A Good Yarn

Great Veggie Recipes

2011-07-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

Love veggies??? Lots of recipes here. If you've got a garden or are part of a CSA, this has lots of ideas.

http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2009/07/cheap-healthy-leafy-greens-246-recipes.html

Beach Runners

2011-07-11T18:28:00.001-07:00

This is another photo from Oceanside on the 4th of July weekend. The city was on high alert for the holiday, and it seemed that every street corner had a “No” sign of some sort. No Fireworks, No Noise, No Parking, No Dogs, No No No No No.
Everything about this image screamed “Yes!!!” to me. I love the freedom of it. To me, this is the 4th of July.

Cartwheels

2011-07-09T12:59:00.001-07:00

Dave and I went to Oceanside for the 4th of July, and I decided to bring my camera when I went walking on the beach. I’m so glad I did! This little girl cartwheeled herself right into my shot. (I was prepping to take a picture of the seagull in the background.)

Daffodils!

2011-05-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

I'm so thrilled that my garden is happy. Everyday I'm seeing something a little bit different. I'm not fooling myself into thinking that it's going to get under control in the next month or two...but there's progress.

And now there are daffodils! I've got a few packets of seeds that I haven't planted yet. Wildflowers and perennials. And, I can't decide what to do with them. If I plant them, I might have to let the weeds run free for a little bit until I can identify the newcomers. And, if I do that, how can I make sure that I don't lose control. On the other hand, who really cares. It's better than it has ever been. Maybe I should just embrace it and go for it.

Think I've made my decision. Bring on the newbies.

House Chickens

2011-05-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

I think that everyone needs a house chicken.

Our neighbors have a new family member, possibly a Silver Sebright (sorry, not quite up on my chicken identification skills. ) All I know is that she's a really sweet-tempered chicklet, and she doesn't mind at all if I carry her around. I had to bring her home and introduce her to Dave. I handed her over and she promptly fell asleep while he was browsing the internet.

Salsa after Midnight

2009-07-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

The last few years, we've been getting enough fruit off of our trees to make salsas, jellies, wines, etc. This year our harvest didn't really pay any attention to our schedules or the weather. The peaches started falling off the trees while I was in Minnesota. And when I returned home, we were in the middle of a 100+ degree heat wave. What to do?

Salsa after Midnight!!!

Dave took the the propane base from the turkey fryer and set it up outside. I set up a chair so that he'd have a place to put the jars as they came out of the canner. The only mishap was that I thought he was waving at the camera so I happily stood there taking pictures...only to find that he was actually waving for longer tongs so that he'd stop steaming his hands!

Anyway, it was fun. The house stayed cool, and the peach salsa is darn tasty. :-)

What a Lark!

2009-07-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

I love Lark Toys in Kellogg, MN. The craftsmanship is amazing on all of their carousel animals.

Dad was chomping on a toothpick so he doesn't have a smiley face...but I LOVE this picture of Mom. :-)

Bev and Kale enjoyed themselves on the carousel. Smile for the camera.

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Eli helps out with the yardwork. Why doesn't our mower have bubbles?

Strawberries, anyone? I don't think anyone had a problem eating their fruits and vegetables this weekend.

I love the expression on the boys' faces. So cute!!!

Mom and Dad and I went exploring...and found a replica of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House."

Flower Child.

And here we are...because Mom asked....

See, there's the smiley face.

Oh, BTW, I finally decided to join Facebook, and I'm surprised how much I've actually been posting. Wanna be my friend? :-)

Bee Advised

2009-06-14T02:08:00.000-07:00

I don't normally look for patterns, but I realized earlier today that most of my blog entries are bee-inspired in some way. First I was enamored with the Bee Fields Shawl (still happily waiting on my to-do list), then we had a swarm that hung out in one of our trees for a few days, and then we had a swarm that decided the walls of our house were perfect for fine living.

Well, we've been bee free for a while now...but I was reminded to blog. Can you guess my inspiration?

For Mom and Dad

2009-02-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

As promised...here's a new picture for you. Dave and I were having a good time playing pool and Farkle...a fun dice game. I'm official scorekeeper. We still have to get you a photo of the two of us...you'll have to put up with me for now.

Christmas in California

2008-11-30T19:50:00.000-08:00

I love the Crochet Cafe in Temecula. Cute shop. Surrounded by yarn. Lots of friendly people stop in...and more than adequate opportunities to do people watching in the little courtyard that serves the little shops surrounding the Old Temecula Jail.

Which leads me to yet another observation of Christmas traditions in So Cal. I can't tell you how many families troop down to the jail to take their Christmas photos. It's usually about 80 degrees out, and Mom, Dad, and the 2 1/2 kids are decked out in holiday sweaters (red appears to win the popularity vote).

Now, there is a certain prettiness to the courtyard. Flowering vines cover the stone walls and climb over the iron bars on the doors. But, it strikes me funny that so many families choose that at their holiday photo backdrop. It's a jail cell! Maybe the cemetery wasn't available. ;-)

We're Fine

2008-11-16T03:24:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm watching hours and hours and hours of fire footage. And I thank God that I'm not numb to it. It's hard to believe the devestation.

But, we're OK. The fires are still quite a bit North of us...though very familiar. The "Freeway" fires hit all of the roads that we normally take going to Hollywood for shows or to Dave's dad's house. The toll roads that burned are the ones that I used to take in to our Irvine office.

More later...

Hope everyone is safe and well.

1 for you. 2 for me.

2008-10-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hi! A person can eat a remarkable amount of candy by "restricting" their intake. My rules:

1) I can only eat fun-size candy. (Who cares if it takes 4 bites to eat it.)
2) I can't buy candy for myself. (Not a problem. I'll buy for the store in case trick-or-treaters come.)
3) I can only eat candy if trick-or-treaters are in sight. (Come here, little children...)
4) Oops, I shouldn't eat candy in front of people. That's rude. (Go away, little children...)
5) Nope. Rule 3 is better. Repeat.
6) I can only eat candy if I'm willing to watch my blood sugar level. (No problem, that gives me 2 hours...from the next piece of candy)
7) I can only eat Halloween candy on Halloween. (Oh, CRUEL RULE-WRITER!!! How can you be so mean....and wise.)

Well, I better go to the door. I think I see costumes. ;-)

Tortoise and the Hare

2008-09-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

I just celebrated my 40th birthday...something I've been excited about for many years now. Not sure why I was so excited....but it was definitely a day I was looking forward to. Dave surprised me with gorgeous flowers.

A couple weeks ago Megan and I had a ton of fun creating Modge Podge birdhouses. I'm still laughing at our totally different approaches. She loves color and playing fast. In 2 seconds her project was totally transformed from its original state...and then she layered, built up, tore down, and joyfully transformed it 20 more times. Apparently, I'm a more ...hmmmm....methodical crafter. The white birdhouse stayed white for an hour as I selected papers, organized shapes, twisted trellises. I wouldn't make any changes until I was reasonably sure they'd be permanent. And it turned out exactly as I hoped it would. I love it!!! But our approaches sure make me laugh. I think that there's a psych experiment in there somewhere. :-)

I think my approach will probably help me in my next project...getting my newly diagnosed diabetes under control. After YEARS of trying to lose weight with varying degrees of intensity...but always with a high carb/low fat/low calorie plan, I had almost zero success. I'd maintain my weight within a few pounds...but the pounds were usually creeping up, and I've been significantly overweight most of my adult life. Drove me crazy because I knew what I was supposed to be eating.

When I was diagnosed, my doc told me that my diet approach simply wouldn't work because the diabetes wasn't allowing me to process the sugars properly...so up up up I'd go. He asked me to get some exercise in and try to lose about 50 pounds with a reduced carb/low fat/low calorie plan.

I've already lost 6 pounds. And my headaches are gone. And I feel more alert. And my feet aren't purple. Eureka! And, yes, I do eat carbs...but healthier ones. I can't believe that one little switch made such a difference. Bottom line is that my doctor now thinks that I'll probably be able to lose the medications within a year...if I keep it going. And I know I can. I think I've been building my house for a long time. :-)

In Context...

2008-08-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

I had a really great chat with Debra's son, Noah. We were talking about the power of prayer...and he said that he believes that even if we're going through tough times, there's always Someone who's stronger. Then he said that Debra could have/should have died when she first became sick...but she was blessed and lived for 2 1/2 years!

Honest to God, I felt like someone grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. In my reality, Debra was "fine" until Christmas and died a few very short months later. It shocked me that her family saw it as an extra 2 1/2 years that they were able to spend together. An extra 2 1/2 years to turn dreams like the store into reality. An extra 2 1/2 years to grow family and friendships. An extra 2 1/2 years to try to reach people with the love of God that she felt.

I think my friend would have called this a "God Shot."

It's Not Easy Being Green

2008-08-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

So, sometimes I have story idea pop into my head...almost like a daydream. This is one of them...

It's one of Oprah's "Best of" shows. This time it's the best green toys on the market. The format of the show brings the vendor/manufacturer/celebrity endorser out to demo the product. Then a gaggle of cute kids swarm the stage and get to play with the toys 'til the end of the show. The audience members ooh and aah when they realize that they'll also receive the goodies.

The first guest is a major toy manufacturer like Milton Bradley. The president comes out and explains that they've got the same great toys with 70% less packaging and all pieces made of recycled goods. Crowd goes wild. Kids are happy.

The next guest has remote control cars that are totally solar powered. No batteries required at all. Kids go wild. Drop the board games. Play with cars.

DRUM ROLL!!! Who could it be??? What's next... OMG!!! It's AL!!! Mr. Gore himeself!! Oprah congratulates him on all his awards. They show a little video again about global warming. And he talks about the little changes that a family can make that will save the world.

"Tipper, and my kids always had a favorite toy....and now I've made it earth friendly. I introduce the new and improved ....EASY BAKE OVEN. This low-watt bulb will last for years!"

Oprah - "But, Al..."

Al, "And, it's much safer for child-ren".

Oprah - "But, Al..."

Flash to the kids excited putting little tins of cake batter in the ovens. And waiting... And waiting...and waiting.

End of Show....Oprah off camera, "Somebody go and get me a cupcake."

Mutiny of the Bounty

2008-08-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

The pomegranates are preparing to be something delicious. The peaches were prepared to be something delicious. In fact, that would be about 16 pints of peach salsa. So far, we've had it with tortillas, mixed it with baked beans, and used it as a marinade for beef. Yummy. We call it the earthquake blend. About three weeks ago, we had a shaker that forced our decision to "do something" with the peaches.

Believe it or not...we actually thinned these trees out....a LOT.

I've also made strawberry jelly and the most beautiful plum jelly from our Santa Rosa plum tree.

Can you guess what this is???

I'm now working on new knitting projects, too. This one is gorgeous and a really fun pattern called Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights. The color is much more accurate when it's displayed on the lamp...but the other shot shows the stitch definition better.

Hello! My Name is...

2008-06-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

Wow! I didn't realize quite how long I'd been away from blogging. The last couple months have been eventful...pretty stunning actually when you think of how much has changed for bad and for good, but I'm still here.

Friends

My friend, Debra, lost her fight with cancer last month. It's actually sometimes harder now because I have over a month of stuff that I want to tell her about. :-) But, I was able to see her a couple days before she died, and that meant a lot. Her funeral was nice, and I've had one analogy that has been in my head now ever since. Someone said, "to me, I'm always surprised that people get upset about the death of their physical bodies. I think of it like losing baby teeth. Nobody cries about losing baby teeth. Instead people congratulate you and say, Wow! You're growing up. Good for you! Now you'll get your permanent teeth! I think of dying the same way. You lose your temporary self but you gain your permanent self!"

Anyway, I like the way she put it.

I still miss Debra, though.

Family

My brother-in-law just went through a scary medical thing. The fabulous thing is that he's doing much much better now. Thank God! Get well this minute, Greg! Love You!!!!

Knitting

Oh, boy, do I have some pretty yarns right now! And actual projects. I forgot to post some finish photos of Leda.

I'm also working on the Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights stole. I'm having so much fun with it, but I don't have photos quite yet. Soon, though!

Gardening

I have lots of real live fruits and vegetables in the garden now. Blackberries are going nuts and are ready now. I'll take more photos of the plums, peaches, apples, pomegranate, etc. And now I've got squash, peas, tomatoes galore, arugula, and lots of flowers. We also had this cool bee swarm that showed up for 48 hours and then disappeared as if they had never been here before...

I'm getting Edgy

2008-04-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging lately because I've become a knitting fiend. Hee! Well, not quite a fiend, but I've been making all kinds of progress. I've officially finished one edge, removed a whole batch of lifelines, and I'm hoping to finish the last bit of edging on Leda. Hurray!!! Then I just have to block it. I did try it on, though, when I finished the first edge, and I was super excited. It really is beautiful.

Mom and Dad came out for a week, and we had a really great time. Cruised around PCH, had some wonderful meals (LOVE the Longboarder in Oceanside), checked out the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, and Dad stomped over us at pool. So much fun, and we miss them already!!!

I still need to get pictures posted....but thought it would be a good idea to let folks know that I'm still here! :-)

Knitting in Pennsylvania

2008-03-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm winding down on Leda's Dream now. I have about 15 rows before I start all of the edgings. But I'm wound up about starting Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights now. I'll put in the links in my next post when I have my camera. I've got the yarn and beads now, and I'm excited to start.

I had a chance to go to a knitting night at Yarnings in Skippack, PA. What a wonderful store!!! And, a great group. I had a really nice time...and couldn't believe how quickly 3 hours went. The owner was pretty excited when I told her that I found the store on Ravelry. Isn't that neat, though! I live over a 1000 miles away and still found them. Yeah!

Take care everyone. More on my trip later...when it's not 1:00 AM. ;-)

I Am a Knitting Reader

2008-03-16T04:16:00.000-07:00

Soon to be an official knitter. :-) Lately, I've been reading a lot about knitting. I love Ravelry. I love the discussion groups. But, very often, Leda sits by the sidelines while I go and visit with friends. Not necessarily a bad thing...just something to be aware of. I don't have a ton of things to say tonight. I can't sleep, and I'm annoyed by that, so I figured it was better to type than to stew. Same old thing where my joints just hurt. No idea why...it just seems to get worse at night.

And Mom and Dad, if you're reading this, I AM going to the Dr. on Monday about this. Who knows, may I have a case of RBS. (Restless Body Syndrome.) :-)

2008-03-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

OK...I've got this horrible feeling that anyone reading my last entry thinks that I'm a sad, pain-riddled, angst-ridden person. I would be dead wrong letting anyone think that. In fact, it's the exact opposite. When I said, "it doesn't matter", I simply meant that I knew that it was temporary.

Who I am now...

I'm happy. I dance. I play pool. I dance more (sometimes like I have a pool stick up my butt....Sometimes like I'm a muppet. ) Spinal surgeons have a WICKED sense of humor. :-)

I have friends that appreciate my sense of humor...usually.
I am a worker that would make most bosses shout with glee.
I am a friend.

I guess sometimes I just wish that I could easily share my experiences when I had all of my surgeries. Unfortunately, I know that I don't. And I wish that I did. I have so many people that I love that could have benefitted by my being there for them when they went through medical crap. And I wasn't, but I am now.

The beauty of "no name" blogs

2008-03-10T02:42:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm glad that I don't have 100 people waiting for every word...because my words don't make sense. I'm writing in that area of anxiety between what I know is truth and what I remember as truth.

The area that I know is truth is this...

My friend is going to have brain surgery in the a.m. She will have a ton of extremely competent people on her side the whole time. It will hurt like hell. She'll be drugged and won't remember that part of it. Like any other pain, it will go away...sometimes even though we try our best to hold on to it. It will go away. I guarantee that there have been times when I've wanted to dwell and say, "Ouch! let pain be my excuse to do "xxx". Invariably, I start feeling better. I can't help dancing. I can't help playing. I can't help being hopeful. I can't help being happy. So my plans to stay down fail miserably. Big Thanks for that to...Dave? God? Family? Friends? Work? Bunnies? Birds?

The area that I remember as truth is this....

I have tubes. It doesn't matter.
I look different. It doesn't matter.
I don't feel good now. It doesn't matter.
This is new. It doesn't matter.
I don't know the outcome. It doesn't matter.
I'm not in control. It doesn't matter.
It's getting late. They might not have Diet Coke in the fridge. It DOES matter. :-)

God, I have a friend that needs to know this, and I can't figure out how to say this.

She knows.

Time Flies...When You're Knitting

2008-02-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

No pictures today (of Leda), but I am officially and happily back to my previous spot. All-in-all an enjoyable 10 days.

I've been thinking of my friends lately...a couple very close friends are going through some really difficult medical situations. And once again I can't help but marvel how crafts are such a Godsend. The built-in friendships that occur when you create your projects, rip them out, look forward to the next ones. The built-in activity that keeps you company when you can't sleep, works as a built in watchdog that lets you escape into a project if you just want to be by yourself, keeps your mind busy enough to pass the time while waiting for a phone call or a office visit.

On Monday, Dave and I went to the 3rd Annual WesFest concert. A benefit to fund the Berklee College of Music's endowed scholarship for students of the bass guitar. Wes Wehmiller is the inspiration for the scholarship, and every year I wish more and more that I had known him well. Based on my love for his family and friends, I know that he was truly someone special.

The show was unbelievable. Fantastic music with musicians that I love and respect...all of them surpassing every high expectation that I had for them. This was the first time that I had ever seen legendary gospel bassist, Andrew Gouche, and he and his band were truly amazing. And of course, Mike Keneally, Muther Eff, Kira Small, Danny Mo....WOW! I still haven't come down from the experience. The website has links to all of their bands...and I think you'll be amazed!

Time Flies When You're Ripping

2008-02-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

I have nothing. No update pictures. No rows. Just a very pretty yarn ball (no tangles, thank you) that once was Rows 9 - 39 of Motif 4. Grrrrr..... It's a good thing that I'm doing this for fun. ;-) The funny thing is that I still don't exactly know how I managed to rip out all of those stitches in such an ugly way. I just know that I had my knitting on my footrest right next to my laptop. I got up (quickly) and was carrying my laptop so that I could answer my work phone. 15 minutes later I had one ugly tangled mess. Needles out and yarn wound tightly around the cord on my computer. OK, I lied....I guess I know exactly how this happened. So, here's a picture of the prize. Again - total rights/acknowledgements to Melanie from Pink Lemon Twist for the beautiful pattern.

What did you knit today??

2008-02-09T23:38:00.000-08:00

You know what I did with my knitting today? Work on Leda's Dream? No. Start my sock? No. The Wedding Cake afghan? Nope.

I used my knitting bag as a footrest. A nice comfy footrest. Oh, and I cracked a pistachio shell with one of my old knitting needles. I promise I didn't bend it. I just needed the leverage.

And then I watched movies...all day long. Lots and lots of movies.

First I got sucked in by Shadowlands . I really like it a lot, and it makes me cry every time I see it. I don't think that it is out on DVD yet, but they've been showing it lately on Ovation, so maybe it is coming out soon.

Then Who Framed Roger Rabbit? came on. I have the DVD, and it still sucked me in again. It's just clever and funny.

War Games was next with a very very young Matthew Broderick. I was in high school when that came out, so I actually remember it as a theater release.

And now I'm watching Surf's Up. Very cute so far.

Later, dudes.

Leda's Dream - No Nightmare

2008-02-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

Boy, I thought that my "Leda's Dream" stole was going to turn into "Leda's Nightmare". I had set it aside for a couple months because I was working on Christmas and Birthday gifts. But, I love this project and picked it up again, thought to myself, "should I put in a lifeline?", and promptly didn't. I was fine for 4.5 seconds, when I realized that I had flipped my charts when I converted them to my new chart board. Oops. Tink. Tink. Tink.

BTW, I'm actually about 4 times further than this photo. It's a little too dark to take a new one, though.

The funny thing is that I used to be a little bit intimated by going back. This time, I looked at it like a puzzle, and I was able to go down a couple rows to correct the yarn overs, etc. I spent almost an hour getting it fixed...but I did it. I'm pretty pleased.

Comet Wall Ornament Finished

2008-01-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

I really like this one a lot.

Fun to crochet and the thread just shines...especially when it catches the sunlight. I used DMC 5 and a US8 Boye hook. I can't wait to make one for myself, but I sure hope that my mom-in-law likes this for her birthday.

It's surprising durable, too. I've had to manhandle it a bit, and it has travelled in wind and rain with absolutely no harm to it. Good thing, since it's home will be in snowland. :-)

This is my first post directly into blogger. I'm officially switching over to it from Live Journal. There's a lot that I like about Live Journal...especially the additional templates, editing tools, etc. but Blogger has 3 huge selling points for me.

You can post video.
More people have Blogger accounts, so I might get more comments. (Please)
I can have buttons somewhere other than my profile. Hurray!

Magic Crochet is Magic

2008-01-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

My superfantastic uncle Rich gave me a great box of Crochet and Knit books from his Mom, Doreen. Many years ago, Doreen and Art, graciously let me and Mom stay with them when I was recovering from surgery. We spent many many hours going through all of her craft books. In fact, I still have some photocopies of afghan patterns that she gave me. Long story longer...after she moved from her house, the books went to Rich...and then to me. And I LOVE them! So far, I've completed the Santa stocking. And now, (please don't be reading this Mom-in-law!), I'm making this really pretty Wall Ornament from a Magic Crochet magazine. It's so much fun to do. I don't really know what the heck I'm doing. (That's a little bit of a lie, but not too far from the truth.) Anyway, I'm really enjoying it, and I've already completed the center floral motif. More later.

I did complete another one of the San Diego Fire Blankets.

Honest, It's Finished

2008-01-21T17:02:00.001-08:00

Dave was a little shy about having his picture taken, so I decided to model his hat. (BTW, it does look great on him.)

On another note, I'm pretty excited. I checked Ravelry so that I could add the Director's Hat as a project. I had a message and was asked if my Santa Stocking could be used as the photo for the pattern author. :-) That just made my day.

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Dave did offer to pose with our pet tumbleweed. Believe it or not, this thing jumped over our fence.

Dave's Hat - Finished!

2008-01-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!! I finished Dave's director's hat/beret. We almost gave up on it 300 times before I finished it. ;-) The pattern that I had was actually kid's size...though it said it was for an adult. So I had to adjust the pattern a LOT. And I was using a very fine sock yarn, so I had to mess with it a lot before I found a gauge that I liked. Otherwise it was turning out like lace. Not exactly preferred for a man's hat. After many many starts and enough frogging to cause the yarn to self-knit, I finally got it! And as of 2:00 PM, Dave had a cool enough hat that he said he could wear to the NAMM convention this year. Yeah!!! Pictures soon.

Merry Santa Stocking

2007-12-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

I finished a very cool Santa Stocking for Deb. It was so much fun to work on, though I did adapt the pattern quite a bit. Added a few inches to the stocking, modified the shape of some of the arm and leg pieces, added more stuffing to the belly, and embroidered stars and ornaments on the trees. Still, it was a "meant to be" project. My Mom found an old yarn bag of mine from high school with a few skeins of Christmas yarn and some half-done ornaments. I didn't even remember that I had it. That evening we went over to my aunt and uncle's place, and my uncle asked me if I would like all of his mom's knitting and crochet pattern books. Oh, what a dream!!!! These were gorgeous lace books, doilies, Christmas books, afghans. I was thrilled. One of the books had a Santa Stocking pattern, and I just happened to have the exact amount of yarn in the correct colors in my forgotten knitting bag. This was the result.

How to Fight Off Boredom

2007-12-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

I'm in Minnesota right now...and will be for a couple weeks. I thought that I'd have all the time in the world to knit...totally forgetting that I'm here because I have to work on deploying a project nearly every night that I'm here. But apparently that didn't enter my mind when I was packing. I must have been under the impression that I needed entertainment....lots and lots of entertainment. "Camp Betsy" or "Cruise Director Betsy" entertainment.
Contents of 1 large red suitcase....
Knitting -
Leda's Dream stole and extra skein yarn.
2 skeins wool for Dave's hat

Crocheting -
24 squares and yarn to edge and piece a SD fire blanket.
12 skeins (assorted sizes) of acrylic yarns to make squares

Bobbin Lace-
2 boxes thread
Kickboard pillow (now covered!)
2 books

Notions -
Scissors
3 boxes pins
Tape measures
Knitting notions kit

And the books I brought....
4 puzzle books
2 mysteries
1 fiction

And the music I brought...
1 ipod with 1200 songs

And the movies I brought...
Hot Fuzz
Oceans something...can't remember name
Season 1 of 30 Rock6 other DVDs of mystery movies that I burned and forgot to label.

And the games I brought...
Peggle
Deck of Cards Goofy. :-)

Reality Check

2007-11-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

25 Squares? Did I say 25 Squares? OK, next time I will make a square first before I start shouting from the rooftops. :-) I am apparently suffering from a touch of slow knitteritis. Apparently it is a chronic condition that worsens when I have lots of projects to start. I'm not sure if it is treatable or not...but hopefully I can l live a full and happy life as I watch other knitters add to their FO lists with reckless abandon. I've heard that the only treatment is more yarn. So, if you want to help a worthy cause...

OK, enough silliness. I am truly trying to knit squares as quickly as I can, but the squares are taking me 2 - 3 hours a piece. I'm hoping that my speed increases, but I'll probably have 10 done by Saturday. I have to remind myself that I'm not doing this as a one shot deal. I'm hoping to contribute as long as the blanket project needs me. Believe it or not, one of the things that seems to be slowing me down is the acrylic yarn. It is so bouncy/sticky. I'm used to the bamboo yarn that just falls off the needles. This stuff grabs and won't let go!!!

After this first push of the project is done, I'm going to start my bobbin lace projects. I have the prettiest thread. I keep gazing at it., but eventually I have to find a home for it so that it doesn't get completely dusty before I use it!

San Diego Wild Fire Blanket Project

2007-11-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

Do you like to crochet or knit and interested in helping those impacted by the October fires in San Diego? If so, check out: http://www.sandiegowildfireblankets.blogspot.com/ GeorgeAnne and Lana are spearheading a fantastic effort to collect 8" squares to piece together blankets for families that lost their homes in the recent San Diego firestorms. Their website includes details on the square requirements, links to patterns, and info on submitting the squares. If you live near San Diego, they will also be hosting the first joining party on 11/17. Check them out! My goal is to complete 25 squares.

Cali

2007-11-05T20:46:00.000-08:00

Who knew that a 4.1 lb ball of bunny fur and bunny feet could make me totally laugh and cry at the same time. We had to put Cali, our little dwarf lop bunny, down today. She had a metabolic disorder that was causing all of her organs to shut down. But, boy, was she a funny little thing. I have a great video of her over on my http://hopalong682003.blogspot.com blog. The video wasn't playing yet, so if you want to see it, and it isn't playing, post a comment or send me an e-mail. I'll e-mail it to you. It's worth it!! Unfortunately, livejournal won't let me post videos. I'm thinking that I might switch over to blogger anyway. I'll let you know when I've transferred everything over.Hug your critters...all of them...two and four legged varieties. I'm going to miss her terribly.

On a completely different note, when I brought Cali in, the jazz station was playing Mister Mister's "Broken Wing". I didn't think that it was terribly appropriate for an animal hospital. But I've seen worse.For example,At my gyno office: "I'm In You" and "I Want You to Want Me"At my church one Easter: "Killing Me Softly"Have you ever heard totally inappropriate and/or funny music at an office/business/school? I'd love to hear about them. I repeat. Hug your CRITTERS!!!

Cali

2007-11-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

New Contest at Tangled up in Knots

2007-11-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

I found the following contest on a very cool blog at http://wiknit.blogspot.com/Megan from Tangled Up in Knots is having a comments contest that incorporates her '100 Things about Me' list. It makes for a neat game - pick a number, go to that number in the list, and then leave her a comment with a related fact about yourself. Post about it on your blog for an extra entry into the prize drawing. Better yet, let her know who sent you, and you both get an extra entry into the prize drawing!I entered the contest, linked to WiKnit, and posted here, so that should be 3 entries for me. Cool, huh? Plus, it was fun reading all of the other comments. Truly a fun little contest. Thanks Megan!Now, speaking of knots, I'm learning Bobbin Lace! More on that tomorrow. I think that it's going to be a fun challenge.

Knitting Community

2007-10-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

One thing that is so surprising to me about knitting is how a totally solitary activity invokes such a sense of community.

I love going to my Tuesday night knitting group. My e-mail is full of messages from people that have become "in person" or "online" friends. And these aren't friendships that I take lightly. I look forward to getting to know people better. Like a lot of people, I sometimes have a hard time having girlfriends. Not because I dislike having friends, but a lot of times I have to prioritize my time for other things. Husband, work, family, house stuff. But, I miss having friends. Knitting has really helped me form these instant friendships that are born out of common likes. And, I'm grateful for that.

Now my quest is to win a contest. I know that there a sock yarn out there with my name on it somewhere. I've promised myself that I won't buy sock yarn until I finish my stole and Dave's hat...especially since I've never knit a sock in my life. But if I win the yarn...well, that's a totally different story. I have my DPNs and Circulars all ready. I have my Ann Budd book of socks. I'm ready. And, as I keep finding contests to enter, I keep making friends. How can I lose. :-)

Wildfires

2007-10-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

A lot of my friends are out of their homes tonight. And, I'm selfish and don't want to watch the news anymore. It feels like everything is on fire. I felt positive this afternoon. The fires were huge but thankfully there were very few injuries and lost homes. It has all changed this evening. Now, it seems that the number of impacted families is incredible. I personally have my own laundry list....1. Griff is safe, but watching the fires from his newly remodeled home in Escondido.2. Steve is camping out with his sister since he was evacuated.3. Scott and Claudia were evacuated but OK.4. By the maps, I could tell that Carol and family, Jennifer, Rich and Sara, Dr. Will, Woody, and other friends were all evacuated. But, I haven't heard from them yet.5. Jesus and family are being moved to Mexico to get out of the San Ysidro fires.6. The Habitat for Humanity homes that I helped to build a couple years ago in Escondido are destroyed.I can't wait for rain. And no winds. And fireproof homes. And unbelievable punishment for arsonists. And...Maybe I should just go to bed.

Knit 1 Knit 1 Knit 1 Knit 1 Knit 1 Knit 1 Knit 1 Knit 1

2007-10-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

I'd love to have a picture...but frankly almost all of my knitting looks about exactly the same as it did the last time I posted. I'm making progress, but I made 1 mondo mistake on Leda...still not exactly sure what I did wrong...that caused me to go back to a lifeline. So now, I'm reknitting. Hence the subject. That's OK, though.Th

is week/weekend has been really busy so far. I'm really looking forward to sitting down and knitting a few rows. Work has been crazy busy. Then this weekend, I went to the zoo, entered blog contests, went grocery shopping, watched football, and played tri-ominoes. I forgot how much I like that game. Maybe I can get Dave to play with me.

A NOTE for Opal, the Akamai Knitter...I can't believe your Boys stomped on my Vikes the 2nd half of the game. So sad. ;-)

I'm on bloglines!

Football!

2007-10-14T18:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a lot of knitting the last few days. Not for any real reason. I'm just realizing that this is something that I really love doing, so I don't need to race to get everything done. So, I might do a few rows tonight, but today I'm really having fun with football. Vikings!!!!! Chargers!!!!! Chiefs!!!! and maybe even the Saints will get their first win tonight. It isn't often that all of my favorite teams decide to win on the same day.

Mineral Quartz Purse - FINISHED!!!!

2007-10-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

This purse turned out so cute!!! And, I learned a LOT with it. This is the project that I started for the Crochet Cafe. I was initially going to only use yarn, but I decided that I wanted to add the purse hardware and some of the embellishments. It was just too pretty!!!! I ended up calling it the Mineral Quartz purse because the random metallic threads and the color of the buttons remind me of a lot of the rocks that I used to pick up so that Dad could tumble them.

Mineral Quartz Purse Lessons
Knitting
Gloves do work if you have sensitive hands and metallic threads are bothersome.

Felting
1. Forget about it for this kind of project when the novelty yarn is twice as thick as the fingering weight wool. This didn't really felt at all. It just ended up losing a bit of the sparkle.
2. Weave ends in before felting. I had a solid ball of tangles when I first pulled it out of the machine.

Lining
1. I found a yard of a pretty celery-colored polyester lining for $1. It was a remnant. So, in total I spent a dime on the lining.
2. Next time I need to buy pins. I don't have a sewing machine, so I hand sewed this. I need to pin the whole darn thing when I do this again.
3. I'm not going to win any prizes for my lining. But I won't beat myself up for a first attempt.
4. Spend a little time marvelling at the thread colors of a big sewing store. Amazing!!!!
5. Cut the lining bigger than you think you'll need if you're a hack at hand-sewing like I am. You'll need the extra fabric for hemming.

Assembly
1. I'm actually OK with the way that it came together despite the too-small lining.
2. I used ribbon to weave the handles together. This allows me to tighten the handles as needed. And, if I want to, I can later create button ties with it...if it needs to be more secure.
3. My standard sewing needles got lost in the yarn when I tried to pin the edges. I'm going to try weaving in a DPN as a guide next time.
4. Next time I'm going to use a stitch marker to place my handles. It worked OK to eyeball it this time. But a larger or more intricate project would have required more precision.

This was a FUN project that really only took a couple days of leisurely work on it.

Ready for Felting

2007-10-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

You'll get an idea of the colors in the makeup bag...Now I'm going to felt it, fold it, seam it, line it with turquoise satin and add buttons or possibly ribbon. I haven't decided that yet. Sorry for the really lame post. I just don't feel like typing tonight.

Technical Skills vs. Imagination...Which one do you choose?

2007-09-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was excited about my birthday, so I completely forgot to bring my knitting projects to knitting night. Brilliant, huh? So, Debra handed me a couple balls of yarn, a circular needle, and the directions..."Go! Knit something for the store." One of the balls was a tweedy brown wool...which I've never knitted with. The other was a totally sparkly green/blue/pink/gold ball of wonder. No clue what it is, but it sure is pretty. Anyway, I'm laughing at my imagination vs. technical skills. I immediately see a pretty handbag...with windowpanes in the tweed and kind of a spiderweb thing going on with the sparkly. And then a beautiful teal green satin lining. And I have absolutely no idea how to execute my vision. The biggest problem is that I have two balls of yarn with unknown yardage and I just don't know how far they will go. So, you know what? I'm going to wing it. I may as well draw up my design and maybe I'll be able to really complete it later on. It's my brother's birthday today! He was my birthday present when I was 8. Best gift ever! Happy Birthday, Dan!!!

It's My Birthday!

2007-09-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hurray!!! I'm older than some and younger than others. That suits me just fine. I LOVE BIRTHDAYS and want to celebrate!!!!

I know that a lot of people don't like birthdays. I do. This year, I'm treating my birthday more like New Year's. I have some goals that I want to meet and I figure that my birthday is a real good place to start. So here are a few things that I have in mind:

1) Most of my food should be really yummy and nutritious...instead of really yummy and fattening. I'm calling it my "Lose two skeins" diet. ;-) Drives me crazy that almost every pattern goes up a couple skeins for each dress size. Yikes.
2) Plan to have every day end happy. I like being PollyAnna. I function better that way. No reason to be embarrased by that, and I want to keep it up!
3) Be a little bit creative most days. Knitting. Crocheting. Stamping/Card Making. Painting. Felting, maybe?
4) Clean a little something most days. After celebrating a LOT of birthdays, I'm finally on top of keeping the house reasonably clean. Or at least ready to be clean in less than an hour or two. Phew! So, I really want to keep that up.
5) Be thankful every day! I've got a Great life. Not everything is perfect all the time. Never will be. But, I'm happy most of the time. I have a husband that I love and who loves me back. (Sugar Twin).

I have a great family and friends...and I'm fortunate enough to be getting to know all of them better and better. I'm incredibly thankful for the people that I have in my life...especially the ones that give me hugs 20 times a day. Now he just needs to read my blog... :-)

Zoo Candy

2007-09-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Photos on http://hopalong682003.livejournal.com

Cake and Flowers

2007-09-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Photos on http://hopalong682003.livejournal.com

The Wedding Cake Afghan is really coming along now. And, I think that I've got the flowers/colors that I want to use as shown in the picture. I'll also have the smaller violets scattered throughout. But the golden yellows were in Robyn's bouquet. I'll do the sunflowers in yellow and then the violets will have the same yellow for the center. I haven't decided if I'll do the leaves or not, but I might! You'll just have to wait and see. :-)

Oh, and this is a picture of the card that I made for Dave...wait...the card that I was the "artistic director" of....thanks Deb!!!

What's a Knitting Needle?

2007-09-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

3 Days of Fun...and not a moment of knitting. Dave celebrated his 40th birthday on Saturday, so we had a really great couple days running around and doing birthday things. We went to the Fish Market in Del Mar on Saturday night. Very yummy and totally rich. I had tilapia in champagne butter with au gratin potatoes. Delicious and highly recommended. Dave had a smoked fish platter which he really liked...although he remembered that he's not a huge fan of lox. We went with Steve and Mike and Sarah, and then spent a lot of Sunday with Mike, Tim, and Chris. Football galore! The Cleveland/Cincinatti game was much fun to watch...especially since all of our favorites decided to totally tank. OK. I promise I will knit soon. :-) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVE!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

Original post and pictures on http://hopalong682003.livejournal.com

Wedding Cake Afghan
Here it is! The first part of Robyn and Brett's Wedding Cake Afghan. I wrote the pattern myself and will post it after I finish the afghan and finish tweaking it. The pattern is inspired by their cake...only I'm taking some creative license and am adding layers of frosting. I've designed it around layers of basket weave.

Yarns are Homespun (Barrington) and Red Heart Baby Clouds (White). I liked the Baby Clouds because of the lofty frosting look that it gives.Here is how I'm assembling the cake:

2 Layers Barrington (Purple)1 Layer White Frosting1 Layer Barrington1/2 Layer White Frosting3 Layers Barrington 1/2 Layer White Frosting1 Layer Barrington1 Layer White Frosting2 Layers Barrington (Purple)Embellishments: Crocheted or Knit Violets and Wedding Info Embroidered. I may also decide to put a some sort of a fabric edging (perhaps a soft flannel) if the Homespun looks like it will fray a lot.This is roughly 4 skeins of Barrington and 2 skeins of the Baby Clouds. I may end up adding an extra couple skeins as a border if the afghan appears to be too narrow after it comes off the needles.
Tags: knitting - wedding cake afghan

Cali - the Bunny Roast

2007-09-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

Photo posted on http://hopalong682003.livejournal.com

I've wanted to get this picture for ages. Cali, our mini-lop, loves to press up against the side of her cage. Her fur always get pressed through the wire...which makes her look like a little bunny roast. All she needs is twine! If you notice little brown velveteen rabbit in the background, you can see that Rex has become Dr. Destructo. He was having a great old time systematically tearing his litter box apart in rings.

Shaken Not Stirred

2007-09-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

I decided to sleep in this morning, but our bedroom has a half moon curtainless window that means that the room gets stupid hot. So, despite my best intentions, I was pretty much awake by 10:00 a.m. But, I laid there anyway. And then, all of a sudden, I was bouncing. Earthquake! It was a very strange sensation. Imagine a miner panning for gold. When he lifts the screen out of the water, he shakes shakes shakes, so that the bigger rocks (and gold) bounce on top and the smaller stuff shakes through. I was the gold!The strange thing is that we had a beautiful total lunar eclipse last week. I told Dave that I wouldn't be surprised if there was an earthquake, too. I was right! And, yes, I realize that my totally unscientific thoughts/feelings, are one of the main reasons that folklore is still alive and well. But I stand by my "gut feeling". It does seem like anytime there is a lunar/solar event like an eclipse, that we end up with a little rumbler.Here's more detail from the real news folks:
Southland Rattled By 4.7 Earthquake
QUAKE WATCH: Complete Earthquake Coverage And Information
(CBS) LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. A magnitude 4.7 earthquake -- centered under the Santa Ana mountain range -- shook southern California at 10:29 Sunday morning.Automated seismographs reported that the earthquake's tentative epicenter was estimated to be eight miles west-northwest of the Riverside County city of Lake Elsinore and about 50 miles southwest of the Los Angeles Civic Center.A reporter felt a strong shock at an office in Riverside, about 25 miles northeast of the epicenter.The quake was also felt as far away as Encino in the San Fernando Valley.The epicenter is near, and two miles beneath, the summit of Santiago Peak, the largest peak in the Santa Ana Mountain range east of Orange County.At least four aftershocks have followed the earthquake, according to automated seismographs, with the largest being a 2.5 magnitude aftershock two minutes after the initial 10:29 a.m. shock.Data from the automated equipment has not been verified by scientists, and experts in the past have cautioned that aftershock data is not always precise. But the network of seismographs and computers show that a magnitude 2.5 aftershock hit at 10:31 a.m.In addition, a magnitude 1.8 hit at 10:36, magnitude 1.5 hit at 10:54, and magnitude 1.7 at 10:58.All of the aftershocks were also centered 8 miles west-northwest of Lake Elsinore.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. )