Thursday, March 02, 2006

Found it!





I found the camera last night. It was hiding under one of my broomstick skirts in my room. And here is what I found on it:


Here's Annie, we were having dinner at Fazoli's the first night of the move.


Here's Miss Amy's dog Buttercup, taking a nap on Sunday morning.


Here's Moonie, who just didn't want to step foot out of my bathroom, which she has now considered her personal space.


Here's Vinny, investigating the carpet near the fireplace in my room, which you can't see for the cabinet.


And here is the pair of socks that I finished for Annie last night.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

The Aftermath

Yesterday I was too tired and crammed to post. We did get moved in, but not without casualities. I managed to almost kill myself. Ok, so it wasn't that drastic. I, stupidly, decided to stand on a cooler to reach some stuff way up high, and the cooler had wheels. Can you see this coming? As I lifted my right foot up to step back, I realized too late that the side with the wheels was under my left foot, and down I went. I did save the stack of picture frames in my hands. But, I crammed both of my knees into the hard wood floor. Considering that my left knee was torn apart when I was hit by a car when I was 10 yrs old, and I twisted my right knee 2 weeks ago, I did a brief check to make sure I 1.) was still breathing, depsite the pain and 2.) had not broken anything. I quickly walked it off, and continued with the move. Then, Miss Amy tried to kill. Ok, again, not that drastic, but she did draw blood. Just as I turned with something in my hands, she hit my elbow with her thumb nail. I didn't feel anything at first, then Katie pointed out that I was bleeding, and Miss Amy asked if I wanted my skin back. YUCK! Anyway, the kitties are adjusting to the situation very well. Moonie has managed to venture out of my bathroom, where I had them locked up while we were moving things in. And poor Mr. Vinny is no longer a Mr. any more. He had his operation on Monday, and we found out that not only does he have earmites, but he has tape worms too. Off the regular vet we go this weekend. I can hear my wallet screaming already. I talked to them about giving me meds for both cats, as Miss Moonie is too evil to go anywhere right now. And, speaking of evilness. When the cabel guy came over to install everything, he reached for my bath door and asked if it was a storage closet, Miss Amy screamed, "NO! Big, mean, evil kitty inside! Don't open it!" Poor Moonie is so misunderstood. She's not evil. It's just that she only loves me, and tolerates the rest of the world. Any who! I still have 1 more trip to the old place to get what's left, and we will be forever unpacking! And, no pics right now, as I seem to have misplaced my camera somewhere in the new place. Oops!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Last Moving Update

This will be the last moving update, as I do not plan to have time to post again until after we are all moved in. I know, famous last words! We plan to leave work at 11:30 tomorrow morning, and not return to the office, unless it's burning down, and at that point, there really isn't much use in returning, huh? After we sign the lease and pay the first months rent, then the move is on. Here is the agenda for the remainder of the time:

  • Thursday - break down the bunk beds, pack the girls room, pack front closet, finish packing the kitchen, finish the odds & ends in my room and the living room, and do a few loads of laundry (as my washer has now had a new water pump put into it, at the tune of $155.00. Ouch!)
  • Friday - sign lease and move in.
  • Saturday - move furniture
  • Sunday - unpack and take out stuff for bulk pick up

And last night, I had a nervous break down with the packing. First I ran out of tape, then I thought I was on the verge of running out of boxes and was able to scrounge a few. But, by this point I felt very overwhelmed, gave up and went to bed at 9 o'clock. That's unheard of for me. I would have knitted, but, since I packed it all.....

We tried to go for the size US1 DPN's again today at out LYS, but they still hadn't gotten any in. However, the nice lady working today promised to hold 2 sets back for us when they did get them. And, mission accomplished. We were able to get that billboard! See:

This one's for all you Ohio State Buckeye fans out there. This is right next to the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe here in Columbus. Here's looking forward to the 2007 football season. Yes, I like football, mainly college. We take our sports seriously here in Ohio.

See ya next week!

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Moving Update # 3

It seems to be taking me longer to get stuf done, and the days seem to be moving quicker. AAHHHH! Still, I didn't too bad last night. Miss Amy came over and did the whole moral support, and garbage bag support thing. I did stray a little from the packing plans. Last night I finished most of what I had in my bed room to do, I still have to pack my shoes (mostly heels) and empty the night stand drawers. We bumped the basement up a little and did the laundry area last night. I had to call a washer repairman, as my washer seems to have sprung a leak in the front, but only when the water is filling into the tub? So, he'll be there tomorrow morning, with my mom waiting for him, as we will be moving to a place that has a first floor laundry, and we can't have a leak. I called today to schedule a visit for Vinny and his brother Mushu to the vets on Monday. Both boys will not be feeling like boys by the end of the day, know what I mean? Here's what's left on the agenda:


  • Wednesday - pack shoes and nightstands, finish packing down kitchen (didn't get near that last night), the hall closet, the living room closet, pack down clean laundry, and if I can make it there, help Katie with her room.
  • Thursday - break down the girls' bunk beds with Miss Amy and finish what I don't get to tonight.
  • Friday - sign lease and start moving boxes, drawers and cushions
  • Saturday - move furniture
  • Sunday - unpack and take out trash for bulk pick up at old place.

This is where I am moving from:


I live on the bottom, until Saturday, and have been there since 1997. Wow! That looks odd.

This is where we are moving to:

that's not my car in the drive, btw.


Not bad, huh? Not that I didn't like my old place, but the neighborhood has gone drastically down hill in the past 4 years. Not to mention the problems I have been having for several months, you can read about it here, at the bottom of the page on January 5th's post. It's enough to make anyone wanna move, or commit homicide.

And on the knitting side of things? Nada, zip, zilch, zero! I packed it, good thing I didn't join the Knit Olympics or Sockapalooza, huh?

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Moving Update # 2

Ok, moving days looms ever closer. I did make some head way last night, despite a much need, way too expensive, and too long trip to Wally World. Honest, all I went in for was trashbags and cat food, $134.00 later, I left very disillisioned. Then, after a wasted trip to the library for a book that Katie needed ( for class today, and the branch only had 2 copies, both checked out), I finally made it home to keep packing. Tonight will be more frenzied packing. I will not let this defeat me! I will move with everything packed, even if it kills me! So, here's the plan for the rest of the week:

  • Tuesday - finish packing kitchen, finish odds & ends in my room, the bathroom, hall cabinet, and if I can make it there, the hall closet and living room closet.
  • Wednesday - help Katie finish the girls' room, finish what I don't get done tonight, and move on to the laundry area.
  • Thursday - break down bunk beds with Miss Amy and finish what's left from Wednesday.
  • Friday - sign lease and start moving boxes, drawers, cushions, pillows, etc.
  • Saturday - move furniture.
  • Sunday - unpack and take out trash for bulk pick up at old place.

Again, this is why I haven't moved in 8 1/2 years. And, I had better not have to move for the next 3 to 4 years. I will put down roots, again. And, I think I have TMS ( Tramatic Moving Syndrome).

Monday, February 20, 2006

Moving Update

This is what it has come down to, Moving Updates! Over the weekend, we got more if the house packed, the kitchen table taken down, my bed taken down (box springs and mattress on the floor), the bathroom de-constructed, more boxes packed, and some of the clothes packed. Here's the plan for the rest of the week:

  • Monday - finish packing my room as Katie packs hers
  • Tuesday - finish packing dishes left in the kitchen
  • Wednesday - pack down the hall closet and living room closet, along with odds & ends
  • Thrusday - take down the girls' bunk beds and pack odds & ends
  • Friday - sign lease and start moving boxes
  • Saturday - move furniture from 2 houses to 1
  • Sunday - unpack everything

I think that's what I don't like about moving, and haven't done it for 8 1/2 years. I hate to spend weeks packing everything, just to move it in a day or two, and then spend weeks unpacking it.

On the knitting front, late Saturday night, in my boredom, I made this:


This is for Annie, and I have the second sock on the needles to work on in the wee hours for when I'm not packing.

Speacking of packing, here's Moonie, ready to move:


I have spent days trying to convince her that I can not pack her in one of these boxes, that's it's not humane, but every open box she see, she tries to occupy it before I can get anything into it.

For lunch today, it was a toss up of chinese or Chipotle's. Chipotle's won, and now I wish it had been chinese. At least with chinese, I know when to stop eating. With Chipotle, it's too good to stop, and then I feel miserable from eating too much. Miss Amy blames me for her eating her whole burrito and feeling miserable, so I'll take the blame. On the way back to the office, in our misery, we spotted something we had to circle back around the block to look at. And this is what we saw:


At first, we thought he was eating his lunch on the top of this two story house. Closer inspection, he was painting the eaves.

And here is a pic of what my afternoon has been:


Playing my newest toy , my lovely laptop, reading blogs and eating Hershey's Kissables.

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Edited to add: I took a cool, color quiz. I found the link on Knit Witch's blog. You can find it here.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Can't stop knitting socks

Miss Amy and I sent an order to Knit Picks on Wednesday for some lovely sock yarns. Just as I clicked the send button, Miss Amy noticed that their distrabution center is in Grove City, Ohio. And on closer inspection, it's about 3/4 of a mile from our new place, which is where we had it sent in anticpation of it taking 5 to 14 days to arrive. Good thing we know the neighbors, as it arrived yesterday. It's great that we can get next day service, basically, for our orders. I love it. And, here is my half of the order:


There are 2-50 gm balls of Blush, 2-50 gm of petal, 2-50 grams balls of apricot, 2-50 gm balls of snapdragon and 3-50 gm balls of the blues, all destined to become such lovely socks. All of this on top of the 100 gm ball of Trekking XXL colorway #40, the 50 gm ball of Fortissima colorway # 9070, and the balls I bought at Knitter's Night Out: 50 gm ball of Fortissima colorway #4010 (for Annie), 50 gm ball of Fortissima colorway # 4008 (for Katie), 100 gm balls of Meilenweit Multi colorways #3070 & #3121. And to think that I was always afraid to knit socks. Now I can't stop.

Speaking of knitting socks, here is one I am about to finish:


This is my first attempt at the short row toe. I finished the kitchener stitch just after this photo, and it looks, fits and feels great. Now, to knit the mate.

Ok, every time I go to my LYS, I forget to take my camera so I can get a pic of a bill board near by. Right beside the Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe, there is a huge State Farm bill board in red with white letters that says, "Just in case you hit a Wolverine", and being a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan, I think it's great. And I always manage to forget the damn camera, and today was no exception. Miss Amy and I went to get a pair of US 1 DPN's, forgot camera, and not US 1 DPN's at the store. It must be let down Friday.

Anyway, lots of packing this weekend, and I think maybe we'll dismantle the beds, the kitchen table, and the coffee table and endtables. Lots of laundry too. Fun, fun, huh?

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Headache sorta day....

I seem to have a headache that I can't shake. I've taken asprin and eaten, but, it still won't go away. Maybe it's the dreary, non-wintery day outside that's doing it. Or the lack of knitting, yeah, maybe that's it.

Once again, no knitting due to packing. When will it ever end? Then, once it does end, and we have moved, it will be the unpacking that will do me in. Maybe that's why I hadn't moved in the past 8 years, all the packing and unpacking. But then again, now it's forcing me to throw out all the things that I have hung onto for years that I was postive that I would need eventually. Well, eventually came and I don't need them. Hello Mr. Trashman, bulk pick up for 8 (years of crap, that it). And, I am decidedly not as attached to all of it as I thought I would be.

Well, more packing tonight.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Valentine's Aftermath

Being a single mom, Valentine's day is just another day to me. However, the girls did get me a heart shaped box of chocolates, and a slew of hand made cards. And I bought then little heart shaped boxes of the candy of their choice. The fall out would be that I still have the Bridgette Jones Syndrome (you know, "Have bottom the size of Brazil"), and the chocolates don't help. All they do is sit in the box and call my name until I crack and eat a handful of them.

I am still packing. I have to finish the kitchen, bath, closets, laundry area, and my room. And, I haven't started the girls room.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Slightly Distracted

I forgot to post yesterday, as I was doing some genealogy research, and got excited about a few new discoveries. However, I didn't forget, I did take the pics of my knitting spot.

Here is the spot that I sit in:


Behind me is the lamp, for plenty of light, and to my right is my knitting basket, in an easy location for the kiddies and the kitties to spill my glasses of water into. Also, we have the pillows to prop around me.

Now, for my view from where I sit:


It's kinda dark, but there's the tv, and to the right of the tv is all the boxes for moving, most of which are full.

And, we have less than 2 weeks and counting before the moving day. I still have a bit to pack, too.

Here is a picture that was a bit of a shock. As Annie in one of her moods, flung a Winnie the Pooh across the bedroom, it landed on top of the lamp. She didn't bother to retrieve it, or tell anyone that it was there, and this is what Katie brought to me:


Poor Pooh! He was unceramoniously dumped into the trash can, after the "You Could've Burned the House Down" speech. My mom may forever be known as the one who threw away my favorite Winnie the Pooh (when I was 9), but Annie will forever be known as the "Pooh Killer". I'm hope she has learned something from this besides a way to do away with stuffed animals.

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I just wanted to add that Miss Amy and I did go to Knitter's Night Out (finally), and loved it. Even though we didn't know anyone else, they made us feel very welcome. And I got lots of compliments on my ankle socks. I took the ankle sock that I am working on, for the second pair. On this one, I am trying the short row toe. Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Sorry........

Very busy packing and dealing with two bum knees. I forgot to take the pics of my knitting spot. I know, I am horrible. I will do it over the weeken, and please forgive the mess of the boxes as I pack.

Tonight, Miss Amy and I will be attending Knitter's Night Out at our LYS, finally, for the first time. Here's to a good time!!!

See ya Monday.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Oh my....

Last night I showed my mom the footie socks I finished the night before. After looking them over, she looked at me across the dinner table and said, "Well, at least I know that if we ever go into another recession, I can give you old sweaters to make into socks." She then went on to ask me to make a pair for Grandma, and when I said that I needed her measurements, she hold up her foot and said they were the exact same.

I have taken up the meme tag from Sandy at Sandy's Knitting. So, tonight I will go home and take pics of my knitting spot. Maybe, sans cats and kids. We'll have to wait and see.

And now for something off the wall. I was e-mailed a phots of an oddly shaped island, but I have no idea where it is. This is what is it looks like:


If anyone knows the name of this island or where it is, please let me know. It'll drive me nuts until I find out. Kind like the questions that have been dropped on me in the past. Such as when I work for an optomerist, and Miss PJ's sister wanted to know what fire hoses where made of. I couldn't take it. I called a fire station, told the first fire fighter that answered that I was a high school student doing a report and needed to know. He said he didn't know and gave me the phone number for the manufacturer. I called them and did the same thing. I now know that they are made of rubber and nylon. Or the time Miss PJ's mom called her up, asked what Dorothy's last name was in the Wizard of OZ, and when we said we didn't know, she told us to find out, and hung up. It's Gale.

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I had to add this, as it made me laugh, really hard.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Bridgette Jones Syndrome

As of late, I have had the Bridgette Jones Syndrome - The whole "Have bottom bigger than Brazil!" thing. After dropping more than 50 lbs., and staying somewhat slim for a little over 2 years, I gained about half of it back after the many cookouts over last summer. Now, I have decided that it must come back off, and then a little. And now, I have a partner in crime, Miss Amy. This way, we can help each other stay on the band wagon and be each other's motivation. Let's see how well this works.

On to knitting news. I have finished the Sockotta socks and have knitted a pair of footie socks in Fortissima Colori Disco, colorway # 9052. I only had a 50 gm, and was very happy that I could finish them with some left over.

Here we have the Sockotta socks:


And, yes, those are flame jammies.

Here is the start of the first footie:


And here at the finished footies:


It's my first try with self stripe-ing yarn. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. And, yes, as Miss Amy so politely pointed out over my shoulder, I am that pale. I would have taken more pics of the progress, but these worked up quicker than I expected. But, being stuck on the couch for 2 nights with alternating ice packs and heating pads on my knee helped that. I apparently twisted my right knee Monday morning when I was getting down off the forklift. And, yes, I drive a forklift. So, this much knitting indicates that I haven't been packing, as someone (Conrad) else in the office so graciously pointed out, but in as much pain as I was in, who could blame me.

In non-knitting related pics, here is one of Annie:


We were playing with the Red Hat Society hats in Wally World, and she just looked too adorable. Who wouldn't take a pic of that cute little face.

Anyway, must pack tonight. Only 2 1/2 weeks left to do it in.

Friday, February 03, 2006

Living in a cave?

Yes, I have been living in a cave. While doing my daily blog land reading, I came across something that floored me. I was reading Knitting Queen's site, and saw her link to a company that sells yarn relatively cheap. I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the price on the sock yarns. Just let me say that I was paying 3x's what they charge. How I could have missed this site is still unknown to me. I remember seeing the site recommened on a blog, briefly looking at it, and thinking that I would come back later and check it out. But, Knitting Queen's comment brought me to a dead stop in mid-blog. And, I just love the color selections, too. You can find all of this at Knit Picks. And, for anyone thinking of my birthday (I know, it's not until June - just an early reminder), you can order me sock yarns, 2 balls of anything, and I will love it.

Ok, packing report. I have actually started to pack. And tomorrow, we go to do the final walk through and pay the deposit. I think that once that's done, I can get excited about it.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Just a Quickie!

Here's a quick post. I wanted to show the difference between the puppy my grandma got in Decemeber, and one of her brother pups.

Here is Lady Love:


And here is Winston:


Big difference, huh?

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

And the beat goes on...


To pick up where I left off.

Saturday - The day of the party. The first order of business was yet another trip to Wally World. Then, more cleaning of the house, followed by mad cake decorating. Then on to platter construction, followed by baking a giant cookie for a fruit pizza. How much food could there have been, you ask? Let's count:
  1. Tea Pot cake
  2. Tea Hat cake
  3. Meat and Cheese platter
  4. Finger Sandwich platter (Cuccumber and Eggsalad)
  5. Cheese, Pickle and Olive platter
  6. Chips and Dip
  7. Fruit Pizza
  8. Platter of Sandwich buns

Alot for 5 adults and 6 kids, huh? We're still eating left overs, which is not a bad thing, it means that I don't have to buy lunch this week. And here are the pics:

The Tea Pot Cake:


Here is the Tea Hat cake:


Here is Katie, starting to open gifts:

Here is Katie opening the learn to knit kit from her friend:

Here, she is opening the friendship bracelet kit, from the same friend:

Here, she is getting ready to blow out the candles:

And, here is what is left of the cakes:

While I was off of work, my mom took some time to visit relatives in West Virginia. She brought back a cd-rom of ood family pics for my Family Tree program. They all were very interesting, and the family took time to tell mom stories about each one. Like this one:

My Great Grandparent's wedding photo:

Ozy & Maletha (Blake) Smith

It's little things like this picture, that makes me happy doing my genealogy research.

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Please Note: I have been trying to publish this since Tuesday, however, my computer did not want to co-operate with me.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Back at last!



Ok, for as far as vacations go, it could have been better. I only got to pack 2 very small boxes. And then, there was the rest of the week.

Monday - A very lazy day. Took Katie to school, and watched cartoons with Annie for the rest of the day. Until it was time to pick Katie up from school, anyway. Oh, and at 7 am, I discovered that on A&E, they were showing Pride and Prejudice. The down side, was that is was episode 4 of 6. However, this prompted me to hunt down my Dover Thrift Edition to read. Which, I might add, I bought about 6 or 7 years ago with my SIL Angie, but never read, as I could never find the mood to read the old style english. I spent the evening with my nose in the book, with the exception of the 5 o'clock hour, when Monoarch of the Glen was on BBC America. That's become addicting, even Katie wants to watch it every day.

Tuesday - Tuesday started out really good. After dropping Katie off to school, Annie and I went back to the house to eat breakfast. Then at 9 o'clock, we headed to the library. We got Annie her own card, and I got a new one, as mine expired around 1997. When we got home, I discovered that in the half an hour that we were gone, one of the cats decided to make a mess for me to clean up. It was partly my fault for leaving my half a cup of Caramel Truffel coffee on the end table. And, as you know, cats love to tip cups. Unfortunately for me, it was tipped into my big red knitting bag. Here is my poor bag, and everything on the floor drying.



And here are the knitting books that I found at the library:


And, while I was in the middle of cleaning up the coffee mess, the school called to tell me that Katie broke her glasses in half. But, Katie assured me that she could make until the end of the day when I could get her to the eye center for a new frame.

Wednesday - Was fairly uneventful. Annie and I spent the day watching cartoons again, while Katie was at school. Katie begged me until I sat down with her and taught her how to knit. She picked up amazingly fast. A lot quicker than the crochet. And it finally snowed, see:

And Vinny wanting to know why I'm looking at "That cold white stuff."

Thursay - The madness began. Dropped Katie off the school, and went home with Annie for breakfast and an hour of cartoons. At 9 o'clock we set out for the day. We started at the thrift stores to hunt for 13 different teacups with saucers to match. Some how, I accomplished this, with a few extra mismatch china plates for under $10.00, and had to visit only 2 thrift stores. Then, off to JoAnn Fabrics for a stitch gauge for Katie's birthday gift. Then, off the your neighborhood friendly Wally World. And there, we picked up all the goodies for the party, and everything for Katie to knit with. Which would be: needle sets in sizes 8, 9, 10, 10 1/2, & 11; stitch markers; point protectors; a cable needle; row counters; a folder for patterns; a small note book for pattern notes; & 3 balls of Bernat Softee Chuncky. I got the bright idea to put everything a box and wrap it. And, as I forgot to get tulling for wrap the teacups with, we went back to Wally World after I picked her up from school. On the way, she asked if I had picked up everything that I promised to, and I told her that I forgot, but we didn't have time to do it now. What an evil mother I am. So, as I waited for the girl to cut the tulling, Katie asked to go look at the knitting needles. I told her ok, but to hurry up because we were short on time. All the way home she was beyond disappointed. When we got home, I picked the box up off the kitchen table as I passed, and handed it to her in the living room. She looked at asked if Auntie Angie had come already with her birtday gift, with great depression in her voice. However, after she opened it, she was beyond excited. As seen here:

We sat down and filled the tea cups with candy and wrapped them in tulling:

Friday - Katie's 11th birthday! Friday was spent picking up and planning while Katie was at school. And that evening was spent baking the cakes. And, have you ever got that feeling that some one is watching you? This is what I saw when I lowered my book:


Note that all you can see of Moonie is her eyes, ears and white spot. Very spooky.

Running out of time today. I will post tomorrow with the party and aftermath of the party.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Happy Dance Time

No posting next week, as I will be at home cleaning and packing to move. And knitting somewhere in the back ground, probably when I shouldn't. But, on to today.

I did cast on for the mate to the sock I just finished, and I'm an inch into the leg. I see this being done in no time flat. I should have it finished by Sunday at the latest.

At lunch, I did manage to find the every elusive size L crochet hook that I need to make Annie's poncho. You wouldn't think that would be a hard thing to find, but every store I was in would either be out, or just didn't carry it. But my trusty little yarn shop (Heavenly Creations) had one. And I kinda was depressed. While Miss Amy and I were there, on our lunch hour, the lady that was working there today, was sitting by herself knitting. She told us to bring our knitting in and join her. And, as much as we would have loved to, and way beyond tempted to, we couldn't. On the way back to the office, we both just wanted to turn around and go back for an afternoon of knitting.

Anywho, lots of updates on knitting and packing when I return.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Sock Obsessions Continues! All the way to Canada!

Working in the transportation business, you have a lot of opportunities to talk to people from all over. And I found a fellow knitter at another transportation company in Canada. Hi Brandy! And, I answered a call from another girl in the same office today (Hi Laura!), she passed along that Brandy liked the socks that I made not too long ago. Brandy has dubbed them the office socks. So, here's another sock for you, Brandy.

Before doing the kitchener on the toe.



After doing the kitchener on the toe, but I still need to weave in the ends.



This pic just doesn't do the colors justice. I used Plymouth's Sockotta, and the colors are blues, greens and purple. I still need to make the mate, but that shouldn't take too long. And, I have already planned my next pair to be done in Trekking, the colors in a variegated blue. Those should take me no time at all, as I will be on vacation all next week.

Here are a few belated pics from Annie's birthday trip to Build A Bear.

Here is where she has picked the animal she wants.



Here, she is helping to stuff the collie dog she picked.

And, here she is, happy and ready to pick out clothes for the new member of the family.

Notice that she is complete with the "Birthday Girl" tiara that Auntie PJ bought her the same morning. The next big step is Kindergarden. Where did the time go?

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

The Pleasures of Children!

Small children with big imaginations are very amusing. First, Annie decided that she wanted to be a magician. So, here we have:

Annie the Great


A few days and a pair of swim goggles later, and she is now Willy Wonka.


Scary how she resembles Johnny Depp, huh? All we lacked was the purple rubber gloves.

And, unfortunely, I have no new pics of Katie to post, as she is of the age to run from cameras. But, the thought of doing something embarassing now, and the threat of mom showing future boyfriends said pics, has her running like no tomorrow. Eventually, Annie will feel the same way.

My sock obession has moved on. I am currently working on a pair in Sockotta, in a very lovely blue, green and purple colorway. I finished a whole sock, ends weaved in and all, just to realize they were just a little too snug, even on Katie. So, it was frogged, and a new sock started. And, comparing progress with Miss Amy, she looks at me to say, "Why is it that you say that you re-started your sock last night, and you're to the heel already? And I say that I worked on mine for a few hours, and I am just finishing the 1 1/2" rib?" I dunno. Anyway, socks pics tomorrow, as I seem to have forgotten my USB cord, yet again.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Still recovering!

I was unable to post last week, as I was on my couch very, very sick. It was a combination flu/stomach virus with a sinus infection. And to top it off, my body wouldn't run a fever, so I developed a fever blister on my lip instead. And since the girls were at home with me, and causing all kinds of aggrevations, I decided they needed to watch the James Bond marathon on AMC. Needless to says, I am missing my couch very much, as I still don't feel too well today.

I have finally got the energy to hook up the dvd recorder Miss Tammi got me for Christmas, and quickly figured out how to set it to record Knitty Gritty on DIY. That way I can catch the episodes that I missed.

Also, last Monday, Annie turned 5. We had a cake and ice cream party, and then it was off to the mall to Build A Bear. She almost got a pink poodle, but the black and white collie won out. That, and it helped that she already had a puppy to carry around. I forgot the USB cord, so I'll have pic spam tomorrow.

Next week, it's a week off again. It's my one week a year of voluntary, unpaid, vacation. I'll usr that to clean for Katie's birthday party, since she wants a tea party. And to knit, of course.

And, over the weekend, Miss Amy and I looked at an apartment that we may rent and share. It's large enough and puts the girls in better schools. Plus, I get a bigger bedroom, with a fireplace. After 8 years in the same tiny apartment, I think it's time for a change. If we don't get it, I'll take that as a sign I need to stay where I am, and wait a few more years for a bigger, better place. We'll just have to wait and see.

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I almost forgot to add this: The Greatest Blonde Joke Ever

Thursday, January 05, 2006

So, I slacked!

It has been the week from hell! Between the computer issues, kid issues and nasty neighbor issuses, I am ready for my padded cell. Come haul me away, boys!

I did manage to finish my Irish Hiking Scarf. See:




And I have managed to finish the house socks.


Socks pic, with cat. As you know, cats love photo ops.


As for my nasty neighbor situation. As far as my landlord and I can figure, she has rented the upstairs apartment to an alleged drug dealer/pimp and his hoes. What lovely news, huh? So, there has been battles to keep the security door locked, the gates closed, people out of my designated parking space, and loud noise issues. Just what a single mother needs to deal with, eh? Due to some self-restant and no access to a deadly weapon, I have been able to keep myself out of jail, thus far. Then I find where the idiot has hit my car with his van door on several occasions. The new car I just bought in June. Thus, this pic:
Can you guess what color his van is? Soon, I'll have pics of my car color on his van.

Needless to say, I am quickly becoming the irrate neighbor from Hell! The funny thing is, I wasn't the first person to call the landlord. The lady who owns the building next door, and who lives there was. When my landlord called me, I just confirmed her fears. And added to it a puddle in the middle of my kitchen floor, a fallen gutter, and the rest of the above mentioned problems. She now calls me daily to see what else has happened. Cranberry and Amaretto, here I come.