A Family Life

2011-04-25T19:23:00.001-04:00

What was that crunching noise that I heard while I was perusing the blogosphere? Hey! Those are your brother's and how do you know that bright blue chicks wrapped in cellophane are edible?!?

What I Am Good At

2011-04-19T12:07:00.003-04:00

Procrastination, not grammer.

Since I am not doing much of what I am supposed to be doing today, I figure I should do some blogging.

I updated my Ravelry with some projects, an Owl washcloth that I am sending to my Aunt. She collects owl cookie jars, but this might be fun to wash them.
My Ishbel, made with my very own handspun from batts made special for me by Laurie.

And the remnants of my Tea Leaves. The funny thing is, it is such gorgeous yarn, it didn't hurt nearly as much as I thought it would to pull out all.those.hours.of.knitting.

And I discovered in the process that I do a pretty good job of weaving in ends.

We are taking the kids to DC.

Next time there will be someting interesting for you to see!

Happy Easter.

2011-04-17T14:12:00.001-04:00

We have celebrated one april birthday with another in just a few days! I am very thankful for a good year and hopeful for another.

Why I Do It

2011-04-12T13:40:00.002-04:00

This Quilt with stitches, strong and true

Holds all the love I have for you;

No antique treasure or work of Art,

Just the simple gift of a mother's heart.

Gay stitches with some dark mixed in

The way my love for you has been;

Joy and Pride, some worry, too,

Evenings waiting up for you.

As I placed each stitch with patient care

I thought of you and breathed a prayer

That God would keep you safe tonight

And show me the way to guide you right.

Now you are grown, my job is through

As the quilt is bound and finished, too;

It holds my love and faith and care

To travel with you everywhere.

It may not seem important now,

But keep it safely anyhow;

And when there is no one else to care,

You'll find my love still waiting there.

To hold you warmly for a while

And see you through a time of trial,

No antique treasure or work of Art,

Just the simple gift of a mother's Heart.

--Author unknown

I won't judge you if your eyes are still dry. I first saw part of this poem over a decade ago in a newsletter from the sewing shop that I frequented. They had published the first stanza, it is written on the back of both of the boy's quilts that I made shortly after. They liked it and would have me read it to them before bed. I am getting ready to finish my first quilt for Lil'OnE and while looking around for it to write on her's, found this version. It is a pity that it is annonymous, it is so beautiful. But then, maybe it is better, because there is no distraction from the sentiment that is of my heart for my own children.

I create to satisfy my own soul, but that expression is of my love for my life, my husband, my family. The stitches of all kinds, threads of many colors, textures and strengths, weave and bind and knit us together; for better or worse, richer or poorer, sickness and health, honor roll or c's, potty trained or stinky diapers, skinned knees or shirt and tie, hair bows or tangles, scattered toys or legos in their bin, crockpot dinner in or childless dinner out. They are mine. And I love them.

Blinded by Celebrity

2011-03-29T08:14:00.002-04:00

I have been remiss. Not deliberately. Not only is my fabulous friend, Alison Hess, a wonderful author, but so is my fabulous former neighbor, Mike Harkins! Maybe it is because Mike is waaay over there, maybe it is just ordinary for me to have such talented, creative people swirling in my circle of friends. Either way, it is more good stuff to read. Mike's book is here. And once I figure out how to get the kindle edition (have I ever mentioned how much I *heart* my kindle?!!) I will be reading it next. But over here, you can read his work in a zine full of good stuff. Double bonus? This issue is free! You can read it on your computer or any other kind of reading device you have. I put that on my kindle, too, and ignored my kids and husband for a good while after dinner last week. Triple bonus. Ok, what else? We are hard core toddler here. How did I ever forget what toddler-hood is? And, Lil'OnE is not even two, yet! Already we have a potty chair that she likes too much to P in. I have deduced this from too many puddles right next to the chair. She is adamant, in incomprehensible syllables, about "how this is going to go." And she is the friendliest little thing you have ever seen. I think we go around just making people's day. Seriously, how many kids blow kisses to the cashiers at Giant Eagle? Now just to keep her from becoming cynical. With me as her mom. hmm. Wish us luck. Our Summer Calendar is getting full. I feel like the summer is almost over before it even gets here. The boys are going to scout camp, but two different weeks this year. Eldest crossed over to Boy Scouts, INBA is a Webelos now. I made our reservations for our annual trip to Ohiopyle. We have another Wedding to travel to in June. INBA is going to take another reading enrichment class. Cousins are coming to visit, the boys are going to go visit other cousins. And then school starts! I sure hope we can fit in a couple days at Grandma's pool. Isn't it only March?!? I'm not complaining, really. Just marveling at how and why the time passes so quickly. So, today, I am going to make scones and have a cuppa tea with a friend. I am going to do laundry and maybe dust the living room. I think dinner should go in the crock pot, right now. I have a million little things on my todo list. But this morning, at least, I am going to take it slow. Feel free to do the same.

Not Ordinary

2011-02-17T15:01:00.002-05:00

At least, it isn't ordinary for me to be friends with a published author!

My friend (she said I could claim that in public :) just published the first in her three part series about Lucie, a girl with ancient knowledge her family has protected since the beginning of memory and a Prophecy to fulfill to save the world from Darkness. And it is her birthday! Ugh, to be a teenager.

It is appropriate for middle school through adult readers. I have read the book. I like it and recommend that you read it, too. I can't wait for the next installment. What on earth is Lucie going to do next?

Until the next book is ready (which I hear is not that far away) I am going to re-read The Prophecy. I have a kindle, so I might buy it here. But here, they have nearly every format imaginable and you won't need a special reader to read it. There is also a sample to read there. And, it is only $1.99 to buy. Sweet!

Her website is www.betweensouls.com

Her blog is www.alisononeillhess.com

Check her out, you won't be sorry that you did.
I am obviously not as eloquent as Alison, so don't hold my endorsement against her!

In other news, I don't know if my kids are ever going to all be healthy at the same time, again!

INBA was home Tuesday, Eldest was home Wednesday and Thursday. It is just this ickiness that includes fatigue and headache and some stuffiness. I know for sure that they feel like cr*p, because I can't shake this junk either! Junk, I tell ya!

My latest netflix love has been watching (streaming on the Wii) the un-edited British version of Downton Abbey. Oh my goodness, I just love that series. It is 7 (45 minute or so) episodes instead of the 4 (80 minute or so) that we got on PBS. They cut out a lot of the Bates/Thomas/O'Brien story and other little bits and pieces that didn't change the story, but when you see what they were, they round out the story.

Once I ran out of that, I found 3rd Rock from the Sun on streaming. I forgot how funny that show is! I laugh until I cry. John Lithgow is a rare gem.

Hmm. My life sounds pretty cushy. Reading books, watching tv. I didn't even mention the beautiful quilts I am making or the bread baking in the oven that smells divine. Ah, the beauty of editing.

Overwhelmingly Ordinary

2011-02-08T16:38:00.005-05:00

I finally sent my 9 year old back to school today. He was home 4 days last week and then again on Monday with a fever and general malaise. He was a lump on the couch, which is rather disturbing when I know how he usually is.

We watched the SuperGame on Sunday. The commercials were ok. I thought the half-time show was fabulous.

This is how Lil'OnE felt about the way those Steelers were playing. Isn't the Mister handsome with his darling daughter?
The neighbor brought over the pink jersey for the Lil'onE.
Did I ever show you a picture of our Matchy Match?

The sweaters are gorgeous. MadToshDK is divine. Unfortunately, I don't like my sweater. It doesn't stay on my shoulders properly and always pulls to the back. Annoys the heck out of me. Now I need to find someone to wear it. I guess I could ravel it and reuse the yarn. But I think it might hurt to undo all that work. I will see if a friend can do it justice and if not...

Oh, and here is an ordinary thing for you.

No knead bread. I make it all the time. I use this book. But if you go over Here, you can get a sample recipe and have unbearably delicious bread tomorrow. The Sonoma Multicrunch Bread is another recipe in the book that is too good to miss. Every recipe I have used in the book is great. I have been baking like this for many months now. I have a few modifications that I made to the oat bread during that time. I use 1 pound King Arthur Bread Flour, it really does make a difference, and I use 11 1/2 ounces white whole wheat flour for a batch. Trader Joe's sells the white whole wheat at a very reasonable price. Weighing the flour also helps with consistent results. It needs a little more water with the white whole wheat, but the taste is not changed and it is still whole wheat!

The Mister gave me a dough whisk and a yeast jar for Christmas. He loves me! Oh. Maybe he loves the bread?! Maybe both. :)

And so it goes...

Everyday Ordinary

2011-01-27T12:08:00.002-05:00

Two Sundays ago, the homily at mass was about Everyday Ordinary. At least, that is what I heard. Father Mike was talking about the lack of commentary in the Gospels about Jesus from the time he was found in the temple until he began public ministry and was baptised by John. His point was that those years were not insignificant, they were just ordinary. Everyday Ordinary is a blessing. And we need to remember that it is still meaningful to do the everyday things every day, day in, day out, over and over again. Raising and nurturing, cleaning and cooking, working and sleeping. It is meaningful and important to honor the work, the mundane work, the ordinary work, of life.
It is the whole, you don't enjoy the sunshine with out a little rain. But it is more.
I have been thinking about it for nearly two weeks and still cannot articulate it.

Do I have a point? Sure. Our Mayhem is quite ordinary. Painfully ordinary. Don't-want-to-dull-you-with-the-details ordinary. But, somehow, I feel better about it. Not that our lives may become anything else, but maybe that the work I do now will allow my children to relish the excitement of becoming adults and finding their way to settle into the ordinary of their lives, too. Not at all flashy and reality tv worthy. Just our reality.

Doesn't make for a very exciting blog. Sorry.

In other News:

I watch a lot of PBS. There is a lot of good stuff on WQED if you ignore the Doo-Wop and Celtic Women.
Last night was a fine example in Nova. It is about Making Stuff Smaller. Seriously, click on the guy with the magnifying glass and watch. It will blow your mind. And Mr. Mayhem didn't know that that is how a quartz watch works, either.
I also love Masterpiece on PBS. Mystery mostly, Sherlock last season was awesome. You cannot see the episodes online anymore, but you can see the trailer. A terrible tease. I also like Wallander, ahhh Kenneth Branagh. *sigh*
Anyway, Downton Abbey on Classic, right now, is fabulous! And I don't usually care for that time period type things. You can stream the episodes at the moment. I recommend that you do.

I will be back soon with more of the mundane Mayhem...

It's Not All About Baby

2011-01-12T22:57:00.003-05:00

See, here are the Mayhem fellas... making nice for a picture with Grandma when we celebrated her birthday. Ignore the cake, I have not refined my baking skills, yet.But... there is a little sister.
Cuter than Cute.
And I finished Tea Leaves and Tiny Tea Leaves.

Matchy-Match strikes again!!

If you know of any other big girl/little girl patterns, let me know! She is going to outgrow this sweater, too.

In other news...

Winter has us in its grips. Shocking, I know, being January and all.

Lil'OnE LOVES to be out side in the snow. Crazy loves to be in the snow. She grabs a "kid size" plastic shovel that is twice as tall as she is and puts nearly as much snow on to the drive way as the boys remove.

Sledding still happens out by the front steps. They have been stockpiling snow next to the retaining wall so that they can slide over the edge without hurting themselves (they want steeper slope, I want them to not bust their heads open. Mean mom.) I am hoping that the snow hangs around until this weekend. They have a 4 day weekend and I would love to send them outside for a good bit of it!

I was on Retreat at St Paul of the Cross Monastary last weekend. *sigh* It was so wonderful in many ways. I need a week. But, I will settle for a weekend next January!

First FO of 2011

2011-01-03T13:36:00.003-05:00

Say Hello to the Car Socks of the last 2 months or so.

They are nearly identical and mismatched.

How, You say? How can such lovely socks be mismatched?
Check out the toes.
Hmm. They both have toes.
Yes. One is a wedge the other is a star.
Oops.I had been petering along so long with these that I forgot that I decided to get fancy (aka do the not all the time the same toe.) And I never bothered to look at the first one when it came time to finish the second! That and it was dark in "The King's Speech."
Which, by the way, is a really good movie. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are fantastic actors.

three hundred degrees

2011-01-01T22:47:00.002-05:00

Ah-Ha! Thanks, knitsburgh!
I succeeded in making my hard candy just like Grandma used to make. My recipe came to me from my Aunt Carrie, out of some community cookbook from who-knows-when and called to cook it to hard-ball stage which is about 260 degrees. But it works way better when cooked to hard-crack, 300 degrees! go figure.

I have made (thus far) orange, lemon, butter rum and cherry. I have some lime oil and I bought a candy flavor sampler at Michaels so that I could try more for less... love a coupon. But, the candy flavors are formulated for chocolate, some have added vegetable oil. I made the cherry and it wept. Not a lot, I wiped most of it off with a napkin, but not desireable and I will remember that for the future. But the good stuff, if you are also so inclined to make hard candy, is at the Uncommon Market . Prepare to be totally overwhelmed by your choices of flavor. Then buy the butter rum flavor. Werther's Originals. oh yeah. But the boys are pretty partial to the orange and lemon- which tastes like lemonheads.

Otherwise,
-We seemed to have survived the holidays.
-Kids don't go back to school until Tuesday.
-I am still working on my Tea Leaves, am down to the button bands, just waiting for a chance to work on it when I am quite awake. I really want this sweater to be done! I want to wear it and I am tired of knitting on it. But, it is gorgeous yarn (MadToshDK) and a beautiful pattern (even with the slim fitting sleeves.)
-No particular resolutions. It is always the same, anyway. Yes, that includes updating the blog more often :)

Happy 2011 to you! I wish you the best year yet!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T14:32:00.002-05:00

We are on our way to Christmas Mass.
But we wanted to wish you and yours a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!
With Love,
The Family Mayhem

oh, yeah, the blog

2010-10-11T09:26:00.005-04:00

Hmm, What have I been doing?

Well, I appreciate you asking.

I didn't mean to ignore the blog, but time has been whizzing by... Lil'onE is almost 18 months old now. The Mister and I celebrated 12 years of wedded bliss, yesterday. The boys are in 3rd and 5th grade. We had a summer full of camping and weddings and friends and family and... it was full.

But I took a picture of the girl this morning.

She likes to pose.One wasn't enough.
The Mister does good work. He gave me beautiful children.
I have been knitting, too.
I am making Matchy-Match sweaters for us. Tea Leaves and Tiny Tea Leaves.

Girly is having a melt down... this is why I don't blog very often :)

Have You Been Watching?

2010-04-10T20:54:00.003-04:00

It is sad. But I let my kids watch so that they can see that there is a reason that I insist that they eat a balanced diet and that we rarely have fast food or other processed foods and that it isn't just Mommy that knows it isn't healthy to be that way. It is sad, not only because we are a nation that is eating ourselves to death, but that it has to be a revolution in order for us to sit down to a decent dinner once a week (as the revolution asks you to pledge.) How freaky Chez Mayhem is to have family dinner every night. What we need to work on is the family walk around the block once a week.
What are you going to work on?

Where have you been?

2010-03-24T08:57:00.002-04:00

I have been here. Rockin' and Rollin' and Whatnot.

The last month has zoomed by. Lil'onE is 11 months old now. Clapping is her new favorite thing. That and her version of crawling. Oh, and tossing things. Any thing she can get her hands on, she flings. I haven't taken a picture of her in too long. I should do that.

My Olympic sweater is languishing. Aside from life distractions, I didn't pay attention to the fact that the size 3 needle that I had was 40 inches and I needed a 24 inch. I know I could have done a little magic loop, but I don't like that, so I finally picked up a 24 inch needle and have gotten a little momentum going again.

Speaking of Olympic, check out Celtic Queen's post. That sweater is now in Lil'onE's closet. I cannot tell you how beautiful and soft it is. And she used Stroll from Knit Picks, so it is easy care!! Fabulous. Thanks, CQ!

Hopefully, Spring is here to stay. The Forsythia is showing some bright green leaf buds, the daffodils have buds, the crocus are finishing their blooms and I saw a big fat robin red-breast in the yard this morning. And the darn oak trees are spewing poison, I mean pollen, so my eyes are swelling and my throat, too. Ahhh, Spring! Wouldn't trade it for winter.

Hope your day is splendid!

Out of My League

2010-02-18T14:13:00.002-05:00

I was looking for the hat that Lindsey Vonn was wearing after she won gold in the Downhill. If that link doesn't bring it up, it was photo 26 when I was looking at it. Either way, it is the cream colored hat with USA and the olympic rings and a pompon. A friend mentioned it to me at Knit Guild today. Anyway, while trying to see what it looked like and wondering what Ralph Lauren would charge for one (doesn't look like it is for sale, maybe after the games are over?) I do see that they are selling the opening ceremonies sweater...For $425. But only in small and x-small. Thank goodness, otherwise, I might have been tempted. Wow.

I will happily knit you a cable sweater for $425. Talk nice to me and I might do it for $400.

personal

2010-02-12T17:59:00.002-05:00

Missed connection.

Babies R Us in Bethel Park today. I was in line, you were... over there. I think it was you, at least. I didn't have Lil'onE with me. Otherwise, I would have gone up to you and said, "Hi. It is me, is it you? I really would like to have a friend with a baby. I really think we could get along. I'm not creepy, see?" But then again, that might have been creepy.

So I bought my baby food and moved along.

As a side note. BrU sells Earth's Best for 89 cents and GE sells the same jar for $1.09. I tell myself that I am saving money by going to BrU, but after I spent $100 to buy 27 jars of food (and a bunch of other stuff that was on sale but I could have lived without) I am not so sure. Funny how that works.

And I know that there are plenty of people that live in places that get snow as a regular part of their winter and that these same people are shaking their heads in amazement at the paralysis a couple feet of white stuff has caused in this area of the country. But really, it is getting a bit ridiculous, all this precipitation! I am afraid that we aren't going to go back to school before Easter and then the kids will be in school until August! At some point we have to make peace with a snowy winter and move on. PLEASE!

Ok. I have to take the boys to impound their cars for the pinewood derby tomorrow and then we are camping out to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics. I will cast on for the Romantikk cardigan (rav link) for Lil'onE, too. Enjoy!

Terrible Pictures

2010-02-11T22:41:00.002-05:00

Just some poor pictures to show that every once in a while things work out!

I finished the sweater that INBA asked for 3 days before Christmas, "Mom, I am cold. Will you make me a warm, red, long-sleeve sweater for Christmas?"

Negotiate, negotiate. He gave me until Valentine's Day.

Ta-Da!
I started with a Bernat pattern from 1967, converted it into the round and consulted Elizabeth Zimmerman for the raglan shaping. He likes it! Even if he didn't like posing for it just before bedtime.

Clarify

2010-02-08T14:45:00.005-05:00

I should have said that I pinched that list off of someone else, who had pinched it from another blog... as it goes on the internet :) I am glad you enjoyed it. I know I did.

We had huge snow here in the 'burgh over the weekend. #4 biggest snowfall on record. The weatherguys are calling for another 4-8 inches on top of the 22+ that we just got. Needless to say, there was no school today. But there are big snowbanks and tunnels and errant snowballs everywhere you look.

School has been cancelled for tomorrow, already. I will be surprised if we have school on Wednesday, too. The roads are not cleared well and the next snow is supposed to get here tomorrow and no temps above freezing in the near future. It is like being a little girl in Northern Michigan all over again! [what is it with all the little girl references on this blog lately... Lil'onE has infected us!] It is winter in the best sense of the word.

Fun

2010-02-06T17:21:00.002-05:00

IF YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S...
1. You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked.
2 You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.
3. You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels. This included the kind you attached to your regular shoes.
4 You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!)
5. You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.
6. You had either a 'bowl cut' or 'pixie', not to mention the 'Dorothy Hamill' People sometimes thought you were a boy.
7. You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.
8. You owned a 'Slip-n-Slide' , on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once. 9. You owned 'Klick-Klacks' and smacked yourself in the face more than once!
10. Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.
11. You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.
12. You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.
13. You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits, or the Sunshine Family.
14. You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze.
15. The swing set tipped over at least once.
16. You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color.
17. You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle).
18. You also had a pair of salt-water sandals.
19. You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture;and you despised Nellie Oleson!
20. You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink!
21. Your hairstyle was described as having 'wings' or 'feathers' and you kept it 'pretty'with the comb you kept in your back pocket.When you walked, the 'wings' flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna 'take off'.
21. You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.
22. You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic.It had a thermos inside. Some were glass and broke the first time you dropped them.
23. You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend. 24. YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!
25. It was a big event in your household each year when the 'Wizard of Oz' would come on TV.Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!
26. You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: 'Who will I marry.Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy?
27. You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record albums.
28. You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage,or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom.
29. You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
30. You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.
31. You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.
32. You thought Olivia Newton John's song 'Physical' was about aerobics.

Obviously, I am a Heather born in the 70's. (that should have been on the list... you are a girl born in the 70s and you are named Heather, Jennifer, Lisa or Amy!) But Strawberry Shortcake, The Osmonds, and Shrinky Dinks are back in style!

They Arrived

2010-02-02T22:31:00.002-05:00

The teeth, that is.

Big girl had a good 9 month check up. 19lbs and 14oz. I forgot to ask how tall, she is in the 80th percentile, though.
The pediatrician thinks she may go straight to walking. She has plenty of muscle and no reason not to be crawling... if you don't count the three men that wait on her hand and foot!
Oh, and she cut one tooth the day before her appointment and the other the day after. Whew! Now she is chewing on a finger shoved way back by her left molars... ugh.

That's it. Just wanted to say "hi."

Finished Object

2010-01-26T16:30:00.002-05:00

Lil'onE is still a work in progress, but her Offset Wraplan is finished.There are more details in my Ravelry projects page. The yarn is worsted weight Bamboo by Farmhouse Yarns, if I remember correctly. It is really nice to knit with, a little heavy though. I think that as time goes on I am becoming more and more the wool snob. I don't mean to be. I just am.

Either way, the yarn and accessories were a gift from my fabulous friend Mrs.H on the day that Lil'onE was born. I started the sweater in November and thought (rightly) that I better hurry up and finish knitting the size 9-12month sweater before it didn't fit! It is done. It fits. And I love it. My only gripe with the pattern is that it requires 8 buttons (the picture doesn't do them justice, they are super sparkly) and the sweater needs to be worn buttoned, otherwise it flops open weirdly. But that isn't the pattern as much as me not wanting to fiddle with 8 buttons on a wiggle-worm. l.a.z.y.

Gosh, she is cute.
Now I need to finish INBA's sweater. I may run out of UFOs! I wish!

Big Girl

2010-01-24T10:16:00.002-05:00

9 months old.

It is going so fast!

But notice, still no teeth. Doesn't crawl... but last night was demonstrating why that one particular swim stroke is called "the crawl." With proper motivation she will swim and roll to get what she wants.

Eldest went to the eye doctor yesterday. His prescription changed 3/4 of a diopter over the last year. He is up to a -4 in each eye. We need to find him a specialist. Just to make sure that there isn't anything else going on.

So he and I went up to McKnight Road in the north hills (You don't realize what a big deal this is that we went 15 miles and through a tunnel and over 2 rivers to get somewhere in one afternoon if you aren't from Pittsburgh. We went to the moon by most accounts.) to go to Eyeglass World and get him 2 pairs of glasses for $60. And yes, you certainly get what you pay for. But I wasn't interested in paying $350 at the place that takes our vision insurance that isn't giving Eldest glasses this year. I can replace a lot of frames for that! Anyway, while we were waiting for his glasses to be made, we went to find Dyed in the Wool on Babcock Blvd. Happily, it was 3 minutes away! But tell me, isn't it a little weird that they don't put a price tag on anything? The Mister says, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." Which is probably true, but when has that stopped stash enhancement? I did buy some crazyfoot by mountain colors. They charged me $25 which is ok, but the bag that I thought they were giving me free (cheap little canvas tote) they charged me $3. So, unimpressed is to say the least.

On a bright note, Piecing it Together is right next door!
I have been trying to do more quilting and the boys have put new quilts on my to-do list. I don't know if I mentioned that around the same time that INBA requested his red sweater (which is not done, but I am on the second sleeve and feeling Valentine's Day approaching fast. But where is the real motivation when it is 50 degrees out in January?) INBA, of course, wants trains. Eldest said he wanted cars. Well, I enticed him to follow me into the quilt shop by saying that he might find a fat quarter or 2 that he would like for his quilt.

A number of things happened when we got into that store.

First. Wow, they have a lot of WONDERFUL fabric.
Second. They were very nice to us.
Third. I realized that the lady helping us had attended South Hills Knit Guild for a while and we recognized each other. (Another Pittsburgh moment- small town and people are pretty much only nice to you if they know you. I think Bobbie would be an exception, she seems like she is nice without this requirement.)
Fourth. Eldest totally got into planning his quilt. She talked him into a 'Turning Twenty' quilt.
Fifth. Eldest walked out happily with his 20 fat quarters. He has very eclectic taste. They run from Marines to multicolored bubbles to Indy cars to crashing waves and astronauts. It should look pretty amazing.
Sixth. Eldest is excited about doing his quilt together. I am going to let him help cut the fabric and teach him how to sew a straight line so that he can piece. It really will be his quilt! How cool is that?

And then...

There is a game shop almost directly across the street that we stopped to visit. They helped reassure us that we were playing backgammon correctly. And they carry the game series and expansion packs for Ticket to Ride, perhaps the best game ever. I bought a dice expansion for INBA that the guys are all playing as I type.

Needless to say, I am broke after my little trip into the North Hills and I didn't even go into the Ross Park Mall!

Most important accomplishment is that Eldest can see. That we had a great afternoon together, triple double bonus.

No Pretending

2010-01-04T14:15:00.008-05:00

I am not going to resolve to be better about blogging. I would like to be, but there are no promises to be made right now.

We had a family picture taken last week. Can you tell that Lil'onE is teething? She looks like a little ol'lady! I have been doing a little knitting. Mostly smallish stuff.

I made stockings, this one and one white with green stripes and red heel/toe. I have enough yarn left to make a green with red stripes, but I don't think that colorway will look as good. Eldest gave me permission to make him a green stocking with red heel/toe and I talked him into white snowflakes on it. It is on the list for this year.

I was super pleased with these mitten ornaments/gift card holders that I made for my niece and nephews. I felt bad just giving them $20 for Christmas, so I made these to hold it. Turns out, I could have just made the ornaments, they all loved them. But then, doesn't everyone like to see their name in print? I am making a mental note for next Christmas.
Mrs. Claus made flame hats for the boys. This is INBA's 'fire face.'

They were too happy to pull them down to show off the flame pattern.

I think Mrs. Claus used the flame on baby hat pattern in a chunky weight wool to make it big boy size. You can find it on Ravelry. They love to point out what a good knitter Mrs Claus is compared to me.

Mrs Claus II made the boys some amazingly awesome vests that I haven't taken a picture of, but I will, because MCII needs to be acknowledged for her AWESOMENESS, she really is a better knitter than I.

And in case you wondered what I have been doing the rest of the time...

I can't believe how 2009 flew by. 2010 is going to be another eventful year. Already the calendar is filling up with happy events for friends and family.

In my knitting bag is a sweater for INBA that he asked for 4 days before Christmas. He was cold and wanted a "warm, red wool, long sleeve sweater with cables... by Christmas. Ok, fine, by New Years. Well, at least by Valentine's Day, because it is red." I have created a monster!! I love it.

After that, I am going to make myself a vest. I am either burning up or freezing cold, so a little something to throw on is necessary.

I am in the midst of making Lil'onE a grocery cart cover. I will NEVER reccomend to any one to make one of their own. They are not expensive enough to bother. I bought the pattern for 99 cents and used fabric that was already in my stash, leftover from other projects, even. Otherwise, the 4 yards of fabric and 1 1/2 yards of batting would be more than buying one at the babies store. Of course, mine will be much nicer, but I wish I could justify not finishing it. UGH. But it will be nice to have and it is screaming orange fun. But seriously, don't ever get an idea to make one. Super huge and unwieldy and a HUGE pain in the tushy. I will show you when I am done. I will finish. I must. Where the heck could I stash the thing?

Eldest came home sick from school today with a fever. So he will be home tomorrow, too. Lil'onE has had a little something, but it could just be those 2 bottom teeth that refuse to break through. If Eldest is sick, she probably has both problems. Hopefully, INBA doesn't get it.

And now you know.

Swedish meatballs for dinner and a diaper to be changed.

Happy New Year to you. Health and prosperity for you and yours in 2010!

The Trick Is

2009-11-17T13:44:00.002-05:00

Not to sit down. If I keep moving, well, I keep moving. That Newton guy knew what he was talking about. Trouble is, I have a baby that needs to be fed and cuddled. This involves sitting down periodically. Then, I have trouble getting started again.
I would show you all the knitting that I have done, but sekrit xmas stuff is going on here. Hopefully, I will remember to take pictures upon delivery.
So, that makes this entry preeeetty boring.
Kid updates- Eldest is having trouble delivering important papers to school, unless it involves him getting tickets for lunch.
INBA is still insisting that he cannot read and refuses to do so. But he can read, he just doesn't enjoy it as much as his brother does and has to work a little harder. How do I get it thru to him that he is not his brother and to expect himself to be his brother is not helping anyone?
Lil'onE is growing like a weed. She is very vocal, loves to make raspberries (wow, that girl has a lot of saliva) and likes to rub things between her finger and thumb.

Life is hectic... Happy Holidaze!

Frabel at the Phipps

2009-11-08T14:14:00.001-05:00

wonderful and warm Sunday afternoon outing!

6 Months Already

2009-10-21T08:15:00.001-04:00

It's All Fun and Games...

2009-10-13T23:15:00.002-04:00

Until someone gets stitches.Monkeying around on the bus, of course. Although, it seems that he happened to be innocent of the Monkeying, this time. It is still a game that the boys play regularly on the bus home, poking each other. He was caught off guard and knocked off balance and the bus came to a stop, all at the same time. He fell and hit his head and ended up on the floor. 3 stitches. OUCH.

Love the MedExpress on 19 at Boyce Road!! In and out in about 50 minutes.

And a stocking for the Lil'onE. I have been working on Christmas gifts and fretting already that I am not going to get much done. Man, these kids put a crimp in my knitting time! That and those darn jewel games on facebook. hee-hee.

Photo-op

2009-10-10T18:35:00.001-04:00

What can I say, boys at llbean...

Matchy Match

2009-10-01T00:03:00.003-04:00

I finished my Lady Tulip to match the beautiful Tulip that Laurie made for Lil'OnE.
And I worry that she is going to be a peas-on-the-wall girl.
Ok, that doesn't sound good. But look at the arm going and the splatter on the face! We are getting a little better with the whole 'solid food' thing... but I have several damp towels close by at all times.

And I finally had a professional portrait taken of Lil'OnE... only took 5 months.

I must say, she is peaches. :)

The boys are busy with school. The Mister took them for the Cub Scout Fall Campout last weekend. in.the.rain. How's that for dedication?

Eldest has taken up Trombone for the school band. That is interesting. But only for about 20 minutes a day. heh.

I am hoping that the weather improves for the weekend. The Hickory Apple Festival is this weekend and I want to go.

How's that for a nutshell?

A Walk on History

2009-09-20T14:11:00.001-04:00

The covered bridge featival is this weekend in Washngton and Greene counties. Excellent excuse to be out with the family.

Last of Summer

2009-09-07T11:43:00.009-04:00

We went to the Heinz History Center to see the Lincoln exhibit. We stumbled upon these... as I stood there, mocking the long line of ooglers taking pictures of trophies that have absolutely nothing to do with their lives (it's called reflected glory,) I noticed that the Mister had that same look. I can deny him nothing. So, even I took a picture of him and his kids and the silly trophies. INBA is mad because he wanted to be by the most recent one on the other end. Sorry kid, must learn to express oneself in more coherent ways than a grunt and a stomp. I really wanted to get out of town at least once this summer. So we headed to Sandusky, Ohio where we found the aforementioned Cream Puff (which btw, the boys split and still only ate about half between the two of them. It was HUGE!) We also went to Cedar Point. I am really glad we went this year instead of waiting until next summer like I had promised the boys. Lil'OnE did awesome in the stroller and it would have been a nightmare if she was trying to walk around.
Here she is, chillin' in the stroller but still cozy on the Great Lake in her sweater from Julia.

INBA with his 'train face.' All I can do is giggle. He is so serious about trains and his future as an engineer. I hope it comes true for him. You know, Mr. Obama has no bigger supporter for high speed rail than our INBA.

In the stocks... check out INBA on the end!

The Mister and the boys stood in line for 45 minutes for an 18 second ride on this thing. Straight up at 120 miles per hour. No thank you. I will wait with the baby. (I had a sock to work on :)
I am a purist. I love the old wooden roller coasters. The Blue Streak was awesome.

And then, Back to School. 2nd grade and 4th grade. Big kids.

Little kid. Sweater by Laurie, blanket by all my Friday night knitterly friends.

We are spoiled.

And warm.

It was 48 degrees when we went down to the bus on August 31! It has been cool every day, since, too. Weird year.

I am renewing my resolve to post at least twice a week... I am on facebook, now, and it is a little distracting. lol.

who you callin' cream puff?

2009-08-28T19:37:00.001-04:00

the mother of all cream puffs at dianna's deli and restaurant in Sandusky, OH.

Where Has the Summer Gone?

2009-08-22T23:36:00.003-04:00

This is it... the last week of summer.

The boys go back to school on the 31st.

I feel so much pressure! Can the last week be memorable?

Does it need to be?

We had more cousins visiting this month.Poor Lil'onE. Look at what she is surrounded by! The Mister's 2nd sister's 3 boys and our two... poor thing. But in fairness, I did promise to take this picture if they gave us one 'nice' one. We all know the truth in this picture!

The Mister is a Virginia Tech alumnus. Of course Lil'onE is adorned appropriately!
Doesn't he look proud?

And then the 4th month was gone...
4 months old. And adorable in watermelons.
I want to be a baby. Everyone thinks her fleshy thighs are cute.

Oh, and about the llama. Filthy. Filthy. And I think I am allergic. It makes my eyes itch and my nose itch and sneezy and...
The Mister says I just need to wash it more. Perhaps. The problem is getting from one side of that to the other. Not really a journey I am looking to make.
It is truly unfortunate, too. The fiber is a beautiful silver and charcoal grey. It would blend beautifully with my fleece.

eeeewwww

2009-08-12T10:44:00.002-04:00

I am washing the llama so that I can blend it with some of my wool. It is so filthy. I mean. I am seriously wondering what color it is, because the water is so brown and thick! I thought it was chocolate brown. Now I am not going to be surprised if it is almond colored!
I put it in for a second soapy bath, I cannot believe that the first one really got all the dirt out. I will let you know how it ends up.

I Can't Believe That I Forgot to Tell YOU!

2009-08-11T21:52:00.002-04:00

I finished carding my fleece yesterday!!!!!! YES you heard right. Only one year later. I would have taken a picture but the baskets are empty! Now just to spin. Oh, and I want to blend some with the llama in the basement. Not a live animal, silly, just its shearing. Have I mentioned the llama? The school secretary's sister in Florida raises a llama and happily sent me its spring haircut. um, last spring. How cool is that? Yeah, I know.

Make It Special

2009-08-11T19:33:00.007-04:00

I like Texas Sheet Cake. I mean, it is chocolate cake with chocolate icing. What's not to like. I have seen a couple recipes around. My MIL makes a version, she isn't always a reliable recipe giver, though. I have made Texas Sheet Cake twice now. This time, I believe I have found the secret.

Ready?

Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa.

Seriously.

Yum.

Here's the recipe.

1c butter (unsalted, land o lakes is worth the extra buck)

1 c water

4 tbs. Special Dark Cocoa

2 c sugar

2 c flour

1/2 t salt

1t baking soda

1 t vanilla

1 t cinnamon

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 c sour cream (breakstone reduced fat)

In a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients, bring to a boil the butter, water and cocoa. Remove from heat, stir in sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, vanilla and cinnamon. Beat in eggs and sour cream.

Pour batter into a greased 13x9 glass pan. Bake at 375 degrees fro 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. As soon as you remove the cake from the oven, spread with frosting.

Frosting

1/2 cup butter

4 tbs Special Dark Cocoa

1/3 c milk

4 cups powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

Melt butter and stir in cocoa, stir in milk. Remove from heat. Slowly stir in powder sugar and vanilla. Beat well. Spread hot icing over hot cake.

Try to control yourself until it cools a little. It will burn your tongue. Just sayin'. hee-hee.

I made this cake the other day. Grandma Lime Cake

The frosting didn't turn out right, I don't think. It was looking good until I added the lime juice. But who cares? It tasted awesome! I like lime. mmm-hmm.

Let's see, What Else?

My friend Mrs. H. has started writing a blog. It is a very good blog. Mrs. H. is a very interesting person, so I am not surprised. And she does indeed have good manners and rather polite children. Best part? She is my friend. Go look at her blog and tell her that I sent you. It might keep her my friend after hollywood buys the movie rights.

RoboWorld at the Carnegie Science Center is cool. The kids really liked it. Sam, the big cousin, beat the robot at air hockey. Grandma lost to the robot. She wasn't sad, though, she didn't lose as bad as she would have expected. lol.

Oh, look! Lil'onE is 3 1/2 months old!

Just so you don't think I only take pictures of my baby... INBA. He's 7 1/2.

But I have been taking more pictures of the baby. This one is inspired by a picture of my Nephew Aaron, who is a month younger than Lil'onE. Of course, his was a professional picture, Lil'onE is stuck with the Mommy version.

Happy Days

2009-07-20T15:36:00.002-04:00

First, Happy Birthday to Laurie!! 29 with experience, I hear.
We had lunch at Mitchells and a walk around the Galleria on Saturday to celebrate.
by the by... The Mister wasn't impressed with my Gymboree bag, but INBA loved the dogs.
I didn't get her anything off her birthday list, but I think she feels appreciated anyway.
We agreed that it wasn't safe for me to be going to the movies with her, seeing how last year after a birthday celebration that included "Mama Mia," The Mister took advantage of my "no one's going to call me when I am old blues" and gave me a daughter...
Who is 3 months old today!
super trooper....hmm mm hmmmhmm.

Mixing of Emotions

2009-07-12T23:30:00.002-04:00

Here's a little ditty that a friend sent me the link to... they don't allow this one to be embeded, but it is worth a click. Of course, my friend thinks she is funny.

My emotions are jumbly because my friend Shizuko from Long Beach, CA is coming to visit for a couple of days on her way West. She and her family have been on a cross country road trip and are coming up Pittsburgh way to visit us.
Shizuko is one of those friends that you meet (at a park near our house, one random afternoon) and start talking because the boys are playing so well together. I didn't think that we would have anything to say or in common because we come from very different backgrounds. But then, we are instant friends. We laugh, we are quite alike with much to share from our different experiences, and it feels like we had been friends forever almost from the beginning. It is wonderful, because even if we don't speak for any amount of time, we take right back up as if it were yesterday. She is really a blessing to me. And she was one of a gajillion reasons that I didn't want to leave California.
So, I am jumbly because I know that I am going to be really sad when she leaves. I am sad just thinking about how happy I am that I will get to see her tomorrow.
Pretty messed up.

I'll blame it on postpartum hormones.

Old and New

2009-07-07T22:40:00.004-04:00

I need to figure out how to blog from my new phone (the enV Touch. Which I love and may have just learned a couple things about by watching that link.)

I mean, I can still do the text message thing, but I want to figure out how to navigate to something other than facebook. But I am old (not 16 anymore.)

Check out the new legs (not 3 months, yet.)

The legwarmers were found by Laurie, right under my nose. I had misplaced them just before she was born until 2 weeks ago.They are a modification of the legwarmer pattern in The Expectant Knitter.

I don't have the book in front of me, I think she used sport or dk weight. I used Julia's sock yarn. I have a pair of socks from the rest of the hank.

Anyway, I just converted the row gauge of the pattern to inches to knit. That is she said knit 8 rows and that really meant knit an inch- I am making up the numbers but you see what I mean? Either way, we ended up with legwarmers.
How about a cheer for unseasonably cool summer days?

Don't you just love Laurie's Cardi? It is Noro, Silk Garden Lite? Best part, sparkly heart buttons. Priceless. The friend and the cardigan.

Happy 4th of July We enjoyed a the weekend. It warmed up enough for the boys to spend some time at MIL's pool.
When did they get so big? *sigh*
They celebrated independence day by playing with Diet Coke and Mentos. INBA told me today that it was the best 4th of July he ever had. *aww* The Mister walked the boys up to the corner (about 1/2 mile) to watch the township fireworks. Lil'one and I watched the fireworks in DC and then the recap of the ones downtown.

Plenty of activity around here to keep us cruising thru our days.
I am still struggling to find balance between all 3 and me.
I really got used to having a little down time to myself and I am afraid that stealing that anymore means aggravating the sleep deprivation. But, when you need a couple hours of quiet creative time, you need it.
I'll sleep when I'm dead.
Dead tired.
That may be tomorrow...

10 weeks-ish

2009-06-29T10:15:00.003-04:00

At least, I think it has been about that long...

So, let's just get the baby pictures out of the way.

I took these last Thursday (maybe-who knows what day it is?)

My mother will appreciate the first one. (I think if you click it gets big) And then a giggle.

*sigh*

Up Hill All the Way.
I walked the boys to summer playground this morning at the Middle School that is near our house. OMG, it was all up hill. I knew my road was, but I didn't realize that the crossroad was, too! Thank goodness it was only 64 degrees this morning. I had Lil'one in the bjorn and was feeling every pound on my postpartum body.
I guess if you aren't from Pittsburgh (not that I am, either, let's be clear) you don't realize that the "up hill, both ways, in the snow," is talking about the 'burgh and the goat paths they paved to make roads in terrain that no one in their right mind would have thought would be a good place to build a city. I guess, to be fair, the triangle is pretty flat. But Mt. Washington is on other side of the river! Duh.
Anyway, I sweat.

Back on the Ranch
I want to card some fleece.
Just to card some fleece, it isn't like I have time to do anything else with it.
So I cleaned the bathroom and swept the family room and tried to dust. The blue handle has gone missing for the swiffer duster. So, that was a little hard.
Now, my penance is done, and Lil'one took a big poo and wants to eat.
I shoulda played first.

Yea!

2009-06-23T23:24:00.002-04:00

Lil'one was baptised. Officially Catholic, now. Two family pictures within one month!
Isn't it cute how the Mister holds onto his baby girl?
All the Mayhem men love that little girl to pieces.
I don't think princess is going to cover it.
Maybe empress?

A Glimpse

2009-06-20T23:12:00.007-04:00

Baby feet. Laurie made the booties for her. Actually several pair. All sooooooo cute.

I just took the pictures off the camera

Lady K came to visit Memorial Day weekend.

She's my best friend since... forever.

I wish we lived closer.

And a family picture. (Thanks, K)

It is kinda weird to be a family of 5.

I guess I am still adjusting

Then the boys got their summer haircuts.

And the Eldest became even older.

I didn't make the cake this year. He saw this at the Giant Eagle and I was feeling lazy enough to order it for him.

It tasted as good as it looks.

More of Laurie's knitting. She gifted this outfit to the lil'one at last knit night.

This is the Mister's idea of taking a picture of her outfit so that Laurie can see how it fits... I need to train him better.

btw, it fits perfectly and is super cute.

Lil'one gets baptised on Father's Day.

Pictures, hopefully, in the near future. Her gown is so pretty...

Nothing to Show

2009-06-10T14:19:00.002-04:00

Well, we made it thru the first 6 weeks- 7 1/2 by now - and I have nothing to show. No new pictures and nothing crafty, for sure.
Eldest turns 9 this week. Yes, I said 9 years old. He is having a party at the park this weekend and is quite excited.
School is out on Friday. With the few camps and activities that we have planned, summer feels like it is half gone. Lil'one can't stand the car, so it will be late summer, if at all, before we do any kind of car trip. Which is ok with me, I don't care to be in the car for more than 2 hours, anyway.
I cannot believe how the days have flown and I have nothing to share.
Must be the Momnesia.

Sneak It In

2009-05-18T13:20:00.007-04:00

Lil'one is sleeping, waiting for her brothers to burst through the front door after a Monday of education. Hopefully, I will be able to finish this entry before she awakes.

If it goes to no-caps, I am one handed.How's this for smitten big brothers?

They prefer her when she is quiet. I cannot say I blame them! This girl has some lungs!

Aw, isn't she sweet?

She is really saying, "Hey! Look at my great hand-knit sweater!!"

Not, "I hate the car seat!!"

If only.

And then sometimes, she looks like this.

The best, is when they look like this.

It has been a long and short month. I can't believe it was four weeks ago that she arrived! We are all adjusting to each other. And I am wondering why I thought I didn't get anything done before? I can barely check my email once a week, now!

I am sure that I will be lamenting this when she goes off to Kindergarten... maybe.

So, you know, I have not knit a stitch. I have only looked longingly into my craft room. I have watched way too much morning tv.

And Lil'one just called me.

Erika Louise

2009-04-20T21:30:00.000-04:00

9lbs 3oz 20in

That Worked

2009-04-08T10:26:00.006-04:00

Like a charm!

Thanks, Laurie, for the pictures.

Here is a smattering of the goodies.Two cardigans from Laurie, the one below is the Tulip that I want to make matchy matchy for myself.
And Stacey's first baby cardigan...

The jumper from CQ.

And the amazing blanket in the making.

Hey, can you see how big my belly is? Not even, cuz you don't realize how big my b**bs have gotten. I am so done. But I might have mentioned that yesterday. :)

I have great friends.

Ignore the Silence

2009-04-07T14:17:00.003-04:00

This clinches it. Say hello to my Mid-Life Crisis!

The new addition will be pushing back my self indulgence another 8 years or so, but I can be patient... mostly.

We are in the worst part of the whole ordeal. Ok, I am in the worst part of the whole ordeal. So uncomfortable. And my ankles are just gross. But enough about the last weeks of Pregnancy.
Baby Girl's all set up. The diapers and onesies are washed and the crib is made up and the coming home outfit is in the bag. I actually packed my hospital bag 2 days ago. I feel better being a little bit prepared, finally. hee-hee.

This little white lacy cardi will top her coming home outfit.

I made a hat to match, but forgot to photograph.

It certainly satisfied the need to knit a baptism outfit. I still think it would have been nice to do so, but only if I had thought of it much earlier. Maybe for a grandbaby, someday.

Knit Night ladies bestowed the lil'one with handknits last Friday. I haven't taken any pics of the goodies yet. I am hoping that CQ or Laurie will email me pictures (HUGE HINT) that they took of the event.

Needless to say, I run with a fabulously talented crowd. She has several cardigans, ranging from Stacey's first baby cardigan to Laurie's Tulip (oh, how I want a matching one for me!! I may just have to accidentally stop in at Bloomin' Yarns tomorrow!!) to an ensemble from CQ of bonnet, jumper and cardi of spring green and purple pansies (Dale of Norway pattern, I bet, so gorgeous.) Not to mention a blanket with coordinating bonnet from Janice and the sweetest ruffled-bum romper from Stephanie. And we certainly cannot wrap up a recap without mentioning the amazing blanket that everyone made. Laurie took my sock leftovers from me one day a while ago. She and many other lovely knitters took those little balls to make octagons which were then sewn together and DPUtiger Amy is now attaching to a backing to create, quite probably, the best baby gift ever. Talk about taking a village!

I am truely humbled by the outpouring of friendship, generosity and good wishes that I have received in the last few months as we all anticipate the arrival of the newest Mayhem.

How does that go?

Home is where you make it.

Bloom where you are planted.

However you want to say, it is a beautiful thing.

Gone Missing?

2009-03-18T17:53:00.002-04:00

Nah, just trying to get some to-dos off the list.

Biggest fun, several of my friends put together a baby shower for me... yeah, that little ticker over on the side is running out of room. Baby Girl was thoroughly spoiled. I would show you pictures, but it is a little (lot) embarassing. I have great and generous and loving friends.

The Mister painted her room while I was off having fun with my friends. It is called peach cloud. Not very orangey, not too pink, just right. Once I get it all put together, I will show you her beautiful nursery.

Otherwise, I am trying not to think about how close/far my due date is. Lots to do, and most of it doesn't involve baby. I can't believe that Lent is half over!

Busy Days

2009-03-04T13:07:00.006-05:00

Like a Cat in a roomful of rocking chairs, a Knitter is not safe in a roomful of numismatists.

The Mister has inherited some coins. The boys spread out on the living room floor and the numbers and dates were flying. Great for keeping track of my own decreases!! heh.

They have some pretty cool coins. Silver dollars from the 1800's, silver dimes, indian head pennies, even steel pennies from 1943- one of which is worth over $2. Not bad for a penny.

Of course, for INBA the highlight of the collection are the Train and Trolley tokens that were mixed in. I cannot tell you how many trains have gone to Johnstown since then. Even funnier, though, they have never been to Johnstown. Maybe we should correct that this summer.
Eldest was quite intent on trying to fill up the penny book that the Mister purchased. It holds coins from 1900 to 1959, I think. We had fun talking about where those pennies, especially the 1909 and 1933, may have been, what was happening, how much it could have bought, who might have held on to that penny longer than someone else.
Yeah, I wonder why my kids are weird.

Probably because mommy is weird and obsessed with trivialities, not the least of which is her knitting.

I finished my first personal sock club. Groovy Socks (by sockpixie) with Vesper Sock Yarn in Lovely Lollipop Sky. Love, love, love, Julia's sock yarn.

As soon as I finished, I ran up stairs- well, as much as you can call a pregnant lady running- because the boys were already in bed, and grabbed another bag.

Yes, I can be patient.

Ok, no, not really.

And this is what I found. Sweet Socks in Purpurly by Sweet Sheep along with the Vinnland sock pattern by the AntiCraft.

lucky me, lucky me.

I do have to be honest, though. I have a strong desire to knit a plain sock.

I may have to make a pair for INBA while I am working on this, too.

We'll see how I feel once I get started.

And in Weather news

Uh, cold doesn't begin to describe it.

Eldest has been enjoying the Wallaby, to be sure. Honestly, I would have preferred to be disappointed he was only able to wear it a couple times! Brr. Highs barely making it to 20 degrees. We didn't even get any of that snow that coated the east coast to make it, at least, pretty to look at. *sigh*

Oh well, I have a new pair of socks to keep me warm.

You Are Welcome!

2009-02-26T15:39:00.001-05:00

Yes, it was 51 degrees yesterday and 53 today. You're welcome. Not to worry though, Ol'Man Winter cannot seem to help himself, it is supposed to be 32 by Monday. And snow.

Spring! Spring! Where Are You?!

2009-02-23T22:23:00.002-05:00

I finished the Wallaby during the Oscars (which I thought was the best broadcast in many years, if a bit longer than I would have liked.) Eldest tried it on this morning and put it back on as soon as he got home from school. He would have worn it to school, but it isn't dress code. Very safe to say that he likes it. I warned him that it won't fit next winter and he can't be mad because INBA will wear it. He said that, indeed, he could, and probably would be mad. Um, we need to work on that one.

Yoo-Hoo!

2009-02-20T08:37:00.004-05:00

Boy, the time flies! Either that, or we have had a lot of stuff going on around here.

Probably both.

I was in Indy last week while my lil' Sis had her gall bladder was sucked out of her belly button. I came home to Valentine Parties with the boys, Pops with the Mister and furniture shopping for babygirl. Then it was a no school day for President's day and a crazy too many things to do Tuesday.

Let's sum up, I have spent the last 2 days sleeping. I wish I could say that I am caught up... but I am thinking at nearly 31 weeks, I will be caught up in about 2 1/2 years.

Today is lunch duty, ptg volunteer hounding and... Yea! Knit night!!

Some other goings on...

Cub Scouts had their Pinewood Derby/Grand Prix.
The boys didn't win any awards this year. They were disappointed, but have plenty of ideas for next year.

Wow, that is a lot of pink.

A friend of a friend passed on a 0-3 month assortment.

Another friend tried jinxing me and said that my baby wouldn't need such small clothes.

I am still having earnest discussion with babygirl about the merits of being a bouncing 7 1/2 lb babe. Cross your fingers for me, thanks.

Estimation of Spring Arrival

I am ready to start the hood of Eldest's Wallaby. I am not entirely sure how long it will take me to knit it, but I am fairly certain that Spring will arrive about 10- minutes after I am done.

Eldest tried it on this morning and was quite taken with it. I did knit a size 10, but I don't think that it will fit him next winter. Have you found the Wallaby to run small? Or do you think my crazy life affected my gauge? I should double check.

Either way, it is a lovely sweater. Someone will wear it.

Whatever it takes to see Spring. *grin*

Who Knew a Utensil Had so Much Personality?

2009-02-08T00:02:00.002-05:00

You Are a Spork

You have a playful, eccentric sense of humor.

You are creative. You see the world in bold colors.

You are a dabbler. You love to experiment.

You aren't an expert in anything, but you know a little about everything.

What Utensil Are You?

If you cannot read the heading (it is really light on my screen) it says that I am a spork.

What are you?

Shadowy

2009-02-02T13:08:00.002-05:00

Well, in case you haven't heard, he saw his shadow.

Which only means that Eldest might be able to wear his wallaby yet this winter.
I discovered yesterday that I was using the wrong size needles to knit his sleeve.
While debating what to do (trying to rationalize laziness) the Mister asked how long it took me to knit what I had done. Maybe 3 or 4 hours -not all of which would need to be frogged. Then he gave me this, this, this sound akin to a shrug. So I frogged, and reknit during the Super Bowl.

And about that Super Bowl. Was that not the best game actually played at the Super Bowl in a long time? Both teams played like they wanted to win, and for a while there, I wondered who would win! The commercials weren't so great this year, but you can't have everything.

Bobbles Suck and Craig Ferguson Makes Me Cry

2009-01-31T16:12:00.002-05:00

I have nearly completed Miss Dashwood. I just have to sew the earflaps and ties on. I used the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran that the pattern calls for and that Laurie had given me 2 balls of at Wuletide. I love this yarn. I want more of this yarn. I want an entire yummy something-just-for-me of this yarn. The only thing is, that this yarn is not very stretchy. So, making bobbles -who thought k4togtbl was a good idea, anyway? - is really tough on the hands. Still, it is soft and delicious and I love it.

Craig Ferguson is another issue. He is on way too late at night. And geesh, if I accidentally stay up late compulsively knitting hand-hurting bobbles, well, I just have to watch him. Oh my, oh my. I laugh so hard that my pregnancy-compressed lungs hurt and tears stream from my eyes. I very much enjoy it when he makes me laugh until I cry, and it is nearly every time I watch him that this happens. Just so you know. 'Cuz I know you care.

I Have a Friend

2009-01-29T15:12:00.003-05:00

Seriously, I do.

And she thinks that babies are just as cute while they are still inside as when they are on the outside. (she has never been pregnant herself- just sayin')

So, this one is for you. Me, 27+ weeks.Isn't it so cute how she makes my left hip hurt so bad?

Awwww, sweet. ;)

Another thing that makes me happy...

I just figured out that Ravelry will now let me upload pictures directly into my project descriptions. No more messing with Flickr. Very happy, much more likely to update my projects.

We survived

And the boys went back to school after 2 snow days. The first day wasn't so bad, the second, well, more challenging. Eldest read the 3 whimpy kid books that I bought him at the book fair on the first day. INBA cuddled up in the recliner and took a nap with me. There was a little webkins time for each of them, too. The second day, wrestling, teasing, antagonizing, you get the picture.

Today, after a 2 hour delay, they happily ran off to school.

whew.

oh, and they just returned... let the mayhem resume!

Pregnant Ladies Are Not Allowed...

2009-01-26T14:59:00.006-05:00

To watch "Hallmark Hall of Fame" movies.

"Loving Leah" was on last night, and honestly, half a box of tissue later, I don't really know why I was blubbering. Hormones. ugh.

Anyway, I finished my no-purl monkeys in Vesper Yarn, Shout Out Loud.

Don't you love that you cannot really see how swollen my ankles are in this colorway?

I showed the Mister and I think he was startled by the color. The, "WHOA!" and slight jump in his chair gave me that idea. he-he. Eldest was happy to run upstairs and grab a bag for me.

Lookie-lookie, what was inside!
More Vesper sock yarn, Lovely Lollipop Sky!
The pattern is Groovy Socks.
There wasn't a picture that printed with the pattern. I, of course forgot what it looks like, and happily knit this up, right away!

I am a very happy girl :)

Now, the weather man is calling for some big snow to come tonight and tomorrow. I have a growing affinity for the 2 hour school delay... I really prefer not having to get up until 8!

Alas, as I begin the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy, the sleep deprivation training is beginning. I think that the only way not to be so tired is to quit doing laundry and dishes... and I would say cleaning the bathroom, but I kind of already have... unless the boys do some serious damage that cannot be ignored. Oh, and I guess I should quit going to school and volunteering and no more late nights knitting and... and .... nah, I can't give up my fun! Just the work. heh.

Show n Tell

2009-01-22T09:43:00.005-05:00

Tell is fun, but Blogging is so much more fun when I have pictures to show!

This here is Eldest's Wonderful Wallaby.

Even though I am happy to have pictures, it would be nice if I took better ones...

but, as it is, the color of his sweater is really a hunter/forest green heather.The no purl monkeys that I started back in AUGUST (ugh) have found new attention.

This is the second sock, one repeat short of the heel.

A baby set in progress... but I don't think I am going to make the booties that are with this pattern, because the current issue of Piecework has a set of booties that are much more my taste... you know I am not a huge lover of garter stitch, but I like the garter rib. That magazine also has an Alice Starmore baby bonnet that is a must have.
And this is the niftiest idea! It is the real reason for renewed attention to the monkeys.
I saw that Mum was doing it and apparently she found inspiration on Ravelry. Either way, it is my personal Sock Club 2009.

I paired up patterns that I have wanted to knit with yarn in the stash, (fun and occasionally harder than I thought it would be) and then stuck it in a paper lunch sack and stapled the top. Never a disappointment, because I know that I want to make them! And, one thing that I wonder if it is considered with some of the sock clubs out there... I started with the pattern and picked yarn to go with it rather than "this is the yarn and this is the pattern" that don't necessarily go together.
I think I might need to start a set of boy bags. I am feeling a little knitters guilt that all those bags are socks for me.

Lastly, a glimpse of my Out n About Tote in progress.

All that fabric was in my stash.

The green was used in a quilt for INBA, the pink batik and the "Barbados" floral were just, "I love it, I must have it, I will use it someday" purchases.

Sweet, eh?

I am super looking forward to finishing it. (waiting for the feet I ordered)

Imagine the Potential

2009-01-20T15:41:00.000-05:00

Nesting?

2009-01-19T12:29:00.002-05:00

I don't have the energy, but I have been cleaning. Walls, baseboards, trying to declutter the counter where all things get piled. I have even been trying to get ufo's off the needles (only to begin more.) Can someone say... beginning the 7th month very soon? I am going to have to sweet talk the Mister to paint the nursery on his next Friday off... then I can think about curtains and that gorgeous little quilt I want to make and, and, and.... I am definitely going to need a nap this afternoon.

One other thing.
I didn't say enough about the sweater that Laurie made me for Christmas. When I read about it, I had no idea that I would be so lucky as to receive it. And having since received it... wow, what an awesome gift. And, I have received so many compliments! I think that even better than being able to say, "Oh, yes, I knit this." is to be able to say, "My friend made this for me!!"

Thank you, again. I am super lucky to have you as my friend, for so many reasons.

I'm So Excited!

2009-01-18T13:43:00.007-05:00

Pictures!!

from New Years with cousins...of my Christmas present from Laurie (that is baby girl, there, making her blog debut)
of belated Christmas mits with my first use of the loop stitch on the cuff,
btw, I used jiffy yarn for the hand... it is so warm and soft! And I don't like acrylic!

of some baking... many birthdays this time of year here at Chez Mayhem. My cheat has always been a box cake with homemade frosting... I used the stand mixer this year to mix the batter... OMG! Way improved the texture. And the Betty Crocker chocolate frosting recipe is always a big hit, and very easy, too.

of chocolate chewy cookies...INBA loves to watch video clips on the internet and seems to especially enjoy the Cook's Illustrated website's video library. Good thing, it seems, because we found these cookies there. I promise you, if you love chocolate... well, INBA has added these to the family recipe binder under "INBA's favorite cookie." I cannot over state how awesome these cookies are.

And finally, of the Mister's Birthday.

Wow, check out the glow.
Happiest of years to you!!

Uninteresting

2009-01-06T23:13:00.000-05:00

No pictures, again. I am going to guess that it is the firewall. I am secure, for sure.
Either that or my pictures are so bad and my blog so boring that I am being cut off.

So...
Everyone went back to school and work on Monday. I have been doing laundry and grocery shopping and having lunch with a friend. The lull is short lived. I looked at the calendar this afternoon and silly busy is about to strike again. Welcome to 2009.

I continue to be pregnant. Apparently, she has a trampoline in there. The boys have each felt her moving. INBA thinks it is pretty cool and frequently touches my belly and asks me to make her move. I am not sure that Eldest really believes it when he feels her. But he finds it fascinating and mistakes every gurgle of my abdomen for his sister. I tricked the Mister into feeling the baby. I have to trick him because he won't touch me when I tell him that she is moving around. He claims that it doesn't weird him out to feel the movement... but he jerks away when he feels her and won't touch me if I tell him that she is moving around. What would you think?

I have startitis in a bad way. I made a beautiful (if I do say so myself)bag for Julia for Wultide and now I am going to make one for myself. Different fabric, no matchy matchy here. And I didn't even take a picture of it before I gave it to her-not very secretly hoping she wouldn't like it and I would trade her a cocoa trio for it back :) I have high (probably too high) hopes that it is a perfect bag. Even if it falls short, it is darn close. And I want to make things for baby girl- I have a little cardi in progress that I was hoping to be the welcome home outfit, but I am not loving it like that, and I have this crazy notion to knit her baptism outfit. CQ gave me a great book for Wultide and I actually want to knit everything in it, but had better start on the baptism gown first if it has any hope of being completed in time. I could sew one for her, too, but... I don't know what. And I bought some yarn, just some wool-ease on sale at Michaels, to make Eldest a wallaby. Not to mention the lonely glove with 3 fingers and the single mitt and the mis matched pair of socks waiting for the perfect mates. I guess if my calendar isn't crazy busy, my mind makes up stuff for me to be busy just wishing I could get done tomorrow!!

This is too long for a post without pictures. I will try to get my issues resolved with my tech guy, um, Mister. Until then... I hope something interesting happens that I can tell you about.

Happies

2008-12-31T11:55:00.000-05:00

Well, Blogger must think that I am eloquent and do not need pictures to distract you from my flowery prose because it will not let me up load any pictures... It is so nice to be well thought of.

Anyway, I will save the amateur photography for another day and just give out a couple of happies....

Happy Birthday to Miss M. My Niece is 6 today and I knit her a fabulous little poncho to celebrate. *photo at a later date* We will have dinner and cake at my MIL's and see how close the kids get to seeing the new year. Another bummer about living on the east coast. We used to be able to watch the ball drop in New York at 9 pst, be to bed at a reasonable hour and not feel like we missed anything! Either way, Happy Birthday, Miss M.

Happy Anniversary to Laurie and Dave! 25 years. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS!! Let's give them a round of applause. In these days of selfish indulgence and instant gratification and no-fault divorce, to weather the joys and challenges of a committed relationship and raise two boys at the same time... You Rock! Best wishes for the next 25.

As for the rest of you... Happy New Year!! I hope that 2009 is a blessing to you and your family. I hope that you find comfort and unconditional love in your life. I hope that you have the best year yet. 10...9...8...7..............

Merry Christmas, Baby!

2008-12-24T11:02:00.003-05:00

HO!HO!HO!

They tell me that they have been nice this year.

Do they look nice to you?

If I hadn't hurried up to get out the Christmas Cards before we left, this picture would have been in every one. Isn't that typical? Threaten life and limb for a decent picture for the cards and get none, have a random life-size Santa in a hotel lobby and get the cutest picture in years!!

Eldest took about 80 pictures on our trip. Once I sift through them, be prepared for a Scranton travelogue! We had an awesome time. The weather was gnarly on the way there (35mph on I-80 and I was still praying hard) but we made it safely (5.5 hr trip turned a little more than 8 hr.)
INBA said that his birthday weekend was "spectacular."
I guess it is good to be 7.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

May the joy and peace of the birth of Christ be the ultimate gift for you this season.

Birthday Mayhem

2008-12-17T23:48:00.002-05:00

He really IsN't a Baby Anymore!INBA is 7.

We are off to visit trains this weekend to celebrate.

Of course, the weather is supposed to be icky, but would it really be a December Birthday Party if there wasn't a wintery mix and travel advisory to go along with it?

Happy Birthday, Kid! Love ya bunches, wouldn't trade you for the world.

Momma Love

2008-12-15T14:33:00.002-05:00

So, we were going to 5pm Mass on Sunday night. We had a busy weekend around the house. I'm pregnant, I'm tired, I thought I was having a moment and feeling like death warmed over, I thought a little make-up might make me feel like less of a zombie.
INBA likes to watch me put on my make-up (which, honestly, doesn't happen much anymore). He even reminded me to put on some eyeliner. *no comments, please :) *
This morning, over breakfast, he says to me, "Mommy, when you wear that blush, you don't look so old."
To which I reply, "Thank you!"
Eldest pipes up, "Maybe you should wear that more often."
"Um, maybe."

Cure for Winter Hands
Some lovely, lanolin rich wool being spun into beautiful singles (soon to be plied) does wonders for some dry winter hands. Unfortunately, like all good things, it doesn't last terribly long. Fortunately, I have quite a bit of that fleece left to spin!! I was trying not to give-in to the siren call of my wheel, seeing how pathetic the Christmas knitting is this year. But I relented last night and I feel so much better about it all. I hope to spin some more this week, too. If it wasn't for all those other things on my to-do list!! Well, if I put it on the list, it needs to get done, too.
Hmm, I may have out-smarted myself!

Busy Holidays

2008-12-10T22:48:00.003-05:00

It has been too busy around her to even start to adjust to the season or the impending changes to our family. Too busy to blog, not that I don't think about it...

See, I took a cute picture of a cute hat that I made for a baby girl born in October to a friend of a friend. The first friend gifted me a skein of pink Cascade 220- wishing us a girl before we knew- so I made the hat for her to give. I did a little embroidery, ala cosyknits, with some of the yarn I dyed way back in the summer with friends on the back porch.

My busy-ness is directly related to my inability to not volunteer for things at the boys' school. This includes being PTG president, which means that I get to help, even when I don't particularly want to help. So, Breakfast with Santa, and the soon to be mentioned Santa's Workshop, and the nasty little cold that the boys gave me, and all the usual bits and pieces have made the days become a blur.

I guess, I need to stop...

We put up the tree on Sunday. The boys were going to go to Santa's Workshop at school on Tuesday and they needed to have some place to put their gifts. I couldn't think of any good time this month to put up the tree, so we just put it up, tired or not.
It has become apparent that I make ornaments for the tree nearly every year.
The boys make ornaments, too.
I have made a good bit more.
This is distressing, because I like to make the ornaments. The tree is obviously full.
I should stop.
I could stop, anytime I want.
Right after I finish the list of cute ones that I haven't gotten around to making, yet.
Then, I will stop.
Probably.

Christmas Knits
Um, not going to happen so much this year. INBA is asking for socks, predictably claiming the latest edition of Knitterly Things Sock Club for himself (hand-dyed semi-solid red sock yarn- called Fireside, very INBA). We'll see how it goes. I am not putting too much pressure on myself. We are, however, going to be taking a road-trip for INBA's 7th birthday. That means 5-6 hours of car knitting each way. Kid socks might be a good option.
We are going to Steamtown in Scranton, PA. You cannot begin to imagine how excited he is. Super-double bonus? The hotel has a pool. Woot!

Oh, and then there is the baby girl to think about.
I am still trying to wrap my mind around a real, live daughter.
And then there is the name issue.
I think it will come down to meeting her and seeing who she is.
In the meantime, Helga is her nickname. The Mister thinks Hildegard would be better, but I cannot remember it when someone asks.
Anna Katherine was always our girl name when we were expecting the boys. This evening I met a 2 week old baby girl named Anna. I keep telling the Mister that it is a really common name right now. Being a Heather born in the '70s, I have a huge issue with any "name of the moment." He thinks it just means that it is a good name.
Feel free to make your suggestions, but don't be offended if we name her Helga. :)

So, Now We Know

2008-11-29T16:34:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it?
I still cannot, really...
It's a girl.
Seriously.
A girl.

Impatiently Paitent

2008-11-25T08:31:00.002-05:00

Friday...
Waiting for Friday...
Not for the usual reasons...
Waiting to see what is in store for us...
Worse than waiting for Christmas...

Thanksgiving will be a quiet one this year. The Mister's sister is not coming to the 'burgh with her family this year. So, it will just be us and the MIL. I am going to make a chicken, which I much prefer to turkey, and the usual sides.
Food doesn't taste right to me. So, I am not going to bother making much of a fuss. I joke that the baby doesn't like the usual comfort foods. But the baby does like milk and cheese and yogurt (which usually don't do much for me) and the baby loves apples. The baby prefers tart and sour, sweet things don't even register as taste. Oh, and the baby really likes beer. I made a loaf of "almost no knead bread" and had 3/4 of a beer left over, so I drank it... ooooooh, that was the best beer ever. Again, usually not much interested in beer.

INBA's class is doing mass tomorrow. He is reading one of the intentions. He is excited because they are going to have "real candles with fire!" Um, yeah.

I have startitis with my knitting, projects in general. Nothing holds my attention for long. My sister has asked for a warm hat that she can wear under her hardhat. My sister is a boilermaker. Seriously. She is working outside, third shift, on the Ohio River. Brr. I had given a hat to my niece, an unoriginal hat, I think, and my sister has been wearing it to work. The cables aren't very comfortable under her hardhat. And it is Malabrigo, so you know how yummy and warm it is. So, she wants a hat of her own. But, I would rather knit baby things... waiting to knit baby things.

So that is all there is to distract me until Friday morning. Then, a look at our babe. Geesh, it is hard to be patient! I don't know how some people wait the whole 9 months to find out...

November, Already?!?

2008-11-08T09:52:00.006-05:00

I did try posting a couple of weeks ago, but The Mister had tinkered with the firewall and it was not allowing me to post. I totally get that the internet is not the safest place to be walking around at night, but I still need to give my pictures to blogger!!

He fixed it, or because it is 10 am on a Saturday, I am allowed out to visit my friends.

HI, FRIENDS!! Anyway, this is what my Anniversary gift looked like. I think it ended up with 5 blooms. Quite lovely. I have a good Mister. He cannot bear to buy me cut flowers anymore. He plants bulbs and annuals in the yard for me... so that I can cut them. The *expletive deleted* chipmunks ate the oriental lily bulbs that he planted last fall and the deer chomped the ones that they missed. I only had 2 that they somehow missed.

That was a tangent.

Anyway, we had amarylis in our yard in Long Beach, CA that bloomed at Christmastime. All colors and stripes (always a good idea to buy the home of a good gardener.) It was quite beautiful in December.

Anyway.

In the month of October, the wool fumes were still making me nauseous, and I became enamoured with other craftiness. Coupled with co-chairing the parish craft fair and these little jems being a "make and take" project, I fell down on the snowman ornaments. My favourite is the regular old coal eyes and mouth with a carrot nose, but the wink amuses me, too.

INBA wanted one that was surprised.

And a dog, of course.

These are super simple and too much fun. I have to close my eyes and walk quickly past the ornament aisle at Michaels, now. I made a dozen. I would like to make more. But if you make some and post the pictures on your blog, then I can have a fix and we will both be happy... Great Idea!!

All you have to do is get some ornaments. I used the flattened ones, but it would work with the regular round ones, too.

Then get some Buffalo Snow. I bought the all irridescent pack, I like sparkles.

Then get some Squiggles fabric paint. They have wonderful points for writing. I used Black and Orange. Again, irridescent, I like sparkles.

First, I drew on the faces with the paint.

If you make a mistake, you can wipe it right off. Try not to do too thick, it takes a lot longer to dry.

Set them aside to dry, overnight and you don't risk smudging.

Second, remove the top of the ornament. While holding over a bowl, stuff pinches of snow into the ornament. It goes everywhere, there is a lot of static involved. I have a wide, shallow plastic bowl that I bought at the dollar store. The bowl caught most all of it. It is super useful in the craft room. I also have one in the kitchen that is great for everything from popcorn to holding the halloween candy. A buck, people. Another tangent, sorry.

Second, part two, fill the ornament one third to one half full. The snow sticks to the inside of the ornament and it only takes a little to make you think snowman. Put the little top back on the ornament.

Third, cut a lenght of 1/4 inch ribbon to be your tie.

Super easy, highly addictive, great little gift for the holidays.

And then there is paint.

These beauties are the round ornaments with 3 colors of acrylic paint dripped in and swirled around. Include a mettalic if you do them.

Blue, white and gold, above.

Red, white and silver, on the left.

I only did the six pack of these guys. You must be patient while swirling the paint around. And, if you use too much it takes weeks for them to dry- there gets to be a puddle in the bottom.

And I haven't even told you about the cute shark pj pants I made for INBA or that I am knitting again!

VOTE!!

2008-11-04T17:08:00.002-05:00

Hey. Go vote. You still have a little time left. I don't care who you vote for, just vote.

There were 2 people in front of me at my polling place. Usually, there is no one there. I guess that is a big turnout. Of course, it was 11:15am and I was trying to avoid a rush. Poor Mister, he has to go after work... he will be a while, I bet.

So, vote. It is your moment to have a say.

Decade

2008-10-11T19:25:00.002-04:00

Happy Anniversary, Mister! You lucky duck. I mean, I am the lucky duck.

We had lunch at Luma in Mt. Lebanon. Very nice, if you are looking for good food and nice ambience. It was such a beautiful day, indian summer at its best. It was like that the day we were married, too. Hmmm.

Having been neglectful of so many things, lately, I have misplaced my new camera. I wanted to take some pictures to show you that I am not actually doing nothing creative. So, Trust me :)

Fireworks and Stuff

2008-10-06T14:49:00.002-04:00

Pittsburgh is 250 years old. So they had a big fireworks display. This isn't the prettiest video on YouTube, but it gives some of the best sense of all the fire. They launched from something like 12 or 14 places, including the tops of several of the tallest buildings. If you look, you see the Allegheny River going up the center of this video, and if you look even closer, you can see the furthest fireworks are being launched from a barge up the Allegheny, in front of PNC Park (which you definately cannot make out in the video, too dark, but trust me, it is there.) The Mister and I were on the Clemente Bridge behind that barge. This video does no justice to the noise down where we were! Wow. Bang, Bang, Pow!

The ultra Fabulous Laurie babysat the boys on Saturday so that The Mister and I could celebrate our Anniversary (a little early) by going to the POPS concert. I talked the Mister into another subscription :) Hey, we have limited amounts of date nights left before we are cut off and severely limited by a bambino (which is all his fault, if I haven't mentioned it before.) So, we watched Marvin Hamlisch conduct the PSO and Linda Eder sing Judy Garland songs. The concert ended just in time for the Fireworks. We stayed and watched. 30 solid minutes of what the video only shows a smidgen. Quite a night.

I guess I owe Laurie a really great dinner... with lots of vegetables. Thanks again, Laurie!!

Otherwise, still no knitting. But, thanks to Heather, I did just read The Time Traveler's Wife. Wow, great recommendation. An interesting and engaging style of storytelling, to be sure.

Thump, Thump, Thump

2008-10-01T19:02:00.002-04:00

How come all of a sudden it feels so different just because they slimed my belly and a thumping noise came out of that little speaker?

The Problem with A Good Book

2008-09-29T21:32:00.002-04:00

... is that I have no self control. I lose myself in a great story. I finally read the copy of Water for Elephants that Mrs. H left on my coffee table, um, a good while ago. Really good. Luckily, reading doesn't make me queasy- who knew that knitting ever would?

The Mister is looking forward to reduced energy bills this winter. I am so overheated that he is complaining that he is cold when I have the windows open in the car or the house. I am still wearing sandals because even those shorty anklets keep me too warm. How is that for irony? And rude. What about all these wool sweaters that I have acquired in the last 3 years and the cardigan that may someday be complete? And more rude? ... a belly on fire and Tums that make it not burn but yucky nonetheless. Rude.

Have you guessed, yet? Why I haven't been pregnant in the last 7 years? You thought it was the trauma of having 2 boys 18 months apart? No. I am a cranky pregnant lady. Complain. Complain. Complain.

In the interest of maintaining our friendship, I will try really hard to refrain from giving voice to the tirade in my head. But really, I am not glowing. I am hot and uncomfortable, having an endless hot flash. Somebody bring me a glass of ice water, please?!

I wonder if I have any other good books around here that I meant to read...
Any suggestions?

Hello, Autumn!

2008-09-22T16:22:00.003-04:00

It has been a flurry of activity in the Mayhem House.

I think it may be settling down... But it may be the calm before the blizzard.

This is a beautiful picture of a beautiful baby wearing the Rocketry I made last spring. Sweet!!

You may have noticed my new little ticker over in the sidebar... More mayhem is brewing for Chez Mayhem. I am expecting our third child in April. It took 7 years for it to sound like a good idea, again, and the Mister caught me at that exact moment. I won't blame him... but I sure couldn't have done it on my own!

I feel fine, but my creative juice has dried up. I have been knitting and reknitting the left front (last piece) of my Must Have Cardigan for the last 2 1/2 weeks. Most recently, my tape measure was broken and didn't measure correctly, so I started my armhole shaping 3/4" early. And then knit another 4 inches before checking again. Darn tape measure! rip, rip. And you know what? I don't really care. I am that blase' about it. Sad. Very sad.

Local Time

2008-09-04T13:57:00.003-04:00

The week has wizzed by. Boys are still excited to go to school, the weather has been beautiful and it is amazing how quickly errands go without anyone in tow.

I should confess, for Rani's sake, that I am a mean mom. My chores get done relatively quickly when all I have to do is clean a bathroom (which I loathe to do), vacuum, mop, tidy. I am mean, because, I make the boys clean up after themselves. I said on Monday night, "you boys aren't going to be here to use all this stuff lying around, clean it up so that I can clean up." And they did and so did I. Not to imply that our house is particularly orderly. I have my issue with "hot spots" of clutter, as the Fly Lady says. But, I find that being mean to the children keeps things manageable. Besides, they have the spare bedroom as their "playroom" which they never play in, but they can put their toys there, which is probably the biggest and only reason that the house is not legos and trains from one end to the other all the time.

And huge bright spot on Mayhem Lane... My neighbors are back!!! My neighbors had moved back to Australia, for good, they said. But I went out for the mail today and THERE THEY WERE!!! And Mr. Neighbor actually said to me, "It is good to be home." WHAT?!?!? If Mr. Neighbor can make peace with living in the 'burgh, maybe I can, too... stranger things have happened... maybe. maybe not. Either way, I am thrilled to have my Neighbors back.

My Must Have Cardigan is cruising along. I think the olympics and the soul-sucking black cardigan took more out of me than I anticipated. My creative juices are quite low, suffering on all fronts. I need to contemplate a recharge... maybe knit night, tomorrow, will give me a boost. I hope.

Back to School

2008-09-02T09:34:00.002-04:00

There they go. Off to 3rd and 1st grades.They have been gone for a little more than an hour. My chores are done. I wonder how I will occupy myself until 3?

I will let you know.

Where's my Roses?!

2008-08-24T11:56:00.002-04:00

Complete!! I didn't think I had it in me.

Call it a lesson in perseverance, or obsession.

The Ribbi Cardi is complete, with moments to spare!

I inserted the zipper this morning.

My Olympic Accomplishment.

Yea!

I would like to especially thank Michael Phelps for keeping me up late and wide awake as he accopmplished his own Olympic dreams. And Usain Bolt for making track and field interesting enough to stay up and watch.

Well Received

2008-08-22T08:27:00.002-04:00

Here's Pansy modeling the Salsa Cardigan.Lil' Ms. S had a birthday this week. She loves her American Girls. So, I made her a cardi for Kit. The yarn is merino style from KnitPicks. Yum.

Aside from it being her birthday, I really needed a break from the olympic cardi.

I have started my last piece, though. I just don't know if I can get all the finishing done by Sunday. I will try my best. And I am thrilled with the progress, either way. I promise, a black ribbed cardigan would never ever have been even nearly complete in 2 weeks without this extraordinary incentive.

My boys don't go back to school until after Labor Day. Only one more week of summer. We better go make the best of it!

Curious

2008-08-20T10:10:00.002-04:00

Winter Wooly?I thought these guys were supposed to be brown. And that how much black they have tells how winter will be. This guy was climbing on the side of our house. We saw another one, same coloring, at my MIL's house a week ago.

So, what do you suppose that means? Yellow?

You Won't Believe It!

2008-08-18T22:13:00.002-04:00

I do not have photographic evidence, but please believe me when I tell you.

Ready?

The entire Romney fleece (that I purchased at MdSW) is clean!! Yes, you heard me. It is all CLEAN!

Of course, I still have to card it and I don't really need to mention the spinning. I am so happy! Woot!

Hmm, not much else to report. The Olympic sweater is coming along nicely. Thank goodness for the arbitrary goal. A black ribbed cardigan would not be nearly as complete otherwise! I have one sleeve, the back, the left front and about half the other sleeve done. I am slowing down, though. Oxygen debt? Soul-sucking black yarn? The return of beautiful summer weather? The housework that has already been neglected for a week? *shrug* I don't know what it could be.

Oh, maybe because I spent all day WASHING MY FLEECE!!!! yea!! I did the laundry, too. And grocery shopping and took the kids to the library....

Balmy Summer

2008-08-13T22:29:00.009-04:00

Both of the boys are Cub Scouts, now.

They had the Rain Gutter Regatta last Saturday.

Eldest placed third, INBA won best hull design.

They had a blast, that was the real win.

A Kid's Eye View

I watch my mom take a lot of pictures of yarn, now I do, too.

Here's what INBA saw the other day while we were at Bloomin' Yarns

Olympic Inspired Outdoor Activities

Badminton.

ACK!! What is IT?

2008-08-06T12:48:00.002-04:00

No, no. Not the one where the squirrel lights the Christmas Tree on fire. Who really thought there was more than one movie with a squirrel tail on fire?

The one where the police come to the door and the one guy thinks that the lady is cute and agrees to check out the attic and the rest as said... It seems like there was a parallel plot thing going on, same story from different perspectives that overlap...

Was it all a dream???

Who is Washing the Car?

2008-08-05T19:38:00.003-04:00

The Mister washed my car.

The boys were supposed to be helping.What the?!?!?!
Getting hosed off was almost as much fun.

In other randomness... what was that movie that had someone looking into the attic and a squirrel jumps down at him and then he chases it into the living room and it catches its tail on fire in the fireplace and then dives under the sofa and the sofa bursts into flames... come on, you know the one I mean...

Hello, Again

2008-07-28T20:33:00.012-04:00

Cucumber Falls

A campfire Playing in the creek
And loving it

Thanks for the Hot Cocoa, Mom!
Eldest looks at the Youghiogheny River

I spent an afternoon doing this,

with this.

Six of these bloomed.

I am a Hokie by Association.

And I made a Hokie sweater for the Mister, too.

In case you want to be Hokie, too... That is Regia Silk Color, number 0180.

Summer camp is done, August shouldn't be so hectic. Yes, I am laughing, too. Still, I am an optomist and hope to post more frequently... ok, maybe in September.

Nada

2008-07-10T19:41:00.003-04:00

No, Chez Mayhem havsn't fallen off the face of the earth...it has just been... Mayhem.

The Mister was out in Idaho this week, so the boys and I were on our own. We managed. But it sure was nice to see the Mister walk in the door just in time for dinner tonight!

Over the 4th we made our 2nd annual camping trip to Ohiopyle. I really like it there. It is a great State Park and it is just so beautiful. Only an hour and a half away, too! You know I like that part! (Not in the typical Pittsburgh way of not wanting to be out of earshot of home, in the way that my body cannot take being cooped up in a car for more than 2 hours or so. *bleepity* shoulder. I am still a wreck from South Carolina.)

I haven't uploaded anything off the camera yet. I did get all the gear washed. It was pretty damp this year... have you ever smelled wet boy after 3 days of mud and river and no bath... stinks everything up, I tell you. We had friends that got a campsite, too. There was a small gang of boys for 2 of the days. Geesh, to be 6, 7, 8, or 9. Does it get any more free than a summer camping trip at that age? I cannot even tell you how much fun they had. Oh, and I didn't even mention the mountain pies! Man, we had a great trip. We need to do that more often.

Bad Blogger

2008-06-29T22:11:00.027-04:00

Or, Most of June in One Post.

All the way back on the 8th or so, we went to see a Pirates game... and the Pirates actually beat the Diamondbacks! It was warm and my guys are so handsome and it was a great afternoon.

And then Eldest turned 8.

And this is what we saw for the next week or so.
It was a quiet ride to the beach!

North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. LONG drive from the 'burgh. Plenty of cousins... and critters...

games...

castles...

and buried treasure.

I didn't mean to catch this welcome on the aquarium sign... but does it leave anyone else scratching their head?

Because, I don't think you would want to touch this...

Despite the unnecessarily gloomy music, the Ripley's Aquarium did have a fabulous walk thru tank.

On the way home, we visited Virginia Tech so that Daddy could show off his alma mater.

And a trip for the engineer is not complete without taking an opportunity to visit a modern marvel like the New River Gorge Bridge. 800+ feet above the river. At one time the world's largest arch bridge. Yeah, I live with an engineer and probably one, if not two in training.

That little bridge down there was how one used to have to get across the river.

And while I was gone... Vesper Summer Sock Club wound its way thru the South Hills and landed at my door. The green thing is a tape measure. Woot!!

Is that gorgeous or what?

And then, just this Friday... Ms. A was caught red handed kool-aid dying on my back porch.

Isn't it cute how organized she is? We never lost track of which bottle was which.

Oh, and it is the perfect time of year to get dye bottles. I picked up the condiment bottles at the dollar store- 3pk for a buck!! And they are bigger than the ones in the candy making aisle at the craft store.

Here's one fine example of our handi-work... Each kid did a skein of worsted weight. Yes, Ms. A and I are kids, too :) Now the challenge is to think of something fun to make out of each.

That gets us up to date, I think... I can't believe that July is only hours away. The boys are doing a morning camp through the township, some library programs and we have a couple of weekend plans and then it is going to be August! Slow down, Summer!!

Vacations

2008-06-21T15:18:00.003-04:00

Well, we made it back safely from the Family Vacation in South Carolina. Update shall follow.
And, I did find a babysitter for tonight. The Mister and I will enjoy his last birthday concert... Chris Botti at Heinz Hall.
Until then, I received this in an email and I thought you might enjoy it, too.

Look Out, World!

2008-06-05T23:20:00.004-04:00

The Kindergarteners are on their way to First Grade!Eldest and INBA

Me and the Mister with INBA and our Niece Ms. V.

Ms. V finished up her kindergarten year 2 weeks ago. Who said these babes could grow up? Do notice that INBA is persisting in his refusal to take a nice picture. Whatever.

Later than Late

2008-06-03T12:57:00.002-04:00

Oh, you know I couldn't go to bed as it headed into the 3rd overtime. Quite thrilling.

Anyway, now I am tired. go figure.

My sister is on her way here from Indianapolis. Honk if you see her on I-70. Man, Ohio is wide. She is coming for INBA's kindergarten graduation tomorrow. It will be good to see her and my niece.

I better go clean the hall bathroom and make sure the guest room has clean sheets, too. (that is code for the boys need to clean up the play room so that we can see that there is a bed in there for our guests to sleep on!)

Up Late

2008-06-02T23:38:00.005-04:00

I am telling myself that I need to go to bed... but the RedWings and the Penguins just went into the 2nd overtime.

So, I may as well get some blogging in so that I am not just sitting here watching hockey. :)

I am a happy girl, I just put together a photobook of 2005-2007. I hardly took any pictures (an embarassing amount of knits, not many kids) since moving to the 'burgh. But the boys love to look at the albums. I finally got it done and should be here, soon.

I am resolving to be better and take more pictures.

I bought a new camera. I know, I know. But the novelty will probably help get me back in the swing of things.

How do you like my rhododendrons? Don't they bloom nice when the Mister doesn't prune all of the set buds off? He commented how nice they look, too.There are lots of iris in the yard, too. Does anyone know how to go about thinning them? Some are so clumped that they have a hard time blooming. Do you do it like bulbs or do you need to be more careful?
I really like the BFF Sock. Hence, version 3. This is Lana Grossa Meilenweit Bosco. Rani is making a pair of socks out of this yarn, too. Great minds, I tell ya.

And that brings us to my Must Have Cardigan.

Nice sleeve, eh? Mmm-hmmm.

Except that I misunderstood what they meant by "Irish seed stitch." See, I have seed stitch on the sleeve and double seed on the back. This just means that the other sleeve will match the first and we pretend that all is as it should be. Because I can.

I still wish it was right, but I am NOT going to rip a whole sleeve over it.

It is after midnight, I may have to see the score in tomorrow's paper.

Go Wings!!

There's always next year, Pens!

And I wonder how I get into so much trouble around here...

Just Because You Never Know...

2008-05-28T08:18:00.003-04:00

Who reads your blog?

Uncle Charley!! *WAVE*

He is on the mend after what turned into a quadruple bypass and a lung operation.

Whew! Hope you are feeling better and heal quickly.

Otherwise, the weeks have slipped away here. I am wondering if I should just get used to that? It seems to be the norm anymore.

Hmm, what have we been doing?

Umm, the usual.

Not too terribly much on the knitting front. I have been spinning. I did a big basketful of carding this weekend. I am in process of washing some more. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I did not buy that 11 pound fleece! 4 pounds really is going to take all summer!

I am in process of dreaming about the cardigan I am going to make out of my romney. I found a beautiful scroll cable in a back issue (1999) of knitter's magazine. I think I want a shawl collar, too. I guess this sweater, should it materialize, will be all mine from start to finish! A little overwhelming to think about.

Oh, and also overwhelming, the school secretary's sister has two llamas. They were just shorn on Sunday. Guess who is going to have llama... um, hair? Yep, I am the (how did she describe me?) "neat" lady at school that spins and so she asked if I wanted the shearing. I said yes, of course!! I may be a durn fool, but I am going to have plenty to keep me occupied this summer :)

I told the Mister that she describes me as "neat" and he said that is as bad as being called "interesting." Heh. I still can think of worse things to be called. And I am ok, I think, with being *this far* from called eccentric.

The only weirdness in my basement is fiber, I swear!

Oh, and because weird loves company... I have friends that are total enablers. We all know about Laurie and CQ. But, then there is Annette. She has loaned me her drum carder. And she gave me an almost complete collection of SpinOff that goes back to 1986! Oh, yes, total enabler. Love it. Spoiled with friends.

Ok, here is a picture of the boys in the pool at Healthtrax.

We missed swim lesson yesterday because I forgot to pick up Eldest after school.

Yes, proud Mom Moment. Nothing like getting the phone call from the school... "Mrs. Mayhem? Eldest is waiting for you..."

Doh! In my defense, INBA threw up in the church during practice for Kindergarten Graduation. Just a little puke, he is fine. But I had to go get him. He ate a good lunch and ran my errands with me. So I was all out of sync with it being Tuesday and swim lesson day and... so we were late. The boys still had a good time in the pool. That is Eldest there in the middle. That splash is him swimming!! He forgot this spring that his entire life he has refused to let go of the instructor or side of the pool!! And you should see him. Wow. Little fish.

INBA is getting stronger, too. He is getting more comfortable putting his head under water and really blowing bubbles.

The only thing is... neither of them can tread water... not that they can't tread water, they can't keep their heads above water. Eldest is really good at treading and keeping the crown of his head out. Craziest thing you would ever see. Any hints?

Is that too many words without pictures? Did you even get this far? Thanks!

Something About Wednesday

2008-05-14T18:31:00.010-04:00

It seems to be my day. So, Hello!

I hope your Mother's Day was nice. It stormed like nobody's business, here. Which is A-OK, because the Mister didn't try to make me go do something 'fun' outside and bug my allergies :)

That and it was easy to get a table when we took the MIL out to dinner without reservations. The Mister likes to live dangerously. (I think he is hoping that we decide to go home for hamsammiches instead of making him pay for dinner. He's tricky, but we are on to him.)

Saturday, however, was gorgeous. Not too hot, not too cold, a really nice day to explore Old Economy. The boys really enjoyed it. And since there were all of 10 people there the whole day, we did whatever we pleased without any hassle.

Eldest pumped some water. He wasn't so interested in doing laundry in the tub near by. They tried to figure out how to roll the hoops.
Daddy even got into the game.
The best part was dinner on the way home. We accidentally found this place in Ambridge. OMG. They seriously make the best Hot Beef I have ever had. And their Rice Pudding is homemade and quite possibly better than mine! The Mister says not quite, but I think he was being nice on Mother's Day weekend.

So, do you want to see my fleecy progress? Oh, good.

Here are some rolags. So fluffy and cloud-like.

This is one lock that I used a dog comb on. I have a basket of these that I am going to spin up next. I spun the rolags first. I am doing my own experiments with what is easier to spin or if I see any difference in the yarn. Just 'cuz I can.

This is my ultra fabulous stool that I bought at MSW.

I love it.

Here is my single from the rolags...

Here it is plied. I am very proud of it.

I even finished it and have been carrying it around looking for people to show it off to... funny, not too many care about my yarn. *pout* I will take it to knitting on Friday. I should find some yarny luff there.

And that is pretty much it... for now.

Wednesday Already?

2008-05-07T21:59:00.009-04:00

Wow, where to begin?

How about with some red socks? Finished and immediately worn. Exactly why I knit for the kid.And then I went off to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.
Ooooh, so cute!
I absolutely, positively had a fabulous time!
I bought my fleece, some accessories for my wheel, some yarn for a bag for a birthday present, and a skein of sock yarn from Tess. Tess works some kind of color magic, Eldest immediately claimed the green yarn for himself and asked for SOCKS!!! What?!? After so much rejection, I don't know if I can stand it. Of course, I will knit him socks.
I also bought a stool. The best stool ever. I will take a picture, I promise, the next time I am not sitting on it. I bought it with the intention of using it for spinning, but it is so much more useful than that. More on that later.
I keep trying to type, 'I love my stool,' but then I think it sounds too inappropriate and easily taken out of context.

Then, I got to meet Heather and that was fun. Kinda weird to meet for real. And then, I am quite bad at the getting to know you small talk. I am a gibbering idiot. Sorry, Heather. I did really like meeting you!
I also saw Laurie, CQ, dputiger, and Michelle and Darka, not to mention a bus full of knitters from Pittsburgh and beyond.
Here is Ms. A and I on the bus ride home. Ms. A. knows that I am a blathering fool and still goes on bus trips with me. Thanks, Ms. A.

So what then? Laurie came over on Monday to do some spinning and encourage me with my fleece. See? We laid out my 4.25 lbs of Romney on my patio table. That is a big table, seats 6 very comfortably. Wow, thank goodness I didn't buy that 11 lb bag that was tempting me!

Isn't it lovely? I washed a basket full (barely made a dent, oh, did I mention that I bought a basket, too? I guess I need to take a picture of that, too.) I carded a couple of rolags and spun the first single, about half a bobbin. I carded a bit more of what I washed today, but haven't sat at the wheel this evening. Hopefully, tomorrow. Pictures of the process to come... until you can't stand it anymore! Seriously, I have a really hard time concentrating on anything else at the moment. The only knitting that has been done is on the current travelling sock that I started on the way to Maryland. Otherwise, Romney, Romney, Romney.

8:24pm

2008-05-02T20:24:00.003-04:00

I need to get to bed. I am being picked up at 5:10 am! What?!?! The bus to Maryland leaves at 6am and we have a good 25 minute drive to get there. YIPPEE. I hope I am not so excited that I will be disappointed.

Here's a little more excitement.

My Nephew's father became a Naturalized American Citizen this morning. How cool is that? Nephew turned 12 in February.

Congratulations!!!

Then, for a little not-so-exciting. My Uncle turned 54 yesterday and today had a triple bypass. Yikes. Please keep Uncle Charley in your good thoughts or vibes or prayers or whatever you do. Eldest would have been named after this Uncle if The Mister's sister hadn't named her son Charles 18 months before Eldest was born. Eldest would have been a good Charley. But he is a good Eldest, too.

Wednesday

2008-04-30T15:08:00.004-04:00

Wow, has it really been a week already? The weather did indeed turn a bit chilly, there was a frost overnight, and it has been in the mid forties all week. brrr. When is it going to be 70 again? Spring is in full bloom and the mild weather has allowed all the trees and bulbs to show off their full glory. This does nothing for the allergies, of course, but it sure is pretty.

This is what we did with our weekend. Eldest made his First Holy Communion on Sunday.

We are very proud of him. He was very excited.

Grandma took the family picture.

So much for digital.

And this weekend is Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I am so super excited that I don't even know what to do with myself. I am on the Knit One bus along with my friend Ms.A, whom I taught to knit and is now on fire!! I don't know who else is on the bus for sure, I know some who were thinking of it. I will try to remember and bring the camera. :)

Oh, and I finished the Cherry Calfuti BFF Socks last night. FINALLY! But thanks to Ravelry (love that site) I see that I only started them March 30. I guess because I have been working a pair of socks in the same pattern for INBA it feels like an eternity. Note to Self- don't work on two pairs of the same pattern at the same time. That and I was distracted for about a week by... you know. His second is turning a heel, I will finish them by the weekend, I think. Then I will be done with BFF and distracted by MSW goodies. *squeeee*

I Hate to Do this to You

2008-04-23T14:11:00.002-04:00

But seriously... I am obsessed. And just so you know, the total is 8 of the original obsession and now I have moved on to another pattern. That's ravelry, again. *sigh* And it isn't like I am done with the first. I might be close, though. I want to see how many I can get out of one ball of Sugar n'Cream. 2 for sure, maybe 3.

If you cannot go to ravelry, click over to my flickr (link in sidebar) and it will be obvious what I have been doing with my time. This may defeat the secret project thing, but I suck with secrets anyway.

The boys are doing swim lessons once a week in preparation for summer. Eldest has forgotten that he has for the last 6 years or so, stubbornly refused to let go of the instructor and swim. He is going to be a little fish if he can keep from remembering. INBA is reminding me of my sister. He doesn't like to get his face wet. The only way that could possibly be overcome is by the "anything you can do, I can too," sibling inspiration. Time will tell.

The Mister got the summer clothes out of the attic last night. This usually means that there will be a definate chill in the air for the next week or two. I am good at predicting such things. I hope not, though. I sure do like 70 degrees.

Secret Project

2008-04-20T21:04:00.003-04:00

I am pretty sure that certain people don't read this blog. But one can never be too sure. People lurk.

So, if you want to see what I am (compulsively) working on, look here (ravelry.) Then, look in the projects to see more. Ok, so I got (am still) a little carried away. It is so unlike me!