. I'll post pics of what's inside as soon as they open them!!!

Ok, so all the excitement must have kicked my (as Katherine calls them) turbo jet fingers into high gear, because I made big ground last night on my Rogue. Take a peek:

See where my pen in laying? That's where I was last night when I got home. I knitted 31 rows, and attached the pocket in the process. And I guess, since my mom is keeping them for one more night, I have, yet another, night of undisturbed knitting. Woohoo! Let's see where I'm at tomorrow.

By the way. On the Summer Sock Party, I have put up a set of custom made stitch markers as a prize. For anyone who signs up by the deadline, you will be entered to win them. Check it out. And if you have already signed up, never fear, you are in the drawing.

Oh, and Muchos Gracias, My Secret Pal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just another Wednesday!

I think I have used that title before, but oh well!

I forgot to tell you about something that happened on the hike Saturday. While we were at the upper falls, there was group of Minonite teenagers there as well. And as I like to make regular trips to Amish country, my girls think nothing of the way they dresses, except for Katie to ask if they are Amish or Minonite. We had decided to take the gorge trail back to the car instead of going out the way we come. As we are walking along the trail, I hear this music coming out of the gorge, and thought that surely noone had a radio down there. I stopped dead in my tracks, and shushed the girls. As I listened, I realized that what I was hearing was the Minonite girls singing just below us, and it sounded beautiful! The girls were just in awe of it.

Anyway, I made good progress on my Rogue last night. I picked up the stitches that I needed along the back of the pocket, and went from there. Here is pic of the progress:

Don't know if you can read what I put on there, but the lower mark was where I was when I started last night, picking up sts on rnd 14. And the upper mark was where I finished about 4 hrs later, 20 more rnds done. Today at lunch, after getting Rally's for lunch, because a greasy, double cheese burger and fries sounded really good, I was able to get 3 more rnds done. If I can keep up this pace, I'll have this done in no time.

As far as the rest of the day goes, I was called Miss Crabbypatty this morning. I guess that's what that monthly affliction gets you. And being that today is the 3rd day that I have walked around the office in my store bought socks, everyone has stopped looking at me funny. I am on my 2nd pop of the day, with one in the frige waiting, and this is bad y'all, 'cause I stopped drinking pop on a daily basis a while ago. I still need to find out if I get my girls back tonight, or if mom is keeping them until tomorrow. Oh, and I finally heard from my long lost best friend last night, Miss PJ. She really wasn't lost, she just works 2nd shift, and forgets to make room for plans with me on the weekends. I usually give her a good guilt trip, and that all changes for about a month.

On the way home last night, Miss Amy and I were confronted with this:

How would you like to make a pair of socks for the feet these belong to? Speaking of socks, don't forget to stop by the Summer Sock Party '06 and sign up. We would love to see your name on the sidebar.

Rogue Continued

Ok, I find I am childless for a few days, as my mother ran away with, I mean took the girls camping. They left yesterday morning, and will be home tomorrow evening. So, last night I found myself laying on the couch, not feeling well. As I lay there watched a re-run of Friends, I decided that I needed something to do. As much as I love to knit socks, I just wasn't in the mood. Then, the thought hit me, I still have my Rogue that I am working on. So, I got up, pulled out my large knitting bag, and re-discovered my Rogue. When I had stopped working on it, I had finished the 12 rounds for the hem facing, and the first 4 rounds of the body. That was where I lost my motivation. But last night I was determined. I worked the next seven rounds and geared up to remove the provisional cast on, and knit the foundation round with round # 12. That went a lot better than I thought it would. Then I worked round # 13 and prepared to start the pocket. I got 8 rows of the pocket finished last night. Today at lunch, I hid in the conference room and finished it. Here is what it looks like so far:

Incase you are wondering, I didn't have a stitch holder large enough, so I used a US 8 metal DPN and a couple of point protectors to hold the top of the pocket. So, tonight I will go home and pick up the stitches needed to finsh round 14. Let's see how far I can get tonight.

On the Summer Sock Party front. I have sucessfully created my first buttons. So, with no further ado, here they are:

This was the second one I created, and I must admit, it's my favorite. I used Miss Amy's purse for this one.

This was my first one. I used my Trekking sock for it. So, stop by and sign up for Summer Sock Party '06, there is less than a week left to sign up!

Catch Up Post & Summer Sock Party Info

Ok, I wasn't able to blog on Saturday when we got back. Our modem died, and we have to wait for the cable company to bring us a new one. The earliest appointment was for Thursday. So, that means no internet at home until then, everything will have to be done from work.

For the Summer Sock Party, I have started a blog page for it. You can find here. So, stop by and sign up. Sign ups will be open until June 19th.

As for my Trekking hike on Saturday. Here are a few pics:

This was how the day started, rainy!

This was just as you start down into the gorge at Old Man's Caves. We were only getting lightly sprinkled on at this point.

Here's Annie, cheesing it up. That kid has the biggest smile I have ever seen! And she is always ready for the camera.

Here is Katie and Annie, on one of the bridges at the bottom of the gorge.

Here is one of the natural features called The Devil's Bathtub.

This is the Upper Falls.

Here's Katie walking around at the Upper Falls.

Here's Annie, standing on a ledge looking out at the Upper Falls.

And here is sock #2 infront of the Upper Falls, with Katie in the back ground. I got 4 rounds done, while hiking, and those 4 rounds were so wonky, that I had to rip back and re-do them later. And, as we were walking the trail, Katie asks from behind me, "Hey mom. Did you know that you have yarn hanging out of the back pack?" I told her, yes and it was leading to the sock in my shirt pocket. The kids are obviously used to mom's insanity, because she just said ok and went on.

Later, we visited a gift shop, and this is what surprised me in a corner:

This cute kitty just lazed in it's basket, letting us pet it and purring.

Here is where we took the path down to Rock House. The girls were sharing Annie's smiley face umbrella.

And here is where Annie tripped and fell into the mud, because she didn't listen to mommy and slow down. Thank goodness it was only both hands and the left knee. It could have been alot worse.

And this was my view from inside Rock House, where I sat and worked a few of those said wonky rows. I also took my 35mm camera, but only took 15 exposures. We didn't walk the whole of Old Man's Cave to save time. We also visited Conkel's Hollow, Cantwell Cliffs as well as a gas stop in Logan. We skipped Cedar Falls, but this is what happened last year when we stopped there:

Annie was standing on a flat rock (the one under the water just behind her) and she didn't listen to mommy, and slipped and fell right in. Being that this past weekend was chilly and rainy, I figured that we could skip the trip down to the water.

And this was what was waiting for me when I got home:

Yarny goodness! It's my half of the Knit Picks order that Miss Amy and I placed last week. There is 1 ball of each Pallette in grass and hyacinth, 2 balls of Pallette in green, 1 hank of Memories on Smores and 3 hanks of the Gossamer in Leprechaun for my Candle Flame Shaw.

Summer Sock Party and Hiking

Come on, join the Summer Sock Party. Ya know you want to! I have seen lots of hits on the blog today, but only 2 have joined. You can't have much of a party with only 3. The more the merrier, so come play! I am hold sign ups open until June 19th, passing out pals on June 20th, and starting June 21st, the first day of summer. It will run to September 5th. Let's make this a summer of fun and socks. More to come on that later!

Tomorrow the girls and I are going hiking in Hocking Hills, which is in the south-eastern area of Ohio. I have what we need for a picnic lunch, plenty of film & cameras, my Trekking sock for the Trek Along. We are going to try to see as much as we can, even though Katie fell off of her bike today and killed her right elbow and knee. And I mean killed. The poor kid has bandages the size of Wyoming! Ok, so maybe only as big as Rhode Island. I'll have plenty of picks when I get back tomorrow night. So, stop in soon to see those. And don't forget to comment or e-mail to join the Summer Sock Party!!!!!!!!

Calling All Sock Knitters!

While reading throuhg my daily blog list, I came across a sock swap on Confessions of a Misplaced Southern Belle. She is putting together a sock swap for those in the Hurricane areas, called Hurricane Sock Party. I thought it would be a blast, but being in Ohio, I couldn't join. After reading her post, I e-mailed her and asked her if I could barrow the idea for the rest of us. So, with her permission, here is my idea:

Summer Sock Party!!!!!! It is the same basic idea as her's. Each person is to pick a sock yarn and pattern, knit 1 sock, then mail that sock, the remaining sock yarn, the pattern and a few summer party items (instead of survival items) to your pal. The party items can be anything you might use for summer parties such as some paper umbrellas, drink mixes or recipes (no actual alcohol, please - it's illegal to ship across state lines), BBQ sauce or recipes, napkins, stir sticks or even a string of mini chinese party laterns. I think you get the idea. So, if you want to join, just e-mail me or leave a comment. As soon as I get some that are interested, I'll put up a blog for it, and take voluteers to help host if it gets to where I can't handle it all by myself. So, come have some summer party fun!

Another pair of socks & some awesome sock yarn!

I liked the Simply Lovely Lace pattern so much, that I made another pair. This time in pink. Take a look:

The Specs:

Pattern: Simply Lovely Lace from IK Spring '06 issue

Yarn: Knit Picks Pallette in Petal

Needles: Started with Brittany US 1, broke one in the second sock and switched to Crystal Palace US 1.

Started: May 22, 2006

Finished: June 3, 2006

Once I got those finished, I casted on for my Trek Along With Me socks, in color # 133. I haven't taken pics of that yet, but I am almost done with the first one. So, maybe this Saturday, the girls and I will pack up and go either hiking in Hocking Hills or go for a picnic at one of the larger parks. Here is what I have done so far:

On to the awesome yarn. Now, I don't normally use the word awesome, it usually comes from Katie. However, I'll make the exception for this yarn, and here is the story that goes with it. Today for lunch, Miss Amy and I went to The Knitter's Mercantile, as I wanted to get some sock yarn to put in the box for my secret pal. Nothing seemed to really make me happy. I picked up a skein of Lana Grossa, and couple of skeins of Regia in a bright colorway to make footies for the girls.Then Amy showed me some of the Supersocke On Line yarn, and I put the Lana Grossa back. As we were heading to check out, I hear from a few isles over, "Look! It's Buckeye!" I perked up at this, and rounded the corner to see what it was. Low and Behold! It was sock yarn in the OSU Buckeye colors. Now, I am a huge OSU football fan (I don't bleed red, I bleed scarlet and gray). When I saw this yarn, my jaw hit the floor. And they are showing this yarn off, and telling us how the lovely lady that dyed had said she would make up this colorway for them. And that lovely lady would be Claudia, of Claudia's Hand Painted Yarns. One of the ladies in the store put a price sitcker on it and laid it down on the show case. Needless to say, it stayed on the showcase a whole 30 seconds, and then jumped into my arms and made itself at home with the other yarn already there. I tried to make it go back to the showcase, but it just wouldn't leave. It insisted on coming home with me. So, I had to make a choice. I put the yarn for the girls footies back (as I can get that anytime) and kept the Buckeye yarn (as it will fly out of the store in no time flat, this would be my only chance to get any). And let me just say, this was the most expensive skein of yarn I have ever bought. So, without futher ado, here is that lovely skein of "Buckeye":

And here it is, all snuggled up in my purse with all the other yarns:

By the way, this is how my purse has been looking lately, full of yarn. I can't find anything for the yarn and socks.