Saturday.....

This is my oldest son's "MOM PUT THE DAMN CAMERA AWAY" face...I see it often...in the background is the bus station...can you guess what time it is? Let me tell you the story...indulge me for the moment...

We put our oldest on the bus at 3:00 this morning bound for Iowa...I think it is harder as they get older and start leaving. Of course he is young enough that this is a great adventure--it is scary as hell to me....but hopefully things work out, or he gains some life experience that doesn't harm him, just makes him wiser....and makes him realize Mom and Dad may know something after all. It started off a little bumpy because when we went to pick up the tickets at the bus station, I insisted on looking at them to check they were correct....We picked up the tickets on June 29 at 3:50 PM---the departure time/date on the ticket was 1:55 PM(!!) on the 29th! I pointed that out to Brandon and we went back in...the clerk was a little confused as to why it was wrong until I pointed out the time on the departure was an hour before the tickets were issued...I'm not sure why the system didn't kick that back, but it was a good thing I insisted on looking....I would have been going OKIE on their rears at 3:00 AM!! For those of you that don't know what that is---trust me, you don't want to be on the receiving end of that....it ain't pretty....At any rate, I'm standing there as the bus is loading trying not to cry and be one of those hysterical ladies that you really only see in the movies....so I took a couple pictures instead.

The twins are having to start learning some of his chores, so let's see how that goes.

I spent part of the night getting my quilt ready to machine quilt and then sat down to do free motion quilting. There is quite a bit more to free motion stippling than meets the eye. It looks easy---it is hard getting the uniform but unplanned look! Thankfully this is my first quilt and people will cut me some slack on it. I keep telling myself that this is a first quilt and I will improve with experience. I can tell you that I will probably NOT attempt to machine quilt anything larger that a full size quilt by myself. I will send it out to be long armed....I also realized the lighting in our kitchen is not even remotely adequate for working on a quilt. I am going to set up a quilting table in Brandon's room (that is going to be converted to the guest room). There is more space and the lighting is much better.

It has rained pretty consistently for the past three days, today started out drizzling, then cleared up...I was kind of sad about that--I really like the rain. I am one of those people that would have been really well adjusted in Oregon or one of the states where it rains all the time. I love it....It looks like it will stop raining for the day and just be warm (which means humid---not a good day to make divinity)...But the good side to that is it will probably save my carpet. Muddy feet and paws abound in this house.

Rain, Rain...

It is 7:30 a.m and it has been raining off and on all night and for most of the day yesterday. That's OK because I love rain. We've had quite a bit of rain lately, which is unusual for this time of year. Thankfully there was a small break when we moved..

Sue and I have almost finished OUR FIRST QUILT....We had gotten a little burned out from marathon quilting session to get it pieced, so there has been a little break in between piecing and the sewing of the layers. After last night we have decided that we both need more experience with the machine quilting part. My stitching in the ditch is not the smoothest. I am seriously looking at invisible thread next time. But since this was a first quilt, it was good to see the fact that I had problems staying in the ditch....not really, that's my self pep talk.....This week I will continue with some more stitching in the squares (free motion) and then we will tackle binding. Sue's quilt is a nice subdued flannel in blues and muted creams. Mine is.....NOT. Our pattern is called "confetti", although I've seen it called a couple other names too, and mine has about every bright color possible. It doesn't look bright in the picture, but trust me---it is. The binding is going to be either red, blue or purple...not sure yet....Doesn't son looked thrilled to be standing out in the rain holding my quilt? NOT!

Chillin'

I'm just hanging out and enjoying the quiet that is MY house right now. Hubby has taken one of the twins to baseball and the others are scattered throughout. I am sitting here listening to the new Maroon 5 album...it is quite good and has a great beat to knit to. Here is a link for a sampling of their new and past album. Both are really good...which surprises my kids that I like this...http://music.aol.com/artist/maroon-5/529962/main...I have a pretty diverse taste in music--just about everything is good except rap. I don't understand that stuff....

I am contemplating ordering some blackberry bushes to put in the back yard. If I do it this summer, then we will have blackberries for next summer....Blackberry-peach jam...yummmm. There is a peach orchard down the street that I usually buy peaches for eating and jam. Two years ago I found a u-pick blackberry farm and made blackberry peach jam..It was soooo good!The only problem was the blackberries were really expensive. I figure if I have a half a dozen bushes of a high producing variety, that's be awesome!! Our yard is smaller than the previous house, so these will have to be bushes that double as foliage/landscaping. I found a thorn less variety that is looking really good... I'm excited about finally having room to can a ton of jams this year. I love making jams. I usually give them for Christmas gifts too but haven't had the space to spread out and can in the past two years. This year, LOOK OUT!

Quilting

I found the most comforting quilting web-site at http://www.coveredporches.blogspot.com/ . Take a look. Doesn't it just make you want to invade her house and live there forever? Even if you don't quilt, you can look at it an just sigh...along with knitting and quilting, blog surfing is another passion of mine.
On the home front, we FINALLY got the bunk beds put together for the twins. Hubby and I went out furniture shopping and bought the mattresses for them, so at least their room is coming together. We got to look at other stuff for the house too, so it was a pretty productive day. I am looking forward to finally having the house put together! It is so disorganized right now. We don't have enough furniture so that is our ingoing project. Oldest son is due to move to Iowa in a couple weeks, and we will be furnishing his room as a guest/quilting room. It will take quite a few months to get all that we need for the entire house. My "goal" is to focus on one room at a time, starting with the ones seen by people the most and the ones most used by family.....

Friday Night Wichita KIP

Here are pictures from the Friday night Knit in Public sock class. I finally got to go! Yeah! I met new people that I hadn't met before and got to see Connie, one of my favorite knitters and the teacher for this class. There were a couple other ladies there, but my camera has an attitude and I didn't get the pictures. I have no pictures of my sock since I didn't quite get the hang of it and frogged it. However, I will be starting over and getting caught up to where the others are in time for the second class on Thursday. I'm not so sure I'm sold on the socks on circ needles business, but at least I can try. The other picture is of two bags----HANDBAGS (!!) knit by the two ladies that are modeling them. Kudos and credit to both of them!
It was good to go! I have been absent from that group for WAY TOO LONG!

Flashing my stuff!

I was going to post these pictures with my earlier post, but dear oldest child can't seem to remember to hook the camera up on the charger....here is a very small cross-section of the fabric I have planned for quilts. The skull and dragon fabric will be part of two quilts requested by oldest. They are neat in a strange sort of way...I have threatened to back it with care bear fabric to even out the karma....the rest are from my stash. As you can see, my taste varies wildly. And this isn't even half of the fabric...we won't go into the yarn yet....that is scary!

Thursday meanderings....

It has been an interesting week. We learned that the flooding on the back patio area was due to some fancy "rigging job" someone did in an attempt to prevent from having to clean the area under the sump pump out annually...the plumber found the problem quickly after snaking the outside drains and then coming in to look at the sump pump..I can't even describe the creativity involved in the original fix, but suffice it to say, after removing literally a foot of silt from the basement sump pump area with a shop vac, it now drains as it is supposed to. The sloping hill issue is going to be corrected this weekend, which will prevent the washout silt. That and a diversion of the drain pipe will alleviate the problem. We are learning little by little....This weekend we get to go out there and fix all the issues. I am ready to get it cleaned up--we've had quite a bite of rain, which equals quite a bit of standing water, which in turn left quite a good degree of silt. I am having visions of pots of petunias, begonias and ferns being sprinkled around that area liberally!

I have the sock knitting class tomorrow--I am psyched! It is on circulars. I have done soooo little knitting in the past year that it is pretty shameful. I am working on an area in our reading room where I can have a stash of yarn handy whenever I am in the mood. Since everything is still packed in boxes, it can be a challenge to find the yarn I need! I'm working on that...slowly but surely. I guess I have been more of an armchair knitter. And I have really become entranced with quilting. That would greatly amuse the high school home ec teacher that tried to teach me how to sew....

I finally went over to the junior college and signed up for two classes in the fall. Since oldest is going to Iowa to live, we will not have to pay his tuition for a year. That's how long it takes to establish residency..... we just can't swing out of state tuition. We'll pay for it once he gets in state rates...as my friend says "if it lasts that long".... I was in favor of them just visiting each other a couple times and figuring out the rest once they met face to face....they met over the Internet and are going to move in together...as a parent, that is scary. I know you can meet someone face to face and they still turn out to be scary-crazy (it's not like I don't actively work the cases like that when I do the domestic violence docket), but.......

I haven't disappearred, I promise...

It has been a rough month in our household. We completed the move, have started getting things arranged (notice I said started), and I get sick....figures. Luckily I have plenty of sick days built up, so using two days was not a huge chunk..However, being gone does not mean the workload goes away. I figure I will be up to my eyeballs tomorrow and Friday.

It feels really weird being in a larger home. Once I feel better, I am going to start working on some wall quilts. There is a lot of blank wall space in this house that I must compulsively fill up...

Our knitting group is having another sock class this Friday. I am really looking forward to it since they teach the toe up method. The lady that teaches it is a sock maker extraordinaire! She taught the class once before but I wasn't able to get to it. I am excited. Toe up seems to be a good way to do socks since you can adjust the length of the foot before it's off the needles.

I'd better sign off for now, but I'm sending warm wishes your direction.

A little move is good for the soul....

Hell on the body, but good for the soul....I am finding a ton of books I "was going to read", projects I was going to finish, yarn I was going to knit and of course a fabric stash of epic proportions. WHERE was all this stuff hiding?

I have more than enough to keep me and half the neighborhood busy. I found a ton (probably literally) of old Red Heart yarn from my "learn to crochet" days. I am going to donate part of it and them use a larger portion for some charity afghans. I know some people refuse to knit or crochet with red heart, but for projects such as baby blankets and afghans for homeless shelters that are going to get a lot of love and use, it can't be beat. It can be abused in any way and still washes up great. I should know, my kids still have some of their blankies from 11 years ago that were made with the stuff.

It feels really weird to have this much space. We have more than doubled our living space and it feels really good. I'm sure it will feel better when all the boxes are unpacked, but that may take a while. I plan to get motivated this weekend while cute man is putting the kids' bunk bed together. We have to find a futon mattress this weekend also, so there will be a shopping trip to the furniture store. It's strange that some of the furniture from the old house that seemed soooo big there, feels like it is in miniature at this house. I guess everything changes with the context of it's surroundings.

Cute man and I are planning a get away at the end of July. He won a scuba diving class when we were at the Cessna open house and there is a "field trip" for the second course at Beaver Lake in Arkansas. Non diving spouses can tag along for a small fee, so I am going too. It is pretty close to Eureka Springs--which is my favorite place! I plan to bring yarn, needles and fabric and just craft away while everyone else is diving. I take a beginning applique class at a local quilt shop on the Thursday before we leave, so that will be something to bring along.

I guess I'd better head off and get ready for work. It's Friday so I have lots of loose ends to tie up. I will post pictures of the new house this weekend.

Good coffee and warm wishes to you and yours!

I'm BAAAACK!

To say this has been an adventure would be putting it mildly! I have already told everyone at work if I EVER say I want to move again, PLEASE push me out the 5th floor window. It would be more humane and much less painful.....We finally got the old house cleaned and completely empty. I can't believe we got 5 people in that space! I am still in purge mode though. We moved an awful lot of stuff that I think I can actually do without, so the donation box is getting really full. The only thing left is to get the rose bush from the side of the yard, then we are officially done with that house....It still feels weird after 11 years. As a matter of fact, I had went to the grocery store with one of my sons, then proceeded to pull into our old driveway and shut the car off. My son finally said "Um, Mom, we moved...." Hey, if you are going to mess up, do it in front of your kids.....
I will post a longer entry tomorrow. I just wanted to check in and let everyone know I survived....

The Big Day

Tomorrow is the big moving day! Yikes, it seems like it took forever, then came quickly. I am really ready to get into a bigger place though.

One good thing about moving is that you find things that amaze and amuse (and sometimes horrify) you! I found the pattern for the Legacy sock! And this time I put in in the bag with the sock project. Once we move I will make copies of the pattern and put the original in my pattern binder (like it should have been)...I've also found books that have I have started reading and got misplaced. I figure I have enough "to read" books to last quite a while. Not that I am going to quit buying books...have to help support writers, you know!

After work today I am running by the machine shop to pick up one of my Singer Featherweights. I wanted to get it completely checked out before I use it. I am also looking for a sewing cabinet table to put on the other side of our bed. We have an empty one on Hubbie's side. It is taller than a regular bedside stand, which I like, so we are getting another. They had a couple at the machine shop. Some were empty, some had vintage machines in them for not much more than the empty ones. I'm eyeing one that has a stool and comes with a vintage (late 1930's) Singer model 66. It is electric, not treadle, and the owner of the shop has put a knee petal conversion on it so you use either the foot pedal or knee petal. He said it sews great. The older Singer machines were real workhorses. For piecing quilts, I just need a straight stitch, nothing fancy. I use my digital machines for actual machine quilting the sandwiched quilt.

I realized a couple days ago that we really have a lot of furniture we are going to have to buy! After living in a small house for so long, we really don't have enough to furnish the new house as far as seating! Yikes!

I probably won't be posting for a few days due to the move, but I'm sending warm wishes your way until I'm back online.

Twix bar recipe, as promised!

Several posts ago I mentioned that I would post the recipe for homemade Twix bars if they were good. Yes, they were REALLY good. However, they are best served cold since the caramel gets soft when warm. The chill brings out the flavors of the other ingredients also. They are pretty easy to make.

Keebler club crackers (I think I used one sleeve and had leftovers-don't quote me)
1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Place one layer of club crackers on the bottom of a greased 9"X13" pan. In a large saucepan over low heat, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, sugar, milk and margarine. Let boil for 5 minutes (I boiled for 6 minutes). Pour mixture over crackers in pan. Cover with another layer of Club crackers. Melt the peanut butter and chocolate chips in a microwave or double boiler, stirring often until smooth. Pour melted chocolate mixture over top layer of Club crackers and smooth with a spoon. Chill and cut into bars. Keep leftover bars covered in refrigerator.
YUM!

Countdown.....

We close on the new house Wednesday at 4:00. YEAH!

It feels like it has been forever since we got everything else settled. I guess it has been a couple months of waiting. Hubby drove by the house today and said the current owners were moving stuff out of the house, so I guess it is getting really close.

I am finding out that it is impossible to get completely packed when you live in a small house! We have about half our stuff packed and are climbing over boxes and each other! We've had to stop so we could move around! We load a Uhaul Friday night with boxes so we can start taking stuff over Saturday morning. I am going to get the kitchen completely packed tomorrow night with the exception of a few pots and pans. That will be a task in itself. The biggest thing that will help is getting the furniture out of the house so we have space to maneuver.

I'm getting pretty excited and I am definitely looking forward to having more space! I am looking forward to having a dedicated space for my knitting and quilting. FINALLY!

Memorial Day

Today's post focuses on the soldiers both past and present. No matter what your opinion is about the war and previous wars, please take a moment to say a prayer of thanks for those men and women that fought for our country in past wars and the brave soldiers fighting in Iraq now.

Pray for those doing what most of us can't do for reasons that are defy political dogma in a place that most of us would not be able to survive. Remember this and keep all soldiers--past/present --male/female--in your prayers.

Amen

The "I can't think of a title for this entry" entry

I actually get to hang out until 11:00 before I have to be at work today, So I thought I would make a long and winding post. Actually court starts at 1:30 and I don't have to be there until 1:00, but I am going in a little early to show some of the girls how to make really neat stuff with rubber stamps and shrink plastic. It is probably a good thing that I just fill in there occasionally--they probably would never get any work done! I will be there again tomorrow, so I will not be at the main office for the rest of the week. That means Monday I will have to hit the ground running so I can get some stuff accomplished that I have on my "GET DONE" list.

I was so tired last night that I didn't even get up and wander the house during the really bad thunderstorm we had last night. Usually I get up and check the local weather channel when we have big storms--especially during tornado season--but last night I woke up, made a mental note that it was really storming bad and apparently checked out to La La land again....It looks like it may rain off and on all day today, but that is fine. I get to park in covered parking today...WOO HOO....ok, so it's the little things that make life interesting...Actually yesterday was so busy that I lost track of what day it was and completely spaced out going to a friends house to work on a quilt...Hopefully we will be doing that this evening since we don't have any kid activities going on tonight.

I am looking for activities and vacation ideas close to home this summer and I have found a couple ideas. The boys love to fish, so we are talking about renting a building at one of our local lakes for the weekend. I love to sit and fish too--I just don't like to take the fish off the hook, which usually is not a problem since we don't catch anything! They really don't have"cabins " like they have at most of the state parks in Oklahoma, but they will work for our purposes. We are also talking about finally visiting Cabala's in Kansas City. There are a lot of family friendly activities in Kansas City, so that will be a good idea that isn't too far. Plus there are some really neat fabric and yarn stores in that area...OK, ulterior motives....or would that be a multitasking vacation?There is also a really large Western theme park that opened outside Wichita. It looks interesting and will be the focus of at least once visit....

I recently purchase a magazine that had some really cute square pincushions featured on the cover and look what I found---http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/--and she has some really neat fabric designs too! These will be really easy projects for little stocking stuffers for Christmas. One can never have too many pin cushions. Plus, a lack of pincushions means there are probably loose pins lying about. When we were kids, my mom liked to sew. Unfortunately, not all the pins made it to a safe landing spot, so more than once we kids ended up driving a pin into our foot as we walked across the floor....and it's a wonder I EVER wanted to learn to do anything involving fabric....I took home ec in high school and excelled in all areas EXCEPT the sewing. I had this little twitch that surfaced when I thought about having to pin together the pieces.....I never did learn to follow a pattern, which is why I had to buy the Sewing For Dummies book recently to teach me all the things I zoned out on in high school! Who would have thought I'd actually find a use for needle and thread, let alone a sewing machine....But here I am, with multiple sewing machines and tons of fabric.....

The Best Laid Plans....

I had planned on going to work today--instead, I will do a sequel visit to the doctor. Same doctor, same parent, different leading man.....Mark went to the doctor yesterday. Today, his twin, Jeremy is going for the exact same thing.....thank God for insurance!

I did get to rest up a little today in between packing boxes for the big move. I still feel like I could sleep straight through the week, but I have a feeling that is just because my allergies are acting up. Oh well, could be worse! However, I am finding yarn stashed in places that I didn't stash it. For now, I am ending the mystery by blaming the cats for stashing it....I am going to keep a close eye out for proof they are using my knitting needles too since they are disappearing....

I did get a little snack made for the boys that hopefully is pretty good. It is for a snack called homemade Twix bars. They are a no bake, which is a really good thing when it is hot, but I'm hoping they are at least edible. You make the caramel candy topping to put between two layers of club crackers, then cover with a melted chocolate/peanut butter mixture. The only strange part of the recipe is the caramel mixture has a cup of crushed graham crackers in it....if it is good, I'll post the recipe tonight. I bought a book of no bake treats that I will be testing weekly. No bake is really the easiest way to go in hot weather and I'm all about easy! actually easy doesn't count unless it is also good eating!

Good Morning!

The boys are already starting the 1/2 day countdown until the end of the school year. Tomorrow they get out of school at noon. I will be in court until late, so unfortunately I won't get to see their "freedom faces" until I get home. I "stand in" occasionally for the Domestic Violence Advocate at the city prosecutor's office when she is not in the office. My job is basically to talk to victims and witnesses, then give it to the prosecutor. From there, he/she decides what they want to do. I really like it. I love the courtroom time. When we have trials, it is interesting to listen to closing arguments. That is another great thing about my job---I have been given excellent opportunities to get experience in a large variety of settings that I might not in a "conventional" law firm. I hate to use the term "conventional" but we are different in that we are registered as a not for profit law firm. We handle certain types of legal issues for individuals with legal fees based on income guidelines...It has been excellent job from the day I started as an intern years ago. It is rare to find a job that is both family friendly and female friendly as this office is.



Gardening season is here....I haven't planted anything yet since we will be moving in two weeks, but I am definitely looking into some blackberry bushes to plant when we get to the new house. I went to a self pick farm two years ago and really had a great time canning jams. I had also visited a peach orchard near our house and got a lot of peaches, so I had canned blackberry, peach and blackberry-peach jam. My favorite was the blackberry peach. The combination of the two fruits really tasted excellent. I love to can. Mainly jams and salsas, but I am going to branch out and put away other stuff this year. Jams are really easy and make excellent gifts. When I do get settled and can some stuff, I will post the recipes here. You really should try your hand at making jams--they are among the easiest to do. Marigold already has a jump on her garden, I'm jealous!
Hey! If it worked, I just linked Marigold's name with her blog--hopefully you just click on her name to go to her fabulous blog. Disclaimer: Remember I am new to this linking business, so if you get to Joe's Discount Sweat Sock Shop instead, sorry!

And a Happy Saturday to you!

I'm a little slow getting around this morning but it has already started out to be a good day.

The post person just delivered two quilting books to my door. Normally I shy away from book of the month type clubs, but I do subscribe to one called Zooba that lets you pick the books you want sent each month. You just out them on a list and one book from your list is sent to you each month. Since the books only cost $9.99 including shipping, I have saved a mint on a lot of my knitting books! I have a book on knitting sweaters from the top down due to come to me this month. I am looking forward to that one. It seems to me that knitting from the top down makes pretty good sense. They don't have a huge selection of knitting books, but I have received a pretty good spectrum and have saved a bundle ( a penny saved is a yarn skein stashed---ok, I took a little creative license with that quote, but maybe Ben Franklin would have said that if he was a knitter!)...

Can you believe the gas prices? Let me know what you plan to do to conserve gas and money. What is gas running in your area?As I stated earlier, I am bundling trips together, buying more online and just plain making do with what I already have (shopping at the Davis department store!)....I guess that puts a small hole in the different small town a month plan that I had at the beginning of the year, but maybe I will just be creative. Since I am 5 months behind in actually posting the small town pic and postings, I will get it started by the end of the month. The first batch of small towns that I visit and knit in will be around Wichita, although Salina, Kansas is really looking good. They are more than an hour away, but there is a beautiful yarn store in that town (it has gotten rave reviews from some of the Wichita knitters that I know) and there is a quilting/fabric store that is completely awesome too...it's like buying an ice cream sundae and getting a free sprinkle of chocolate chips!

I will tag 8 people tonight so I can keep up with Marigold's Random tag....beware, you never know if I'm going to tag YOU!! It is so fun to visit other's blog site when they leave a comment...I have found some of the neatest people that way, so leave a comment and let me know who you are...I'd love to read your blog!

Weekend is here!!!

This was a pretty interesting week.
Thursday the country singer Craig Morgan was shooting a video literally in from of our office. It was surprisingly painless. I was dreading the traffic and mayhem and people parking in my lot at work. That didn't happen. It was really well maintained. However, I now realize that a 3-4 minute song takes much more than 8 hours to shoot....All of us in the office have the first 10 words of Craig's song memorized, followed by the word "CUT". After the first 20 times they did the same 10 words to the song over and over and over again, it got a little old. Luckily everyone in the office agreed it was a really good song--even the ones that didn't like country, so we all got through it..... We were all feeling sorry for Craig and his band members after the 90th take...that would get soooo old. I guess it looks easier on the video than it really is. These guys earn their money. At one point Craig was playing around on a dirt bike--I got laughed at by some of the girls in the office because I REALLY wanted to yell at him for not having a helmet on....and the fact that one of the pick-up trucks had a very young child in the back....granted they only moved 5 feet, but still........It was funny to watch the people interact from our vantage point on the 5th floor. The girls in the brown/gold jeep got a lot of male attention....I have more funny stories to tell, but maybe later...So, as far as the video, it should be really good, however: CRAIG---WEAR A DARN HELMET WHEN YOU ARE ON A BIKE--EVEN FOR A HALF BLOCK!

Tagged! I'm it....

Marigold ( and since I am not techno smart, I have to do it the "OLD FASHIONED WAY)http://marigoldgirl.blogspot.com/ just tagged me. So here goes:

8 Random Things about Me:

1: I was born in Baltimore Maryland, raised in Stillwater, Oklahoma (Home of Oklahoma State University---GO COWBOYS!) since 1976. I consider Oklahoma my home state (because I grew up there).

2. I never saw myself as having kids-ever. I now have three and wouldn't mind having dozens more except for that "giving birth thing", which I don't do too well. And the fact that I am over 40 (small detail....humor me).

3. I love to watercolor paint. And scrapbook. And quilt....and....

4. I have a yarn and fabric stash that is so infinite, it will outlast my great grandkid's grandkids....and I don't even have Grandkids yet! Note to 20 yr old son: This is not an invitation to give me grandkids yet--FINISH COLLEGE!

5. I love chickens! And cows...

6. I worked three days in a dairy barn when the twins were babies. I have infinite respect for those that can do it. I couldn't drink milk for almost 6 months after.......Cows are sooooo much prettier from the front!

7. I have no piercings or tattoos either, Marigold. I am a wimp when it comes to intentionally choosing pain. Plus, at my age, if I got a cute bird anywhere on my body, it would be migrating South forever....I know, the visuals have now scarred you for life!

8. Every morning I wake up next to my hubby, I feel blessed. The best decision I ever made was to say Yes when he proposed 17+ years ago.

and because I can't follow a rule to save my life, here's an additional:


8.5......I can't follow a budget or a diet for the life of me!!! I can hold on to 50 pounds forever, but $50 just melts away..go figure!

That was fun! Thanks Marigold!

I will figure out who to tag this evening when I get off work. Hubby just called to let me know they mentioned that the roads surrounding the building I work at are closed because there is a country music video being shot there, so I have to figure out an alternate route to the parking lot...and to the front door....Great....that's what happens when you work in a building that also houses a historic theatre from the 20's.....Thankfully he called to give me a heads up. I would not have been amused! Which is another random about me---I am usually pretty mild mannered, but I can back down a marine when mad. Ask my kids, they've heard me do it to a pushy marine recruiter....

Good coffee and great friends to you and yours!!

Randon Cute Animal Pics

It's morning and I am really dragging, so I will distract and hopefully amuse you with cute animal pictures since I do not have the ability to compose pithy thoughts on the page...The top picture is Charlie aka. our $200+ stray cay and my son's cat, Socks, who is so at home in his element, that he does not feel the need to protect his soft underbelly....and yes, he is actually asleep in this position.

Have a great day. I will post this evening, when I have a better command of the English language!

This mornings post is just a short but funny blurb session. I wish I could take credit for these, but all the credit has to go to Barbara Lenz who puts out our church bulletins via email. These really made me giggle today and I hope they do the same for you!

Groans….

*I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
* Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
* The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.
* To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
* When fish are in schools, they sometimes take debate.
* The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
* A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
* A thief fell and broke his leg in wet cement. He became a hardened criminal.
* Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.
* We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.
* When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, UCLA.
* The math professor went crazy with the blackboard. He did a number on it.
* The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes was on shaky ground.
* The dead batteries were given out free of charge.
* If you take a laptop computer for a run, you could jog your memory.
* A bicycle can't stand alone; it is two-tired.* Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
* In a democracy, it's your vote that counts. In feudalism, it's your Count that votes.
* A chicken crossing the road: poultry in motion.
* With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.
* Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat miner.
* When a clock is hungry, it goes back four seconds.
* The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine was fully recovered.
* A grenade fell onto a kitchen floor in France, resulting in Linoleum Blownapart.
*You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.
* He broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
* A lot of money is tainted: 'taint yours and 'taint mine.
* A boiled egg is hard to beat.
* He had a photographic memory that was never developed.
* A plateau is a high form of flattery.
* When you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.
* When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.
* Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.
* Acupuncture: a jab well done.

Tee Hee!
Great coffee and giggles to you this morning!

Happy Monday to You

Wanted to do a quick post before I leave for work. It seems like morning is the best time for me to do posting since my evenings are so full.

On the home front: Everything is in place for us to take possession of the house June 2---I am pretty excited. I read through my blog last night and realized how many times I said "if we buy a house" or "if we buy the house we're in" or something to that effect. Isn't it funny how putting something in writing causes the wheels of change to move one way or another?

I spent a little time packing yesterday and found all kinds of neat things that had been hidden away. It's almost like Christmas....Hubby and I went to Target yesterday and looked at furniture. I'm pretty surprised at how nice some of their furniture is. We will probably wait to get new stuff until we actually get to the new house (no reason to move it twice), but we did snag some pretty well made gaming chairs for $78.00. They were marked down from $99.00, so we snagged two. I had been looking for some nice gaming chairs for the kids but most of the ones I've seen are flimsy---these are pretty heavy.

On the gas front: It is down to 3.06 a gallon (that is as of yesterday, we all know it changes). Not great, but better than what it was. It is still going to put a huge pinch in my errand running and buying. A friend from Wyoming said gas there was $2.89---lucky.....and then I think " $2.89 LUCKY?!! I want gas under $2.00 again!" Ever notice that it may go down, but creeps right back up, like the gas companies are slowly numbing us...I did see a funny thing this week though. When gas hit $3.10 in Wichita, one of our stations here still had it for $2.96--there was a line of cars 10-15 deep of really big cars and trucks waiting to get gas at that price. Here's my problem: If you have one of those huge gas eaters and are idling in a line 10 deep, by the time you get to the pump, you have burned off any savings, and probably wasted an additional amount of gas.....think about it.

I picked up the new Interweave Knits last night, mainly because it had a really good article about knitting toe up socks---the last couple issues I passed on because there was not enough "non sweater/shirt" stuff. I think they should have a little more accessory patterns, more socks, bags, hats, etc for those of us who are not ready to commit to an intricate sweater or camisole (I know, everyone's a critic!) . They do have really wonderful sock patterns and hat patterns and their stitch technique articles are incredible, so it is not like I never buy it, I just seek out the issues with a little more accessory patterns or easy sweater patterns for beginners. I will say that there is a cables sweater pattern (it has a sweater for the woman and a vest for the guy) that piqued my interest. I think I could see myself doing those....which is another reason to buy it. I will be able to look through it more this evening when I take a kid to soccer practice, so I'm sure I'll have more to say. However, I do have to add that if you see the new issue. it is well worth the cover price, s snag a copy.

I guess I'm at the bottom of my coffee cup and that is a sign I'd better get ready for work!
Great griends and good coffee to you and yours!

Sundays...

At some point today I have to suck it up and actually make it down to the basement to start packing it. It is probably a good thing that our new house is a bi-level and the lower level is actually a functioning part of the house (it has the family room, 2 bedrooms, a full bath and the laundry room, and a walkout to the yard) so it can't be a repository for delayed decisions, which is exactly what our basement is right now. On the sunny side, this will be like an archaeological dig I guess....

Cute bag pattern alert: http://www.cidermoon.com/cm0128.html I found this link by lurking in Brown Berry's site: http://thebrownberry.blogspot.com/ that I found by lurking in Cactus needles blog http://cactusneedlles.blogspot.com/ How's THAT for blog dropping!!!
I am downloading the pattern to do one of my very own when we get to the new house and I can pull out my yarn!

Gas Price Blues

I'm not sure what you guys are used to paying for gas in your neck of the woods, but gas just hit $3.19 a gallon here in Haysville...YIKES!!!! I am seeing a long summer of very little pleasure driving if this keeps up. I am already brainstorming ways to save gas or not have to use the car at all. Luckily although we live in a small town, a lot of what we need is either here in town or on the way to/from work. I've told the boys instead of getting in the car to drive the 1/2 mile to the video store, we are going to brush off the bikes. This could be a good thing--if I don't injure myself trying to ride my bike.....it's been a while. A LONG while. If we had public transportation from Haysville to downtown Wichita (where I work), I would soooo take it. as it stands, I have already had to make decision about the way I shop. I had a 40% off coupon from Michael's Craft stores that was burning a hole in my pocket--they have a quilting book I REALLY want that is $25.00....Instead of making the 15 mile trip into that side of Wichita, I got online and found a used-like new copy on Amazon.com for $12.00. Even with the $3.99 shipping, it was cheaper than running my car to the local store. As much as I like the idea of shopping local, it may not work for me if it not a store in an area I have several other errands...I guess one good thing is that I will be at home a lot more and will have plenty of yarn and fabric from my existing stash to get projects done....One of these projects is a paper pieced quilt from class I took a couple weeks ago. You know, the one that cost me $250 extra because I fell in love with the instructors 1940's Singer featherweight and ended up buying one on eBay....I have posted a picture of two blocks--one completed and one in the process of completion. Paper piecing is tricky at first because you are placing the fabric on one side, then sewing on the paper side. Once the block is completed, you tear away the paper and just have the perfectly formed square. It's really neat, but it was hard for me to grasp at first. The thing I like the best is this method makes perfect use of all those scraps that are too small to use normally....Plus you don't have to be a stickler for matching/coordinating colors....The colors in these blocks are from a quilt I am working on--my first quilt to be precise..

A Day of Rest

I ended up using my last comp day today instead of going in an working. I felt like someone was having a party in one side of my head, and while I was the host, I was only allowed to watch...not good. I ended up laying down and got up at 2:20! Talk about sleeping the day away! Oldest child just left for his history class at the junior college. I really do wish I could talk him into just staying put and finishing his college here. I guess we'll see how the summer goes for him.

I've got to run down to the sewing machine shop tomorrow to trade out the free motion foot I got yesterday -- after talking with the salesman, he definitely got the wrong foot off the rack. No biggie--I should have thought to ask when the packaging said for a memory craft embroidery machine....I thought maybe they were interchangeable...They're not. With gas prices the way they are, I will probably wait until tomorrow to go since I have to be downtown anyway for work. I am trying to package trips together so I am not using as much gas as I usually do running around. Realistically that is how I should have been doing it all along.

There is a knitting group at Panera Bread tomorrow. I would love to finally be able to attend one of their meetings--it has been so long! We'll have to see. Every time I commit by RSVP'ing, something happens that makes it impossible for me to attend, so I don't want to jinx myself.

Not so funny fact about my blond dachshund: She barks at air. Repeatedly. Loudly. While I am trying to sleep.....and no, she doesn't have a turn off button. I've looked. Just as bad is the fact when scolded, she lays on the floor and growls repeatedly with occasional yips at the offending entity which, by the way, doesn't exist! It sounds like a continual motor with an occasional misfire.........

New House News and etc.

We will be moving June 2nd and have reached an agreement with the current owner regarding how much he is to pay towards what needs to be fixed on the house. It was mainly stuff that started from lack of maintenance on the outside (deck unsafe, windows leaked) and the inside of the house has been well maintained, so we didn't get bitchy about splitting some of the costs...If I haven't said it before in this blog: If you own a house, inspect the windows and things around the house--fix the small things before they become big things. A little preventative maintenance goes a long way! Eric and I have discussed the fact that we have a friend that is a contractor and home inspector, and it would be worth having him come out every couple years to look around the house to see if anything jumps out at him...

And so begins the long process of packing. Do you realize how much junk accumulates in nooks and crannies if you aren't looking? One the good side: I am finding things that I lost and can really use now. One the bad side: I am finding things I lost and have NO IDEA why I bought them in the first place...I better get over this impulse buying....and that is before I address the yarn stash and the fabric stash!

Speaking of yarn and fabric: I haven't had much knitting content lately because it seem like I haven't really had the space or time to knit. I miss it. I will be able to have my stash out in the new house and will have a place just for me to knit. I am looking forward to that. I will also have a place for both my sewing machines and fabric. I think half the problem with a stash of any kind is that if you can't see it, you don't know if you have it and end up buying more (a direct allusion to the above paragraph)...

My oldest son is still planning to move to Iowa to live with the girl he met over the Internet. As a mother, I am just hoping this turns out OK. He is 20, so I really don't have the option of saying no...It is a little unnerving that he will not be going to college. We are currently paying for his school, but have explained that if he moves out and lives with someone, he is responsible for school from there on out. I really wish he would at least finish his college. I know, BREATHE....

I took a machine quilting class last night with my friend Sue. It was really informative and just what we needed to get us to the point of being able to quilt the lap sized quilts we have pieced and waiting for that step. Sue doesn't have a portable machine of her own, so she used my little Brother NX200, which is the one that misbehaved the last time and lead to the Featherweight "incident"--you know, the one where I had to use the instructor's 1940's featherweight and got obsessed to the point of buying one...anyway, it behaved fine. So did my Janome 6260 QC --right up to the point where we put on the free motion foot...I didn't have one for this machine so I ran by the dealer to pick one up yesterday. The dealer gave me one for the wrong model. Damn! Partially my fault for not trying it on the machine before I took it to class...I used the shop's Bernina. While it was nice, I am happy to say, I am not looking to buy one and I am more than happy with my machines! However I have come to the realization that I am blessed and spoiled.....I am going to start piecing a 9 patch quilt this month. It is a pretty traditional setting and it will help me work on getting my fabric cut and pieced so the seams actually meet. Since I know the basics now, I am going to work on making quilts for all the kids when we get settled in the new house.

I guess I'd better head off to work. With gas at $3.10 a gallon, I fully realize I am blessed to not have to sit in rush hour traffic. By the time I leave, it is pretty much a straight shot except for traffic lights. I am not happy about having to shell out this much cash for gas! Hubby and I are discussing getting a really small car for when it is just one person and saving the vans for when everyone has to travel together. The vans get decent gas mileage, but it could be better. We can't afford a hybrid--although that would be nice..

Have a great morning and good coffee to you!

Bad Weather-Prayers for Tornado Victims

As many of you may have seen on the news, this has been a really crappy week for weather here in Kansas. Greensburg, Kansas, a little town 110 miles from Wichita was literally flattened. 95% of the town is gone. If you have never experienced a tornado, you are blessed. I am asking that as you read this, please say a prayer for all the residents of Greensburg and the other towns that got hit.

Tornadoes are terrifying even on a small scale--and Greensburg now has the task of literally rebuilding the town from scratch. The sad thing is this tornado hit on the day after the 8 year anniversary of the one that hit our little town and wiped out a large swatch of it. My heart goes out to everyone affected.

Just a quick post tonight--it has been really bad weather all day and tonight it is no different. Lots of thunder, lightning and pounding rain. On the bright side, it is really cool outside, so I have been sitting on the porch watching the rain.

It is lightening outside, so I'd better cut this post short.

New House Progress

Approx. 1 month ago we signed the contract on a house just down the street from us. We've rented the home we live in for almost 12 years now and the landlord wants to sell it. Our current house only has 925 square feet of finished space (it also has an unfinished basement that would add 400-500 feet if it were finished....) and it is starting to feel cramped with 5 people in it. It was fine when the twins were little, but now they are teenagers and their mass has increased (we won't even start on mine), it is really cramped. The landlord wants an awful lot for the square footage, so we decided to bump up our price range and ended up buying a 1,965 square foot home...We don't take possession until June 2nd (the current owners close on their new house June 1) -- but it feels like the whole process is crawling. Buying a house is much more stress than you see on those home shows!!! I thought it would be an easy, painless process. Word of advice to current homeowners--if you have a deck-especially a second story deck important to getting to the back yard---TAKE CARE OF IT. That way, when you sell your home, you are not shocked by the inspector giving it an unsafe tag and the contractor giving you a $5,000 estimate! We are in the process of haggling that out. Actually a good rule of thumb is to just take care of all little things before they become big things. The window that leaks and causes the sheet rock to pull away from the window frame is not going to go away or freeze in status. It will get worse. The patio door that isn't working well will not magically fix itself, and yes, you will be surprised at the end on how much it costs to fix all this!!!

I am looking forward to getting into it and making it ours! The twins will share a room, but it will be twice the size of what they are sharing now. My oldest son is talking about moving out and going to live with his girlfriend (don't even go there...) in another state, so we may have a guest/quilting/painting/etc room...That would be so great!

In other news, I saw some blurb on AOL news that gas is supposed to reach $4 a gallon in some parts. WTF !!!!! It is not amusing me to gas my van up as it is! I am seriously thinking we are going to have to look at getting small cars for running across town when it is just one or two people and keeping one of the vans for when all of us are going someplace. Does anyone own or know anyone who owns one of the hybrid cars? I'm seeing lots of stay at home activities in my future! I guess that is a good excuse for the stash of yarn and fabric I have built up....We may just have to investigate some alternative power sources in the future. It would be nice to power the kitchen by solar---it may be a little too much to ask to power the whole house, but once we get settled, we may investigate taking part of the house off the grid. Solar power in our area is still a pretty new idea and not mainstream, so it may be hard to find someone who can convert us...

On the art side: I am going to start watercolor painting again. I have had the urge to paint for several years and never found the time (I used the "I'm not a professional, not a real artist, not....crutch) and it has been nagging me. I recently found a book by Dori Kanter entitled "Art Escapes" and it is very empowering! You really have to get this book. Even if you have never painted or watercolor is not what you perceive as your style...It has exercises that teach you about color, composition etc that can be transferred anywhere...My friends are nuts about the artists way books, which I will eventually work on (I own that one and Vein of Gold by the same author of Artist's Way), but this one is very hands on. Love it!!

I guess I'd better head off to work. This my version of morning pages for those of you familiar with Artist's Way, but unlike the suggested stream of consciousness pages, I'll edit my blurbs and not subject you to my random blatherings. Those I will save for a notebook.....

Good day and great coffee to you and yours!!

Possessed and Possessions

It's official--- the sewing machine I took to the paper piecing class is possessed.

I plugged it in last night, determined to fix the problem, and it ran like a charm. I tried a billion different ways to get it to do what it did at class, but no luck....figures. This is the sewing machine version of taking your car to the mechanic for "that noise" that never happens when anyone is looking at it. Oh well, it has been an incredible machine (it is a Brother NX 200---the least expensive of the line, but an incredible machine at any price) so I guess I should give it one time of being temperamental....However, it did cause a little bit of trouble--- if it had behaved, I never would have touched the little featherweight, which in turn means that I would not have spent time eBaying...oh yeah, and I wouldn't have bought one....OR--maybe my "little brother" realized that paper piecing dulls needles and wanted to save me money by forcing me to get a machine strictly for paper piecing...Great, I am imbuing my machines with the ability to have cognitive reasoning....
I know. I need more coffee.

Quilting Class

This weekend I took a paper piecing class at a local quilt shop in Derby and really had a good time. Actually, the first 2 hours I was really frustrated and ready to throw in the towel because it was just not clicking. Couple that with the fact that my sewing machine that had been running perfectly during the last week, decided it was not going to cooperate at all. We had the most amazingly patient instructor though--he let me use his little Singer Featherweight. I had never seen one before--I thought it was a toy. The instructor said he pieces all his quilts on this little 11 pound machine from the early 50's/late 40s. It only does one thing--sews forward...but I completely fell in love with it. There is apparently quite a following among quilters for this little machine. The instructor said he paid $300 on eBay, so I figured I'd scope it out. I bid on three and got outbid--they went for $340+. I finally found a good auction and in the last 2 minutes, I put in a bid for the highest I was willing to go---I got it for a really good price--far below what the others went for....And far below what some of the other auctions ended at. This machine will be good when I am going to a quilt class that doesn't require any fancy stitches--just straight sewing. I already have fancier machine for other purposes.....I like the pattern we got in class-it is comprised completely of scraps and snippets. It will be a good block to piece as I start working on more quilts and get more scraps...I am looking forward to moving and having space to put up my machines in a permanent spot so I can work when the urge hits me. I will have a corner with all my yarn and knitting stuff too....it's all good.

On the housefront, we had the inspection and they found a couple things wrong--the deck definitely needs to be redone--it comes off the second level where the kitchen is and leads to the yard, so it is key to the house. And then windows need to be replaced along with the downstairs patio door. Water has seeped into the corners....We haven't heard anything from the owner on what they intend to do (options will be to fix or lower price of house so we can make repairs needed...). I hate waiting. More news as it comes in.

This has been a really good day for just hanging out in pajamas and getting boxes packed....The kids are off from school tomorrow, but I can be sure there is not going to be a lot of productivity going on in the house when we are at work...However the trash man is going to be really unhappy when he hits our house.....Why did we not do this before now?

The mystical legacy socks

I was feeling bad when I realized I constantly whine about the infamous legacy socks and yet no visual proof exists as of recently....so here! See--they are real. Today was Jeremy's piano recital so not a lot of time to actually work on these...but I did think about them. Does that count? Oh well. Here are pictures of both the recital and the socks in progress. Yes, I am working on the pair at the same time instead of doing one, then the other. My reasoning was that would keep me from getting the dreaded second sock syndrome, but I think the correct terminology should be "completed pair syndrome"....

Random Ramblings!

We are in the process of trying to pack to move in June--it suddenly seems like the more we pack, the more there is? It feels like we have had a possessions zip file and as we get things in boxes, the rest of the things DECOMPRESS! I am starting to ask hard questions about how much we want to take over to the new house--even if it is twice the space! I am sooooo looking forward to the move--it is more than a month off and it feels like eternity. I am starting to feel how really small this house is! How did we cram 5 people in this small of a space for 12 years. Granted, the twins were little and so was everyone for that matter (!), but HOLY SMOKES! I am really looking forward to having the extra space to have people over and to entertain. I can finally take advantage of the cookbooks I collect!!!!Good things all over! The only thing we are waiting on is the inspection of the house. That happens Wednesday. Hopefully all is well. The deck is the only thing that looks like it might need replacing, so we will see...It leads off the top floor from the kitchen(the house is a bi-level), so it is pretty impotant to the design of the house....

On the flip side, I am seriously thinking about taking a summer class at the local junior college this summer. I have college algebra and speech left to complete my degree and I have been putting it off for quite some time. I had collapsed my hours at work a while back with the intention of going back to school but then took on extra hours in a department that is my main love, so that got put aside. My hours in mediation have collapsed, so now I have time to do a couple classes. I think just one class would be done easily in the summer--especially speech, since the class would be smaller. While I have no problems presenting speeches to groups, for some odd reason, the thought of a formal speech class has always terrified me. Time to get it done!

Jeremy has a piano recital today. Hopefully I will have pictures -if my camera cooperates. I am seriously considering getting a different camera this month. This one is nice, but it takes quite a while for the shutter to snap the picture--resulting in blurred pictures often. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

On the knitting side--I completed an extra round on the legacy socks today. I HAVE to turn the heel or my son is going to end up with a pair of thigh highs--and we all know how cute that won't be on a teenage boy!!! They would have to be presented with a side order of psychotherapy!

We Bought a ........

HOUSE!

We have been renting for almost 12 years at this same spot but last month the landlord announced he wanted to sell. The price he is asking is a bit too high for this amount of footage, so we decided to bump up our price range when we saw two houses one block over for the same price. One has 1,800+ square feet and the other had 1965 sq. feet. The smaller one had a FIREPLACE, which was a big plus, but my hubby loved the huge walk-in closets of the other, so we put a contract on it. Move in day is June 2 (the other party doesn't close on their new house until then). Now begins the task of purging.....do you know how much junk accumulates in 12 years?! I am purging a ton of yarn so I don't have to move it to the other house (reality: I can rebuild my stash...the other just sounds better.)

Yikes....we bought a house......

ARGGGGGGGGG!

Remember the legacy socks I have been whining about finishing? Well tonight after perusing so many knitting websites and seeing the spectacular handknitted socks, I was sooooo hyped and ready to GET 'EM DONE! So I putter over to the bag I so carefully packed the project in ( I even put them in a zip lock so no buggies can get in after reading a really scary story about wool moths--but I digress....anyway, I pull out the project and remember exactly why I completely adore this yarn (Baby Star by Laines Du Nord). Out comes the project, the extra yarn that I am so OCD about getting (so I never run out mid project), the tape measure, stitch markers, and pattern. Wait---where is the #$#$% pattern? Certainly I packed the pattern with the project....NOT! What was I thinking? Maybe if I could figure that out, I would know where I put the darn project!!! ARRRRRRRGGGGGGG! So, needless to say, I will have to go to my LYS to pick up another copy of the pattern. Luckily it is a giveaway pattern, but it sits right next to this yarn that is my weakness! Did I mention Baby Star comes in RED? This is going to be an expensive pattern. Not that the yarn is expensive ($7.00 for 1.79 oz--50 grams for you metric people) but I can't go into the store and not fondle this yarn, which then means I have to buy it. It's the yarn store version of "you break, you buy", which happens because I drool on the yarn.
Darn. However, tomorrow I will go to the store and set a goal to at least get to the heel. Turning the heel is intimidating me, but I guess I will learn to frog....I would have pictures, but it appears my camera is MIA somewhere in the house (I hope)...

Oh yeah, I also inquired about buying a Columbine spinning wheel today.....Maybe that will offset any yarn considerations...luckily hubby does not read my blog--as far as I know. If he does, I'll know it....Hi HONEY!

Spring has sprung

What a gorgeous day it was today! Hubby and I went to a friend's house where she and I dumped him to watch multiple "24" episodes (we don't have cable internet and can't get on the website to watch the complete episodes without our computer completely locking up) while she and I shopped. It is so rare that I actually go shopping, it actually was fun. I desperately needed shoes for work and shoes for play. I scored big at Shoe Carnival with my favorite brand (Ryka)--I found a pair for 25.00 and they were having a buy one get one 50% off---so I bought two pairs of the SAME Ryka shoe. Considering I have seen this pair for 70.00, I was soooooooo happy with myself. I love this brand, so I grab them when I can afford them. There were other good deals, but those were my best steal....

Starting next week, I promise more knitting content! I realized I had taken a little detour from knitting and really need to get back on board. I will be working out of the One Skein Wonders book -- it really has some great patterns!!If you haven't seen this book, run to Border's or Amazon and oogle it...you won't be disappointed. I really want to work on some fingerless mitts, but I'm having problems getting in the mood when it is warm out.....

On the home front, we are considering whether to buy the house we've been renting for 11 years or to try to find something else with a little more space. We have looked at a couple houses that were real duds, but friends tell me to just keep on going...isn't that the "kiss a lot of frogs" theory?!! We are so living it!! However, there are some houses we are looking at that have fireplaces, which is on my wish list of a "perfect home" I can SO see myself sitting in front of a fireplace knitting in the winter...I guess time will tell. I really dread packing and moving though....not to mention I love our neighbors.

Within the next couple weeks, I have to catch up with my travel goals of exploring and knitting in little towns around Kansas. I got snowed under at the beginning of the year and was unable to do any road trips. I did get a book of towns in Kansas with some really interesting places, so I will be sharing them with you soon.

Better run, it's time for bed. Last week was a really bad week for sleep, so I need to make myself try to catch up. Good dreams to you!

Morning Post

Technically I should be getting ready for work....instead of sitting here with a cup of coffee posting a blurb....the time change has really been hard for me to adjust to! Especially since every morning since Monday has been enveloped in a really thick blanket of fog. This morning is not quite as foggy, but it still has a little fog involved. I am looking forward to this weekend when things slow down a little. I think a three day weekend would be great right now, but we don't have any of those coming up for a while....

While cleaning the basement, I realized that my yarn stash is REALLY big--I have yarn stashed that I : a) Have forgotten about b) SHOULD have forgotten about and c) would like to forget about! So, the ones in the last two categories are going to be packaged together in lots of 6 skeins and given to members in my knitting group that are teaching others to knit. A large amount of it is acrylic Red Heart or Simply Soft, which I still like for certain projects (project that will see lots of use or are going to households that do not understand that wool felts)---but I really need to clear space if we are going to have to move or have the house appraised so we can buy it.
So far this year I have not kept up on my knitting resolutions, but I have pulled out the legacy socks and am going to figure out exactly how to finish them. I am looking at toe up socks next time. My son that likes hand knit socks (go figure, he's 13 and actually appreciates the work involved) has really large feet. If he ever grows into those, he will tower over me!

I guess it is time to get to work. Great coffee and soft yarn to you and yours!

The legacy socks

In the process of cleaning out, I pulled out the ever present LEGACY SOCKS. Remember these? These are the socks I started--my first socks-my only sock attempt--and then stopped after the cuffs got done.......Well, I made the mental commitment that I am going to sit down and get them done in the next couple months. I adore hand knitted socks--really, I do! But it seems I got to the part just under the cuff and froze...So I am going to go down to my LYS and have her sit with me while I get over the learning curve. I even have a video in my knitting DVD collection that features socks, so REALLY---I have no excuses. And the fact that I really found the k2p2 cuffs very relaxing to knit....
I woke up to really thick fog this morning. I like fog, however it makes driving downtown a challenge. There is a category of drivers that I run into (hopefully not literally) that I call Peek-A-Boo drivers. If they can't see the light from a mile a way, it doesn't exist, right?

Have a great day! Knit a row for me!

And a Happy Tuesday to you!

I am looking forward to the end of the week---this has been one of those whirlwind weeks where I've gotten too little sleep and have too much to do!

I have been stressing out because the landlord told us he wants to sell the house SOON. We have been here almost 11 years...I know, money wasted. However, it was right for us to rent. We'll have a good lump of money to put down on a house, but I am wanting to look at what is available in our little town. The landlord is going to ask an awful lot for the square footage of this house as opposed to the tax appraised value. We have an appointment with a realtor to look at other properties on Friday. I do dread the whole moving business though. Hubby is holding out hope he can talk him down on the price, but LL seems to be pretty firm that paint and new carpet is going to net him $15,000 above the tax appraised price. Did I mention there are quite a few newer homes on the market for only a little more than what he is considering? Yep, this is stress....oh well, so is life.

On the work front, I added 15 hours to my work week-up to 35 hours for the time being. They were needing extra hands and I have extra time, so I put my name in the hat. Hubby is pretty adamant he does not want me working 40 hrs a week since it gets so busy around our house, but 35 is manageable. I get off work at 4:00. I may shift it around so that I get off at 3:30, but for now this is the schedule. I plan to use this extra money for new furniture, which we really need. Our current furniture has seen lots of animal paws and human traffic. If we move, I plan to take very little of our current furniture with us (as little as it is already) and the new furniture will be a little more contemporary.

I guess I'd better scuttle off to work...Have a great Tuesday!

Remember Me?

I kept waiting for a really cool picture of a current project to post, but as you can see, I've hit an unproductive patch! And the bad part is there are two great project right at my fingertips! The cupcake hat and the baby Albert coat call to me, but I haven't had time to pick them up! I've got to learn to prioritize,I know. It should be KNIT,eat, sleep,work....I know it's all part of the cycle of life in general. but it doesn't make it any easier to look at my yarn stash and know I have the making for several projects if I just get started!!! I may just have to go to my LYS for a fresh round of inspiration....Luckily my destashing resolution did not say anything about pattern buying---so I've managed to stay pretty close to keeping it...notice I said PRETTY CLOSE...we all can't be perfect!

Seed catalogs are starting to come in with increased frequency---I can't wait to plant a garden this year. I haven't in about 3 years, and I really miss it. I am going to dig up the flower beds in the front of the house this weekend if it is warm, so I have plenty of time to amend the soil if needed. I used to grow tons of zinnias when we lived in Oklahoma --they grew with such ease! I have planted zinnias several times here with no good luck. I think it is my soil. Zinnias make wonderful splashes of color set in a vase in any room. Although one year I learned not to cup the flower with my hand after a rainstorm. Did you know bumblebees take shelter from the storm by pressing themselves to the underside of a really big zinnia? I found that out the hard way!!!!
I have bought a ton of veggie seeds this year. I want to can a lot more than I did last year--which will be easy since I DIDN'T CAN ANYTHING last season...How's that for setting the standard? Hell, if I can get one jar of jam canned, I've met the goal...snicker...

I guess I'd better start getting ready for work. Have a great day and knit a little for me (hey, just because I'm slouching doesn't mean everyone should follow my example!)...Pictures to come eventually (how's that for non-committal)...

Sunshine

After weeks of grey and windy days, today is sunny and windy. Wind can be a pain, but at least it is warmer. I don't have to work because of President's Day...not sure what makes this day special, but hey-it's a paid holiday so I'm not asking!I guess it's like Mother's Day, but for someone you may not like that much...

Sue (my friend and cohort in trouble and mischief) and I have a quilting class today, which will be great fun after our weekend cutting and sewing marathon. I went to her house at 3pm on Friday and left at midnight. We were pretty sick of cutting by Saturday morning so we took the day off and went from noon til midnight last night. Thankfully I had brought both my machines, so we each had a machine and it made the work go faster. We are going at a breakneck pace because it is part of a class--next quilt, we are going to work on it together and spread out the work. We'll do one for her together, then one for me....and so on. I'm sure her husband would love to have his kitchen and dining room back! With all the sewing, I neglected my knitting bag. I am going to disappear to a coffee shop this weekend and do some much needed knitting. Pictures later (although no promise of how much later the way my week has been going!)..

Have a warm and sunshine filled day, even if it is not in your neck of the woods!

Cool Hat!

Check the link for a really neat hat from Now Norma Knits..it is her pattern for a Dulaan Cupcake hat....http://nownormaknits2.typepad.com/now_norma_knits_2/2007/02/cupcake_hat_for.html
I am soooooo casting on one of these this weekend! This looks like it will be a quick gratification project while I am working on the Baby Albert coat. I have some Lamb's Pride Bulky in my stash....actually I have a LOT of Lamb's Pride bulky in my stash....I really wish I knew how to do fair isle knitting--the top would look so cool with fancy designs. Actually, I may order some bulky yarn from Knit Picks (the destashing resolution just came crashing down) and dyeing it myself so it self-patterns, or has color variations (I'm thinking something glaringly festive like purples, blues and red/oranges thrown in for contrast....much like the colors I chose for the quilt I'm working one...oh, and some bright yellow highlights thrown in to add some dash...I know, it'll look like Mardi Gra threw up in wool...). I see so many neat things to knit lately, but there is not enough time for me to do them all, so I am learning to not bite off more than I can chew. I may need dentures by the time this is over.....

Warm wishes and cool yarn to you and yours!!!

Almost Perfect

I had the most perfect pictures of Sue and I quilting (or at least cutting fabric, sewing angles, ripping out the thread, cursing and re-sewing said block) ever. However after taking tons of pictures to share with you, I got home, went to the computer and proceeded to take the photocard out of the camera.......and that's where things tanked. I had left the photocard at home.....DARN IT!!!! They would have been good pictures. So instead I will leave you with pictures from this morning. The first one is of our little orphan. He has become quite comfortable, as witnessed by his REALLY loud snoring this morning, which did not endear him to the princess in the following picture. Witnessed by the look on her face as she stared at him and then looked at me with utter disgust that not only was he still here, but HE SNORES....

On the weather front--it is unbearably cold (as if I have a choice) and I want to hibernate. The kids didn't have school today and do not have it again tomorrow because of parent-teacher meetings, so I didn't have to worry about getting everyone motivated this morning. Hubby and son are in class this evening, so the boys and I hit the video store. They got PlayStation games to tide them over tomorrow and I got the movie "Sherrybaby". It looks like it will be really good and it has my favorite actress as lead character, but I just can't seem to get into it right now....It's due tomorrow, so I will have to find time for it before midnight....

Island Dreams...

It is 8 degrees outside.That would be OK if there were no wind,but this is Kansas...obviously staying inside and not braving the cold seems like a better option, however I am going to have to prepare myself to brave the elements and get out the door in just a little bit....I guess I shouldn't gripe too loud since they are getting FEET of snow in New York and other parts of the country. I get no sympathy from my relatives in Maryland..They figure if you can still see the top of your car, it's still a light snow..However, a fireplace sounds like such a good idea! Can you imagine that--I would never get out the door in the winter!
Didn't get to post pictures of my quilt color choices yesterday because I discovered that putting the recharging cable in your knitting bags is great IF YOU TAKE THE CORRECT KNITTING BAG TO WORK WITH YOU...I probably should consider not having more than one project bag going at a time, but that would make life so predictable.....tonight I will post pictures...(fingers crossed...)

More to come later--stay warm and drink good coffee!

Interesting days these are....

Today promises to be an interesting day--possibly stressful, possibly not.

First up: Last night, my oldest son mentions that he is going to call his friend in Pennsylvania. Since I was not sure what our long distance plan is, I told him to wait and check with Dad. To which he gets flip and tells me Dad already told him we had unlimited, and the only people he has been calling have been in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Canada....WTH!!! CANADA?!!!!!!!!
After recovering my heart rate---I ask him to clarify that he has been calling C-A-N-A-D-A----as in NOT IN THE UNITED STATES... As in INTERNATIONAL RATES....That would have only been half bad if he hadn't taken an attitude and said Canada is NOT LONG DISTANCE...Maybe I had the wrong textbook when I took geography in Oklahoma, or maybe Bush has done something I didn't see recently to extend our Northern borders, but last time I checked CANADA WAS NOT IN THE UNITED STATES....Long story short, hubby is going to call to see what the damage is so we don't have the heart attack when we get the bill since Brandon estimates he talked with he a total of 5-7 HOURS so far--as FAR AS HE CAN REMEMBER....we won't even go into where he thought long distance covered....I can assure you it does not go to Saskatchewan (I love spell check!) CANADA...

And Saturday we received a note from the middle school about grief counselors being on campus to help the kids talk about the student that passed away Thursday night--as we probably heard on the news and radio...again WTH? We are a small town, and the kids had off from school Friday, but none of the parents I knew could figure out what they were talking about. So I worried all weekend.

I have a quilting class today -- which I am REALLY looking forward to, but I am really stressed. I am going to make oldest get a job. I figure when he was little and I was a single parent, I went to school full time AND worked full time in addition to parenting responsibilities, so by golly he can work at least part time while going to school full time! And I may make him take a GEOGRAPHY class to boot....

I know....breathe.........

Slow Sundays

It is a pretty grey day around here, so I will spare you any shots of outside. However, it is a great day to get some much neglected knitting done. Hubby is out flying (his passion)....I have a pot of good coffee from Paradise Roasters http://www.paradiseroasters.com/ (they have an unbelievable Mexican coffee), a load of clothes in the washer, and Sarah McLachlan's Afterglow CD playing on the cd player, so I feel entitled to sit and knit on the long overdue scarf for my coworker. I fully intend to get it completed this evening so I can weave in the ends (my least favorite part of the process) and give it to her in the morning. That will allow me to focus on casting on the Baby Albert coat. I started it, and then frogged it in favor of waiting until the scarf was completed so I'm not halfway between two projects....

I have a quilting class tomorrow at the County Extension Center with a friend. Who knew they taught knitting and quilting?!! And at a really good price! I am pretty hyped since it has been a long time since I have done any quilting and it will be fun to take the class with Sue. As usual my color choices are on the "bright side" --according to Sue. I know she was trying to diplomatic....Nothing mellow and subdued here! I will have pictures posted tomorrow of my fat quarters (the fabric, not MINE! There aren't enough attorneys in the world that can defend me on the aftermath if I did that...) and the scarf. I am hoping the recipient will model it for all to see.

Have a warm and fuzzy day filled with good coffee and great yarn!

I Wanna Llama

Ok---so I'm thinking, if I tell everyone it is a Peruvian Mountain dog, do you think I could get away with keeping a llama in my backyard? Didn't think so.....but just think of all that fiber..yummmmm. I would say an alpaca 'cause they're smaller, but they also cost almost as much as we will be paying to put one of my kids through college....and while the toss up on that is tempting, having an alpaca in the backyard means we will never be empty nesters.....Just a thought for the day....

Buddy

Here is our orphan--he comes to the name Buddy, so that is what we will call him. He's a real charmer, however he was not real sure about the silver box in front of my face, so he would not pose. However, he wasn't really fond of the FedEx guy today, so he does have the ability to be protective.Ever hear a beagle bark? Holy Smokes! It's loud.And he's not real crazy about cats (great-we have 5).....I still can't believe someone didn't want him!!! One of the guys at work thought that maybe he was stolen by the lame-brains in the mini pickup in hopes of claiming a reward. When none was offered, they dumped him. Or that possibly he was the pet of the lame-brains relative that died and LB did not want to deal with him....but COME ON!!! Dumping him in a strange place in the winter?!...He has been well care for--and he's neutered, so I can't imagine someone would take care of him only to dump him on a country road. Ok--I'll shut up....

To The Coward That Abandoned The Beagle

Yes, I know the chances of the coward in the maroon mini pickup who abandoned the beagle (on Ridge Road) reading this is slim, since people who abandon animals in the country are too white trash to own any technology, but I am going to vent anyway!

This evening on my way home from a friend's house, I took a country road that I occasionally take home when I want to take the long way....As I was driving, I saw a mini pickup pull off the road, open it's passenger door and then close it and back up. As they drove off, they left a beagle. I drove past and the dog just stared at me.....As I wrestled with whether hubby would be really angry if another animal appeared, I notice the dog in the road in my rear view mirror. The long and short of it--2 miles down the road I turned around.

As I approached the dog, it was sitting in the road with cars coming towards it. Thankfully they slowed down as I flashed my lights and went around the dog, who by this time was running from side to side in confusion. Obviously this dog was not sure of where it was! He came right to me and jumped in my car. I could see he had been wearing a collar because the hair was pressed down, but the cowards had removed it.

The kicker is that this beagle is the best behaved, docile dog I have encountered in a long time. He sits when told, stays when told, and is completely oblivious to the neighbor's dogs that are trying to attack it through the fence. My only concern is that it does not try to defend itself at all when Cocoa (our German short hair/black and tan mix) went after him. AND HE IS ALREADY NEUTERED.

HOW CAN SOMEONE JUST DROP AN ANIMAL OFF IN THE COUNTRY! IN THE WINTER!!! It is horrid to do that anytime, but WINTER?!!

My hope is that the coward in the mini pickup gets a dose of Karma and loses his home and everything he is familiar with!!!

There, I've vented...but darn, I wish I could have gotten a tag number on that truck!
We are going to see if possibly the coward had stolen the dog from someone and dumped him when they realized it was a responsibility, but other than that we are hoping to find him a good home with someone we know. This way we can keep tabs on him. The Humane Society in Wichita is not a No-Kill facility, so I am not going to take it there! He will stay with us until we find a suitable home. Surprisingly, Hubby did not get really mad. Actually he didn't get made at all. Possibly because the dog is at least neutered. And thankfully the guy down the street is dating a vet's assistant who looked and told me how to tell the dog was neutered...Hey, how was I to know? I've never had boy dogs!! But now I know it is pretty obvious if they aren't...we just won't go there on this blog....

I will post a picture of him tomorrow so you can see what a cute boy he is.

Happy Saturday

The day before the Super Bowl is NOT the time to do casual shopping at Wal-Mart! Hubby, a friend, and I were out playing today and I made the mistake of "popping" into Wal-Mart....along with the entire east side of Wichita! We had gone to Super Target earlier and it was sooo much more civilized. I am on a search for a perfect set of wine glasses. I found perfect ones at Target, but at $39 for a set of 4, I was left contemplating the fact that my other wine glasses have "disappeared" one by one...it would hurt a lot more if they cost $10 each.They were crystal and made by a famous maker( I think the spelling is Reidel, but don't quote me on that), but still....I picked up a cheap set at Wal-Mart, but will probably hit Target for one of their "less expensive" sets. Hubby and I like wine, and it seems a bit odd to drink decent wine out of jelly jars and mismatched glasses......We're not wine snobs (we love a local winery called Smoky Hill http://kansaswine.com/ ) but it would be nice to have decent glassware to serve it in! On the knitting front, I have cast on the Baby Albert coat in addition to the friend's scarf. I usually have a couple projects going at one time. They are usually scarf projects, so I'm hoping I am not biting off more that I can chew! Once I complete the first baby coat, I am going to do a couple more---at least one for charity, possibly more. My goal for 2007 is to get several charity projects done. I firmly believe in giving back in graditude for my many blessings!