thank you

to all of those who have commented thus far about my impending authordom. i'm still flying high on this one!

the book will be available at Amazon.com, and i thought annie said the end of august, but i'm not sure. i'll let you know when i have more info.

Knitting
pumpkin sweaters are hot whether they're tiny or not, sigh. i've been trying to finish this thing all day, and i'm down to the second sleve. i'll take a pic tomorrow, the camera is coming home then. steph borrowed it because she couldn't find hers (i've been in her room over the weekend, no wonder she can't find it) (i love you, honey! (not that she'll read my blog, she's less than interested about the writing thing, even though she writes herself, sigh)).

The List for AC4C for the month.

i've been looking at what i've done for the month, and it's not bad at all!

Star Afghan
Gender Neutral Sweater, Hat & Booties Set
Santa Suit, Hat & Bootie Set
Gender Neutral Hat & Bootie Set
NINE white cotton baby washclothes (that's what i've been doing in front of the puter every night, lol)
10 white squares to send to the AC4C joiner (7 have already gone, i'm going to send the other 3 monday afternoon)
Christmas Stocking (this is already gone, too)

dont' ask me how i get all this done, and work full time, too. i'm not sure myself.

And in my insanity, i've taken on another project. i've had a copy of the moebius scarf for months, and finally sat down and cast on for it. the instructions are actually quite simple, if you read them thoroughly before you start. just make sure that the cable you have for your circ is quite pliable, it gets tough towards the end of the cast on. and where did i get the pattern? Here . i'm going to do it in garter stripes, starting and ending with the dratted fuzzy white wool-ease. i figure i can send this to the reservation project in november.

and there's been advances on the rooster runner. i fell off the wagon, and stopped doing one row per night, but i'm back on. i did 4 rows today (the intarsia is tedious as hell), and i'm up to the wattle. woohoo!

You might be a redneck if you showed pictures of your latest deer at the funeral home.
. . . . your favorite seafood is hushpuppies (LJS anyone?)

Pattern of the day: Feather & Fan (Old Shale) Bookmark. this is quite cute, and is saved from being a borderline non-pattern by the fact that it's edged with icords. too cool!

Stacks & Eyelets Stitch. My maternal grandmother who passed away 4 years ago must have been a big fan of this, because i've got about a dozen afghans done in this. it's nice to know how it's done, in case i ever decide to carry on the tradition.

a note on the patterns i've been critiqueing (sp?). i read in a blog recently that one designer (i'm not naming names, because i don't want anyone yelling at this designer for causing me to pause and think) was upset because another blogger had personally attacked a designer because s/he was not happy with the design. i try very hard to not be critical of the person designing, but just the pattern itself (my comment about "non-patterns" comes to mind). hey guys, do me a favor. let me know if i get too overboard, ok? i'm not doing this to hurt anyone, just giving my opinion on these. thanks tons. (you may now return to your regularly scheduled blog)

What i'm reading.

Uther by Jack Whyte. This is tough reading, if only because this gentleman has a semi-ponderous writing style. the information presented (granted this is fiction) puts an interesting twist on the whole arthurian legend.

Reality Check by Leslie Carroll. this is a romantic comedy, and yes, it's heavy on the comedy right now. it's light fluffy reading, and i'm enjoying it thoroughly.


Car Tape: A KNight of the Word by Terry Brooks. this is a definite swerve from the Shanarra books, and i do like this. i've read both books, but thought i'd like to revisit it on tape. i find myself wanting to keep driving so i can keep listening, though, lol.

Have a nice day!

THIS IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!

I'M GOING TO BE PUBLISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


ok, i'm trying to maintain, but i am so frigging excited it's insane!!!!!

Anne Modesitt (you know, the famous designer, and author of Knitting Heretic) has put together a collection of essays from knitters called Cheaper than Therapy. and she picked my essay to go in it! (excuse me, i'm going to go yell, shout, scream, and dance around a bit, be right back).


(panting) ok, i'm back. this is a dream come true. i've been writing since i was small, and to have someone want to publish what i've written is astronomical!

i'm giddy, i'm excited, and i just cant STAND IT! OH MY GOD!

(gee, do i sound excited?)

i'll be back when i calm down, lol!

by special request

i've been told i have fans that look forward to my redneck calendar posts, so here we go for today. there won't be pics until sunday or so, cuz steph took my camera camping with her. she couldn't find hers, lol.

you might be a redneck if you've ever learned something about your momma from a restroom wall (oooooooooo, the momma card!).

and for the knitters!

Pattern of the Day: Top-Down Baby Cardigan. this is definitely easy peasy, and good for charity, and since i have some thicker yarns in da stash, i think this one will be a keeper! oorah!

Have a nice day, i'll chat tomorrow when i'm not so whooped.

rednecks & patterns

here they are as i promised. i gotta hurry, i'm up way too late again, sigh.

You might be a redneck if you've ever worn a suit from Chess King to a funeral (can someone explain that one to me?)
. . . you answered "i guess so" during your wedding vows.
. . . nothing in your refrigerator was purchased at a store. (either that or a health/organic nut, lol)


Pattern of the Day
7-25 Quick-Knit Deco-Ribbon & Spalsh Knit Stole with Bag & Hat. gee, nothing like short titles, eh? (this pattern is THREE DAYS LONG and is a non pattern at that! sheesh. what a waste of paper, considering this pattern came from Knit'nStyle. sigh)

and, depending on emails i receive, i may have some fantabulous news to announce. we'll see.

Have a nice Day!

Mental health day

This is the pumpkin hat i've been thinking about. it looks a little narrow, but it stretches nicely. i also made booties to match, but for some reason, my computer doesn't think my camera is a camera today, so i can't download that pic. the pattern for the hat itself is mine. the leaf i got from knitting on the edge, and adapted it from the leaf fringe. it's smaller than hers, because, well, babies don't need leaves that hang in their faces. sheesh!

This is the santa suit i've been talking about. the non-pompom at the top is chains attached at the bottom, worked up, slipped stitched down to the hat, and then attached to the hat with another slip stitch, and chained again. i'd have to show how i did it, it's too hard to describe it completely. the white is fuzzy wool-ease i've had in the stash for more years than i care to contemplate. i wanna get rid of this stuff, and if AC4C says i can use it, use it i shall! And yes, folks, i'm back to making purses. my contact who sells them for me said she has a show this weekend, and while i can't make this one (i've only got one felted, and there's no way i'd get the second one felted and dry by friday, and none of them lined) in time, i realize the fall craft fairs are starting to kick in. so, i'm shifting from washcloth knitting while i'm online, to purse knitting. and away we go!

right now i'm working on a side to side sweater like the blue and lilac one i made, except this is orange & green to go with the hat and booties, and it's in stocking stitch, as i'm going to sew patches on the front and make it a jack-o'-lantern. twill be cute, i'm sure.
Home
i took sean to therapy last night, and was informed by his therapist that my frigging caseworker has asked for CTA(community treatment aide) services for sean AGAIN. despite the fact that the IFP people and the therapist all agree that it won't do sean any good. which means, even though the therapist had agreed that we could cut family therapy back to every other week, because of the CTA, we have to go back to weekly. plus fitting the CTA into our lives. dammit, i was looking forward to some free time! i told the therapist i was going to email the GAL about this. mark and i agree that this almost seems punitive, although i didn't say that in the email. wouldn't surprise me a bit if she's decided that since she wasn't allowed to terminate the case as she had wished, and the fact that i let everyone know that that was her stated desire as of June 22 (approximately a month before court), she's getting in her digs where she can. i am beginning to truly despise her. and the real kicker? she couldn't even bother to call the therapist and tell her herself, she called her supervisor, and had her pass the message on! because i'm sure E would have told her it was unnecessary, because it didn't do much to help the first time. sean has been through so much treatment, that he can spit every thing back out that he's been told, but he doesn't apply it. he doesn't feel it pertains to him, i guess. CTA would just be a bigger drag on our time. and school starts in 4 weeks. sigh.

however, on a good note, i woke up this morning (yes this is still a good note) with a headache, and called in and got preVTO. so i've got the day off, and it's gorgeous outside! supposed to be a high of 78. of course, i'm having a hot flash, since my favorite visitor is here. growl.

oops, i just looked at the time, gotta scoot if i'm gonna have lunch with mark, so i'll give you the rednecks and the patterns when i get back. i'm going yarn shopping!

Have a nice day!

blog change

This is the yarn for my sockpal2za's socks. it's handspun merino. i hope she likes it!
These are the latest stitch markers i got. sorry about the blurry pic, but it's the best one i could get under the circumstances, sigh. these came from suzie . thank you suzie, this is one of my all time favorite colors!
This is the beginning of the "santa" suit for AC4C. not only is it done, but the hat and booties are as well. i'll post a pic of them later. i made an anti-pompom for the hat, lol. i think it's cute.
This is the book that one AC4C member sent to me. all she asked for it was that i make something for AC4C. i told her more than likely, i'd make 6 or 7 DOZEN. she laughed, and sent it on. there's a lot of stuff i won't make, but there is some useful stuff as well, to include cowboy booties! yeeeehaaawwww!
This is the mismatched bootie, that i made a mate and a hat for. amazing how that works out. this, and the santa suit are made with the red yarn from Deb . i'm gettig a lot of mileage out of this. and deb, i'm going to be using the kool wool to make hats for the reservation. but that won't be for a bit, that project is in november.
I've also made the stitchmarkers for the marker exchange over at anita's . they've been shipped, but i'm not gonna show them til i hear everybody got theirs, because i was lazy, and made everybody the same thing. they are cute, though!

Home
sigh. i have been asked not to discuss our "family life" in my blog, so i suppose all you're going to hear now is me bitching about work and what i'm making. i think i may talk to the person who asked this, because this is my release, and i do gain support from you guys when i'm feeling down, or upset. sigh.

You might be a redneck if you've ever appeared on TV with your face digitally blurred.
. . . you think the ability to hold a job is over-rated.
. . . you buy stuff at your own yard sale (hello!?!?!?!?)

Pattern of the Day:
7-21 Lilac Floret Socks. these are pretty. someting funky going on with twisted stitches, so this otta be interesting/
7-22 Min's Afghan. ok, i'm not sure, but this afghan is definitely not my type, lol. it's got flowers! i don't do flowers, unless they're real, lol. but it is very pretty.
7-23,24 Baby Bath Mitt. this is interesting. here i am, churning out baby washcloth after baby washcloth, and this pattern comes up. it's a simple garter stitch in cotton, and i'm seriously tempted. it's even done on straight needles. i'm thinking about switching.

What i'm reading:
Tanqueil by Terry Brooks. i think i'm outgrowing the shannara books, these seem on the same level as Harry Potter. i'm enjoying them though.
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon. i'm holding out til september, the new one is slated to come then (cross your fingers)
Knight of the Word (on tape). yes folks, i have my van back! books on tape rock!

Have a nice day!

hot damn

or is it damn hot. i think the latter. oy. it's hot enough to melt tar. fry eggs on the sidewalk. make me cry. oy.

Home
mark has been trying to get steph's car fixed, and has once again ran into something he can't figure out. he replaced the cv joint, and it's still making that bloody noise. sigh. i get to drive mark's truck for the rest of the week from the looks of it. ick. piss. oh well. i'll probably have to drive him to work friday, and i'm NOT relishing that thought. i like going back to bed after i get off the phone with him.

sean was a good boy today, which is good, because he was living on borrowed time. what do you do with a child who tells you he wants to go back to foster care because he wants to get away? he had accumulated 25 words from the dictionary (he has to sit and write the definitions, am i fiendish or what, i'm educating him while he's serving a consequence), and after 2 days only had 8 done. he finished them off at my mother's today. and mark said he was good at his parents too (mark was borrowing their garage, since no one we know has one that can be worked in (i don't have one at all, and mark has his filled with bits and pieces)). here's hoping tomorrow is a good day.

Knitting
i'm planning on starting my sockpal2za's socks. she's requested ankle socks, andi think i'm going to do them in handspun merino, and koolaid dye them pink. cool, eh?
and i'm on baby washcloth #8, i believe.

Crocheting.
i finished the hat to go with the gargantuan booties, and started another sweater in the same pattern. that pattern is such a workhorse, and a breeze to do. i'm doing this one in santa colors (i've got some fluffy woolease that AC4C told me i could use, as long as i let the project coordinator know), an will make a matching santa hat, and booties. everybody at work keeps asking me if i need to tell them something, lol. nah, just an addiction to yarn, which they knew already.

Spinning
i actually got the wheel out last night. it's an ashford double treadle traveller, and in her day, that baby would run. i broke the break band last night, though, and had to replace it before i could finish plying (it's yarn for my sock pal!)

i tried to add pictures, but blogger's being a butt. i'll do it tomorrow, sigh

you might be a redneck ifyou've ever emptied the bed of your truck by driving backward real fast and slamming on the brakes.
. . . . . all your wedding guests were seated on the same side of the church.
. . . . . any of your living room furniture is inflatable.

Pattern of the Day
Kid's Klee Cardigan. i don't know where the name for this came from, but it's definitely cute. and sized relatively small, too.
Beaded Knit Button in Two Sizes. cute, but it ain't happenin here.
Mantel Cover. very nice, quite an elegant touch, but do you see a fireplace around here?

And on to Harry. I finished the book last night at 1:45 am. yes, that read a.m. and i cried all the way through the last chapter, and part of the second to last one. wonder what miss rowling's reasoning was for that? i'm sure we'll find out in #7. can't wait, and i haven't even had this one a week. Sean's reading it now, and liam keeps asking for spoilers, but i won't give them to him, lol.

and i'm not listening to any books because mark's truck doesn't have a tape deck. i'm reading fiery cross, and Tanequil, and that's it, low reading content as of late.

Have a nice day

and this for your sheepish entertainment

booyah!

these are the stitch markers my marker buddy stephanie gave to me. the beads are turquoise with pink flowers, and the charms say inspirational words like imagine, and love. these are great! and she sent them in a charming little organza bag. woohoo!
the gifts abound. my secret pal says this is my S.E.X for the weekend. this is an understudy gift, so i'm really curious what my real gift #2 was supposed to be. and of course, you notice this is cottonease, lol. bad news folks. it's official. she emailed lionbrand, and they are truly discontinuing it. sigh. and yes, that's an opened bag of hershey's minatures. unfortunately, I DIDN'T OPEN IT! i had to put it in the fridge when it got here, because the chocolate had melted (gee, it was only 96F yesterday!)

Home
the boys' grandmother is going to take them for a weekend in august between their birthdays, and mark decided that we needed to get away for the weekend. we'll still be in omaha, but in a hotel room with a whirlpool tub, and microwave and refrigerator. i do NOT envision leaving much. although he does have free movie tickets, so we may go see charlie & the chocolate factory (mark is a closet willie wonka freak). i have insisted on one meal eaten outside the room, so we'll see.

Knitting
i'm behind the times. i thought i was on washcloth #5. i counted after i finished the last one, and it's #6. wow. they knit up in the time it takes me to read all my blogs (about 2 hours). i am using the chinese wave pattern, which i got from my kr secret pal last year, purlewe. i'll post a link to her blog later, i swear.

Crochet.
i've finished the baby sweater/hat/bootie set, to include a corrected bootie. i've even woven in the ends and sewn on a button. do i rock or what? i'm gonna try for pics, i uninstalled the blasted yahoo toolbar that steph loaded when she loaded yahoo messenger. i'm going to be uninstalling that, too, since her puter is actually working.

yes, that's a pompom on the top of the hat. i don't do pompoms. i think they're a waste of yarn, and time, and annoying as hell, but it does look cute, doesn't it? this was taken this afternoon, prebutton. it has a simple white one right now.

You might be a redneck if the biggest sign on yoru place of business says MINNOWS.

i'm gonna scram now, it's thundering, and i wanna keep my puter!

(yes, it's raining, no watering the garden tomorrow, which is good, because my spigot broke today. i found out (via mark, my wonderful loving fixit guy and husband) that i will need to replace the pipe before winter. joy)

Have a nice day!

sigh

Home
Alas and alack, but harry will have to arrive without us tonight. the boys' behavior was such today that i had to take that excursion away. and i was looking forward to it. so, now i'll pick up the book tomorrow or sunday some time while mark watches the boys. in a way, i'm not that upset, because i'm tired, and i have a headache.
one of my friends at work has gotten a second interview at ameristar as a casino slots manager. i hope she gets it, but i'm gonna miss her if she gets the job. good luck, ann.

Crocheting
i've finished the body of the charity sweater, and most of one sleeve. i would show you a picture of it, but steph has loaded a fucking pop up blocker that won't let the popup for pictures to come up. grow. i'll be glad when mark fixes her puter. i was gonna show you my new stitch markers too, sigh. i'll have to fix that.

Knitting
all i'm knitting rught now is the baby washclothes, although i've got plans for a charity sweater for the reservations.

Pattern of the Day: Women's STripes and Lace Cotton Vest. this is a good introuduction into lace. but not my style, lol.

Have a nice day, i'm not saying more, because blogger is in slow mo again, sigh.

wow

Home
date night (also known as "our night"). i'm about to wax philosophical and sappy, so if you don't like it, move on, it's my mood tonight. ever love someone so much you feel like you've found the missing part of your soul? found a compatibility so complete, when you're apart, you don't feel right? mark and i have saved each other. when he and i finally got together (we knew each other for 3 years before then), i was about as deep as i could go. i didn't think i'd ever get my boys back. i'd given up. mark helped me turn it around, and now, we sit a week away from court, with the possibility that the case will be closed, and the state forever out of our lives, and my boys sleeping in their beds listening to old sappy music way too loud (hey they're tweens, their hearing is selective, lol). and mark has a purpose. after he and his ex-wife split, he'd been wandering through life. he said tonight that he wouldn't say he was existing, as opposed to living, because he did have his music and the band, but almost a half life. we are his reason to get up in the morning, and be dad, and husband. (no, we haven't said the formal vows that man necessitates, but we've made our vows before god, and i do call him husband, as he calls me wife (no, nebraska doesn't do common law, sigh)). he used to come home from work, play solitaire on the computer, drink beer, and go to bed at 730. now, he changes, picks up the boys, and lives. sometimes at a frenetic pace (you have to be crazy to keep up with these two, lol), but he's loving it. he loves taking care of the boys, and taking care of me, and even the brat downstairs. stephanie called him on father's day while she was at the nebraska game, and wished him happy father's day. i wasn't sure if he was gonna bust, or cry. he has no children of his own, so for mine to take him as theirs has meant the world to him. and what he does for me. . . the day after my mom went into the hospital, i had dropped the boys off at daycare, and had stopped at mark's for something, and ended up locking my keys in the house. i had my cell with me, and i called him, and he was home in 15 minutes. if i ever have an emergency i can't deal with, i know i can call him (and have several times, lol). he's come and gotten me way past his bedtime, when my car broke down (i ran over a sign because i was too tired to see it, andit slashed 2 tires). he's my knight in shining armor, and he will tell you i am his queen. but i'm not on a pedestal, lol. god, i love him so much.

ok, sappy stuff is over. go back to your lives, citizens.

Crochet
i made a ton of white squares for AC4C but i'm not gonna show them, they're just granny squares. i'm thinking about making a white cable heart square, if i get time. right now i'm working on a holiday sweater (same pattern as the yellow sweater i made in march). pics later, i'm too tired to fight blogger.

Knitting
i had joined marker mania over at anita's and got my first set today. they're gorgeous! they came from Stephanie Lichlyter in Long Beach, CA. if you're reading my blog, stephanie, they are wonderful! and the charms with the words are perfect! the rest of y'all will just have to take my word for it for now, but they are priceless. thank you very much, stephanie!

and i'm still plugging away on baby washcloths. i wanna use up this cone of white cotton.

you might be a redneck if you are using a Twister mat as a shower curtain.
. . . during your wedding ceremony the minister said, "Do you, DeWayne, take Connie to be your old lady?"
. . .you have a full set of salad bowls that all say "Cool Whip" on the side of them (ok, so they're storage containers, hush).
. . . you talk about fishing while making love.
. . . the only cordless phone in your house is the one that your wife ripped out of the wall when she caught you talking to your girlfriend (ok, this is tomorrows, i'm jumping hte gun)

Pattern of the Day
Toddler's and Child's Socks. this pattern was made for Children in Common. there is a note on this pattern that if you make socks for your own little ones, to make another pair and donate them to CIC or antoher charity. ok, will do.
Suzie Q Doll. this is darling. i think i'd make the yarn unraveled knitting, so she'd have curly hair, but other htan that, it's just too precousl.. and the entire thing is knit!
Koigu Fish Ornament. only, and i do mean ONLY if i had some itty bitty bits of koigu that i didn't know what to do with (yeah right, me?) but they are cute, maybe i could use something else.

What i'm reading
Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (gee, and what is happening friday night? hmmmmmmmm?)
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon.
Meg Swanson's KNitting (this is an interesting insight into meg swanson growing up with the knitting goddess Elizabeth Zimmerman (i got that line from Panopticon)
Listening to Farenheit 451. wow. i could never get past the slow start, but listening to it (and this is unabridged) is a mind blower. it's another animal farm, or 1984. good grief!

Have a nice weekend (since i know most of you stay away from your puters on the weekends)

the charity goddess rides again!

ok, blogger isn't wanting to cooperate and let me ove these pics, so here we go. this is the completed stocking that i finished tonight. it took some doing to get this pic, because everything kept coming out blurry (it's not my technological night, apparently)
This is the completed star afghan. i bought the red white & blue in a fit of pique (also known as retail therapy) when sean's doctor left 5 minutes before i got there. the red is from deb she was cleaing her stash and sent this too me

Crocheting
This is the progress on the charity stocking as of last night when i went to bed. mind you, this is my own pattern. i'll post it later.


fucking blogger. lthat isn't supposed to be the whole ink to deb's blog, but i'm annoyed. it's not cooperating at all.

you can have more tomorrow, i'm tired and annoyed.

have a good day

don't blame me

for this little bit of bizarre. blame the crochet dude, ok?

look, it's a christmas stocking! amazing, now blogger will let me load pics. it's much more advanced than that, but hey, you'll get to see it tomorrow.

ta

part deux

well fooey, apparently blogger has a 5 picture per day limit. nuts. i was gonna show you my supper from friday night! dang. i suppose y'all will jsut have to wait until monday.

the weekend has been quiet, thank god. IFP came saturday morning (she's trying to catch up hours) and then the boys and i vegged all afternoon. mark finally called at 530 and said he wasn't hungry, so we didn't go over. today mark came over and brought the lawn mower, so liam could mow, and he brought his brush saw because one of my smoke bushes died, and it needed to be cut out. he stayed and watched the boys so i could go to walmart in peace. it was nice. i actually got some shopping done without boys bugging me, or having to worry that they were terrorizing the games area. bliss indeed, even if i spent way too much money, yet again. sigh.

friday was a bit frightening, though. i went to pick my mom up for her doctor's appointment with the hematologist she normally goes to, and found her in bed. she said she was dizzy, which scared me. so i called the doctor, and they finally told me to take her to the hospital. she was walking drunk, so i hung on to her, and got her to the van. i got her there, and they checked her heart rate, because of the pacemaker (which had been tested on thursday, and was fine) and did some blood work. here's the funny part. my dad had gone on a low sodium diet when i was still home (i think i was 16 or so) for high blood pressure. so, my folks had been following this diet for over 20 years. because of all the medication she's on to keep her blood pressure down, her sodium level dropped to the point that it made her dizzy. so, no more low sodium crackers, no salt added veggies, lite salt, etc. wow, will this be a change for her!

Crochet
i am certifiable. it's positive now. i just started ANOTHER project. i was reading AC4C last night, and there was a special request for stockings for one of the members. her church gives out stockings at christmas time to poor families, and they need stockings. so i perused the patterns they had posted, and didn't care for either the # of pages, or the pattern itself. so i decided to create my own pattern. this on top of the rooster table runner, the star afghan (which is almost done) and the baby washcloths. not to mention the projects that have languished like the redhat purse, and mark's sweater, and rogue. sigh. i'm a project floozie.

SOMEBODY STOP ME!

You might be a redneck if your favorite actor is E.T.
. . . you have the entire WWE slurpie cup collection proudly displayed on a shelf in your trailer. (liam liked this one, lol)

Pattern of the Day: Waikiki T-Strap Top. very cute, but i can't wear it (my bust protest too much, sigh). and i don't know anyone close enough to be flat chested enough to wear this.

Eyelet-Edged Placemats & Coasters. this is nice, but it's borderline "non pattern." it's garter stitch with a row of yarnovers tossed in at the edges. hmmmmm. can i get paid for stuff like this too?

Have a nice day!

more pictures for ya, vi

Home
I've got a few pics from the vacation, and i though you'd enjoy them (slide show from hell, eh?)

This is liam and his cousins felicia and ashley pigging out on donuts. mark's cousin and aunt apparently have to have a daily donut quotient, and had to have their fix even on vacation. liam is eating his favorite maple long john, and stuffing quite nicely, lol
This is a light house we saw on our way to Newport on Saturday morning. It looked so remote and beautiful, i just had to try to capture it. apparently, this is a real working lighthouse.
This is the hottub that was at the beachhouse. i wasn't kidding when i said this place was awesome. mark and i never used it, but steph and sean did. sean's exact words were "this thing needs to be longer, and have a diving board!" they had it cranked up to 106F, lol. if you sit long enough in that, you'll turn to soup!
This is mark in the kitchen at the beachhouse doing dishes. isn't this a beautiful sight?
Stephanie was fascinated by the mountains on our flight to oregon, so she took several pictures with my camera. (she'd filled hers up, lol)
well gee, i was going to post a few more pics, but apparently, blogger has a 5-pic per post limit. i'll be back, lol

ask and ye shall receive (vi)

this is the charity set i finished and mailed off tuesday. it's in cotton ease, which i had heard was discontinued, but when i went to the lionbrand website for a cotton ease pattern, it didn't say anything about discontinuation, and they will tell you if a yarn's been discontinued. hmmmm. curiouser and curiouser


this is the star afghan i've been working on. i think this is in appropriate colors considering i took this picture on the 4th of july, don't you? i ran out of the r/w/b i had wiht me, so i ahve to scrounge some more up, and then edge it with red.

this is the rooster table runner i got from herrschnerrs for Mom for christmas. it seems to be drawing in a bit with the intarsia/fair isle bit (what do you call those when it's crochet, lol?) this is very intensive, and i can't look at anything else while i do this, cuz it's all charted. oy.

this is my artys fartsy presentation of the baby washcloth i'm making (actually this one is done, i'm just gonna keep knitting til i runout of this cotton(i bought this with the thought of making a baby blanket, but it's so thick and heavy, poor baby would drown)). i had set this on the edge of my computer desk last night, and was so struck with the way it looked, that i sat here and took pictures for 20 minutes, until i got one i liked. what can i say, i do have my moments (of insanity?)

Home

date night was a bust tonight. they haven't been right in ages. i wasn't feeling the best tonight, and i didn't cook enough spaghetti, so mark got testy (he wanted enough for planned overs). we didn't fight over it, but it was definitely a disagreement, and set the tone for the rest of the evening. we ate dinner (i ate first, because i wasn't going to wait for the rest of the spaghetti to cook, we had enough for our dinner tonight, he was being stubborn), and watched troy (the fight scenes are pretty intense and amazing, but the rest leaves much to be desired. brad pitt needs to stick to his pretty boy stuff, although, i do have to say, he was amazingly ripped in this movie). we ended up moving to bed, and sleeping at 730, so a large part of the movie was missed. i came home at 9, feeling dissatisfied and lonely. sigh. i'm tired of living a part time life.

my mom had a doctor's appointment again today, and i had to be there to do the phone check on her pacemaker. i was abit nervous, but it's as easy as pie, and only takes about 5 minutes. we get to do this again in 2 weeks, and i forgot my mom won't be babysitting the boys that day, so i will ahve to get them to daycare early, and scoot over there to do the deed. oy. and that day is court too. WONDERFUL.

work was slow, although they're running a contest to see who can get all the states. i'm up to 37. just waiting on toughies like rhode island, and the sparse states, like alaska and wyoming. i've got until the 15th, and then i'll have to turn it in. and of course, i had planned on getting off at 215 so i could get some lunch (no lunch because i didn't work 6 hours) and then grab my mom and the boys, and head to the doctor's office, but i ended up with a $2200 order (no, i don't work on commission, sigh) that ran me 15 minutes late, so no lunch. maybe that's why i was out of sorts. who knows.

you might be a redneck if your idea of family planning is figuring out the chain of hand-me-downs (been there! the boys have a few t-shirts taht the girls wore when they were younger! (no they're not pink, steph was a soccer fiend))

. . . your dentist has adult magazines in his waiting room (?!?! stroke while you wait (oo that was crass)).

Pattern of the Day

Preemie Baby Set. this is cute, but it's in DK or 8 ply (any of you english or aussie types help me out, please?) which i prefer worsted weight. i'm trying to shop in my stash, people!

Color Changing Scarf. non pattern. i'm not saying anything else.

Have a nice day!

ok, vi, this is for you

you guilted me into it. i'm posting, ya happy now?
Home
i have pink eye (almost done with the antibiotics, hip hip horray!). i was sick all day sunday and unable to do anything beyond get off the bed/futon (i lay on the futon on the front porch for a while, just for a change of scenery, and back comfort) until late in the day (happy now, vi, i was too sick to post sunday! :P). yesterday was preoccupied with a little gardening (i can find my marigolds now), and a lot of recovery. mark was feeling just as crappy, so we didnt' do anything. i did do fireworks with the kids, but collapsed shortly after that. so no bloggie for me.
oh, and i went to an urgent care facility yesterday, to discover the reason why i've been dizzy is that i not only have a sinus infection, but i have an ear infection as well. joy. Liam has a sinus infection as well (no big shock there, he's been announcing the color of his snot for days). so now i'm taking horse pills. blech. i even took vto today, even though i really can't afford it, because i was too light headed, and ended up dropping the boys off at mark's (he had a floating holiday today) and coming home and napping for 2 hours. he woke me up out of a dead sleep, so i could pick up supper and go to therapy with him & the boys. therapy was cancelled, so i've had quiet evening, hallelujah sister. i needed it!

Crocheting
i'm still working on the star afghan (i took ap ic of it yesterday, don't you think it's appropriate that i work on a red, white & blue star afghan on the 4th of July?), and i started a rooster table runner for mark's mom for christmas. yes, i'm crafting for christmas. just wait, i've got a project in the works when the yarn shows up (inspirations yarn is temporarily closed due to BABY!!!!! GO DOMINIC & MARGARET!). of course, since the giftee is internet savvy, and i wouldn't put it past her to google me, i'm not mentioning it here. so there, sherrill, lol.

you might be a redneck if you buy a police scanner to keep up with your relatives.
. . . someone is permanently staying on your couch.
. . . the first drive in movie you saw was from across the road.

Pattern of the Day:Fourth of July Cap. this is a newborn's hat, with a cute flag tacked on the top. definitely a thought for charity crafting.
Feather & Fan Scarf. this is pretty. but not unusual, cutting edge, or any of that. some people would call it a non-pattern because feather and fan is so commonplace. works for me, but i'll probably never do it, i had a hard enough time counting with the PFH2 (it was in feather & fan).

What i'm reading
Drums of Autumn
Knit one Kill 2 (i actually finished this, and i loved it, all the way to the anticlimactic ending, sigh. the recipe sounds good though!)
Sleeping Murder, by Agatha Christie (book on tape, these are addictive!)

Have a nice Day!

wasting away again in crudsville

Home
good god, you'd think i'd be immune to this shit by now, at my great age (hush, vi) but i've got pink eye. don't know where it came from. doctor has no clue either. but i've got it. mark had the creeping crud earlier this week, and ended up missing 2 days of work. liam has it too. i came down with it the same time i got the eye of pink. sigh.

Pictures of Oregon
we're giving blogger images a shot here
This is a rocky part of the beach between DePoe Bay, where we stayed, and Newport, where walmart lived. it was very pretty.

this is steph being very adventurous. actually, to quote this lady this was an aventure. we hadn't planned on stopping, but decided to because the view was just too gorgeous. i wanted to go down there with her, but my shoes were too slick, and i was a tiny bit leery of falling. i slipped and banged my knee on the way back up as it was.

This is the tidepool that steph was by in the earlier picture. she said she ended up walking on some mussels, and didn't even realize it until after she saw one open.

And this is mark enjoying the view. we were all just awe-struck by the power and beauty of it all.

Knitting

I've actually gotten a little accomplished. i'm working on the hat to go witht he sweater and booties i made earlier this month. the hope is to get it finished tonight, and washed, so i can mail it tomorrow for AC4C.

You might be a redneck if you openly wept when Pamela Lee had her implants removed (ew?).

you might be a redneck if you've ever participated in a burp-off.

Pattern of the Day: Caterpillar Stitch. this is kinda cute, and would be good for a sweater or scarf.

Button Me Hat! apparently this is changed for every occasion (paraphrasing the pattern, lol). you change the buttons to suit the season, your mood, etc. kinda cute, and multisized as well.

What I'm Reading

just finished the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. this is good, but a bit young. the heroines are all 15. wow.

Knitting in the Fast Lane. so far so eh. not terribly impressed, i think this may go back to the library tomorrow.

Listening to Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie. this is read by rosemary leach, whom i've never heard of, but goodness me, that woman is the PERFECT, quintessential miss marple. does anybody out there know what miss marple's first name is? (i'm betting it's NOT marla, lol).

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. yes, i'm gearing up.

and vi, who is the wicked b*itch of the west? you can email me, lol.

Edit: sorry sock pal, i almost forgot you! i'll take any color, as long as it's not pastel. i'm not 3 anymore, lol.

Have a nice day!