Back from exile!

I have my beloved laptop back! Yippee! Not to mention that last week I was on vacation. We didn't really do much, shopped the book stores, shopped the yarn stores, took Katie to her dentist appointment, those kind of things. In the mean time, I have lots of pics. So, let's dive right in, shall we?

To start off the excitement, here is my Summer Sock Swap package from Anne. Just look at all the goodies and the gorgeous sock.


Here is the fabulous skein of Opal she sent:

Here is a better shot of the sock she made me, from Trekking that she found while in the Netherlands. The pattern is Karen's Lace, and I love it:

Here is a tealight holder and yummy smelling tealights (I love candles):

Here's some absolutely great smelling soap:

A post card for my collection:

Some yummy chocolates (had to fight the girls off, they wanted to eat them right away):

A cute note card:

And, finally, the sock on my foot. Just like the socks Anne made me for my birthday (which are my favorite socks, I wear them all the time), they fit me as if I made them. Such a perfect fit:


This weekend, we are off the the Ohio Renaissance Festival. So, I have been busy cutting fabric, and I'll be sewing my little heart out rest of the week. But, Katie doesn't need a costume. After rummaging through my old customes and bits, she has decided to be a pirate wench. And with her attitude, it fits her. Have a peek:

I finished my socks for September for the SAM KAL 4. Another pair of Simply Lovely Lace socks for me:

Specs:

Yarn: Regia
Color: brown
Needles: US 1 DPN's
Pattern: Simply Lovely Lace from Interweave Knits Spring '06
Started: August 26, 2007
Finished: September 6, 2007

This past weekend, Miss Casi, the girls and I went to the Wool Gathering in Yellowsprings, Ohio. I took my camera, but only thought to take any pics at the end of the trip. So, here's Annie, entertaining everyone in the waiting area of the Golden Jersey Inn restarant at the dairy, with a puppet show. They were finger puppets that I bought her.

I did get another set of Crystal Palace US 1 DPN's, to replace the set of which I lost a needle at the Morris family reunion. I got another type of US 1 DPN's that I can't think of right now. I got some Paca-Peds sock yarn in fall colors. And I think that's it. I'll be going again next year.

Up next is a pic of Annie eating a home made waffle. See, during the time my laptop was down, I found a great little waffle iron for $8 at Wally World. I couldn't pass it up, and it's proved it's worthy-ness.

Next up is the package that was on the porch today. It's my Football Along Swap package from Holly. Yippee! So, here's what was in the box. We start off with some plates and napkins in the football theme:

Up next is Lorna's Lace Celtic Denim pattern, I can't wait to try this one:

Next we have some Kiogu Sock yarn, in colors close to the my favorite pro team, the Dallas Cowboys:

There was also a goodie bag! And she got all my favorites - York, gummy bears, Lindt's mint chocolate and M&M's:

She also sent me 3 of her family's favortie dip recipes, and they are all my favorite, too:

And, a blue candle, the scent is Blackberry Cobbler, yum!

In other things, I'll be sending out Harvest Sock Swap pals tomorrow. This is the biggest swap so far, there are 32 of us. This will be fun!

And, I got my Ravelry invite today! I played on it at work between things. It's addictive, with a capital A!!!! So, after I get the pals out, if I drop off the face of the earth, that's where I'll be. My Ravelry name is Rosiegypsy, if you'd like to say hi. Off to drag out my stash.

So, on Friday I was inspired while reading my blog list. On Babycocktails and Knitting, I noticed her finished Josephine top from the Summer '07 Interweave Knits, and remembered seeing it when I bought my copy of the issue. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. At lunch I ran and bought some Paton's Grace, in the taupe color. Well, after 2 false starts ( I was apparently too tired to add correctly) I got the count right on Saturday morning. I worked a couple of rounds and then took the girls to the mall, since Katie's BFF stayed the night. I worked on it some more when we got home, and few rounds on Sunday. It was on Monday that I made lots of head way. See, I had to take Katie in for a physical for school volley ball. In the , almost 4 to 5 hours of sitting in the doctor's office, I got a lot done. Granted, my thumb is hurting and just a little swollen. But, here is how much I have done:

I am loving this pattern! As you can see, I've decided to knit it in the round, just because I don't want to have to seam.

While I was pulling this pic off of the camera, I found a few more that I haven't posted. So, to begin with, I'll start with someone who decided to hide from the house for a while, and that would be Miss Moonie:


Then, I forgot to post the great socks that Anne made for me for the Summer Sock Party '07:

They fit me perfectly! And the colors are great.

Up next, is a pic of when Moonie decided to rejoin the rest of the world, and tried to share Butter's bed, and as you can see, Butter wasn't too thrilled about that.


Then, I found the one of where we were vacuuming the living room, and the cats hate that dreaded machine. This is were I found them, hiding behind the couch.


Then, the highlight of the weekend before. The new Harry Potter book! I stalked the mail man until he showed up.


And, as I said in my post on Friday, I met Beth. And she brought me her pizzell iron.


And, of course, I had to try it right away!


And here are the yummy almond flavored pizzells that I made:

Despite the fact that everyone said they didn't like almond flavored, they sure disappeared very quickly.

Nothing much in general

I was updating a couple of the sock swap blogs, and thought I'd update this one, too. There's not too much going on. Katie has a softball game tonight. I have taken a couple of days off at work, specifically Friday and Monday, as Saturday is my birthday. I just want to enjoy a couple of days off, paid, for my birthday. So far, as much as I know, we have 6 pm reservations at the Japanese Steak House and then it's off to see the movie 1408. Miss PJ and her husbeast are going to join us, and maybe Mr. S's friend Casi and her husband. But what worries me is the fact that last night, while watching Ghost Hunters, Mr. S looked at me and said, "Now, honey, I know it's your birthday, and you like to sleep in on Saturdays, but we need to be up, ready and out the door by 8 am. Don't ask, just be ready." Now, I'm the type that I like to plan ahead. I like to be prepared for what ever. That comes from raising 2 children on my own. But, I'm not too good with surprises. Well, gifts can be surprises. But I don't like events or trips to be surprises. I'm the type of person that you can tell me you got me a gift, tell where you hid it, and I could care less, I'll wait till you hand it to me. But tell me that you have planned a trip and not tell me one single detail, and I'll go crazy. So, I'll do what I normally do with Mr. S, I'll question and push until he can't take it anymore and he caves and tells me. What was it he called me the other day? Oh yeah. A "pushy broad." Hee hee! I guess I can't help it. It's a side effect from being on my own for so many years.

Oh well. At least I have some sock knitting to look forward to tonight at the game. That is, if the game doesn't get too exciting, like it did Monday night. (And yes, girls' softball games can get exciting.) I only got 5 rows done on Monday.

If you are interested in taking a peek, I am in the process of wrapping up the Sock Hop Swap '07, and today is the kick off of the Summer Sock Party '07.

Happy Knitting!

Warmer days ahead

Finally, it has warmed up! We didn't freeze our behinds off at the game last night. But, the girls lost, again. The score was 20 to 7. And I got my camera back from Mr. S, so I have pics. I'll start off with the pics I took at Thursdays game.

First up, we have Katie just before the game started:


Katie warming up for next at bat:



The team sitting on the bench (note that all the parents are sitting under blankets):

Katie and her BFF, Taylor:


And I have to have a pic of Annie. This one was from Sunday, and she is wearing the dress that her Aunt PJ made her:

Katie on first base at last nights game:


Katie, making a catch at first base that resulted in an out for the other team.


Katie covering first base:


And this is just because I found it in the folder. It's "evil Vinny". Notice the red gift bow on his head. (and don't worry, he's really not evil, he was yawning, hee hee)

Well, I took some knitting with me to the game last night. And I think that was a good thing, with all the bad calls and such. I took my Candle Flame Shawl with me, but haven't taken any pics. I just reached the half way point. I figured that I have to finish it some time, and if I actually work on it, it'll get done. I just finished the 9th repeat of the 18 that I have to do for the correct length. So, the way I figure it, if I do at least a repeat a day (mind you, each repeat is 36 rows), I should get it finished within the next week and a half. But, this weekend is a 3 day weekend, and I should have plenty of time to knit, since I can't go on the hiking trip I wanted to do. Especially after the gas prices here went from $3.15 yesterday to $3.49 today, and that's the cheap grade. I don't know about anyone else, but I am tired of all the oil and gas companies getting rich off of my meager pay check. Sorry. Started ranting there. But, I'll take a pic of my Candle Flame Shawl tonight and post it tomorrow.

Oh, speaking of tomorrow. (The sun'll come out, tomorrow. Betcha bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun! - Sorry, that just popped out) Annie graduates from kindergarten tomorrow. So, I have taken the day off to help mom get a few things done and attend the graduation. Also, it's more knitting time.

Don't forget, sign ups for the Summer Sock Party are open and everyone is welcome. Just drop me an e-mail or leave a comment.

I'm up and running!

I have a new cord for my laptop! Yippee! As I told Lexa, I have never been more happy to see 158 e-mails in all my life. And during the great laptop black out of '07, I realized exactly how much my sanity depends on my laptop. Is that a good thing? I'm pretty sure it's not, but I can cope with that.

Last night, Katie had an away game. They lost. They seem to win the home games, and lose the away games. Last Thursday, they only lost by 1 point. Last night, the score was 14-2. But, I don't blame them. It was really cold. All of the parents were bundled up and under blankets. I could see my breath, that's how cold it was. That's not normal for Ohio in mid-May. I sat and knitted for as long as my fingers could take it. Poor Mr. S almost froze to death. Ok, so maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but he was really, really, really cold. He was still shivering when we got back to the house. And I thought I got cold easily. Annie, on the other hand, was running and playing on the play ground and didn't feel the cold at all. I took pics, but they are on the camera, and Mr. S has the camera. He's bringing it back tonight, so I'll try to post them over the weekend.

Oh, and for those that are interested. We are looking to start a second round of the Summer Sock Party. If you are interested, please leave a comment or e-mail me. Because of the suddenly exploding social agenda, I will make this swap a guest blogging event. That way, if I am running behind on updates, the participants can do their updates. I'll have sign ups open until June 16th, and the "party" will begin on June 21st. I'm hoping it's a big party this year.