One Step from Insanity & Yarn

Let's try this one more time

2011-10-04T22:37:00.001-07:00

So my 4th of July post finally went up today...yup in October. I can't desktop get blogger to so from my laptop but yeah for smart phones. I guess technically I could blame trafficknitter for having her yarn out as we walked past each other. I quickly eyeballed her knitting, and swapped ravelry names. I checked her out and realized I needed to conquer this blogging issue. So peace out. Post accomplished.

Happy July!

2011-07-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Happy July! It's Hot! But that's not stopping us from playing. We're off camping and hitting the pool.

I'm counting down the days for so many things! Shannon's move into her own apartment at College in August

Mary's Bridal Shower

Mary's Bachelorette Party

Chris' graduation from Physician Assistant School

Sarah and Brandon's Wedding

Boy's first day of school

Mary & Patrick's wedding weekend

Mary Anderson's Birthday/Warrior Dash

I'm hosting a Knit and Bitch here soon to rope in some of my work friends into fiber addictions...I mean persuasions. Details to follow. Everyone welcome...fiberistas, Non fiberistas, Beer drinkers, and kids. Details to follow. The pool is calling my name...armed with yarn...

My adventures in knitting & running

2011-03-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

I wasted last year: ok not really but I didn't accomplish all of the knitting or running I wanted to. So as I laid in bed last week I signed up for a half Marathon on June 5th. Kinda of funny since I couldn't sit up or walk to the corner taking JC to school without getting winded and taking a 6 hour nap. (Makes total sense right? especially if you know me).

I also signed up for a toe up sock knit along. (insert hysterical laughter here). I'm entirely baffled by the funky cast on. I'm sure it's not that complicated but my little mind is making it NASA worthy. I have watched the video tutorial. We'll all have to see how this one pans out.

I also busted out my yarn stash and have determined I must have had a plan at one time. I have tons of sock yarn and yarn to make a sweater or 3. Now I have to figure out what to make to use it all up. I will not purchase any non essential item until my stash has a dent in it. (like that loop hole).

Survived the gym today....off to bed....I'll try and post soon...definitely not years from now....

I'm Alive.....

2009-10-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Isn't it funny how we loose sight of the things we love when we try to so hard to be happy or try to become the person someone else wants . Well ladies - I'm starting over....No amount of praying, counseling or otherwise was going to work so my divorce is almost done.

I can honestly say though- I'm hurt and terribly bitter but hopefully rekindling my fiber habits will distract me. Or the kids, work and school too.

Mom's in Motion & BUcket List B-Day Party

2008-08-10T08:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my first Mom's in Motion meeting at Mission Bay. It's a nice group of moms running without children to train fro an incoming 8k race in October. Yesterday was just a 2mile run, but I still came home and slept in the afternoon for a bit.

The kids waited for me in the car and at the park, so we could drive straight to Otay Mesa. Kid 3's father was skydiving for his 40Th birthday. The first jump was the guys and they screamed like girls all the way down. I didn't stay to watch the next jump which was the girls but I heard it was quiet as they came down.

His bucket list jump was followed but a 40Th over the hill party where I got to hang out with Meredith. I haven't seen her in a bit since she went to Sharp Memorial. Good times.....
Well I'm off to drop kid 2 off at Boy Scout camp: he's going to be in Catalina for the week and then on my way to work.

My Baby can DRIVE!!!!

2008-08-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

Look out poor innocent victims on the road; my 16 year old got a license to drive on this past Tuesday. Don't get me wrong, she's responsible, law abiding, has good grade and deserves the privilege.

The law in California says though she can only drive up to 11 p.m. and can't start her day until 5 am driving. She also can't drive anyone under 18 years old for her first year: no friends; no siblings (unless I want to sign a waiver to drive siblings.) No cell phone; no ipod.

It is kind of cool though to have someone else run to the store for odds and ends I forget for dinner.

Her dad and I allowed her to drive to Fashion Valley (big mall) to meet us and some house guests for lunch at Cheesecake Factory. She was driving our F150 (Big truck). She drove around a while and didn't find parking so what did my girl do? She valeted it. LOL- that's my girl.

More Great News!!!

2008-07-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have recently been frustrated with my full time job in the department I'm in. This is no surprise to my coworkers or friends. Unfortunately situations at work have changed all of the LVN's role in my department. Out of frustration, I searched the Sharp web page and applied for anotherjob. to my surprise; I was called on the following Thursday and interviewed on Monday. I signed my paperwork today. I will now be in the Emergency Room full time (3- 12 hour shifts a week) starting July 13Th. I have my flexibility back since its self scheduling and the hours make it that on the days I work I can take kid 3 to kindergarten and still work around my husband's crazy schedule.

I can't wait to get to back to my Gathered Together knitting, Spinning classes and the gym.

On the yarn front, my very BFF wanted a Koolhaas hat and found some yarn online at Alpaca Direct. She bought some worsted weight baby alpaca in some very cool colors: pictures to follow eventually.

Kid 2 & 3 were in the North County Times Newspaper for participating in zucchini car races. Kid 3 has a picture in the paper and kid 2 has some direct quotes of fair going advice. The printed version shows the picture of Kid 3 but the header is The New Zero-Emissions Vehicle.

Kid 1 is packing for her trip to Field Hockey Camp in PA. Thank goodness Southwest isn't charging yet for big bags.

I'm ALIVE.....

2008-06-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

I think that covers everything I could possibly blog about tonight. Working full time has certainly been an experience but it seriously cuts into my playtime. Currently I'm working on a feather and fan baby blanket for a superior travel nurse that is going to go back to Kentucky.

The kids are getting ready for summer camp: Kid 1 is going back to PA for a field hockey camp and to see my relatives. Grandma and Aunt B are supervising this trip. Kid 2 boy scout camp and kid 3 is busy with water days and field trips.

I haven't found a balance yet between working and playing yet. This is my weekend off from the hospital so of course it's packed full of events. 11 of us (family and friends) - not counting other scout family's are going the Padre game tomorrow night, followed by The San Diego County Fair on Saturday to watch kid 3 dance with Wee Dance, followed by the Iron Girl 5k on Sunday.

My girl J is hanging with me this weekend so it'll be fun. Hopefully the fair will inspire me to spin some or knit some or entice J to pick up some needles.

Happy Knititng Saturday! My blogging is caught up!

2008-03-08T07:07:00.001-08:00

I have been so busy with work, life and some obligatory knitting that I have put down my fun stuff and knit on a deadline. Over the last 3 weeks, between throwing a Sweet 16 party for my daughter and working I cast on for 2 -8 hour blankets for a mutual friend who is throwing 2 baby showers and decided last minute that a handmade gift would be "so cool". So my other friend threw me under the bus and said "Heather does that sort of stuff." I couldn't say no and am looking forward to my night out for knitting the gifts.

Feb 16Th -I went to the Bonita Knitting Store for a Sock Yarn tasting. $10 to register, a private party to touch new yarn and break off a section to try knitting it at home, wine, and appetizers. When you purchase, they give you back your $10 and a discount. Kid 1 and my sister came with me and we had so much fun. Can't wait to go again!

While we were there they showed us Flat Feet Yarn and I immediately ran home to find some online. I order 2 from Paradise Fibers and can't wait to get knitting. Check it out - I think it's cool. It's machine knit and then dyed. When you knit it you unravel the machine knitting and you have no balls of yarn to chase. I actually sent out an SOS to a machine knitter to see if she would help me knit up some of my Natural Knit Picks so I can dye it.

Feb 23 was winter formal for Kid 1. She looked beautiful. When her Dad and Uncle saw her though, they asked where the rest of dress was. Her party was the next day at my Mom and Dad's house. Uncle Tee catered everything: homemade enchiladas, dirt cups, ambrosia salad, Bubble gum ice cream sundaes. The kids all played Guitar Hero and the new Wii that my parents bought for the party.

March 1st was Opening Day for Little League. Kid 2 and 3 took pictures together, team pictures and had a parade to announce all of the players. Kid 3 was pretty cute in his uniform. Kid 2 is in his last year of playing Little League. He had a exhibition game which was only 50 minutes unlike the usual 2 hour games.

For my Birthday weekend my girlfriend K flew in from Arizona. Saturday night, a group of us went out to The Original Roadhouse Grill for dinner and drinks. I really went for Triple X lemonade, Texas egg rolls and a sweet potato. One of my coworkers said congratulations! You're 1/2 way to 70!. I told my other girlfriend and she gave me a 70Th birthday card.

March 2ND- My birthday was spent having an afternoon of shopping with Kids 1-3, Adopted Kid 1, K. We ran around Fashion Valley. CPG and K went to California Pizza Kitchen before we dropped her off at the airport to go back her family. We had so much fun!

March 7Th was my Gathered together knitting group; M & A were there but we had a good time. M helped A to pick up the gusset of her sock, which looked really good for a first sock. Kid 2 had a Band concert tonight that was judged and they sounded pretty good for Jr High band.

Well I'm off to track practice and baseball.

Mystic Knit along

2008-02-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

Mystic Knit along Shawl: I signed up for my first knit along at Knitandknag- part of my trying new things this year. Go check it out- I think sign ups are until March 26 or so but go now. LoriAngela asked me what I'd be using for the shawl. I found Fleece Artist 2/6 merino in color way Aegean. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture yet so here is the link to the Loopy Ewe and my yarn that I'll be using.

Valentine's Day Contest

2008-02-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

I was reading Ursula's blog- the newly engaged gal so I felt so motivated to write how I met my husband of almost 14 years which is a contest on BarknKnit. which Urusula said I should check out!

It's hard to believe that it has been 14 years already. Way back when before my husband graduated high school and became a a firefighter; he was taking his Emergency Medical Technician class and was on a ride along. He was helping out on an ambulance with his buddy Jeffe who worked for Hartson's. I was a candy striper in the Emergency room at Grossmont Hospital (my current place of employment before it became Sharp.)

He dropped off a patient and started talking to me and left me his phone number. and it's all history from there folks. Not the most romantic story but it works.

Knitting & Stuff! Sock pictures too!

2008-02-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

I'm getting into the swing of this nursing stuff...I think. I have 2 more orientation days and then I'm being cut loose to do my job on my own. Kinda scary. Kinda cool. I emailed the Director of my nursing program and told her I keep hearing my clinical instructors in my head when I'm doing stuff. In fact, when passing out medications I triple checked everytihng and then went to my patient. I checked his arm band, and then I asked him what his name was and what his birthdate was. He just looked at me and asked if I was feeling ok today. Ok....Kinda of funny...Kinda scary...Rules are rules: right medication, right patient, right dose, right time, right route. I can't forget documentation. Apparently I was supposed to know the patient by face not arm band.

Today I was a pin cushion- I went to my IV certification and phlebotomy course. It was a good class but I need more practice. We practiced on each other and I'm not an easy person to stick. The ladies I was working with are also difficult sticks but one of the guys voluntered to get stuck by me! I hit the pay dirt!

On the knitting front: I got a bad attitude last week and left a meeting 1/2 way through. I drove 1 hour north and hit 2 yarn shops for a little retail therapy. My usual Yarning for You in San Marcos came throught with some pretty Pink and purple Collette sock yarn from Wales. I then found Knitting by the Beach, antoher yarn stor which is not by the beach. It's more like by the Del Mar Race track. I bought a cute Pinochio tape measure and some Berroco Sox - in varigated browns and earth tones.

Wednesday I was excited to get to go to my Spinning class. I even brought my wheel except that I forgot all of my bobbins and fluff. I wanted to finsih the Canoe socks but I needed help with that freakin kitchner stitch but I forgot my extra needles to knit it. Duh! I immediately went to my other yarn shop: Lakeside Knit & Stitch to get help and closed up the toes. Yippie! But then I got home and put them on and well busted through the toe. I guess I'll be knitting that one again.

I bought a skein of Tofutsies color#724 and signed up for my first sock club. Here's my almost done sock. I have some knit picks essential started in the 2 circular needle method becasue my Gathered Together knitting group is goin to start a sock class of the 15th with method. My goal for this year is knit socks double points, cirulars and magic loop to say that I've done it, learn a little bit of color work and knit my first sweater (Mr. Green Jeans). BTW- spell check is not working so I'm tyoping quick and read it tomorrow and catch my mistakes. Adios!

Today was my first Nursing Day!

2008-01-28T19:19:00.000-08:00

I survived my first orientation day of my new nursing position. OK so I've been with the company for 13 years in June. My coworkers cut me a little slack but wanted to make sure that I knew my other skills will still be required on the weekends to get things fixed, ordered, etc.
My preceptor cracked up all day- I transcribed the orders of the medications that were passed today to patients yesterday. I was also the official door opener (on the locked unit today) because that was about the only thing I'm authorized to do today. Tomorrow I'll do competency tests so I can actually work.

Happy Busy New Year!

2008-01-21T18:40:00.001-08:00

Happy Busy New Year! I've been popping in on some of my favorite blogs but haven't had time to post until today. The New Year has brought my Nursing Board results-I passed!, a new position at work, Spinning and sewing classes and a Boy Scout Adventure.

On the knitting front, I have been working on another pair of Yarn Harlot cheat sheet socks in Opal Chameleon. I was actually done with the pair on Friday, all I had to do was Kitchener them. I slipped my stitches from the needles and started to tear them out on my canoe trip to fix them. I'm planning on making 2 hats for my boss and casting on Mr. Greenjeans for Knitty soon.

Here is a picture of the back of Kid 2 at the base of Hoover Dam from our trip this weekend. Our Boy Scout troop left Friday night to drive to Boulder City, Nevada. We camped out over night and then got picked up by Jerkwater Adventures to drive us to the base of the dam. We canoed on Saturday stopping to look at the Hot Springs and caves. Our campsite was 3 miles down near the only outhouse on the river. Sunday we woke up and paddled the remaining 9 miles to Willow Beach. The Adventure company picked us up and brought us back to cars. We had lunch at a casino and watched the Chargers loose to the Patriots and then headed over to the Hoover Dam for a tour of the power plant. The drive home was long but we made it home just beofre midnight.

This is a picture of Kid 2 and me on Sunday morning, after 2 days of tent camping and backpacking. It was a great adventure. I was the only Mom out of 23 people and the only thing we forgot to pack was cups. I had an extra set of stove pans so we faked it. The water was in the 40's and the air dropped to the 30's at night.

It's done!

2007-12-13T06:10:00.001-08:00

I finally finished my hat! After several emails (Thanks again to Erin) I was able to finish my hat on Monday evening. I brought it to work for show and share with some other closet knitters and people other than my family tried to take it home. (My Boss). The hat is actually a one day knitting project provided you don't loose yourself in the pattern. I cast on a 2nd hat in red alpaca and hopefully will have it done soon. Here's kid 3 sporting my hat in Starbucks: He looks like a bank robber but that actually is spider man hands. The picture shows off the pattern though! I took my VN boards yesterday and only had 85 questions. So either I did really well or screwed up really big. I'll know in a few weeks.

Kid 3, Husband and I are off to Disnleyland here in a little bit. Kid 1 and Kid 2 will hang out with the grandparents and Aunt Beth.

Kid 1 also got her driver's permit on Monday too!

Tis the Season! Hectic Life

2007-12-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth but practically. I offered to be an angel for the Fall Felted Bag Exchange and have been busy knitting up another bag and working. Not to mention running around with the kids. A picture of the bag can be found at http://journals.aol.com/jbernardoffice/JudysCrafts/: I forgot to photograph it before I mailed it off.
I've been busy with work (about 56 hours a PP) and studying for my Board which I take on Wednesday December 12Th! After I survive my Boards, I'm going to the Happiest Place on Earth (Disneyland) with Kid 3, My Husband and some work friends to celebrate Kid 3's 5Th birthday for a few days. The big kids can't miss school this close to winter break. He'll be 5 on Saturday. If the weather is kind he'll have a party on Sunday afternoon at the park with some school Friends.
On the knitting front, I cast on for the Koolhas has 8 times; frogged it and now I'm stuck at the decreases for the crown. I just can't get the numbers to work out- I had 104 stitches, after my decreases I have 65. I'm going to put it down and walk away for a little while. Hopefully if I leave it alone or just have faith in the pattern it will turn out. The picture doesn't do the yarn justice- it's a deep chocolate brown alpaca. Thanks to the Knitting RN the hat has made it this far. She was nice enough to answer some late night emails form work.
I'm getting my calendar ready for the New Year: Kid's day off, classes that I'm going to teach, fun stuff, My husband's schedule. It's amazing how busy it's going to be in January and February. I'm surprised thay already are this full. Next time I post hopefully Holiday pictures will be done.

Went to a new yarn shop...and an amazing birthday party

2007-11-18T06:50:00.000-08:00

After my Friday knitting group, I ran to Walmart because a fellow groupie told me that they carried all the current knitting magazines. I even bought a trashy magazine: Life and Style because there is an article about Chunky knits being "in" this season.

Saturday my sister, kid1 & 3 and I went on an outing to the The Shepherdess in Old Town. One of my coworkers is a beader/beginner knitter and takes classes there. It is a very touristy part of San Diego- Old town is an educational area regarding the settlers and Hispanic culture of San Diego. The Store was small with a classroom upstairs. They did carry Curious Creek fibers though along with drop spindles, and rovings. My sister had a gift certificate to use from last Christmas.

We then went to The Bonita Knitting Store, as a time waster before our party started. I bought these very funky skull knitting needles from punk knits and 2 skeins of chocolate brown ultra soft Alpaca with a twist (100% baby alpaca) to cast on the Koolhas hat from the gift edition magazine. I had a perfectly good project in the car but this was fun to work with. The picture doesn't do the yarn justice.

My coworker threw a party for her 6 year old daughter's birthday and it was unbelievable. I have never attended a party where I brought gifts and have such a deep need to send a thank you note to the hostess. They live in a nice neighborhood in San Diego overlooking Bonita. The community has a gated park, recreations center and 6 pools just for the residents. It can rented for parties but this a well taken care of facilities with staff to monitor cameras and man the front gate confirming if guests are "on the list" to attend.Her daughter had 4 custom outfits through out the party. Her first outfit was a matching mom and daughter set. The food was an incredible offering of Filipino foods including 2 roasted pigs. Every family was given a CD copy of High School Musical soundtrack with their daughter's picture on the CD, goodie bags and raffle prizes in addition to games that were played and directed by the live D.J. The hostess bought takeout boxes for people to take food home and was insistent that you leave with food. The prizes were anything from inexpensive toys to Nike soccer balls. My kid 3 chanted that the party was fun, fun, fun as we walked back to our car. The party ran from 3-9 p.m. and when we left at 6 p.m. they gifts and cake still hadn't been touched.

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving?

2007-11-14T20:18:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving? Forget that on Halloween I saw Christmas decorations up when I picked up treats for kid 3's preschool. The empty lot by my son's preschool is turning into a Tree lot for the Kiwanis club. (They help children but not like the Shriner's "Shriner's help burn and cripple children"- seriously I saw that on a bumper sticker.)

I've been so busy but not so much with the yarn over the last couple of weeks. I did make it to my knit together but I invited my god daughter (1 y/o) and her mother to join us so I didn't knit. I just held my pretty little god daughter. I did give an impromptu lesson on the magic loop and expressed my disappointment on spending $8.95 on a book to have a "Duh" moment. (I'm over it really....Can't you tell?) I did offer to be an angel for FFBE that I signed up for and I just need to make a liner for the bag, felt and sew on the handle and closure and stuff it with goodies. The hard part is done though.

Unfortunately I had some funky things removed from my thumbs by an over eager dermatologist (No offense to all those dermatologists who might read my blog) on the 7th which has prohibited me with having any fun or using my thumbs. I have never hurt so bad in my entire life. Not even child birth! I actually scared my husband at work because I was in so much pain I was crying! Until the medication I had at home kicked in. Then everything was good- in fact I talked to my work in my sleep. Fortunately I was appropriate though! Now my thumbs look like I have a case of bad frostbite.

Otherwise I've been busy with the kids & work. Kid 1 had her Field Hockey Banquet on Monday night and she of course lettered. Another mom convinced her to try out for Water polo the next day-so now to kill time before pole vaulting she's hanging out at the pool.

Kid 2 made 1st Class in Boy Scouts so now I'm slightly terrified that he is actually not far from making the rank of Eagle. He just turned 12-has passed all of his Scout Conferences, has a leadership position in the troop and has earned 10 merit badges 4 of them qualify towards Eagle. Kid 2 has a camp out this weekend and his final winter ball game!

Kid 3 is great- he did rat me out though the other night when he so cutely begged to sleep in my room. "Please Mommy- I'll sleep in the blue chair next to your box of yarn." My husband apparently didn't know I was storing yarn in our end tables.

Oh and he punctured my exercise ball with a knitting needle. LOL..... He felt bad though. He knew he did wrong.

My husband is traveling through the great City of Seattle attending a class in Bremerton. One of my favorite blogs is the Knitting RN and she's from there but I think currently on vacation. My mom is on her way to Boston for a conference and my friend Mary (That's right Texas Big) and Kid 1's dad are on their way to Australia. I did very courteously told Mary and Chris they could stop by any or all of the yarn shops that I found located in the cities of their itinerary. They were concerned they wouldn't have room in their suitcase but I told them it would be OK to ship it to me. Don't ya love the Internet?

So I'm all alone with my kids and even my friends have run away.

I scheduled my Nursing Boards but I couldn't get an appointment until Dec 12th. I didn't want to drive to another city to take my test sooner. I did renew my CNA certification and had 666.5 Continuing Education hours, which is apparently very obnoxious because only 48 are required by the state. I went to renew my EMT license and found out that I have to go and pay for fingerprinting again because even though I just did it for my Nursing license the State of CA does not share that information. Oh well!

I have to run- I have to go to work in the morning and need every bit of strength I can muster up. I just have a sick group of patients right now that's verbally abusive. It's a good thing I don't have a self esteem problem because they are down right mean!

Halloween.....

2007-11-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe but the Fire Station is keeping my husband for a few more days. He was supposed to be home for Halloween and we were all looking forward to it. It was the beginning of his 3 days off to boot but now we don't know when he's coming home. The kids and I went to my Mom and Dad's house instead of hanging out at ours. We visited our special neighbors on our street and the loaded up the car with our decorations to decorate my parents house more. Apparently that was a good move because only 9 trick or treaters visited my neighbor and 3 of them were my kids.

We have floating head decoration that has a microphone so you can hide and talk to your trick or treaters. There was a high number of pirates this year (Blame Johnny Depp). I made those kids talk like a pirate to earn their candy. AARGH! Ahoy me maties! It was great fun!

We went through almost 9 Cost Co size bags of candy. My Dad made homemade pizza and then we trick or treated to 3 more houses on their street. It was more fun to hang out and visit. My Goddaughter came over to show off she can walk and run now. My sister sewed costumes for Kid 1 (The Queen of Hearts) and Kid 3 ( an alligator). Kid 2 went as a pirate. Kid 3 never asks for traditional costumes: last year she had to make him a shark costume. Thank you Aunt B!

That's all for now: I'm going to Cost Co and pay bills and a Field Hockey game today. Anybody want to trade? At least I get to knit at Field Hockey!

San Diego Fires/ Getting back to normal!

2007-10-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

San Diego is getting back to normal. The Chargers played football on Sunday. The Boston Red Sox's won the World Series.

My husband was released from his Strike team on Saturday evening. He got to go out to dinner with the boys and our Paramedic friend Mary and me. Mary is one of the lucky folks who got to shake the president's hand when he came to look at the destruction in San Diego. My friend Mary is a tall girl: over 6 foot. My kid 3 once said to her "Wow! Mom never sits in the backseat with me when she drives." Mary adjusted the seat so her knees weren't in her chest when he said this.

Our beloved president shook Mary's hand and said "Wow! You're Texas Big!" I wonder if his press core knows this comment. It's almost as good as AAAAhnold S. stating he never did drugs- Pot is a leaf. His press core said it was just a joke. SURE! (Is this considered intelligent leadership?)

Anyway ....My husband is part of the Navy News that is played around the world. He's not the talking guy- he's the guy in the beginning in the red helmet on the phone. I asked him who he was talking to and he said he was talking to me when they first arrived at Camp Pendleton. He said the news crew thought he looked important. The guys at the fire station are teasing him though about being on the phone.

The fire department called my husband back in to work today- a day earlier than previously planned. The kids go back to school tomorrow (YEAH!). I don't think my kid 2 could take anymore of me assigning him homework to do. He did get to buy 4 new books today since he did 3 Story Elements (new word for book report) while he was off.

During an impulse buy today I picked up the magic loop knitting book to make socks. Can anyone say duh! Yes the concept is cool but I so didn't need to spend $8.95 on the book. The thing about a LYS is they will sell anything to anyone when you call up and say "Hey! I'm going to drive by and I just need 2 sets of needles in a size 2." The response I got was "Oh but this way is so much better." My response "OK and throw in the Red, white and blue self striping sock yarn please". A total of 5 minutes in the store. I guess I asked for it. I have about 1 1/2 inches in the above yarn knit for my second pair of socks on said Magic Loop.

The chaos of school, baseball, Scouts, Church classes and Field Hockey games continue tomorrow all while I'm teaching a class at the same time tomorrow night. Everything is TBA since school has been closed and events on hold. Let's hope it all works out!

What to do with the kids?...

2007-10-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

This is the only yarn I got to touch today: Kid 3 decided to find a crafting kit and tangled up a toy truck with it. Not the satisfying fiber fix I was looking for.
Another day with the kids. We ran errands: went to the store, got haircuts, bought new shoes for school, went out to breakfast and did laundry. One of Kid 1 friends needed to escape her house so friend came over for dinner and then the girls went back to her house to spend the night. Friend's mom told me to drive a different route home so I could see the horses. Horses? Apparently someone is housing 3 horses tied to a tree in their front yard complete with bails of hay and buckets of water. (pictures to follow) It was pretty funny......We're the type of neighborhood that doesn't even do loud parties.

My husband called to tell me he's been awake since yesterday. He was at Camp Pendleton watching the fire and said you could hear the old ammunition exploding. He just got to fire camp and was going to get to sleep until 4am when they have to return to the fire line.

President Bush visited today to see the damaged areas but due to his helicopter being in the air fire fighting helicopters and planes were grounded. Did I mention that the fires are still going during his visit?

I found the Mr. Greenjeans pattern on Knitty and think I might have yarn stashed away to start working on it tomorrow. I'm starting to get bored of my neverending shawl, but partly because I need to accurately measure how much has been knit. I think I have 40 some inches already. I read somewhere (i think knitty) that a tape measure is not accurate because over time the tape measure stretches. I may have to run to a fabric store and borrow the cutting counter.

Here is Kid 3: He dumped out a full bottle of Suave shampoo and turned on the bathtub jets when his sister was suppoed to be watching him. And yes- he is throwing bubbles at me.

Oh yes and Big kid school has been cancelled until Tuesday of next week.

Still at Home...

2007-10-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

The kids and I are still at home. The City and local agencies are encouraging people to stay out of the air and stay off the roads. We have watched Meet the Robinson's, Transformers, and Robots.
Kid 2 has to write me 2 "Story Elements"- the new word for book report since he has nothing else to do. Kid 1 started to take her Online Driver's Education class to get her Driver's permit today. Kid 3 is juggling a toy with a green shovel in the living room- no kids at preschool so he might as well stay with me.
I'm trying to keep the news off the t.v. mostly because it's repeating footage and lists of houses that did or did not survive the fire. President Bush is visiting tomorrow. I hear the secret service is securing the base, where my husband has been sitting all morning waiting to be sent out to the next assignment.
I don't fully get how the assignments s are being made; They released his task force last night to go back to the fire station to sleep and then resend him to another fire, while all of the news crews were complaining of not enough resources/unattended fire. Every time CDF was called they would say something like:" Oh he hasn't called you back yet? Well we're really busy." Just another example of system break down: poor communication and properly utilizing resources. That won't get fixed in a day!

Need A Book?

2007-10-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

I made that book list I was mentioning in my previous post. So now here's a never ending post. It looks so much better as an Excel document.

The Techniques of Bobbibn Lace
Pamela Nottingham
Bobbin Lace

Bobbin Lace without a Teacher
Betty Alderson
Bobbin Lace

Handmade Lace & Patterns
Annette Feldman
Crochet & knitting

Magic Scrubbers Part 7 #420- Japanese text
Crochet

Slippers
Leisure Arts
Crochet & knitting

Hip Knits- 65 Easy projects from hot designers
Better Homes and Gardens
Crochet & knitting

One Skein 30 quick projects to knit and crochet
Leigh Radford
Crochet & knitting

Family Circle Easy Plus-Size Knits 50 Knit and Crochet Styles
Family Circle
Crochet & knitting

Knit and Crochet with Beads
Lily M. Chin
Crochet & knitting

McCall's Treasury of Needlecarft-1955
Simon and Schuster
All Fiber Arts

Learn How Book- Knitting Crochet Tatting Embroidery
Coats
All Fiber Arts

Bunch O Beads Alpha Soup- Pony Beads
Suzanne Mc Neill
Pony Beady

Loops and Laces-
Wool Novelty Co
Pot Holder Loops

Pooh & Friends
Leisure Arts
Cross Stitch

The Ocean
Cross My Heart Inc.
Cross Stitch

At Knit's End- Meditations for Women who Knit Too Much
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Reading

Knitticisms and other purls of Wisdom
Kari Cornell
Reading

Lucet Braiding Variations on a Renaissance Cord
Elaine Fuller
Lucet

Debbie Bliss- Number three
Debbie Bliss
Knitting

Knit Teddy Bear
Judy Head
Knitting

Junior Knits
Debbie Bliss
Knitting

Knit 2 Together-Patterns and Stories for Serious Knitting Fun
Tracey Ullman & Mel Clark
Knitting

Sock Socks Sock
Elaine Rowley
Knitting

Mason Dixon Knitting
Kay Cardiner & Ann Shayne
Knitting

Twisted Sisters Enchantress
Twisted Sisters
Knitting

The Wonderful Wallaby
Carol Anderson & Krisit Williams
Knitting

The Grabbit
Carol Anderson & Krisit Williams
Knitting

The Little Box of Scarves
Melissa Matthay & Sheryl Thies
Knitting

The Little Box of Sweaters
Melissa Matthay & Sheryl Thies
Knitting

Sweet Layettes to Knit
Carole Prior
Knitting

Beautiful Bears Handknitted Bears for All Occasions
Saprotex Design Studio
Knitting

Nicky's Knitted Christmas Stockings
Nicky Epstein
Knitting

Family Accessories
Leisure Arts
Knitting

Plymouth Yarn Dream Baby wrap sweater
Plymouth Yarn
Knitting

Knitting on the Edge
Nicky Epstein
Knitting

Kids' Knitted Hats
Cabin Fever
Knitting

Early Arrivals Knitting Book
Sirdar
Knitting

Poncho Perfection
Kay Meadors/ Leisure Arts
Knitting

Trendy Knit Ponchos
Kay Meadors/ Leisure Arts
Knitting

Quick Knit Afgans 5
Carole Prior/ Leisure Arts
Knitting

The Knitted Teddy Bear
Sandra Polley
Knitting

Toys to Knit
Tracey Chapman
Knitting

Knitted Flowers
Nicky Epstein
Knitting

The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook
Lynne Vogel
Knitting

Learn to Knit Socks
Edie Eckman
Knitting

Knit a Dozen Baby Socks
Edie Eckman
Knitting

Knit Socks Whatever the Yarn!
Edie Eckman
Knitting

Knit Christmas Stockings
Gwen Steege
Knitting

Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Joelle Hoverson
Knitting

Charmed Knits Projects for Fans of Harry Potter
Alison Hansel
Knitting

The Lacy Knitting of Mary Schiffman
Nancy Nehring
Knitting

Not your Mama's Knitting
Heather Dixon
Knitting

Trilogy #254
Berroco
Knitting

Big Book of Quick Afghans
Leisure Arts
Knitting

The All New Teach Yourself to Knit
Evie Rosen
Knitting

First Steps in Knitting
Mary Thomas
Knitting

Baby Ripples to Knit
Melissa Leapman
Knitting

Quick Knit Keepsakes
Melissa Leapman
Knitting

Our Best Knit Baby Afghans
Leisure Arts
Knitting

Award Winning Knit Afghans 2002
Herrschners
Knitting

Scarf Style
Pam Allen
Knitting

Wrap Style
Pam Allen & Ann Bud
Crochet & knitting

Stitch'n Bitch
Debbie Stoller
Knitting

Stitch'n Bitch Nation
Debbie Stoller
Knitting

Knit Wit 30 Easy and Hip Projects
Amy R. Singer
Knitting

The Knitter's Bible
Claire Crompton
Knitting

Chick Knits
Julia Cooper
Knitting

Top Down For Toddlers- No Sew Knitting
Deb & Lynda Gemmell
Knitting

Hollywood Knits Style
Suss Cousins
Knitting

Hollywood Knits
Suss Cousins
Knitting

Loop-D-Loop
Teva Durham
Knitting

Big Girl Knits
Jillian Moreno & Amy Singer
Knitting

100 Sweaters mix and match patterns for the perfect, personalized sweater
Amanda Griffiths
Knitting

Knit Knack Kit
kris Percival
Knitting

Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls
Martha Waterman
Knittting

1000 Great Knitting Motifs
Luise Robert
Knitting

Easy Knitted Accessories
Jeanette Trotman
Knitting

Vogue Knitting Accessorize
Vogue Knitting
Knitting

Domino Knitting
Vivian Hoxbro
Knitting

Knitting Pretty
kris Percival
Knitting

Learn to Knit
Penny Hill
Knitting

Knitting Scarves
PIL Best Recipes
Knitting

The Jungel Book- Monkey Flamingo, Snake & Parrot
Bernat
Knitting

Animal Farm Dog, Cat, Pig, Bunny
Bernat
Knitting

FFBE Final Question

2007-10-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

How was your experience in the exchange? Did you enjoy the folks you met? Did you just love the bag you received? Please share any thoughts, criticism, and things you loved!

I had great fun participating in the exchange. My buddy Laurie and I had emailed a few times to get to know each other. I also met some great people on the list: Ursula and Laurie C. -the devoted Red Sox Fan.

The package I received is far more than I could have expected. My person Kati is incredibly talented: My bag has pockets and lined with a zipper. Everything else was amazing. Coffee, stitch markers,a travel pouch, materials for another bag and yarn plus theKnit 2 Together book she gave me. It made preparing and mailing my package to my buddy so much fun.

I can't imagine it going any smoother for an exchange. Thanks again!

Still on Fire...

2007-10-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

My husband called me last night, just in time to tell me quick turn to Channel 8 on the t.v. so I could see his interview with Heather Myers (newscaster). Kid 2 was quick enough to record it on our DVR. Kid 2 also called his Dad's cell phone with every other fire friend in the County. The wife of a friend said he did a great job making up new words. I'm going to have to go back and watch the interview again. I said give him a break: he was fighting fire for the last 14 hours before he was interviewed. and he didn't sound like the rain man this time. (judge whoppner, Judge whoppner...) (My husband's last interview clip: It's Bad, really really bad. repeated over and over) He was in Poway when I spoke with him this morning at fire camp getting a few hours of sleep. I'm waiting for his next call to hear where they are sending his strike team next.

School had been cancelled for the rest of the week for Kid1 and Kid 2. Only 3 kids were at kid 3's preschool so I kept him with me today. The teachers are frazzled with the potential need for their houses to be evacuated. The preschool will call us to tell us if they will be open tomorrow.

Sharp has cancelled my telemetry class for tomorrow. I am home cleaning today and hopefully knitting soon. Since I'm off the rest of the week (for now) I'm thinking of typing a knitting book inventory list. Hopefully I can knit too today.

Fire, Fire Everywhere!

2007-10-22T20:36:00.001-07:00

California is burning down. More specifically almost all of San Diego County:Ramona, Tecate, Portero, Rancho Santa Fe, Fallbrook, Rancho Bernardo and on and on. We are not in danger where we live: We are in a very suburban area near a small mountain that is climbed often, which is not on fire (yet).

My husband went to work this morning. They called him last night to see if the fire department could staff more fire engines in case the California Department of Forestry (CDF) called for more resources. He went in today at 6 am and by 9:30 he was on his way to a Strike team called Task Force 5.

I went into the hospital and worked 1/2 of the next shift because people didn't show up due to the fires. The hospital is actually taking evacuated patients from local facilities and other hospitals. We were so busy! I was removed from my cell phone for most of the day, so my mother picked up all of the kids when schools shut down. Our district decided to try and have school with limited outdoor activities. They made it until noon. When I finally looked at my phone, my husband sent me this:

I think he's cute or trying to get a better picture for his cellphone id on my phone. I'm sure he's safe and since he's in charge of his truck I'll hopefully hear from him again soon. Probably just when I fall asleep. He took a camera though so his perspective is different when looking at photos.

I'll be hiding out at home tomorrow with the 2 big kids and kid 3 will go to preschool for 1/2 day. If the hospital really needs me, they'll call me in otherwise I'm laying low. I'm actually cleaning house because several of my friends are evacuated and may need a place to crash.

So much for blogging on Wednesdays...

2007-10-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun week. I went to work Monday and Tuesday at the hospital.

Monday was uneventful.

Tuesday: I thought Tuesday was never going to end: Work, school for the kids, baseball practice, field hockey game, confirmation class for kid 1, boy scouts, an unexpected eye injury for kid 2 and a trip to the ER. Kid 2 took a baseball to the eye on Tuesday at practice while I was a t field hockey with Kid 1 and 3. It didn't look bad so the coach didn't mention it to my sister who picked Kid 2 up from the field. Kid 2 got ready for scouts and put ice on his eye. He had an interview at scouts for his next rank and the panel didn't think he was "quite right". After a neuro exam, ice and Motrin I called the Dr. to figure out if we could just use head injury precautions or bring him in. (It is a bummer when you know what to do but you know what the outcome could potentially be. I hate head injuries....)They of course told me everything I was already doing at the ER was appropriate so they checked him for a corneal abrasion. Which thankfully was not present. The staff was great though at Rady's Children's Hospital. My son was wearing all Boston Red Sox clothes and sandals, our triage nurse was a devoted Yankees fan. One nurse offered to have a Social worker talk to him, to make sure he was safe (all in good fun.) The coach pitched a ball to him, it had some backspin on it when he hit it and got him in the eye so it was a self inflicted injury. Our other nurse suggested he dress as a pirate for Halloween; which he already is because he has a wonderful black eye.

Wednesday: I slept in since we were out all night in the ER and stopped by spinning class to ask what my teacher thought of the fleeces I go last weekend.

Thursday: I taught a CPR class for 1 person. All of the students were no shows. I still got paid but I had a discussion with the manager to discuss better marketing of the Education department.

Friday: was the Gathered Together Knitting group at New Heights and a Halloween Parent's night out at the preschool. Kid 3 had a great time.

Saturday was the PSAT test for kid 1 and Kid 2 went to Boy Scout Camp out with a Mystery destination. They went to the mud caves in the desert. It was my God daughter's 1st birthday party. After we went tot he party , we went to a field hockey tournament and then Kid 1 and a friend, kid 3 and my mom trekked up to 4S Ranch for the Life is Good Pumpkin Festival and looked at all of the carved pumpkins followed by a trip to Inflataworld. I know that you are so jealous right now!

Sunday/Today I was supposed to wake up and complete the virtual Nike + San Fransisco 1/2 Marathon. Since I woke up to my Nano ipod being dead due a child who will remain nameless, I will be completing my 1/2 marathon (13.1 Miles) this afternoon not like at 5 am as I previously planned.

I haven't gotten a whole lot of knitting done this week, probably won't for the next 2 weeks since I'll be in an EKG class instead of spinning. I did mail off my FFBE package to my buddy in Oregon.

Yarn from the new Spinning Wheel

2007-10-13T20:53:00.001-07:00

After I cleaned the wheel up with some orange oil and did some minor little stuff, I spun up this very soft merino top. The wheel needed little working out, but it's spinning smoothly now.

What a weekend!

2007-10-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

FFBE : This is the contents of my Fall Felted Bag Exchange box that I received on Thursday. My partner is incredibly talented. This picture doesn't really show the great messenger style bag with cool pockets, a zipper and a lining , so I'll have to post the bag alone. The bag came stuffed with Blue and Teal yarns, Starbucks coffee, The Knit 2 Together book, Silk Asian style material with handles and a clasp to make another bag, stitch markers, a travel pouch to hold needles and necessities, and a hand made Fall card.

Thank you! Thank you! My buddy was very generous!

I can't wait to knit a few things out of this book too! If I had the time that double sweater on the cover would be a great Halloween costume. There is so many great patterns- even a MD styled bag. Soooo Cool!
Fiber stuff:
I was supposed to attend a monthly Knit together that is held at Balboa Park this morning but it was cancelled due to rain. In the process of people RSVPing to the list a woman stated she had a spinning wheel to donate to someone and I was able to be the fortunate recipient. It's an Ashford Traditional wheel- single treadle with a light finish to it. I replaced the drive band on it and it spins great. She had it set up as a double drive band and was not using a tension spring, but at the encouragement of Lila (my Fiber supplier/dealer) she suggested I keep it a single band wheel.

These are the toys that came with wheel: an Ashford Lazy Kate, a giant Kniddy Knoddy and a carder brush. She also gave me a stack of older Spin Off magazines and all of her spinning notes from when she attended a spinning class.
This is not laundry: This is a lovely pile of pillow cases and paper bags full of fleeces that were sold to my sister and I at an unbearably cheap cost from a friend who acknowledged that she has not spun in some time and that she was ready to part with them. My sister Beth washed up a lock of each and all I can say is WOW! I just have to decided if I'm going to clean them myself or have them processed.

Kid 3: This is a picture of kid 3 in the new t-shirt I bought him. I don't know, call me crazy but I just thought it was hysterical. Funny on many levels.

FFBE Package has arrived

2007-10-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

I just got my FFBE exchange gift and it is sooooo heavy. I can't wait to open it but I have to leave right now for 7th grade Open House. I guess it will be more fun to open it when the kids are asleep anyway! Thanks FFBE Buddy! Pictures to follow:

We made it through another week!

2007-10-10T21:30:00.000-07:00

My house made it through another week! I will say that the 2nd week of getting up at 5am is going much smoother than expected. My husband still laughs at me though. I believe he said with his best Scooby Doo voice "Yikes Shaggy! It's a zombie!" as I walked down our hallway the other evening. I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

Kid 1 had a great Field Hockey tournament on Saturday. The team came in 3rd place overall in the tournament. I will also mention that a boy came to watch the game with a poster with her name and player number on it. She made it very clear he was not a boyfriend. He was polite; he came a thanked me for a bagel I bought him and shook (yes shook) my hand while making eye contact. He also came back after his own soccer game to watch the last game. The other Mom's at the field spotted the cutie and sounded the boy alarm.

Kid 2: is kid 2. I did have a conversation with our fearless scout leader that informed me of some interesting news. "Did anyone tell you that he passed out at the hospital tour? He was fine but the anesthesia room in OR was very warm, packed with people and he passed out. Staff caught him and then he became a "victim" at the OR tour." He of course denied the incident: I may have a future politician on my hands.

Kid 3: Kid 3 insisted on telling the school that there is another Charlie: Big Charlie and he lives a the E house down the street from his house. Too Cute!

Knitting & Spinning:
I have a Halloween party to go to so I'm cranking out the skeleton hat on Knitty. So Cute! It's a party being thrown by my friends who wrote my 12-step program. I think this will push them over the edge. Most of the costumes will be inappropriate and once the rum punch gets flowing they won't remember my hat anyway. I went to spinning class today and got tutored in socks by a lovely lady in class who gave me the pattern for a dutch heel. We blended yellow and blue fluff into varying shades of green. I left a note on the classroom board for my sister to tutor her sister on dye and to bring her drum carder over to play with. As of yet: there was no response.
Pictures to follow: once I get more stuff knitted.

Work & My First Wednesday without Kid 3

2007-10-03T23:05:00.001-07:00

Kids:
Have you heard about my cute kid 3? He used to be my side kick, my hero support, my Tagalog, my helper. He started school and his mother went to work on Monday. The kind of school where big kids go. And he liked it. And the school didn't call his mother. or his father. For anything. And they like him.
Work:
Work was something else on Monday. I didn't sleep well. I guess I was anticipating trying to get everyone up for school, lunches packed and the house looking like a tornado did not hit the living as we all went out the door. My phone rang at 5 am and all I could think was that the hospital was cancelling me due to low census. No it was just a concerned staffer checking to see if it was OK if I worked on the floor with patients. Now I'm thinking- duh! I went to nursing school and I'm cross trained everywhere: Mental Health Worker, CNA, Unit Secretary, Admin Assistant and soon to be nurse when the license is mailed to me. Oh No! Please don't put me with patients after spending all that time in school. Wouldn't want to use the new skills!

Then during my shift- fun patient antics occurred causing staff to take the patient down. Right about that part of my day I started thinking "Oh yeah! This is why I went on Summer Vacation."
Day 2 was moderately better- I started off working with patient (yeah) but the Unit clerk had to leave so I covered her and the desk for the rest of my shift (boo). I still got paid but that would be the hazard of being cross trained.

Mom's day off:
Today I dropped Kid 1 off at school and then kid 3 the new school. I ran to a Doctors appointment and then to a spinning class that I have been missing since I've been in school. It was dye day. It's actually all month but that will make me have to go an d buy some fluff to color and spin. I brought a drop spindle and not a wheel today- I spun some red fluff that I took to Crete with me. Eventually I will finish it. I then switched off to my sock- one of my Raverly friends teaches knitting at a LYS and attends this class. I talked to her a little bit about my sock and then turned the heel for the 3rd time. Attached is the final product except I haven't figured out how to graft the 2 sides together yet. Sock 2 to follow. It doesn't seem so painful now that one is actually completed.

I then went to Weight Watchers meeting: down 4.2 lbs. That was followed by meeting Medic M. for lunch, picking up kids from school and grocery shopping. I watched a little bit of t.v. tonight but mostly just worked on the sock and it fits me!

The rest of the week is filled: Friday I have penciled in the Knit Together at Starbucks and errands. I have to get all of it done now otherwise it has to wait until next Wednesday. After spinning class of course! Saturday each kid has an event somewhere- all over different parts of the County. Luckily Family is helping out!

Adios for now!

BTW I saw a little Louet- double treadle in class today and it was very cute. Definitely Christmas list cute.

Kid 3 & Preschool & that SOCK!!!

2007-09-29T10:23:00.000-07:00

I found a preschool for kid 3.

A Mom moment: Kid 3 has a had a hard time at preschool. In fact the day the school called me to come get him was the first day my husband was back from Crete. Kid 3 has had to adjust to Daddy not being around for 2 years, Mom going to school and kid 1 & 2's schedules. But I have found a preschool, willing and able to take the child. It's a small Lutheran school with only 8 kids in a class. This is much smaller than his other school. The director also has a young child with older siblings like mine with similar issues. Don't get me wrong Kid 3 is not an evil child or the spawn of Satan. He's just not used to kids his size. So what does this mean?

I get to go to work- wooowhoooo! yippie! I have a schedule! I planned it all out: days I work, days kid 3 is in school, gym time, w.w., days of local knit together meetings, and spinning class. I have also plugged kid 1 & 2, sports, confirmation classes, and my husbands schedule! I know my schedule through 2008 and my husband can't mess it up by going to a fire for days!
(Please don't think I can't be spontaneous though- I can; I just know where everyone is supposed to be)When did going to work become a thrill? I think right around the time I figured out I drive to the High school 5 times a day. Seriously...5 times. I gave kid 1 the Drivers handbook. I sooooooooooo can't wait for work for Monday!

A Knitting Moment: That Freaking sock!I put it down for the night and came back refreshed. I managed to turn the heel and pick up the gusset with the help of a knit picks video. I had knit all the way to start the decreases for the toe when one of my boys dragged the sock down the hall attached to his shoe, pulling the stitches off the needles. I was able to save itand I let the child live. I picked up all of the stitches I'm supposed to have but now I don't know which needle was which. I started the second sock and will probably end up ripping the 1st sock out and start over. It's not that difficult to knit socks as long as you do what the pattern says and don't think about it. That was a hard concept to get over too for me!

A Blog moment:I will be blogging on Wednesdays for a while: It's part of the having a schedule and strucutre. So if I have any devoted readers other than my best friend who I force to read my blog , I have not fallen off the face of the earth, I am merely pretending to have structure.

FFBE Topic of the week.....

2007-09-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

As of this weekend, the season has officially changed on the calendar - but what makes Autumn feel like Autumn to you, and why?

California doesn't have a true Autumn but my family travels to Julian to pick apples for our annual homemade canning of applesauce and apple slices (all sugar free) to last us through the year. We drop by Downtown Julian for berry cider and snacks to take home. It's usually still warm but if we hang around in the mountains long enough (early evening) it might require us wearing mittens and hats. While preparing to can all those apples at home my children make "good" apple pie and sauce with my Dad. The kids don't eat store bought pie or applesauce (SNOBS).
We usually decorate 2 days before Halloween; We cover my parents house top to bottom with decorations, a talking spirit ball, and fog machines. Since I live so close to my parents, we leave a map on our front door: The ghosts have found a new haunt. Come visit us if you dare.

The Last Lecture: Randy Pausch: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

2007-09-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

I was forwarded this lecture from a friend. If you are looking for a little perspective on life, this certainly gives it. There are multiple messages that are in Randy Pausch lecture and can fit almost any one's life.There is an 18 minute video of his "final lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University available at ABCnews.com. Here is a portion of his lecture and interview with Diane Sawyer.

Yarn Harlot Sock pattern

2007-09-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

Not sure why but I was inspired to attempt the Yarn Harlot's sock pattern this afternoon. I dug out some #2 needles and some well stashed knit picks sweet tart sock yarn and went for it. I will admit, I was nervous and may have even cast on 3 times before I was happy with my start. OK really, I cast on and then went straight to knitting in the round totally bypassing the pattern that said k2 p2 for 2 inches. OOPS! This probably would not have been a huge problem if I knew where I was going with this sock. So I've reached knit 7 inches, saved a dropped stitch and tried knitting the heel flap. Now I'm back to 7 inches after ripping my heel flap out. Due to lack of brain cells at this hour- I'm calling it quits tonight because I can't get the heel flap. It does look oddly like it might actually fit a human being, with right gauge and everything. If worse comes to worse, I'll turn it into a leg warmer! (I probably still have to knit another one though huh?)

Rainy Day Saturday

2007-09-22T14:44:00.000-07:00

Kid 3 is in swimming lessons right now at a local pool on Saturday mornings. I thought with our big Southern CA storm that the pool would be closed today. I called the pool though yesterday just to double check and the pool only closes for thunder and lightening. Neither were occurring this morning when I woke my son up.

I bribed him into the pool- yes bribed. "Honey if you get in the pool and swim in the rain, we'll go straight to Starbucks for hot chocolate and the book store when we're done." I ran in to get the new Crazy Aunt Purl Book, a book for my FFBE buddy, and of course a book for the kid. I also picked up the Knit Simple magazine from Vogue knitting. Let me tell how long it's been since I bought a magazine-a really long time. I found this great sweater in it and though I'll whip it up. It's called the tie back pullover if you have the magazine. I went online to find the yarn: if I use the yarn they did it will cost me close to $300 with a just in case ball of yarn. The yarn is a mohair,rayon silk blend which will probably cause me to wheeze as I knit it so it's just as well. I'm just trying to figure out what yarn will work for me. (Gauge is 18 sts and 22 rows to 4"-is this every patterns gauge? or just the patterns I consistently knit?)

The other book called "Knitting Nell" I picked up at the The Bonita Knitting Store. It's a very cute book about a little girl who knits.

Never Ending Shawl

2007-09-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this 2-person shawl. I emailed the photo of my yarn to Cherry Tree Hill to find out that this yarn is called Oceania and the colorway is potluck. I was knitting it on size 8 29" bamboo circular needles but the deeper I got into this project I started looking for longer needles. I have currently knit 32 inches from the cast on of 4 stitches. I've called everywhere trying to find longer needles and thought I was blessed to hear that Knitting in La Jolla had them. I had errands to run in La Jolla today so this yarn shop was convenient to where I needed to go. I learned that longer needles only come in metal. I realize the set I bought was Addi Turbo(lots of people like them) in a size 8 47", but I DO NOT LIKE METAL NEEDLES. I keep slipping my stitches and they just feel awkward to me. I love bamboo. I just wasn't patient enough to read every line of knit picks online and wait for them to get here.

Trapped at Home...

2007-09-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am trapped at home. I have windows to look out of but I have basically been home. Kid 3 decided to wake up with an ear infection on Monday morning. Other than dropping & picking kids up at school this week we have been home. Home long enough to clean house, load and unload the dishwasher, and laundry, and clean cabinets and old appliances out. I killed every small appliance I own yesterday.

I had all this time yesterday, I decided to use my homegrown basil plants to make pesto. Good idea except my 19Th century food processor would not turn on,my other blender smelled funny when the motor ran, my solo blender wouldn't make it a smooth consistency and my hand blender didn't do anything either. Either way, the pesto came out looking scary and chunky but tasted good. My Daughter and Father are both good sports and ate Penne pasta with Pesto goop. Eat your heart out Rachel Ray! To escape the boredom, I forced my children to help me take pictures of my Padre knitting: Fishtail lace scarf. Here is Kid 2 & Kid 3 on our playground holding my knitting. Kid 1 opened our living room window to ask what I was forcing her brothers to do. This is not 2 complete balls of Opal Merino Washable wool. Do I keep knitting or call it quits?

Grown Up Visits and Nighttime knitting

2007-09-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

This evening I met a new friend from the parent co-op preschool: Mrs. S. at Starbucks to talk about adventures in nursing school and kids. I was able to escape at the beginning of the Charger/Patriots game and ran to the newer Starbucks in the Village of La Mesa. The conversation was great and this Starbucks looked like a great study haven. They had tall booths and big chairs. I will be back to study!

When I returned home, my husband had already put kid 3 to bed. Kid 3 immediately popped out of bed because he needed a hug and another story. I complied , like the good mother I try to be and went about the rest of my night. So I thought. My husband actually fell asleep, in our bed at 8:30. This is not like him at all. He's been coughing and sneezing since he came home late Saturday night. He normally is a very light sleeper and would jump up to chase kid 3 back to his room. He didn't budge!

After the 4Th time of scooting kid 3 back to bed, I gave up and made a camp outside his bedroom door. Even though kid 3 pleaded, "Mom go to your room (very whiny)" I sat outside his door to stop the bathroom, water breaks to keep sleep away.

This too is from my stash. I know it's a Cherry Tree Hill yarn and the pattern is called the Never Ending shawl. It's a shawl intended for 2 people, which I thought would be cozy for winter evenings at any sporting event the kids might have. I'm going to have to say this is mindless knitting; the pattern is not terribly taxing. With over 1,000 yards of yarn who knows when I'll finish it. Let's just hope there aren't many more late nights of sitting on the floor to knit.

Mason Dixon Knitting Book & Winter Ball entertainment

2007-09-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

Gee! Can you tell what new book I bought recently? I've been reading Kelly Petkun's blog Yarn Rambles.
She knit her grandson a weeks worth of kimonos which were just too cute and I thought that would be the perfect solution to the pregnancy epidemic going on around my neighborhood and work. I'm not known for my color work knitting so I started these "Ballband Dishcloths" to test out my book and my patience at Kid 2's Winter ball game.
It was actually fun to knit- aside from the fact it these are made out of peaches and creme cotton. The pair cost me $2.00 to make since Michael's was having a sale on cotton. The kimono is next but that will be knit of Denim Freedom Cotton made by Twilleys of Sanford from the stash.

Crochet book from Japan

2007-09-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

My neighbor and her son spent the summer in Japan visiting family. When she came back she gave me this really cool book on how to make animal kitchen scrubbers. Now I just need to translate the patterns to english. Any takers?

Happy Birthday James!

2007-09-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today is Kid 2's 12Th birthday. He is busy working at the 2 nd Annual Duck Drop with his Boy Scout troop. When I last saw him,he was serving up snow cones and nachos. I'm throwing an impromptu birthday party since my husband is at the Pine Fire and on his way to another brush fire and didn't get Padre/Giant tickets as previously planned for his party. Look Out Shakey's here we come!

BTW- Kid 2 invited 2 girls to his party...on his own..pictures to follow....

Stash Managment

2007-09-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

Somebody call a Dr!

I have cleaned out all my stash places. I'm sorry for you devoted fans of eyelash and fun fur and remnants of how to knit kits. These items are out of here! I'm not the Afghan knitting kind- where was my head when I bought this yarn? I have determined that synthetic fibers are not my thing or texture. Give me alpaca, or silk or cashmere.

I think I'll blame Raverly for this inspiration to go through my stash. I'm trying to take pictures and inventory my stash. I think I've also become a yarn snob since learning of more luxurious fiber contents. No offense I've just moved on.

The ladies at church today were the recipients of 4 (FOUR) kitchen garbage bags filled to the brim of yarn. New and left over skeins from projects past.

EVERYONE TAKE A BREATH NOW! SMELL THE ROSES AND BLOW OUT THE BIRTHDAY CANDLES!

I can actually see projects in the yarn I've kept. How cool!

Heather’s 12 Steps to Yarn Addiction

2007-09-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

Recently, a friend discovered my yarn stash. This person not only helps by purchasing yarn for me when he travels, but wanted to help me from my addiction issues. This was written by my friend, especially for me but perhaps others may benefit from it's profound wisdom.

Heather’s 12 Steps to Yarn Addiction
1. We admitted we were powerless to our addiction – that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Come to believe that a power greater then ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of a higher power.
4. Made a search and fearless moral inventory of ourselves and not our yarn.
5. Admitted to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs and our addiction to fibers.
6. We're entirely ready to have help to remove all these defects of character and say good by to our yarn.
7. Humbly asked to remove our shortcomings and the Yarn.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed with all of our constant knitting of silly hats and jackets and become willing to make amends to them.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continue to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admit it and stop knitting.
11. Sought through meditation and lost of conscious contact with others try to understand them and how they suffer from my addiction.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening and our knitting needles taken away as the result of these steps we tried to carry this message to other addicts and to practice these principles on a daily basis.

Getting to know you questions....

2007-09-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

My Secret Pal thought it might be kind of fun to do a random get to know you better questionnaire -- as sort of an ice breaker to learning more about each other.

1. Were you named after anyone? No
2. Birth place? Greensburg, PA
3. If you suddenly could never knit again (shudder) - what would you do instead? Sing
4. What are your nicknames? Stalker or Den Mom (there definite stories that go with those names though
5. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? 50/50
6. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Blue Bubble gum with gumballs and preferably with warm marshmallow topping.
7. If you could travel anywhere in the world - where would you go and why? India- I have recently met some incredible people from there and would love to visit.
8. A Person you look up to most? My parents
9. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My need to keep a schedule
10. One word that describes you? Organized (or tired)
11. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
12. What is the weather like right now? Sunny and in the high 70's
13. Last person you talked to on the phone? My daughter- she lost her cell phone in the house and I answered it.
14. When you were little - What did you want to do "when you grew up?" Are you doing it? I think I wanted to be a marine biologist and a nurse. I'm doing 1/2 of it.
15. Favorite Drinks? Starbucks lingo: Venti NF SF Vanilla/Hazelnut or Cinnamon Dolce Latte extra hot and double cupped.
16. Favorite sport? Triathlon
17. Favorite Food? Thai
18. Last Movie You Watched? I'd like to admit it was a grown up movie but Alas it was Thunderbirds with my 4 y/o.
19. Most money spent on 1 pair of shoes? Just today-$80 on a pair of running shoes- holding out for Minolo's.
20. What Book Are You Reading? Eat, Pray, Love (still)
21. Computer Screen Wallpaper? Downtown Chania, Crete Greece
22. What Did You Watch Last night on TV? The Hills and Greek-My daughter was cleaning up our DVR.
23. Favorite Smells? Fresh Baked Bread or Coffee
24. What's the farthest you've been from home? Crete,Greece
25. Where is your favorite knitting spot? Anywhere

Knitting indulgence weekend!

2007-09-07T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today after I dropped kid 1 & 2 at school, kid 3 and I went to a knit together at Starbucks in Santee. It was good fun. There were 6 of us I think, plus kid 3, I got a few more row knit on my FFBE bag. I then ran around town, getting my hair cut, shopping for a new phone, and picking kids up from school. Somehow though, I acquired 2 extra teenagers to take back to school for field hockey. It was fun though.

Tomorrow is the San Diego spinner and weaver guild meeting. I will be at swimming lesson though with kid 3. Following that, I'm going to the Knit together in Balboa Park. I haven't attend since before starting school and usually my calendar is not free. It also sounds like my beloved husband will be at work at least until Tuesday morning. I can bust out my stash and create my Raverly list.

Yes friends, this is what I call fun! A friend once wrote me a 12 step program for fiber addiction. If I find it, I'll post it!

Kid 1's First Field Hockey Game

2007-09-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

Kid 1 is in the braids in yellow!

Kid 1 is 10Th grade and plays High school sports. This is her first year on JV Field Hockey; last year she ran and lettered in 2 sports: cross country and track doing pole vaulting. Here are the highlights from the game and my daughter's commentary: 5-0.

"You know how some people lose their marbles; some people lose their sock; well I lost my skirt. On the field. During the game. I didn't know what to do so I played on until the ref told me to put my skirt back on."

When she ran off the field, she was laughing and a very good sport about the whole incident. The girls wear kilts with shorts underneath them so there was no nudity but her shirt is very long so you couldn't see them.

Poor Girl! This after she told me she dreamed she came to school without her field hockey equipment.

See kid 1- I do love you because I didn't put the skirt less photo up!

FFBE Contest # 2

2007-09-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

#1. The yarn for the bag:
#2. A swapper I've met: Dorothy M. (http://mommy-knitter.blogspot.com/) She's a Boston Mom who knits. She's been sucked into a tennis vortex and hasn't been knitting much.

OMG! A 3 post day

2007-09-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm posting again! I just have to vent on the wide world of Internet. I have been out all day so I may just be tired but here it goes any way. This evening I dropped my son off at Winter ball. My introduction to the Coach has been 2 emails- both approximately 2 sentences long. Basically the emails have been: Practice Tuesday 4:30 Majors Field.

There was no "Hi! My names is and I'll be your son's coach." So I emailed him 2- Sorry we're out of town and we'll back on....The second email was "so is this our normal day and time to practice?". No response from the Coach.

When I dropped him off at the field, other parents were there so I left him due to having to get Kid 1 to Field Hockey, Kid 3 to the grandparents and then over to a birthday party I was throwing for my sister's birthday and our work friends. I promptly show up at 6 p.m to the field. They are still playing ball. Did I mention this was the first day of school, I haven't looked at any paperwork from my son's teachers or his supply list? I got out of my car and told him pack it up, you have scouts at 7 p.m plus we still have to pick up your sister.

The Coach then tells my son "If you need to leave early you need to tell me so you can bat. It's going to be another week before you'll be able to." Being the mother that I am, I walked over to the field and said "Coach, He has a another commitment on Tuesdays that he has to be at at 7 p.m., it's the first day of school and he has things to get settled." I'm actually thinking though "Hey Stupid- you're yelling at an almost 12 year old boy about leaving practice after being there for 1 hr and 45 minutes. The coach then pop s off with "Well, I can move him to a different team than. Glad to have you on the team"

I walked off, called my husband chewed his ear off and then called the league organizer for Winter Ball. Basically, He said Coach has an issue with communication sometimes and try and work it out with him. He even offered to attempt to mediate the issue, I told him little league mediation was unnecessary, He just needs to improve his communication techniques. It was also implied "give him a break lady- He's been out of town and under stress". That didn't fly with me, since I've been gone and still have managed to respond to emails and let's not even talk about stress. So being the bigger person, I have left a message to discuss the communication block between us today at the field but no response yet. I also said that Kid 2 is excited to be on his team but we are a scheduled family and need a definitive window of practice, especially on school night.

The whole theme of Winter Ball is for the kids to improve their skills, and play in a more relaxed environment. (Apparently everyone expect for this Coach.)

Ok-So how evil am I? Thank you dear readers- I feel better now.

Time to chase kids to bed.

Blog Withdrawal

2007-09-04T09:38:00.001-07:00

I think I'm suffering from blog withdrawal. All of my favorites are taking care of their children, on vacation, or MIA. I must find more fun blogs. Any suggestions?

1st Day of school/FFBE

2007-09-04T09:04:00.001-07:00

Today I sent my kids to school. Kid 1 started the 10Th grade and Kid 2 the 7Th grade. It was a very low key morning for being the first day of school. Kid one started russling around at 5:45 am and kid 2 was actually up by 6:15 am. Kid 1 had a dress rehearsal for the 1st day of school on Monday- a day when most kids would still be sleeping in. She got up to curl her hair, put on make up, etc. Kid 2 put his alarm clock through a dry run on Monday, but didn't actually get up with it. Neither kid has to leave the house until 7:10 to make it to school on time. Kid 2 and our neighbor Riku walked over to the Jr. High- a whopping 4 blocks and Kid 3 and I took kid 1 to the High school. She did jump out of the car before I could drive down towards the parking lot.
(pictures to follow of 1st day of school)

This is also the 1st day of Winter ball, Boy Scouts and Field Hockey for the kids and I'm throwing a party fro my Sister with some folks from our office at the Hospital-all at the same time. Good scheduling on my part-not. The plan will be to have the office folks meet at 5 so I can run kids to where they need to be, and finish before they need picked up to take them to the next thing. I also have to factor in the list of supplies from the teachers that will be needed tomorrow, So I'll have to shop tonight. Who needs sleep?

Kid 3 and I ran to the park and got some playtime in before it gets incredibly hot again. He wanted to go home though so he could play on his playground and play in his sandbox. (Which was great because I was able to get some meal planning done for the week.)

I'm almost one complete ball of yarn into my FFBE bag (242 yards). It is a creation of my own- a little from 2 patterns I liked. I'm just nervous about felting it when I'm done. I want it to shrink but I hope it was knit large enough to make a useful bag.

Well off to the grocery store and W.W. I figured since the kids went back to school, I should go back to W.W. It's just to hot to exercise during the day though. At least it's too hot to eat too! :)

So I found the yarn shop...

2007-09-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

I searched diligently on the Internet to find a new yarn shop to go to. My daughter and I hopped in the car yesterday when it was 114 to find an area called La Quinta, where this shop was supposed to be. After getting relatively close according to my Internet directions, I called the shop. The very nice store owner and I chatted and then she told me the store closed at 3 pm. It was now past that time.

My beloved husband decided that after he cooked breakfast for the kids, we should try and go to the yarn store and breakfast .(Was this my husband?) He then bravely stood by while I shopped in the yarn store and did not cringe one bit when I picked up yarn for the Fall Felted Bag Exchange. The yarn was even on sale (50%). My husband then didn't scream or run from the store when I purchased something.

The store was called The Ultimate Point- "fine knitting yarns and unique designs" on Main street in La Quinta. Main street is not like any other "Main Street" I've stumbled on in my travels. Being married to a Firefighter, I hate not having good clear directions to get somewhere. My husband said you drive, which stressed me out about not knowing if I had good directions. After circling the block, I pulled into a funny 2-story building store complex and lucked out that the shop was actually where I pulled in the parking lot.

What did I find: This store is open and inviting with very helpful staff. They had a large table that had a few knitters working on their Saturday morning projects. I didn't find the Berrocco Hip-Hop Autumn leevz (#7256) that I wanted to use for FFBE. I did find Magallanes 100% wool Hand dyed by Araucania Yarns from Chile (Color 305). Now to find a pattern to fit my pal. She likes straps that are long enough to throw over your shoulder. The pattern search begins. I'm actually excited to go home tomorrow so I can go throw my yarn stuff and create and inventory on Raverly.

Did you know Palm Springs is having a heat spell?

2007-08-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

I know that sounds a little funny since it is a desert town. But it has been between 112-123 degrees here. I thought I was in the free and clear because when we got here it was only a 100. My kids and I braved the outdoors this morning to run to the pool and then came back to the air conditioning. The kids all retreated to putting on layers of clothing due to how cold it was in the condo. My husband and I then ran off to the Resort Bartending 101 class which taught us how to make margaritas, Mai tai's and mojito's. I sounds like I'm a drinker but I'm not. I'm actually ready to curl up in a ball and fall asleep. I should take the kids back to the pool soon though. It is still 112 degrees at 7 pm at night and expected to be that hot until around 11 p.m. My husband escaped though just before 6 to run home to check on things: the animals, his green backyard, my herbs and plants. Not to mention that he has to pick up some football tickets for a friend.

I think it was just his way of getting out of these extreme temperatures. Wimp! It is only 79 at home.

I have gotten some knitting done today and am almost ready to join a new ball of yarn to the Padre knitting. If I had planned better, I should have brought a blanket project to keep warm whle we watched movies. Things to remember for next year!

FFBE Contest Questionaire

2007-08-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

1. What is your favorite yarn for felting, and why?
Lambs Pride Wool- Because the first time I felted that's what the yarn shop suggested.

2. Name one person in the swap who is not from the U.S. and tell us where they are from, and link to their blog.
Chrissie P., Singapore http://ghostknitter.blogspot.com/

3. Find one person in the swap who has a dog, and let us know the name of their dog(s) and link to their blog.
Vicki - Her dogs are: Bart and Duchess http://nanauvthree.blogspot.com/

4. Find one person in the swap who has a child or grandchild and link to their blog.
Dorothy M. http://mommy-knitter.blogspot.com/

5. And finally, tell us if you like October or November more, and why! (Yea, I know part of September and November are technically fall, but for this question, only October and November matter!)
I love October- We actually go crazy and decorate my parents home with decorations-complete with Fortune teller head with a microphone so you can talk to visitors and spook them. Not to mention my 3rd Kid picks nontraditional costumes- Last year he was a Shark and this year I'm hearing possible an alligator.

Vacationing is a lot of work

2007-08-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

I was very fortunate that I got to run away for the week to go cruise the Caribbean with my girlfriend Jeri and her friend Michelle. But it was work. I mean serious work. Let me start off by saying the the previously posted Padre knitting had a horrible demise just before my trip. My beloved 3rd child decided it would be fun to pull it off the needles and rip it out for his mom. So I took it with me on the trip to attempt to start over. My red eye flight was great, except for the man with sleep apnea on the plane seated directly behind me. I kept waiting for him to start breathing again, my travel buddy couldn't not watch his respirations so we did not sleep or knit on that flight.

When we finally made it to Orlando, we met up with Michelle who was flying in from Clovis. I had to partake in a welcome aboard drink, which then reminded me why knitting and drinking don't mix. I was done with the sun after we disembarked from Orlando and went downstairs to knit and listen to music. I unfortunately fell asleep in the piano lobby and had accomplished very bad knitting. So i ripped it out.

Did I mention I was traveling with non-knitters? (I know- I'm crazy to travel with non fiber folk). Since I am not a sun worshiper, I hid reading and knitting. When I finally got my knitting back on track I had almost finished a complete ball of opal merino. So the photo is how far I got to re knit my Padre knitting.

I'm still on vacation but this time with my family. My boys and I came out to Palm Springs yesterday to check in to the resort and hit the pool. I saw a knitter at the pool so I swam over to chat a bit, see what she was making. She is a New York yarn shop owner and she asked if I would be interested in knitting samples. So I have a date to meet with her today at the pool to talk about it. She said "You knit for fun? I knit for money." I think she implied that I may be a little off.

My plans for the week are to visit a few yarn shops out here, finish some more knitting and relax. Kid 1's Dad had the pleasure (purely sarcastic) of taking her to 10Th grade registration to pick up her books for school. The boys are watching a movie while I type and start my laundry. How glamorous! That's all for now.

BTW: My FFBE buddy sent me a very cute e card and I finally contacted my buddy. This should be fun!

Vacation

2007-08-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

All right folks! I'm going on vacation- No kids, Husband, dogs, school books or computer. Details to follow. I plan to knit, read and have some fun even if in the midst of Hurricane Dean.

BTW I'm on Ravelry now too!

Fall Felted Bag Exchange Questionaire

2007-08-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

How long have you been knitting or crocheting? How did you learn? or from whom?
I've been knitting approximately 7 years. I started off going to a crochet guild to make a baby blanket for my girlfriend's first baby and thought I can do this, How hard could knitting be? I liked knitting so much more. I went to a local yarn shop called Needlecraft Cottage in Pacific Beach and whipped up a knitted baby blanket: Seed stitch border with a solid knit center.
What was your first felted object, and why did you decide to try felting?
I felted a purse, and I think I did because of peer pressure. Everyone in my spinning class was doing it, so I tried it.
What are your favorite colors? Any you hate?
My favorite colors are Blues and greens. Barbie Pink is not my favorite.
What are your favorite styles\types of bags? (Long straps? Short handles? Handbags? Totes? Embellished? Plain? Include links to patterns or photos if you’d like – give your pal an idea of what you enjoy!)
Oregon Tote from knitkit.com: It's long handled and good sized. PackySack from knitkit.com- the small and medium size are cool. The doctor's bag from @ knitpicks.com looks cool. There's a cool entralac bag too. Anything.....
What handbag or bag are you carrying today? Do you use a separate bag to carry your knitting?
An Eagle Creek Purse or a North Face backpack. My yarn lives in Ziploc: Quart size or Gallon depending on the project.
What other things do you enjoy knitting or crocheting?
I love lace: I have been doing lots of lace scarves, feather and fan, dutch lace, fishtail. I have 2 sweaters on the needles and some socks I have to start over on: I goofed on the heel.
What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)
Mostly Bamboo circs, or bamboo straight
What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?
An actual finished object of a sweater of human proportions.
What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?
Cashmere
What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden?
Spinning; drop spindle and wheel, walking marathons, traveling, reading, playing with my kids.
Growing herbs.
Besides yarn, do you collect anything? Flattened pennies. I'm down sizing other stuff to keep my stash
What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?
Starbucks, Sweet and Salty, no allergies
Do you have any kiddos? (Furry kind count!) 3 kids: Girl 15, Boy almost 12, Boy almost 5, 2 Labradors: Sophie and Pierce....I guess I could put my husband in there too!
What kind of project best personifies you and why?
I think having just finished nursing school and actually knitting a uterus, the human anatomy patterns probably personifies me for the moment. It's quirky and unexpected. Here's the GI system: shock value is half the fun. People make fun of me and call me granny because I knit so if their granny can knit this she rocks!
http://www.strangebuttrewe.com/knitGI.htm
What is your favorite part of Autumn? You can also share a special Autumn memory if you'd prefer! I live in California so Autumn is when the temperature drops a little, and kids have to wear sweaters in the morning. My favorite memory is taking Christmas pictures of my children in November; the littlest was 2 years old and they were stacked on top of each other in a pile of autumn leaves.
Tell us 3 things you would do if you won 10 million dollars in the lottery
1. Philanthropy stuff: Church & local hospital, Burn Institute, Boy Scout troop
2. Start a school program exposing kids to textiles, weaving and fiber
3. Splurge and have a studio for my fiber habit and invite guilds to share the space with the same habit.

Tammy & Hudson's Wedding

2007-08-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Kid 1 and Tammy the Bride

Yesterday my family was in one of best friend's weddings. It was a beautiful ceremony and she was a beautiful bride. The wedding was at the Mission Valley Resort and went of without a hitch.The reception was fun and all of my kids had a great time. I brought my Padre's knitting just in case there was a few extra minutes of down time while waiting for bridal stuff to happen. I also brought clothes just in case I got finished early to run up to the Knit together in Balboa Park. I was so exhausted after a day of dancing that I came home and slept. When I finally did wake up, I ran around finishing packing kid 2 for Boy Scout Camp. I got his bag packed, I just hope he can get it home the same way. Here are Kid 2 and 3:

Kid 3 and Grandfather of the bride dancing

Kid 2 dancing in the "Man Dance" aka Staying alive

Tammy's Bachelorette Party

2007-08-04T20:50:00.001-07:00

The mariachi band played a sad love song for the bride to be. She only understood the word Amor (love) though. Was it the maragarita or just poor spanish speaking skills?

1st Margarita

Tonight was my good friend's bachelorette party at Case de Pico. This restaurant was in Old Town and now is in La Mesa. Technically we are not mourning her marrying Hudson because they celebrate their 1 year anniversary of marriage on the 8Th of August. So here are the crazy pictures, which I a merely taking since I work in the morning and did not drink like the bride to be.

My Padre's game knitting

2007-08-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the fish tail scarf that I started at the Giants/Padres game last night. Since I was in a hurry to leave the house I used this Gems Opal merino yarn in crab apple from my stash. I bought it at Lakeside Knit & Stitch when it was 50% off. It also claims to be machine washable and dryable, always a plus. I cast on during batting practice and knit through the 4th inning. The pattern I found at http://www.knittingwisdom.com/stitches/fishtail-lace.htm

Padres vs. SF Giants

2007-08-03T23:25:00.000-07:00

The San Francisco Giants played the San Diego Padres tonight at Pet Co Park and I took kid 2 to hopefully see Barry Bonds tie or break the all time home run record. The Padres tied the game up in the 8Th inning 3-3. Finally winning in the 10Th. Every time Barry was at the plate to hit there was nothing but noise. But he couldn't do it. I did get some knitting done though. I cast on and started a fishtail lace scarf during batting practice in a very cool fuchsia yarn from my stash.

The Orange hat & Baby Cameron

2007-08-02T22:18:00.001-07:00

Here is another knitted finished object, being worn by my new pal Cameron. His mom and Dad are some of the most awsome poeple I know. Cam decided to make his entrance into the world a lot sooner than expected. Cam's color is orange- thus the hat and his very busy mom is working on an orange blanket. I was so excited to meet him yesterday, that I ran home, knit this up over night and ran back so he wouldn't out grow it over night. He's growing like a weed. I'm excited that I have a new little person to knit for! I can't wait to see him with his brothers and sisters!

Feather and Fan Scarf

2007-07-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

Here is an actual knitted finished object, post school might I add. This is a feather and fan scarf made of all the yarn exchanged at Margaret's Spinning class (18 months ago-at least).

Palm Springs & Betty Ford

2007-07-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here is kid 1 and 3 at the pool in Palm Springs. We have discovered zinc oxide from lifeguard camp so here they are sporting it. Kid 2 was on his own adventure in Boston with JrNYLC so he missed the hot and humid days.

If you are up on your current events: The buzz in Palm Springs was that dear Ms. Lohan was also in the area. Kid 1 showed her support (possibly sarcastic) for Lindsay. Can you read it?

Let me help......

Now here is the picture of kid 1 acknowledging that she has a problem and maybe she should check in too....

Fat Rant

2007-07-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this? I just chuckled when I watched this video because I have been in a store where I could only by socks and hair clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUTJQIBI1oA

Sorry guys...I'm not high tech enough to put it in my blog ...yet

First Blog/Update on life

2007-07-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well...After playing with a my space page that my daughter set up for me, I have decided to enter the world of blogging. I couldn't get all of my pictures just so or conquer the the layout to try and post pictures of some of my most current projects. I know some of my friends think I never finish projects so we'll just claim this blog site is for evidence the F.O. (finished objects) exist.

I'm done with school and actually graduated on July14Th, so instead of watching life, I'm a participant again! Yippee!! My crazy girlfriend from Arizona came and out to celebrate with me. I also had the kids:1,2,& 3 (thanks to MK, I like numbering my kids now), my husband Steve, Mom, Dad, Sister and Jeri to watch this amazing graduation ceremony. Hard to believe that out of 3 guest speakers, they were able to get sputum, bedpan and death all worked into their speeches. Wonders never cease! We had lunch at Bucca De Beppo's Downtown and then went home to begin the party.

The party continued on Sunday night at Emiliano's- a great Mexican restaurant that someone from baseball told us about. 3 shots of tequila and a midori margarita later all the ladies at our table were feeling better than great. (One of them doesn't believe the stories of what happened there either :) )

I really shouldn't be writing but kid 1 is at XC running the lake, kid 2 should be packing for a trip to Boston, and kid 3 is running around packing for our trip to Palm Springs. So far he has 10 story books, a pillow, and a beach towel with the map of Crete on it. I think he might be lacking in a few items. Not to mention that I have a Bridal Shower to go to tomorrow.