Monday, April 30, 2012

Happy Monday!

It was a nice and relaxing weekend. There was even some knitting.



I wound up my Drops of Jupiter into a ball and cast on my socks. This is a three ply and I had just under 4 oz. so I'm holding my breath to see if I actually have enough yarn to finish a pair of socks (they will be just above my ankle).



I'm doing an afterthought heel just in case I don't have enough yarn. I was going to use a contrasting yarn for the toe as well but I weighed the ball at the point of decreasing for the toe and had 2 3/4 oz left so I figured I was safe. They are knitting up quickly and I'm sure I'll have them complete in a day or so.

The weather was even nice enough for a good photo shoot with my finished Multnomah 3 which isn't even a Multnonah anymore and the green pair of socks. You will have to come back tomorrow to see!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, April 27, 2012

I Missed You. No I Didn't. Yes I Did....

So one of us was not so happy about vacation time.  While Mikaela was spoiled rotten by my hubby who did not come to NC with us, this was the face we came home to.

Day one of our return she was cranky.  I came home from work to find pistachio shells knocked off the table.  I found everything knocked off the table.  It was like she had this huge temper tantrum.  Yet every time she came near me, she was purring (this is a cat that didn't purr at all the first year - to say she has a crabby disposition is an understatement).

We have now graduated to purring and being next to me - constantly.  And let me remind you that this is not even my cat.  She is Nicole's.

Little Miss Squeaks is definitely in a better mood, but is still getting into trouble.  I guess she's still trying to decide if she really missed us or not.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Back to Reality

The bad thing about vacations - they have to end.  But it was all good.  Although I could have stayed another couple of days (if for no other reason - to finally enjoy some sun, which we only enjoyed half the time we were there) I was fine with coming home.  It was great to get away from the routine for a while and to just "be".

One of the goals while we were visiting my aunt was to go through my grandmothers things.  She had passed away a few years ago but my aunt had been waiting for my dad & I to come and go through things - mostly her pictures.  It was heart warming to go back in time - I love looking at old pictures.  Life just seemed so much more simple back then.  We divided pictures and made a big pile that my aunt is going to scan so we can all have them.

We did some sight seeing as well.  We took the ferry over to Beaufort.
I love how the NC ferry system takes you from one place to another all for FREE.  Alas, this seems to be coming to an end as we saw the Toll Plaza being built.  It was great while it lasted.

We drove over to Oriental which is another little waterfront town.
We visited the cutest little shop.
In case you couldn't read that shirt it says "Evacuation Plan - 1. Grab beer.  2.  Run like hell."  Pretty good considering this town gets flooded in a passing shower - let's not even talk about the destruction they are still recovering from due to Hurricane Irene.

Here's my uncle and my dad resting a spell

My dad and aunt playing with dad's  new droid
Yeah I know - we all kinda look alike.

A visit to the neighbor horses
I believe these two are hers and she is boarding 4 more, but they were in the barn at the time.

And look at the world's cutest wedding chapel EVER
They were setting up for a wedding the next day.  It's way too small to fit any chairs inside so I shudder to think what would happen if it rained.  The bride was putting up all sorts of bows and ribbons. She was beautiful - I can't imagine how stunning she was in her wedding dress.  Nicole & I were tempted to go back and crash the next day just to see.

Well - now to go and deal with the other unpleasant part of vacation - unpacking.


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Currents


listening - to baby birds that just hatched this morning in one of my aunt's many birdhouses



eating - Wolfermans Blueberry English Muffin - YUM!


drinking - water water - lots of water with lemon lately



wearing - gingham shorts and tee shirt


weather - sunny - it's supposed to be in the 70s but windy down here in NC


knitting - second of my green socks that will probably be a Christmas present


wanting - to get some more reading done during this trip


needing - cast on Pipers Journey before I head off on my journey home Tuesday


enjoying - everything - it's vacation - what's not to enjoy?




looking forward - to seeing the hubby and getting back to the routine with a refreshed perspective



wondering - if we will be as lucky on the way home as we were on the way here - we hit absolutely no traffic.  Can we possibly do it again?





Thursday, April 19, 2012

On The Road

We are off on an adventure.....  I will try to blog on the fly.
I leave you with the first sunset picture off the back deck this year. I did actually get to sit out there for a while and knit this past week in the evening.   Have a great week!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Plans Have Changed

I've never been an "A" type personality.  I'm easy going and it usually takes a lot to get me rattled.  In my older age I do like to "stick to a plan" more so than when I was younger.  I like to set goals.  I like to write lists and cross items off as they are accomplished.  I get a bit crazed at work sometimes because we jump through hoops sometimes to get things done only to find out "we aren't doing it that way anymore - we are doing it this way, or we aren't doing it at all".  So the catch phrase was born "The Plans Have Changed".  We always get a good laugh out of it (because why stress over things you have no control over?) and move forward.  That phrase seemed to drift into my everyday life lately.

Anybody who has been reading my blog for a while knows that my favorite time of year is when I can sit on my back deck and look at the water and knit while listening to my Ipod or read.  That was my plan on Saturday.  I got side tracked with cleaning and errands and finally got out there by 3:00.  Unfortunately the wind had kicked up by then so it was chilly but I was steadfast in my plan to sit out there.  I started knitting on Multnomah #3.  And then a big black spider jumped on it.  I brushed him off without having a heart attack and carried on.  I started watching The Knitgirlls so I could catch up on episodes.  And my battery on the Nook was too low.  Forging on....

I get to the feather and fan portion of Multnomah and.......  the stitch count is way off.  So now both my shawls are both off on the stitch count.  So I listened to the frogs and decided to Rip it.


I'm not sure what it is going to become yet.  I am improvising as I go.  I had an evening planned to just sit and knit on it, but after an hour I got a phone call from my daughter asking to be picked up because "The plans had changed".

Monday, April 16, 2012

Currents




listening - birds chirping


eating - nothing yet - Nicole is making biscuits right now


drinking - nada - it's too early to think about coffee yet (I know - I'm not normal).  We did enjoy some iced tea mixed with fruit punch this past weekend pictured above


wearing - black pants black tank top & jacket


weather - sunny - it's supposed to be in the 80's today


knitting - I picked up Multnomah 3 this weekend but got frustrated so now it's becoming something else after I frogged it back a bit


wanting - to stay home today and enjoy this beautiful weather.


needing - to stay healthy and not get Nicole's cold or my trip this week could be a bummer


enjoying - listening to the kids talk about what they are doing on the day off today (yeah - I'm jealous of the little buggers.  Nicole does have to work today from 8-2 but is free after that).  




looking forward - having some quality time with my aunt this week\



wondering - if I will actually accomplish this long Toodle Do list before I leave Wednesday night



Friday, April 13, 2012

She's At It Again

The student surpasses the teacher.  Nicole cast on another pair of socks.  Again using some of my hand dyed in the stash.  I'm so glad it's being used!  This one kind of reminds of tie-dye.  Have a crafty weekend all!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thankful Thursday

Since Harry & I have been married we have always had a pet.  We had a cat named Charlie when we first got married.  She was a sweetie who was a stray and wanted nothing more than to be with us every moment of the day.  Because she was a sickly cat she was only with us for 6 short years.  After losing her it took only 2 months before I wandered into the shelter and Max found me.  He was the kitten I thought was cute but there were others I was interested in.  But Max kept walking over to me begging for attention.  So he came home with me.  About 7 years later we got our dog Magnum.  We would joke about how the cat was probably trying to figure out what we were feeding the dog - he walked in the house roughly being the same size as the cat.  By 4 months he was 20 times his size.  Max lived another 5 years and left us.  We had no intention of getting another cat for a while.  Magnum was with us constantly and you couldn't ask for a better pet.  And then Nicole's friend had a cat that was pregnant..... Enter Mikaela, or more commonly called, Squeaks
She is far from being the most affectionate cat we have had.  But she is for sure the most curious and entertaining.  Her and Magnum became buddies after a while and you would find them together most of the time.
As hard as his passing has been on us, I imagine it's been hard on her.  She spent as much time with him during the day (if not more) than we did.  We find that now she is the one who greets us when we walk in the door.  She will sit on the couch with us.  She will do a lot of things Magnum would do.  We find it comical that she refuses to drink out of her own water bowl.  We have to keep his water bowl filled and she will still only drink from that.
So on this Thankful Thursday I am thankful for our kitty.  The one we had no intention of ever getting.  But we are thankful to have her in our lives....

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny today for her Yarn Along. And yes - I am actually doing the knitting in today's post.
I'm working on Multnomah #3.  I was on a roll there for a while after I finished the first one.  I had the pattern memorized.  I cast on for this one a few months ago and kinda came to a halt and got distracted by something else. I'm just starting the feather and fan pattern so that will make it a bit more interesting to knit. I need to get it finished - I refuse to cast on for the next shawl until this one is done.  I'm not up to tackling Elowen yet - she is still in time out and will probably stay there for a while.  To have three shawls on the needles will make me crazy.

As far as reading, it's been light...
 I started getting into Taproot but decided to read it on vacation next week.  I love it and I am only a few pages in.  I will hopefully finish up a couple of books I have on my Nook.  That's what I love about my Nook.  I can go away with 3 or 4 books and it takes up no room at all!

So what are you reading and knitting lately?

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

It's A Good Thing

That I have a crafty kid.  Or you would be facing a boring blogpost today.  She finished her ankle socks over the weekend.
I grafted the toe for her yesterday morning and she wore them to school.  She had a lot of yarn left over.  So when she got home she made a braclet.
I think she is going to wear it as an ankle bracelet.  We made these a few years ago and I don't quite remember how we did it.  Apparently she remembered how we strung the beads and knit it.

 

If I can get some time tonight I might have my own knitting update. Don't be surprised if the update is on Nicole's new project (yup - she cast on another one last night).

Monday, April 9, 2012

Currents



listening - My phone alerting me to new text messages


eating - nothing yet - going to have a bagel soon though


drinking - iced french vanilla coffee


wearing - black pants & purple hand knit sweater


weather - sunny but windy.  I'm wondering if wearing this sweater was a good idea since it's supposed to be in the 60s today


knitting - not much as I'm deciding what to do with Elowen and it's messed up stitch count 


wanting - to twitch my nose and have Elowen fixed without  me having to rip anything out


needing - to finish cleaning up after Easter yesterday


enjoying - the seeds I planted have all sprouted and are thriving inside


looking forward - to complete a few looming projects hanging over me at work

wondering - if those thriving plants will stay alive long enough to be planted outside.  We still have a good month before our last frost so they can't be planted outside just yet.  I'm hoping they don't get too big in the next couple of weeks.  

Friday, April 6, 2012

Good Friday





These are pansies that Nicole & I planted in the front yard at my office - 3 years ago. They come back every year in those planters. They look a little straggly and will need some refreshing this summer. I thought pansies were an annual?

Enjoy your weekend. For those celebrating Easter have a great one!


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Thankful Thursday

I knew what I wanted to blog about today.  The problem was that I didn't have any pictures that related to the subject.  I had some old photos, but the quality of them was worse than my Iphone pictures. So instead - you can look at beautiful peeps.  In a roundabout way that is what I am thankful for today.  My peeps - my fiber peeps, that is.

When I decided to try spinning I didn't belong to a group of any kind.  I knew how to knit and I did it basically alone in my house.  I occasionally would go to a local knit night with a co-worker, but it was generic chit chat and no connection was made with any of the girls.  Back then the knitting internet connection was either the Knitters List on Yahoo groups or the Knitters Review Forum.  Blogs were just coming into existence and there was no Ravelry.  I connected with a local woman on the Knitters List and mentioned that I had just gotten a spinning wheel for Christmas.  She promptly invited me to her home for a Spin In with a bunch of other ladies.  I accepted the invitation (she only lived 5 minutes away from me) and my husband thought I was nuts.  "You are going to some person's house that you have never met before?  You have only talked to her online? Are you insane?"

Pat turned out to be a sweetheart and the rest of the ladies I met that day were wonderful.  It's going on 7 years that I have known these wonderful women and the friendships that have formed have been so important to me.  I went on to meet so many great friends at the RI Spinners Guild and on Ravelry and different blogs.  Who knew fiber could be do that?

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny over at Small Things for Yarn Along.
Elowen is slowly growing and becoming very difficult to photograph while still on the needles.  The rows are becoming longer and a bit more tedious.  It was quick work last night though while I got to Google Hang Out with the wonderful Tina,  Risa and Kim (Kim - do you have a blog???).  So  much fun!

I got my first issue of Taproot yesterday and I'm loving it so far (although I haven't gotten much past the first page).  It's about as much reading as I'm capable of lately!

What are you reading and crafting these days?

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Makes A Momma Proud

So last Friday as I was knitting on my sock my daughter looks at me from the other couch and says "Mom - I want to knit some socks. Let's go upstairs in the stash and pick something out."

So off we went to stash dive.


She picked out these and narrowed it down to the green and yellow. It was my hand dyed that had been sitting for a while. It was a bit too bright for me but it suits a teen just fine apparently.


Her preference is double points and she likes to make ankle socks. Besides turning the heel she has done it all on her own.


She takes it with her everywhere she goes. She knits at rehearsal, she knits at her friends house, she knits while her boyfriend watches basketball on TV. And now her friends are all asking for socks.

I told you I would get that sock stash knit down to a manageable pile. I never promised I would be the only one knitting it though.


Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, April 2, 2012

Currents



listening - Sirius Radio


eating - nothing yet 


drinking - iced french vanilla coffee


wearing - grey comfy sweats & green waffle shirt


weather - green corduroy pants turtle neck and purple jacket


knitting - pretty much of the same - Elowen when I can concentrate a bit, socks when I'm watching TV (which hasn't been very often the last 4 or 5 days)


wanting - to finish the projects I'm knitting so I can cast on the fun stuff I've been seeing on Ravelry


needing - to check stuff off my TO DO list at work so I can go away on vacation in a couple of weeks with a sense of peace that nothing slipped through the cracks


enjoying - being with friends and family lately.  Nicole had a party for her boyfriends birthday this weekend and we got to go to another birthday party yesterday


looking forward - getting away for a few days while visiting my Aunt later this month.  It's such a peaceful atmosphere where she lives that lends itself to hours of creativity (the first things I pack when I visit are my wheel and whatever knitting projects I want to work on).


wondering - how my daughter's friend actually walked in those boots pictured above.  He came to the party dressed as Peter Cris from the band KISS.  I was fascinated by those boots, but even more fascinated by how he didn't break his ankle

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