I've been to mecca .....

My hubby had the week off so we decided to take a little trip up to Mass and check out some museums in Springfield, MA. This group of museums is referred to as the quadrangle consisting of 4 different museums all for one admission price.

You know you knit too much when you look at this piece in the museum of fine arts and think .... gee I wonder how much yarn that would hold .....
Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr Seuss is from Springfield so there are a couple sculptures of his amazing characters in the center courtyard. As always I was amazed by the parents who let their kids walk all over this artwork even though there were signs everywhere saying to stay off.
We stayed overnight in West Springfield and the next day took a little trip up Rt 5 to Web's. Like a kid in a candy store! Seriously it would be easy to spend $500 without blinking an eye. Only $95.00 so I think I did well. Online sock yarn was $7.49 a skein, Meilenweit was only $9.70. Bargins! Ella Rae was on clearance for $2.99 a skein. Think I'll make myself a hat, mitten, scarf set since I realized yesterday that I don't have a winter hat, scarf, or mittens. How sad is that? It's like the shoemaker's kids having to go barefoot. The tofutsies was on clearance for $11.20. I've never used it so why not give it a try. And the one thing I love the most is that skein of green sock yarn at the bottom. It's named Fried Green Tomatoes. Love the movie and had to have the yarn.

I managed to finish clue #4 of the sotsii. I printed off clue 5 last night. The group is on clue 6 so I'm not that far behind.

On our way back home we stopped with the intent of picking up W and N to spend the weekend at our house. I had called the night before and N was sick with a temp of 102. By the time we got there yesterday W was also ill with the same temp. We stayed and visited for a couple hours. I spent most of the time sitting on the couch rubbing backs and talking.

N hasn't been eating anything so in his small little 3 yr old voice he said, "Gram, could you get me some cereal?" I went in the kitchen to ask his mom and came out with a bowl of dry cereal. "Gram, could I have a shrek bowl?" Back in the kitchen to transfer the cereal into a green bowl with shrek ears. "Gram I could use some water." So back to the kitchen to get him some water and that's when my daughter came out with, "What are you? N's Lorax? You speak for the boy because the boy can't speak?" Ummm yes .... I'm Gram and my job is to cater to grand kids. And I'm very good at it too.

Snowing here. Suppose to get 7-8" so I'll be starting on clue 5 for sure.

Think I've knit enough baby socks

These are the last 3 pair. I think I've knit enough baby socks for a while. They were fun but I'm on to lace knitting for a while.
58 pair total being mailed off the Afghans for afghans.
I'm almost done with clue #4 on my sotsii. No pictures as it's currently in time out due to a dropped stitch 7 rows before the end of the clue. Knit some, tink some, knit some more. Oh well.
Charlie says: Well of course I need to sit here. It's a box. Cat's love boxes.

Merrily we knit along

that is when we aren't ripping back ..... like these lovely Jaywalkers. Got finished with the leg last night and oops couldn't get them on over my foot. Rip .... change to size 2 needles and start over. Love the yarn so it's a joy to work on them.

I finished clue #2 on my secret stole. Lovely patterns but the size of the pattern makes it a little hard to work with. Clue 4 came out Friday so I'm still behind but I'll get back to working on it after I finish my jaywalkers and hopefully finish with everyone else. The nice thing about being behind is that all the errors in the pattern are caught before I print the clue. What can you say about black socks? They are socks. They are black. They are boring to work on. They don't seem to be moving along.
Just finishing putting together a couple of exchange packages to everything I'm supose to be sending out for contests, exchanges, and whatever should be out next week.

The shower is all set. Hubby went back to the store where we bought it and they gave him a clip. It's a new type of faucet so when Jeff installed it and turned it off and on a half dozen times it worked just fine. He does mostly commercial work so we all learned something new on this. And what did Moen have to say? Well they haven't responded back to my email so I've got to think they don't care.

D3 got hit in the parking lot at Walmart Saturday. I was sweating it out all weekend praying that the people that hit her had valid insurance. I called their company Monday and yes they do have coverage the the adjuster will be contacting us about repairs. Entire back door is trashed and doesn't open. That's ok. D3 and S1 were fine and that's all that counts.

Saturday was also W's 5th birthday. Very exciting stuff. Can't believe he's been around for 5 yrs. What did I do without him? I bought him and his brother those big balls with the handle that you sit on and bounce around. It took a while but they got the hang of it. If only those came in adule sizes .... looked like fun!

Dear Moen

I just felt the need to contact you to let you know how disappointed I am in your customer service. I purchased a replacement shower set and decided on Moen because you are know for quality products. I had a plumber install the new set. Perfect until the first use. Water started pouring out the back of the handle. The plumber felt this was due to a missing part.

My husband contact you by phone on Friday. When asked if there was some kind of clip to hold the unit in the correct position you knowledgable tech answered, "gee I don't know." Gee, thanks for all that great help.

Second call after consulting with the plumber again resulted in a tech who said that yes there was a part missing and yes it would be shipped out ....and you should receive it in 4-7 days. When asked if it could be shipped quicker since it was your fault that the set was missing parts he was told that for $12.95 it could be overnighted.

So thank you for allowing me to spend money purchasing your product, paying to have it installed, and then not having use of it until you send me the missing part. It's a pleasure to have to wire the part into place so that I can turn on the water in the rest of the house without having the bathroom flooding. I love having a shower that I can not use while waiting for the part.

Ghost!

5elementknitr had a posting about experiences with ghosts and at the end she asked if anyone had a ghost story to share. Interesting timing because I had just told my family about the ghost cat that has been hanging around.

First let me start off by saying that I don't believe in ghosts. I've never believed in ghosts. But for the past couple months I've had a playful spirit that I think is a tricky cat hanging around in my room.

I have always felt that cats will live in a house with anyone but they always choose one person as their actual owner. Out of my current batch of cats my cat is Joey. He always hangs around me and every night after I'm in bed he will jump up at the foot of the bed, walk up my left side, and settle in for a nights sleep with his head resting on my left hip. When I'm on vacation he's lost without me.

So a couple months ago I went to bed and within a minute there's Joey jumping up on the bed. He walked to around my knee and stopped. I looked up and there was no Joey. Not only that but the door was closed so he couldn't have gotten in the room. I got up, opened the door and there was Joey waiting to come in.

Hummm maybe I was developing restless leg syndrome but I could have sworn that I felt the weight of this 14 lb cat on the bed. And then it happen a few more time. It's not threatening or frightening. More like something playing a trick on me.

I've been owned by a couple other cats in the past. My daughter thinks it might be my cat Ebby who was killed 12 yrs ago or maybe Willie who disappeared 4 yrs ago. Me? I'm not sure what to make of the whole thing. I don't believe in ghosts but there is certainly an interesting entity who seems to be playing with me.

An overcast day

Which means the pictures are awful. I finished clue 1 of SOSII yesterday. Only had to frog once when my count wasn't correct. I did a k3tog instead of a k2tog. That's what happens when you don't put down the lace when you get tired.

This is my lace knitting set up. Old stand formally used to hold paper when typing with a cookie sheet on it. A ton of magenits and magnetic business cards holding and marking everything. And coffee ..... lots of coffee.
My cat Oscar is a little pissy about it because she usually jumps up on the couch, walks across that table and the arm of the loveseat, and sleeps on the back of the loveseat. Now she has to just jump up on the arm of the loveseat and be done with it. Oscar is not happy.

Casted on and started the ribbing on my jaywalkers last night. I was watching the latest Harry Potter movie so lace knitting was out.

I was digging in my cabinet last night for something and found some yeast. Best if used by May 2003. Humm 5 yr old yeast isn't good so I emptied out the jar and recycled it.

This one is funny. We use to shop at Krogers when I lived in Ohio. I moved from Ohio 31 yrs ago so these bay leaves are at a minimum 31 yrs old. Probably should have thrown them out too but I didn't. Too nostalgic so I put them back in the cabinet.

Kid stuff

N: Gram I'm going to pick out your socks today.

Me: Ok.

N: I like picking out your socks because they have a lot of colors. I'm going to eat good food so that my feet grow bigger and then I'm going to take all your socks.

Me: Well then what will I wear if you take all my socks?

N: You'll just have to make more socks.

Me: Why don't I just make more socks for you when your feet grow bigger?

N: Because I don't like to wait.

N in his auntie's glasses: "These glasses soooo make me look older than 3. And I look smarter too. Now if only I could see more than 3" in front of my face."



W called yesterday. I asked how school was and he said, "Pants". I asked if he had played with Caleb and he answered "Pants." Hummm so the answer to every question would be pants. This could be fun.



"What did you eat for lunch?" "What do frogs wear on their heads?" "What do you use to paddle across the lake?" "What do you swing on at the playground?" After the 6th question he was laughing so hard he couldn't talk any more.

W says: Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where the answer to every question is as simple as pants.

I was driving down the road and the light up ahead was red so I stopped to let 5 cars turn down a sidestreet. The guy behind me flipped me the finger. Asshole! Not like we were going anywhere anyways.

Terrible pics today. Too overcast for anything. Picking thru clue 1 of my secret of the stole II. I just finished tinking back 2 rows and found my mistake right at the beginning of the row. I knit 3 together instead of 2. Knew I should have put the lace aside when the news came on. Oh well, the count should be fine now and I might finish clue 1 today.
Only need 2 more repeats on the lace scarf to finish to 6". Then all I'll have to do is hide the ends and block. We all know how long that'll take.

No picture of the black socks. I'm to the heel flap on the first sock and really bored.

More to life than baby socks

Somehow life goes on without baby sock knitting. I will not lie to you and say that it's been an easy transition. I started back on the scarf I was knitting for my neice for christmas. Love the pattern but not crazy about the yarn. She's a fan of the orange so she should like this. And the nice thing? It'll be done before next christmas.

Although this is now calling my name ......
880 yrds of lace weight yarn from Ray. What to make? Any suggestions? I already know it'll be for me and I will not share.

I joined a knit along on Ravelry. February's sock is the jaywalker. I think I'm probably the last person in blogworld who has not made a jaywalker. Looking over my stash of yarn I think I'll be using my prize yarn. I think it'll look so cute with red toes.

Ray's yarn shouldn't be calling to me because this is screaming every time I go into the living room. "Hey, lazy bitch. Yes you over there working on other projects. Don't be acting like you don't know me. All you need to do is hide 2 ends and block me. Just do it already. Don't keep me waiting. I'll move to the top of the loveseat at night and let Oscar sleep on me. No it's not an empty threat. I'll do it."

First fo 2008

36 baby socks for A4A.
And the prize yarn is some nice alpaca from my stash.
Nothing like waiting until the last minute to finish January socks for KAL's.

We have a winner!

Three people guessed the correct amount of socks. I finished 36 pair (and much to my hubby's delight didn't put a single pair on my fingers and say, Look they are even cute walking). By random drawing the winner is Sophanne.

The grandkids are coming any minute so I'll snap a pic of the socks and the prize yarn on Monday. Thanks everyone for playing along.

The rule is no cats on the table

Joey: Well if you didn't want me on the table then you shouldn't have left this nice comforter on it for 3 seconds. You just should have folded it and put it away. It's all your fault.
Charlie: What the heck!?!? How did I get here? OMG the sun must have been in my eyes and I thought I was jumping on the couch.
Oscar: Who gives a rat's ass about you and your stupid rules anyways. I've got this nice back of the loveseat.
Finished sock #1 of my January socks. Seems funny knitting an adult sock after so many baby ones. It took forever!!! Ok only working on it since Monday but it felt like forever.
Got a package yesterday and opened it to find these little faces. Gonna make my morning and afternoon coffee even better.
Notice the gram made socks? I sure did.

Time for a contest

So what happens when you start knitting just one thing on 1/1/08? Say of instance an obsessive sock knitter decided to knit baby socks. And this obsessive sock knitter knit nothing but baby socks for 20 days straight? If she worked 60 hours a week and squeezed in knitting around that schedule how many pair of baby socks do you think she's be able to finish to mail off to Afghans for Afghans? Take a guess. Winner will be drawn on Friday 1/25/08 at 12 est.

Packaging ........

This is the packaging for one $10.00 flannel shirt. A plastic bag, cardboard on the outer part of the collar and the back of the shirt, plastic on the inside of the collar and the top button, tissue paper on the inside of the shirt, and 7 pins. What a friggin waste!
Secret knitting continues.....
Since I've joined 2 sock knit alongs I figured I'd better at least pick out the yarn for my January socks. I'll work of them next week. Love the fall colors.

Charlies says: I'd probably give a crap if your hobby involved tuna or maybe some capnip but since it doesn't I'll give you 'the look' until you go away. No really, just move along. Nothing to see here.

D2's new tattoos

I'll start off by saying that I don't have any tattoos. I don't find them offensive but it's been my choice not to have any tattoos. I think some tattoos are beautiful, well thought out symbols of a part of life, hobby, or a special person. Others are more than a little stupid.

My friend's son had a tattoo put around his arm. "It's a tribal band" he explained. "What's your tribe?" I asked. Eyes rolled and no explanation followed. I would have expected to hear, "I love how it looks" but no explanation said that his friends were getting them and being one of the cool kids he went along with the group.

D2 is into tattoos. She has one on her left leg of a baby smurf stacking blocks. On the blocks are her name and date of birth. I don't care for it but it's got meaning to her. On her right back shoulder are a couple of cherries. Lower back is Senior Frog (a bar logo) and on her front right hip is the first initial of her name. I don't really care for any of them but it's her body and when she gets married it'll be up to her to try to cover up a big red frog on her lower back.

That being said .....

these would probably make more sense if they were on a 3 yr old instead of a 23 yr old. I don't get it.

Secret knitting has been happening. Contest next week about it.

Defeat the Winter Doldrums exchange

Looking for a fun exchange? Like dishcloths? Try this one.

1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both? I knit
2. What types of needles do you enjoy using for making dishcloths? I usually use my trusty knit picks options. The cotton slides well on metal needles.
3. What types of cotton do you enjoy using for making dishcloths? Is there any that you've been wanting to try? I usually use cotton yarn from michaels or ac moores. No particular favs and nothing I've been wanting to try.
4. What color(s) are your kitchen and bath decorated in (if any)? blues and greens
5. What are your favorite colors for yarns? blues, greens, purples. Least favorite? black, white and brown.
6. Do you like Winter, or do you count the days until it ends? Winter is ok. Don't like snow, ice or cold but love the way fresh snow looks.
7. What's your favorite way to brighten your day when you're down in the dumps? Play with my grandkids or knit a little.
8. What is your favorite treat to indulge in and when your down in the dumps? a nice cup of coffee and dark chocolate.
9. Do you drink coffee? Tea? Cocoa? coffee or herbal tea
10. If you could take a vacation starting tomorrow and go anywhere for one week and money were no object, where would you go and what would you do? I'd take a cruise to Alaska and go sight seeing; taking in nature at it's best.
11. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should be aware of? Nope no fiber or food allergies.

The last yarn purchase for 2007 $28.00 total $862.00

This is the last of my yarn purchases for 2007. Double strand = a nice sock weight. That is gonna make a whole lot of socks or some nice lace weight scarves/shawls. 90% wool 10% nylon from ebay.

So the total I spent on yarn for 2007 was around $862.00. Add some books, needles, magazines, etc and my hobby probably ran around $1000.00 for the year. Not bad at all. I finished 113 items. And I have enough yarn in the house to last at least a year ... just in case there's a crisis and I can't get to a store for one year. lol.

I haven't blocked the scarf yet because I'm working on this secret for a contest next week. It'll be a guessing contest involving a quanity of baby socks. My hubby said that sooner or later I'd get tired of making baby socks but that just doesn't seem to be happening.

Maybe it's time for a 12 step program? "Hi I'm Diane and I can't stop making baby socks."

Gotta go have a little breakfast. If you like oatmeal you've got to try this stuff. Totally different taste and texture. Unfortunately if take about a half hour to make it so I do a larger quanity and throw it in the fridge so I don't have to make it every day.

What I should be doing instead of blogging ....

Maybe if I just stall a little longer the wood stacking elves will come.

The joys of home ownership

I'll start off by saying that my hubby is a builder and can fix anything around the house. But several weeks ago we started to have a problem with water stains in the foyer. This could only mean there was a leak in the upper bathroom. Upon investigation it turned out to be something with the shower so drywall needed to be cut. Leak fixed but wall not fixed and this is what my upper bathroom wall looks like today.

Charlie says "Diane I don't know why he just didn't leave this open for me. It was a great place for me to hide."

Around the same time there was a leak in the hot water heater. Hubby and a friend fixed it in no time at all but apparently when the water was turned back on some scale from the bottom of the tank got into the water system and clogged the shower in the master bathroom. Unfortunately this can't be repaired and will have to be replaced. This is the wall in my bathroom. Now where have I seen this before .........

If anything happens in the main level shower stall we're up sh**s creek ..... because it's not a simple cut thru the wall. Now we'll see how long it is before he gets around to a little drywall repair. I'm not holding my breath.

On a brighter note I did finish the knitting on D#3's shawl/scarf. I'll try to get it blocked over the weekend because the longer I wait the longer I'll have to listen to her complain. I love the color.

Joey says "Can you keep it down a little. You are ruining my mid morning nap. Now I'll have to take a longer late morning nap to make up for it."