pictures, please?

dammit! enter got me again!

woohoo, we have pictures! here's the hat i made for janice. i'll probably put it in the mail today. (maybe, i'm not promising anything). so let's go for picture #2!
witness the vanilla sock of doom! yeah, i know. very plain & boring. doom comes in many colors. i kknow, i still haven't done the toe. christmas is a long time away, lol.

i started a hat for dulaan (today's the last day for signups to get a yarn prize from ryan!) with the stuff carin gave me for the bridal shower. suffice it to say, i don't care to spin wenslydale. it almost acts felted! the colors are interesting though. i'm doing an earflap hat (my own wacked out pattern, lol). my biggest problem is my needles are just short enough taht i have to watch that stitches don't fall off the end, lol.

go eat candy, will ya!

happy halloween!

here's a game to waste time with.

go on you want to.

have fun!

(and don't eat all the candy!)

seriously

DRINK!

take this test. i got a 72%. post a comment to let me know what your score is!

PAGING DR. SEAN!

racklefrats! blast blogger and it's "enter" policy!

ok, there's a warning to this post. if you're squeamish, or oogey, read old posts. this is kinda gross.


ok, have all the weenies left? good. here we go.

now, before you think we're all neglectful, nasty people, there is a caveat to this whole story. sean is a known "boy who cried wolf," particularly when it comes to medical stuff. so we weren't neglecting his health, just not very believing, considering the circumstances.


here we go.

4 weeks ago, Sean stepped on a needle, and it broke. his foster family thought they'd found all the pieces, and since it didn't swell up and get icky, we figured it was just a puncture wound, and soaked it, and treated it accordingly.

well, about a week and a half ago, it started bruising, which we assumed was because sean would NOT leave it alone. the boy can't leave anything like that alone. he's fascinated by all of it. however, by last tuesday, it was black. gross. (if you haven't left yet, you better now) so i made an appointment for friday. they x-rayed it, and discovered the needle was still in his foot. needless to say, everybody involved apologized to him for not believing him, but reiterated that we hadn't because of his "cry wolf" tendencies.

the PA cleaned it up a bit, then recommended that we see an orthopaedic surgeon, since they were afraid to try to extract the needle themselves. so, he went home, and we went to the surgeon's this morning. the doctor popped the old scab off, because he wanted to check on the wound, and they took new x-rays. well, apparently, between the PA poking around on it friday, and the surgeon poking around on it this morning, caused it to rear its ugly head to the point that sean could see the needle. he told everybody so, and proved it by pulling the needle out HIMSELF!

they did a second set of x-rays to double check, but the little stinker got it all out by himself! so they cleaned the wound out (there was a small bit of ulceration, because it had been 4 weeks), wrapped his foot up, and sent him home. the original plan was to have surgery wednesday (i asked if we could put it off one more day, because of halloween tomorrow, and he was on antibiotics, and the doctor was fine with that, as long as nothing got worse), but with this, dr sean stepped up to the plate, lol.

while the doctor was cleaning the wound some more, they started talking about doctor stuff, and sean told him that he wants to be psychiatrist some day. the doctor was VERY impressed with the level of intelligence and knowledge sean had. he was amazed that sean was only 12. that's my boy, for ya.

now, for the reason why it didn't get nasty immediately? sean had had an ear infection, and had started antibiotics 2 days before he stepped on the needle. so, the body just used the antibiotics for his foot as well as his ear. when they finally wore off, the foot said "hey, this crap is still in here" and started getting infected again. when the needle started trying to work its way out again, it caused another infection. go figger.

so, sean is due to go back to the doctor on friday, and has to wear a special shoe (which he hates, lol), but the doctor ok'ed him to go trick or treating tomorrow, so he's definitely happy with that.

isn't it amazing what kids will do?

ok, grossness over. i'll post some knitting stuff later.

if i die before i wake. . .

Living Will Form


I, __________________________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it. Nor in the hands of lawyers/doctors who are interested simply in running up the bills. If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to ask for at least one of the following:

Bloody Mary, Margarita, Scotch and soda, Martini, Vodka and Tonic, Steak, Lobster or Crab Legs, The remote control, Bowl of ice cream, Chocolate, or Sex

..it should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my appointed person and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes and call it a day. At this point, it is time to call a New Orleans Jazz Funeral Band to come do their thing at my funeral, and ask all of my friends to raise their glasses to toast the good times we have had.
Signature: ___________________________
Date: ___________________________

I also hear that in Ireland they have a Nursing Home with a Pub. The patients are happier and they have a lot more visitors.


many thanks to my sons' grandmother for sending this to me. it's amazing how much better we get along now that her son's not in the mix.

it's a picture!

here's janice's hat:
well, imagine janice's hat. oy! stupid blogger is acting up AGAIN! if it weren't for the fact that i'm such a cheapskate, i'd go to typepad, or some such. this is ridiculous.

anyway, janice's hat is done, washed, and in the van. it's in the van because i have been noticing that if anything that i make lingers in the house for more than a few minutes after i pull it out of the dryer, it starts to smell like smoke. however, when i pulled some squares out of the dryer this morning, they didn't smell. since mark is at work, i rushed them out to the van (along with the hat), and will check them later to see if they smell. if this works, then i'll just keep a box in the van for charity stuff, so it doesn't smell. mark doesn't smoke in the van (when he's in it, he doesn't ride with me much, lol), so we should be ok.

thanks to all the ladies (and bill) who tried to help me with the smoke issue at S&B last night.

speaking of S&B, i had a blast last night. we had to have an alternative site because tara was in a wedding. i don't think i've laughed so hard in a long time. and bizarre conversations? needless to say, having an ER doctor is very entertaining.

chacha is going ok, but since it's a beta, they're still working out the bugs. no training right now. let's hope it kicks in soon, i need to start making money, lol.

catch y'all on the flip side!!

complete disgust

i was driving home after i took liam to school today, and i saw something that really disgusted me. for those of you familiar with omaha, and the benson area, along maple street between 63rd & northwest radial, the businesses have large flower pots. some are pots. some are the half-barrel things. all along the south side of the street, 75% of them had been knocked over, and some even broken. considering this is around 7:45 am, this had to have happened over night. granted, this time of year the flowers are dead (there are a few that have evergreens planted, but those weren't tipped), but just the thought of the destruction, and mess this causes just makes me sick. and it was probably teenagers who were bored. sigh.

in other news, i hear that new jersey decided that they had to give equal rights to everyone, and that they will be considering some sort of union for gay couples in the legislature. flame me if you will, but i hope it goes through. having just gotten married myself, i don't see why two people who love each other should not be allowed to have some sort of legal union. i was watching the View, and while i don't agree with rosie o'donnel's political leanings, if letting her marry her partner makes her happy, let her. they also said they've thought about giving it a different name for gays, such as partnered or unioned. to heck with that. if mark & i had gone down to the court house, and had a civil ceremony, it would still be considered married. let them get married. what's it going to hurt?

in knitting news, clapotis is progressing slowly. i don't take it out, so i only work on it here, and i've been running 'round like a chicken with its head cut off! steph's sweater has progressed to skein #2, which is good. janice's hat is done, and will be washed this afternoon/morning (depending on my motivation, lol). i still need to kitchener the toe on the vanilla socks of doom, sigh.

i'll try to scan things so you can see them later, lol.

and, i have a job. of sorts. i'm a chacha guide. chacha.com is a search engine that uses live people. then you don't have to sort through tons of links, like google or yahoo gives you. my keywords are (big surprise) cooking, crochet, and knitting. go check it out, you may run into me! (once i'm done training, lol)

what i'm reading
Eragon by Christopher Paolini (book tape at mark's house)
All Creatures Great & Small by James Herriot (book tape at my house)
All Things Bright & Beautiful by James Herriot (book tape in the car)
The War of the Jewels by JRR Tolkien
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, Sir Orfeo & Pearl by JRR Tolkien.

i've slowed down, lol

and for those of you who offered your condolences over my chemical burns, thank you. they stopped hurting by the next day. however, i had to cook one more batch of salsa, although this one was much better. red, yellow & orange peppers, plus pasillo peppers, which are fruitier, so this batch didnt' stink. i got 11 pints. wow, i got lots of christmas presents!

chemical burns stink

i'm a glutton for punishment, apparently. i keep forgetting how much i hate salsa, and when mark brings home tomatoes from coworkers, first thing in my mind is "salsa!". so, mark and i ended up chopping all day yesterday, between the tomatoes, peppers & onions. we agreed that the big batch would be with jalapenos and green peppers (these are green tomatoes, mind you), and the smaller batch would be colored peppers and a different chile, as long as it wasn't habaneros. we have about 10 pints of salsa in the basement we made 3 years ago with habaneros that is so hot few people can eat it. mark even put one pint in a gallon of chili, and the chili was too hot to eat. so, being a contact lense wearer, i refused to handle the jalapenos, which was fine with mark. he chopped them, and ran them in the food processor, and put them in the pot with all the other ingredients.

i've just spent my morning reheating the salsa, because it too so long to cook last night that we were afraid we'd be up until midnight canning the crap (i was up that late anyway, but that's beside the point). and discovered that i had gotten chemical burns just from STIRRING the crap. oy. and it stinks. i hate green peppers and i hate jalapenos, and this shit reeks of it. oy. fortunately, it's all in jars now (11 quarts and 5 pints, plus a small plastic container that will go in the fridge), at the expense of about 10 dishclothes to hold the jars, and several heat burns on my hands. thank goodness there are no blisters, but i'm going to have to wash my hands about a dozen times before i pick up my knitting.

speaking of knitting, i got deawn's square in the mail on thursday, and it only cost me 90 cents. not bad for going to montreal. i didn't mark it though, so i hope that's not an issue, lol.

i've received more things for the super secret project, so things are going well in that department.

the vanilla socks are almost finished. i have to kitchener the toe on the second one and block them. woot!

i think i'll frog the carnival socks. i was looking at the pattern i was using, and it calls for size 3 needles. i don't think so. the toe i've got is impossibly small for what i want.

Janice's hat is almost done, although it did stall out over the weekend. one more round and i'll wash it and send it on its way. i'm looking forward to seeing the prizes she's got.

i started a sweater for steph, we'll have to see how it goes. i used sweater wizard, and put in cropped, but i'm thinking itmight actually be too short, so i may go back to standard length. i'll have to look when i get that far.

well, i have to go back to the dishes (canning always leaves so goddamned many dishes!) so i'll bid adieu for now.

here we go again, lol

first off, let me say that blogger's habit of posting if you hit enter in the title field is ANNOYING!

I got this from a former secret pal, sarah, but i've seen it several places.

1. FIRST NAME? Minnie

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I'm named for my great grandmother on my mother's side. I'm also named for my maternal grandmother (her middle name was ruth, too, lol) a great pair of ladies, and i hope i can fill their shoes.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? in frustration with sean about a month ago. that boy can really push buttons.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? i don't mind it. it's big and loopy, and can be potentially messy if i'm in a hurry. however, my daughter (who i swear is my emotional clone, even if she is one of my kids that looks the least like me) has virtually identical handwriting. scarey, huh.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Virginia ham. yum

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? yes, i would. i'm one of those people that you just can't help but talk to, lol. perfect example. i was in the store this morning with my mother, and we had just walked into the meat department. i was wearing my puffy nebraska jacket i got last spring for $6 (normal price was $40 (chaching!)). a very tall man walked out of the back wearing a meat-cutter's jacket, and asked me if i would loan him the jacket, since he was going to the game tomorrow, and it's supposed to be cold and rainy. i laughed, and told him the sleeves would be a bit short, since it was a boys' size 16 jacket. see what i mean?

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? not a paper one. that's what this blog is for.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yup. healthy as a horse.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Sure, sounds likea wild trip to me.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? i don't normally do cereal, although i like the fruit and nut ones. i think raisin nut bran is my favorite (do they even make that any more?)

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? yes. i can still out-arm-wrestle my 14 year old son, and he's taller than me by at least 4". heck, i can even out-armwrestle my daughters! i've got "guns," lol. emotionally as well. i have to be, if i'm weak, then how can i help sean?

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? toasted almond fudge from Schwanns. i don't get it much though (i don't eat a lot of ice cream)

14. SHOE SIZE? 7E. yes, i have duck feet. that's why i usually buy boys' shoes. but it makes it easier to find stuff for steph, cuz her feet are proportionately the same as mine, just bigger (she's a 9E)

15. RED OR PINK? Red. pink is for little girls, and i haven't been a little girl in a LONG time.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my tendency to brain fart. i may not be diagnosed as ADHD, but i definitely have the tendencies. oh look, a chicken!

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? How about you just post it on your blog and I’ll come read it?

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? black pants, a black t-shirt with a glow in the dark ghost, and when i came in, black birkies.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? dark chocolate mocha almonds from target and a glass of milk.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the computer fan whining and "jonathan strange and mr. norrell." a very good book tape. kind of like harry potter, but with adults.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? royal blue. not only is it my favorite color, it is very much what i am. vivid, and true.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? freshly bathed babies (i'm a momma at heart, lol) wood smoke. good bbq. mark's hair. freshly dyed wool.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My husband this morning.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? their voice

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I admire her blog, so I assume I’d like her in person. We’ve never met in person, but i feel between her blog & emails, i do have a sense of her as a person.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? irish cream. cold water. iced tea.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? anything my kids are playing.

29. EYE COLOR? Hazel.

30. HAT SIZE? 6 7/8. 22". i know the inches because when i was working customer service at OTC, i had a customer who asked me to measure my head, so she could figure if a hat would fit her child or not. being the knitter htat i am, i had a tape measure, and i whipped it out and did so (sorry, 12 year old giggle at the phrase "whipped it out")

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? i'm a foodie. i'm supposed to pick one?

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings, for sure. scary movies leave me cold, unless they're really good (the ring wasn't bad)

(Dude, what happened to 34?

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer. even though i love to knit with wool, i hate being cold. i would dearly love to move south, but if i do, it won't be for a very long time. mark's folks are only in their 70's, as is my mom, and they aren't going any where, and we both are dutiful children.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? if i absolutely have to choose, it's hugs. nothing better than being wrapped up in the arms of someone who cares about me (specially mark's hugs, all those arms!)

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? chocolate cheese cake. just tart enough to counteract the sweet, and, oh yum, chocolate.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Oh, let’s skip these next two. It doesn’t matter.
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? well, you're used to hearing this from me, lol.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The War of the Jewels by J.R.R. Tolkien
All Creatures Great & Small by James Herriot

i'm slacking off a bit, because the first one was due wednesday, and i'm trying to finish it before the grace period is up.

41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? the mouse pad at my house has a picture of the boys in their halloween costumes 2 years ago. liam was a barrel of toxic waste, and sean was sonic the hedge hog. mark's mouse pad is one he got for free from a local computer store.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? mark was watching North Carolina and Virginia play football. i didn't change it because he was still awake, and i fell asleep before the game was over, lol. otherwise, i was at knit night.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? my children singing. my husband singing (he has a good voice, he's a musician, lol). christmas carols (real ones, not the funny ones, although i do enjoy those). someone who loves what they're singing (even the bad karaoke, you can see they're enjoying themselves). birdsong in the morning, just before sunrise.

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Neither, usually.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME?upstate new york.

46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I have a semi-photographic memory. if i've seen it, and want to remember it, i can.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Blair, nebraska. so was sean.

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? i saw this on sarah's blog, but i've seen it other places as well.

a girl's gotta do

what a girl's gotta do. let's see if this works.
Woot! when the going gets tough, the tough use their scanners! i still don't know where my damned camera is, so mark got his scanner going a few days ago, so here i am, with a scanned pic of the square i did for deawn. we did a trade, but that's all i'm saying 'bout that for now.

the square is done, and will be washed & packed tomorrow, and flying via airmail to montreal on friday (i've got dental work scheduled for tomorrow morning, i'm not going to the post office, i'll be sleeping off my novacaine).

rabbitch's hat is well on it's way, as well. in fact, since i had the green variegated yarn out, i double-stranded that, and it's actually coming out kinda fun. ever seen ribbing in crochet? no? well, wait, and i'll scan that S.O.B. as well (but not now, it's kinda late, lol.

and it sounds like mark & his buddy are FINALLY going to fix my sump pump, so i can use the washer at MY house, and i'll be off like a herd of turtles, with all the felting i need to do (i tried to do it here, but because mark has floor drain issues in the basement, i used a pillow case, and well, i was NOT pleased. plus, mark smokes, and it makes it hard to make any of that stuff marketable if it's smells like a pub on a saturday night).

steph is working at my old job, and actually enjoying it, lol. she did say there are days when she feels like shooting herself, but that she's enjoying herself for the most part. now, if she does a really good job, she'll get hired on permanently. that's the sucky part. not knowing until mid-december if she has a permanent job or not. i went through it too. at least she'll be able to collect unemployment if they don't keep her (which i've been trying to give her all the hints i can think of to help her be aces, so cross your fingers, legs, toes, needles, whathaveyou, and give this kid good juju. she's been trying, for sure).

sean has been doing better. he made his 8 assignment goal today! woot! he is in the bd room (special ed) so he doesn't rotate classes, but the work is brought to his room, and he's supposed to get 8 assignments finished per day. now, this doesn't usually happen, because sean has severe focus issues. (what i don't understand, is if 3 of his "regular" classes would be vocal music, pe, and lifetime sports, where's he getting the other 3 assignments?). so here's hoping.

liam's football team won the city championship for his division (heavyweight). they shut out the last 3 teams they played, and even the first game, where they lost, the score was 12-6. they even shut out #1! woot! granted, liam didn't get to play alot, but still, he was so thrilled, you can't get too down about his lack of playing time. liam's biggest problem right now is that he's growing so fast, that he's awkward & clumsy. he can still run like the wind, but those arms & legs flail & churn, lol. i would like to see him go out for track or soccer, this spring.

and our one month anniversary was monday. we celebrated with crab legs, cheddar bacon mashed potatoes, and candied carrots. i was STUFFED. but it was worth it.

TTFN!

go on, you know you wanna

go play this game. it's addicting. you can thank (or blame) me later

you can blame miss vi

ok, i was reading the message boards over at limenviolet, and found this horrid thing that miss violet found. she is a truly sick & twisted individual. i love it! and then, of course, there was this as well. goofiness all around

my fender has a dent in it

Baldemar Huerta died of lung cancer yesterday at the age of 69. who is he? "i'll be there before the next tear drop falls." Freddy Fender. Grammy winner. Star on the walk of fame. a country crooner, who had the most wonderful latin-styled voice. he'll be missed.

Vaya con Dios, mi amigo.

somebody help me please!

sean threw up at school, and we think he forced it, but i have him because his foster dad is having transportation issues (he loaned his car to his son, and his son is not answering his phone, lol). he's tortured the one cat into hiding behind the sofa, and the other one runs when he sees him. right now sean is eating soup (that's what you give a sick kid, right?), singing "45" by shine down (oh yeah, he' s really sick), and hollering cuz he thinks his soup is too hot (ev en though he's eaten it all!).

scratch that. the foster dad's sister just showed up to pick him up, and it's a lady i used to work iwth, lol!

whew.

now, down to business.

i've made a few promises.

1) i promised deawn i would crochet a 10" square for her homies blanket drive. it's due oct 30, and since it's going to canada, i have to get on it, so i can mail it by the 20th.

2) Janice is collecting hats for vancouver, so i volunteered to knit/crochet one for her, too. it's not due til dec 1, so there's a little breathing room

3) i'm working on a super secret project (you'll find out soon enough, lol), and i'm waiting for things to come in, at this point (and i came up with this myself, lol)

4) go see ryan. she's still a booger head, and she's still looking for sign ups for Dulaan. go on, ya wanna. i'm technically signed up for 5 (that's how many she wants each of us to do), but i'm going to go for one more than last year, and do 10.


so i'm going to be a tad bit busy. clapotis is doing well, and i've dropped a few stitches already. i'm doing a mini clap, as i don't have enough yarn, so, like deb it's going to be a wide scarf. and i've discovered something interesting. i just CAN'T let the dropped stitches be. i have to undo them all!

the vanilla socks are progressing quite nicely, and i'm almost to the toe. maybe i'll finish the buggers tonight at s&k. and i started the carnival yarn again. i'm doing a short-row toe up for right now. we'll see how it works.

ok, the pear butter is calling me (it took 4 days to finally get the stuff cooked down!), so i'll be sending it soon, Norma!

IT'S BACK!

go read this. apparently, lion brand bowed to popular consensus, and is bringing cotton-ease back! with new colors! woot! now i can knit up my stash (one 3-drawer cartful!) without guilt.

we rock!

a public service annoucement

for all you readers who have dogs.

apparently, there's a artificial sweetener called xylitol that has become very popular. it's poisonous for dogs. please, be careful of what you feed your dog. and according to the statistics i saw on the news this morning (no link, they don't have it up on the website!), the poisonings are on the rise. 70 in 2004, 170 in 2005, and as of august 114.

EDIT: the tv station finally put up a link, so go see it

i don't own a dog, but i have.

carry on!

sp9

here we go again, lol. i had thought about not signing up this time, but just could not resist!

here's my questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

i never met a fiber i didn't like. i do love alpaca (who wouldnt!), but i'm not picky at all.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

technically, i have a 7 drawer cart i keep them in, but realistically? in WIP, lol. i also have a romantic candle holder that i put a lot of my dpn's in.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

Wow. um, i've been knitting for 30 years. my grandma started me off, and i taught myself everything else. i suppose i'm an intermediate knitter, although the only patterns that scare me are steeking ones. just cant handle taking scissors to my knits when they're not felted.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

on amazon. it's under my maiden name, minnie mckain.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

i love vanilla, and sweet florals, like magnolia and jasmine. i also love sandalwood.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

duh! chocolate. preferrably dark chocolate (and you know that dark is better for ya, right?)

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

i spin & crochet. i also sew a bit, but mostly just halloween costumes (although i probably won't this year, i'm still wedding-burned)

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

wow, that question is always tough. examples of what i like: AC/DC. Kiss. Nora Jones. Nine Inch Nails. Johnny Cash. Sons of the Pioneers. you should see my auto select stations, lol.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

blues & purples, and bright colors. i can't stand mustard yellows or muted oranges, and browns don't turn me on as a rule, although i had one secret pal send me the yummiest kidsilk crack haze that was a kind of light mushroomy grey/beighe/tan. i don't mind greys, or black, though.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

i have a husband ( of 2 1/2 weeks, lol), and two sons at home. liam is 14 & sean is 12. i also have two daughters. stephanie is 20 & lisa is 21, and, obviously, they live on their own, although i get frequent "mom" calls from steph. we have 2 cats: jimi, the wonder foot monster, and joplin the grump. admittedly, joplin is 11, but it's amazing how pissy she can get with jimi when she doesn't want to play.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

i have arthritis, so i'm always wearing something on my hands. i have scarves and i do wear them occasionally. i wear hats, but i have to have them bigger than my head, because i have hair i can sit on, and i wear it in clips. mostly big floppy hats, lol.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

anything small. i don't mind sewing bits together, as long as there aren't a ton. no pieced afghan patterns please! i also like a challenge. i've seen the dragon shawl floating about, and i REALLY covet that pattern.

13. What are you knitting right now?

at this instant i am knitting vanilla socks for steph, a clapotis for me, and a teddy bear for charity.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

yes!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

i prefer straights & metal needles. i have a TON of needles, as i bought out an estate sale, although i don't have a ton of dpn's in the smaller sizes. i do like bamboo for sock needles, though.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

no, but i'm intending on putting them on my christmas list!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

do i really have to confess that one?

18. What is your favorite holiday?

HALLOWEEN!

19. Is there anything that you collect?

dragons, cookbooks, and fairies. i don't mind cute fairies, but i don't care for "cute" dragons. i like the ones that breathe fire, and actually prefer european to oriental.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

i would really like another set or 2 of size 1 dpns in bamboo. i've got a bad case of startitis, and already have one sock on the needles, sigh. i also would like that dragonshawl pattern (ask me for the link, i'm too tired to go find it now, lol). the books i want are on my amazon list.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

i would like to try entrelac.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

i am a sock knitter. i wear a size 7E shoe. if you need more measurements, holler.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

April 1 (i know, i know)

and just so ya know, i'm allergic to watermelon & banana, and am not particularly fond of mint.

also, i don't remember what name i signed up under, but my last name, if you read the top part of my blog, is now Olson, lol.

you just gotta

ok, don't swoon from 3 posts in one day, but you just gotta. go see ryan. she's taking sign-ups for the Dulaan 10K or bust. i don't know how to do buttons, but if i figure it out, it'll be up. i've signed up, and i've got 2 already. woot!

10 knitterly things about me

ok, i guess the point of this meme is to tell you 10 knitterly things you don't know about me. i have seen this several places, but i think the last one was at fillyjonk's. holler in the comments if you know more than 2 of these.

1. While i have achieved S.A.B.L.E., a very large portion of it is ACK. not even redheart. some of this yarn is so old it's got fibers that don't exist any more, like orlon. I am known as a charity knitter, so when people have yarn they want to get rid of, they give it to me.

2. I tend to collect yarn. Doesn't matter what kind. I used to live in a town with a thrift store that would barter on their yarn prices, and bag up small balls for anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar for about 2 or 3 ounces of yarn, in mixed colors. I have TONS of those.

3. The last thing i knit for myself and FINISHED (i've started all kinds of things, it's the finishing that's a bitch) was a poncho from the knit it magazine of 2005 (thanks for having that on your blog natalie , i would have never remembered the name of the magazine, let alone when it came out, lol). i used lion brand thick & quick, in the red/black colorway. i wore it for the weekend we were in oregon, then frogged it cuz i didn't like it.

4. I prefer metal needles. while i own plastic & wood needles (do bamboo needles fall under the wood category?), i really like metal best. i'm a fast knitter, and plastic and wood hang up too much for me. except socks. i think i do own some metal sock needles (i think they're in the basement in a sock that i had attempted with some blue baby yarn i'd gotten in a grab bag), i seem to like the bamboo ones. plastic? meh. i haven't tried the Denise's, (stop shouting, ok!), so i can't pass judgement on those, but the ones i have are circulars, and inflexible at best. blech.

5. I prefer straight needles. I do use circs for large pieces, but there's something so primal about using straights, and i'm fastest with them. and that extends to dpn's as well. i've tried magic loop, and frankly, it s ucked. i also tried socks on 2 circs, and i didn't care for that either. if i ever try toe up socks again, it will be on dpn's.

6. Very few knitting patterns intimidate me. Example: see this shawl? scroll down a bit, i get wordy, lol. this is the flowerbasket shawl from IK. don't ask me when, i can't recall, lol. ok, ok, lemme look it up, lol. poo, no luck. i think it's the spring 2004 issue, but don't quote me(Edit: Thanks to Clara over at KR, i found out it was in the fall 2004 issue. it's also availabe at fiber trends. now back to the story, lol) . i had a tough time with it, because i kept getting off on the count in the first chart, and frogged it numerous times. thank goodness tara's silk noil takes a beating. and since i just found out it's machine washable, i'll have to let my SIL know, lol. However, once i got it, i whizzed along famously. AFTER i finished it, i found out that for a first REAL lace project, it was a humdinger. hmmmm. no fear. it's just yarn, ya know?

7. I don't mind ACK. it's lovely for charitable knitting. i knit for the yahoo group All Crafters For Charity, also known as AC4C, and we do many baby hospitals. ACK works great for babies, and is cheap. and many hospitals/neonatal wards ask for acrylic specifically, so the wee ones don't develop allergies to wool/alpaca/etc.

8. I love, love, love knitting with my handspun. however, i tend to give it away, lol. i never seem to have enough to do one project. however, with stephanie's blog step in, (laurie) and her pieces about piece-knitting and incorporating it into sweaters, i might just have to investigate further.

9. I knit while i'm in front of the computer. While reading blogs. And listening to book tapes. I'm a major multitasker. Especially with Clapotis, and the teddy bear for AC4C i'm doing right now.

10. Wow, i'm having a tough time coming up with one more. Ummmm. ok, let's try this. If any of you can come up with something that most of y'all don't know about me, i'll give a prize. don't ask me what. maybe some of my handspun?

and just in case you were curious:

What I'm Reading
The Simarillion by JRR Tolkien
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, Pearl, & Sir Orfeo (a translation) by JRR Tolkien
1984 by George Orwell (i'm on a classic kick lately)(book tape at mark's)
The Dark Tower by Stephen King (book tape at my house)
All Things Wise & Wonderful by James Herriot (book tape in the car)
Shadow Dawn by George Lucas

and yes, i can keep them all straight

lockdown

i really feel i need to address this.

What is wrong with our society, where someone can feel justified in taking a gun to a school, and slaughtering whomever they choose? After seeing a third deadly school shooting, this one with the most innocent of people, the Amish, I have severe concerns for the sanity of us as a people. What i do know, is that there are 5 dead little girls (and the rest are in serious/grave condition), and a dead principal, and one dead teenage girl. all those lives, ended so abruptly, with no real rhyme or reason.

I sat liam down last night, and asked him about his school's lockdown policy. he had no clue what i was talking about, or what to do. That frightened me. Liam is such an innocent. I emailed his principal last night. this school has over 600 students, so i'm sure she was just inundated, but i received an email within an hour, telling me the school's plans, and that they had a drill last spring, but had called it an emergency drill, so as to not frighten the children. now they're going to call it a lockdown. while this does relieve my mind a bit, this school had an armed robbery last fall. a pizza delivery guy was going out a west door, and was held up, during school hours. the school then instituted a policy that ALL doors except the front one (on the northeast corner of the building) would be locked after the kids were in. that might help the invasion problem, but still. i'm scared for my kids.

aren't you?