Why Not Knit?

Not so much...

2007-07-29T18:57:00.001-07:00

of the knitting going on here. Mostly I've been sewing, and listening to knitting podcasts. I especially love Knitters' Uncensored. Of course, I've only listened to a few thus far, and I know there are lots more out there. But it's been a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to listening to all of them.

I do have a project in the works...one I swatched for, and started, and then ripped out. It's 'Cherry Bomb' from Big Girl Knits. I love this tank, and have the perfect gray yarn for it. (I know, but I love gray, and I have the perfect pants to wear with it) My Dana Friend thinks I should knit it in the round, and I'm pondering it, which is why I ripped the three inches I had already knit. That and the rolling edge, which I believe was caused by my too-tight-cast-on. (I just like the way it looks with all those dashes)
So I need to get that project going agin, but have to confess I'm a bit afraid I won't be able to change the pattern to be knit in the round. I mean, it seems like a no-brainer, but the times when I think things should be the easiest are when things usually get the ugliest. So it's still just a thought in my mind, rather than an actual WIP.

And I really need to step away from my sewing machine! It's all I do anymore. That's not quite true, I have been working on my basement again. It's starting to look more tidy, and you can actually see the floor again. But I've been sewing a lot. My Mom brought me her old machine when she and my Dad drove out here, and I've been having a blast with it. So far I've made curtains for my craft room (crap room, as my Beloved calls it), a dress, and now I'm making some shorts. While my folks were here, my Mom did a Sewing 101 class for me and Dana, and we both made little quilts for our doggies. Lots of fun, even though my little doggie doesn't lay on his. He has too many blankets.
I have also hemmed all of my pants. Pants that have been too long since I got them, but I just wore them as is, since my Mom isn't around to hem my clothes anymore. And Carol's machine doesn't work, so she can't do it for me either. So I had a field day one afternoon, hemming everything, and doing whatever small repairs were needed, that I had just taped together. Tape, btw, does a good job of hemming, but is only temporary. And you should really remove the tape before washing and drying, cause otherwise it can get messy. Packing tape really rocks for hemming, cause it's nice and wide. It's a bit stiff though, so doesn't work for all fabric.
Wow, I should shut up about the tape now, shouldn't I?

I'm hoping to turn over a new leaf here this week, and start exercising again. And blogging regularly. Or more frequently, at the very least. I got my Ravelry invite yesterday, so today I also signed up for Flickr ( I know, I didn't have a Flickr account yet. Oh, the shame.) So I need to get that going too. Basically my goal is to be more productive, and less sedentary. I've got all my fingers and toes crossed.

So, now it's time to end this post.

Goodnight~

bag lady

2007-05-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Lately all I've been knitting is Gelato Bags. Lots of fun. My Dana Friend and I have lined all of the ones we've made, with pockets on both sides. Seriously, she's got it down to a science by now. Of course, she's made 20 to my 4, but it's not a competition, right? Right!
They are really cute, and we get lots of compliments on them, which is always nice. It's lots of fun to pick out material for the linings, and lately I've been needle felting covers for the magnetic clasps. I've discovered I really like needle felting. I made some felted Easter eggs and embellished them with needle felting. How many more times can I use needle felting in a sentence?
Ok, sorry, I'm done now.

I'm very excited, because my parents left today to come visit!!! They made it as far as Windover, UT tonight. They are all quite tired, but happy to be on their way. They haven't both been here in at least two years, so they are long overdue. I am on vacation the whole week they'll be here, so I'm looking forward to that as well.

Yesterday I told my beloved that I was gonna wear pajamas all day...and I did! I couldn't have been any lazier than I was today, and it was great. Got another bag knitted, and I did some more sorting of my stuff. I have too much stuff.
So I guess I wasn't as lazy as I could have been, but it was close.

My poor little doggie is very tired today, since we went for a drive Saturday, and had MIL & FIL over yesterday for dinner. It wears a little guy out, you know...

Well, it's time to get ready for bed. Here's hoping for a great, short week~

goodies

2007-04-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

I got my goodies today, from Carrie & Casey at Knit-Whit: a Sheepie PEZ candy dispenser, one 'warshrag', and two balls of cotton so I can knit my own. I love the colors in the variegated yarn. It makes me think of Tulips and Daffodils.
Thanks again Carrie and Casey!

Sprung

2007-04-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

I think Spring may be back. It was really nice to be outside today, I even put on some shorts and a tank top when I was working outside. Had to do a little planter maintenance.
I had the little doggie with me when I was outside. A neighbor was walking his dog past our house on his way to his. Louis is a very large dog, I know his owner told me what kind of dog he is but I don't remember. Some large, foreign breed. The guy walking him said he's getting his summer cut today. Poor fellow, I guess all that hair gets too hot for him.
Anyhoo, while I was chatting with the neighbor guy and Louis, Snicker came running over. At first he sniffed Louis nicely, but then he snapped at him. He would have bitten him if he could've reached anything other than Louis' feet! Seriously! Snicker weighs 4 pounds. Louis must be close to 100. Craziest thing ever! I tried really hard not to laugh, and of course Louis didn't have a clue what Snicker had just tried to do. Neither did the boy with him. I apologized for Snicker's inappropriate behavior, but neither Louis nor his walker seemed fazed by it at all.

We've just finished Season Two of Nip/Tuck. I wanted to start Season Three right away, but beloved recommended waiting till tomorrow. Something about how I hadn't played on the computer or anything yet, and bed, and sleeping, and work tomorrow. Dammit, I hate it when he's all reasonable and stuff!

I won a contest over at Carrie's blog! I am going to try to link to her blog, and hopefully am not doing it illegally.

Well, when I preview this post the link doesn't show up, so I guess I don't know what I'm doing after all.
Maybe this will work: www.knit-whit.blogspot.com
That is her blog's address, go check it out. She confirmed what I've long suspected, that we live near each other. We also have the same area rug.
Small world.

Well, it's about that time. I still have to play my anti-Alzheimer's games before I can go to bed.
Here's hoping for a great week!

Rainy days

2007-04-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

I love rainy days. I love a rainy Sunday the best. This morning my beloved and I and our little doggie took a drive. A very brief drive, considering K's limitations. But it was nice to drive around and see what all the rain is doing around here. It is certainly Spring! So nice to see the dingy snow washed away. Even better to see the grass slowly turning green. I have some tulip bulbs that have some green stuff poking out of the ground now too. I planted some new bulbs last year, but it might have been too late. The ground wasn't frozen (obviously) when I planted them, but I am waiting rather impatiently to see if they will grow.

I have been so bad about posting, again. I read lots of knitting blogs, almost every day, and I enjoy them so much. But I really enjoy having my own, too. And I need to be on the computer less. And then maybe I'd knit more. Or clean my house more often. No, not cleaning, but yes to more knitting.

Now it's time to fill doggie's water bowl, and watch some Nip/Tuck with beloved. We started Season 1 last night, and we are both hooked! What a great show. We started a new one because we finally finished Six Feet Under. Still one of my all time favorites! The very last episode was done so well; writing, acting, directing. Everything. I didn't want it to end. And I cried like a baby.

Ok, doggie is scatching at me again, he knows how easily I get sidetracked. And he doesn't want to have to go downstairs to his other water bowl.

Here's hoping everyone in blogland has a great week!

I thought there would be more

2006-12-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
56
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

feelings, wohohwoh, feelings

2006-11-27T18:13:00.000-08:00

I didn't mean to sound pathetic in my last post. I've just been keeping certain thoughts to myself lately, and needed to air them. That's not quite true, though. I haven been able to let 'certain people' know how I feel, and although I still haven't voiced my feelings to them, my last post helped me feel a bit better. For now, anyway, since I don't want to start a family feud. Not really.

I really don't know why we can't just accept one another, and go on with life.

(change of subject, I'm tired of family crap)

Lately I've been thinking about knitting more than actually knitting. I hate that. I mean, I'm not above skipping out on chores so I can play with yarn. But lately I just sit on the couch, wrapped up in my snuggly blankie, not knitting. At least my knitting is nearby...does that count for anything?
I didn't really think so.

Now I'm off to watch some Star Trek (the Next Generation) with my beloved. I got a new felted project pattern this weekend, a snowman, so maybe I'll get started on that. I'd like to make one or two for MIL, she loves snowpeople too! I gave her two of the pumpkins I made for Thanksgiving, she seemed to like them a lot.
Wish me luck!

a few small thanks...

2006-11-26T16:51:00.000-08:00

* MIL & FIL, for all they've done in the last six months since my husband's surgery. Yes, I could mow my own lawn (or hire someone to do it) but the fact that I haven't even had to think about it has been great. This is just one of the many things they have done for us, that has helped to relieve my/our stress.

* MIL & FIL (again) for spending time with my beloved in addition to any of the help I referred to above. Just hanging out, watching a movie, or getting ice cream. This has been a huge stress reliever for me, knowing that beloved wasn't just laying by himself all day, while his brain leaked out onto his pillow.

* Dana, Carol & Lizz, my dear friends. Each of them, in their own way, helped me stay sane. (at least as sane as I have ever been)

* My parents, my Mom for coming to stay with us after surgery and both my Mom and Dad for never failing to ask how Kevin is doing when we talk on the phone. He and I can both feel their love and care across the miles.

* My beloved, for simply being himself. I could certainly live without him, but absolutely do not want to. Even when he thinks that I am the one taking care of him, he is really taking care of me.

I'm so thankful for all that I have, and even for some things I don't have. Other than my beloved being in constant pain, I wouldn't change a thing.

I hope I can always find the good in my life, and hope also that I can always find more good than bad.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

It's Off to Camp I Go

2006-09-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

Or Off To Camp I went.
Camp K was nice. But different.
Not the same.
Yes, I guess that's what different means.
It was good though, to be together with my knitty friends.

Claire Cecilia is here!! She was born last night, and she is so beautiful!! No, really, her head's not even mashed or smushed. Just beautiful.
I got to hold her twice already, and I am in love.
Once she's big enough to wear her sweater I'll take a picture to post.

Lately it seems that all I do is read knitting blogs and play with my iPod. I'm gonna have to apply myself to some housework soon, dammit!

Ok, sleep beckons. Need more sleep. Both of the men in my life are already in bed, almost asleep. Oh wait, the little one just came over to see what I was doing. He likes to be the last one to bed.
Very sweet.

Goodnight~

knitting away

2006-09-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

Evidently I can no longer select different type colors. That's a bummer, I enjoyed using a different color for each entry. Oh well...

I am still knitting away on the baby sweater for Malenka. I should be able to finish it tomorrow, just have most of one front and the seaming. Then I have to decide if I'm going to crochet some kind of edging on the thing. In pink. Pink is Malenka's signature color. Maybe I'll try a picot edge, if I can find instructions in any of my numerous knitting books.

There are only 3 more weeks till knitting camp, and I am so excited. As usual. I so enjoy camp, can't wait for it to get here and then hate when it's over. I have to start thinking now, about what I'll bring to work on. And this time I may even have something for show and tell.

We had a wonderful rain storm today, and last night too. It's good, we need the rain. And now I don't have to move my lazy butt outside to put up sprinklers!
Fall is definitely coming, I've felt a certain crispness in the air for several days now. I can't wait~I love Fall more than anything.
And of course Fall always means football...we all know how happy that makes me.

Little doggie is looking up at me with his most sad face because I took his squeaker away from him. If it were up to him, he'd squeak all day and night!

Today I found lots more Minnesota knitter blogs, and have been enjoying checking them out. It's almost too bad, cause I really didn't need to be spending any more time on the computer.

Time for bed now, even though no work for me tomorrow. Can't stay up as late as I used to...

Goodnight

2006-08-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

little blue sweater

Oh how sweet!

2006-08-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

CeCe's sweater

Ok, I am such a moron, I still don't quite have this picture posting thing completely figured out yet. But here is a cute little sweater I knit for my Lizzie's new baby. Baby is not here yet, not due till October. (she'll come on the first, if I have anything to say about it. And I don't, so who knows when she'll get here.) But I love this little sweater, it's the baby kimono pattern from the 2006 pattern-a-day calendar. I'm pretty sure I talked about the pattern in a previous post, so I won't say any more than that it's really cute, and rather easy as long as you follow the directions. I am on my third one, and each one has been slightly different than the others. That's just me though, that's not the pattern.
Huh...
Also, I should say that I modified the pattern just a wee little bit...I wanted to use a button instead of tying the thing closed (those ties looked like a real bitch-I've made plenty of I-cord in my day and did not look forward to it for this pattern) so I found a button I liked and then just crocheted a button loop to fit it.
Et voila!

So, now I am faced with my usual dilemma of the evening. Do I read my knitting blogs, do I knit some more on the next sweater, or do some laundry? Oh, one more option is to play my computer game, Bejeweled.
It looks like my beloved is taking care of what I should do now...shower time! Yeah!! I actually don't have to do much anymore, just dry his legs. I like to play my computer game when he showers, cause I can pause and return without missing anything.

I guess I should take this as my cue to end this post. It's been so long, I wondered if I should just stop posting. Decided to keep going, as I really enjoy this thing. I will hopefully have more time to post now that beloved is able to do more for himself.

Well then~goodnight~

How long has this been going on?

2006-06-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

I just discovered it's been over a year now since I started this here blog.
Time's fun when you're having flies.

And it's been over a month since I last blogged.
Bad blogger.

I've been a little busy, what with my beloved having back surgery and all. But he's on the mend and things are looking up around here, so there should be a little more free time coming my way. There has been knitting, just not any pictures of knitting. I'll have to remedy that soon. That little baby kimono I was working on? Seriously, so stinking cute. I had to start another. Even cuter. (more cute?)

I got a card from my dearest friend back home, it is so funny I have to share it:

Long-distance relationships are like big boobs.

As time goes by they're harder to keep up!
Missing you

That may very well be one of the funniest cards I've ever gotten! Karianne and I just realized on the phone the other night that her daughter will be starting 6th grade in the Fall~we met in 6th grade~long, long ago. Man, we are getting old!

Welp, time to hit the hay. Still gotta brush and wash, and it's getting later with every word I type. Hope all is well out in the blogiverse~

Goodnight

Umm...

2006-05-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

What made me think I could design my own sweater?
I mean, really?
I went and bought all this great gray yarn, under the misguided notion that I'd design the perfect sweater for moi.
Dumb Ass.
That's what I am.

Better change the subject....

The sun actually made an appearance today. As I was leaving work even. How's that for a good omen?
Now if it would just stay out and warm everything up, so I could pull some weeds in my flower beds, that'd be great. They're all overgrown and crappy looking.

I am still knitting away on the itty bitty baby kimono. I am, in typical Lori fashion, making the whole thing harder than it has to be. If I would just mark my spot in the directions when I'm done, it would be so much easier when I pick it up the next time. But oh no, of course I don't, and then have to guess at where I was. There's been some unknitting going on here, people.
Once that little sweater is finished I really should finish off my cool cardigan that I started 15 years ago. In order to do that I will need to first find the thing. I'm sure I put it in a very safe place. It's probably hanging out with my little doggie's nail clippers~I put those away awhile ago too.

Well, I'm off to go play a bit of 'Bejeweled 2', this obnoxious game I found on Yahoo. I love it and can't wait to play it, and once I've started I can't stop!

Goodnight~

knitting...what's that?

2006-05-05T19:36:00.000-07:00

I really thought I'd get home from work and either go to bed right away, or sit and knit.
Instead, I made dinner. Then I cleaned up around the house a bit. And gave the dog a bath.
During each of these activities, I thought to myself, "When I am done I am going to knit."
This never happened.
So, I thought to myself, "Well, since I didn't knit I will go write a post for my blog."
This also didn't happen, not for a long time anyway.
As it is, I spent so much time reading other blogs that I have no time for my own now.

I just read all of that crap up there, and all I thought was, "What crap."

I need a nap.
Or maybe a margarita.

Probably I need them both!

2006-04-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

cute little doggie

2006-04-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

lovely gray yarn

for the Guppy

2006-04-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

Kimono sweater
Here's the most recently photographed sweater progress. It looks a bit different tonight though. I've worked on it off and on all weekend, (took this picture Friday evening) and now I've moved onto one of the fronts. I have no idea how this whole thing is gonna come together, all I can do is knit and hope that I'm doing it correctly. Lucky for me it's a small little thing. Even so, I may end up being very sorry that I didn't make sure my gauge was right on. It's good practice though, right? And the Guppy isn't due to arrive till October, so I've got some time to work it out.

Another rainy day, I think this is the third in a row. But I love that saying about April showers. Plus, where I'm from winter means rain, and I used to play in the rain all the time at home (yes, even as an adult) so the rain is very, I don't know, comforting, I guess. The only thing I don't like about the rain here is the way the dumb worms come up out of the ground and crawl into my garage, and onto my back patio. Gross!! I try to pick them up and relocate them, but there are so many and I can never keep up. So. Sad.

Well, it's about that time. Have just enough time to read of few of my favorite blogs, and then get ready for bed.
So~
Goodnight.

Gee, ain't it funny...

2006-03-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

...how time slips away.
I have been spending all of my computer time reading all the other knitting blogs out there, so I've not made time to post to my own. I love to just sit at my computer reading knitting blogs till my eyes cross. Usually little doggie drags me away before any actual crossing occurs, so my eyes have been relatively safe so far.
As far as knitting content goes, I have been knitting. Almost every day even. The scarf grows in length, the baby booties need one little thing to finish a pair, and the cardigan still languishes somewhere in the spare room. And I still have no idea where the pattern is. I guess I fell out of love with it when I realized the thing more than likely will not fit me. Now it's been so long, I lost the mojo.
I just started knitting a little baby kimono, pattern from the 2006 pattern a day calendar. My very dear friend Lizz is having a baby! Yeah!! She's due in October, so I'll get to knit lots of warm things for baby. I've never actually knit for a baby before, other than the blanket I knit for Riley. That was a little slice of hell, let me tell you. I used Sirdar Snowflake, my first time with such a yarn. What a little bitch it was. But she loves her blankie, so it was all worth it. I really hope the little kimono sweater turns out nicely. My gauge is off just a bit, but I decided I'm not gonna worry about it. (Did you see that Chickens? I'm not gonna worry about gauge!)
That's really it for actual knitting.
My Dana friend got me hooked on eBay, finally. She's been trying for awhile. I'm hosed. I'll spend all of my allowance there, and I'll never get to buy yarn again. Pray for me.

Ok, well, it's time to go check in with all the other bloggers out there. Plus I have to see if my eBay bid won. Fingers have been crossed!

Goodnight~

so long

2006-03-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

I didn't mean to be gone so long from posting. I guess I got all caught up in the 'Lympics and lost track of time.
And then there was a knitting retreat to go to.
The first time I went to a knitting retreat I was embarassed to tell anyone what I was doing. I really had no idea how it would be. Then, I went, and had the best time ever.
Same thing this time.
I've made lots of good friends through this retreat, more than I could have ever hoped for. I even get to meet with some of them throughout the year, for knitting and visiting. Some others I just wish I got to see more often. We had lots of new people join us this time, and it was great.
I already can't wait for the next retreat in September.

As far as actual knitting goes, I have a pair of baby booties from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. And I started a MultiDirectional Diagonal Scarf at the retreat. No work has been done on my cardigan for so long that I don't remember where the pattern is.
Finding it will have to wait till I get some semblance of order restored to my house...I watched the 'Lympics way too much and cleaned way too little. Actually, I cleaned not at all, but didn't want to write that.
Now look what I just wrote!

My beloved and I watched a movie together tonight~Saw. Yes, that's the name of the movie. Very good, although people I know won't be able to believe I watched a scary movie. It wasn't so much of a scary movie as it was a movie that was scary. (yes, that makes sense to me) I meant that it was a good movie, and was frightening, but I do think I'll be able to sleep tonight. Beloved also got Saw 2, so you know what I'll be watching next. I hope it picks up where the first one left off, husband and I are curious about the Dr. and Adam ...

Well, that's it for now. Time to go get ready for bed. Didn't get much sleep at the retreat, and am making up for it tonight. Hopefully, anyway. Fingers are crossed that I won't have bad, scary, Saw dreams.

Goodnight!

A List For Carol

2006-02-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

Here you go Ceeb~my Valentine's list of things I love about the 'Lympics:

1. Rooting for the USA
2. Being amazed by those male speedskaters leg muscles (and, to tell the truth, their odd looking packages. I know, this is so wrong of me, on so many levels. I can't help it)
3. Thinking that I could, just maybe, do a triple-toe-loop (if I had the right costume)
4. Hours of knitting time, interrupted only by bathroom trips for self & doggie
5. Days going by with no thought of chores
6. Being stunned at how young the snowboarders are (and their exuberance. Is that just their youth, or the enjoyment of their sport?)
7. Wondering what new sport the 'Lympic people will think up next (I'm voting for Olympic Bowling. Hello, sweeping I mean curling is already on the menu)

On a more serious note, I do thoroughly love the Olympics, and am really enjoying watching all the events I can. I even had my husband record everything tonight, since I was out knitting and had promised he could have the tv tonight. I really am amazed by all of the Olympic athletes, and can't imagine how hard they have to work to get where they are.

On a more sleepy note, it is definitely past my bedtime. And I haven't even brushed my teeth yet.
So goodnight!

progress..

2006-02-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

It doesn't look like much, but here's the cardigan I've been working on forEVER! I have done two buttonholes, and only have 200 more to do. Probably more like 5, but it feels like 200. Of course, I would have progressed farther if I hadn't made the mistake of asking my Dana friend if she could see the booboo on the button band. Of course she did, and right away. So I had to rip out 5 rows and I have only just now knit back up to where I was when the foul unknitting had to be done.
How does that saying go? I want it to look handmade, not homemade. I think that's it
Anyway, I have the two sleeves done, and if I'm reading the pattern correctly I will be connecting them to the body at some point and then be knitting in the round again. That's if I'm reading correctly, and understanding correctly.
Whatever.

Tonight my beloved and I went to Fuddrucker's for dinner with Dana & John. I sure do love that place. I love being able to put however many dill pickle slices I want on my burger. And I really love being able to order the swiss melt without onions, and then putting raw onion slices on top of 50 dill pickle slices.
I was in hog heaven.
Except now all I can smell is onion.

Tomorrow is the SuperBowl. The last game of the year, for me anyway. I never have watched the ProBowl. Well, I did once, and that made me realize I don't like it.
I am excited, and not really sure which team I want to win. I guess I probably lean more towards the Steelers than the Seahawks. Hopefully it will be a good game.

I'm gonna go catch up on my blog reading now.
Well, first I'm gonna go soak my fingers in lemon juice.
Then blog catch up.
Good night!

2006-01-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering, Outback Steakhouse has a delicious baked potato, referred to as the 'jacket potato' on the menu.

Now that I have the important stuff out of the way...

I really thought this cardigan I'm knitting would go faster than it is. Of course, since I've only been able to knit two rows for the last two nights, that might have something to do with the slow progression. I get two rows knit and then I feel like I'm gonna fall asleep in the yarn.
At least it would be soft.
Tomorrow my beloved and I are going to stay in and watch movies all day, so I hopefully will be able to knit more than two rows.

I'm thinking about starting another pair of socks. I think I let too much time go between socks before, so it was really hard when I made the socks for the Sockapalooza. I didn't really remember how to do the wrapping for the short-row heel. Plus, socks are a great 'to go' project. Until it's heel time, at least.

Well, I really need to go give doggie a haircut and bath. He's looking much more shaggy than usual. Still awfully cute though. I weighed him this morning~he's up to 4.5 pounds. Maybe, like me, he's put on a winter coat. Must be the bear in us.

Ok,then. This one is over.
Good night~

just knitting

2006-01-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight was knitty night with my chickens. We went to Panera, and after dinner we actually all knit! It's been awhile since we knit (knitted?) together. (What the hell is the past tense of knit?) (Man am I stupid?) (I'm gonna claim it's just that I'm tired)
(It's kinda fun to put everything in parenthesis)
Ok, I'll stop now.
Yes, that was a bit annoying.

So, I worked on my loopy scarf tonight. Lizz worked on her socks, finished one heel and is ready to start the other. Carol worked on her beaded bracelet. (knit on size 0000 needles. Yes that's 4 zeroes!) It was great!

I am still knitting away on my cardigan. I'm almost done with the second sleeve, and am eager to get going on the body. I probably won't get to knit much Saturday, due to a family gathering, but Sunday is football day, and I intend to knit my ass off then!
(bummer that football is almost over!)

I clearly cannot stop with the ( and ).
I'm just gonna have to end this thing, before I make myself sick. (er)
That was the last time, I swear!!!

Goodnight!!

Practice

2006-01-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

I'm getting lots of good knitting practice! The sleeve on the left was knit on the wrong size needles. The sleeve on the right is being knit on the correct size needles. Yes, I knew the whole time I was knitting the first sleeve that the gauge was wrong. I don't know why I kept going. Maybe I thought it would just work out all right.
Bad knitting mojo...
So, another weekend has come and gone. I knit so much that my hand is starting to hurt. Probably just means I need to knit more often. I'm all for skipping the chores and knitting. I don't do them that often anyway. Yes, I also need to do chores more often. Boring!

Anyhoo, I'm getting excited about some new TV shows starting soon. Courting Alex with Jenna Elfman, Jake in Progress with John Stamos, and Emily's Reasons Why Not with Heather Graham. I'm not as excited about the Heather Graham show as I am about the others, but it sounds cute. I need to watch more TV like I need a hole in my head, but Criminal Intent has the two substitute detectives now, and no more Friends reruns on channel 45, so there's some time to fill there. I've recently discovered Criminal Minds, with Mandy Patinkin, Thomas Gibson, and Shemar Moore. This is a very good show. Reminds me of CSI, when it first started and didn't have so much crap going on.

Went to see The Chronicles of Narnia yesterday with my Dana Friend. Very good. Love the little girl who played Lucy. So cute.
I've been wanting to reread the books since I heard a movie was going to be made, so I think I'll try to find them at the used book store. Hopefully there will be a copy left.

Well, here it is, bed time again. Work too, a full week after two short weeks. Ugh! But I have knitting Saturday with my fiber retreat group to look forward to. Will be so nice to see my knitting friends again.

Doggie is telling me it's past time.
So good night...

2006

2006-01-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

I want 2006 to be the year that I stop thinking about knitting, and actually knit!
In typical Lori fashion, I even overthink my knitting projects, to the point that I then don't knit anything. Not that I don't always have a little something going, but it's a little something. I want this to be the year that I stop being afraid of big projects, the year that I actually knit myself a sweater (that I can wear outside the house, not like the brown sweater/robe thing I made last year). Also, I want this to be the year that I knit some hats to donate somewhere. I have plenty of nice yarn, just waiting to be knit up.

I'm not really into resolutions, not the New Year's variety anyway. I like the idea of them, but feel as though I'm setting myself up for failure if I resolve to do a certain something.
So I'm not doing that here.
Just saying how I want 2006 to be...a year full of knitting.
I think it sounds great~

Along these lines, I've been cleaning out my stash. This has so far only involved patterns and needles, but I will get to the actual yarn soon. The system I am currently using is no system at all, no wonder it isn't working!
I will be the master of my stash, even if only for a brief moment...

Now, I need to come up with a way to keep the yarn all together. Currently, I have yarn in every level of my house. That's 3 levels! I have no idea what the yarn stash even looks like anymore. This could take me awhile.
And as if that weren't going to keep me busy enough, I am starting a sweater for myself. My Dana friend and I went to All About Yarn this weekend, and we each picked out yarn for a sweater for ourselves. Knowing Dana, she's halfway through hers already. She's speedy! I have not even cast on yet, but intend to do so tonight. That's actually what I should be doing right now, instead of this.
So, I'm gonna be good and go knit.
Happy knitting!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas....

2005-12-26T08:04:00.000-08:00

And a Happy New Year!
This is a picture of me (obviously) holding the new quilt my Mom made me for Christmas. The star is a Choctaw design she found in a book many moons ago. She made a beaded pendant for me back then~an off white star inside a green background. I loved it so much that I had it tattood on my ankle. So this star shape has special significance for us.

I think I look a bit like Baby Huey in this picture. Actually, I think I look like him in all of my Christmas pictures. I should have combed my hair, I guess.

We had a great Christmas here, spent lots of time with MIL & FIL. I actually cooked two meals, two different days in a row! This is a big deal, people...since I am not much of a cooker. But I felt really bad for MIL & FIL about all the family crap that's been going on, and I wanted to show them that I love and appreciate them. So, it was easy to do. Plus, the dinner for Christmas day was cooked in the crockpot.

I got some fab Christmas loot~a cool Colts pink ribbon hat, and great tools for my jewelry making endeavors. Some of those tools look like they could be used for dental procedures. Or torture.
Same thing, in my book!

The best thing, though, was spending time with my beloved. He really is the best gift of all.
And it was great to be with family, though we only got to see my beloved's parents. It seems that no matter what, I am missing somebody. Either I am here, missing my family in CA, or I am there, missing my family here.
I am lucky, I know, that I have family to miss. And that, hopefully, misses me!

Ok, little doggie thinks it's his turn now, so it's time to say goodbye. I really hope everyone had a joyful, and merry, Christmas.

Feeling Better

2005-12-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

My Mom's socks are finally finished!
I've discovered that I really suck at heels. And I think I need to go down a needle size. These were knit on size 4 circulars, and I think I would like the gauge better on a 3. Not that I'm eager to work with smaller needles. But I like to knit socks, and want to make nice socks, so I will try a smaller needle next time. I am also going to try a picot edge bind off next time. I played around with it on a swatch and I like the way it looks. I will have to look through my old posts to see when I started these, cause I sure don't remember. I am curious though, to see how long they took.
I am going to be a better, faster knitter next year.
If I say it out loud, it will be true.
Right?

As this title says~I am feeling better. It's amazing how much better I felt after just admitting that I was depressed, and that I needed some help. And the help is helping, so I'm getting better.
I wish there was a different name for depression.
The name itself is so damn depressing!
I just have too many things working against me, to do it on my own. Not that I feel I need to explain it, but for me, it's part of it. Knowing what's going on and why. Before when I was depressed, it was very different, and had a very different cause. This time, it's just like I said. Too many things working against me.
But now I can at least focus, now the fog is clearing from my mind.
It feels so good to feel good.

I am on schedule for Christmas package mailing. Who knew I could do it? My beloved didn't even factor in my MFAT this time~he said he totally forgot. We were just talking about it tonight, and I asked if the boxes got mailed Tuesday if they'd still get to California on time. He said to me, "You really need a deadline, don't you?" That sums me up. I work best with a deadline looming over me. And I never get done ahead of time.
I don't know how it happened, but he said they need to be mailed Monday and I am ready.
I totally rock!

Now, it's time to go work on my Christmas stockings. This is the first year we will be spending the night over Christmas eve here in Minnesota (we usually are able to come back home for the night), and I am doing stockings for everyone. This is tradition in my family~we have dinner and open our presents Christmas Eve, and then Christmas morning we get stockings that are filled by 'Santa'. I love the tradition, and look forward to doing it with my husband's family.

Goodnight~

Surprise!

2005-11-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

My husband took me to Brainerd for Thanksgiving, and it was great!
We had a lovely time, and were almost sorry to leave. We did a little sight-seeing and a little window shopping. We also got our cable fix, and were reminded why we really don't mind not having cable. Most of the time we don't mind, anyway.
It was strange not to be home for a holiday. I mean, most holidays, we are either at home here or at home in California. I guess by home I mean with family.
But Kevin and I are a family, so there you go Lori.
But it was different.
Not bad~just different.
We both really enjoyed ourselves and our time away, but are happy to be home. We missed our little doggie! He is such a big part of us, it just doesn't feel right to be away from him for very long, and especially not for a holiday.

In spite of the nice time I had, and the basic goodness of my life, I find myself feeling depressed lately. I can't help but wonder if it's just the holiday stuff that's got me down, or if there's more to it.

I feel like most of my posts lately have a 'whiney-tit' feel to them, so maybe it's time to stop posting. I'd like to be able to write happy, fun stuff, but it's just not how I feel.
Definitely time to stop!

Next time I post there will be pictures of my Brainerd visit, and socks and jewelry. And no sad whiney-titedness!!!

Gobble Gobble

2005-11-23T18:43:00.000-08:00

This is my first time on the computer while wearing my new glasses. In that one line alone I had three typos. I think I need some practice with the things. They are awfully cute though, I may just have to post a picture.

Tomorrow my beloved and I will take our little doggie to his grandparents house, where he will stay while we are on our mini-vacation that happens to take place over Thanksgiving weekend. (there were, like, 10 typos in that never-ending sentence!)
We are going away, I know not where. Husband is surprising me with a little road trip. He knows I am having a particularly hard time this Holiday season, since I don't get to be with my family for either T-day or Christmas. Truthfully, I would rather just skip them both this year. But I am trying to remember that it's not just about me, and even when I am sad I can still be happy.
Does that make any sense?

I am so tired from not sleeping at all last night, after a really awful experience at work. Not so much at work, but after work, involving co-workers. I am still trying to process the whole thing, but it's hard because what happened really hurt my feelings. Plus it pissed me off.
That pissed-off hurt thing is hard for me to get over.

I can't think straight anymore tonight~maybe some good sleep will make things less painful, or at least less important. Nothing like the cold, hard light of day to clear up a fuzzy mind.

Here's to a very Happy Thanksgiving, for all of us.

View From My Front Door

2005-11-16T06:41:00.000-08:00

I was hoping, sort of, that we could just skip all the snow this year. Looks like I lose.
I do love this kind of snow though~the powdered sugar snow that is so pretty & light.

I am home sick today, with some thing my PA calls a nasty laryngeal virus. Since I have no desire to 'get worse before I get better' I took her advice and stayed home. So, lots of sleep and lots of tea and lots of blogging should help me feel better soon.

Here's to good health.
I know, I say it all the time.
But I still mean it.

Happy Days Are Here Again

2005-11-12T18:54:00.000-08:00

Oh Yeah.
My beloved is home from his vacation. He did ok, not that he was able to do anything. He said it was really hard to not be able to go for walks like he usually does, but he enjoyed laying on his mat in the woods, watching birds fly by. He even saw a few deer in the woods. Only one of them (there were 4 that went this year) caught a deer.
Yes, I know they don't really 'catch' them. That's my nice euphemism for what they really do. Not that I'm against hunting, not completely.
But the really wonderful thing is he's home! And he's ok! I worried that something bad would happen to him and he'd have to come home in an ambulance. I didn't need to worry. As usual, I worried for nothing. I like it that way though.

Not much knitting has been done. I did get the heels done on my Mom's socks. And knit a few more rows on her shawl. Mostly I plotted about 5 jillion new projects...that's what happens when I buy new knitting books! This weekend I bought 'Last Minute Knitted Gifts' and I really like it. I've got to make the fluffy little baby booties that remind me (for some strange reason) of little ducklings. I bought this one at All About Yarn, a new store in Coon Rapids. Nice little yarn store, lovely owners, great selection of yarns and stuff. They had a pair of the booties made up, and they're just so darn sweet. Maybe they'll be my first project form the book.

Doggie and I had a good time together while my beloved was gone, though he really missed his man a lot. I am his favorite, which is as it should be, but he loves his man. Toward the end of the week I caught him looking at the door a lot. We were both probably thinking the same thing. "It's time for him to come home!"
Snicker got to spend the day with his grandparents Wednesday. They really seem to love him, and he loves both of them too. They spoil him, as grandparents do.
Today I bought him a new bag~it is brown with pink polka dots and looks like a purse. It has a pink bow on one side, which he hates, but I told him I would take it off. And he got two new winter shirts. He is VERY happy with his new stuff.

I must go finish a bracelet I am making for a friend who is having a wedding shower tomorrow. She is a lovely girl, and I am so very happy for her. I believe she and her fiance will live a long and happy life together, and no one deserves it more!

Oh, love....isn't it great?

I believe the Beetles' said it best.

All you need is love.

Doesn't Believe Me

2005-11-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

My dog, that is. He keeps barking at me, even though I tell him it's time to settle down, time for bed. He just keeps barking and spinning around. Kinda cute, even though it is bedtime.
So, a nice long weekend is now behind me. I wish the weekend was longer. Like 3 days, instead of 2. A dream, I know.

Got lots of knitting done this weekend. Had Carol and Liz over Saturday for knitting together. I didn't knit much, but it was a good time. I feel bad that Liz is in heel hell, like I was for awhile with my Sockapaltwoza socks. But I think she may be out of it now. When she left yesterday she said she understood the wrapping process. So here's to Lizz getting her heels done!

Speaking of Sockapaltwoza socks, I still haven't received mine. I don't know what
happened. According to Alison, the socks were made and then mailed by my pal. But they haven't come yet. So, I got no socks out of the deal. Bummer. Will make me think twice before joining one of those things again.

I'm still knitting away on the socks for my Mom. Plus I started a shawl for her. How pathetic that I can't remember if I already blogged about starting a shawl for her. The socks are at the 'home knit only' stage, and the shawl is a great 'to go' project.

Today I bought 'Last Minute Knitted Gifts'. There are actually several projects in this book I'd like to make. I've got the urge to start several. Oh man, I've got it bad! I need to settle down. Just last weekend I bought a book by Amy Singer that has the cutest knitted boxers. Again, several projects that I'd like to make. I don't have the time nor the talent to make everything I want. I doubt I'll let that stop me!

Well, doggie has finally realized I mean what I say, and has curled up into a teeny little ball near my feet. Time to tuck him in, and myself as well.
Here's to a good night's sleep for everyone!

I Am A Bear

2005-10-30T12:45:00.000-08:00

Today my beloved said the sweetest/funniest thing to me. We had just gone to the new Cabela's, in Rogers, and bought some new boots for moi. I was talking about how great they would be for walking in snow & slush and I told him that I want to get outside more this winter, since I usually settle in when the weather gets cold. He said, "Yeah, that's the bear in you." Sweet/funny because I always say that, that I'm like a bear, putting on my winter coat and hibernating for winter.
Proof right there that he listened to me, at least once!
Whew~Cabela's sucked like I couldn't have imagined. We got there at 10:30 and still had to park in the grass, which by then was just grassy mud. Yuck. Then, once we got inside, it was way too hot. We were both dying. We picked out boots, looked briefly at jackets and left. Of course, there was a corn dog stand right outside the store so we had to stop for our grease fix. Yummy~I loves me a corn dog!
After the Cabela's experience I called two local yarn stores, Amazing Threads & The Yarn Cafe, to see if they had 'KnitWit 30 easy & hip projects' by Amy Singer. Jennie at knitting camp had one, and there are quite a few projects in there I wanted to make. Fortunately The Yarn Cafe had the book, so we stopped there on the way home.
Now we're home, enjoying (or not, since I detest the Vikings but it's the only game on right now) football and making bread in my bread machine. Just playing with it, trying to figure out how it works. I'm trying to come up with a recipe to make some holiday kind of bread in that thing, maybe something with cranberries.
So, there's my day. Kinda boring, to anybody but me. I just said to someone the other day that I'm a boring old married lady, and that I wouldn't have it any other way.
And it's true.
Life is good...

green bean casserole

2005-10-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

I never had GBC before I lived here. It's a Minnesota thing, people tell me. I can't figure out why we never had it at home. I mean, it's good! I love love love it! I can make it myself now, and I do, but it's not as good as Diane's (my SIL). Or even Bernie's (my MIL). But it works. I'm making some right now, cause I just need some.
One of these days I'll stop comforting myself with food, won't I?

So, this past weekend I went to my twice a year knitting retreat. It was great, as usual. Got to see all my knitting buddies, have a massage, and go for nice walks in the woods. My Dana friend and I even ran for 10 minutes on a dirt road. I like to walk in the woods, as long as it's daytime. Once it gets dark, I do NOT want to be outside. Everyone at the retreat knows about what a big chicken I am in the dark, and I don't even care. I don't know what happened to me to make me such a fraidy-cat, but I am. Just ask Dana. She takes such good care of me, on the rare occasion that I do go outside after dark. She always takes good care of me, regardless of the time of day.
Thanks to Lynne, a friend I made from my first retreat all those years ago, I have a finished sweater that I can actually wear. A long time ago, I knit myself a long cardigan with Bernat Soft Boucle. Not an expensive yarn, but very nice and soft. Problem was, when it came time to sew it together, and I had all the pieces pinned, the thing was too big. So big, that I was disgusted by it (well, really I was disgusted by myself and my stupidity for not trying the damn thing on as I was going. I mean, seriously, the sleeves were each 12 inches too long!!!) and threw it all in a bag so I wouldn't have to think about it. I brought it with me, cause I really needed to finish it, even if I was gonna have to give away. But Lynne helped me with it, and was able to use her sewing machine to take up some of the extra space and then cut off the sleeves and picked up stitches and bound them off and then made the whole thing look so nice and neat and pretty and now I can wear it! Woo hoo, woo hoo hoo!!!
Very cool. I'll have to take a picture of myself in THE sweater to post.
Well, GBC is done. The oven is beeping at me as I type. So this is a good place to end this, right? Besides, I told my husband I'd let him kick my ass at Pac Man tonight!
Goodnight~

Fall

2005-10-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

I tried really hard to get the perfect fall picture yesterday, and none of the 17 I took came even close to showing the gloriousness of fall. (I think I may have just made up a word there, but I don't care.)
This particular photo is of Lake Netta, the sweetest little town and lake nearby. Only about 15 minutes away from where I live. My beloved took me for a drive yesterday morning, and it was so nice. Little doggie got to go too.

As usual, I am trying to get my square done for the knitting retreat afghan at the last minute. I am hampered by some strange thought that I can design my own pattern for the thing. Why, I do not know.
Must just hate myself real bad.
I've now done 3 swatches, and have even printed out graph paper to really get the thing going.
In my next life, I swear, I'm not gonna be a procrastinator!

Really?

2005-10-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

Does this picture need a caption?
I took this picture on Setember 10, on the way up to Little Falls with Lizz & Carol. I knew it was there, I'd seen it once before on a road trip with my husband. Was just up that way last weekend and the sign was gone.
I hope they didn't have to give away too many free haircuts.
There actually web sites devoted to mullet sightings. I know, I've been to at least two. I have no idea how many there are. All devoted to documenting mullet sightings.
Funny stuff.

be bloggie

2005-10-09T16:42:00.000-07:00

I stopped watching the Cowboys beat the Eagles for this. I don't enjoy watching teams get creamed. Well, maybe I would enjoy seeing the Vikings get creamed.
Oh, wait. I have seen and enjoyed that!
Good football day. Saw Brett Favre lead the Packers to an astounding victory! Seriously, I don't believe it gets any better than him. My friend Amy hates him, but then she likes Randy Moss too. As Bill P would say, there's no accounting for taste. But she & I still love each other, in spite of these "football faults". (Amy, you know those quotation marks are just for you....and so is the ellipsis)

Got lots of knitting done this weekend. Still no pictures. Progress is being made, slowly but surely, on the Mom socks. Am about halfway into the beaded bracelet. Maybe I'll take a picture of the two projects together, and post it.
Yesterday went with my Dana friend to a knit-together in Annandale put together by the wonderful & funny Marge. Met lots of knitters and did lots of knitting. Won a doorprize! I never win a doorprize, so this was very cool. I don't know what to do with it, but am excited nonetheless.

Today my beloved and I went to Key's Cafe for breakfast (I love Key's Cafe!!!) and then took little doggie to buy food and bones. Poor Snicker, he's been out of bones for a week. While at the store, I found some extra small boots for him. Trust me, he is so excited about these boots! I almost can't wait for snow, just to see him tromping along.

Spent about an hour catching up on my blog reading today. Lots of interesting people out there. I love reading, but have only commented once. I really should comment more. Let people know I'm reading and enjoying them.

Well, that's my update. Time to go watch Cold Case and do some mmore knitting. I hope we all sleep well tonight.
Goodnight!

How old do I look?

2005-10-04T18:57:00.000-07:00

happy birthday
This is a picture my husband took of us Saturday. He said, "We look very happy." We are. It still surprises me, how happy I can be, and how happy someone can be with me.
Life is good.

I am knitting away on my Mom's Amethyst socks. It's just knitting in the round. Round and round. Not at all worth a picture. Maybe when I get to the heel. And you know I'm hoping to not get stuck in heel hell with this pair.
I have wondered with these socks if I should go down a needle size. I think I will for the next pair, just to see what happens. Not that I'm thrilled with the idea of knitting with size 2 needles. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

Got to watch lots of football Sunday, and then last night. It was good to see Brett Favre enjoying himself again, even though his team lost. I thought they played well, toward the end anyway.
It's all starting to get good now.

Well, SVU is on and I must go watch. This is such a good show. Along with Criminal Intent. Although they fargged us with new detectives last time. Don't get me wrong, I like Chris Noth. But he's no Bobby Goran.

So, for now, goodnight. I hope we all sleep well.

finis

2005-09-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

finished socks
Here they are, in all their glory. I think they are a bit big for my sock pal, but she seemed to like them. I haven't yet received my socks , but my pal wrote and told me they'd be coming soon. I am so excited, I can't wait to see them!

I started a pair of socks for my Mom. This Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn knits like a dream, and the Amethyst Stripe colorway is beautiful. Maybe I'll take a picture to post this weekend.

Speaking of which, Saturday is my birthday. I usually get so excited about my birthday, but I don't seem to be excited yet about this one. Not that I'm depressed about it...though I have to admit 37 just sounds so old. Mabe it's just that I'm terribly homesick lately, and have no idea when I'll ever get to go home again. My husband's back is not any better, so flying is still not an option. I keep asking my Mom if she and Dad will be coming out here for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but she just ignores me. That's a bad sign...

Change of subject now, that was getting too depressing.

I decided to start another pair of socks so I could teach Lizz how to knit socks 2 at a time, toe up, on 2 circulars. She seemed a little bit interested, so I jumped at the chance. She has gotten the hang of it, though she admitted it was a real bitch at first. She'll be fine now, will need some help with the heel, but she'll soon see what I mean when I say, "Just knit it Lizz, it'll come out right". Now to get Carol going....
It's knitting weather here in Minnesota, and I'm ready for it!

We had such terrible storms here last week, and so many people had serious damage. We were quite lucky in my neck of the woods, but not far from us a woman was pulled out of her house and thrown into a tree by a tornado. I had no idea such a thing could happen here. It's been an awful season. I just hope this is the end of it for all of us.

Well, I have lots of knitting that needs to be done, and not a lot of time in which to do it. So, I'd better end this here thing and get going. I'm trying to knit a beaded bracelet, before knitting camp. And an afghan square, can't forget that. Of course, all I want to do is the bracelet. And socks. But other stuff keeps interfering with my knitting!
Why not knit?
So what if there's vacuuming and laundry and dusting to do?

Goodnight

WOO HOO!

2005-09-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's so good to have my socks finished and in the mail. I really hope my Sockapal-2-za likes them. They were fun to knit, mostly because of the yarn color. And I really liked thinking about my sock pal getting them. I put a couple of other goodies in the package for her, and hope they all make her smile.

In other sock knitting news, I heard from the person who knit socks for me. This person says my socks are on their way, and that they are coming from afar. I'm so excited~I just can't wait to see them!

Now that the socks are done, I need to get busy knitting a square for my knitting retreat afghan. Every retreat we decide who will get the next afghan. Then we all knit a square and sew it together at camp. I'm thinking lots and lots about who this next afghan is for. I want my square to really suit her.

I also am getting ready to knit a beaded bracelet. I finally got all of my beads strung tonight. Man, that is hard to do when your eyes don't want to work. So I will try to start the thing tomorrow at work.

It's been nice to see so many people making donations to Hurricane Katrina relief funds. I sincerely hope the people in need will get some serious help.
I can't help but be irritated and angered by all the finger pointing that seems to be going on. I just don't believe this serves any purpose.

Well, enough about that. For now, let's just go to bed and sleep well (hopefully)
Goodnight...

Once upon a time there were 3 chickens...

2005-09-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

3 chickens

I had such a good time in Little Falls with my two chickens! I think they really had a good time also. We all bought some stuff, ate some food, and looked at lots of crafts. Better throw in a little people watching too~it was a good place for that. I came home with a personalized scarecrow and some lovely blown glass flowers. I believe it's the first Craft Fair where I actually bought something besides food. (You should have seen my very phallic foot-long corn dog!)

On the knitting front, I am finally out of Heel Hell. Took me three tries, and numerous short row heel instruction readings, but I do have heels on my socks now.
Even with my MFAT I would have been done with these bad boys already, if not for the heel issue. Even though it's been awhile since I knit my other two pairs of socks, I do not remember any troubles like this. I really thought I did short row heels, but maybe not. Oh well, they're practically done now, so I should quit complaining, right?

Got to see two football games on TV today. You know I was in Hogg Heaven...I love me some football!
I was sorry to see the Vikings lose, because I really wanted them to be able to stick their tongues out at all the people who say they're nothing without Randy Moss. They did not play well. Although, to be honest, the defense did some good stuff. Daunte looked like he'd never played before. Too bad.
The 49ers won. Boy was Bill P happy! The Packers lost, which was a bummer, but the Lions won, and that was good. I love Steve Mariucci, and am very hopeful his team will just play better and better each game.
That's the end of my football recap.

It was a good day~got to be with my beloved, knit and watch football, and play with my little doggie.
I have a good life, and I'm very thankful for it. Even more so these days, with so many people still homeless and without their families. I really hope it gets better soon.

In the meantime, I'm gonna keep hoping and praying...

still

2005-09-06T19:22:00.000-07:00

Heel Hell

Still there.
Or here.

Whatever.

Pray for me...

heel hell

2005-09-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've just reknit my first heel for the second time. Third time lucky, right?
Let's hope.
I think I've got it right now. Looks more like a heel than my previous two attempts.
Finger's still crossed...don't have much time left.

I feel just awful about the devastation Hurricane Katrina has wrought. I am, quite simply, unable to fathom what these people must be going through.
I know there are many places here in Minnesota where donations can be dropped off, which makes it even easier to donate to the cause.
Please, let's all do what we can, however we can, to help.

not

2005-08-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

No sock progress. I'm a loser, I know.
It's okay. I'm really okay with my loser status.
I've got one week left to finish. I really have longer than that, but I have a tendency to be late, Lori's Mandatory F___ Around Time has to be factored in.
Hey, don't judge me...

The other day I was driving home from work. Minding my Ps & Qs. In the correct lane to go forward through the light. A guy in the lane to the right of me (another forward lane) pulled in front of me, so that he could get in the left turn lane. I beeped my horn at him, just a little to say, "Hey, I'm right here." He proceeded to pull in front of me and into the left turn lane, then stop along side me, roll down his window and ask, "Are all Minneapolis drivers this fucking ignorant?!" All I could do was sputter and stare, and yell at him to kiss my butt as he pulled away.
How about that? I was in the correct lane. He was in the wrong lane and had to cut me off in order to get in the lane he really wanted, and yet I was the fucking ignorant one.
Wow!
I just don't get people.

Tomorrow I will go with my Dana Friend and Kelly to Let's Dish to make 8 separate meals that each serve 6. I'm very excited about it. All I will have to do is defrost & cook them. Trying to free up some time around here.
Then Saturday Dana & I will meet with Lynne & Nancy at the Yarn Cafe, to see Anne, Rosemary & Beverly. I hope I don't get tempted by any yarn. I've been so good lately. And that's no fun!

Time to play with doggie a little bit before bedtime. He's growling at me, and keeps bringing his blue bone to me and dropping it at my feet. It's a sign.

Goodnight.

wishful thinking

2005-08-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Well, another lovely weekend is over. Spent quite a bit of it cleaning house. With two weeks vacation and being sick for two more weeks, my house was a dusty mess. I got lots done yesterday, and feel a bit more in control of it now. It sucks though, to spend all of that potential knitting time doing sucky house work.
Had to be done.

Went for a nice walk with my beloved husband and doggie tonight. And, (drum roll please) I jogged again! The last time I ran was July 15th. I didn't take any time away from the kids to exercise during their visit, and then got sick right after I got back from bringing them home. I really can't remember being that sick before. Not even when I had pneumonia. I had no energy and couldn't breathe, but I didn't feel as awful as I did this time. I so just wanted to die~that's how bad I felt.
But tonight we walked for 20 minutes, and I jogged for 3 one minute intervals. So I'm back where I started, which is not great but is ok. At least I was able to run at all.

The socks are still coming along slowly. I am so close to heel turning time, just about every row I try them on. My sock pals measurements are dang close to mine, so I'm using my foot to measure. If I finish this here post in time I may actually get to the heel tonight.
Plus, I am done with the purple shawl. It really was all but done when I got back from CA. Just 17 rows and then sewing in ends. Perhaps I will take a picture of the beauty and post it tomorrow.

But maybe not.

My dearest did laundry today, and my pants paid the price. I love the man to death, but he just cannot seem to take my pants out of the dryer in time to avoid horrible wrinkles. Which means that I have to iron them.
I hate ironing! Especially when I have to use the sprayer thing, because the wrinkles are such bitches and don't want to come out. Ironing is just such a huge waste of time. I could be knitting for crying out loud!!!

Oh well, it's the only inside chore he can do, and I have to let him. He really hates that I have the bulk of the chores these days. Truth be told, I hate it too. We keep praying for recovery, but I have to say, the more time goes by the less hopeful I am.

Enough of that. I'm gonna end this thing and go knit!

So.....goodnight!

the tortoise and the hare

2005-08-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

In other words, the socks are not yet done. I got into a traffic jam at Harry Potter Blvd. And then I took a wrong turn at Stephanie Plum Ave.
The good news is, the books are finished!
At least I don't have books and socks hanging over my head, right? I mean, I can breathe (knit) easier now that the books are read and out of the way.
I do knit on them a little bit every day. It just doesn't look like it. There's something about the place I am in these socks...they look the same every day. Like I didn't knit 10 rows, or 20 even, last night. Every day at lunch I knit on them (and get lots of lovely comments from my knitting co-workers. I hope this means my SPal2Za will love them) and then I knit on them again at night. And they don't seem to be growing. I do remember, even though it was several years ago that I knit my other two pairs of socks, that this is the longest stage.
I may change my tune when it's time to do the ribbing. I can't remember that part of my previous sock knitting.

Tomorrow I will go to my Dana Friend's house after work. We will eat something wonderful she has prepared, knit a little, and catch me up on Six Feet Under. Even though I know what happens already, I haven't watched the last several episodes. So it'll be a good night.

Speaking of goodnights, it's time for one for me. What a good place to say...
Goodnight.

are you ready for some...

2005-08-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

Just knitting away on my Sockapal2za socks. Not very exciting, really. I'm almost to the heel turning point. Maybe once I get through the heels I will take a picture to post. Until then, no sock pictures.

I'm so excited about football season being here! Well, I know it's just preseason, but I still love it!! I keep thinking about doing a Fantasy Football thing, but have no idea how to start. It's probably too late to start one now. Which is ok, considering I have plenty to do these days.
It's ok~I feel so much better now that I actually give a rip about the dust bunnies taking over my living room. Well, half a rip, at least.

Well, when I started this post I was full of wonderfully witty things to blog about. And now they're gone.
So this is a good time for a goodnight.

Goodnight.

welcome back potter

2005-08-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well, something happened when I looked at my socks...I decided I didn't need to rip them out. That made me very happy. I have maybe another inch to go before I get to start turning the heel. I really hope I remember how to do that. I just did some heel turning, on the little baby socks I made.
But that was 2 months ago.
I've slept since then.

The nice thing about these socks is they seem to be knitting up quite quickly. No knittting tonight though (well, 4 rows but I'm not counting them) since I've been watching some pre-season football on TV.

Mike Tice may very well be able to pull a football team out of his ass here. I've been very impressed by their behavior on & off the field. I've never been quiet about my belief that a certain ex-Viking was just a waste of humanity. I don't care how awesome you are in a sport, you still have an obligation to your team to act like you are one of them.
That's all I'm going to say about that asshole. I mean that jerk.

So, maybe tomorrow I will actually be able to do a little exercise. I haven't done any at all since I got sick. And even though I'm not completely recovered, I feel much better. I'm ready to do a little walking. Or something. And yes Mom, I'll take it easy.

My Dana friend just got back from her Alaska cruise, and guess what she brought me tonight when we met for dinner? Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince! And 10 Big Ones from Janet Evanovich! And some beautiful silver dragonfly earrings! They are so sweet and perfect for me. And the books~oh. my. goodness. I've been waiting for them, oh so impatiently. She's such a good girl for sharing her books with me.
Problem is, all I want to do is read. And I've got socks to knit. But maybe, just maybe, once I've turned the heels and I'm doing the ribbing I'll be able to knit and read at the same time.

Wish me luck!

ouch!

2005-08-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

colors changed
Ok, so I changed the colors of the socks, just in case my Sockapaltwoza pal happens to check out my blog~I want the socks to be a surprise!
I decided not to do a 'pattern' because I want the yarn to do its thing. It's variegated, not self-striping, but I thought it would look cool to just knit away without a design. We'll see. Already I am worried that they're too big. I think I may have to unknit at least an inch. That makes me very unhappy.
But it's all about the knitting, right?
I read a lot of knitting blogs, and there is conversation sometimes about 'it' being about the process, or the end result. I think I must be a process knitter, 'cause I'm never as happy to start or finish a project as I am to be in the middle of one. I have to be in a particular frame of mind to start something new. Come to think of it, I'm the same with finishing. That could explain why the purple shawl is still not finished, even though it's less than 10 rows from being done.
This could also explain why I have way too much yarn in my stash. For the last 4 years I haven't allowed myself to buy yarn unless I have a project to go with it. No more skeins of this yarn or that yarn because it was so pretty/soft/colorful/calling my name. (I may have slipped a time or two, but for the most part have obeyed my self-imposed yarn rule.)
I think I'm afraid of it. I mean, afraid of a new project, not the yarn.
Sometimes, I get so worked up, looking for patterns and yarn, making sure everything is just right. Sometimes, I just suck the joy right out of a new project, because I worry about it so much. I gotta learn to relax and knit, for pete's sake.
No relaxing and knitting for me tonight though.
Must Go Unknit Sock And Not Poke Self In Eye With Needle!!!

me and Trish

2005-08-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

smile

missing you

2005-08-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

Tonight on my drive home from work I heard Pearl Jam on the radio. It instantly made me think of my girl, and of the music she used to listen to.
You may not know this, but some Pearl Jam got mixed in with some Soundgarden and came out as Temple of the Dog. As soon as I realized it was ol' Eddie singing I had to call her up, and ask her, 'what was the name of that group that Pearl Jam made with that other group?' Classic Lori & Trish stuff. I must've asked her that a million times. And each time she'd tell me. Very patiently, as if she hadn't told me a million times already.
After I'd been home for awhile, my cell phone rang. It was Trish, telling me to guess who was playing on the radio at that very moment. Yep, Temple of the Dog. Very freaky, goose-bumpy moment.
Man, I miss her. I wish I didn't live so far away. Breaks my heart when I think about it.
So I don't let myself think about it very often.
Easier that way.
Not easy tonight, with the missing and the memories all jumbled together.

Not easy tonight.

not better, but late

2005-08-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

Well, vacation is over. It's been over for a week now, and I'm just now sitting down to blog. It's been a busy week, and made worse by me getting sick this weekend. I have a 'viral respiratory infection'. Just means I get to feel like crap for another week. I just hope the lovely little pearl shaped pills I got really do help the cough stop long enough for me to get some sleep. I'm going on 3 nights of inadequate sleep. This makes me very crabby. Plus missing two days of work, and possibly another tomorrow, if I don't GET SOME SLEEP!!!
The good news is, I did finally start my Sockapaltwoza sock (socks). Yes, I'm doing them both at the same time, toe up on two circulars. I've made two other pairs of socks, one pair one sock at a time and the other both socks at the same time. I definitely like to knit them both at the same time. Besides my little, ahem, finishing problem, I could tell a difference in size between the two socks I knit separately. Knitting them at the same time means two socks, one size. With the added bonus of not having to really talk myself into finishing the other sock.
I am using the Meilenweight Multiringel yarn I bought at The Yarn Cafe. I lost the ball band so I have no idea if I'm spelling that right or not. So far, it's working nicely. I'm not doing any kind of pattern, since the yarn is one of those variegated types. I just want to let the yarn do its thing. I don't have enough knitted up yet to be worthy of a photo, but maybe soon. Although I still can't seem to get any pictures to post ever since Blogger changed its picture posting thing. And yes, this may be operator error (as usual) and I've just gotten too impatient to try and figure it out. Like I would do that! Currently, Blogger is supposedly posting a picture as I type. It's not working though. And I'm pretty much done here. I have a picture of the two Meilenweight yarns I have that I thought I'd post, with the striped one I'm using in the front. But, no luck.
So, time to end this thing and go back to my regularly scheduled coughing.
Here's to your health, and mine too!
(Someday)

overheated

2005-07-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well, my kids are here! Their Mom left today, which they both took much better than I expected. Poor Anthony got sick Sunday morning with a high fever. He's feeling better now, but his temp goes up and down. Nettie is having a grand time with the Princess Jasmine toy we got her at MOA today, and Anthony is in love with our Xbox.
We're having a great time!
We're going to the Bunker Hills Wave Pool and also the Science Museum and to see Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Which day for which event depends on the weather.
Tonight we watched two movies-'Milo & Otis' (what an adorable movie!) and The Road to Eldorado, which I skipped to go exercise. People seemed to enjoy it also.
Ok, so not much more time left for this, it's time to get kids in bed. And myself too.

So, goodnight.

Maybe

2005-07-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

So, today I started a gauge swatch for my Sockapal-2-za socks. It would seem that I'm very much behind all the other sockers, but I'm okay with that. My goal is to have them done by August 16th. I do NOT want to be late mailing them out!

I've also been knitting away on the purple shawl. It's slow going~seems even more so now that I'm on the last skein. I think when I next pick it up I'll start the border pattern, which will finish it off. I have no idea how much yarn I'll need for it, and don't want to run out of yarn here at the end.

I am so excited!! Next Friday my best friend from CA is coming out with her two children. She will leave Monday and the kids will stay here with us till Friday, when the 3 of us (no husband-he's not able to fly yet) will fly back to CA. I'll fly home on Monday~it'll be a very short and sweet trip. But I'm thrilled to have my babies here with me, for the first time. They aren't babies anymore, though I still think of them that way. Nettie's 10 & Anthony is 9, I guess they haven't been babies for a long time. It will be sort of tough when they are here, only because my beloved won't really be able to do much with us. I have plans to take them to lots of different places, and he is only able to be up for an hour and a half. Maybe it'll be kind of like before I left them.

It was sooo hot here this weekend. I can't quite get the hang of this Minnesota weather. I never know what it's supposed to be doing in what month. So. Annoying.
I shouldn't complain. Soon enough it will be snowing.

Well, time to end this here post and get ready for bed. This week promises to be crazy busy at work, just like the last few. I'm certain the only reason I haven't pulled out all of my hair is because I am exercising regularly, and it really has cut down on stress. I take it all out on my elliptical!

So......
Goodnight.

same old same old

2005-07-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

It's getting pretty boring around here.

I broke down this weekend and played an Xbox Pac-Man game with my beloved. It was actually rather fun, even though I don't play well. That's a nice way of saying that I really suck at Pac-Man. I have a tendency to move my control thingie around in the direction that I want to send Pac-Man. And my husband caught me trying to look around the side of a tree. It' a game ferfucksake! I can't see around the tree!! Just a bit embarassing.

When I wasn't making a fool of myself with Pac-Man, I was knitting. Still plugging away at the purple shawl, and plotting (in my mind) my Socakapal-2-za socks. It's too bad of me, that there are already so many done, and I haven't even started mine. But it's typical~I usually have to contemplate a new project for a bit before I actually start it.
So, there's been knitting around here, for once. I'm also still exercising, almost every night. I have a goal, a plan, a dream. I may actually share it here soon. For now, I'm gonna keep thinking to myself about how cool it would be....

Goodnight.

apple dapple doo

2005-06-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

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.

2005-06-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

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!!

2005-06-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

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

2005-06-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

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!

Here I go

2005-05-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, 80% Superwash Wool/20% Nylon, in Amethyst Stripe. I got this at 'That Little Red House' up in Grand Marais. I was looking around, totally in love with all the yarn and cute ways it was displayed, when I found a basket of this Lorna's Laces yarn, in the sink. So many beautiful color ways, and do you think I could decide which one was to be mine? Oh no. Until, after a good 5 minutes of dithering, (15 if you ask my husband) I discovered the names of the colorways. Well, me Mother's birthstone just happens to be Amethyst, so once I saw that it was a done deal.
Now, if I could only decide what to make. I've owed her a pair of socks since the first pair of socks I made for myself. She has a skinny little narrow foot, and funky toes, so I think she would really appreciate a pair of socks made just for her. Problem is, it's been many moons since I made socks. I'd have to enlist my Dana friend to get them started. Not that she isn't game, whenever I need help. One of these days I'll have to write about the 'baby blanket incident'. Or maybe not, it'll probably lose a lot in the telling.
Anyhoo, my other thought was a pair of fingerless gloves, long ones. But I think I'd like to have half fingers for her, and I'm not sure if I have a pattern like that. There's a voice inside my head telling me I can just wing a it. That voice scares me. I know I cannot wing it. I'm not a winger. I am completely unable to stray from a pattern. Same with a recipe. I know, I'm boring. I've been told that before.
So I just need to decide what to do with this lovely yarn.
I think I'll sleep on it. Tomorrow promises to be a day filled with knitting, so something may even get cast on...
Buenos Noches.
yarn for next project

so. tired.

2005-05-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

Who knew I could be this sleepy? I am SOO looking forward to this long weekend full of nothing. Gonna hit some yard sales with my Dana friend tomorrow.
And that's all I have planned. The rest of the weekend will just come together naturally. I am secretly hoping I will get my shi* together and get my knitting stuff organized. I want to figure out what my next project will be. I want to get my yarn contained, instead of being in every available container/free space in my house. And I need to exercise all 3 days of this long weekend, since I didn't do any movement more strenuous than lifting a fork to my mouth today. My motto regarding food is 'If you're gonna eat it, eat it good'. And today, I did. (thanks to Lizz for the great quote!)
So I have all these knitting plans/intentions. Don't I always intend to knit more than I actually do?
In my mind I am knitting constantly, and it is good.

Life is good, even though it's very sleepy here where I am. I'm gonna go to bed early, and wake up late. Here's to a nice, long weekend.

Goodnight!

Blue skies smiling at me

2005-05-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hallelujia (or however the hell you spell that word) the sun really does exist! It was out today, and it was glorious. Let's hope we're seeing the end of the yucky, icky, rainy days.

I'm drinking a cup of yummy jasmine tea, made from the strange looking balls of tea. That sounds rather odd, when I read it over. Balls of tea. I may have to write "An Ode to Balls of Tea", similar to my 'Ode to Cheesey Popcorn'. Of course, the Cheesey Popcorn ode was a testament of my love and devotion to said cheesey popcorn. The Balls of Tea ode may be slighty less affectionate. I am such a gutter dog that a reference to anything that could ever possibly be testicular in nature brings out the rude, crude and obnoxious me that I enjoy so much. And that would be too bad, since the balls of jasmine tea are so yummy, and I really do love them!
So, maybe no 'Ode to Balls of Tea'. I probably don't really want to post such a thing. I may eventually want someone else to read this here blog, and don't want to get embarassed.
Wait a minute! Who just took over my body? Anyone who knows me the slightest little bit knows that I do not embarass easily. With one foot in the gutter all the time, it's hard to do.

Shall I change the subject entirely? Didn't get to knit yet tonight, although I may manage a few rows before my sleeping pill kicks in. I tell you what, I'd love to be a good sleeper, without drugs. But it wasn't meant to be. I take after my Dad in so many ways. Fortunately there's enough of my Mom in me to smooth things out. So I take my little sleeping pill, tuck myself in, and off to sleep I go. Problem is, I hate the thought of becoming addicted, so I don't take one very often. But I have to tonight. It's been too many nights since I slept well, and I'm too busy at work to be as sleepy as I've been.

I think another subject change is in order. In fact, I think it's just time to end this here post. Pill could be kicking in, and I still have to brush and wash before I can get into bed.
I sincerely believe that if all the people in the world got a full and restful night's sleep, we'd all get along so much better.

Boy do I go on and on about nothing sometimes!

And here I am at the end.

Good night.

yawny

2005-05-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

Man, does this jogging ever make me tired! Feels like I could just fall asleep mid-type. No new knitting to write about, though I have been pondering starting a fingerless glove thingus for my Mom. I think it's something she would really wear a lot. She's just always cold, no matter the temperature .

Wow, I am typo girl tonight. I really hope I've fixed them all. I hate spelling words wrong. No telling tonight though. I will not be held responsible for my typos. I'm really too tired to care.

Seems like some funny thing happened today, that I thought would be great blog fodder. For the life of me, I can't remember what it might have been. I might just as well close this thing up. I am, as Bill P. would say, "As worthless as tits on a boar hog."

Now that's pretty worthless.

Goodnight.

Dad, is that you?

2005-05-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

My Dana friend is in Forida, and has been for the last 9 days. I miss her! I talked to her this afternoon. She said the sun's been shining the whole time she's been there. I hate her!! I think I 've seen the sun twice since she's been gone.
What is with this weather?!

Went for a drive with my boys today. Got to do a little road knitting. Ended up in downtown Mpls. I love abbreviating Minneapolis like that. And I love writing POB instead of P. O. Box. I am easily pleased.
Anyhoo, the drive was nice. We didn't go anywhere, just drove, mostly to get out of the house. I think I overstretched something yesterday, in preparation for a jog. Now my butt hurts, but not really my butt, more like my hip. And butt. I don't know, I just like writing butt. But, my butt does hurt. (hee hee!)
Seriously though, I don't know what I pulled. All I know is it hurts. It's better after taking it easy today. Hopefully tomorrow it'll be all better. I don't want to mess with the exercise mojo.

Last night my husband and I experienced what he likes to call my 'selective hearing'. I won't go into the details, but suffice to say that even though I'm 36 years old, old habits die hard. Sometimes, all I hear is Bill P. Coming out of my husband's mouth. Actually only in my head. I am a freak. Still.

Tomorrow I may actually get up the gumption to do something, even if it's wrong. That expression reminds me that I really need to start writing down all of those Bill & Barbara P-isms , before I forget them. I've forgotten more than I ever knew! (that's another one)

For now, it must be time. Doggie is curled up on his little blanket, all wore out from the road trip. He just loves a road trip! I feel like curling up, and hopefully husband will soon too.

Goodnight.

run, Lori, run

2005-05-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

So, today I ran for 11 minutes out of 30. I gotta tell you, I am so freakin' impressed with myself. I can't take any credit for the running though~it's only because my chickens are by my side the whole time that I even started exercising regularly. And because of them the time just flies. Today we were three chickens running, and it was great.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still a serious lard-ass. But I can tell some of the lard is getting firmer.

No knitting progress to report. I think I need to start a new project. Or finish the pink fluffy project for my girl. I need to organize my yarn & all the stuff that goes with yarn. It's all over the place, and I swear it's been multiplying. No way did I ever buy so much yarn. I mean, how can I possibly have so much yarn?
Very disturbing.
I have yarn I can't even remember. I have yarn that I can pull out from wherever and say, "Wow, what was that for?" or "Wow, how long have you been living here?"
Very disturbing.

I can't keep my eyes open anymore. We're all squinty eyed here, looking for the bed.
It's time.

Good night.

these dreams

2005-05-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

I knit several rows on the Purple Shawl last night while watching some country music awards show last night. It was fun to watch, but made me realize how unfamiliar I am with country music anymore. Used to be all I listened to, but not so much anymore. It was fun to see all the singers~I thought it was great to see Garth Brooks, and he gave a very touching tribute to Chris LeDoux.
I also watched one of my all time favorite TV shows last night~Law & Order Special Victims Unit. If you are not watching this show you are really missing out. The L & O Criminal Intent is my other fave. They are both very well done, and I love all the characters and the actors who portray them.

Today I did something I never thought I'd do. I ran. On purpose, not because I was being chased by a maniac with a gun and/or knife. And then, when the running was over, I didn't die. I kept asking my friend, "Am I jogging? Am I really doing it?" Later in the day I called and asked her if that was the same kind of running that people do outside. I just couldn't believe it! I did it for 3 MINUTES!!! And I'm not regretting it yet. (meaning it doesn't feel like my legs have melted into a puddle on the floor) I may even try to do it again tomorrow.

In my dreams I run. I mean, I run like a long distance runner would run.
Up hills, down hills. On paved roads, on dirt paths.

I am long and lean, like a gazelle, in these running dreams.

promise keeper

2005-05-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

Well, as promised, here is my purple shawl. I am about halfway thru the 3rd skein, and have one more skein to go. It doesn't look like much here~when it's finished I'll take some pictures of it on the intended recipient. I'll also post the particulars of the piece then. For now, this is all I've got.

Goodnight...

crybaby

2005-05-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!
I just had to post an anniversary picture~5 years of wedded bliss!

I made a disc of love songs for my beloved, and just before we left for our long weekend away, was madly running through the house, trying to find it. I had put it in a safe place, you know? Seriously, we were both looking all over for 'the plain black cd case'. And I had a little crying fit, which I'd like to blame on lack of sleep from being sick for the last two weeks. I stood in the garage, with husband's arms around me, sobbing like a baby, saying "I made you a cd for our anniversary over two months ago, and now I can't find it, and I'm mad at myself cause I know I put it in a really great place" Sob sob boo hoo. Beloved wipes my eyes and tells me not to worry, it'll show up when we least expect it. I cry some more. I'm very disappointed. I worked long and hard on that cd, selecting songs with great meaning, and did it much earlier than I needed to, so it would be DONE IN TIME FOR THE ANNIVERSARY!! Beloved finally gets me in the car, and I swear, I haven't even put on my seatbelt when it comes to me~I lift the lid of the center console thingie, and there is the plain black cd case.
Sometimes things really do work out the way you want.

I got to knit lots this weekend, and even got to buy some yarn. We made it all the way up to Grand Marais on Saturday. I'd heard there was a new yarn store there, turns out there are two. The one I adored is That Little Red House. Not on the main road, but just one up from it. What an adorable place! Got to chat with the owner for a bit, she was truly delightful. Tons of lovely yarn, nice book selection~all in a cute 'red house'. She really has her wares displayed nicely~baskets of yarn in the kitchen sink and a beautiful 3-tiered tray with some beautiful yarns arranged like desserts on it. She also has tons of scrapbooking goodies. I really hope her business does well.
The other yarn store, the one on the main street, was ok. Obviously, I wasn't as impressed by this one, since I can't even remember the name. It is great though, to see yarn & knitting being so popular, and I always try to support the local yarn shops wherever I may be.
Tomorrow I will post a picture of my purple shawl. I should have taken a picture each time I started a new skein, to show my progress. At least I'll be able to show some progress, between where it is now and when it's finished.

Doggie is wandering around, looking like it's time for bed. I think it is too, so will end this here.

Goodnight!

beedy eyes

2005-05-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am again. Another day gone by without having knit anything. But tomorrow I will go to my Dana friend's house, and we will knit lots. I have high hopes anyway.
Dana is leaving Friday for Florida, and will be there for her fortieth birthday, so tomorrow night she will get her birthday goodies from me. I tried really hard to get her 40 birthday presents...it's harder to do than you might think. Currently I have 18. And it took me a long time to get those 18 presents, let me tell you. It was a great idea though.

I recently started to knit a beaded bracelet. I'm about 5 rows into the i-cord for the button hole. I'm ashamed to admit that it took me a good half hour to get that much done. Little bitty needles (which are even bigger than what I'm supposed to be using) & little bitty 'yarn'. I can hardly see what I'm doing. Seriously, my eyes cross when I look at it. This could get really ugly. Makes me wonder how badly I want to make my own beaded knit bracelet. I mean, after all, I do have one already. How many do I really need? I always think thoughts like this when I'm learning something new that's hard.
I just got back from letting the dog out, and realized I spelled 'beaded' as 'beeded'. It's late dude, and I'm tired. Must be time to hang up my hat.
So, I will.
No knitting, no pictures, nothing good tonight. Just me yapping away. (Yes, I do hear myself saying whatever it is I'm typing, as I'm typing. Is that weird? Oh well...)
Goodnight!

preacher

2005-05-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

Obviously, I figured out how to post pictures. I've done it twice now, only because I had to check to see if I could do it again. I expect there will be more pictures posted for no reason. Well, the reason will be that I'm trying to remember how to do it. I also expect to post more pictures of my doggie and flowers than of my knitting. I think the doggie and flowers are often more exciting than the knitting. I know this is supposed to be a knitting blog, so I will work on the knitting pics.

The Shepherd's Harvest yesterday was great. I could've been there all day, but my Dana friend was not in the same frame of mind. We met up with our friends, checked out the vendors, bought some stuff, ran into other knitting friends, checked out the llamas, ran into some other knitting friends, bought some stuff, and then went into Stillwater to get some lunch and knit. More knitting in public. We don't get as many strange looks as we used to. Either that or I just don't notice anymore. (sorry, no pictures of the Harvest)

Today is Mother's Day. I didn't get to be with my Mom, not physically anyway. She lives in California, along with the rest of my family. It doesn't get any easier as the years go by. The missing I mean. I learned a long time ago that I should live each day as if it's the last, and for the most part I do. I miss my Mom terribly, but take some comfort in knowing that she knows every day how much I love her.
Tell your people you love them, every day!! (okay, done preaching)

I did get to knit today, not as much as I wanted though. As usual. I don't know if I ever could knit as much as I want. I wonder sometimes if my fingers would fall off, or at the very least turn blue? At the last knitting retreat I went to I knit more than I ever have at a retreat. Even there, a knitting retreat, I usual think about knitting more than I actually knit. What does that say about me?
Do I really want to know?

2005-05-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

pretty boy

picture

2005-05-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

Testing, testing, 1..2..3...

thankyouverrymuch

2005-05-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am going with my Dana friend to The Shepherd's Harvest at the Washington County Fairgrounds. We will meet up with our good knitting friends and see the sights. If weather permits, we will find a nice spot on the grounds to pull out our goods and knit in public. There aren't too many places where I don't knit. My fave would be in the car. No, (duh!) not while I'm driving. I'm lucky that my beloved likes to drive, while I love to ride shotgun. Truly a match made in Heaven!
Anyhoo~it will be a great day, and I'm really gonna try hard not to bring any yarn home with me. I really don't need any, but that doesn't matter, does it? Maybe I'll bring my camera and maybe I'll have figured out by tomorrow evening how to post pictures. I just need to focus~then I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out. Sometimes I can't get my brain wrapped around instructions, no matter how hard I try.

Today some co-workers and I went out after work. It was a great evening~the sun was shining like crazy. So nice after all the dreary weather we've been having. I worried that the back of my neck was going to get burned, so I pulled the collar of my shirt up. This then led me to do a horrible Elvis impersonation. Dear Amy told me I was a goof. I love being a goof, and love when someone notices that I'm a goof.

She may have even said I was a big goof, which is even better!

Goodnight...

1st time

2005-05-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am writing my first blog entry. Gotta admit I'm kinda nervous...

I decided to start my own knitting blog after several months of being a blog reader. It's been so much fun, and I've gotten lots of inspiration from them, both knitting and otherwise.

I imagine I'll be writing about more than just knitting. After all, I don't get to knit nearly as often as I'd like. I'm certain my husband and my dog will be mentioned, along with anything else that catches my fancy. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to post pictures. There are so many blog things that I don't yet know how to do~clearly I need to get a blogging for dummies book.

Husband just asked how he would go about getting to my blog, to read it. I'm not really sure I want him to read it. Is that weird? I kinda like the idea of this being my own private little world. We'll see.

So, here ends my first entry. I really can't wait to see it on the actual blog.

Good night!