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. :-)
Friday, October 07, 2005
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
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.
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.
Monday, October 03, 2005
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.
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.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Hump Day
I know, you're sitting there thinking that Wedsndays are "Hump Day" and Fridays. BUT, at our house any day can be, and usually is, "Hump Day". Wanna know why??? Because our Shih-Tzu puppy loves our kitten. ALOT She loves him so much that Mickey, the kitten, now finds places to hide. Up high where Dixie can't reach him to love him. At first it didn't seem to bother Mickey. In fact, he seemed to be a willing participant. But now, not so much. Bran and I just got done laughing our asses off. Dixie loved her some Mickey all the way across the kitchen. When it first started Dan and Darcie used to holler, "Mom. Dixie's humping the cat again." That was funny until Dailaesse told the vet that Dixie humps the cat. In her defense though the vet did ask her how Dixie was doing. So now we say that Dixie is loving Mickey. Nobody looks at me like I have 3 heads now when she tells them that Dixie loves Mickey. I think my dog is defective.
Ok...I'm sure this is the moment you've all been waiting for. We have a winner. I want to tell you all how incredibly honored I am that you all took time out of your busy lives to pop in to vote and leave some notes here and there. I appreciate all of your ideas. They were all wonderful and I can't wait to put them to good use. I so wish I could give everyone a prize. You're all winners in my book. BUT, seems how I didn't win that damn lottery there can only be one prize this time. Stick around though because I definitely plan on doing this again at the end of the month. It was too much fun! Without further ado, I give you this:
Ok...I'm sure this is the moment you've all been waiting for. We have a winner. I want to tell you all how incredibly honored I am that you all took time out of your busy lives to pop in to vote and leave some notes here and there. I appreciate all of your ideas. They were all wonderful and I can't wait to put them to good use. I so wish I could give everyone a prize. You're all winners in my book. BUT, seems how I didn't win that damn lottery there can only be one prize this time. Stick around though because I definitely plan on doing this again at the end of the month. It was too much fun! Without further ado, I give you this:
Socks won by a landslide! I've got some great goodies ordered thanks to everyone's suggestions. I'll post a pic of the box after Leslie gets it. Wouldn't want to ruin her surprise!
Again, thank you all so much for your time and for playing along with me. I hope you'll join me again in a few weeks. :-)
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Shit Runs Downhill
Sorry for not posting yesterday but it was one of those days. I met with the woman who wants the hat (I know I said sweater, I misunderstood) recreated yesterday. She's very nice. Her sister made her 2 hats some time ago (more than 20 years ago as her sister passed away 20 years ago) and she lost one. She wants to replace it. It's going to be very easy to duplicate although she doesn't care if I duplicate the pattern or not just as long as it's the same style. I ran to Adirondack Yarns yesterday and grabbed the yarn to make it. I'll probably cast on for it tomorrow. I gave the Amble sock hell for about 2 hours yesterday and I think I just might be able to make it before the deadline.
Then we had dance class yesterday. Still too much fun. I wish there was a way to post a video. Maybe by the time I have one to post I'll have figured out how to do it. The Halloween recital is the 26th of October. I can't wait. I did take a picture of her in her dance clothes finally. Isn't she cute??? She picked out brown for her fingers and purple for her finger toes yesterday. One of the mothers at dance told her she looked like fall.
We left dance at 3 and I ran to get the yarn. Got back into town and went to meet my cousin at school to get the girls. The girls had decided they wanted to go to the park. So I ran home and changed Dailaesse's clothes and went back to take the girls to the park. They all had a blast and I was able to get some done on the sock. Then I ran home, grabbed my wallet and went to the grocery store for hamburger buns and Gatorade. $92.51 and about 45 minutes later I was headed home with a pounding head and a screaming 2 year old. She wanted to hold her yogurt on the way home. I couldn't find it in the bag and didn't feel like unpacking everything. Hence the screaming.
Oh, here's something you'll probably enjoy. One of the things we had to do on Tuesday was to go pick up my plates at DMV. I had custom plates on my last van which was financed and registered to me. When we bought the new van it was financed and registered to Bran so I had to put my plates in storage, send a bunch of crap to DMV including more money and then wait for a new registration so I could pick my plates up and put them back on my van. Anyways, while we were walking back to the van 2 men walked out of the Cigarette Warehouse. The first one had a long ponytail. Dailaesse spotted this right off and said in her not so quiet voice, "Look mama, that man has a nice long ponytail. Him needs a haircut." The man with the ponytail didn't seem to be too amused. However, the man behind the man with the ponytail was rolling. Me? I wanted to slither under the van and die. When I told Brandon that night at dinner what had happened he said, "Well at least she said it was nice."
So, wanna know how it is that I can tell you with 100% accuracy that shit does indeed run downhill? After running again all day yesterday and still not feeling well at all I came home from the store and started dinner. Brandon started the grill. I started the shells and cheese and then sat down to do shipping quotes for car parts Brandon is selling on eBay right now. I was right in the middle of the last one when Dailaesse said she was done. I asked Bran who was doing nothing at the time if he could wipe her quick. He gave me an attitude but did it anyways. I heard him grumbling across the room and then heard him head upstairs to clean her potty. He came back downstairs still grumbling and walked into the kitchen. That's when it happened. The ceiling started to rain crap. Literally. From the ceiling fan. Which was on. The highest speed. So, the shells and cheese went down the garbage disposal. The kids ate the hamburgers that were on the grill. What a mess. Wanna hear the best part? According to Brandon this never would have happened if I hadn't asked him to wipe the baby. What??? I guess when he flushed her potty contents he realized the toilet was clogged and then it wouldn't stop running. Brandon was so worried about the burgers he had just put on the grill that he didn't take the time to be sure that something as catastrophic as the toilet overflowing and running into the kitchen wouldn't happen. So he left it clogged and running. My husband can't multitask. He is, to quote the Yarn Harlot's mother in law, "a one trick pony". I was furious. I've been sick for 4 days and still running myself ragged making sure that everyone and everything is taken care of and he has the nerve to blame this on me? Then to make matters worse he cried to my father. Who told me I expect too much of Brandon. He works hard all day and then always has too many things to do when he gets home from work. Like cook burgers on the grill. I bathed Dailaesse and put her to bed. Finished the laundry that had to be done for Dan today (2 loads) as well as all of the towels (4 loads) used to sop up the mess. I flopped into bed a little after 2 am with a killer sinus headache and cried myself to sleep.
I'm hoping for a much better day today. But, after having cleaned up yogurt off the floor a few minutes ago I'm not holding out much hope. :-)
How's everyone's weather today? It's raining like crazy here and it's very, very windy. There's a severe thunderstorm warning out for Essex county which half of our town lies in. I'm hoping it's going to clear up by this afternoon or we're going to be cold and wet at football.
Hope you all have a wonderful day! Don't forget to get those votes in! Today's the last day. I'll announce the big winner tomorrow!
Then we had dance class yesterday. Still too much fun. I wish there was a way to post a video. Maybe by the time I have one to post I'll have figured out how to do it. The Halloween recital is the 26th of October. I can't wait. I did take a picture of her in her dance clothes finally. Isn't she cute??? She picked out brown for her fingers and purple for her finger toes yesterday. One of the mothers at dance told her she looked like fall.
We left dance at 3 and I ran to get the yarn. Got back into town and went to meet my cousin at school to get the girls. The girls had decided they wanted to go to the park. So I ran home and changed Dailaesse's clothes and went back to take the girls to the park. They all had a blast and I was able to get some done on the sock. Then I ran home, grabbed my wallet and went to the grocery store for hamburger buns and Gatorade. $92.51 and about 45 minutes later I was headed home with a pounding head and a screaming 2 year old. She wanted to hold her yogurt on the way home. I couldn't find it in the bag and didn't feel like unpacking everything. Hence the screaming.
Oh, here's something you'll probably enjoy. One of the things we had to do on Tuesday was to go pick up my plates at DMV. I had custom plates on my last van which was financed and registered to me. When we bought the new van it was financed and registered to Bran so I had to put my plates in storage, send a bunch of crap to DMV including more money and then wait for a new registration so I could pick my plates up and put them back on my van. Anyways, while we were walking back to the van 2 men walked out of the Cigarette Warehouse. The first one had a long ponytail. Dailaesse spotted this right off and said in her not so quiet voice, "Look mama, that man has a nice long ponytail. Him needs a haircut." The man with the ponytail didn't seem to be too amused. However, the man behind the man with the ponytail was rolling. Me? I wanted to slither under the van and die. When I told Brandon that night at dinner what had happened he said, "Well at least she said it was nice."
So, wanna know how it is that I can tell you with 100% accuracy that shit does indeed run downhill? After running again all day yesterday and still not feeling well at all I came home from the store and started dinner. Brandon started the grill. I started the shells and cheese and then sat down to do shipping quotes for car parts Brandon is selling on eBay right now. I was right in the middle of the last one when Dailaesse said she was done. I asked Bran who was doing nothing at the time if he could wipe her quick. He gave me an attitude but did it anyways. I heard him grumbling across the room and then heard him head upstairs to clean her potty. He came back downstairs still grumbling and walked into the kitchen. That's when it happened. The ceiling started to rain crap. Literally. From the ceiling fan. Which was on. The highest speed. So, the shells and cheese went down the garbage disposal. The kids ate the hamburgers that were on the grill. What a mess. Wanna hear the best part? According to Brandon this never would have happened if I hadn't asked him to wipe the baby. What??? I guess when he flushed her potty contents he realized the toilet was clogged and then it wouldn't stop running. Brandon was so worried about the burgers he had just put on the grill that he didn't take the time to be sure that something as catastrophic as the toilet overflowing and running into the kitchen wouldn't happen. So he left it clogged and running. My husband can't multitask. He is, to quote the Yarn Harlot's mother in law, "a one trick pony". I was furious. I've been sick for 4 days and still running myself ragged making sure that everyone and everything is taken care of and he has the nerve to blame this on me? Then to make matters worse he cried to my father. Who told me I expect too much of Brandon. He works hard all day and then always has too many things to do when he gets home from work. Like cook burgers on the grill. I bathed Dailaesse and put her to bed. Finished the laundry that had to be done for Dan today (2 loads) as well as all of the towels (4 loads) used to sop up the mess. I flopped into bed a little after 2 am with a killer sinus headache and cried myself to sleep.
I'm hoping for a much better day today. But, after having cleaned up yogurt off the floor a few minutes ago I'm not holding out much hope. :-)
How's everyone's weather today? It's raining like crazy here and it's very, very windy. There's a severe thunderstorm warning out for Essex county which half of our town lies in. I'm hoping it's going to clear up by this afternoon or we're going to be cold and wet at football.
Hope you all have a wonderful day! Don't forget to get those votes in! Today's the last day. I'll announce the big winner tomorrow!
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Foreskin
Sorry to keep you all waiting so long today. I had a ton of stuff to do this morning and then this afternoon I was lucky enough to get the baby to take a nap with me. If only it had made me feel better. I didn't sleep at all last night. I think it was a combination of being totally in awe after seeing the Yarn Harlot live. In person. Can you believe it??? I still can't. And being sick. And hearing every little creak in the freakin' house last night. At some point I did doze off because I woke up with my face stuck to the pillow case. There is nothing worse than having a runny nose. Bleck.
Anyways...let's talk about the Harlot. I have to tell you that she is one of the funniest people I have ever met. She's amazing. I'm still star struck today. If you've never read her blog you must go there now. If you ever have the opportunity to see her in person you must go. Even if it means boarding a plane. I'm serious. She's that good. If it weren't for the kids and Bran I would totally pack up and become her groupie. The one thing I found most amazing about Stephanie...she thanked us for going to see her. Can you believe it? Thanked us. We should have kissed her feet as she entered the room. Really. We were incredibly fortunate to have her visit us. So Stephanie...if you should happen to read this...THANK YOU. Safe and happy yarn crawling to you, eh? ;-)
Oh, and while I was there early I did a little shopping. I picked up a couple things for my secret pal. Who, by the way, should be receiving my first package any day now. I hope my pal likes it. And, I bought another hank of Fleece Artist Meino sock yarn, 2 hanks of Art Yarns merino and a hank of some really awesome Cherry Tree Hill superwash that I've been wanting. Bad. I'll post some pictures later tonight if I don't go to bed early. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff.
Since I already mentioned the pillow case ordeal I really don't feel the need to elaborate any more on my health. 'Nuff said right? BUT...the noises last night...let's talk about that. My parents had their house appraised last week sometime. I think on Tuesday or Wednesday. The appraiser is from a land far, far away. Ok, not THAT far. BUT far enough that it's not a convenient trip. He really had to go out of his way to get here. So...when I got home last week from dropping the girls off at school the appraiser's truck was parked in front of my parents house. Nice white extended cab pickup. I think it's a Ford. I never saw the appraiser, just his truck. On Thursday while I was waiting for Bran to get ready to leave for Dan's football game I took the baby out to load up all of our stuff in the van. The white truck pulled up and stopped in front of our driveway on the other side of the street. He just sat there and stared at us. I got everything loaded in the van. He was still there. Staring. He finally pulled away and turned around in the neighbors drive. He then drove very slowly in front of our house and then again stopped at the end of the driveway and stared. His windows were open. He never asked a question. Just stared. After about 5 minutes of this I got a little uncomfortable and took the baby inside. He drove away. Last night coming home from Lake Placid what do I see coming up our street? A white extended cab pickup. I saw his brake lights come on and as we passed I saw his face pressed up against the window of his truck. Staring. I kept driving and watched him in my rear view mirror. His brake lights were on and then his backup lights came on. He started backing down our street. I floored it. I was doing 45 by the time I hit my driveway. My heart was racing and I sat in the van with the doors locked until I was confident that he wasn't following me.
This morning I called my dad and told him what had happened. He in turn got angry and asked why I hadn't said something sooner. I did. I told my mother what happened Thursday when she called after we got home from the football game. Daddy called the appraiser. 4 times. No response. He called the bank. Seems there was some mix up with the appraisal and the bank ordered him back out. The funny thing...he's still not contacted my parents yet. Just stared. At me.
I'm sure you're all wondering about the title of today's post. It's really quite simple. And I thought very funny. While performing spell check on the post freakin' came up. The suggested replacement? Foreskin. I'm still laughing.
Anyways...let's talk about the Harlot. I have to tell you that she is one of the funniest people I have ever met. She's amazing. I'm still star struck today. If you've never read her blog you must go there now. If you ever have the opportunity to see her in person you must go. Even if it means boarding a plane. I'm serious. She's that good. If it weren't for the kids and Bran I would totally pack up and become her groupie. The one thing I found most amazing about Stephanie...she thanked us for going to see her. Can you believe it? Thanked us. We should have kissed her feet as she entered the room. Really. We were incredibly fortunate to have her visit us. So Stephanie...if you should happen to read this...THANK YOU. Safe and happy yarn crawling to you, eh? ;-)
Oh, and while I was there early I did a little shopping. I picked up a couple things for my secret pal. Who, by the way, should be receiving my first package any day now. I hope my pal likes it. And, I bought another hank of Fleece Artist Meino sock yarn, 2 hanks of Art Yarns merino and a hank of some really awesome Cherry Tree Hill superwash that I've been wanting. Bad. I'll post some pictures later tonight if I don't go to bed early. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff.
Since I already mentioned the pillow case ordeal I really don't feel the need to elaborate any more on my health. 'Nuff said right? BUT...the noises last night...let's talk about that. My parents had their house appraised last week sometime. I think on Tuesday or Wednesday. The appraiser is from a land far, far away. Ok, not THAT far. BUT far enough that it's not a convenient trip. He really had to go out of his way to get here. So...when I got home last week from dropping the girls off at school the appraiser's truck was parked in front of my parents house. Nice white extended cab pickup. I think it's a Ford. I never saw the appraiser, just his truck. On Thursday while I was waiting for Bran to get ready to leave for Dan's football game I took the baby out to load up all of our stuff in the van. The white truck pulled up and stopped in front of our driveway on the other side of the street. He just sat there and stared at us. I got everything loaded in the van. He was still there. Staring. He finally pulled away and turned around in the neighbors drive. He then drove very slowly in front of our house and then again stopped at the end of the driveway and stared. His windows were open. He never asked a question. Just stared. After about 5 minutes of this I got a little uncomfortable and took the baby inside. He drove away. Last night coming home from Lake Placid what do I see coming up our street? A white extended cab pickup. I saw his brake lights come on and as we passed I saw his face pressed up against the window of his truck. Staring. I kept driving and watched him in my rear view mirror. His brake lights were on and then his backup lights came on. He started backing down our street. I floored it. I was doing 45 by the time I hit my driveway. My heart was racing and I sat in the van with the doors locked until I was confident that he wasn't following me.
This morning I called my dad and told him what had happened. He in turn got angry and asked why I hadn't said something sooner. I did. I told my mother what happened Thursday when she called after we got home from the football game. Daddy called the appraiser. 4 times. No response. He called the bank. Seems there was some mix up with the appraisal and the bank ordered him back out. The funny thing...he's still not contacted my parents yet. Just stared. At me.
I'm sure you're all wondering about the title of today's post. It's really quite simple. And I thought very funny. While performing spell check on the post freakin' came up. The suggested replacement? Foreskin. I'm still laughing.
Monday, September 26, 2005
The Winner Takes It All
By 7 o'clock tonight I will have my ass firmly planted on a seat at Adirondack Yarns. Don't forget, the one and only Yarn Harlot will be there. I CAN'T WAIT I have been looking forward to this for about a month now. I'll brag...I mean tell you all about it tomorrow.
How about an update on the names I've drawn so far?
9/22 - Leslie
9/23 - Mar
9/24 - Cindy Lee Lee
9/25 - Leslie
So far the favorite is socks. And everyone loves the idea of a fall theme. I also really like the idea of having a box with a present for each day of the week. I just might have to use that no matter what.
Keep those posts and votes coming in!
How about an update on the names I've drawn so far?
9/22 - Leslie
9/23 - Mar
9/24 - Cindy Lee Lee
9/25 - Leslie
So far the favorite is socks. And everyone loves the idea of a fall theme. I also really like the idea of having a box with a present for each day of the week. I just might have to use that no matter what.
Keep those posts and votes coming in!
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Funniest Home Videos
Last night Dailaesse fell asleep early. I called my mother to let her know she had gone to bed and to take her up on her offer to babysit. She came over a few minutes before we had to leave. All was quiet and Mom had settled in for a round of solitaire at the computer. You all know where this is heading don't you? About half way back into town we got the call. Dailaesse was no longer sleeping and she was looking for her mommy. I tried to calm her down but she was screaming so hard that I don't think she could hear me over her own screams. My mother took the phone and screamed even louder for me to hurry. I walked in the door a few minutes later to find my daughter sitting on my mothers lap getting ready to put her socks on. She was already wearing her coat. I assumed my mother was taking her to their house. No. She was going to put her in her car and go find us. I hope my mother would never, ever put my child in a car without her seat. I am going to assume that my mothers level of desperation rose with the pitch of Dailaesse's scream and that she was temporarily driven insane. It took 10 minutes to get Dailaesse to settle down after I got home. Wanna know how I did it??? ICE CREAM. I'm telling you...it's magic.
I took the baby to Kinney's today to get some medicine. I tried Claritin yesterday thinking it would dry her up but it didn't work. So today we went to get some Dimetapp. The pharmacist told me to start with a half teaspoon because it sometimes makes little ones hyper. I asked how I would tell the difference. I was really just joking because she's a good baby. The only time she tends to get wound up is when she's overtired. We also got some more hair clips and ponytail holders. And lip gloss. And body glitter. And nail polish. I went for a $6 bottle of Dimetapp and came out $36 later. I forgot the rule about bringing a sick child to the pharmacy. And I made the rule.
This morning we all went to my parents for breakfast. Every weekend my father invites us for a big breakfast. He does all the cooking. Eggs to order, bacon, sausage, toast, real fried potatoes. And every weekend he loses his temper and tweaks out on us. He can't stand the noise. But it doesn't take much noise to get him annoyed. Usually about half way through breakfast he's wondering if we're almost done. He makes sure to let us know that he'll do the cleanup so we don't have to stay. He might as well come right out and tell us to leave. So I finally asked him why he bothers to invite us every weekend. His response: I love cooking a big meal for all of you...I just wish you'd eat it somewhere else. Now granted he was laughing when he said it. But. Dan thinks we should bring the camcorder next time and send it to AFV. He says we'd win for sure because breakfast with there is like a circus.
I took the baby to Kinney's today to get some medicine. I tried Claritin yesterday thinking it would dry her up but it didn't work. So today we went to get some Dimetapp. The pharmacist told me to start with a half teaspoon because it sometimes makes little ones hyper. I asked how I would tell the difference. I was really just joking because she's a good baby. The only time she tends to get wound up is when she's overtired. We also got some more hair clips and ponytail holders. And lip gloss. And body glitter. And nail polish. I went for a $6 bottle of Dimetapp and came out $36 later. I forgot the rule about bringing a sick child to the pharmacy. And I made the rule.
This morning we all went to my parents for breakfast. Every weekend my father invites us for a big breakfast. He does all the cooking. Eggs to order, bacon, sausage, toast, real fried potatoes. And every weekend he loses his temper and tweaks out on us. He can't stand the noise. But it doesn't take much noise to get him annoyed. Usually about half way through breakfast he's wondering if we're almost done. He makes sure to let us know that he'll do the cleanup so we don't have to stay. He might as well come right out and tell us to leave. So I finally asked him why he bothers to invite us every weekend. His response: I love cooking a big meal for all of you...I just wish you'd eat it somewhere else. Now granted he was laughing when he said it. But. Dan thinks we should bring the camcorder next time and send it to AFV. He says we'd win for sure because breakfast with there is like a circus.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
I Toad You So
First of all, I want to take a minute to thank everyone who has been stopping by. It's nice to know that Leslie and I aren't the only ones around here. Thanks For sticking with me Leslie! And, I really appreciate all the great suggestions. Especially the fall theme. I don't know why I never thought of that. You'd think it would have been the first thing that popped into mind given fall is my favorite time of year. Now, with that said...I still hear crickets. LOL They're not as loud anymore but they're definitely still there. C'mon everyone...stop by and leave a note and get a chance to win a great prize!
No noteworthy knitting news again today. The baby has a cold so we've been snuggling ALOT the past day and a half now. When she was new and I could just lay her on my chest I could still knit but now that she likes to be a big helper I can't knit and hold her at the same time.
I do have a picture of our guard toad though. Isn't he cute? He comes out onto the front porch steps every night. I think he's sitting there trying to catch a meal. There are a bunch of spiders on the peak of the overhang for the front door. We hose them off every few days but they keep coming back. Bran named him Kermit. I know...he's a toad not a frog. My husband has a sick sense of humor sometimes. Like naming our all black cat Whitey. The neighbors all laughed when he got out one day and Bran chased him up the street screaming his name.
No noteworthy knitting news again today. The baby has a cold so we've been snuggling ALOT the past day and a half now. When she was new and I could just lay her on my chest I could still knit but now that she likes to be a big helper I can't knit and hold her at the same time.
I do have a picture of our guard toad though. Isn't he cute? He comes out onto the front porch steps every night. I think he's sitting there trying to catch a meal. There are a bunch of spiders on the peak of the overhang for the front door. We hose them off every few days but they keep coming back. Bran named him Kermit. I know...he's a toad not a frog. My husband has a sick sense of humor sometimes. Like naming our all black cat Whitey. The neighbors all laughed when he got out one day and Bran chased him up the street screaming his name.
Friday, September 23, 2005
F is for Fall and Fall is for Football
My little man had his first game yesterday. I'm not sure who won because they don't officially keep score until they start playing in high school. I'm sure Dan will tell me when he comes home tomorrow night. They did really well though. I love to watch him play. He takes it so seriously but he really loves it and it shows. The worst part? Not being able to run over after the game and give him hugs and kisses. I just want to squeeze him and gush all over him. This takes a lot of restraint on my part. But, I know that it's way not cool to do this to your children in public. I consider myself lucky that I'm permitted to speak to him in public. I very calmly told him in a low voice that I was very proud of him and that he played a great game. I also snuck in a whispered "I love you". He looked around to be sure no one was in earshot and whispered back "me too". I love my baby boy! Of course Dailaesse was allowed to give him all kinds of hugs and kisses. His face lights up when she snuggles with him. And it doesn't matter who's around to see or hear. He's a good boy.
Unfortunately, I have no knitting news to report today. I don't even bother to bring it to football anymore because I never work on it. I get way too caught up in watching the game. Plus, Dan isn't all that fond of my knitting in public when he's there. I mean what if his friends found out. Hello, my name is Kerry and I'm a closet knitter. I did call the woman that wanted the sweater reinvented but there was no answer. I left a message but haven't heard back from her. I'm very excited about this project now. Probably even more so now that I can't get in touch with her.
I sure hope we get some more comments and votes. The chirp of the crickets is deafening isn't it Leslie??? LOL
Unfortunately, I have no knitting news to report today. I don't even bother to bring it to football anymore because I never work on it. I get way too caught up in watching the game. Plus, Dan isn't all that fond of my knitting in public when he's there. I mean what if his friends found out. Hello, my name is Kerry and I'm a closet knitter. I did call the woman that wanted the sweater reinvented but there was no answer. I left a message but haven't heard back from her. I'm very excited about this project now. Probably even more so now that I can't get in touch with her.
I sure hope we get some more comments and votes. The chirp of the crickets is deafening isn't it Leslie??? LOL
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Reinventing the Wheel
I guess if I'm going to ask you all to leave comments I better get my ass in gear in the morning and post huh? It was so nice to see that Leslie stopped by and left her vote. Hi Leslie! Today is crazy as usual as I'm trying to get ready for Dan's first football game of the season. It's an away game so that means packing a little bit of everything for the baby. It also means stopping at McDonald's prior to the game to get Dan some McNuggets. Even though I'll be at the game and would love to bring my son back to town when it's finished, my ex-husband makes him ride the bus because his visitation begins at 5pm. He's such a loser. And believe me, that's put it mildly. If I thought I could control the amount of expletives used I'd tell you what I really think of him.
I got a call from Lisa at Adirondack Yarns today. There was a woman in the store looking to have a sweater that her sister knit her over 20 years ago recreated. Lisa called me. I'm very excited and yet a little nervous at the same time. She said it's a nice thick yarn and there are some cables. It sounds like a lot of fun. And, what's better than getting paid to something you absolutely love? The only thing that makes me nervous about knitting for pay is that I always worry about people liking what I've done. I guess that comes with being an anal retentive perfectionist freak. Wow, that's quite the mouthful isn't' it?
I got a call from Lisa at Adirondack Yarns today. There was a woman in the store looking to have a sweater that her sister knit her over 20 years ago recreated. Lisa called me. I'm very excited and yet a little nervous at the same time. She said it's a nice thick yarn and there are some cables. It sounds like a lot of fun. And, what's better than getting paid to something you absolutely love? The only thing that makes me nervous about knitting for pay is that I always worry about people liking what I've done. I guess that comes with being an anal retentive perfectionist freak. Wow, that's quite the mouthful isn't' it?
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Finally Finished
Don't get too excited...I'm not finished with the PAIR of Amble socks but I did finish the first sock yesterday. I like to work 2 socks at the same time but because of the pattern on this one I decided it best to do one at a time. I cast on for the second while waiting for Dailaesse at dance class today and got the 2" of ribbing almost finished. Yes, almost finished. Not completely finished. No, I can't talk and knit at the same time. Why, you ask? Because I have to watch what I'm doing. And I find it incredibly rude to not make eye contact with the person who is talking to me. Just a me thing. My Aunt Linda can knit like the wind. She doesn't need to look at what she's doing. At all. Ever. She just knits away and looks you straight in the eye and talks. Or watches television. I can glance away from my work often enough to be able to watch television. But, if something good is on and it sucks me in my knitting gets put down. I want to knit like my Aunt Linda.
Dance class was today and my little Dailaesse danced her heart out. She's really something. She told me last week that she was going to do all the dances this week and she delivered. The last little bit of class is spent twirling around with pretty scarves. Melissa, the instructor, has the kids wrap them into balls and throw them in the air. Now, my little angel is the cutest baby in that class but she lacks something the older girls have...grace. There is absolutely nothing graceful about my little girl. Either one of them come to think of it. Anyways, Dailaesse crammed her scarf into one hell of a little ball and instead of tossing it gently into the air she wound up and chucked it as hard and high as she could. She would have put a MLB pitcher to shame. She got all excited watching it come down until...where did it go??? She twirled around and around trying to find her special pink scarf. Nothing. She looked up. She looked down. Nothing. Finally she reached her hand up and found it. It had landed right on top of her little head. She giggled so hard. So did Melissa and her helper.
How about a little drawing? It sure is awfully quiet around here. I was really worried when I started this blog that I was going to be sitting around typing and listening to the crickets chirp. I hear crickets. I'm lonely. I need chatter. I've got a package ready to mail to my secret pal and I've already been thinking about the next. I thought it would be fun for the packages to have a little bit of a theme to them but I'm having a hard time trying to decide what to send for next month. So here are the choices: socks, spinning, lace or gift certificate. Whichever choice gets the most votes is what will go out to my pal, and to the lucky winner of the drawing. Now here's how I'm gonna work this. We'll start tomorrow and end the 29th. Each day I will take the names from each choice category and pull one from a hat. I'll put it aside and enter it in the final drawing. So, if you leave a vote and a note each day for the next week you could have 8 chances to win. On the 30th I will draw one name from all of the winners from the past 8 days. The catch??? There has to be at least 10 votes and notes in order for me to draw a name for any given day. So, if there are only 2 days out of the next 8 that have 10 votes then there will only be names drawn on those 2 days. Get it? Sound like fun? Drop me a note and leave your vote! Tell all your friends. The more the merrier! Oh, and I opened the comments back up for everyone. I'll just keep deleting the crap ones. :-)
Dance class was today and my little Dailaesse danced her heart out. She's really something. She told me last week that she was going to do all the dances this week and she delivered. The last little bit of class is spent twirling around with pretty scarves. Melissa, the instructor, has the kids wrap them into balls and throw them in the air. Now, my little angel is the cutest baby in that class but she lacks something the older girls have...grace. There is absolutely nothing graceful about my little girl. Either one of them come to think of it. Anyways, Dailaesse crammed her scarf into one hell of a little ball and instead of tossing it gently into the air she wound up and chucked it as hard and high as she could. She would have put a MLB pitcher to shame. She got all excited watching it come down until...where did it go??? She twirled around and around trying to find her special pink scarf. Nothing. She looked up. She looked down. Nothing. Finally she reached her hand up and found it. It had landed right on top of her little head. She giggled so hard. So did Melissa and her helper.
How about a little drawing? It sure is awfully quiet around here. I was really worried when I started this blog that I was going to be sitting around typing and listening to the crickets chirp. I hear crickets. I'm lonely. I need chatter. I've got a package ready to mail to my secret pal and I've already been thinking about the next. I thought it would be fun for the packages to have a little bit of a theme to them but I'm having a hard time trying to decide what to send for next month. So here are the choices: socks, spinning, lace or gift certificate. Whichever choice gets the most votes is what will go out to my pal, and to the lucky winner of the drawing. Now here's how I'm gonna work this. We'll start tomorrow and end the 29th. Each day I will take the names from each choice category and pull one from a hat. I'll put it aside and enter it in the final drawing. So, if you leave a vote and a note each day for the next week you could have 8 chances to win. On the 30th I will draw one name from all of the winners from the past 8 days. The catch??? There has to be at least 10 votes and notes in order for me to draw a name for any given day. So, if there are only 2 days out of the next 8 that have 10 votes then there will only be names drawn on those 2 days. Get it? Sound like fun? Drop me a note and leave your vote! Tell all your friends. The more the merrier! Oh, and I opened the comments back up for everyone. I'll just keep deleting the crap ones. :-)
Monday, September 19, 2005
Monster in the House
I have to do a little bragging today. My husband has applied for a job with our not-so-local power company. In order to be hired he needs more ASE certifications, one more certification for his inspectors license and his CDL. I brought home the study book for the CDL last week from DMV. He read through it once last week and then again last night. He went to DMV this morning, took the CDL with attachment and air brake tests and passed all three. I'm so proud of him. He always makes everything seem so easy.
Me...sometimes the things I set out to do end up kicking my ass. Like the Amble socks for instance. They're coming along nicely now. But man, they've been a long time in the making. I think part of the problem was that I started with the preconceived notion that they were going to be difficult. They really aren't. The pattern is well written and other than the fact that I couldn't take them with me while I was working the leg because the pattern was too long for me to memorize. I also think that because I had so many other projects going at the same time that I wasn't focusing on them enough. Anywho, here it is today. Not bad huh? It fits very nicely so I'm really glad that I ripped it back out and added the stitches to it. I decided not to carry the pattern down the foot because of the twist stitches. I thought they might make the sock a little uncomfortable in my sneaker.
We have a monster in the house. It was born last Wednesday at dance class. It's being fed by my parents. 12 different shades of nail polish. How could they??? Dailaesse wants her fingers and toe fingers painted every day. Sometimes twice a day. I had to sit her down last night and explain to her that most women were lucky to get a manicure and pedicure once a week let alone once a day. We've agreed to spend quality time together each day painting her nails. And don't forget, there are 20 little fingers and 20 little toe fingers to paint each day. After all Darcie needs a day at the spa each day too. I love my girls.
Oh...I have even more exciting news! My secret pal wrote me last night. I can't wait to get to know her better. I've already got a package started for the secret pal I'm spoiling. This is too much fun!
Me...sometimes the things I set out to do end up kicking my ass. Like the Amble socks for instance. They're coming along nicely now. But man, they've been a long time in the making. I think part of the problem was that I started with the preconceived notion that they were going to be difficult. They really aren't. The pattern is well written and other than the fact that I couldn't take them with me while I was working the leg because the pattern was too long for me to memorize. I also think that because I had so many other projects going at the same time that I wasn't focusing on them enough. Anywho, here it is today. Not bad huh? It fits very nicely so I'm really glad that I ripped it back out and added the stitches to it. I decided not to carry the pattern down the foot because of the twist stitches. I thought they might make the sock a little uncomfortable in my sneaker.
We have a monster in the house. It was born last Wednesday at dance class. It's being fed by my parents. 12 different shades of nail polish. How could they??? Dailaesse wants her fingers and toe fingers painted every day. Sometimes twice a day. I had to sit her down last night and explain to her that most women were lucky to get a manicure and pedicure once a week let alone once a day. We've agreed to spend quality time together each day painting her nails. And don't forget, there are 20 little fingers and 20 little toe fingers to paint each day. After all Darcie needs a day at the spa each day too. I love my girls.
Oh...I have even more exciting news! My secret pal wrote me last night. I can't wait to get to know her better. I've already got a package started for the secret pal I'm spoiling. This is too much fun!
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Duck, Duck, Pig
This past Friday Dailaesse and I went and picked up lunch from the deli. Then we went and picked Bran up from work. This works out really well for him because he only gets a 1/2 hour for lunch and it takes him 5 minutes one way to get to/from work. We decided instead of going to sit out at the boat launch and eat in the van like we usually do that we'd have lunch at one of the picnic tables at the lake instead. There wasn't a sole around. The baby sat and actually started eating her lunch instead of goofing around. That is until company arrived. Four female mallards swam all the way from the other side of the lake over to the picnic area. It's obvious that people have been feeding them all summer because these little ladies weren't afraid of us in the least. They came right up to us and took our lunch out of our hands. One even took a little nibble of Bran's finger. Oh, and just in case you've never been nibbled by a duck, it doesn't hurt. It does however startle someone (Bran to be more specific) who's never been nibbled by a duck enough to make them shreak. Which was very funny by the way. Oh, and one other thing about ducks...they love potato chips. So much so that they will try to climb up your leg to get to them. When climbing your leg doesn't work they will eventually remember that they can fly up onto the top of the picnic table and help themselves. We decided we have to do this more often. Next time though I will bring a loaf of bread for the ducks.
Saturday we took Dailaesse to get a new pair of sandals. Dixie, the puppy, chewed her sandals a couple weeks ago. Seems how she had a little trouble walking in them to begin with I decided to just pitch them and wait to buy a new pair next summer. BUT, Dailaesse wanted to wear sandals. And she didn't care whose she wore. After arguing with her for the past 3 days that her size 8 toddler feet really don't fit her sisters size 7 womens sandals I decided I couldn't wait until next year to buy her new sandals. Even though there wasn't a big selection we did find a really cute pair that she liked and they were 50% off. Very nice. And, there's no better way to show off a freshly painted set of piggy toes than in a new pair of sandals.
Today all 3 of us girls are heading to a baby shower for my cousins oldest daughter. Ethan should make his appearance in December. He's already loved more than he will ever know. :-)
Saturday we took Dailaesse to get a new pair of sandals. Dixie, the puppy, chewed her sandals a couple weeks ago. Seems how she had a little trouble walking in them to begin with I decided to just pitch them and wait to buy a new pair next summer. BUT, Dailaesse wanted to wear sandals. And she didn't care whose she wore. After arguing with her for the past 3 days that her size 8 toddler feet really don't fit her sisters size 7 womens sandals I decided I couldn't wait until next year to buy her new sandals. Even though there wasn't a big selection we did find a really cute pair that she liked and they were 50% off. Very nice. And, there's no better way to show off a freshly painted set of piggy toes than in a new pair of sandals.
Today all 3 of us girls are heading to a baby shower for my cousins oldest daughter. Ethan should make his appearance in December. He's already loved more than he will ever know. :-)
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Before and After
Well I finally completed the Fiber Trends felted clogs. Before felting they were a little over 15 inches long. After felting they are about 12 inches. I really hate photographing socks and clogs because for some reason they always look like they are not the same size. Trust me though, they are. I've measured and re-measured and held them next to each other and against each other so many times that it's not funny. Yes, I am obsessive. I like things to be perfect. Especially when they are for someone else. Even more so when that someone else is paying me to make them. I hope the buyer is as pleased with them as I am.
Now that the clogs are done and delivered I really have to get back to the Amble socks for the 6SoxKAL. I also have to start a sweater for Dailaesse to wear with her dance clothes. We picked out a cute little wrap sweater from the adorable knits for tots book by Zoe Mellor. Dailaesse chose white Patons Astra for her sweater. While this sounds dreadfully boring I think it will work well as her leotard and skirt are pink. I'm hoping she'll choose a pretty pastel ribbon for the tie though instead of white.
Seems how I'm all about before and after today I thought I'd let you know that before the lottery drawing last night I wasn't a millionaire. And after? Still not a millionaire. One person in New Jersey won the entire $250 million jackpot. Hmm, I wonder...do you think it might be a single man?
Now that the clogs are done and delivered I really have to get back to the Amble socks for the 6SoxKAL. I also have to start a sweater for Dailaesse to wear with her dance clothes. We picked out a cute little wrap sweater from the adorable knits for tots book by Zoe Mellor. Dailaesse chose white Patons Astra for her sweater. While this sounds dreadfully boring I think it will work well as her leotard and skirt are pink. I'm hoping she'll choose a pretty pastel ribbon for the tie though instead of white.
Seems how I'm all about before and after today I thought I'd let you know that before the lottery drawing last night I wasn't a millionaire. And after? Still not a millionaire. One person in New Jersey won the entire $250 million jackpot. Hmm, I wonder...do you think it might be a single man?
Friday, September 16, 2005
Dollar and a Dream
We went to dinner last night half way between here and Lake Placid. When we finished we decided (on my suggestion) to take Dailaesse to Howard Johnson's for ice cream. Of course it never crossed my mind that Adirondack Yarns is in Lake Placid or that it was open until 8 last night when I suggested it. Yeah, right. I was sitting at dinner thinking of all the fun things I could get to spoil my new secret pal. Thinking of how I could lure my 2 year old and husband to Lake Placid. Ice cream. Works like magic every time. On the 2 year old and the 29 year old. I got a few wonderful gifts for my secret pal that I think she's going to love. I can't wait to get her package finished up and mailed off to her. This secret pal thing just totally kicks ass. It's like Christmas for 3 months. Of course I couldn't shop for my secret pal without shopping for me too. Sue had just gotten a ton of new Fleece Artist sock yarn. I couldn't resist. I also bought a gorgeous green Fleece Artist kid aran. See how it happens? I set out for presents for my secret pal and end up getting SEX in the yarn store. I took a picture...wanna see? If you've never used Fleece Artist before I urge you to run right out and get some now. It's incredible! And, someone said the sock yarn comes from the same mill as Koigu. I knew I liked it for a reason.
So they say on the commercials here in NY that all you need is a dollar, or in my case $20, and a dream. I've always had a "if one is good then more MUST be better" mentality. Keep your fingers crossed for me. The jackpot tonight is $250 million. I can't imagine what you'd do with that kind of money. I do know that if we won there would be lots of help heading to the Katrina victims.
So they say on the commercials here in NY that all you need is a dollar, or in my case $20, and a dream. I've always had a "if one is good then more MUST be better" mentality. Keep your fingers crossed for me. The jackpot tonight is $250 million. I can't imagine what you'd do with that kind of money. I do know that if we won there would be lots of help heading to the Katrina victims.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Kegger
My dad had to go to Plattsburgh yesterday. He had some time to kill so he decided to go get a quick haircut at the salon in JC Penney's. When he got home last night I told him how nice it looked. He picked on me and said that he would have had me do it but after Dan losing half an eyebrow he thought it better to go to someone else. Funny, funny man my father is. We visited for a few minutes, had a really nice chat. The phone rang. I was getting ready to go anyways so he turned to go answer the phone. That's when I saw it. I'm not sure what the hell happened but there was about a 2 inch difference from one end of his neckline to the other. I waited for him to get off the phone. "Daddy, what the hell happened to the back of your head???", I ask. He puts his hand up to the back of his head and rubs. "Yeah, I thought it felt a little funny. What's wrong with it?", he asks. I told him. In between chuckles of course. I tell him that Dan's eyebrow is a lot less noticeable than the mess on his neck. "Dan's eyebrow is on the front of his face", he says. Point well taken. I'm not sure what it is with my family and hair lately but I'm telling you right now that I'm waiting for a bit before I go to the salon again. Just in case.
So we're all upstairs last night getting the kids ready for bed. Dan is in the hallway in his boxers making muscles. He's quite impressed with how "ripped" he's become since football started again. He's bragging about how the coach keeps telling him how strong he is, what an amazing player he is, how he's the only one who can do all the push ups...and on and on and on. Personally, I'm very proud of him and I never tire of hearing all about any of the kids accomplishments. I beam from ear to ear just like any other mom. That's MY boy. Darcie on the other hand tends to get a little jealous. Not right away mind you, it normally takes at least a half dozen repeats of the same brag to get her going. So Dan moves from his arms to his stomach. "Look at this buff bod", he says. And here it comes...Darcie says, "I think you better tell your coach you want a refund...you're missing 2 cans out of your six-pack."
So we're all upstairs last night getting the kids ready for bed. Dan is in the hallway in his boxers making muscles. He's quite impressed with how "ripped" he's become since football started again. He's bragging about how the coach keeps telling him how strong he is, what an amazing player he is, how he's the only one who can do all the push ups...and on and on and on. Personally, I'm very proud of him and I never tire of hearing all about any of the kids accomplishments. I beam from ear to ear just like any other mom. That's MY boy. Darcie on the other hand tends to get a little jealous. Not right away mind you, it normally takes at least a half dozen repeats of the same brag to get her going. So Dan moves from his arms to his stomach. "Look at this buff bod", he says. And here it comes...Darcie says, "I think you better tell your coach you want a refund...you're missing 2 cans out of your six-pack."
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Swan Lake
Today was Dailaesse's first day of dance class. It's called Creative Movement. Creative indeed. I have to tell you that there is nothing more adorable than watching a group of 3-4 year old little girls twirling around a room in little pink leotards...other than MY 2 year old twirling around the room in her favorite purple outfit. She refused to buy a leotard this past weekend. She didn't like them. She wrinkled her nose and promptly removed it from the cart as soon as I put it in. She wanted to wear her own clothes dance class. Leotards aren't a requirement so I didn't fight too hard to change her mind. Plus I figured if I bought it she wouldn't wear it and then it would just sit in her drawer until it was way too small and then get packed away in the basement in a couple years anyways. When class let out Dailaesse came running out and jumped into my arms. She told me she had so much fun and wants to go back tomorrow. (We may have a problem there as class is only once a week.) When we got in the van to pull away I heard her calling from behind me, "Mommy, I want a pink leotard like my friends have." I told her we'd go buy one this weekend. "And pink nail polish like my friends", she says. I promise to buy some of that this weekend as well. "And you will polish my fingernails for dance class Mommy?", she asks. I tell her of course I will. "And my toe fingers too? My friends have their toe fingernails polished", she says. Guess I'll be playing stylist to the star next week before dance class.
On to knitting news...
I've now made several of the braided neckpieces from the somewhat new Loop-d-Loop book. I had one left that was to be mine to wear with my camel wool coat this winter. That was until my friend called and said she wanted something really neat for her sister in law for her birthday. Yesterday. I went through all of my newly completed projects that I tuck away in a bin until I'm either ready to use them myself or ready to wrap them for gifts and pulled out the neckpiece. She loved it. But I wanted it. So I knit me a new one. It's worked in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky. I need to work in all those damned ends and of course it still needs to be blocked but what do you think? Cool, no? I also have one complete clog and one almost complete. I still promise to post pictures as soon as I felt them. I need to get them delivered soon so it won't be much longer. Honest.
On to knitting news...
I've now made several of the braided neckpieces from the somewhat new Loop-d-Loop book. I had one left that was to be mine to wear with my camel wool coat this winter. That was until my friend called and said she wanted something really neat for her sister in law for her birthday. Yesterday. I went through all of my newly completed projects that I tuck away in a bin until I'm either ready to use them myself or ready to wrap them for gifts and pulled out the neckpiece. She loved it. But I wanted it. So I knit me a new one. It's worked in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky. I need to work in all those damned ends and of course it still needs to be blocked but what do you think? Cool, no? I also have one complete clog and one almost complete. I still promise to post pictures as soon as I felt them. I need to get them delivered soon so it won't be much longer. Honest.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Hair Today
Dan has been bugging for a hair cut. He doesn't like going to the salon or the barber. He likes me to do it. So Sunday after we finished dinner I got out my clippers. It started out innocently enough. I put the size 2 attachment on just like always. I mowed all the hair off his beautifully shaped little head. I removed the attachment and went around his ears. Shaved a nice clean line in the back again. Then, I headed to the front. Dan has horrible cowlicks. I have to comb down the front of his hairline and even it up. I've done this so many times it isn't even funny. I could probably do it in my sleep. I combed the hair down onto his forehead and started to carefully even it up. Dan jumped and threw his hand over his eye. I asked what was wrong. He rubbed. And rubbed some more. I moved his hand. Nothing out of the ordinary. I finished cutting. Dan stood up. That's when I noticed it. Half of his right eyebrow was missing. I honestly don't think I did it. But, I also can't imagine not noticing that half of my own childs eyebrow is gone. We laughed and he went up to shower. When he got out of the shower he screamed and came running down the stairs. He wasn't laughing anymore. We argued. He went to bed angry and I starting packing lunches for the following day. When I grabbed Dan's lunch bag off the counter there was a bandaid stuck in the front of it that had fallen out of the cupboard. It was SpongeBob. Playing football. It was like it was suppose to be there. I couldn't let it go to waste. I attached it to a sticky note to put in with his lunch with this little poem:
I'm sorry about your brow.
I really don't know how
half of it disappeared,
and left you looking weird.
I was laughing so damn hard while I was writing it that I had tears running down my face. Dan has a great sense of humor. Or at least I hoped. I paced all day yesterday waiting for him to arrive home from football. He came through the door and didn't say anything about the note. I thought I would burst! I asked, "How were your Doritos?" He says, "Oh, the note?" Turns out he only read the first line and stuck it quickly in his pocket. He pulled it out and read it. He laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks. He is definitely my son.
Oh, and nobody at school noticed his eyebrow.
I'm sorry about your brow.
I really don't know how
half of it disappeared,
and left you looking weird.
I was laughing so damn hard while I was writing it that I had tears running down my face. Dan has a great sense of humor. Or at least I hoped. I paced all day yesterday waiting for him to arrive home from football. He came through the door and didn't say anything about the note. I thought I would burst! I asked, "How were your Doritos?" He says, "Oh, the note?" Turns out he only read the first line and stuck it quickly in his pocket. He pulled it out and read it. He laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks. He is definitely my son.
Oh, and nobody at school noticed his eyebrow.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Train Wreck
I took my girls to Plattsburgh yesterday. We went in search of more new clothes for Darcie. We were successful. Extremely successful. She got some really cute new jeans at Old Navy and more new tees at Aeropostale. She loves Aeropostale. I, on the other hand, would prefer she bought her shirts at a different store. Low rise jeans and short tees just don't mix. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get normal length shirts in that store? We end up buying an XL to get the length she needs then she's swimming in it every where else. And no, it's not just Aeropostale. I don't mean to single them out, it just happens to be where we shopped yesterday. It seems to be a common problem in all the stores. And there's no happy medium either. It's either young, hip, bare it all or sweatshirts with collars and polyester slacks. Now I realize that Aeropostale and the other stores like them aren't targeting 10 year olds...BUT...not every 10 year old wears a size 10 in girls. And even their target market shouldn't be wearing some of their clothes. High school girls shouldn't be wandering around with their butt cracks hanging out the back of their jeans and their boobs popping out the top of their shirts. Have you seen the way kids dress these days? Some of the girls I see coming out of school look like they should be working a street corner instead of walking the halls of the middle school. I can't imagine what they'll be wearing by the time they make it to high school. And, for the price of their clothes you'd think there'd be a little more to them. How is it that it costs more for less material??? I wish they'd issue school uniforms. It would make buying decent fitting clothes for my princess much easier. I know, I know, kids express themselves through their clothes. Blah, blah, blah. But see the problem is what they're expressing. And, are the kids even really expressing themselves by wearing mass-produced clothes that the kid sitting next to them in class can wear? I imagine there's some group some where climbing up on their soapboxes right now. Yelling at their screens. Telling me that the constitution provides for freedom of speech. BUT...what if my 80 year old 300+ pound grandma wanted to express herself in a bikini...in public? Do you think those same people would still be shouting that she has the right to express herself? Or would they encourage her to put her housecoat back on? You know the kind right? The ones like all the other seniors at the highrise wear. Uniformity isn't looking all that bad now is it? Ok, I'm climbing down off my soapbox.
I filled my van before we left because my gas light had come on and was singing to me. I've been putting it off because I've been afraid. Sticker shock, you know? I had really only intended to put $20 in it because gas is always cheaper in Plattsburgh. But, once I started pumping I just couldn't stop. It was like being in some kind of daze. I had a death grip on the nozzle. My head was spinning just as fast as the price on the pump. It was like seeing an accident on the thruway. You don't want to look but you can't help but do it. You bob your head around trying to find the optimum viewing angle in your mirrors so you can watch until the last possible second. Guess what my morbid curiosity got me today? A $65.26 tank full of gas. I'm still sick to my stomach.
I filled my van before we left because my gas light had come on and was singing to me. I've been putting it off because I've been afraid. Sticker shock, you know? I had really only intended to put $20 in it because gas is always cheaper in Plattsburgh. But, once I started pumping I just couldn't stop. It was like being in some kind of daze. I had a death grip on the nozzle. My head was spinning just as fast as the price on the pump. It was like seeing an accident on the thruway. You don't want to look but you can't help but do it. You bob your head around trying to find the optimum viewing angle in your mirrors so you can watch until the last possible second. Guess what my morbid curiosity got me today? A $65.26 tank full of gas. I'm still sick to my stomach.
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