Mission Accomplished

Well, last night was the culmination of the last 7 month of work. I went to work at 10:00 and left at 8:00 this morning. Boy, could I easily get used to working a shift 11:00p to 7:00a. I am trully a night person. I was so please that the part of the project I worked on turned out realitively well. Now on to something else.

Since I knew that if I went straight home I would have crashed and the rest of the day would tank so I went to the boat to unwind. It was a good day with a $400 gain, for a change. It must have been my day because it seem, for a change, that I won on everything I played. As Laura said, I won more yarn money.

I took a detour to the Old Mill Stitchery in Liberty on the way home to see what they had on sale. The shop has been rearranged and it seemed that they must be getting ready for Fall inventory. They shelve were a little sparser than in the past. While I was there a yarn sales person was there with some very cool stuff so maybe there will be some new stuff next time I go.

The next stop was KnitCraft for some Noro. I got Color 80 to make an Einstein jacket. I think it will be a neat colorway. KnitCraft has the Kureyon on sale for $5 so that is a great deal. Didn't see anything else I really needed.

I am really trying to stick to the plan of only buying yarn for specific projects. I really need to update my queue and projects on Ravelry. I have not been very good about that and know it is something I need to improve on.

Called Mary to see what she was doing and we ended up going to Starbuck's and knitting for a bit. Such a treat to be able to do that on a week day. Even though I was exhausted and was probably not very coherent, I really enjoyed the time. At 3:00 I finally had to go home and crash. I had not slept since 7:00 Sunday morning.

Once home, I collapsed on the sofa and woke up about 7:00. I wanted to sleep more but knew if I did I would be awake about 2:00am. Mind you I had about 4 cups of coffee today which did not hamper my sleep.

Now I am working on round 2 of the Summer Tank. I ended up frogging the back because it has to many mistakes and was going to be to big. I am already to the motif at the waist and should have the front completed soon then to redo the back. Now I know where the mistakes were it should go fast.

Now I am slowing down again and looking forward to going to bed to finish catching up on sleep. Tomorow is another day.

What I did with my weekend

These are the wonderful friends I spent the holiday with. On the right is my dear friend Nancy, middle Wanda (hosting the afternoon/evening activities) and of course me on the left.

I took the train to St. Louis to be picked up by another friend Friday night then on Saturday Nancy picked me up after the Independence Day parade. We went to the carnival to have lunch and rides then back to the house for a great dinner. Nancy had gotten a watermelon at Walmart that I think was the best I have had in a long time. After a two block walk back to where the carnival was we found our place to watch the fireworks display, which was great.

Finally, the cuff of the first Girl's Best Friend sock is complete. Now on to the rest of the sock and beyond. I took time on the train to figure out what was not working about this pattern. I took only the chart with me and I found that there is an error on the chart and that is what the problem was. I ran into trouble with this spot when I worked on it some time ago and gave up only to start over again. I feel very accomplished now and look forward to finishing this one and the the second. The design does not really show up very well so I will probably do them again in a solid.

We have had a lot of rain here and the Missouri river is pretty full in Kansas City but there is a lot more water in the St. Louis area. This is the ball field in Kimmiswick.

The train ride home was pleasant and uneventful. It is definately the way to go. Roundtrip cost $51. Less than a tank of gas.

So, this morning I am lookong as the peach tree an this is what I saw. The little sucker has been eating my peaches. Good thing there are a lot. There should be plenty for both of us.

Here Comes the Tank

I decided it was time to make something for me to wear so I started the Summer Tank from the Summer Knit N' Style. I really like the lace detail at the botton and middle. It is working up really fast so it should be a FO soon. Only thing I am concerned about is that it may be too big. I am using Cottonease and I am hoping that having the acrylic will keep it from growing like cotton can do. Will have to see how the back measures up and iff I feel it is big I will do as Shari with her tank and make the from the next size smaller. If that is better I will do the back over. If this one turns out good I will probably make another. I like tanks like this under a button down shirt.

SSK yesterday was nice. We had a new drop-in. She was getting coffee and came over to see what we were doing. We invited her to sit in and as a true knitter she had her knitting in the car so she joined in. It was great to meet her and we hope she will come again.

That is one thing I have to say about out SSK group, we love having new knitters and feel the more the merrier. I think we are a pretty friendly group. We are very good at sharing information and techniques. If you run across something in a pattern you are not sure about, most likely some will know or can hel figure it out.

I just wish we could find a better place to meet. Borders is OK but sometimes it is loud and the chairs are not very comfortable. Also, sometimes we get very loud and I think we might be bothering other people. I was listening to us when we got going and it was just like a flock of chickens clucking at the same time. It would have been a good AFV to film us and put chicken sounds. At least we have a good time.

Thursday Again

OK I have not done this one in a long time but it cam out about the same as last time even thought I am out of practice at being a wife.

55 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

Laura started with this one so I thought I would copy her.

I am having a good week. I bowled last night and for the first time did well. I bowled a 122, 121 and the final game was 143. This is more like the old days. I used to carry a 150 average. Hopefully, I will continue to improve.

I have been busy

OK today I have worked in the yard and basement, where I found some summer clothes I have been looking for, cleaned my bedroom and the bathrooms then finally installed new light fixtures on the front of the house.

This is the new light fixture. I looked for a long time to find something that was not to foo foo and not brass or polished nickel. Everything l looked at was either tacky or gigantic and just would not fit the look of the house. I was going to wait until I got the house painted but the old lights we literally falling apart. These came in white or black but I didn't really like the white ones. If I decide I want a different color I can always paint them and black usually provides a better base to paint.

So now at 2:30 I am ready to have some lunch. I am thinking salmon on a salad. I am thinking I am going to start leaning toward eating more vegetation. I have some new friends who are into the eating RAW. There are several meetups in that vain that I am going to investigate. I like fruits and vegetables a lot and that is mostly what I eat. Not sure I will totally cut out meats and dairy but I don't eat a lot of that stuff now. Since I am loosing wait anyway and trying to be healthier I would like to learn more about now to put things together to provide better nutrition for my future. Over the last 20 years I cannot say that I have taken the best care of my health but I do not think it is to last to start at anytime in our lives.

Oh yes. I have been doing some knitting also.

The Clapotis has now been completed and is waiting to be blocked. I used a lace weight from Crafty in a good way which is hand spun and hand dyed by Andrea Scott from Mission Kansas. This was lovely yarn to knit with and l love the color way which is Mary. Speaking of Mary, my friend Mary and I started our Clapotis at the same time but she used Lorena's Lace Lion and Lamb so I am anxious to see out the two compare. I love her colorway also, but I do not remember what it is called. I think we will have to model them at SSK with we both have them blocked.

The bag part of the felted back pack is is done and I just have the strap to do. I did this out of Lambs Pride Bulky on size 10 1/2 needles. The pattern called for worsted weight on 10 1/2s so it it rather tighter than I would like so I am not sure how it will felt but I am going to give it a shot and see. I probably should have gone up a couple of sizes but oh well. I do like the red, white and purple together. I am anxious to see how it comes out. I think the felting will take place this week.

I have also started a pair of cotton socks knitting two at the same time on a magic loop. While I am happy I figured out the technique I am not totally sure that I will always do my socks this way from now on. As I understand from others who are doing this the heel will be the challenge. Since I am doing anklets I am getting close to that point so I will see soon enough how it goes. I think the advantage I may have is that I am not using the 2 At A Time book, which I understand has many errors so maybe I will have not problem. I should have something probably have finished socks to show next time.

I HAVE BEEN TAGGED

I usually do not do these things but here it goes.

OK...I accept the meme challenge

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Carolyn
2. What is your favorite food? Raspberries
3. What high school did you go to? Raytown South
4. What is your favorite color? Red
5. Who is your celebrity crush? I don't crush
6. Favorite drink? Amaretto Sour
7. Dream vacation? A cruise to Australia
8. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? A
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you. Patient
12. Your flickr name. clcalton

After all of the weather drama last night tonight it is beautiful. The sun is out and the temp is mild. This is the way it supposed to be for the next couple of days. Later in the week it starts with the bad stuff all over again. I have definately had enough.

I am kntting away on my mindless project. Should be done in a day or so. It is a gift so that is why I am not showing it yet but I will soon. I think my next project is going to use something from my stash. I am going to try getting my inventory down so I can have room for new things when I can afford them

It is Storming Again

The weather has been so strange this Spring. It took forever for winter to be gone the we have had storm after storm this month. Tuesday we had tornado sirens then Thursday night coming home from salsa dancing there were 70 mph winds and torrental rains in town but nothing at home until 11:30 when big winds came through with more rain.

I have just lost my DirecTV because there is no signal. The wind is very calm compared to the very strong wind we had about 30 minutes ago. It really sucks because I was Tivoing something. I hate it when that happens. At least I have stuff recorded that I can watch.

I just love my Tivo. I was panicked today because my Tivo was not recording. I really didn't want to have to replace it right now. Fortunately, I remembered to recycle it before calling for support. I was thrilled when that solve my problem.

I have been thinking of trying the ATT Uverse TV to see how it is. They are really pushing it just to get their customer base going. Has anyone tried it?

I am about half done with the sleeves for Laura's sweater but I am taking a little break. I am working on something simple, quick, and mindless for a little while. Laura brought her finished sweater to SSK yesterday and it really looked great. She did hers in cotton and my is in alpaca so it should be neat to see them together in the different fibers.

I am thinking maybe it is time to finish the hemlock since I have decided to try to finish things that I have had started for a while. I got off on the stitch count along the way and I think I am ready to tackle figuring it out.

The storm is getting very bad now so I guess I had better turn the PC off. More later.....

Time for a Change

Can you tell I had too much time on ym hands in the wee yours of the morning. One of the topics for discussion at SSK yesterday was hair color. Well I just happen to have some I got at the Last Speaking of Women's Health conference and I came across it going through a cabinet. I decided that I woule give it a try. I was supposed to be very light brown so I thought it would be suttle. You be the judge. Here is the before color.

Here is the after. A little darker than I had anticipated. Guess I didn't account for all the gray sucking up the color. The color is much the same as it used to be in my youth (a very long time ago). Well I had decided I was going to shake things up a little so this much be the beginning.

Today is such a gorgeious day that I have been outside planting things. There is much to do outside. Things to plant and dead stuff to cut out. I normal have all of my planting done by the middle of May. We are a month late. I got some Stella Doro lillies at Lowe's. I love them because the bloom all summer and come back each year. That is the kind of thein I am leaning toward planting so there is less maintenance. I need to measure so I can order pavestone edgers to put around the flower beds.

I would love to be able to relandscape the front of the house but that is another thing to add to the list of things that will have to wait until fall. The list has gotten very long but little by little I will get to it. I may have to start hiring things done that I cannot do myself anymore. This is a hard thing for me to decide but as I am not getting any younger and my strength is not what is used to be I cannot do the physical stuff as well as I used to. I new the time would come.

The Clap is finally a FO

After many weeks the Clapotis is finished. I really like it done in the lace weight yarn and the color is nice too. I must say that this one will be an only child. While I like the result, I found it very boring to knit. Only if I were in the mood for some major mindless knitting would I make another.

As you can see Gracie is extremely impressed.

There has been progress with the test knit sweater. I have only the sleeves and finishing to do. Should have be able to call it a FO soon. This one is going to be for myself for a change.

I just got this great book on cables. I think maybe my next project will come from this book. I has some great cable patterns. I enjoyed the Irish hiking scarf a lot so I am ready to do some more advanced cabling.

My friend Chelle http://www.hangingbyathinthread.blogspot.com/ blogged about experiencing a feeling of malaise. I think that hits it on the yead for me. I have been in this funk for the last two months (whining about it plenty). Things just were out of sync...well that is all over now. I met a friend at Margarita's after work Friday. It was nice to see here again; it had been a while. After leaving here I decided that I had done enough whining and I need to suck it up and move on. I am looking forward to June being a good month. Stay tuned.

Recent Activities

I think this is going to be the year for peaches. Aboutr 4 years ago I had a peach tree come up next to my deck stares. Not really in a good spot but I decided to leave it since it did come up by itself (probably buried by a squirrel). Year before last I had 3 peaches which were not of much size but tasted really good. Last year when the tree was blooming we has a late freeze and all of the blooms were gone so of course there were not peaches. This year even with all of the strange weather we have had I think the peach crop is going to be big barring any unforseen disaster.

This will be so fun. I have had several people tell me just to cut the tree down because of the bad location but I cannot bring myself to do it. I feel that if this tree wants to survive where it is I will do what I can to help it. I fill update the progress as time goes buy.

I am glad to have a long weekend. The best part is my friends are here from St. Louis. They have a graduation to attend in St. Joe tonight then leave sometime tomorrow to return to St. Louis. They are both in education and have a couple more days left in the school year to complete.

I am so glad they were able to come this weekend. I have kind of been mentally exhausted lately so it is good to have a diversion. I have had some personal sadness and disappointment the last couple of weeks that I will not go into because I do not what to get started whining about it since I do need to move on and leave it behind. I am ready to suck it up and move on.

I have been knitting but have nothing to show right now because I am still doing a test knit for a friend who is going to submit a pattern for publication. When this has been accomplished I will gladly share.

I also have some baby things to do which are always fun. I have several baby friends on the way this year so I guess I need to get started. Not sure what I will decide on as yet but will share when I decide (soon).

I guess I need to cut this short...I am going to a cook out this afternoon so I had better be on my way.

A friend share this with me so thought I would share it with you.

One morning on my way to work the sky looked like this. I just happened to have the camera in the car and as one of my favorite things is sky pictures. I just wanted to share it with you.

The New York Times
May 11, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
Call Your Mother
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

The ad popped up in my e-mail the way it always has: “1-800-Flowers:
Mother’s Day Madness — 30 Tulips + FREE vase for just $39.99!”

I almost clicked on it, forgetting for a moment that those services
would not be needed this year. My mother, Margaret Friedman, died last
month at the age of 89, and so this is my first Mother’s Day without a
mom.

As columnists, we appear before you twice a week on these pages as
simple bylines, but, yes, even columnists have mothers. And in my case,
much of the outlook that infuses my own writings was bred into me from
my mom. So, for once in 13 years, I’d like to share a little bit about
her.

My mom was gripped by dementia for much of the last decade, but she
never lost the generous “Minnesota nice” demeanor that characterized
her in her better days. As my childhood friend Brad Lehrman said to me
at her funeral: “She put the mensch in dementia.”

My mom’s life spanned an incredible period. She was born in 1918,
just at the close of World War I. She grew up in the Depression, enlisted in
the Navy after Pearl Harbor, served her country in World War II, bought
our first house with a G.I. loan and lived long enough to play bridge
on the Internet with someone in Siberia .

For most of my childhood, my mom appeared to be a typical suburban
housewife of her generation, although I knew she was anything but
typical. She sewed many of my sisters’ clothes, including both of
their wedding dresses and boy’s suits for me. And on the side, she won
several national bridge tournaments.

My mom left two indelible marks on me. The first was to never settle
for the cards you’re dealt. My dad died suddenly when I was 19. My
mom worked for a couple of years. But in 1975, I got a scholarship to go to
graduate school in Britain and my mom surprised
us all one day by announcing that she was going, too. I called it the “Jewish Mother
Junior Year Abroad Program.”

Most of her friends were shocked that she wasn't’t just going to play
widow. Instead, she sold our house in little St. Louis Park , Minn. , and
moved to London . But what was most amazing to watch was how she used
her world-class bridge skills to build new friendships, including with
one couple who flew her to Paris for a bridge game. Yes, our little
Margie off to Paris to play bridge. She even came to see me in Beirut
once, during the civil war — at age 62.

The picture of her in Beirut makes me think back in amazement at what
my mom might have done had she had the money to finish college and
pursue her dreams — the way she encouraged me to pursue mine, even
when they meant I’d be far away in some crazy place and our only
communications would be through my byline. It’s so easy to overlook
your mom had dreams, too.

My mom’s other big influence on me you can read between the lines of
virtually every column — and that is a sense of optimism. She was the
most uncynical person in the world. I don’t recall her ever uttering a
word of cynicism. She was not naïve. She had taken her knocks. But
every time life knocked her down, she got up, dusted herself off and
kept on marching forward, motivated by the saying that pessimists are
usually right, optimists are usually wrong, but most great changes were
made by optimists.

Six years ago, I was in Israel at a dinner with the editor of the
Haaretz newspaper, which publishes my column in Hebrew. I asked the
editor why the newspaper ran my column, and he joked: “Tom, you’re
the only optimist we have.” An Israeli general, Uzi Dayan, was seated
next to me and as we walked to the table, he said: “Tom, I know why
you’re an optimist. It’s because you’re short and you can only see that
part of the glass that’s half full.”

Well, the truth is, I am not that short. But my mom was. And she,
indeed, could only see that part of the glass that was half full. Read
me, read my mom.

Whenever I’ve had the honor of giving a college graduation speech, I
always try to end it with this story about the legendary University of
Alabama football coach, Bear Bryant. Late in his career, after his
mother had died, South Central Bell Telephone Company asked Bear Bryant
to do a TV commercial. As best I can piece together, the commercial was
supposed to be very simple — just a little music and Coach Bryant
saying in his tough voice: “Have you called your mama today?”

On the day of the filming, though, he decided to ad-lib something. He
reportedly looked into the camera and said: “Have you called your
mama today? I sure wish I could call mine.” That was how
the commercial ran, and it got a huge response from audiences.

So on this Mother’s Day, if you take one thing away from this column,
take this: Call your mother.

I sure wish I could call mine.

Sunny Sunday Morning

Now I call this Spring. The sun is out, I have the window open, and I am on a roll with Spring cleaning. I have done the kitchen, even down to scubbing the floor on my hands and knees. At least, after loosing some weight, I am able to get down on my knees and bend over far enough to reach the floor to scrub it. My knees still do not like it but it will be OK.

Now I am just taking a break to have a cold drink and blog before I start moving the living room furniture to it's Spring time position. Of course this involves vaccuming and dusting to complete the whole process. Meanwhile, the laundry is in progress with the bedroom next in line.

Maybe I will get some knittng in tonight. I am almost finished with the Clapotis. I have 3 more decreases to do then the last 13 rows and it will be complete.

While this has been an interesting experience, I have found it rather boring. I am not sure I will do another one unless I want to do it for mindless knitting in maybe a worsted weight. This one is a fingering weight so it is lighter weight. I used this yarn so I could compare it with the one my friend Mary is doing in Lorena's Lace.

I think my next project will be a sweater. I have not done one since the one I did for my sister at Christmas. I also have, of course some socks in the works. I am knitting them as tube socks then going back to do the heals. The tubes are done so I will probably do the heals in the next couple of days. I also have a baby thing to do that I need to get started on since the baby is due in July.

OK...I have rested enough. It is time to move furniture and get on with things. It is 11:00 and I am planning on being finished with my cleaning by 1:00 so I can go shopping with Susan to look for smaller closes and some shoes with leather soles to wear for dancing.

Yes I have started doing some salsa dancing and am planning on doing some east coast swing with my singles group. You may recall that my New Year's resolution for this year was to get out and socialize more. I think so far I have been working that directions. This along with going back to Weight Watchers (so far down 20lbs at WW plus 15 prior to that since October) has been my major accomplishment this year. In addition, I am trying to aquire perm employment so I do not have to keep looking for work every year. So if you know anyone in KC who is looking for a tech writer, business analyst, QA person keep me in mind.

OK, I am really finished again.

On the Move

I have been checking out a different blogging tool. I think I like it better so come visit me at http://knittingfastasican.multiply.com/ . I am not closing this one down just yet so I may be back here soon.

Spring is Here..Finally

Today the temp was over 70. What a treat? I think (hope) we can put the last of the cold weather behind us. I am on my second round of allergy season since the grass is not growing and the Bradford pear trees are blooming. It is not as bads as the early season but it is noticable.

What's new at my house? I got my car back Monday night and wonder of wonders, the bill was only $250 to flush the transmission and replace the fluid. It passed the computer test with flying colors so we are good to go.

I had a foundation company come out to look at the basement wall. Unfortunately, the front wall has started to bow but has not started moving. I really need to get something done soon before there is more damage. I had anticipated an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. The finally amount is $5,900. Much better than I had expected but now I have to figure out how to pay for it and not totally tap my savings account out.

I am sure I will figure something out.

So far I have dropped 6 stitched on my Clapotis. It is going well but is kind of boring. I think I am going to start a baby something to trade off to.

I got new pictures of my neice Alexis today so I thought I would share. She is becoming such a beatiful young lady.

This is her new dress. She picked this out herself. The dress thing is fairly new for her. I think she made a good selection.
This is the everyday Alexis. The likes to be casual most of the time. She has the dark hair I used to have and the brown eyes to go with it. She has just started playing soccer. I hope she learns to like it and lot. She has so much energy it would be a good focus for her.

I hope this summer to be able to get out to Portland. It has been a while since I have see my sisters family so I have not seen Alexis as a kindergardener.

A Better Day and More to Come

I am having a better day today. I got a grip and am moving forward. Last week is a week I can do nothing about and I always figure if you cannot do anything to change what is let it go and move on. I want and stood out in the sun today and I think the vitamin D helps. I was wishing that it was warmer so I could get started cleaning out flower beads but the temp is supposed to be 25 degrees tonight then by Tuesday it is supposed to be 70. The clouds that are left should move out tonight so maybe this is our last cold snap. It is about time. I think we have all had enough winter, even thought it is Spring.

OK, here is what I have for WIPs. I started this sock from som OnLine that I got on sale at KnitCraft. I was not sure how it was going to strip but so it was a surprise. I like it. I am knitting this as a tube and then will go back to do the heel. I saw somewhere in a pattern to do the tube the at the point where the heal should be you snip the stitches the pick up the stitches on both sides and do the toe decreases for the heal. I will be interested to see how well it fits. I don't like a short row heel but I thought I would give this a try. Stay tuned.



Here is this progress on the Clapotis. I have done 4 drops and am almost ready for number 5. Since I am using a lighter weight yarn, mine will look different than the one Mary is doing in Lorena's Lace. It is interesting to see how the same pattern works up in the different yarns.

The only thing about the pattern is that it is kind of boring after a while. You only drop stitched every 12 worse so ther is not much going in with the pattern the rest if of the time. It is basically k1 ktbl k3 ktbl the purl back. The sock is my car knitting so I may have to start something a little more exciting to switch off to.

SSK was nice yesterday. After my week it was nice to be with everyone and think go something else. We were a smaller group yesterday as several had other various other things going on. I was running early, after getting my hair cut so I went to Jason's Deli and thought I would get some soup or something for lunch. While standing on line I thought a baked potato would be good, not knowing that their potatoes weight about a pound. I could only each abount 1/4 of it.

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday while whining is that I went salsa dancing Thursday night with the singles group I have joined. It was a lot of fun. The Isle of Capri has free salsa lessons on Thursday night. My intent was to go watch but I ended up jumping right in and did really well. I figured I would only last a short time but I danced the whole 2 hours. It was way more fun than aerobics or walking the treadmill. I got on the scales the next day and had lost 4 lbs. Gee just think if I went every day. I would be thin in no time. Maybe I will be inspired to go workout more often. I know it would help and now that it seems that we are into better weather I can make myself go. Well, it could happen....

Cheese with My Wine

I have had an incredibly bad week. Not the normal bad week but a bad week to the power of 10. It started out when I found out I did not get a perm job I was applying for. As it turns out I spent 2 hours of unpaid time to fill out an application and take some stupid test only to find out that the job went to a man who will probably take flight when the next lucritive contract comes along. After finishing the application process I got a call the next day from the headhunter telling me that the job had been offered to a guy who had worked for the company on a contract and he had declined because he had a long term contract with Sprint. The hiring manager really liked my resume but just after I call (oh sure) the guy they had offered the job called and said his contract got cancelled and could he still have the job. So they gave it to him.

Work was not smooth either but I will not go into that. It was mostly me and my OCD wanting everything to be organized correctly, so in otherwords my way. I was not happy with the work product but my client was to that is all that matters.

With all of the rain the last few days, my foundation is settling even more so the house is popping and creaking. Such fun to listen to. I have a foundation company coming Monday so maybe they will be able to help me. I am so anoyed with myself for not taking care of the problem before it got to this point but I just did not have the money to do it. I still don't but there is no choice now.

To finish off my week when I got home last night and pulled into the drive way my transmission went out. At least it was in the drive way and not on I70 or at the boat late at night. So the car has now been towed for repair but of course being Saturday the shop is not open so will have to wait until Monday to get the diagnosis. Hopefully, it will be something cheap and easy. I have my fingers crossed. My wonderful aunt has lent me her car do I do not have to rent on.

OK....I am through whining. Tomorrow is another day....the sun will come up tomorrow...la...la...la.

Oh yes, I did do some knitting this week. I have started dropping stitches on the Clapotis.

Here is the Round throw. Gracie is still not sure she want any one to have it. I think she is going to have seperation issued when it goes to its new home. It is not as big around as I thought it would be but I am tired of doing it. I thing Iam going to do some crochet around the edge to help it lie flatter.

Yes I did start my Clapotis. I link doing it with the lovely spreadsheet that some kind person posted on the now defunct Clapotis KAL. It has made it much easier to keep track os thr repeats. I am not as far along has I would like to be because I am not sure I like it in this yarn. I will go a little ferther and then decide. I cannot remember what this yarn is but I got it out at KnitWits originally to make a shawl that I have not gotten to yet. I do have some Koigu that I had intended use but wanted to see how this would work. The Koigu is still an option. There is also some Noro sock yarn I could use. Will have to see what works best.

On another note, I went to a over 45 singles dinner meet up this week. I really had a good time. I have not done the singles thing for a long long time but decided that one of my goals for this year was to develop a more varied social life. I met 55 new people at China Star in Overland Park. I was pleasantly surprised had how diverse the group was. I found this group on Meetup.com. I had joined another meetup earlier thsi year but it really did not work out. The events they had were always at a bar. I am so over the bar thing. I did that 20 years ago and do not want to do that any more. This was nice to be in a room with people where you could have a conversation and mingle without all of the noise. I will definately go again.

Allergy Time is Here, Again!

I am on my second week of allergy season. This year is the worst in a long time. I called my sister yesterday and she did not recognize my voice. She though I was a telemarketer.

I am not sure how much more I can stand to cough. As some times I think I have enough allerge
y med on board and them I get overwhelmed and cannot keep ahead of it. If I can make it through the next couple of weeks I should be ok.

Had a fun weekend in spite of the allergy business. My friend Nancy was here for a few days. She was able to ride the train from St Louis coming in on Thursday afternoon which worked out well. Since I am working downtown she got off at Union Station which was very convenient for me to come pick her up. We drove around downtown so she could see all the changes going on there.

Friday we made the trek to Lawrence and the yarn store of yarn stored, Yarn Barn. There were so many nice things but I was good and only bought a pattern, which seems the be the majority of my purchases this weekend.

Saturday we did the big yarn shop run to Knit Wit, Old Mill in Liberty, Urban Arts, Stitch Nitch and finally to YarnCraft in Independence to meet some of the SSKers. After some yarn purchasing we all went a lovely coffee shop just off the Independence Square. I had to leave to take Nancy to the train to get her home to have Easter with her family. As luck would have it I was able to locate the station in Independence to we did not have to drive clear to Lees Summit to catch the train. I was then able to return for a little knitting with the group.

I think I am going to be ready to do the Clapotis really soon. I think Mary is in line to do it with me. So it should be fun. I have some Koigu that I bought at Stitches Midwest that I am going to use.

I also found this shawl I am going to add to my queue. I really like it http://www.elann.com/ShowFreePattern.asp?Id=265024

I do have some pictures from Saturday but alas I cannot remember where I put the camera again so I am going to tag over th Chelle's place because she does know where her camera and actually does have pictures http://www.hangingbyathinthread.blogspot.com/.

Progress Happens Sometimes

Here is where I am on the round throw. I am about half finished with the navy then I will bind off. I think I am going to try to do a i-cord bind off to make it lay flat. I am anxious to get this completed so I can move on. Also, I want to see how big it is. I have it on the larges cable that I have and it is getting pretty bunched up. I think it going to be very nice. I will give it to the VFW Auxilary to raffle at their craft fair this fall. Hopefully it will raise a little money for them.

Not sure my Gracie kitty will want to let it go. She has gotten very fond of it. It is a good meditation piece for her. She get a little piece of it in her mouth to suck on and then kneads it with her paws. She really get into it.

This is the sock I am designing. It is kind of a sampler sock so I am not sure if I am going to have the same stitch patterns on both socks. I guess I will decide on that then I get to the second sock so stay tuned. The color is a much brighter red but it does not show up in the picture.

As usual SSK meet at Border's yesterday. In the bargin books they had these knitting sets for $5.99.


It is a great deal if you have someone who would like to learn to knit. It includes basic techinque, project and a set of needles with a skein of year along with some accessories. Several of us purchased them. I have someone in mind for the one I got.

Today I am laying kind of low. After returning from SSK yesterday I was not feeling to well. Kind of feverish and scratchy throat. Today I am feeling kind of fluish. Not really bad but just not well. Still have a low grade fever that I hope is gone tomorrow. My throat does feel better this afternoon so maybe it is just an allergy think. I noticed this morning that my trees are budding and that is usually what hits me first. Next it will be the grass. It is the price I pay for Spring.

I am thinking that I am finally going to do the Clapotis next. I have som Koigu I got at Stitches Midwest that I am going to use. It is about time. I have it as first on my Ravelry queue so maybe I will start there.

I seriously need to do some updating on Ravelry. I have been remiss in keeping things up. Will try to work that in this week.

What's new? Not much

I have still been working on the round throw. I am almost ready for the navy and be done with it. It is big enough that it takes a while to get around it. That is why it is taking so long.

I had, what seemed like an all night dream...yes you got it...I knit in my dreams. The dream was about a shawl that I guess I am going to have to design since I spend so much time thinking about it in my sleep. Will let you know how it comes out on paper. I guess it may be one of my next projects.

I don't know if you listen to XM radio but I have grown to love it a lot. I can listen to in on the Internet while I work which makes it nice since it blocks out everyones noise. If you are a listener of you may have heard Jeanne Robertson who is a humorist. She is from the South and does speaking engagements for business meetings, conventions, etc. If you have not, I would like to share a story she related to one of her audiences. I have to laugh every time I hear it.

Her husband Jerry, who she refers to lovingly as “left-brain”, is usually included in her stories. She explained that in the South when a friend is ill or has passed it is the customer to take food over for the family. She personally takes 7UP pound cakes. She makes them by the dozens the places them in the freezer for the next time one is needed.

Since she is on the road a lot with speaking engagements, "left-brain" takes the pound cakes when the occasion arises. On this one occasion she heard of an illness and went to her freezer to get a pound cake but there were none.

She was preparing to leave for another engagement but want to send a cake so she asked “left-brain”, who was on his way to badminton ans didn't want to be late, to go to the grocery for ingredients. He agreed as long as he could go through the express checkout.

After being gone for some time he returned with two bags in hand and others hanging off his arm. With exasperation he deposited the bags on the table and went back for more. After the second trip there was another and another.

Jeanne found her shopping list, while "left-brain" was bringing the bags in, which she had for once numbered to assure a trip through the express line. Reviewing the list, she new the reason for so many bags. Here is her list:

Original List:
1 lb Butter
2 Vanilla
3 Dozen Eggs
4 Lard
5 lb Sugar
5 lb Flour
6 6-Pk 7UP

Purchased
1------1 lb Butter
2------bottle Vanilla
36-----Dozen Eggs
8 lb----Lard
25 lb---Sugar
30 lb---Flour
36 bottles--7UP

Of course, there was no trip through the express lane. On the way out the door to badminton “left-brain” admitted that he had figured out what he had done but by that time the checker was ringing up the 7UP and people were lined up behind him laughing so he decided that he would take the excess ingredients back later.

I love hearing this women speak. She has such a funny perspective on things. I hope some day do hear her in person.