Happy Halloween!

I started dinner early today so we could eat and get out out to trick-or-treat before it got really dark out. I put a nice roast in a Bag-n-Season (that's right baby...I'm all about the bag) along with some carrots, potatoes and onions. I started it at 3:15. It should have been done by 4:45. Not. We kept pulling it out to check the potatoes and carrots. 5pm...still crunchy. 5:15...still crunchy. 5:30...still crunchy. 5:45...still crunchy. 6pm...You've got to be shitting me!!! So Dan walked Darcie (who decided that she is much too old to go trick-or-treating this year) over to my parents to hand out our treats and we dressed the baby in her costume and headed out the door.

We drove across town to see Jim and Denise. Denise was home by herself passing out candy. Dailaesse went right up and said trick-or-treat, took her candy and said thank you. After all, even big purple dwagons have manners. We visited for a few minutes outside and then Dailaesse asked to go inside. She followed Denise right in the house and visited away. We went out to see the dog who was hanging out in the garage because he was afraid of the trick-or-treaters. She had a lollipop. Then she announced she wanted to go. So we left.

We headed back towards our house and decided to stop to see my aunt and uncle before heading home. They always have full size candy bars. Their house is the kids favorite place to go on Halloween. Dailaesse hopped out of the car and told us how she was going to say trick-or-treat and thank you to Uncle Gary and Aunt Linda. There was only one problem. My cousin Micahel was home. She's not use to seeing him. She screamed. Loud. Aunt Linda came flying out of the living room to see what was wrong. I told her I wasn't sure but it seemed to have started when Dailaesse looked at Uncle Gary. So Bran took Dailaesse out to the van and Dan and I stayed and visited for a bit.

We arrived home at 8pm and guess what??? The potatoes and carrots were finally done! We ate dinner and got the kids ready for bed. Dailaesse was especially tired even though she took a nap this afternoon. She stripped out of her costume as soon as we got home because she said she was roasting and then proceeded to put her snow suit on. I had to fight with her to get it off to put her to bed. I won. She is currently sleeping in her underwear while the snow suit hangs on the coat rack on the porch.

I'll announce the winner of the current contest tomorrow. Anita got an entry for the 29th and Lisa D. for the 30th. Congrats ladies!!!

I hope you all had a great Halloween!!!

Green With Envy

I wish I had a better picture of the cat. But by the time I had a chance to take a picture Brandon had already cleaned his face. Of course he couldn't clean the rest of him because he wouldn't sit still. And I couldn't get a better picture because he doesn't like to be photographed. The reason the cat had to be cleaned:

Dailaesse + Green Marker = Green Cat

Not that any more of an explanation is really needed but...Dailaesse found her green marker. She was very excited. I gave her paper. She was happily coloring away when I heard the cat meow. Not his usual meow. It was his "Mom please help me the baby is bothering me again" meow. Like I said, it was much worse. I was surprised that Bran was able to get as much off as he did. His nose and the white triangle between his eyes were completely green. Poor little fella.

I've drawn some more names...Adrienne for the 27th and Donna in NY for the 28th. Congrats ladies!

Potty Mouth

We went to dinner last night with our friends again. Back to the awesome pizza place in Lake Placid. Now normally I wouldn't choose to eat pizza a couple nights a week BUT this place is unbelievable. And it's closing. Yup. Just the way it goes around here. Find something you really like, have it once and find out it'll be gone in a week. So we decided we just had to get our fix. Plus we really wanted the kids to have some too. And yes, we took them all with us. We've instituted a strict "no child left behind" policy of our own. The pizza was even better last night than it had been on Friday. Of course I think that's due to the fact that I could actually sit and enjoy it without the incessant ring of the cell phone. Oh and by the way...I finally listened to the voice mails my father left last week...NOT nice. And, I always knew my father had quite the vocabulary but for the love of GOD!!! Ok, so the pizza was great and everyone was stuffed when we left. Especially Dan who ate a dozen wings before having 3 slices of this deep dish pizza. Let me tell you this, one slice of this pizza is a meal in itself. Seriously. It's thick and very filling. So about half way home my son informs me that he has to use the bathroom. Right. Now. I tell him I'm going as fast as I can and that we'll be home soon. A few minutes later Dan is sweating in the back of the van and he looks quite worried. I know my son REALLY well. I know that when I offer to stop at Burger King so he can use the bathroom that he's going to poo poo (ha ha) the idea. But I also don't want him to think I'm sadistic. So I offer. Dailaesse hollers from the back that she has to poop too and can't wait until we get home. She HAS to stop at Burger King. Now I'm really up Shit Creek (again with the funny). Do I stop and let her go or do I keep going and get Dan home as soon as I can. If Dailaesse isn't kidding and I risk not stopping I could be looking at a big mess. If I stop and can't get Dan home in time I could be looking at an even bigger mess. Dan tells me to stop at Burger King to let Dailaesse go and if he can't make it he'll use the bathroom there. This is big for Dan. He NEVER uses public restrooms and especially not if he has to poop. He goes all day at school and then through football without going. Yes, he has huge issues with public toilets. So I whip into Burger King and pull right up to the front doors. Bran jumps out and grabs Dailaesse and heads in with her. Dan sits for a minute and asks what the hell is taking them so long and how much longer I think they'll be. He ended up going in. Bran came back out with the baby and we waited. And waited. And waited some more. He finally emerged from the front doors. His face was red. Really red. He hopped in the van and told me to hurry. What??? You were just in there for 15 minutes. Don't tell me you couldn't go. Nope. That wasn't the problem. He had to go again. We hurried home and Dan jumped from the still rolling van to run into the house.

After Dan showered last night I went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I was standing at the sink brushing my teeth when Dan came back in. He begged me not to put the left over pizza in his lunch. We laughed. He turned to leave and I noticed something odd. "Dan, are your boxers on backwards?" He looked down and flipped the waistband off his boxers over to look. Sure enough, they were. He stood there a minute and started laughing. "I did it on purpose. You know, just in case I have to go to the bathroom again really quick. The hole will be better in the back than the front. Think we could get a patent for that Mom?" That's my boy.

Leslie...congrats sweetie...your name was drawn from yesterday's entries!

It's All About Power

Dixie went to the vet yesterday. Turns out that the pretty green glow she's developed is just from the antiseptic they used to clean her with before her surgery. It has some sort of dye in it so they can clearly see the area they've cleaned. Bran sat at the office for an hour to learn this. I asked why they couldn't have just told us that over the phone. Seems as though the girl who answers the phone at the vet's office wasn't paying attention when I told her that Dixie's FUR and SKIN were green. The vet thought it was the incision. Nope, told her that looked great actually.

Leslie is going to read the title of today's post and think that I'm going to talk about my little Shih-Tzu (pronounced in our house shi-zoo so as not to encourage the kids, particularly Dailaesse, to say shit-zoo) humping the cat again. I had said that we were really hopeful that having her spayed would stop her from loving the cat. Leslie squashed what little bit of hope I had by telling me that Dixie having her way with the cat has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with power. Thanks Leslie. Thanks for pointing that out. You could have left me to dream of a hump free home for just a little longer. LOL Seriously though, I found that quite interesting. I never would have considered it a power thing. I just thought we had a horny defective little dog. I told Leslie that there's most likely going to be a whole lotta humpin' goin' on in our house as soon as Dixie is feeling better because the cat has taken over her crate. We have to take him out so she can get in. I put a blanket in her crate when we brought her home from the vet and the cat apparently likes the blanket. I put one down for him in his sleeping spot but he seems to prefer hers. I'm sure she's going to feel the need to show him who's boss.

Getting back on track...when I titled today's post I was actually referring to electricity. Which we lost last night. I was typing away merrily on the computer around 11pm when everything went black. Bran was in the garage. Did I ever tell you how petrified I am of the dark??? I did really well last night though. I felt my way out to the kitchen to the drawer where I keep my candle lighter all before Bran made it in from the garage. Want to know what caused the outage? Downed trees. Want to know what caused the downed trees? 8" of heavy, wet SNOW!!! Our power never came back on until 11 this morning. It was chilly. I was glad that I turned the heat up earlier in the evening because I'm sure that helped to keep it from really getting cold in here. We're lucky that our house holds heat as well as it does considering it's age and lack of proper insulation. School was cancelled today. Not due to the snow of course, but because of the power outage. I don't ever remember having a snow day in October. Of course even though we use to get a lot more snow than we do now it never use to start until Halloween. We've almost always gotten our first snow of the year on Halloween. I remember Dan's first Halloween he wouldn't go trick-or-treating because he was playing with a shovel and pail in the front yard. We're suppose to get another 6" later this afternoon and then rain tonight. That should make for a nice mess. I hope you're all warm and dry!

Almost forgot to post the name I drew for yesterday...Donna. Congrats!

It's Not Easy Being Green

I know I've been really bad about posting lately but it truly has been like a 3 ring circus around here. We had to take our little Dixie Do Poo Poo to the vet on Friday morning to have her spayed. She had to be there by 8 am. The vet called at 10 am and said she was out of surgery and was starting to wake up. They said we could pick her up between 3 pm and 4 pm. This is what my husband brought home from the vet. This was taken on Sunday. She was still mad. Today she's finally back to her perky little self. She's chasing the cat again. Not humping. Just chasing. We're hoping that having her spayed took care of that little issue. I've got to bring her back in this afternoon to have the vet take a look at her skin. It's green. Seriously. Her skin and hair has a green tint to it. It's not as bad as it was on Friday but it's still there. I'm thinking it can't be anything too serious because she's feeling frisky again. But still. Green???

Today was Darcie's field trip to the House of History in Malone. I went with Dan when he was in 4th grade so this time was Brandon's turn. I found the trip very interesting. It's the oldest home in Malone, and I want to say Franklin County but I'm not positive about that, and everything has been preserved. Including the people who work there. Again, seriously. And as I said, I found it very interesting, but 4th graders? Not so much. Those old ladies really get their knickers in a bunch quite easily. Not sure why they insist on dragging 3 classes of 4th grade kids through something like that. They have questions and they want answers. They get excited when they see certain things. It's a small house. Very small. But I digress. Bran sent me a text message about a half hour ago and said they were about 10 minutes from home. They should be here soon. He said he thought it was great and had a nice time. But the kids? Not so much. When will the school officials learn?

Congrats to Teresa! I drew your name for yesterday.

Puff the Magic Dragon

Well, it stopped snowing. We got about an inch and then it just stopped. On the bright side, we're suppose to have a foot by the end of the week. Looks like Santa won't have any trouble getting to our house this year. I never had to worry about that as a kid. There was always snow and plenty of it. It's not like that anymore. In fact, I had to have the talk with the kids a few years ago. You know the one right? The one where you tell them that it's ok that there's no snow. That Santa is magic and he and the reindeer can land on the roof no matter what. Still, it's not very reassuring to little ones who are use to snow at Christmas. I gotta admit, I wondered how the hell the fat old guy would land his sleigh on the roof with no snow. We left him a nice note with the milk and cookies that year and asked that if the sleigh or the reindeer took up any shingles that they kindly put them back before they left. I warned him there would be no milk, cookies, carrots or sugar the following year if I found pieces of my roof in the yard on Christmas morning. I'm happy to say we made it through the holiday with no problems.

So Puff the Magic Dragon. Or in my case, Puff the Pain in the Arse Teenager. I have to tell you, I never in a million years expected to have this happen in my house. I've kept an open mind. I've convinced myself that most kids at some point in time are going to experiment with cigarettes and alchohol and that I'm just going to have to be prepared for that day. But some where deep in the back of my mind I had decided that my babies would never be so stupid. Yup, you guessed it...Dan had cigarettes hid in his sock drawer. Wanna know how they were found? Dan paid his sister $10 to clean his room because he didn't want to do it. Darcie is very thourough. We sat him down and asked the usual questions. Who, where, why. He admitted right off that he had bought them from a friend (for $3) at school and had fully intended to try them. He says he didn't and I have to believe him. Being a former smoker myself, the smell of cigarette smoke is frightfully strong to me now. I quit 3 1/2 years ago when I foun fout I was pregnant again and never took it back up. In fact, I quit for all three of my pregnancies. Cold turkey the day the home test showed 2 lines. I was always quite proud of myself for that. And then when I started again after Dan and Darcie were older I felt like a loser. Anyways, we sat him down and had another talk about the dangers and stupidity of smoking, drinking and doing drugs. He was shaking and he cried. It takes a lot to make my little man cry. I know he got the point. I was very stern and serious when I talked to him. Later during the day when Bran and I were alone I sat down and started laughing. He paid $3 for a few cigarettes. And they weren't even a good brand. And he paid his sister to clean his room knowing that they were in there. I had to laugh. Silly boy.

I've drawn 2 more names. Sandra Knapp for the 22nd and Adrienne for yesterday. Congrats girls! You've earned an entry into the drawing at the end of the month for the goody box.

It's Raining, It's Snowing

That's right folks, it's October 22nd and it's snowing. How cool is that??? And I'm not talking a wimpy little dusting. I'm talking nice big, wet, heavy flakes. It's a little unusual even for us to have snow before Halloween but I'm not going to complain. Dailaesse was so excited on the way home from picking Dan and Darcie up this week. When we were at the play park yesterday and today she kicked the clouds while she was swinging to make it snow so we can get the sleds out. Most people wouldn't want to be held responsible for this sort of weather. Dailaesse proudly accepts all blame.

Before I forget, Mar was drawn from all the entries on Thursday and Nyxxie for Friday. It's been awfully quiet around here today. Up until a few minutes ago Bonnee was in the running all alone.

So much has happened in the past 2 days that I don't even know where to start. We went for dinner with our friends last night. I was going to take the baby but it got late. My mother wasn't feeling well and my father was, well, cranky. I decided to stay home with Dailaesse and have Bran go. Our friends insisted we bring Dailaesse so I changed plans and told Dailaesse she was coming. My father pitched a fit and told me I was crazy because it was too late and that I was going to leave her with them. I should have known better. When will I ever learn??? We hadn't even been sitting at the table for 5 minutes when the cell phone rang. Dailaesse was screaming. Yes, that little girl scream that makes your ear drums bleed. She wanted us to go home. Quickly. I thought if we just hurried up and ate that she'd quit screaming and lose track of time. Not. When we got home my mother told me she had cried herself to sleep. I feel like the worst mother in the world. She told me Dailaesse insisted she call the police and have them go find her mother. Smart little shit isn't she? I always wonder of the things I try to pound into the kids heads actually stick or not. Obviously this is one that has. If you are lost you find a police man and they will bring you home. She is listening. :-) So Dailaesse told me this morning that next time I was taking her with me. Which is what I wanted to do in the first place. Both of my parents made sure to tell me that I was horrible to leave her with them. What??? They told me to!!! Sometimes you just can't win.

The clog class was really something today. I was there for 6 hours. Yup. 6 hours. I set out for a 2 hour class at 9:45 this morning. This has got to be how Gilligan and The Skipper felt all those years. I think everyone really got a good handle on the process though and that's what I set out to accomplish. Even if it did suck the spirit right out of me. I lost the will to shop. Oh sure, there was fondling. But I just couldn't seem to commit to anything in particular. I'm such a tease.

Just A Little Bit Of Magic

Last night I called my parents to see if they were done dinner yet. They weren't. I asked my father to call when they got done because the kids wanted to see him in his new hat. Wanna know what he said? "Jesus Christ. Are you kidding?" I assured him that I was definitely not kidding. We wanted to see him in the hat and we wanted to see it when they were done dinner. Surprisingly enough, he called when they were done dinner. We bundled the kids up and headed across the yard. He modeled the hat and the kids were happy. They just wanted to see how the hat that they had helped make looked on their Papa. I told my father that a little enthusiasm would be nice seems how a lot of time and effort went into making the hat especially for him. I told him I was up after midnight working in ends. I told him how my hands had cramped. You know what he said? "Would you like me to go turn cartwheels in the road?" Why yes. Yes I would like that very much. And don't worry, should that ever happen I'll be sure to post the pictures.

I talked to Sue the other day and we scheduled a Magic Loop class for 10am on Saturday, November 19th. I'm very excited! If anyone is nearby and wants to sign up just give Sue a call. Now I just need to work on a simple sock pattern to bring with me. Seems how Dailaesse could do with some new socks I will make a pair for her. Sue thought it best to do something small so people can at least turn the heel while they're there and I totally agree with her. When we had first talked about doing the clog classes that was her idea too. Have everyone do the same size. And do the smallest size possible which was the childs x-small. Now a lot of people complained about having to do the childs size. They wanted to do something adult sized. Something they could wear. I get that, BUT. (I know, there's always a but.) Doing the smallest size allows the participants to go through the entire process of making the clog, or in this case sock. Beginning to end and everything in between. Know what happens when you don't get to work through the whole process? You can't finish your clogs, or socks. It really is best to do something small. And someone is bound to have a baby sooner or later right?

Knitcrazy was drawn from the batch of entries for yesterday. Congrats! Keep those comments coming in! I'm having so much fun reading everyone's comments. It doesn't get any better than this!

Morton Salt

Wasn't it Morton salt that had the little girl on the front with the umbrella skipping through the puddles? We have had a lot of rain for the past, oh I don't know, two weeks and last year when they came through with a new road they botched our driveway so the water doesn't drain anymore it just puddles up into a lake at the bottom of the driveway. Yes, a lake. We're talking almost 8 feet wide by 4 feet high and 4 inches deep. I'm thinking of taking the pool out and praying for rain all summer. Anyways...last night we had to go out to pick Dan and Darcie up from their weekly visitation with their asshole (please forgive me...it's just one of my many pet names for him) father. Bran had pulled in the driveway yesterday afternoon and blocked the van in so he had to pull the car out onto the street so we could go get them. I had just gotten into the van and was getting ready to start it when I see Bran come running around the corner into the drive and then stop. Just like that. I mean he was hauling ass and then nothing. He slowly turned around and started hopping. What in the world was he doing? I turned the headlights on so I could see. Yup. He lost his sneaker. In the lake. We turned the heat on full blast and pointed it at his feet. He was still soggy when we got home. Which reminds me...didn't the Morton girl have rubber boots for jumping puddles??? I'll bet she wasn't soggy.

Wanna know who's in the running for the drawing so far? I drew Lisa D. for Monday and Michelle for yesterday. I've sent you both emails so if you got one you're in the running. Congrats!

Today is sunny and cool and wet...but not raining. It's beautiful! The leaves are changing are so pretty right now. I've got to take Darcie out after school so she can try to sell some candy for their class trip to Albany so I'll try to remember to take the camera and get some pictures. I think it's sad that we sometimes take the beauty of our area for granted. It's a shame to not stop and enjoy it.

Holy Cow

That's it. That's all I can say. Holy cow. I can't believe how many of you took the time to stop by yesterday. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate you. Thank you for taking time out to stop by and visit. And thanks for all the great compliments on the hat. I wish I had gotten a better picture of it for you. If anyone else makes one and wants to share the photo just let me know. I'd be honored to put it in my album. And thanks for the suggestions on the clogs. Diane decided to felt them to the length suggested on the Brannock site. I think she'll be ok with that. If they're are a little snug they'll stretch to fit and if they're a little loose she can throw them back in the washer for a little longer. I still think it would be really cool to see someone's face if they got them before they were felted. Especially the ones Diane made for herself. She knits really loose so her women's large looked like my men's large. It was about 2 feet long. I swear. But after 2 hours in the washer in hot water they felted up nicely to a size 8.5. She was pretty happy with them.

Diane decided on Sunday that she needed some more yarn to start another pair of clogs. So we took a trip to Adirondack Yarns. Amazingly enough, I didn't buy anything. I've been trying really hard to be disciplined and get my Christmas shopping done. I did however contribute to a nice dent in Diane's wallet. :-) She bought enough Lamb's Pride for a pair of clogs for her sister in law and enough novelty for 2 scarves for her mother. Who doesn't want clogs. What??? Doesn't want clogs? Diane said she thinks it's because she told her how long it took her to make her first one. About 11 hours. I guess in the grand scheme of things that's really not bad time. She's a new knitter with only a couple scarves under her belt thus far. I think she did a great job. I'm so proud of her! Oh, and while I'm on the subject of clogs and Adirondack Yarns, I will be teaching a class this Saturday the 22nd from 10am to noon. We'll do the smallest child size from start to finish. If anyone is going to be in the area and wants to join you can call Sue at 518-523-9230 to sign up. It's only $15 for the class plus materials and you get a 10% discount off the yarn you purchase to make them.

Ok, before I get off here and go do some laundry I'll leave you with this. How cool is this? I whipped it up last night from some left over Lamb's Pride worsted. Wanna know how I made it? Brace yourselves...it's very scientific:

16" size 8 circular
36" size 10 circular or double points

Hat is worked holding 2 strands (one strand of one color and one strand of another) of worsted yarn together throughout. (I used Lamb's Pride)

Color A - black
Color B - blue
Color C - red
Color D - green
Color E - brown

With one strand of A and one strand of B
Cast on 80 stitches on size 8 needle.
Work K2, P2 ribbing for 10 rounds.

Change to size 10 needles and work in stockinette:

6 rounds of B and C
9 rounds of C and D
4 rounds of D and E
8 rounds of E and B
7 rounds of B and D

Decrease Rounds:

With D and A work K2tog all the way around each round for 2 rounds, ending with 20 stitches.

Leave a long tail of yarn and weave it through the 20 stitches. Draw up tightly and work all ends in.

I know it looks funky when you decrease that quickly but it does fit well.

Now, wanna know how I so scientifically came up with the change of colors for the rounds? I had each of the kids and Bran choose a number between 1 and ten. I added my choice somewhere in the midst of it and it worked out great. The hat will go to my dad at lunch time to keep his poor old, bald head warm this winter. I hope he likes the colors. If not Brandon already volunteered to take it off his head. I mean hands.

Let's Get This Party Started Right Now

Today officially starts the new contest! Just stop by and leave a comment and you're automatically entered. It doesn't matter where you leave your comment because it's sent to my inbox and dated. I'll draw one name each day through the end of the month just like I did last month. Tell your friends! Tell everyone! The more who play the more fun we'll have! And don't forget, every day that you leave a note gets you an entry.

Secret Pal Goodies

I received a wonderful package from my Secret Pal yesterday. In the box was 3 skeins of Silk Twist from www.knitpicks.com in yellow, green and blue variegated, some delicious Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice coffee, chocolate covered pretzels, a pumpkin spice candle, some cute knitter's note cards, sheep sticky notes and a card. How awesome is that? My friend came over again yesterday to finish her clogs and Brandon made us a pot of the coffee. It was incredible! I really wasn't sure that I would like it as I'm not normally crazy about spiced drinks but this stuff was great. Diane and I drank the entire pot. Dailaesse helped us munch on the chocolate covered pretzels too. They're one of our favorite treats around here. A huge thank you to my Secret Pal!!! I really appreciate your time and thought!

In other knitting related news, I finished the hat I was asked to make for Polly. She's a really sweet woman. I called her yesterday to let her know it was done and she came and picked it up today. She seemed quite pleased with it. I hope she wasn't just being polite. If anyone is interested I wrote the pattern up as I went along. The original hat shows the pattern much better than the horrible photo I took of the one I made.

Polly Wolly Doodle Hat

Worsted weight yarn (I used Lamb's Pride)
16" size 7 circular needle
47" size 7 circular needle or size 7 dpns

CO 90 stitches on the 16" circular, place marker and join in the round being careful not to twist.

Work 6 rounds of K1 P1 rib.

Begin pattern repeat:

Row 1: *Slip 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold at back of work, K1 from circular needle, K2 stitches off cable needle, P2 stiches from circular needle. Repeat from * around to marker.
Rows 2-4: *K3, P2. Repeat from * around to marker.

Work pattern repeat 10 times then work one round of Row 1 to end.

Change to 47" circular needle for Magic Loop method or dpns.

K89, m1, K1. (91 stitches total on needle)

*K5, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K4, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K3, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K2, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K1, K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.
Knit one round.
*K2tog. Repeat from * around to marker.

Cut yarn leaving 12" tail. Weave tail through remaining stitches and pull tight to close. Work end in on wrong side and you're done.

You'll have to excuse my lack of pattern writing skills. This is the first one I've written down to share.

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

Advice Needed

I told you a couple days ago that my friend had started her first pair of felted clogs. She's having so much fun with them that she now wants make them for her family for Christmas. Her question to me yesterday was whether she should felt them before giving them as gifts or felt them after. I've always thought the idea of doing it after was really neat. I can just imagine the looks on the faces of the recipients when they see these HUGE clogs. And, I find the felting process absolutely fascinating. Plus it's fun. I'd love to do this with my own family but I knit so many of the damn things that they've all seen them at some stage or another and there would be no shock factor. Maybe I'm wanting to live vicariously through Diane. Maybe that's why I think it would be fun for her to felt them after she gives them to her family. But on the other hand, I also have a hard time with the idea of giving a gift that isn't finished. Would you prefer to gift them finished or unfinished? How would you prefer to receive them if you were the gift getter? Getter. LOL Is that even a word?

We had to run to the dollar store last night for paper towels. On the way to the checkout Dailaesse spotted some plastic high heel dress up shoes for little girls. She got excited. "Oh Mama. Just look at these. Wouldn't I be precious in these? Pretty please can I have them?" In the cart they went. Then we stopped at McDonald's on the way home to grab something quick for dinner. We got home and Dailaesse insisted that she needed to put her pretty new pink shoes with the butterflies on them on her feet right away. I told her she needed to eat her dinner first. I knew right where this was headed. She begged and screamed. I opened the shoes. She promised to eat. Right. She slipped the shoes on and pranced across the living room. "Look Mama! I am so beautiful in these new tip toe shoes!" Tip toe shoes??? I couldn't stop laughing. She's too cute. By the way, she finally ate her chicken after she danced for about half an hour. Yum. Cold McDonald's.

Easy Does It

Sometimes it feels good to complain. Other times it only makes the situation worse. For example, yesterday was nuts. I had 101 things to do. Dailaesse had dance, Dan had a football game, Darcie needed to be picked up from school, my friend needed help with her clog...and on and on. So I decided while I was out running errands yesterday that I'd stop and pick Bran up for lunch. He was very happy. We went to Burger King. Remember, they have frozen Coke. Anyways, we sat at the drive thru for 20 minutes. Can you believe that??? If it hadn't been for the 5 minute ride back out to Bran's work he wouldn't have been able to eat any of his lunch. One of the ladies that works there has a really bad attitude so I didn't even bother saying anything to her. I've tried before when things have gone wrong. But guess what? She really doesn't give a tiny rats ass if you are happy or not. So, I called the long distance number posted in the window for complaints. I believe this number is for the idiot that manages the Burger Kings in the area. Guess what? He really doesn't give a tiny rats ass either. How do I know this? Because every time I've called (maybe a half dozen times over the past few years) I get an answering machine and never receive a return phone call. See how this can sometimes make the situation worse? I can't get no satisfaction.

By the time I got to Verizon after the football game last night I was in rare form. I went in to return the 4th phone I've had with them in 10 months. We've had nothing but trouble with these phones that they sold us. They won't hold a charge. And that's providing that you can get the stupid things to charge in the first place. You have to plug the phone in and then wiggle it around and move it back and forth and up and down until it starts charging. Then you have to back away from the counter very slowly while holding your breath and pray that it doesn't move. I think if someone in Egypt pharts it screws with the phone's charging capabilities. Then every once in a while when nobody pharts or breathes the phone lulls you into a false sense of security by telling you that it's charged. When you unplug it from the charger and make a call it quickly beeps at you and flashes its low battery message. Very manipulative. Teasing little hussy. I was ready to fight with the friendly (not) people at Verizon Wireless. I marched in and told them they HAD to do something about the phone. I told them the problem. They told me I had to speak to their service department. I again told my problem to the service department...his name was Gary. Why do they call it a department when it's one person anyways? So Gary told me that the phone was charging for the moment on his charger. I told him that although that was part of my complaint that the phone had other problems as well. He told me he thought it needed a new battery. Something they've been telling me since the phone was 2 weeks old but haven't replaced. He told me he'd see if they had any batteries and if they did he would replace it free of charge. No batteries. Gary says I'll have to come back tomorrow to see his manager so they can order one at no charge. I smiled and pointed out to Gary that I live an hour (one way) away and that unless he'd like to pay for my gas that I won't be returning tomorrow. Gary disappeared into another room in the back of the store. When he returned he was smiling and said he had good news. That's right, an entirely new phone. I never expected that to happen. It's suppose to be equivalent to the one I had but it seems a lot nicer. The only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't vibrate. I like that feature. I feel it's rude to be talking to someone and have the phone start ringing. Again, a me thing. I'll have to call today and see if it has the feature and maybe I'm just missing it.

This morning Dailaesse and I made our almost daily trek to Dunkin' Donuts. We pulled up to the speaker and ordered. The person behind the speaker kept asking me to repeat myself. She finally screamed, "I can't hear her!!!" into the speaker. I pulled around to the window. A woman opened the window and told me how much my order was. Before handing her my money I let her know that although they might not be able to hear their customers that the customers could hear them loud and clear. Seriously. When they speak it's magnified 1000 times. She smiled, took my money and told me it wasn't her fault that the girl who took the order was having trouble with the headset. She gave me my change, closed the window and I'm assuming relayed what I had said to the girl with the headset. Now I have to tell you that I know of the girl with the headset. She went to school with me. She hung with a tough and nasty crowd of people who did nothing but fight, drink and use drugs. She was Miss Bad Ass in school and her attitude some 15 years later hasn't changed. Sad to see an adult that nasty. Anyways, the girl with the headset gave me a dirty look and then mouthed "fuck her". What????? When the drinks were passed through the window I asked to speak to the manager. Guess what? You got it, no satisfaction. The manager never apologized. Just tried to make me understand that it wasn't her fault that the equipment they have is faulty. I pointed out to her that the faulty headset didn't tell me to fuck off. I guess I'll start going to McDonalds for coffee in the morning.

Now, wanna hear some good exciting news??? I've decided to have another contest. We'll start on the 17th (Monday) and go until the 31st (Monday). We'll do pretty much the same thing we did last time except that I already have a good idea of what I'll be sending for a prize. Anyone who wants a chance to enter just needs to stop by and leave a comment. I'll draw a name each day and at then draw one final winner on November 1st. Leslie's prize is almost ready to go. I'm waiting for one more item that I ordered to arrive before I pack the box up and send it off. I can't wait until I can get it out to her. I think she's going to be thrilled!

Get Over It

We had the best knitting weather this weekend! It was cool and rainy and gave me the perfect excuse to sit inside and knit. I made a pair of clogs and got the hat finished...once. I just ripped the entire damn thing back out again. If anything I'm at least getting quite proficient in the hat pattern. I can whip it up in no time at all. It's going to be great when I get it finished. I promise. My friend Diane came over Saturday and then again today as she's working on her first pair of clogs. She was able to complete the first of the pair tonight. She's doing a really great job. She's really excited about getting them felted. She wants to make them for her family for Christmas this year. What a great gift don't you think? I'll have to get some pictures of mine and hers up soon for you all to see.

So on Friday Dailaesee and I had a little discussion. It went like this:

Me: Dailaesse please get out of the movie cabinet.
Dailaesse: No.
Me: I said please get out of there. You've already broken one DVD. We don't need anymore broken.
Dailaesse: It wasn't my fault it broke.
Me: Yes, it was. You broke Dan's Ernest movie. Please get out of the cabinet.
Dailaesse: So what I broke it. It's my fault. Get over it.
Me: Get over it???
Dailaesse: That's what I said. I ruined it. Get over it.

I told the story when Bran got home at lunch. He tried to reason with her. I heard her tell him to get over it too. Reasoning with a 2 year old is a losing battle.

Dailaesse wanted steak, noodles and carrots for dinner Friday night. I took out steak, got the noodles out and made sure I had carrots in the fridge (or fridgalator if you're 2). At about 5pm Dailaesse asked to go visit her Papa. Then she asked to spend the night. I told her she could go see them after dinner. She screamed. I called my dad. No answer. She screamed louder. I called 10 minutes later. No answer. She screamed even louder. I told her he was probably in the shower and that I was sure he would call as soon as he was out. That didn't work. It's the reasoning thing again. So I finally couldn't take the screaming anymore and got her dressed for the walk across the yard. Sure enough, he was in the shower. I hollered up the stairs to let him know we were there and let her loose. Soon after my mother arrived home. Dailaesse asked if she could have dinner and spend the night. I reminded her of the steak we had out at home. No go. She wanted to know what my parents were having. Hot dogs. Mmmm. That sounds good. That sounds good??? Let's see, Oscar Meyer vs. filet mignon. The kid kills me. So she decided to stay and have dinner. They opted for LaChoy Beef Chow Mein. Out of a can. She ate her entire dinner. She called us over for cupcakes after dinner. I told my mother the "get over it" story. She asked Dailaesse why she was being so fresh. Dailaesse looked her striaght in the eye and told her she never said such a thing and that I was a fibber. My mother confirmed the story with Bran. She asked Dailaesse again why she was being so fresh. Wanna know Dailaesse's response???

GET OVER IT!

Gotta love that kid!

Something's Burning

and I don't think it's love. Remember that song? Something's burning. Something's burning. Something's burning. And I think it's love. Anyways...around 2 this afternoon I picked up the phone and called my husband at work. The conversation went like this:

Me: Honey can you please come home? Right now? Hurry!!!
Hubby: What's wrong???
Me: There's something burning in the house. I don't know where it's coming from. I think it's near the tv but I don't see any flames or smoke. I'm scared. Hurry!!!
Hubby: I'm on my way. I'll be there in a few minutes.

I hung up and decided it best to look all over the house to be sure it wasn't coming from the basement or upstairs. Basement. Clear. Upstairs. Well, it smells to high heaven in the hallway but again there's no smoke or flames. Back downstairs. There it is again. Right by the entertainment center. So I pull the speaker cabinet out and look. Nothing except one horrific smell. Almost electrical. Hmmm. We live in an old house and I have a very vivid imagination. I see flames shooting behind the walls where I can't actually SEE them. But I know they've got to be there. So I go to unplug the stuff from the outlet. HOT. VERY HOT!!! I burnt my hand. What the hell??? I carefully and quickly feel around the rest of the wall. Nothing. Cool as a cucumber. Hmmm. I call Bran again:

Me: The plug thing for the Pico (10 year old game station thing that plugs into the tv that Dailaesse has played with more in the past few months than Dan or Darcie have in the past 10 years) is hotter than hell. I just burned my hand unplugging it from the wall.
Bran: Hmmm. Must be Dixie chewed it again.

I guess Dixie has a thing for electrical wires. When Bran got home he looked at it and found the chew marks. She broke through the insulation on the wires. She had to have been zapped. There's no way she could have chewed through it and not been zapped. I wondered why she was being so crazy. On the up side, I don't think she'll be chewing things anymore. She's been really good since this afternoon. I was so relieved when Bran got home and confirmed that the house wasn't going to burn to the ground. I was really scared. The smell was HUGE. I thought of calling the fire department. But I hadn't showered. Bran found this funny. I promised if I ever actually see flames that I will take the kids, leave the house and call the fire department. No matter what my hair looks like.

I'd like to show you some knitting progress but there really isn't any to speak of. I've ripped the damn hat that I had half way completed. I ran into the woman I'm knitting it for at Adirondack Yarns on Wednesday morning and really wanted her to try it on. I figured I'd just pull the needle and then slide the stitches back on when she was finished. Wrong. I forgot that I had just completed a cable row. The stitches went all over the place. I started picking it back up but lost patience and ripped it back out. I tried starting over again at dance class but I just couldn't do it. I was bombarded by little 4 year old girls who wanted to know what I was doing and how I was doing it. Can I try??? They were so cute. Dailaesse answered for me...she told them I was yarning.

We left dance class 10 minutes early on Wednesday because Dailaesse was crying at the door. I was having a perfectly lovely ADULT conversation with one of the other mothers when I heard it. The high pitch scream only my littlest princess makes. I ran to the door and opened it. She was standing there with her tambourine. Sobbing. Hard. I asked what was wrong. She told me her eyes were watering. I asked what was wrong again. She said, "Because my both eyes are watering." Seeing this going in a circle forever I asked why her eyes were watering. She looked at me like I had absolutely no brain and said, "Mama, don't you know that when your eyes are watering it means your crying?" So I asked why she was crying. She told me because her eyes were watering. Anybody else see a Laurel and Hardy skit here? She finally told me she wanted to go home. When we got to the van she said, "God Mama, I was so sad because I was missing you so bad. Didn't you know that?" Finally. The answer to who's on first.

Enjoy the weekend! It's suppose to be rainy and crappy here all weekend so I hope to have lots of progress pictures by Monday. :-)

Mice & Ladybugs & Deer, Oh My!

I've always loved fall. The colors, the smells, the sounds. It's a beautiful time of year. BUT I'm beginning a new love-hate relationship with the season. You see, over the past couple of years we've had lots of uninvited guests at our home. And while I love all of God's creatures, I love them even more when they are OUTSIDE where they belong.

First there are the mice. I realize that probably every house in town has them this time of year. They sneak in and start stealing cotton balls and Q-tips to build their nests for the winter. And I realize that they need to eat too and try to remember that when I find empty boxes (yes, entire boxes) of pasta in the pantry. This little feat of theirs completely perpelexes me. I mean, what the hell are they doing with boxes full of uncooked pasta??? And can you imagine how long it must take them to cart all of my pasta off to wherever it is that they're hiding it? Which is another thing that puzzles me. I've NEVER found the food that they steal. And they steal ALOT of food. If you were to take the food they steal and compare it their body size you would surely find that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY that they could eat it all. It has to go somewhere. But where? Anyways, I know they have to eat too but sometimes I secretly hope that they break every friggen little tooth in their heads on my uncooked pasta. And even though all of that drives me crazy there's nothing that puts me into orbit like finding the little black presents that they leave around the house sometimes. It's bad enough to see things disappear but when you start finding things they leave behind, well, that's a problem. Bran asked me last night why they shot so much. I told him I'm thinking when something is that little that input has to equal output. Kind of like new babies who poop as soon as they eat. Which reminded me of when Dailaesse was little. She would usually go during her meal. I learned quickly not to nurse her in the tub. Getting back on track...this year I'm not sure who I hate worse, the mice or my cat. Have you ever seen Garfield, The Movie? There's a scene where the little mouse runs through the house and Garfield just watches it. Doesn't run to catch it. Just sits there. That's what I imagine Mickey must do. He's obvously not much of a mouser. I told Bran he better start earning his keep or I'm taking him to the pound. I've fed him all summer and now I expect results.

Then there's the ladybugs. Does anyone else have trouble with ladybugs this time of year or is it just an Adirondack thing? We start out with a catch and release program but usually after the first few days I can't stand it anymore. I bring out the heavy artilery...the vacuum. I explain to them that I'd really like to bring them back outside but I just don't have time. Plus, I think the ones we bring outside just come back in anyways. It's not like I'm shipping them to say Brazil, I just open the front door and send them packing. Bran just vacuumed about 30 off the living room ceiling and hour ago and there are at least 20 there again already. Damn things.

Then there's the deer. First of all, I love deer. I think they're beautiful. They have the softest, gentlest eyes. Very pretty. They're also very stupid animals. Think about it, what would possess any living creature to throw itself into the side of a moving vehicle? Or be half way out in the road, see a car coming along at 55 miles per hour at it, turn to run the other way, get all the way to the shoulder of the road and then at the last minute change it's mind and dart back out in front of the car? I've seen it happen more times than not. Stupid. Anyways, my gripe with the deer is this...they eat flowers and trees. Not my flowers and trees. I have no flowers or trees. My kids are deathly afraid of bees. They eat my mothers flowers and trees. Who in turn complains to me about the deer eating her flowers. As if I can do something to stop them. I've tried reasoning with them when they're out eating apples of the trees in the back yard. I've tried begging them to stop so I don't have to listen to her complain. I've even tried telling them that they're going to get shot if they keep eating her stuff. Of course, an animal who throws itself at cars for no apparent reason isn't detered by the threat of gun shot. I finally convinced her to get a noise making contraption for the back yard. It's working for the time being so the deer and I are on good terms. We'll see if that lasts once it's almost winter and they're hungry and they start coming through the front yard instead of the back. I have a very good idea of what my mother will be getting for Christmas this year...another noise maker.

In knitting news, I did indeed finish the Amble socks in time. I really didn't think I was going to make it but I was thrilled that I did. The new socks are Mosaic and I can't wait to get them started. I've ordered yarn. I have empty needles. Bring them on! I also started the replacement hat for the nice lady who lives in Lake Clear. The cable is exactly the same. I even cast on the same number of stitches. I know that the hat stretches to the same width as the old one but it's still driving me crazy that it looks so much smaller. The old hat has absolutely no stretch left at all. I hope she's happy with it. It's been a lot of fun to work on.

Weekend Update

What a weekend. On Friday my husband's friend from up the road was in a car accident. He's an older man that moved here several years ago with his wife. They came from California. They had a child going to Paul Smith's College and were visiting all the time and decided they really liked the area. He just retired a few months ago from the transmission repair shop he started when he moved here. I don't know them that well but the few times I've met him he's been quite pleasant. Bran has a great deal of respect for him. He's always been so wonderful to Bran. Helping him out when he has trouble on a transmission, answering questions with just as much patience as detail and even letting Bran use his garage when it was open to work on our relative's vehicles which he isn't even allowed to do at the dealership he works for. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for them both. They have 5 children. All of whom were adopted. They have put all of them through college and each one of them is successful. Amazingly wonderful people they are. Anyways, from what we've heard he had a diabetic seizure and drove their minivan through the concrete basement of a house downtown. Bran stopped at the hospital Friday and he was still in ICU and not seeing visitors. Saturday he stopped by their house to let them know we were thinking of them and offer help with anything they might need. He talked to one of his sons who told him that he had flat-lined twice on Friday, they had given him his last rites and then the next thing they knew he snapped out of it. How's that for a miracle? He was suppose to come home today. Not sure yet if he did yet or not. There were no cars there tonight when we came by from McDonald's so I'm assuming he must still be there. I'm still praying for him to come home soon. The rest of the weekend was a blur. I tried really hard to catch up on laundry and the rest of the housework. Didn't work out as I had planned because I'm still behind.

Last night we went to our friends for dinner. What a wonderful treat that was! Bran went to work there yesterday afternoon and I took the girls to the playground down the road from their house. I called Bran to let him know I was there so he could stop by if he wanted when he got done. He pulled in and not 5 minutes after he pulled in Denise came down the road. She stopped and invited us all to dinner. I have to tell you, we haven't been invited to anyone's house for dinner. Ever. We always have everyone here. I think it probably has to do with the fact that we have 3 kids. They are always really well behaved in front of company but I think the fact that there are so many of them throws people off. Now like I said, they are really well behaved in front of company. And I remind them to be really well behaved in front of company. So, on the way over last night I had my usual conversation with the kids, "Remember your manners. NO fighting. NO belching. NO pharting. NO talking about pharting." Yes, it is absolutely necessary to remind them not to talk about pharting. Trust me. Our friends are incredible. They are empty-nesters with one daughter recently graduating college with a masters in education, living in California and acting in movies and soaps and the other in college in Florida. We adore them. They are incredibly good hearted people. They are also a little more civilized than we are. They use wine glasses. I'm sitting here drinking Spumante from a water glass as I type. They have tablecloths. White tablecloths. We have none. We use paper towels for napkins. I could go on until I'm blue. I can't even begin to tell you how nervous I was that one of the kids would do something not cool. I held my breath all through dinner. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The were nice to each other. They cleared the dishes without being asked. There was no belching. There was no pharting. There was no talk about pharting. Hey Martha Stewart...THIS is a good thing. Of course as soon as we got in the van and pulled out of the driveway there was pharting. And lots of it.