Random Ramblings

   Last night, I was craving something, and I couldn't figure out what it was. I hate when that happens! I talked to Hubs, one thing led to another, and in the end, I decided to try and invent my own recipe for a sort of chocolate truffle tart or even pie. I looked up on the food network website how to make ganache and chocolate truffles. They are basically made the same way.

   While looking for those recipes, I found a recipe from Paula Deen for a chocolate truffle pie. Sounds like just what I want! So I will try it soon. The whole thing started because I bought a chocolate cream pie for Hubs for Thanksgiving dinner. I love the whipped cream topping, but am not fond of the pudding part. I want something denser, and that's where the truffle part came in.

   I don't remember what my original idea for my post was! I know I had one when I woke up this morning, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.

   Last night, Hub mentioned that I seemed a bit restless. He said he thought it was from Farmville withdrawal. I disagree! Facebook withdrawal, maybe, but not farmville withdrawal! It's probably internet or laptop withdrawal. He said I didn't need to stop completely, he was just concerned that I wasn't doing anything else.

   Hopefully today, I can get a shot of Hubs' newly finished tattoo. I may have mentioned it before, but I am jealous! I am the only member of the family who doesn't have Cookie's artwork on my skin!  I'm hoping that I get a gift certificate for Christmas.

   I have two ideas on what I want for my next tattoo. The first is an old drawing of Winnie the Pooh, sitting sideways with his face in a "HUNNY" jar. I have always loved that picture. I like the old, original drawings of Pooh and friends, not the newer "Disney-fied" ones. The second is the symbol from the TV show "Charmed". I know what it is, but can't spell it or say it. Triskele, or something like that.  And I want it in colors, not just black. Like purple on the outside, fading to reddish in the middle.

   And I don't want a tattoo that's big, either. Just a few inches across will do. Pooh, I'd like on my upper arm, or lower leg. The Triskele thing, at the base of my neck, upper back. That's where my daughter has her tree. She and her hubs have similar tree tattoos, his is small, and intricate, on his arm, with the roots crossing the bend in his elbow. His tree is really pretty, and has Sara's initials in the roots. Her tree is bigger, with green leaves. It also has his initials in the roots! That is such a neat concept!

   My Hubs has said he would want an old, dead stump instead of a tree, with my initials in the roots. Haha, but it's a cute idea.  He has his initials, and our sons initials, worked into a tribal band that encircles his right arm. He says he won't have my name ina tattoo, because it's serious bad luck. Everyone he's ever known who has their significant other's name in a tattoo have broken up. Tattoos are permanent. But I think initials are ok, especially if they are hidden, and not easily seen.

   OK, I think that's enough rambling for today. It seems like I have a lot on my mind today, but I have things to do, so I'd better get my ass in gear.

The Great Tattoo Adventure, Part 2

   This morning, I got up and made the coffee. Shortly after it was ready, Hubs got up as well. Today we travel to Kingston to get his tattoo finished. He wants to leave early, as he wants to go to Walmart first. We need a new DVD player for the living room.

   We start out. We get to the corner, where he remembers he needs to bring cash to pay for his tattoo. So, we turn around and he goes back in the house and gets some cash. We start out again. This time we get about half way to Kingston before I remember that I forgot the camera! That's right, a blog post about the tattoo, and no photos! Not really a problem, I can take a photo of is completed tattoo when we get home.

   This time, it took 3 1/2 hours to finish his tattoo. I knitted through most of it, since I forgot the camera. It was all the same as last time, Cookie inking, Hubs grimacing, loud really eclectic music blaring. Seriously, the music they play at Pop's Tattoo Emporium is definitely a strange mix. You got some really heavy rock, some rap, some 50's rockabilly, and some other genre's in there that I can't even identify. It makes for interesting listening.

   When we finally get home, i get out my laptop, and fire it up. I remember I want to take a photo of his tattoo, so I grab the camera from near the front door, where I put it so I wouldn't forget it, and head into the bedroom. He won't let me take a photo!
"You can get it later!" he says. I point out that I will be writing my blog now, not later. Oh well, so all my readers won't to see the finished tattoo until next time. Sorry!

In Which I Might Be Away For A While...

   Yesterday, before he went to work, Hubs and I had one of our rare arguments. I don't want to call it a fight, but it was more than a mere argument. He thinks I spend entirely too much time on the laptop he bought me for Mothers Day. In fact, he even said he wishes he never bought the thing.

   So after he left for work,  I closed up the laptop, and put it away. I put away the tray table that has been sitting next to the couch for 7 months. I put away some of my knitting stuff too. I put away my body butters and hand lotions. In my defense, I use them every day, why should I have to get up, go get them, bring them to the couch, use them, then go put them back? That just seems like a big waste of energy. So I kept them near me, like my medicine and the box of tissues.

   Today, we had our Thanksgiving dinner, just the two of us. He wasn't angry at me any more. He went hunting this morning, and didn't see anything.  I made a nice turkey breast, and all the fixin's. Now, after dinner, he's getting really sleepy. He's been up for more than 24 hours, since he worked all night last night, and stayed up all day today. I figured it was safe enough for me to get out my laptop and at least post on my blog, to let you all know what's going on.

   For a while, my internet life may be impacted. I may not be able to blog as often as I have been. My twitter and facebook friends may miss me. My Farmville friends surely will! Hopefully things can get back to normal at some point.

   So if I don't hear from you, or you don't hear from me, have a Merry Christmas!

  

"I Told You So!" Sweater Update

   See, I told you!  I said right here in this blog that the sweater I was going to make for my granddaughter was going to kick my ass. And it is!  It started right at the beginning.
  
   This pattern is different, I may have mentioned, than any other I've used. It took me quite a while to get the measurement of the back piece right. Which means doing a few rows, and if it's not right, frogging it and starting over. So I finally got it right. I finished the back piece, no problem.

   Then it took me, literally, over an hour to get the right number of chain stitches for the first front piece. I did finally get it, and finished that piece too. The second front was easier, since I knew how many stitches it would take. I just had to figure out if the chain was loose or tight. Turns out it was tight. So the two fronts are exactly the same. I'm getting there!
    When I start the sleeve, I notice that it's only an 8 inch circumference. The arm holes in the other pieces added up to over 12 inches. So what did I do wrong? I text messaged my friend, and she suggested I email the designer, so I did. It just seemed improbable that the sleeve would stretch that much. I know, I tried to stretch it, it wouldn't go that big.
   Laying in bed this morning, I started thinking about it. I couldn't get back to sleep because I was thinking. I decided that the three pieces I had finished were too long, from the armpit up to the shoulder. If I take off about 2 inches from the top of each shoulder, the sleeves will fit. So when I got up, that's what I did.

   Then I read the response from the designer. She said that the sleeves will stretch to fit the armhole. Maybe they would if I had used the recommended yarn for the project. But the yarn I am using is a worsted weight cotton, not a sock yarn. So I think I'm going to stick with my original decision, since my granddaughter is on the tiny side, and I thought the sweater looked too long from the shoulder anyway.

   Here are the photos I took yesterday, before I frogged the 2 inches. Don't you agree it looks too long in the shoulder/neckline area?

   So now I think I'm on the right track, and I'm back to work on the first sleeve. In my next update, I will include new photos taken after the "adjustments". 

   All in all, I do recommend this sweater pattern. It's the Autumn Cardigan by Lisa van Klaveren, of www.hollanddesigns.etsy.com.  It does crochet up quickly. I can't wait to see it all finished, with the cute buttons and everything.

Ghosts of Thanksgivings Past

   As I sit here this morning, drinking my coffee, my thoughts turn to past Thanksgivings that maybe didn't turn out the way it was planned. I could only think of two instances, but thought that maybe they were worth sharing.

   When I was a kid, I don't remember how old I was, my parents, my brother, and myself set out to my aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving dinner. They had a big house, and with five kids, it was always loud and busy and fun. Their house wasn't too far away, maybe just over an hour in the car.

    We finally arrive at their house. When you're a kid, all car trips seem to take forever! The house seems very quiet. We walk up to the front door, and knock. No one comes to the door. But it's unlocked, so in we go. There is no one home!  There's no turkey in the oven, no side dishes cooking on the stove, no kids playing, nothing.

   So there are my parents, realizing that auntie and uncle have forgotten they were coming, and they've gone off to someone else's house for dinner. Since mom was planning on dinner here, there's no dinner fixin's at home. So mom and dad decide to see what's in the cupboards to feed their hungry children. I believe they found some hot dogs and beans. So that's what we had for our Thanksgiving dinner that year. It was most memorable!

   The other story, oddly enough, finds my parents, myself and my young daughter heading to the same aunt and uncle's house for yet another Thanksgiving dinner! By this time, Sara and I were living in Hyde Park, and mom and dad stopped to pick us up on the way. That day, it was raining, and it was cold. We left my apartment, and the roads were just starting to get icy. The further north we drove, the worse the road conditions got. After a little while, dad decided to turn around, not wanting to risk our lives.

   So, we headed back to my apartment, disappointed once again. But at least it was the weather that ruined Thanksgiving this time. They stopped at a convenience store and got me some frozen fried chicken to have for dinner. It was the closest thing to turkey that they had in the store.



    I know that I am not the only one with these kinds of stories. Feel free to share some of your own with me!

How I Spent My Thanksgiving Holiday

   I had wanted to spend the day all by myself. It didn't end up that way. My good friend Bonny usually travels to Indiana with her whole family, to spend the holiday with other members of her Hubs' very large family. They go every year, and I believe they are gone 4 or 5 days. Well, this year, Bonny and her daughter Samantha didn't get to go, they both have to work on Black Friday.

   Poor Bonny is not used to being alone! After I tucked my Hubs in for the day, and after I drank my coffee, I packed up my crocheting project and headed over to Bonny's house. We sat, and crocheted, and watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade, then the Dog Show. It was a good time, and kept me from brooding.

   When I got home from Bonny's, my Hubs was already awake! So I made him coffee, and we hung out until he went to work.  As he was leaving, I mentioned that I was expected at my other good friend, Kim's house! He urged me to go, so I did. We got to hang out and watch some kids shows. Then she cooked for the three of us! She makes a mean frozen pizza, let me tell you!  She and her mom, and her daughter the Cherub will be having their big turkey dinner tomorrow.

   So I didn't get to have my turkey pot pie tonight. I will probably have it for lunch tomorrow. I also have to remember to take our turkey out of the freezer tomorrow, so it will be thawed to cook on Sunday.  It was good to spend the day with people I care about.

   The fact that I got so much work done on my granddaughter's sweater was a bonus! I finished the back, but had trouble getting the right number of stitches for the first front. After about an hour, It finally worked out. So I can work hard at that now. Hopefully, I won't have that much trouble starting the second front! I also have to go through my stash more thoroughly, I don't think I have enough of the yarn out. I need to find more. The back took nearly a whole skein, and I only have two more skeins out.

   All in all, it was a good day, Tater.

Tomorrow Is Thanksgiving!

   Well, here we are. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. This year I have lots to be thankful for, just like every other year. But this year is different. This year I am not attending a big, multi-generational Thanksgiving dinner. My immediate family will all be in different places, and I am OK with that.

  My beloved daughter will be with her Hubby's family, and hopefully she will take her Grandmother too. My oldest son will be snug in his home with his lovely wife and their two little ones. My youngest son is spending this holiday with his girlfriend at her family's giant multi-generational dinner. As for Hubs and myself, he has to work, so during the day he will be sleeping, and after he goes to work, I shall go visit a girlfriend for a while.

   We have decided to have our Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, after his work week is over. That's when we will cook our turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, etc. The pressure of the big family dinner will be off, it'll be just Hubs and myself. However, for dinner tomorrow night, I did purchase a nice turkey pot pie to eat, with a single serving peach pie for dessert.

   I can't help thinking of my mother-in-law. Last year at this time, we had our last Thanksgiving dinner together. I made a nice ham with all the fixin's. And those who didn't come to dinner, came afterwards for dessert. We didn't want to overwhelm her with company. Eight days later, she passed. I am still sad, I miss her a lot.

   So this year, I need to take the day off, and withdraw from people. Maybe next year, I can get back into the swing of things. I think it's going to be a rough holiday season, maybe rougher than last years.

Oopsie, I Forgot Some Details

   Just after I posted the last post, I realized that I hadn't told you about my decision to change the yarn I used for the sweater!  I started the swatch, as I described earlier, and after doing just two rows, I realized I could not possibly do an entire sweater in this thin thin yarn with the super tiny tiny hook. So I rethought it.

   I really didn't want to spend more money (read - my Hubs' money) on yarn. I decided to look through my acrylic stash and if there was enough of any one yarn, I would use that. Hopefully it would be in a color that was acceptable, which was purple, pink or blue. Lucky me, I found that I had more than enough of Lion Brand Cotton Ease, in purple! I remember I had bought it to make a top for myself, and it's still a UFO. (Un Finished Object) This yarn is plenty soft enough for a child's sweater, and it's machine washable and dryable. Huzzah, I think we have a winner!

   I also reckoned I would have to use a larger hook, since the F hook was way too tiny for me. I upgraded to the G size hook. It shouldn't matter that much to the pattern since it doesn't say "make a chain of X number of stitches",  but rather, "make a chain of X number of inches", so no matter what size hook I use, or yarn weight I use, it should work, right? Just say "Yes, Kim, it should work."  Because I won't listen if you say no anyway. I can and will make this work.

   So now, I think you are all up to date. I don't think I've left anything else out. If I find that I have, I will just have to post again!

Sweater Progress, Collection Update

   As soon as I posted on Twitter that the sweater was going well, I knew there would be repercussions. And I was right. There I was, happily crocheting along, when I decided to measure the width of the sweater back I was working on. It is supposed to be 12 inches wide. I was pretty sure I was close. As it turns out, it was over 13 inches wide!

   I cursed a little, then thought about taking the extra width into account when I seamed the pieces together. Nope, that would make the seams way too thick. That leaves frogging. I frogged the entire 6 inches I had crocheted so far, all the way back to the starting chain. Then I had trouble counting that, so I ended up pulling that out too.

   I re-did the starting chain, making it four chains shorter, to account for that extra inch. I did the first row, and measured it. Now the fracking thing was only 10 inches!!  Again, I frogged, and went back to the original stitch count. Again, I did the first row, and measured. Now it was 11 inches! The same number of stitches was a whole inch shorter. I hoped it would stretch out a little as I progressed.

   Two rows later, I measured again. Now it was almost exactly 12 inches. How does that make any kind of sense? The first time, I measured the starting chain, and it was 12 inches. I didn't take into account the improbable fact that when you crochet into the starting chain it seems to stretch it a bit. Either way, it seems to be OK now.

   I took a couple of photos before I measured the first time. Here is how the sweater back looked then:

   And I took a close up of the stitch pattern, it's really textural and different.

   It's one sc, then one dc, repeated across the row, and the next row, you sc in the dc's and dc in the sc's.  It makes for a very interesting fabric with no right side or wrong side. I can't wait to get more pieces done!

   As I told you in the Collections post, I went into the den and looked around. It turns out I had forgotten a collection. It's not my fault, it's not really my collection. When my mom sold her house and moved into an apartment, she tried to downsize her belongings. I, therefore, inheirited her antique salt dish collection. In the old days, everyone at the dinner table had their own little dish of salt. People now collect these little dishes. They come in all colors, and they are pretty. One of these days, I will photograph them individually, so I can post them and you can see them.

   And for those of you wondering, I have a set of wooden tray tables that my mom painted on. I am currently using the checkerboard one for my laptop, and I use it for the background when I photograph some of my work. I think I will switch out the tray table, the other ones are really lovely.

   That's all for now. Wish me luck, and let's all hope I don't piss off the Yarn Goddess again by bragging. I really should know better.

Sock Yarn for Sweater, and Dentist Adventure

  Friday evening, as I was eating my dinner, my temporary crown came out. No biggie, I cleaned it off and put it back in, per the dentists instructions. He had also told me to call right away, so it can be cemented back in place. Being Friday night, I had to wait until today.

  So first thing this morning, I called the dentists office, and they told me to come in at 1:30. I had time to spend with Bonny, and go yarn shopping, yay! Off we go to Michaels craft store, where I'm pretty sure I will find just the acrylic sock yarn I need for Granddaughters adorable sweater.

   I did finally settle on some Lion Brand Sock Ease, in purple. I already have some in my stash, so I didn't need to buy 3, just 2. Afterwards, I go back to Bonny's with her and we set to making a necklace with the stuff she bought. She wanted a Christmasy necklace to wear to work on Black Friday.

   When I left her house, I still had an hour until I was to go to the dentist. I got home in time to spend a little time with Hubs before he went off hunting, and I helped him pull out parts the parts of the pool cover that had fallen into the pool. Happens every year. After he left, I was hungry, so I made myself a sandwich. Just when I finished eating it, I looked at the clock and it was just past 2 pm. Schreech! I jumped up, put my boots back on, and ran out to the Jeep. Thank goodness the dentists office is pretty close to my house.

   They were still able to fit me in. I told them I lost track of the time (true), was having lunch(also true) with friends(not true) when I remembered about my appointment. So I only had to wait a few minutes, got my temporary crown cemented back in place, and headed home. I got back here at 2:35. It's gotta be one of the fastest dentist visits on record.

   Since I wasn't too happy about the not-softness of the yarn for Chloe's sweater, I decided to crochet up a swatch and throw it in the washer and dryer to see how it softens up. There I was crocheting this thin thin yarn with a tiny tiny hook. I was not happy. I have decided to rethink the yarn and hook used for the sweater. I could make it in heavier yarn with a bigger hook, and I would be much happier. I am going to look through my current stash to see if I have enough of any one yarn. And this is my day, so far. Yippee skippee!

   I had made beef barley soup for diner last night. A whole big pot. I was planning on eating the rest for dinner tonight. Hubs informed me that there wasn't enough for dinner for the three of us. So I will make Venison chili. I have all the fixin's in the pantry. That's always good, and The Son will eat it too. I just hope The Girlfriend will eat it. Some people freak when they hear "Venison", and won't eat it.

    I guess we will just have to see.....

In Which I Try Something New!

   The other day, I was looking at knitting patterns on one of those free pattern sites. I was specifically looking at felted items. I have made a few felted bags in my time, so I was looking to see if there was anything new.

   I saw some bag patterns I liked, but I am not a fan of double pointed needles, especially to start a project with. Nothing but disaster for me. So I thought about it, and thought about it some more. I think I have some up with an idea.

   I decided to crochet a circle for the bottom of the bag, then pick up and knit around the circle for the rest of it!  I have some black and grey Patons wool that I bought last winter to make slippers, but never did. I started with the black, and made a crocheted circle. I didn't measure it, but it's at least 13 or 14 inches across. I used a K size (6.5 mm) hook, and plan to use a size 10 1/2(6.5 mm) circular needle, 32 inches long.

  When it was big enough for me, I slipped the last loop on the hook onto the needle, and then went around the circle picking up stitches. When I got them all, I started knitting! I am doing this all off the cuff, so who knows how it will turn out? I plan on knitting the bag at least 18 inches long. I will probably put a big fat grey stripe in it at some point.

   I am not sure yet how I will handle the handle (pun intended). Maybe I will bind off all but 8 stitches or so, then do an I-cord to attach at the other side? I can't wait to see it once it's all felted.

  This is the first time I've used my own idea. I like that it's combined crochet and knitting. The crochet bottom will be sturdier than the knit body, since crochet makes a heavier fabric. We will have to see how it comes out. I will take pictures, before felting and after, and post them in the future.

Stitch N Bitch Report

  Yesterday morning, our little Stitch n Bitch group met for breakfast, knitting and crocheting.  After all had our food had been eaten, we got down to business. I was working on a rectangle shawl, as the striped one is getting too big for KIP. Jan, very bravely I think, brought the very beginning of a new lace shawl she had just started. I think she only had the cast on done. I saw the pattern for this, and it looks REALLY intense and very lacy.

   I would never bring a brand new complicated project to group, especially if it has, like, over 300 stitches to start with! But she is an expert knitter, and nothing phases her. Our resident full time crocheter, Bonny, was working on an amigurumi style triceratops dinosaur for her grandson for Christmas. It was very cute!

   Our fearless leader, the other Kim, stopped by to re-stock her yarn in the cafe. She is AtKnitsEndYarns, she has an Etsy shop, and also sells her yarn at Cranberry's. She had texted me early in the morning to let me know she wouldn't be able to make the get-together, since her daughter was sick.  She stayed until her take out order was ready. All in all, we had some lively conversation, good food, and fun crafting!

   Hopefully, next time more of our members can make it. A few, we haven't seen in months. One member at least let me know she couldn't make it, she was going to New York City with her grandson. We hope they had a great time! As for me, I stay away from the City. But that's my personal preference.

   Until next time, Happy Crafting!!  

About My Collections

   I admit it, I am a collector. Thank goodness my Hubs doesn't mind too much. Aside from the yarn stashes in two houses, I collect books. I have always been an avid reader since I was a child. My parents encouraged us to read, since they were both teachers and knew how important it was. 

   I have a room in my house that is full of book cases (it's a small room).  And all the book cases are full, if not over full. Mostly with books, but also with some of my other collections.  On one shelf, I have my gavels. I got them on EBay. I have no idea what attracted me to them, but I have more than a few. I have two favorite ones, one is made of lucite, so it's clear, and the other is made from ebony. It's a beautiful black wood. I have one that is hand painted with flowers and was used by a woman judge.

   On another shelf are my hedgehogs. I love hedgehogs! I have stuffed ones, a puppet, and more than a few little statuettes. They are so cute, I actually wanted one as a pet for a long time. But they require much work, and I am more of a laid back pet owner. Too much work for me, so no pet hedgehog.

   Then there are my beanie babies. I have a huge number of them, but only the bears are displayed. I love all the beanie baby bears! I also have a small collection of realistic looking stuffed rabbits. I love them, they are so soft. They are so realistic, my Hubs once took one and used it for bait when he and his friends were hunting coyotes! My rabbit was returned unharmed. He only told me about it afterwards.

   But I have to say that my favorite and biggest collection is my sand collection. Yes, SAND. When my friends travel, I ask them to bring me back some sand from wherever they are vacationing. I have sand from all over the world! I keep it in small clear jars, each one labeled as to where it's from.

   I have a pretty good sized collection of tarot cards, as well. But they aren't displayed on a shelf, they are in a dresser drawer. Don't ask me why, that's just where they ended up. There are all kinds of designs of tarot cards, different artists conceptions of them, etc. They are so beautiful, I'd love the lay each deck out and hang them in frames. A long time ago, I used to read the cards for my friends, but always did it with the book of meanings in my hand, because I couldn't possibly memorize all of the meanings of all of the cards!

   I think that's all of my collections. If I go in the den and look and see a collection I missed, I will have to do another post about it. I do feel it's necessary to state that all the displayed collections are in front of at least one row of books. In the case of paperbacks, they are stacked two books high, and sometimes two books deep. Most of my books on the shelves are two books deep. I think it's time for more shelving units, but Hubs isn't buying it. He votes for getting rid of some books. GASP!! Not gonna happen.

   Anyway, until next time!  Happy crafting!

One Down, Many To Go!

   Last night, I started making a hat for my son. Now, I know I said that I would need to finish a few things before I start something new, but I felt it calling to me. You know that feeling, right? Well, today, I finished it. I'm getting pretty good at this really simple hat pattern from Elizabeth Zimmermann. This is the 5th one I've made? Let's see, 2 pink ones, for practice, the cranberry colored one to match my sweater, the brown one to match my other sweater, the black one I just made for Hubs, and now this grey one.

   The other evening, I decided to break down and order the pattern download from Annie's Attic, for the adorable little sweater for my granddaughter. I don't have the yarn in my stash for it, so this means a trip to the yarn store. I haven't gone yet, surprise, suprise. This little sweater is going to kick my ass, I just know it. It's crocheted, and made with sock yarn. It also uses a size F crochet hook. I hate using anything smaller than a J. In fact, my favorite hook is the N.

   It's been a while since I crocheted, but the last time I did, I made 4 afghans in about 3 weeks. I haven't mailed them to Texas yet, either! As soon as I find enough loose change to pay for the postage, I will mail it. Those suckers are heavy! I still plan to put them in the Space Bag Cube, and suck the air out to make the package small enough to fit into a box.

   I am currently working on the striped shawl, getting down to the end very soon. I'm thinking maybe a few rows of garter stitch to finish it off. In fact, after my confession of all the WIP I have, I forgot one! I still haven't finished the cranberry sweater! And every time I look in one of my various bags that are scattered around the house, I find at least one more unfinished project.

   One of the yarns I have some across recently is the Sugar n Creme, the nice cotton that I used to make shopping bags with. It turns out I don't like those shopping bags, and rarely use them. I prefer the cloth ones. So I have all this yarn, and I'm thinking I need to borrow a friends pattern book of wash cloths and dish cloths, and make up a bunch for holiday gifts. Like I need more pressure! At least the current WIP can be put aside and finished after the holidays, since none of them are for gifting.

   I just realized yesterday that Thanksgiving is next week!! Where did all the time go? I don't even know what I'm doing for Turkey Day, since Hubs has to work. I told my son to go to his girlfriends house with her family, and told my mom to go with my daughter to her husbands family. That leaves me all alone, and I don't mind. I could always make a Swanson Turkey TV dinner or something. Just kidding, I'm going to buy a smaller turkey and cook it, and Hubs and I will eat it over the weekend after his work week is finished.

   I will let you know next week what I end up doing. I'm sure it'll be a fun time, no matter what I do.

Childhood Memories of Lake Peekskill

   In 1969, the summer I turned 13, my parents bought their first house. Up until that time, we had lived in rented houses. I never knew the difference. We had been living on a small lake, and I loved it. I learned to swim when I was little, and my brother loved to catch fish there. In the Winter, we had the whole lake to ice skate on.

   We lived in a community that surrounded the lake, and I never thought it strange that many of the houses were only occupied in the Summer. People from the metro New York City area bought these summer homes on our little lake.  It was within easy commuting distance, I guess.

   We had direct lake access, as well as private beach access. There were three beaches on the lake, and the one we used was for residents only. You got a pass every year.  Many of our neighbors had row boats, or canoes. I can remember borrowing our next door neighbors canoe and paddling all over the lake.

   I can remember going to swimming lessons at the beach, in the Summer,  very early in the morning. One morning, because it was cold, mom made us corn on the cob to eat as we walked to the beach, to keep us warm.

   The house we lived in had a huge yard, that sloped down a gentle hill right to the lake. There was a cement dock there, great for diving, jumping, and fishing off of. My parents actually rented the bottom floor of this house, the owners lived upstairs at street level. We walked down a flight of stairs to get to our apartment. But we were on the same level as the yard!

   It was a great little community to grow up in. There were always neighbors who watched out for you, and you knew you had to go home before it got dark. If your mom had to call your friends house to have you sent home, you were in trouble.

   All these memories, and many more, came flooding back to me today. As I was putting some stuff away in the hall closet, I found my rock. Remember the first sentence? Well, in 1969, when we moved to Wappingers Falls, that first day I rode my bike around the development. I found that rock on that trip around the circle that was Robert Lane.  I brought it home, and I've had it ever since. All these years, the rock has sat by every front door, in every place I've lived.  It's a good size rock, and all smooth and pretty. At some point, my mom painted flowers on it. 

   Today, after I found it, I took a few photos of the rock. When I started writing this post today, I intended to write about living in Wappingers, and going forward from there. Somehow I started with the move, and went backwards! But it's all good.

    Every Summer, when we take the top down on my Jeep, I think about taking a little road trip back to Lake Peekskill. I wanted my kids to see where I grew up. And I wanted to see it again too. Summer would be the ideal time to go, and with the top down on the Jeep, it would be perfect.

   I am going to think some more about Lake Peekskill, and write down some key words to jog my memory, so another time I can post more. If you like my memories,a nd want to hear more, please feel free to comment!

    Thanks for listening!

My Craft Report and WIP Update

   Today I actually feel better, so I am able to knit. Here are photos of what I am currently working on! This first one is the hat I made for Hubs, I finished it the other night! The styrofoam head is much smaller than Hubs' head.

 
   Next is the ribbed scarf:

 
Then the first of four (yes, 4!) shawls I currently have on the needles:

   
   And the second shawl:

     And the third shawl:

  And finally, the fourth shawl. This is the one I have stopped working on, I may continue later, after frogging out the new section. I'm considering continuing the original section for the whole thing, and changing colors as I go. We'll see.

   And that wraps up my WIP projects. I have plans for a few more projects rolling around in my head, but I know I have to finish some of these current projects first. What are the ideas, you ask? I want to make a scarf for Julie, possibly a hat for Jesse, and gifts for my grandbabies. A sweater for Chloe, and something for Mason, I just haven't decided exactly what yet.

A Love Story

    It was early Summer of 1988, and I had a roommate. The one I wrote about in an earlier post. I was so broke, I needed her to help pay the rent. Anyway, I was friends with a girl named Sheila. She invited me to a party at her house; it was a kind of birthday party for her husband Paul, and everyone else who was born in the summer.

    It sounded like fun, so I went, and took my 11 year old daughter with me. We did almost everything together. We had a really good time at this party! There was a band, and everything. Lots of great food, and they had a pool, and a hot tub. There were lots of people there. Sara didn't even mind that there weren't many kids there.

   During the course of the afternoon, I had been noticing this really good looking young man. He seemed to be wherever I was. When I went in the hot tub, in my very revealing bathing suit, it wasn't long until I saw that he was nearby. When Sara and I went inside to get some food, there he was, shortly after us. When we sat to listen to the band, darned if I didn't spot him nearby.

   As it got dark, I needed to get my daughter home, so we left the party. A few days later, I got a call from Sheila. She told me that a guy at the party, named Mike, wanted to meet me, so we set up a double date. We were going to go out to a comedy show and dinner with Paul and Sheila, and see how it went.

   That week dragged! Finally, it was Saturday. Mike came to my apartment to pick me up. He was really cute! He had dark curly hair, and big blue eyes. And he wasn't skinny! He had been a football player in high school, and still had the build. Yum.

   We went to the comedy club, and went to dinner. I don't even remember what we ate that night. But in a parking lot just down from the restaurant,  was one of those traveling carnivals. After dinner, we said goodnight to Paul and Sheila, and Mike and I went to the carnival. We walked through the whole thing once, then went back to the car. He was so thoughtful, he actually had a bottle of Champagne chilling in the trunk of the car! He brought it out and opened it. Unfortunately, he had forgotten glasses. So we drank it out of the bottle.

   We spent hours there, sitting on the hood of the car, in that parking lot, just talking. It was the most amazing first date I had ever had. At one point we realized that the carnival had shut down for the night. We hadn't even noticed. I knew that this man was someone very special. I think I finally got home around 3 or 4 a.m.

   The next day, he came to my door, with a dozen roses. We spent the next 4 months together every day. He even slept at my apartment most of the time, much to my roommates chagrin. Then my brothers wedding rolled around. He agreed to take me, though it made him nervous. He got to meet my tiny Italian Grandmother, and all the rest of my family. We danced, and had a good time. That was September.

   By that time, we had developed a routine. We would go to his house, where he lived with his mom and step dad, every Sunday, and he would cook me dinner. Then I would lay down and take a nap, since I had to work that night. It worked for us. All that changed once October rolled around.

   As you may have guessed by now, in October he asked me to marry him. Of course, I said yes. I couldn't imagine my life without him. Even my daughter, at 11, knew he was making me very happy. So we pulled out all the stops and got married two months later, one week before Christmas eve. It was a very simple wedding, as weddings go. All that mattered was that I was marrying a man that I loved and respected. And he loved me too. I never thought I would have this kind of love.

   With one failed marriage behind me, I wasn't looking for another relationship. It totally caught me by surprise. I know it did him too. He had been in a long term relationship that had ended badly.  We both fought this tooth and nail. But in the end, love won, and we became Husband and Wife.

   To this day I go around asking people how long they knew each other before they got married. For us, it was 6 months. And what a great 6 months it was!  We are still happy together, and will celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary this December.

   Sometimes you need to wait for the right person. I truly believe that there is a soul mate for every person. I found mine.

Better Luck Tomorrow!

   Here it is, the time of day when I usually post. Today I have nothing. Yesterday, I woke up and knew that I would tell you all the story of my two stashes. Most days, I know pretty early what I will write about. Not today.

   Nothing exciting, or out of the ordinary, happened to me today, in fact it's been a pretty boring day. I knitted a little, a few rows, on my simple shawl. I haven't been feeling too good these last few days, but still managed to come up with something to write about. Some days, I have so much to tell you that I post twice!

   Does this mean I'm running out of stories? Nope, I'm not. There just isn't a story that's ready and waiting to be told. My mind is all over the place today. I have thought about sharing a story about my hairdresser. It's pretty funny, but I'm not feeling it. There are more stories about my former friend and ex-roommate, but I'm not feeling them either.

   So I will just sit here and watch The Muppet Christmas Carol. I've got dinner in the oven, and will finish off Hubs' pot of work coffee. Let's all hope that something will come to me tomorrow.

The Tale of Two Stashes

   Once upon a time, there was a crafty woman who had a large yarn stash. It was totally unorganized, and spread over several rooms in her little house. She was quite happy with this arrangement, and her beloved husband didn't complain, much.

   One day, the couple decided to refinance their mortgage. Who knew what a can of worms this would bring to their happy home? They had refinanced once before, and the bank only wanted to view their house from the outside. This time, however, the evil Queen was running the show at the bank. And so it came to pass that the bank wanted to see inside their happy home. Panic ensued, and the husband told the crafty wife that her stash must go!

   He told her to take it to her friends house, temporarily. So she put all her beloved yarns into big heavy bags, and packed up her Jeep with her stash. She made the long trek across the main road of their little town, to her friends house. This friend, Bonny, had generously agreed to house the stash in her craft room. Imagine! Bonny has a whole room in her house dedicated to crafts!

   So Bonny made room in the craft room for her friends beloved stash. The inspection came and went, and the stash stayed there. To this day, the stash is still there! When the crafty woman re-organized the part of her stash that was still at home, she put all the current yarn into Ziploc Flexible Totes. She even bought extra ones for the part of the stash remaining at Bonny's house. She and Bonny not only put the stash into the totes, they organized it by color! Darks in one tote, and lights in the other tote.

   So the stash is still at Bonny's house. The stash that remains at home has grown. There are now three of those totes, full of yarn, as well as more bags and boxes that never got sorted or organized. Someone needs to explain to the crafty woman how yarn can multiply all on its own.

   When the happy couple moved to Fishkill for the winter, last year, of course some of the home stash went too. And in Fishkill it multiplied too! Of course, there was a LYS (local yarn store) nearby. However, the stash managed to make it all the way home, intact.

   So, sometimes the crafty woman goes to visit her friend, and her yarn stash. So far, Bonny's husband hasn't complained about the extra yarn.


                                                            THE END

In Which I Go Back To Knitting Something Simple

   Due to the absolute insanity the lace shawl was giving me, I have brought out my simple shawl to work on to soothe my shattered ego. Remember, this one?

   This is an old picture, progress has been made since this was taken. I really needed a break from lace. That stupid lace pattern really messed with me. My friend tells me to watch out for pattern errata, and I have checked for corrections on the Knit Picks web site. There are none listed. She says she will fix it for me, but I am about ready to give up on it. Maybe ask someone to do it for me?

   In the meantime, I will soothe myself with the simple stockinette stitch, increases every right side row. Aaahhh, that feels better already. The stress is leaving my body.
Perhaps I am not really ready for something more complex, as my knitter friends keep telling me.  Anyway, time to catch up on my knitting. Catch you on the flip side!

Temptation Rears It's Ugly, Ugly Head

   Let me start by saying that I have been up since 4:15 this morning. The mighty hunter's alarm went off, and he hit the snooze button. When the alarm went off a second time, he rolled over and told me he was going to sleep in this morning. That's all well and good, but I was unable to go back to sleep.

   I gave up trying at 5:30. I got up, came out to the living room, and turned on the TV, and the coffee maker. I had set it up last night for the mighty hunter. The time passed slowly until it was time to go to breakfast with my friend Kim. We had a great time together, as always, and she asked me to go with her to a LYS (local yarn store). This is where the temptation part comes in.

   This place had lots and lots of yummylicious yarn. It was very depressing for me, as I have no income, and can't spend any money on yarny goodness. However, I was able to watch Kim as she picked out all kinds of luscious yarns. She will be using them for holiday gift knitting. At least I got to fondle and sniff the yarns.

   I have always said, I can resist anything but temptation. And chocolate. And now that it's late in the afternoon, I am really tired. I recently shoved the mighty hunter out the door for an afternoon hunt. So maybe I can take a nap. What do you think? 

The Great Tattoo Adventure

   Yesterday, I went with Hubs to his tattoo appointment.  He had been given a gift certificate for his birthday, by our daughter and her husband. He had been looking for months for just the right image. He knew he wanted a grim reaper, holding a bow, and sitting on a throne of skulls. My Hubs is an avid bow hunter.

   When we got there, to Pop's Tattoo in Kingston, Cookie had drawn up an awesome picture. Cookie is a friend and band-mate of our son in law. He is also a fantastic tattoo artist! He got right to work, and had done the outline in just a couple of hours. I should mention that this tattoo is kind of big, takes up the whole upper arm on Hubs. Then Cookie started the filling in. That is where the artistry really shows!

  
    While there, I took some photos. Here's one of the shop.

Here's one of Cookie, at work on Hubs' arm.

Here is a photo of the outline:

                       And here's the progress so far. Hubs had to make another appointment to have it finished.

Isn't it amazing, how the robe is all drapey? I love it! As I sat there, watching, I realized I am really jealous, as I am now the only person in my family that doesn't have Cookies ink in my skin! My son in law came with the ink, my son has two of Cookies tattoos, even my daughter has a tattoo now! And now Hubs. I need another tattoo, done by Cookie! Until then I will not be happy. Maybe for Christmas? I hope so!

WIP Update, Look What I found!

   Yesterday, as I was searching for the missing gift certificate, I came across some WIPs that I had forgotten about! The scarf, I talked about yesterday. Here's a photo of that one! It's so soft!

   And today, I was getting out my swift to wind another ball of the Coco Malibrigo, and behind it was another bag. Being always curious, and ready to discover more treasures, I pulled out the bag and opened it. Inside was another WIP, a shawl I had started last winter, while we were in Fishkill. It's pretty big, so I have added it to my to-do list.  Here is a photo of the shawl, so far!

   It's made with Patons Lace yarn, And it's so light and lovely! And finally, I have a photo here of the progress on my bornday shawl. I have encountered a problem, so I have to wait until tomorrow evening, when I see my knitting expert, to sort it out.

    The problem lies between the two stitch markers on the furthest right of the photo. Between all the other markers, there are 17 stitches, between those two, there are 18. I have looked it over carefully, and think I can see where the problem is, but I can't figure out exactly WHAT the problem is! I can't really explain it, but after doing the wrong side purl row, and looking at the right side, there are no two stitches alike that are next to each other,  which would indicate a missed stitch somewhere. And since this is the set up row for a new stitch pattern, I can't look at it and see what doesn't line up. Does that make any sense?

   Anyway, I have to go make coffee for hubs now. We are going to Kingston today, for the outline of his new tattoo. I will be taking the found shawl with me to work on. Until tomorrow!

Treasures In My Yarn Stash!

   For the last few days, Hubs and I have been searching our house for a lost gift certificate. He's going to use it tomorrow, so the pressure was on. I told him to leave me alone, and let me think. I need to get into the frame of mind I was in at the time we last laid eyes on it.

   We were still in Fishkill, packing things up to come home. Where would I put an important item such as this? In a flash of genius, I realized! The gift certificate is in my yarn stash! I remember putting all sorts of important things in there, to keep them safe.

  What's really unfortunate about all this, is that I was the one who had possession of said gift certificate! Usually, I make Hubs take care of his own stuff. I believe I have now learned my lesson. So I searched through my three giant soft bins of yarn. I was able to immediately dismiss the first two, since they were on top. It was the bottom one I was interested in. I opened the zipper, and there, before my eyes, was four skeins of beautiful Malabrigo I had forgotten about! How does that happen? Who forgets they have Malabrigo?

   I also re-discovered a partially done scarf, in 2 X 2 ribbing, also of Malabrigo, a beautiful chocolate brown. In fact, the colorway is Coco! I pulled that WIP out of the stash bin, as well as another skein to finish the scarf.  Since my current shawl project is stalled, and in limbo, I can work on the scarf! (I have one too many stitches in between two stitch markers, all the others have 17, this one has 18!)

   It was heavenly, to run my hands through all that softness of yarn! What unimaginable treasures I found in that bin! Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, I also found the gift certificate!

   If you leave me a comment to remind me, someday I would like to tell you about my yarn stash that stretches to two, yes TWO, houses! It was actually three when we lived in Fishkill, but now it's back to two. How that happened is a story too!

In Which I Make "Stroke" For DInner

   Yes, today I am making Stroke for dinner. For those of you who haven't heard of it, let me explain. My mother-in-law, used to make this tomato based chicken soup for my Hubs all his life. It was just the two of them for many years. When we were dating, she made it, and I ate it. It was very good, but no sooner had I eaten it then my fingers started to swell up! There were unimaginable quantities of sodium in there!

   I remarked to my not-yet-Hubs that someone could have a stroke from eating this stuff! And that's what we've called it ever since!  I got her recipe for it, but I don't put any salt in it. In fact, I usually joke that she started the soup with a salt-lick in a pot of water. Over the years, I have modified the recipe. It originally started out with pieces of chicken, complete with bones and skin, being boiled in water. Then you removed the chicken and had to wait for hours while it cooled down. After it cooled, it was shredded. It was lots of work. Today, I start with a combination of chicken stock, in cartons from the store, and water. I purchase raw chicken "fingers" and cut them into tiny pieces.

   When the stock/water is heating up, I add all the herbs and spices, like pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and basil. You could add whatever you want. Then in goes two cans of tomato paste. Stir the soup until the tomato paste is mostly dissolved.

   Once the soup base is hot, put in the chicken pieces. They need to cook for a while, and the longer the soup cooks, the better.  In another pot, cook some pasta. The original recipe calls for Rigatoni, but I prefer the much smaller Ditalini. When the pasta is done, drain it and put it in a big bowl, spoon some soup broth over it to keep it from sticking. Each person then serves as much pasta as they want into their bowl, then adds the tomato/chicken soup. After dinner, if there's any pasta left over,  you can dump it into the soup pot.

   This is my Hubs' favorite meal, and after he had surgery on his stomach, he craved it badly. I made some for him, using tiny pastina, so he could digest it easily.  Today, he is out hunting, and by the time he gets home, it will be ready. He will be chilled through, and the soup will warm him up. And that's what love is, right? Cooking yor spouses favorite childhood meal for him, but better than mom made!

In Which I Find Lost Valuables!

    As you may remember, Hubs and I lived in Fishkill over the winter last year. Of course, we took all our favorite things with us. We were there longer than Hubs wanted to be, but we did what was necessary.

   When we were able to come home this past May, I ended up putting all my belongings into cloth shopping bags, and packing them into the Jeep and truck for the trip home. In the excitement of our homecoming, I think I just put bags anywhere I could find room. It turns out that one of my bags got misplaced. Almost immediately, I couldn't find my jewelry.

   For the last 6 months, I have been searching for my jewelry. I keep going to the same bags, over and over again, thinking it will suddenly appear there. And yes, some of my bags are still unpacked! Could someone please explain to me how, when I removed lots of my belongings, there is no room anywhere to put my stuff back? Did the remaining things get jealous while I was gone? They must have gotten bigger, or had children or something. There was no room for the things I took by the time I got them home!

   That is beside the point, but an interesting phenomenon all the same. Perhaps it should be studied by a think tank or something. Anyway, last night, while I was looking in one of Hubs' bags, I moved it, and under it, was the bag with all my missing things in it! My favorite diamond earrings! All my pendants, rings, and earrings! I was ecstatic! In the bag was my favorite body butters that had also been missing. It was a bloody miracle!

    All this time, I hadn't given up hope. I knew they had to be here somewhere! Different thoughts kept running through my head. Maybe Hubs had thrown them away, no realizing what was in the bag? Maybe the bag is still in the truck, or Jeep? I have actually searched them both, more than once, hoping against hope that the missing bag would appear. I hadn't even told Hubs that my jewelry was missing. I didn't want to cause him more stress than he already has.

   So now I am really happy, and my favorite earrings are back where they belong, in my ears! Hubs bought them for me when we were in Portland, Oregon a few years ago. He was sent there for work, for training. He had been to Austin, Texas, the year before, and we discovered that we didn't like being separated for that long. So this time, I went with him. We had a blast in Oregon. I would love to spend more time there. Maybe someday...

   So today, all is right with the world! Now, I better get moving. There's laundry and dishes to do before I can have my knitting time.


  

The Trauma of My First Frogging

   For the first time, I've had to frog a WIP. I knew in my heart that it needed to be done, I knew that there was nothing to be done to fix it. This is my first lace shawl, my first knitted lace ever. One good thing is that I wasn't terrible far along, and another was that I was resigned to the frogging. I was only maybe 15 rows into it, and it starts small, in the center of the top, and gets bigger from there. I hadn't yet gotten to any color changes yet. That would have been worthy of tears!

   So I frogged, and wound the yarn back onto the ball, and took a deep breath, and started again. This time, I got it! I am remembering the YO, K1, YO before the last three stitches at the border.  I have even remarked to Hubs that now that I have this section down, wouldn't the whole shawl look cool done in this stitch? He told me that NO, I wasn't going to cheat, I was going to follow the whole entire pattern. He can be such a killjoy. 

   The rest of the pattern involves all these charts, and I am not a chart reader. I even hate crochet charts! Never use them! If it isn't written in words, I don't want to do it. This shawl pattern is written in words, too, but the words say to follow the chart! AARRGGHH. Guess I'm gonna have to learn to do charts. It's a really good thing I have very good friends who are expert knitters! I have their encouragement and support for this, I would never have wanted to do this shawl on my own.

  Now for the new photo! This I just took a little while ago, and shows my actual, up to the minute progress.

   This kind of makes me giggle, the stitch markers look like googly eyes, and makes the whole thing kind of look like a pink monster! It looked more like a monster when it was a bit smaller.  But I giggle anyway.  It doesn't take much to amuse me. Just getting the stitches in the right order can make me giggle too.
 

My Dental Trauma And Craft Report

   Today I went to the dentist. This may sound mundane, but for most of my life I have purposely avoided that profession. I remember going to one was a child, and have no memory of any horrendous happenings in his office; but nevertheless I somehow developed an unreasonable fear of dentists.
 
   This fear was so pervasive that even when I had severe toothaches, I took painkillers and waited for the pain to go away. As a result, I needed some extensive work done. Hubs has been after me for years to get my teeth taken care of. I finally caved over the summer. The fact that I had a pretty intense abscess in a molar led to my first visit. That in turn led to a root canal in said molar, which in turn led to the promise of fixing all teeth that needed fixing. And now we come to today's visit.

   Let me state up front that I am a gagger. I *hate* having things in my mouth. Having my teeth X-rayed is torture. So this experience has *not* been a good time. This dentist I am currently seeing has very few people skills. He doesn't talk to the patient much. But today, while I was practically upside down, and TOTALLY without warning, he said "Open", and when I did, he stuck a huge tray full of purple goo in my mouth. I gagged, and actually vomited a little in my throat. (sorry) They promptly sat me up straight, but my teeth were chattering, and I was shaking, so he didn't get a very good impression of my teeth. So he shoved another tray of purple goo in my mouth. That one wasn't any good either, so he decided to do each side separately.

   Finally the torturer was satisfied with his results. Now I have two temporary crowns in my mouth, complete with metal posts. Yee-ha. I don't have to go back until next month, but I have to be careful what I eat, because they could come out. All in all, I was very, very glad that I had the forethought to take a Xanax before I left the house today.

   And now for an updated craft report! I have apparently made an error in the bornday shawl, so I have stopped working on it until I can have my expert assess whether it needs to be completely frogged and started over. In the meantime, I have started a hat for my beloved Hubs. Here is the photo of the shawl, as far as I have gotten:

   Notice I have changed to the KnitGlassGuy stitch markers! They are so much better for this project. And here's a photo of Hubs' hat. It is black, and wool. I convinced him that wool will be warm to wear when he's hunting.

   I'm excited that I can work on the hat tomorrow at Stitch n Bitch. And I've prepared myself for the worst, in regards to the shawl. I am ready to frog it and start over, but with my expert's guidance from the start. And breakfast at Cranberry's is really a good time, so it's a win win situation! Look for a Stitch n Bitch report in tomorrows post!

And Now For Something Completely Different

   Today, or perhaps I should say yesterday, I decided to wind the yarn for my bornday shawl kit. I had started girding my loins to try knitting it. After reading through the pattern directions, however, I became totally intimidated again. Thank the wool Goddess for my friend Kim, who finally convinced me that, with her help, I can do it.

   I started it yesterday afternoon. I promptly needed help, as I had not followed the directions  correctly. I took my WIP, hat in hand, to my good knitting buddy, who soon set it all right. Whew! I need to take a more recent photo, but I do have one from before Kim fixed it. The white marker is where I had missed a yarn over.

   Now, it's bigger, but not much. Knitting lace is hard, mostly because of the small needles. I do prefer to work on larger needles. And Those markers for the center stitch? They turned out to be hard to work with, so I've switched to the beautiful markers made by KnitGlassGuy that I got for my bornday.

   I also made a really nice hat from the yarn left over from the sweater, to wear when I wear the sweater! Here's a photo of that, before it was completed.

   On another topic entirely, I remembered something I learned a while ago. Do you know the purpose of eyelashes? Neither did I! But after I lost most of mine, I figured out at least one use for them.  I discovered that when you have eyelashes, and you tear up, the lashes wick them away, so they can run down your cheek. This happened to me, I started crying, and in the eye without lashes, the tears just kind of hung out there, and made my vision blurry. The side that had lashes, the tears were running down my cheek!

   It was one of those TA - DA moments. And since most people have all their lashes, it's not something they ever think about. My eyelashes have grown back since then, but sometimes you learn stuff in the oddest way!

   Another night that I am having trouble sleeping. I don't get it. I thought I was fine, went to bed at 10:30 or so, and the next thing I know, it's 3 a.m. and I'm wide awake. After an hour, I decided to get out of bed, and here I am writing my blog. I am not sure if I should go back to bed, I have a dentist appointment this morning. Ah, the heck with it, I'm gonna try and get some more sleep. Hubs will be getting up in an hour to go to class for work again today. Until next time!

In Which I Discuss A Few Things Of Personal Importance

   I didn't get a chance to write today, and since it's after midnight, technically it's now tomorrow. I was in bed with Hubs, he had to go to bed early since he was to work in the morning. I fell asleep early, and when I woke up a while ago, I came out to the living room to take care of my farmville farms. When I went back in to bed, I couldn't get back to sleep! So, here I am, catching up on my blog.

   My day yesterday started out badly. I got out of bed, set up the coffee maker, and turned it on. I went in to the living room to wait, and play on my laptop. After a while, I was ready to have some coffee, so I got up to get myself some. Imagine my chagrin when I discover that the coffee wasn't ready, had not even brewed. The water was still in the reservoir, and the pot was not full of hot delicious chocolate coffee goodness.

   In earnest, I turned the pot off, then on again a few times. Still nothing. I even unplugged it and plugged it back in again a couple of times, just to be sure. I ended up having to go to a store, and buy a new coffee maker, before I could have my first cup of coffee. How badly does that suck? I think I may have growled at a few people in the store while making my way to the check out, with the box tucked under my arm.

   I try really hard to never have to go out in public without having first having had at least one cup of coffee. Last Saturday, I was faced with a similar situation. It was the day that the big, bad, October storm was coming. That morning, I got out of bed, and got dressed right away. My Darling Hubs had asked me to get him some more cigars whilst he slept, so he wouldn't have to stop on the way to work, in the storm, to get some. I did this for him, without benefit of coffee, because I wanted to get it done as soon as possible, and before it began to snow. I made it. I am a good wife.

   So here I am, sitting here because I can't get back to sleep. I turned on the TV and The Mummy is on. That movie was on before I went in to bed! And it was on when I woke up to use the facilities! It's like Christmas, when they show that movie with Ralphie and the BB Gun for 24 hours straight.  I think it's A Christmas Story.

   Yesterday, I remembered that I had some Lion Brand Amazing yarn hanging around, and thought it would make a cool looking hat. So I cast on the stitches, and started the 2 X 2 ribbing. It didn't work! I tore it out, and tried again. The second time, I twisted it. After the third attempt failed, I decided that the yarn really didn't want to be a stinking hat. So I used the yarn left over from my new sweater. It's working out really nicely! I love it, so far. I will be beginning the decreases soon.

   Speaking of the sweater, I am having trouble again. I only need to sew up the pockets; in fact, one is 2/3 done. I can't seem to get into it. And I am not happy with the shoulder seams, but I've already decided that I am not going to do them over, frack it.

   And friendship.  Isn't it weird who we are  attracted to be friends with? And what happens when two of your friends are no longer friends? Is it like a messy divorce, where friends have to choose a side? Is that fair to the friends? It's not our fault. I think we should be treated more like the children of the friendship, and they should have shared custody. After all, we "kids" love both of you!  I needed to get that off my chest, "Just sayin' is all..."   (My favorite quote from the movie, Sweet Home Alabama)