apple dapple doo

I really thought that starting a blog would help me knit more. No, I really thought it would. But I spend way too much time at knit, reading all these other blogs. Time I should be knitting. And now I've just discovered that I may be guilty of stealing bandwidth. I don't know what it is really, or if I did do it, but now I feel even less sure of my blogging abilities. I don't know if anybody is even reading this here thing, not that it's the only reason I'm doing this. But I really wish somebody was, so they could tell me where to go for help. I wonder if there is some place I can find blog help, even if I have to pay for it.

So enough whining for now.

My dear friend Lizz (yes, my other jogging buddy) used to think that Prince said, in his song I Would Die For You, instead of those very words...Apple Dapple Doo. That is the best wrong lyric I've ever heard!!!

stash or new

Ok, so my Dana Friend reminded me this weekend that I have lots of sock yarn in my stash. She told me this just after telling me that she wouldn't be accompanying me to The Yarn Cafe.
She is right, of course. I do have several skeins of Cascade Fixation in the stash, waiting to be made into something. But I'm not sure if that's what I want to use for my sock pal's socks. Partly because I don't really like the yarn, but mostly because I want to go to the yarn store with my sock pal in mind, and pick out something that calls to me, for her. Is that weird? I need more yarn like I need a hole in my head, but I can't help it. Plus, I really don't knit this yarn all that well. It's got elastic in it, and I never can keep the tension right. I have made a pair of socks with it, and they are just fine, but I feel like I need more practice with it. So, I'm making a headband out of some leftovers, for practice.
Not like a -let's get physical- headband, but something to really soak up sweat, since I'm up to running for 10 minutes at a time. Yes, 10 minutes. I'm so proud of myself! And Carol, of course...whatever she runs I have to match. Not that I'm at all competitive. I'm really not! She just inspires me.
Ok, so back to socks. ( just misspelled socks in a terrible manner, one which could have resulted in a certain type of people checking out this site in the hopes that they would get to see something that rhymes with socks, but isn't socks. OMG~I just did it again!!)
I've cracked myself up so seriously over that thought, that I completely lost whatever it was I was going to type next. So perhaps this should just be the end of this obscene post.

Goodnight
ps-holy cats, we had a righteous storm today! I was actually more afraid on my drive home tonight than I have been yet in any snow storm. Thought my car might end up floating away, there was so much water on the roads and in gutters.

wee little socks

I don't believe these socks could be any cuter! Nor could little TDub, wearing them on his hands. I didn't share that picture, just because. Trust me, it's very cute. His feet are almost big enough for them. They reminded me of why I enjoyed knitting socks, the two other times I've done so. It's fun, and you get almost immediate gratification. Sure, the yarn is puny and the needles are abitch to work with, but you can see progress so quickly.
These socks were knit with plain old Sugar 'n Cream kitchen cotton, with size 7 DPNs. Was easy, quick, and very similar to a 'regular' sock, with the heel turning and picking up of stitches. I don't even believe I made any booboos. I mean, I'm sure I did but nothing I can see outright.

So, tomorrow is garage sale day for me. Dana friend and Kelly started today. Dana said it was a zoo! And that someone even bought lots of my junk. I'll have to go root around for more junk to sell! I'm pretty sure I've got junk I don't even know about!

Speaking of junk, my workout has been suffering this week, due to crazy work hours. I've only exercised Sunday, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday this week. None for me tonight~I've taken a 'sleeping aid' (doncha just love the terminology of sleeping pills?) and it won't be long before I am gone.
And by gone I mean asleep. Snoring. (which, according to my beloved, I do. On occasion) (the nerve of him, to say such a thing. Next thing I know he'll be accusing me of being the farter and not the fartee.) Ok, where was I? Oh yes, sleeping. Sleeping is good, and I haven't done nearly enough of it this week. So I've made an attempt to 'aid my sleep' and will hopefully be crashing soon. So, probably, I should be finishing this here post. So I won't further embarass myself. Great word, isn't it? Embarass.
I will buy sockapal-2-za sock yarn this weekend, and maybe post pictures. Can't wait to get started!!!
I just woke up with a start, so this means the end.
For now.
Good night...

happy days

One of these days I'm gonna get my shit together and really figure out this blog business. I see so many cool blogs, and I have dreams of having my own really cool blog. Problem is, sometimes I'm blogging when I should be knitting. I mean, I want to be knitting all the time, right? So, when I'm blogging, I really want to be knitting. When I'm reading OPB (Other Peoples Blogs) I can knit at the same time. Depending of course on what I'm knitting.
But, no matter how hard I try, I cannot knit and type at the same time.
Yes I have.
Tried.
Failed.
Gave up.

Beyond failure...
I finished the wee little baby socks. They are blocking. That's my loving euphemism for washing the hell out of them and throwing them in the dryer. Gotta be wash and dryable, right? Tomorrow I will give them to T Dub and hope they don't fall apart. But really, he's not even a month old, so how tough do they have to be? And the sockies are too big for him yet, I think. I really don't know, I have no idea what size these guys would be considered.
I'll take a picture of them tomorrow when they are nice and dry, and try to post it. Wish me luck, it's been awhile since I last posted a picture.

My beloved is feeling so much better today~I am so happy about that. I hate for him to be having so much pain. Today was the first day he was able to be up for longer than 20 minutes! On the road to recovery.

Ok, it's looking like bedtime around here.

Goodnight!

too bad

Wow! Who knew it could take so long to knit two little baby socks? Of course, it isn't so much that it's taking me a long time as it's just that I don't get to knit very much.
Why is that?
It's really all I want to do!
I am so close to being done with the2nd (3rd) sock that I can't stand it. I may just stay up a bit late tonight to finish it. Then it will be out of my hair, and I will just throw away the 1st sock.
At least, I inted to toss it.
Sometimes stuff happens to me on the way to my intentions.

Then I must start the socks for my Mama. I also need to get the yarn for my Sockapal-2-za socks. No idea when that can happen. I hate leaving my beloved any more than I already do for work. But a month of all husband and nothing else is gonna make me a very boring (and bitchy) girl. So maybe I'll hit up my Dana Friend for a trip to The Yarn Cafe, for some yarn and snacks. We are having a garage sale Saturday (yikes, I still have to get my stuff together for that!) so maybe we can yarn Sunday.

I thought for sure today we were gonna be swept over by a tornado. It would be my first time. In a tornado, that is. No such luck. In truth, I'm glad. My co-workers all know that if a tornado should appear they are on their own. I will be gone in a flash, and won't be checking to see if anyone needs assistance. Running out into the hall looking for the nearest stairwell in which to hide (and pee my pants!).
It would be...not pretty.

It is time, yet again, for bed. How it comes upon my so quickly I will never know.

Goodnight.

HFD

Happy Father's Day! I talked to mine this morning, he was in a great mood. Isn't it funny how Dads get so mellow? Bill P was never mellow when I was growing up. More like grizzly than teddy. But now, well, now he's just a sweetie.
Time, (and wisdom~I like to call it wisdom anyway) has shown me that my Dad did the best he could at raising his kids. After all, there's no instruction booklet that comes with a baby, is there?
I have a nice father-in-law too. He's very much like Bill P. Actually, my husband and I have have commented many times about how similar our parents are...it's kinda weird. But in a good way.

So, out of 6 movies watched there have only been 2 good ones so far. Cellular and The Big Bounce. Of course, I love any move that has Owen Wilson in it. He just cracks me up!! He was in classic form in The Big Bounce.
One of the movies that sucked (Cold Mountain) did have a great line that I'm gonna try to use at some point in my life~'He's got a shit comin' and it's overdue'. Now, that is just funny!
And I do believe that Renee Zellweger deserved every bit of the Oscar that she won for her role in that movie. She acted her ass off!
(I still can't help but wonder if Jack White is really a man, or a woman dressed up as a man)

Ok, time to go be with family and celebrate all the Dads in the world.
Thanks to mine, for never giving up on me and for always being my Daddy, no matter how old I get.

here we go

So, the surgery went without a hitch, and the long, boring days of recovery are upon us. I really don't know how my husband will make it through a full month of only laying flat and walking, with brief periods of sitting up for eating.
Gonna be a long one.

I didn't get to knit in the hospital nearly as much as I thought I might. But I did get another baby sock knit, and (as I suspected) I am knitting another one to match it. Maybe I will knit another one to match the first one I knit. Or maybe I'll just throw it away! I have always been the kind of knitter that doesn't throw away anything. But in my old age I am letting go of some things, and that is one of them. I've even been throwing away all the different containers I've been saving forever. This is a big deal for me. I mean, I keep everything! With the thought that I may be able to use it someday! It's a sickness, I know.

Now I need to clean out my pantry, so my husband will have room in there for the stuff (food, like microwave popcorn, granola bars, fruit cups) that he insists on keeping in a pile on the dining room floor. Not true~it's not really in a pile. Stacked neatly against a wall. But still, in the dining room, on the floor? When I've already made room in a cabinet for his stuff? That he refused to use? He is not supposed to bend or twist, so I will clean off a shelf in my pantry for his things. I go back to work Monday, and want him to be able to get all the things he needs/wants for himself, easily. This will help me to not worry about him so much, maybe. Well, I'll still worry too much, but it will help knowing that he has his food stuff where he can easily get to it.

Well, I believe it's time to go knit. Husband is watching the 4th of 10 movies rented to help keep his mind from melting. He started in the As and by the time he got the the Cs he had 10. So there are still lots more to go. That's good. A guy can only kill people (Xbox) for so long without needing a little diversion.

more

I'm so excited! I've officially been accepted into Alison's Sockapal-2-za over at The Blue Blog. Now I get to buy yarn and figure out a pattern, and get knitting. Has to be done and ready to mail by September 15th. I think to myself 'that won't be a problem, that's plenty of time', but deep down inside I can't help but htink of what a horrible procrastinator I am.
But I will get them done in time!

Not much knitting going on the last two days. Busy, busy at work, and after. We had a little baby shower today after work for Deb, who is pregnant with her second child. It was great fun, and so nice for us to all be enjoying ourselves and each other.

My husband is having surgery on his back tomorrow, and I am home with him for the next 5 days. I predict, and am hoping for, lots of knitting! In fact, I need to get my act together and get all my good stuff in a bag for tomorrow. So this should end this short post.

Short and sweet. Just like me. Well, short and sometimes sweet. Mostly short and stout, just like the teapot. But today during my run/walk I made it two miles in 35 minutes! I've been slowly increasing my speed, and it's paying off. I'm very pleased, and actually quite proud of myself. Who knew I'd still be running after a month?
Just keep running chicken. This is our motto now. I should get some shirts made up!

Ok, really now.
Good night!

I just don't know

Well, today was one of those days that we wait all winter for...sunny, blue skies. Light breeze. Temps in the low 80's.
Today was made even better by getting to spend it with some of my favorite people. Our niece turned 16 Tuesday and her family birthday gathering was today. I don't get to see her and her sister and parents nearly enough.
Snicker got to go with us to enjoy the birthday festivities. He got all hopped up on sugar~we may have 'accidentally' shared some Rice Krispy Treats with him. But he was still a good boy. A little hyper, but good. It's actually amazing how well he behaves with lots of people around, since it's usually just the three of us.
I got to knit a bit on the road, and a little bit once we got there. I have taught my two nieces and their mom to knit, so they are usually quite interested in whatever I am knitting. They liked the little baby sock~the 2nd one I have going.
I really like this 2nd one a lot better than the first. I'm certain I will knit another, to match this 2nd one. At least it is good practice, and I do have lots of sock knitting to do in my future.

I figured out the other day that I/we have been running since May 18th. We are now running for 15 minutes out of 30, and it's going really well. I am still enjoying the heck out of it, and have bragged about it now to my family. I may even get my hair cut really short tomorrow, just to accomodate the jogging. Well, the sweating that I do when I'm jogging. It's really hard to make myself presentable when my hair is sopping wet. I'll talk to my hair gal tomorrow, and see what she suggests. It doesn't help that I am incredibly lazy with my hair, and really want only to have to wash it in order for it to look good. LAZY!!

It seems to be time for bed. Where does the time go?
Goodnight!

es oh see kay es

1st baby sock
So, I decided yesterday afternoon at work that I could knit a pair of baby socks in the evening and have them ready to be delivered to new baby when he came to visit today. I was half right. I got one sock done.
And I don't like it.
Well, I do like it, sort of. It's not bad for a first try. I've already cast on for the second, and have a feeling I may be knitting a third, to match the 2nd. Socks need to match, you know what I mean? And the first one looks like it was a first try...not awful, but not something I'd want to give as a gift.
So, I'll be in baby sock heaven for awhile. It'll be good practice for me, since I'm hoping to get into the Socka-Pal-Two-Za with Allison over at The Blue Blog. And I also need to knit that Amethyst yarn into socks for my Mom. The baby sock pattern is knit in the same manner as an adult sock. I don't know why that surprises me, but it does.

Ok, the thoughts running through my brain are no longer connecting at all. Gotta go do something about that!

TFB!!! (that was for Meredith & Jim & Mike!)

Yeah!!

So, today I got to join the Sockapal-2-za over at The Blue Blog. I'm kinda nervous, but excited too. I thought too long about joining, and when I went to her blog to sign up she had closed it. Then I see today she has opened it up again. So I joined! Woo Hoo!! Like I said, nervous but excited too. First time I've done something like this...

I still have not finished the purple shawl, but am so ready to move on to another project. Still waiting for my Mom to send me the measurements of her feet, then I can make her the Amethyst socks. Maybe I should just go ahead and start some gauntlets. I'm just afraid of the pattern, and don't know why. That's typical of me though, to get a little scaredy and let it hold me back. I may surprise myself and just jump right in. Seems kind of wrong though, to start something new when I am so close to being done with the shawl.

I will have plenty of time to knit next week, since my husband has decided to have surgery on his back. He has a herniated disc, and has been in various stages of pain for a year and a half now. So, it's time for a laminectomy, a realtively minor procedure, as far as back surgery goes. Since I'm the chief nurse and bottle washer around here, I got to take time off work to stay home and care for the boy. With any luck he'll get tanked on pain pills and I can just knit my ass off! Of course, I don't want him to have so much pain that he needs to get tanked, but just for a moments there, it was a lovely thought. I have so much yarn, and little free time.

No bike ride this afternoon. Went out for dinner with a girlfriend after work instead. One of the same girls that I've been jogging with. Lizz and Carol are the best. Carol didn't get to join us tonight, but Lizzie and I ate and drank in her honor. I had no idea those Smirnoff Raspberry drink things were so yummy!

All right, my brain is shutting down now, so that means it's time to shut down this here blog too. Maybe my next post will be a picture of a new project.
It could happen.
Goodnight.

missing

There's been a sad lack of knitting at my house. I don't seem to be able to knit more than one row at a time on my purple shawl. No matter what I'm doing, I get one row knit and then stop. Minutes go by, and I knit another row. This kind of knitting is too slow! I'll never get the purple shawl done at this rate!! What is wrong with me?!
Wait, don't answer that. I paid a lot of money many years ago to find out what was wrong with me, and I don't want to know if there's something new going on.

Tonight my boys and I rode over to Quizno's for dinner, and then back home. It was perfect bike riding weather. Boy, these are the days I dream of during those long months of dreary, gray and cold.
I thought long and hard about wearing my helmet tonight. I just like to feel the wind blowing through my hair. I know, I could be one traumatic brain/spinal cord injury away from feeling anything ever again, much less the wind in my hair. But I'm thinking about it at least. Do I get points for that? And I nagged my beloved about getting a helmet for him, even went so far as to say that we wouldn't ride anymore if we didn't both HAVE AND WEAR helmets. He doesn't believe me. I don't really blame him. It was pretty much bullshit at this point. But not next time. Next time we ride, I will wear my helmet. That's a promise!

On the way to Quizno's we rode through a park with several ponds spaced throughout the whole thing. At one pond, as I wheelded past, I noticed a 'thing' sticking up out of the ground. I had to stop and check it out, you know? I couldn't believe it~it was a turtle! Sitting with his bottom half in a hole, not doing anything but sitting. I mentioned it to my husband, but kept riding. We went home through the same park, and sure enough, the little turtle was still there, but this time I could see he was actively digging. Using his hind legs, he was digging himself further down into the ground. When I commented to my beloved about him still being there, he told me that 'he's probably a she and she's probably digging a hole to lay eggs.' How about that?
So now I can't wait to go back and see what the turtle was up to. Most other bike rides I bring my camera long, just in case there is something picture-worthy. Do you think I had my camera with tonight? Oh no, of course not.
So no pictures of Mr. Turtle digging a hole. No pictures of little doggie actually sitting on his butt with his front paws up on the rim of the basket ( a major deal after the 'incident' on our last ride-doggie decided for no apparent reason to jump out of basket while we were rolling along. Thank goodness I have him attached to basket by a short leash!). No pictures of my cutie husband on his really cool bike.
I suck.
No knitting.
No pictures
Good place to say goodnight.

I hate that word

yarn for gauntlets

Ok, so my sleeping pill is gonna kick in any minute now, so I gots to be quick. Hopefully I won't misspell nuthin' cuz I won't have time to check.
Maybe this isn't the best shot of the Lanna Grossa Meilenweit blue denim wool & cotton mutiringel. Now that's a name I like. MULTIRINGEL I bet it sounds great with a fake accent. My friend Renate (she's German) would make this multiringel really sound awesome in her awesome German accent. Did I say that she's German?

Well, enough being funny. Hah! No.way.must.be.funny. I dreamed the other night that I was hanging around with Captain Kirk. Now wasn't he something? I just loved the way he timed his lines. Pure perfection. And his delivery! Bones, does it get any better than this?

Seriously, I shouldn't be talking smack about the captain. I might get beamed up, and I'm not ready!

Anyhoo~there was supposed to be some yarn in this here post, and I hope to heaven I already did that part, cause there ain't nothing more I can do here.

'Cept to say good night. Pill may have kicked in somewhere in there. Can you tell? Nah!

Good night!

make up my mind

No work for me tomorrow, and boy am I happy! Told my little doggie that we would go check out some yard sales in the morning~just the two of us. He was suitably excited. He just has a little nub of a tail, and when it wiggles so does his whole body. So dang cute! I wonder how many times I've said that about him?
Yes, I am in love with my dog. Not in a sick, perverted way. Just a sweet, he's-so-cute-I-wanna-mash-him way.
That sentence brings to mind one of my all-time favorite jokes...What's the difference between kinky & perverted? When you're kinky you use a feather, when you're perverted you use the whole chicken!

Maybe I shouldn't have posted that, but oh well. It says something about my sense of humour. It just always makes me laugh. Someday I may even tell my Joe Shit joke, which is my absolute, # 1, all-time favorite joke.

Yes, I've known for a long time that there's something wrong with me.

I still haven't decided what to do with the Amethyst yarn. Gauntlets, or socks? Gauntlets or socks? I'm leaning toward socks, since I promised my mother I'd make her some. And that was a long time ago.
But I really want to make some of those gauntlet things. I even bought two skeins of yarn just for them. One is a denim type yarn, the other a cool multi-color pink/green/yellow/orange variegated. Both are Meilenweit by Lana Grossa. I can't wait to see how they look all knitted up. Maybe I'll post a picture of them, in their virginal, un-knitted, still with the label on the skein glory.

For now, it's looking like bed time. Not a bad thing, really. My 14 minutes running out of 30 minutes walking made me tired today. Woo Hoo!! I just gotta say my chickens are the best~ we really help each other keep going. I love them both so much!

Ok, really now.

Good night!