Monday, May 29, 2006

Happy Memorial Day!

Wow! This weekend really flew by. We had a wonderful time and I hope you all did as well.

On Friday we took a trip to Plattsburgh. I had to sign some releases for the new lawyer so she could speak with the kids counselors. I'm under the impression that I'll have to go back again before the 1st to sign the amended petition. Speaking of which, if you all could think positive thoughts for us on the 1st we would all be so very grateful. It will be our first trip to court to once again ask for a custody and visitation modification. We have retained a wonderful new law firm and I'm very optimistic this time. My little angels need a positive change and soon. After I signed the paperwork, we went to watch Dan throw shot put at the sectional meet. Can you believe that? Out of the entire high school VARSITY track and field team my little man scored a trip to sectionals. I'm so very proud of him. He had to beat out a lot of high school kids to earn a spot. Don't forget, he's still only in middle school. :-) After that we went and did a little shopping. We got Darcie the Nintendo DS she's been bugging for since January. I've held out this long because she specifically requested a Game Boy Advance for Christmas. Which she got. Then she went back to school about a week after Christmas to find that a couple of her friends had gotten the Nintendo instead of the Game Boy. The Nintendo is way cooler because it has a touch screen. Sweet mother of pearl. I set up a little treasure hunt through the house and made her go up and down the stairs a few times reading hints in order to find it. She had a blast. I left a note on the letter I wrapped the game in that this was the last one I was buying. Wonder how long it will be before they come out with something new? Dailaesse saw this in Sam's Club and did the "I want it" dance.


I said no because we had just paid out so much to the lawyer. She asked for the phone so she could call her Papa. Nana answered. She told her it was too much but if she could find a more reasonable option that they would get it for her.

So Saturday morning I spent several hours calling and looking online for a playset. My mother came over and looked at all the ones I had found. We decided that this one was the best choice. Nana told Dailaesse to take the picture to show Papa. About 15 minutes later she came flying through the door and told Bran to get his rear in gear because he was going to Plattsburgh with Papa to get her playset. Dailaesse and I left to take Mom grocery shopping. We had a great time in Lake Placid.

Yesterday Bran and Dan spent the entire day putting the playset together. And I do mean the entire day. 12 1/2 hours. And it wasn't finished. They had to stop because it got too dark to see anymore. I, however, had the hardest job of the day. Keeping Dailaesse distracted while they tried to put the damn thing together. 3 year olds have no patience when it comes to waiting for their new playsets. We had 3 of my cousins kiddos over to spend the night. They all had a blast. It's always amazing to me that we can have so many kids in the house and you barely notice a difference. If anything, it's easier because they all play together so well. We love having company.

This morning Bran and Dan spent another few hours finishing up the playset. I spent the rest of the day outside with the kids while they played on it. I have to say, it's a big hit. I especially like that it's durable enough for all the kids to play on. Even my 160 lb almost 15 year old track and field star.

So that's how we spent our nice long weekend. The kids have off school again tomorrow so we'll be sleeping in. Yeah! I'm hoping for some more nice weather to play out in. I hope you all had as nice a weekend as we did!

Saturday, May 27, 2006

A Card for Kerry

When I went to the mailbox this afternoon I never expected to find such a beautiful piece of art waiting for me in a tiny envelope. But I did. My SP8 made me the prettiest card.

Here is the front:

Here is the inside:
And here is the proof that she made it herself:
Thank you Secret Pal! I just love it!

Thursday, May 25, 2006

You say eBay, I say Etsy...

Once again, I feel as though I should stand and say, "Hi. My name is Kerry and I'm an addict."

Why? Well, know all those great Flash Your Stash posts everyone does? Let's just say that the reason you get mine in bits and pieces as it comes in is because my stash is rather extensive. So much so that it's embarrassing. Really. There was discussion between the SP8 hostesses today about 2 women who robbed a yarn store. The store owner was invited to the house of one of the women who robbed her (By the woman's husband. I chuckled at that. Poor man must have been feeling buried. Literally.) to recover her merchandise. $13,000 in yarn the woman took. Can you imagine? Those poor lovely skeins of yarn robbed from their home at the store by some maniac who didn't love them enough to pay for them? I'm sure she couldn't have been taking very good care of those darling little skeins if she was loser enough to steal them in the first place. Anyway, one of the hostesses asked if you could imagine having a stash that large. And it made me think, "Why yes, yes I can imagine having a stash that large." Which made me think I might have a wee bit of a problem. And like any true addict, I must say that it's not my fault. Wanna know who's fault it is?

First I have to blame eBay. I mean really, you can find IT there. I have lots of IT in nice clear storage bins to prove it.

Then I have to blame Sue for opening her unbelievably wonderful store. All that and it's only 15 minutes away. You wouldn't be able to resist either. Admit it.

Last but not least is the newly discovered Etsy. I'm in love. You can find the most marvelous creations there and it's all made by hand in one way or another. I have to tell you, since finding Etsy I've not been haunting eBay much at all. I have met several sellers on eBay though that I'll always go back to for certain things because they're so great.

So, without further ado...

From one of my favorite eBay sellers we have (starting in the back row and moving clockwise) blue Opal Dreamcatcher, 2 Opal Petticoats, and old Opal in green with strips of almost every other color imaginable, a blue & brown Opal with Silk, 2 hanks of Opal Hagebutte and finally 2 skeins of the new Regia Bamboo. The Regia Bamboo has the nicest feel. I suggest trying it as soon as possible.

Then there's this:


All these sock yarns were purchased from Etsy stores. The first is PINKS from Rubysapphire Yarns, the next is Vivid Blues from Black Bunny Fibers, and the remaining 3 are Crocus, Earth&Ocean and Lilac from Yarn Pirate.

I also bought a couple (OK, it was 4 DAMN IT!!!) new skeins of Fleece Artist merino from Sue the other day. The new colors are so pretty. I already put them away so I'll have to try to remember to bring the camera upstairs with me to take a pic of them.

I also did some Secret Pal shopping while at Sue's for the box of goodies I'm putting together for my pal. I've already sent the first package and can't wait to find out if she likes what I chose. I also got an email from my pal the night before last. I was so thrilled to hear from her. Hi pal!!! She's told me I should have a package coming sometime around the end of the week so I'll keep you all posted.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

A Bug's Life

Dailaesse has recently (in the past 3 days) developed an insane fear of bugs. It started the night before the night before last. She woke around 3 in the morning screaming and swatting. At me. This was after I had gone to bed at 1:30 and gotten up at 2:30 to go potty. She wanted the bugs gone. Now I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume she thought the bugs were on me and not that she thought I was the bug. I couldn't convince her that there were no bugs. She screamed about rainbow bugs and blue bugs that glowed. And ants. And lady bugs. And flies. Bran tried to console her. No go. I told her there were no bugs and that she was having a bad dream. That it was all in her imagination. She insisted it wasn't. I was too tired to argue. Bran got up at 6:30 with the alarm and brought our chipper chatty little doll downstairs with him. She crashed hard around 11 on the way to Placid and slept until I woke her at 2:30 to go get her brother from school.

I didn't think she would sleep at all that night because she slept so long during the day. I also didn't think it would help that the night's event was still fresh in her mind before she went to bed. I knew this because she told my mother on the phone just before bed time that she was so sleepy because she had an imagination the night before. I was wrong and she slept all night.

Last night she had an imagination again. I was able to get her back to sleep about an hour after she woke by promising to leave the light in our room on. This worked well. She woke every 15 to 20 minutes to be sure the light was still on and that the room was bug free. But she didn't scream.

Then today, the first day in 14 days that we haven't had rain, she decided that she couldn't possibly play outside because there were too many bugs. What??? This is the child who wants to go outside as soon as she rolls out of bed in the morning. I tried everything to convince her that it was ok to play out and that the bugs wouldn't bother us. No go. I finally gave up after about an hour of chasing her away from the front door and retreated to the house.

Now here's the worst part...

We seem to have been invaded by wasps this afternoon. I killed one out on the front steps this afternoon when we came back from having lunch out with Bran. Then I killed 4 more IN the house. I tried really hard not to make a big deal of the situation but I have to admit to being scared to death of the damn things. I'm allergic to them and had a really nasty encounter with one when I was young. I still have the scar to prove it. How do I convince my poor little girl not to be afraid of something that scares me and everyone else in the house?

For now we seem to be wasp free. Bran found 4 new nests when he walked the property tonight. After some help from our friend (he kills bugs for a living) we're armed with a powerful wasp and hornet killer that's still safe for the kids so he'll spray a little later. In the meantime, I sprayed around all the windows and doors with my Melaleuca Tub n Tile. It's suppose to keep them out. So far, so good.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Rain, Rain Go Away...

Today is the 12th day in a row that it has rained. I hate to complain because we do need it. But come on. Enough is enough. Thursday morning was and part way into the afternoon was gorgeous so we snuck a quick walk to the end of the road to look for ducks at the lake. I don't have the heart to tell Dailaesse that there are never any ducks in our lake. She has a "where there's water, there's a duck" thought process. This is why she wonders why they don't live in our pool.

I'd like to say that since it's been so rainy that I've been getting lots of knittng done but that wouldn't be true. I did start these today for Dailaesse. I'm knitting them in Melody 100% Wool yarn that I bought from Jojoland on eBay. Very nice yarn. I like the way it's working up. I'm working them both at the same time on one of my trusty 40" size 1 Addi Turbos.



I also signed up for the Pomatomus KAL. I'll be using this hand dyed yarn I bought from Savvyminx Yarns. Gorgeous isn't it? I can't wait to see what she posts next.


Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Ta Da

My second pair of Sixth Sense Socks for my hubby. They look freakishly long don't they?

They fit his size 12, 11 1/2" feet perfectly though.

Don't they look so much better on his feet than off?
I have a happy hubby tonight.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Happy Mother's Day

Bran and the kids took me to Ronnie's for dinner tonight. It's a hot dog stand almost an hour away. (Are you noticing anything here at all? We travel great distances to get to our favorite restaurants and diners.) They have THE best michigans. It's worth the drive. Then we went to the ice cream stand down the road. I got a sundae in a waffle cone. Yummy. I treated myself to these the other day:


Just as yummy and no calories. My mom took me to get the flowers for my window boxes and the basket I always hang out at the road. She also got me the most gorgeous Dahlia. And some tomato plants. If it weren't dark out I'd show pictures of those too. I'll have to share them tomorrow. Oh, my mom also PLANTED all my goodies for me today. I love flowers but I just don't care for the upkeep of them. My mom loves to be in the gardens. Me, I'd rather be knitting.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you! I hope you had an incredible day!

Saturday, May 13, 2006

What A Heel

Did I tell you how much I love the short row garter stitch heel on the current 6SoxKAL? I like it so much that I think I might try using it on the next pair of socks I do for Dailaesse. I love that you don't have to pick up the wraps and the fact that there are no holes just totally gets me. I'm in love.


This is the progress I've made on Bran's pair. I have to say that I really wasn't loving the way the cuff came out at first. I figured once I got the heel and toe finished I'd like it a lot more. I do. But, it looks so much nicer on his foot than it does sitting on the table. As soon as I'm done with the pair I'll post a pic of my hubby modeling them so you can see what I mean. He'll be thrilled to model them. He can't wait to get the pair. I thought he was going to cry when I asked for the first one back.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Happy Anniversary

Today is my mom and dad's 35th wedding anniversary. 35 years. That's a long time. They've had their fair share of rough patches but they've always worked through them and come out stronger for it in the end. I realized today as I was searching through photos though that I have none of them together. I have lots of them alone. But not one together. Isn't that odd?

Anywho...

Tonight I raise my Dunkin' Donuts' Wildberry Smoothie (have you tried these things yet??? YUMMY!!!) to my mom and dad and to another 35 wonderful years together.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Fields of Clover

Last Thursday I was pointing out the clover growing all over the field as we sat and watched Dan at his track meet in Ticonderoga. I was in awe of how much there was. I'm not sure why, but I never see any clover around here. None in the yard, none in the parks, none in the fields. I'm sure it exists and I've just never noticed it. Will have to be sure to look from now on. We got home late from the meet. 10pm late. Dailaesse was tired. And cranky. I grabbed a load of laundry to bring up on my way upstairs to put her to bed. She say Darcie's new green Chutes N Ladders socks sitting on top of the basket and burst into tears. "I don't have any green knit socks. How come you don't make me any green knit socks???," she screamed. She had huge tears running down her poor little face and was sure to point this fact out to me. How could I have overlooked the fact that she didn't have one pair of green knit socks? What a horrible mom I am. So, last night I picked up the left over yarn from Darcie's socks and knit these:

Cloverleaf Eyelet Rib Socks. Aren't they cute? She loves them. And I can sleep tonight knowing that she now has a pair of green knit socks.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Sit 'N Spin

You all remember them right? You either had one when you were a kid or your kids had one when they were little. They've been around for what seems like forever. The child hops on the large disk on the bottom and then turns the "wheel" that sits atop the post protruding from the bottom disk. The wheel turns the bottom disk which in turn spins the child. Hours of entertainment. Unless...

Saturday morning Dailaesse had a HUGE bowl of oatmeal. When I say huge, I mean HUGE. She then proceeded to bug her father for her "Turn Turn." This is the name of the infamous Sit 'N Spin at our house. Now, let me just say that the "Turn Turn" was in the basement because Dailaesse insisted on using it as a step stool. As you can imagine, a 2 year old standing on top of a wobbly piece of plastic that spins in circles is just asking for trouble. Almost as much trouble as a 3 year old who has just eaten a HUGE bowl of oatmeal (just to be fair to the Quaker Oats dude, I do admit that it wasn't the oatmeal's fault...it could have been any food product eaten in large quantities) and now wants a go on the twirling piece of plastic.

I argues until I was blue in the face. The Bran says, "What's it going to hurt?" I warned them both that the outcome wasn't going to be a good one. He brought the "Turn Turn" up from the basement and Dailaesse promptly jumped on. She spun. Man did she spin. For about 5 minutes. Then she stopped. She looked a little...green. "I think I'm gonna puke," she says. I told her to sit and rest for a bit and hope that her belly started feeling better. She laid on the couch for about half an hour. She got up and started jumping around. She ran and played and seemed fine. Hmmm. Guess it really didn't hurt anything. I got up to go to the bathroom and my shadow followed right behind. I had no sooner sat on the Porcelain Throne when Dailaesse said it again, "I think I'm gonna..."

Damn it's good to be right. Guess who cleaned it up? Oh no, not the Queen. King Brandon was put in charge of that one. Bet you can't guess where the Sit 'N Spin is.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Kids Are Like Self Patterning Sock Yarn Because...

1. They are fun.

2. They are exciting.

3. They are one of a kind.

4. You can't wait to see how they turn out.

5. Once they're gone there's no getting them back.

These things occurred to me on the way home from Taco Bell the other night. I was thinking as we were heading out Wednesday night for the hour drive there (yes, we drive an hour for tacos from Taco Bell) that I should have my head examined for driving that distance with the rising gas prices on a school night for Taco Bell tacos. BUT the kids had such a great time. We all sat at the table and told jokes and laughed and talked about our days. It was a wonderful night. On the drive back I was thinking about the next pair of socks I wanted to cast on. I've been wanting to try a pair of Jaywalkers with that great new Fortissima 1776 yarn. Mmmm...self striping yarn. I haven't used any in a while now and I'm actually quite looking forward to it. Anyway, I was pondering which yarn I would actually use since I only have one ball of 1776. See I have this thing about using up special yarns. Why? Because we all know they are limited production. Once you knit those suckers up you might not ever be able to get another ball again. See the problem? Do you knit it and enjoy the excitement of seeing how it works up or do you safely tuck it away in a special place for later? Just in case they stop making it and you can't get it again. Then I thought of how much that idea related to the kids. All three of them are such amazing little people each with their own unique personality and style. I can't wait to see who and what they grow up to be but at the same time I don't really want them to grow up because they won't be young anymore and I can't ever get that back. Maybe this is why I tend to hoard yarn. I can choose whether to knit it or not. But the kids? Well, I have no choice but to let them grow up.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

SP8 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love natural fibers. My favorite yarns lately are Fleece Artist Merino for socks, Koigu KPPPM, Socks That Rock and anything that Maia or Susie create. I really don't like acrylic or anything that's scratchy.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

My Addi Turbos are in their own special circular storage case. The rest of my circulars are in sheet protectors inside a 3 ring binder. My crochet hooks are in their own special zippered hook case too.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting about 16 years. I would say I'm close to being advanced. Or at least would hope I am after all this time. LOL

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Nope. :-)

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I generally like fruit scents but there's a new Yankee Candle Garden Mum scent that I'm dieing to get my hands on.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Don't we all??? LOL Some of my favorite sweet treats are peanut butter fudge and milk chocolate covered pretzels.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I crochet and cross stitch although not very often at all anymore. I'm in the process of learning to spin. I'm not sure that I'll ever get the hang of it though.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I love country.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

Blue is my favorite color but there aren't any colors that I don't like.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I've been married to my wonderful (2nd) husband for 5 1/2 years and we have the 3 (oldest 2 from my first marriage but he loves them like his own) most amazing children in the world. We also have a year old Shih-Tzu and cat.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Not really. Especially not ponchos. I'm short and round and don't need to accentuate that fact.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Socks for my hubby and myself and 2 sweaters.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Absolutely!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Definitely circular. I love my Addi Turbos.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Both.

17. How did you learn to knit?

My mother tried to teach me when I was younger but I had a really hard time learning with her. I bought a video (Keeping You In Stitches) when I was in my late teens and haven't stopped since.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?

Too old to mention.

19. What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween.

20. Is there anything that you collect?

Yarn, Addi Turbos and patterns.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Socks That Rock lightweight in a few different shades as well as some of the new Fleece Artist Merinos. I just renewed my Interweave Knits subscription.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Still wanting to try Moebius.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I love to knit socks! My feet are 9.25" long.

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

04/16

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