What to say, what to say...

As often is the case I thought of lots to share when I wasn't sitting here, my gaze darting back and forth between  at the keys and the screen. Of course noting happens until I press said keys. And in order for that to happen my brain needs to be engaged as well.

My brain has been engaged, it's just that it has been fragmented in so many directions that things don't always get the attention they deserve. I hate that. 

The changes I wrote about last have come and gone. First-born and her hubbs are now in the Seattle area. Both have jobs and are enjoying it up there. Chatty has moved out and on. Hopefully she is doing well and her plans are working out successfully.  Skellyson and Gamer Boy both continue in school. And the Princess continues her royal reign in the house.


I have been trying to use up yarn odds and ends and have been working on what could be a rather large project. Granted it isn't only odds and ends. I actually had to buy yarn to supplement the colors I already had. Somehow that seems wrong. But that's what happens.


This is what it looks like so far...

It's about 4 feet long on the shortest sides. Of course since it's rectangular it is longer on the other sides. I'm still debating on how big to make it. We'll see how it ends up. For now I'm just adding to it... one row black, a row of solid, a row of variegated, another row of solid. Repeat. Maybe I'll keep working on it forever so I never have to weave in the ends. :)

I'm still here...

Wow... has it really been that long since I wrote last? I am both amazed and embarrassed. I will try and do better from now on. 

Honestly, there has been plenty to write about. The problem wasn't that, there have been plenty of things that happened that I could have written about. It was more thinking about doing it at the wrong time. When the computer was shutting down, when I wasn't home, middle of the night. That sort of thing. 

Some happenings in the family have been that several kidlets are hitting the road and moving. First-born and her hubbs are moving to the Pacific Northwest. She has a job lined up that starts later next month and he is up there looking now. They will officially be moving in a couple weeks. Because of their move Skellyson has to move as well because he was staying with them and they aren't going to take him with them. From what he tells us, he will be moving in with a friend. Then Chatty is planning a move next week, just a few hours away but in a different state. This will be a permanent move for her so we hope her wings are dry enough and she is able to fly on her own. 


That means we are (or soon will be) left with Gamer Boy and Princess Junior at home. There have been a few big happenings with them as well.


Gamer Boy started college in August! He is still a little undecided on a major but is now in his second semester and doing well. He surprised himself and managed a B average in his first semester! He also bought himself a car. Well, actually this is his second car. He bought a Subaru Outback (used) and even though it checked out with two separate mechanics (one at the car lot, the other the one we take all our cars to) who both came back with the same report, it died about 3-4 weeks after he bought it. Put it this way... There was a MAJOR problem that it looks like the previous owner tried to cover up with a temporary fix. And that fix blew on Gamer Boy. Right before Christmas we did a bit of car shopping and he found a 2009 Hyundai Sonata at a dealership and it still had a good bit of the factory warranty left on it. I think he did well.

I've been doing a lot of crocheting. I've dome some pattern testings of squares, scarves, blankets. And I've made a couple pairs of fingerless gloves for Gamer Boy and one for Dak. Actually they aren't fingerless - they are more like half-finger gloves.

And I have made hats. LOTS of hats... I don't know why except that they are small and can be take-along projects. I don't go anywhere without my yarn! (And if I do I am VERY uncomfortable.) Here are some pictures but I can't put them in chronological order correctly so I won't even try.

There was this...

It's sort of a banded/brimmed beret style. 

Then this... Aviator style with earflaps. I can't remember exactly what the yarn was but it's very soft.

And this one has an open top so that you can wear your hair in a pony tail and it hangs out the back!

I may have posted this one previously... It's a cupcake!

Another ear flap style but with a really long top that was knotted and braided ties from the ear flaps.

This one was fun. A spiral.

A simple rounded top bucket hat with a scalloped edge.

I think I may have posted this one before.

This one combines floppy, swirl and a ruffly edge. It turned out a bit larger than expected.

Flat hat with tassles on the corners.

                  

I love this one! It's a spiral then I highlighted the spiral!

And we have had SNOW! I would be more than happy to have more but I'm grateful for what we got. This was our street.

So... I will try and do better. I have some more pictures of some other projects I've worked on and some WIPS. 

Let me lend you an arm, and an arm, and an arm, and an arm, and an arm...

I made a new friend for Princess Junior. Her name is Olivia.

She was fun to make. I found the pattern online. The person who make it hadn't realized that the original pattern she had used those old darn pointy sticks for the arms. She adapted and did crocheted arms. I liked what she did but she didn't give instructions for that so since I couldn't reproduce her look (although I really tried!) I adapted as well and made these stuffed arms. Twelve stitch single crochet tubes. I made four arms just a bit longer than the others and then alternated them when sewing them on. And, yes, there ARE eight legs.

No news on the wheelchair. We hope that no news is good news. One of Princess Junior's nurses took some fabric I picked up and made an extension for the back of the stroller we were given. It will help greatly in making sure her head doesn't drop backwards over the top edge. Maybe we will hear something soon. :)


Oh... something we thought was hilarious. GamerBoy just got his license the first week of December. Now the state uses the list of who has a valid driver's license for lots of things. One of those things is to pull jurors for trials. Guess who just got done serving one week of jury duty! LOL... Yup... GamerBoy got summoned. I have never had to serve and have been driving for 33 years! I don't think Dak has either. GamerBoy just hit the jackpot right off the bat! 


Don't get me wrong, I would have no problem serving. I have an aunt that used to work for a big city in Florida and I would go sit in on trials. Fun. Just have never been asked to serve. GamerBoy called on Sunday to verify and learned that he didn't have to go in Monday or Tuesday but had to call Tuesday evening to see about Wednesday. We did but after the questions and everything he was one of the ones excused, being told to call back Thursday evening to see about today. He did and had to go back again today for a different trial. But he was excused from that one as well and today he was sent home after questioning too, so his week is up. (Ironically, today was a theft case and he was asked if he had been the victim of a theft. He told them about Princess Junior's wheelchair being stolen so they didn't want him on that jury!) He should be getting a check in the mail soon. We hit the jackpot too... He brought home breakfast from McDonald's both mornings. :)

LET IT SNOW!!!!!

Ok. I'm a happy camper! It's SNOWING!!! And, depending on who you listen too, they are calling for anywhere from 2-4 to 6-12 inches. I'm sure you can tell what I'm rooting for. :) Right now I can hear the sleet hitting the windows. Gamer Boy came in here a few minutes ago with a 3-4 inch patch of snow in his hand to show me what it was looking like. Fluffy snow on the bottom and pebbles of sleet on the top.

Snow checklist:
Supplies and meds for Princess Junior? Check!
Milk, bread and all the other staples that people clean the store out of when the flakes start to fly? Check!
Movies to watch? Check!
Junk food including popcorn to got with above movies? Check!
Yarn and hooks? CHECK!!!

We may have jumped the gun on the junk food. Yesterday I sold some blood to buy a half a dozen cuppy cakes from a nearby cuppy cake emporium. (Kidding about the blood, but they definitely weren't cheap.) Since it was just Dak and Gamer Boy and I at home I cut each cuppy cake in three so we each got a taste of them all. I had gotten six different flavors so there was a variety. There was one that was a banana cuppy cake with peanut butter frosting... a chocolate cuppy cake with chocolate frosting... a yellow cuppy cake with raspberry filling and raspberry frosting.... ditto, but with lemon... a chocolate cuppy cake with peanut butter frosting ... and yellow cuppy cake with a creme filling and chocolate frosting. I'm still not real sure which was my fav, probably the lemon, but I'm not overly concerned about it because I don't think that place will become a regular stop on any of my travels. Now there are two other similar establishments in the area that I want to check out but again, I probably wont become a regular at any of them. Too rich for my blood in too many ways. What blood I have left, that is. {wink}

One thing the weather has already been impeding for a while is the delivery of our new shed. We started the delivery "process" about 3 weeks ago but the weather just won't cooperate and has forced rescheduling either here or at the builder's location at least thee times! They need to move it (taking up a lot of space) and we want, no, we need it here, but unfortunately the snow is going to delay it a while.

I have been woring on several WIPs, trying to get them finished. I did make Princess Junior and I somewhat matching hats for the cold. I'll try and post a picture tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be around the house. :)

No news on the wheelchair but the local news paper was out today and there is supposed to be a story in tomorrow's paper about Princess Junior.

A foreign exchange meeting.

Today has been a great day! Years ago (neither of us can even remember how many) I answered a pen pal ad in a cross stitch magazine. Now I didn't just see the ad and answer right away, like a normal person would have done. No, not me, I tore out the page and put it in the stack of "I want to do this" items. Quite a while later (years, not months) I found the ad again and I wrote to someone in England, hoping that she was still willing to write back. She was and we have been writing back and forth (although now in e-mail) ever since. We have been through lots of things together, a couple weddings (daughters) and even babies. The only difference there was that mine was MY baby and her's was a grand baby. And Matthew is one of the cutest ones you can imagine, too!

Today is very special. Sue happens to be in the states traveling with her husband and a couple of friends. They have been over here several times before but this time they were going to be in this area! Can you imagine how thrilled I was when she told me?

They had a cabin in Pigeon Forge rented for a few nights and we planned to meet today at a restaurant in Wears Valley. So I finally got to meet a wonderful friend in person. Someone who has always been there for me, to listen and commiserate. We think a lot alike and I have always enjoyed learning things from her and having her as my personal English tour guide as she describes the places she goes to visit over there. And she makes it better by including pictures!

Speaking of pictures... guess who forgot to bring their camera to this special event? Yep, moi! But Sue had hers and will be sending me copies when they get home.

We had a great time. They were there waiting for us when we arrived and the restaurant put a table together for us. Even though it is Labor Day weekend we didn't have a problem. (One of the reasons behind not choosing a restaurant on the main strip.)

We both came bearing gifts. :) I had gotten them a Smokies DVD, a small olde time-y household tips and recipes book and an ornament commemorating the 75th anniversary of the National Park. (We gave one to Joan and Chick too.) I also had a couple of Smokies specific story books and a baby red fox to bring back to Matthew. Oh, and I made her an apple tea cozy. I hope she has a tea pot it will fit. Sue gave us a picture book called Beautiful Yorkshire that is full of absolutely gorgeous pictures of absolutely gorgeous architecture. I will have so much fun tracking down more info and pictures of these places! She also put together a bag of British treats that we will be fighting over. Shortbread biscuits, licorice, CHOCOLATE, and tea! YUM!!!!!!!!! And she displayed her talents well with a pink tote bag that is embroidered with a beautiful design... See????? I love it!!!! It is lined in a beautiful floral fabric and I can see yarn in it's very near future! She is really so talented with the embroidery machine! Hmmm... maybe that is why I hesitate using mine. I'm intimidated! ;)

And she knits! She made Hannah the most adorable doll. We have named her Rose. You can probably figure out why.

Sue is just as I had pictured she would be. She couldn't be nicer. Her husband is also nice and they are both easy to talk to and her friends were the same. And with their accents I could have listened to them for days... weeks... on and on. :) When I tried to pay the bill I learned that Neil is sneaky, just like I can be, only he's faster. :) I was really glad to get to meet Joan and Chick too because I hear about them on occasion. (In case they see this - there is no need to worry. It's all been good!)

Anyway, thank you, Sue, for being a wonderful friend and for making us a stop on your 2009 American road trip. I can't think of a better way to have spent the afternoon. I hope that this is NOT the first and last time. I will visit England! :) And thanks for lunch. Next time it's on us! I hope that you had a great time as well and you weren't disappointed.

Not a good weekend...

It's been a... let's just say it's been a weird weekend.

Of course, as all weekends do, it started last week. Tuesday we got a phone call from Firstborn telling her dad that her mom had opted to not continue dialysis. Needless to say she was a bit upset. She and Skellyson came over and met up with Chatty and they went to the hospital to see their mom. Their mom said that she would continue the dialysis if they could/would move her to another hospital. (She didn't like the way the hospital she was in did it and said it was less tramatic and painful at the other hospital.) Without the dialysis they gave her about two weeks to live.

Friday we got another early morning call. Firstborn again. Her mom was not going to be transferred to the other hospital (they considered her medical stable so no reason to transfer her from a hospital that was giving her the same treatment they would) and she had been moved to a local hospice facility the day before. Again Firstborn and Skellyson came and got Chatty and went to see her.

Saturday morning we got another early morning call. Their mom had died early that morning. So now Dak and Chatty and Skellyson are on their way to the middle of the state to the funeral. Dak will be there for the kids but at this point doesn't plan to attend the funeral (It's a weird family dynamic and he wants to make it easier on the kids.) They visitation is today and the service tomorrow. He will be home tomorrow night.

This quick chain of events necessitated some fast arranging. Dak had finals to deal with. To deal with it he needed a video camera and mine uses those cute little mini-DVDs. Good but there are not long enough to tape a whole class. So, since he knew that I wanted a different camera he offered to let me use some summer pay to upgrade to the style I would rather have (one with a hard drive) and then he could use it for the class. So last night we went shopping (quickly, since it was Sunday evening and limited possibilities) and came home with a new camera. Now I will probably use the camera more!!! (And be more pressed to get the DVD drive fixed on the laptop.) And I'll go pick up the camera from the school later this evening and Dak can grade them tomorrow.

I opted to stay home from the trip to mid state because we have had some nursing issues lately and I wasn't willing to leave Gamerboy on his own to have to deal with a cancelled nursing shift that doesn't get covered with us out of town. The scheduled night nurse for Saturday didn't show. As far as we know she didn't even call the agency o say she wasn't coming and they weren't able to reach her on any of her contact numbers either. So Saturday night we had no nurse. Gamerboy jumped right in like a champ and helped us out.

Our day nurse (who had worked a 12 hour shift already) came in about 4 am on Sunday morning instead of the 7am she was scheduled for. Then the same night nurse was on the schedule for Sunday night. What to do... The office still couldn't reach her so they start trying to fill in the shift. Since our day nurse came in early she left at 4 pm.. (She was going to be leaving at 4:30 pm anyway so not a big difference) and as of about 6 pm we still didn't have a night nurse. We did get a call a bit later saying that another nurse that has worked with Princess Junior before was going to come out early in the morning (5:30-6 am) and the day nurse that left at 4 was coming back in about a half hour or so and cover until he got there. YEA!!! Hopefully there won't be a hitch with tonight's nursing. And I think the nurse who came out to orient on Friday is going to fill in some of the slots that will be open. Over all we have a pretty good crew.

I was planning on posting a link to a cool way to join granny squares. I will do that but it will be a few days. I will have pictures too and might have some pictures of some WIPs that are coming along.

Gonna try and settle in with the yarn and relax.

Sunday...

It's quiet here. Oldest son arrived for a respite visit (he needs some space and time to think) early this morning and he took Chatty with him to work tonight. Gamer Boy took Dak with him this evening to do some practicing behind the wheel. He now has his permit and is just waiting to get the driving portion of driving school finished. Until then he is practicing with us. I went with him last night and it was driving in the dark, tonight with Dak was semi-rain. It was raining when they were getting ready to head out but by the time they got on the road it was just dealing with wet roads. Dak says he did well. He did well last night too.

On Friday we took Princess Junior to her physiatrist for her Botox injections. (More on that with pictures here.) We are dealing with some minor fevers now but, from what we have read, that isn't connected to the Botox.

I've got a couple new projects going. Just what I need, right??? The first is a circle centered granny square. I'm making it for Princess Junior so am just adding more and more squares as I need to, joining as I go. I'm using a pale pink for the centers with a light gray border. I'm calling it her polka dot blanket.


Then I saw one of the start blankets in bright pink and red and white. I was hooked there. I'm not using a white white but stuck with the red and pink. The pattern is from
here. I made the sections larger than they were in her pic but I don't like it and I'm going to frog a bit of it and go to her color pattern as I think it shows off the colors better. But this gives you and idea.


So off I go to frog...

Finished! No longer WIPs... YEA!

I finished the spiral granny. Here it is. I did a couple rows of black half double, row of half double light pink, row of alternating 3/3 half double light pink and dark pink, then a couple more rows of black. Now this is folded in four. There are five squares down and four across. so it's a decent size for one person.


Then this is the blanket I made with the left over yarn. A five sided blanket just big enough for Princess Junior. Again, in half double. With a 4 row wide black border and a final row of scallops.

It's her birthday today so we gave it to her this morning! You can go to her blog to see more about her birthday.


I'm still working on the circle for Gamer Boy but have also started an elongated granny from a pattern from Minisoda at Crochetville. That is in a red, black and light gray. I'm really liking the color combo!

Don't box me in!!!

I just can't seem to get away from the odd shapes. Above is the wool that I bought that I had custom spun. It started as a granny square but I didn't like the way that was shaping up. It just wasn't laying flat. So I frogged it and started a pentagon instead. This seems to be going well. I am still getting used to the white in all of it but that's what I asked for.) It is growing on me and I think I will be happy with the finished product.

And I finished the bamboo throw I was working on for Princess Junior to use in her wheelchair. Everyone is amazed that it's so soft and then REALLY surprised when they learn it's bamboo. If I could that is all I'd work with!


This is the center of it. One half is brown and the other is pink. Then I wanted to "finish" it on the edges so I did a few more rows of brown.


I like the way it turned out. It's about 30 inches square. We have an unexpected appointment with her surgeon on Monday so we'll get to give it a try!

I'm still working on Gamer Boy's throw and he asked about it today. I hope to have that done soon. I just got a couple new patterns but I'm going to have to be good and not touch them until I get his throw done.

Money saving tricks... and a new addition...

My wonderful hubby (whom I love very much!) send me a cool link... It's to an article on the This Old House web site called "50 Nifty Tricks for Big DIY Savings"

These days we all can use tips on saving money here and there. I wish I could take advantage of tip #3 in our master closet. It's almost the size of a small bedroom, about 8 feet wide by about 13 feet long! And the reason we can't take advantage of the tip? There is a heating and cooling vent in there!

But there are a few tips listed there that we have either already done or are in the process of doing. We have replaced "old style" light bulbs with more environmentally and energy friendly ones. We have added ceiling fans in rooms that didn't have them and have a couple more to install. We just bought a fast growing Empress Tree (ironically, it's one of the favorites on the nursery link in the article!) that will be planted in the back yard to shade both Gamer Boy's bedroom and the den. We had to have the heat pump worked on a few weeks ago and had a digital programmable (and lockable!) thermostat installed at the same time. Now we have it programed and the kids can't go and turn on the A/C when everyone else is freezing. Or roast the rest of us if they are chilly. Hey! Put on a sweater! :) And we have some light switches that will turn themselves off after a certain time frame. We just need to find an electrician to install them.

As for the new addition... Today we brought home a dog. I'm not entirely happy about it (she is a lovable enough dog but not a breed I really care for at all) but Dak grew up with one and this one was his mother's. We helped her get it about 1 1/2 or 2 years ago, thinking that a small dog would be good company for her. Boy were we wrong! As her dementia has worsened she has done nothing but complain about it. Cleaning up after her, having to walk her, having her underfoot... But then she talks about how much company she is. We have taken the dog home with us 2-3 other times but she always had a change of heart and wanted her back. Then she gave her to a total stranger but, again, changed her mind and asked for the dog back. Dak had talked to the woman that was taking the dog and warned her that it would probably happen. And it did. This time we have told his mother that if we took the dog it was permanent and that the poor thing doesn't need to be shuffled around like this and that the dog would NOT be coming back. She even signed a statement today to that effect. That is more for her to refer to when she changes her mind. Something that we can tell her to look at to jog her memory. So... here is our new addition.

Someone stop that truck!!!!!

I'm still sick. Dak is still a bit under the weather but at least he is feeling a lot better than he was. I don't know what this is but it's sure got a firm grip on me. The one good thing is that the truck that keeps running me over is getting a bit smaller. Now it's about down to a UPS/FedEx truck. Fully loaded. At Christmas.

A couple days ago I was joking that I had "gone green" but I'm still green and this is after religously taking 9 doses of antibiotics. No wonder I gravitate to the Snot Put game at the bottom of my blog! No, it's not just some weird perversion... it's my life at the moment. (although I do tend to use my throat and not my nose.) Yesterday the coughing was so bad that I was feeling dizzy and light headed, like I was going to pass out, after each hacking episode. Not a fun feeling when you are in a room alone and you know that your husband is hours away from coming home from work and the nurse is only going to buzz if she needs something.

Thankfully, Gamer Boy is visiting Clay Hill Farm (Thanks, Terri!!!!) and he even cancelled his session working with the horses today so I wouldn't have to get out and he wouldn't chance getting them or this therapist sick. Chatty has already had this and Princess Junior is safe and secure in her room with her nurses. I'm definitely staying away from her. As I said, Dak is feeling better but he was on different antibiotics. (His was a three pills over three days and mine is two pills, twice a day for ten days.) What I am on I have taken DOZENS of times before over my lifetime. If it's not working for me anymore it's a sudden change.


So I have been working more on the three color spiral blanket. I measured it last night. Well.... I measured half of it. I just didn't have enough room on the bed to actually lay it all out (Dak was sitting on the edge of the bed, working at his computer) and, after all, it's a circle with a definite center. So I figured if I measure to the center and double that number I'd get the total measurement, correct??? Well, so far it's over 60 inches across! I thought about stopping but I still have yarn left and I'd love for it to be big enough for Dak and I to cuddle under together. Because of the roundness it's going to be a BIG blanket!

I think I'm going to do the zebra and black yarn in a spiral too. But I'm still not sure of the others. Then there is the spiral for Gamer Boy. At least I have projects to keep me busy.

Out, out, damn bug...

Ok... I know that isn't an exact quote... but it's close and it's how I feel. And I am sure Will wouldn't mind, especially if he felt like I do.

Dak and I are both under the weather. Although, since the weather usually deals with things in the sky we are always under the weather. But I digress... I'll put it simply. We Are Sick.

Fortunately the two oldest are gone (Chatty is at her mother's and Gamer Boy is at a friend's house) and Princess Junior has full coverage on her nurses (they have been hit with the bug too!) so we actually have time to rest.

Saturday morning we both slept until 11 am. I woke up feeling like I was swallowing razor blades. Now I'm not one to run to a doc for every little thing so you know I'm actually sick when I CHOSE to go to a doctor. Saturday option is the walk-in clinic and I decided that yesterday was probably a good time to go.

Dak and I arrived right before what looked to be a rush. I took a seat and Dak went to sign us in. When he hadn't joined me after a few minutes I turned to look towards the desk and saw that he was still waiting behind a couple people with 4 or 5 more behind him! Yes, whatever this is sure is making the rounds.

When they called us back they did flu swabs on us both. Both came back negative. Since Dak has always been told he's allergic to penicillin they gave him different drugs than they gave me. We stopped to drop off the prescriptions and went next door to get some soup while we waiting. Now before anyone condemns us for going out in public like this we aren't hacking away every two seconds and even then we are responsible coughers. The restaurant is one that isn't cramming as many tables as they can... it's booths with wide aisles. We ate and left, picked up the medicine and some juices, and went home.

We were up until about 11 - 11:30 but this morning we again slept until about 11 am. Our guess it that we needed it. Gamer Boy went with his buddy to a drumming concert last night but has called several times to check on us. He said he was starting to feel bad but seems to be feeling better today and didn't want us to come get him. I think that being away from the house is allowing him to NOT get whatever this is do the degree we have. We are purposely staying away from Princess Junior, using the video monitor and intercom to stay in touch with the nurses. (I can see she is a bit wiggly at the moment!)

So this is a perfect opportunity to work on some of my WIPS and plunge into the yarn stash.

This is what I have been working on...



It's a three color spiral circle. Right now it's about 4 feet across and I have 7 more skeins of yarn left to use!

Then I have done some of these...



They are face cloth/wash cloth sets. I don't know about you but I like to use a separate washcloth on my face. They are 100 cotton and really soft! The face cloth is 6 inches across and the wash cloth is 8 inches across. Eventually they, and others like them, will be in my Etsy shop. I'm revamping the shop to benefit Princess Junior's room fund.

This will too.



It may look like it is another wash cloth, and in a way it is. But it's in a coarser cotton and it is meant for dishes.

Then there is the yarn... I bought some more.

There is this... It's SOOOO soft!



And this... Gamer Boy picked these colors and wants a four color spiral blanket!



I'm not real sure what to do with these yet. I have a spiral square pattern that I was thinking about doing in this...



But I don't have these earmarked for anything yet. Just liked the color combinations.



Pale pink and purple. Doesn't it look like cotton candy???



One of my all time favorites... pink and gray!

And I have some black and red too but the red looks orange in my pictures so just trust me... it's cherry red.

Any suggestions???

What will YOU come up with???

I ran across this idea on another blog and saved the info for "future reference". I guess the future is NOW! :)

The idea is to find the sixth image in your sixth image folder, and then tag six people to do the same.

This is the sixth image in the sixth image folder on my laptop.


The picture was taken almost two years ago. That's Gamer Boy planting a Silver Maple tree in the back yard in memory of his father. (He is actually RE-planting a tree. The first one died.) I really think this picture is kind of funny because Annie was looking out the window and all of the sudden she started sniffing the window screen. It looks like she is sniffing HIM!

Now I'm not going to tag six people... I'm going to challenge anyone who reads this to do it! Who knows... you might find a picture that you haven't seen in a while that brings back good memories. It did for me.

Now the hard part begins...

I just got notices that the wool I had spun and the cotton yarn I had dyed are both going to be arriving soon. Now I am perusing my books and patterns to decide what to make out of them. MAJOR decision. They both are beautiful but the wool turned out more stripy than I imagined it would. It wasn't anything the spinner did, I just didn't take into consideration that the white would be against all three other colors. Duh!!!! :) Since the stripy yarn is merino I might make something I can felt.

The wool went from this...


To this (with white wool added as one ply)...


And this is the hand painted cotton...


And this is what I started last night...

I'm not sure how big it will end up. It's starting out to be a blanket for Dak and I or, if I get dizzy, it will turn into one for Princess Junior. :)

Gamer Boy has been working overtime to get through his driver's training class. He has been doing almost nothing but studying and taking notes. He could finish his class work within the next one or two weeks! Then comes the permit. ACK!