Bloomin' Knitiot

March of Dimes fundraiser

2011-02-03T14:01:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone,

One of the things I am doing to raise money for the March For Babies Walk this year is to donate all the proceeds from one of my etsy products to March of Dimes. I am making cute hair clip sets and calling the MOD CLIPS (March of Dimes=MOD). There are many color combinations to choose from. Won't you come check them out? Click on my etsy link in the side bar.

I have a few Valentine's Day sets but time is running out to grab them up. I will send them out same or next day so that you can have them in time. While you're there, see if something else suits your fancy!

The babies thank you!

XOXO

March for Babies 2011

2011-01-23T11:32:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone

It's me, McKenna

I've come to hijack my Grandma's blog again!

I hope you had a great Christmas, and that the New Year is off to a great start!

It's that time of year ... My grandma has just finished working on her personal page for "Team McKenna Faith" (that's me, dazzling you with my cuteness) for the March of Dimes walk coming up on May 1st.

My mommy did the March of Dimes walk for a few years before she even thought of having a baby. She didn't have any idea at the time that she and Daddy would plan to start their family, and that I would be one of the babies born prematurely. I was one of the babies that she was walking for and didn't even know it.

Since then, the March of Dimes has become even more important to Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, and our whole entire family and circle of friends. That's why last year there were about 40 people on Team McKenna Faith who walked during a rainy weekend in April and raised more than $6,000.00 for the March of Dimes. This amount was the 5th highest fundraising effort for the whole Metro Detroit area, and we were 11th for the entire state of Michigan! YAY TEAM! But we are setting our sights even higher this year. We want to raise $10,000.00 for this very worthy cause.

You know, when I think back to my time in the hospital, I realize how lucky I am. Some of those babies in the NICU with me were not doing as well as I was. I wish every one of them could be as strong and healthy as I am now. I wish all of us could have stayed in our mommy's wombs a little longer so we could grow inside and not in the NICU. It was not a fun place to be for any of us, but those wonderful angels (nurses and doctors) helped me get bigger and stronger so I could go home to be with my mommy and daddy.

Look at me now! I have not been sick one single time in my whole life! Yee haw!

My mommy and daddy, and all the adults in our huge family are trying to get an even bigger team of local friends and family to walk with us. I will be in my stroller, which will be all decorated with balloons and signs. It's going to be a fun walk. Better than last year.... more people, more money raised (and please, MORE SUN NO RAIN!) But even if it rains again, we will march on for the cause.

I know you can't come walk with us, but please consider a donation for our team, for a very worthy cause, in honor and celebration of ME! Just click on the banner below for my grandma's donation page. Easy-peasy!

Thanks a bunch!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO,
McKenna

(my grandma, the Bloomin' Knitiot, thanks you too!) Mwah!

Just a little reminder of what I looked like when I was born. I weighed only 2 lb. 5 oz. Babies this small (and even way smaller) are born every day and they need our help!

Day 2, going strong!

2011-01-02T22:35:00.006-05:00

I decided yesterday that I would do an extra "photo a day" project this year. In addition to my regular Project 365 photo, I'm going to try really hard to take a photo at the time of day that is the same as the date of the day. I came up with this idea while in the shower yesterday and when I came downstairs it was exactly 1:01 and I had to grab my camera and just shoot a picture of something nearby before it turned 1:02! Here's the photo I got. It's a small example of the new colors in the family room.

Here is today's Project 365 photo:

Love what you do! Not only that, Do what you love!!!

I have this plaque sitting next to the ceramic Christmas tree my dear Grandma made for me so many years ago. It hasn't gotten put away yet. The colored lights on the tree are reflecting here and there on the shiny paint on the plaque.

And I was in the middle of making these at 1:02 this afternoon so snapped a shot of the pile:

These orifice hooks are listed in my etsy shop if you're interested in purchasing one of them.

I didn't take this picture, but it is so cute I had to share it. This is McKenna at a NYE party she went to with her mommy and daddy. She looks so grown up in this picture. I can't believe she's 17 months old already! What a cutie-patootie!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T11:55:00.008-05:00

So, we're off to a new start. What will this year bring?

I've decided to join a few friends (and thousands of other people I don't know) in doing Project 365, (<<-- flickr group link) which is basically a "photo a day" project. (Another site to check out: Project 365: How to take a photo a day and see your life in whole new way)

I'm not going to follow any particular theme, other than to try to capture a special moment or something that depicts what that day was all about. Some people do a self-portrait every day. Ahem. No. That will not be me.

I am hoping to become much more familiar with my camera (about time, since I've had it 2 years, and have mostly used the "auto" mode. What a waste of features!) and learn to take better photos. Hopefully when the year is over I can look back and see that this has turned out to be true! Join in, won't you?

Here is 1/365. Our weather has gone from mid 20s for about a month to several days of mid 40s into the low 50s. The snow has melted, and we've had several days of rain. Nature has washed away the old year and freshened things up for 2011. Now, a nice layer of pristine snow would be nice. I'm not a fan of the gray/brown bleakness of winter when there is no snow to make things pretty.

Happy, healthy, wonderful new year to all of you!

Where DOES the time go?

2010-12-21T00:52:00.005-05:00

Just popping in with a little note to wish everyone a happy holiday season. Things are in full swing around here, throwing in Kim's birthday today for good measure. McKenna should be so much fun this year when she gets to open her presents (and probably play with the paper and boxes more than the toys themselves, as all kids tend to do) We are SO looking forward to seeing Christmas through the eyes of a toddler once again.

Here's our little McKenna the Red-Nosed Reindeer, getting ready for the festivities.

Holiday reading material:

Sweet girl dressed in her Christmas finery:

To all of you who stop by to check in on my corner of the world, I wish you a safe, joyous, wonderful Christmas. May the new year find you healthy and happy and bring you pleasant surprises.

On Christmas morning, pretend YOU are the toddler and see the day through new eyes.

HO HO HO!

Leaving on a jet plane

2010-10-13T23:00:00.006-05:00

I'm off tomorrow morning for a long weekend in Omaha for a knitting retreat. My dear sister and I have not seen each other in WAY too long and so I am so happy to meeting up with her (and Becky, a non-knitter) to do this. I wish it was going to be a longer visit, but we will be together, doing something we both love to do. Knit, and hang out with other knitters!

The setting is going to be lovely. We'll be at the Mahoney State Park in Omaha. The link is to a quick youtube video of the park's features. There is a huge lodge where the retreat will be, but we have a private cabin so we can catch up on our sister time in private when we want to. There is so much to do at this park. I am hoping to convince Mike to make a trip out there next summer to camp, and have Diane and Becky come too!

Coming with me on my long weekend is my new Kindle, which is an early birthday present. I treated myself to a really cute skin (from DecalGirl) and sleeve with some amazon gift certificates I had gotten with bank rewards. I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with it on my flights tomorrow, and then waiting for Diane and Becky to get off work and drive to Omaha to retrieve me from the airport about 3 hours after I arrive. I don't mind the wait though... I'll have my Kindle, my iPod Touch, and my knitting. Isn't she cute?

And speaking of cuteness.... McKenna has gotten her third tooth and started walking in the past few weeks. Oh my goodness, she is really so much fun these days. Learning words, the fun way she plays with her toys. Here is a picture of her and her friend the llama at the petting farm on Sunday.

In the blink of an eye

2010-07-31T09:57:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow is McKenna's birthday. I can't believe it. A year ago we were getting ready for her very early arrival. It was stressful, worrisome, yet exciting, all rolled into one. We were worried about McKenna, but also about Kim, who was having a rough time due to severe pre-eclampsia and also HELLP syndrome. The 45 days that followed were also filled with many emotions while McKenna grew stronger in the NICU. But once she came home, things were better and better all the time.

McKenna is doing GREAT! She is still small for her age (wearing mostly 6 month sized clothes right now, though she can still fit in some 3 month size!) but has packed on some weight the last month or so and now has chubby thighs and a buddha tummy. She is catching up on more milestones and is only slightly behind on a few things.

We will have a small celebration for her tomorrow. We'll start out at the zoo, weather permitting, and later we'll have cake and ice cream with just Kim and Drew, Mike and I, Drew's Mom, Kaitlyn and Jake, and my mom and dad. Her big party will be in a few weeks. That will be quite the celebration of how far she's come over the past year.

Which brings me to the time warp thing that has happened. It just doesn't register in my mind that a year has gone by already. We certainly have enjoyed watching her grow and all the fun things she is doing now. I wish it didn't go by so fast. We have to remind ourselves to enjoy each and every moment of every single day.

She's gone from this little peanut

to this grown up girl who takes pix

and plays peekaboo

Happy Happy First Birthday, sweet McKenna! Grandma loves you SOOOOOO MUCH! Mwah!

We're going to play this song a few times today... one of my favorites from Raffi, and it's perfect for today!

Mommy's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow
Zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow
Mommy's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow
We can stay all day

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Look at all the monkeys swingin' in the trees
Swingin' in the trees, swingin' in the trees
Look at all the monkeys swingin' in the trees
We can stay all day

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Look at all the crocodiles swimmin' in the water
Swimmin' in the water, swimmin' in the water
Look at all the crocodiles swimmin' in the water
We can stay all day

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Yes, Mommy's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow
Zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow
Mommy's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow
We can stay all day

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo

We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too
We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

2010-07-02T13:13:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! I've got my accessories picked out, now I just need a cute outfit. Anyway, I wanted to stop by and wish everyone a safe and fun-filled holiday weekend!

Thank you!

2010-06-29T21:55:00.003-05:00

McKenna won the Model Search for her age group! If you voted for her, thank you very much! It was a close race during the last 90 minutes of voting. She fell behind for a short while, but we all rallied and pulled her back to the top! Kim is so excited! I'll post pix here of McKenna in her custom-designed Halloween costume when she gets it, and point you to the website where her pix will be featured modeling the costume. Thanks again!

A few moments of your time please?

2010-06-27T20:47:00.006-05:00

I'm going to hijack my blog for some shameless begging.

McKenna is in a Model Search for the Three Little Princesses company. She is just a few votes away from first place in her age group at this time, and voting ends tomorrow (Monday June 28) at 7 pm.

I am going to ask for anyone who has a Facebook account to go to the Three Little Princesses Facebook page. The first thing you have to do is click the "LIKE" button at the top of their page, and then click on "LIKE" on McKenna's photo in the 0-18 Months Album.

The prize is a custom made outfit from Three Little Princesses, and photos of her wearing it featured on their website. Please help us put McKenna in the spotlight. Thank you so much! It just takes a few seconds to vote!

Can you even believe that her first birthday is just over a month away? How far she has come from the day she was born...

March For Babies

2010-04-23T08:22:00.005-05:00

It's finally here, the Weekend of Walking! Please consider a donation (large or small, every dollar helps the babies!) in honor and celebration of McKenna, born 10 weeks early at 2 lb. 5 oz. You can donate by clicking on the banner below. There is more information in the post below.

With many thanks to all of my readers, and a huge thank you to all donations to Team McKenna Faith. We are closing in on $6,000 for our team, and hope to surpass it by day's end. Can you help?

They are still forecasting rain for both days (BOO! HISS!) but we are still planning on having a powerful (and I'm sure emotional) experience. Here's hoping for a miracle that keeps the rain away! (Many families of premature babies have experienced miracles already... let's help many more with our donations)

Hugs,
Trish

(update: I will walk part of the time and be pushed in a wheel chair when I've had enough... thankfully physical therapy over the past month has done wonders for my sciatica and I am feeling 97% better! I don't want to overdo it and have a relapse. That would not be good)

Another message from McKenna

2010-04-10T15:20:00.007-05:00

Hi everyone, it's me again. I asked Grandma to put up another post on her blog to remind everyone that we could still use a some help if you are able.... Please help us help the little babies! The March of Dimes March for Babies walk is coming up in 2 weeks. Grandma is very sad that she is not going to be able to walk for the babies, because of that dumb sciatica stuff... it makes her leg hurt a LOT when she is on her feet for very long at all. It would make her feel a little better though, if she could get a few more donations for the M.O.D.

To remind you, my mommy, Kim, has done the March of Dimes walk the last few years. She had no way of knowing then that I, her very own baby, would be one of the babies born prematurely... one of the babies that she was walking for and didn't even realize it.

As you can imagine, the March of Dimes has now become even more important to Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, and our whole entire family and circle of friends. My mommy has gathered a big team of family and friends to raise money and walk in the March for Babies. I will be in my stroller, which will be all decorated with balloons and signs. It's going to be a fun weekend (we will walk two different events in one weekend in 2 different locations) It's a lot of walking, but it will be great! Don'tcha think?

anyway.... since we all went through the experience of me being born before I was done cookin' in the oven, we definitely want to help prevent other families from going through the turmoil and emotional struggle that premature birth can cause, as well as the added financial burden, possible birth defects, etc. (Grandma put those words in... my vocabulary is not quite THAT good yet!)

Some of those babies in the NICU with me were not doing as well as I was. I wish every one of them could be as strong and healthy as I am now. I wish all of us could have stayed in our mommy's wombs a little longer so we could grow inside and not in the NICU. It was not a fun place to be for any of us, but those wonderful angels (nurses and doctors) helped me get bigger and stronger so I could go home to be with my mommy and daddy.

We have already had a team fundraiser, and everyone on the team has been working very hard on their own to raise as much money as possible for the preemies. Our team has raised well over $4,000.00 so far and I am not shy about asking for more! We only have 2 weeks left to get more donations and we are hoping to make that number grow even bigger! (for the babies! for the babies!)

I know you can't come walk with us, but please consider a donation for our team, for a very worthy cause, in honor and celebration of ME! Just click on the banner below. Easy-peasy!

Every donation, big or small, is appreciated SO much and I will be so happy that you helped us help the babies!
Thanks a bunch!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO,
McKenna
(my grandma, the Bloomin' Knitiot, thanks you too!) Mwah!

PS... just a little reminder....

this is me on the day I was born. I only weighed 2 lbs. 5 oz.

and me now, at 8 months, about 12 pounds, and doing great!

It's been a while....

2010-04-05T19:18:00.012-05:00

I fell off the face of the blog-world (as I've been known to do numerous times before) This time I basically was removed from life as I normally live it by a horrible case of sciatica that left me unable to walk or stand, and sometimes even sit, for the better part of 5 weeks. I spent so many hours laying on (only) my right side that I thought I might develop bedsores. Ugh. Finally after stronger and stronger painkillers, muscle relaxers, and starting physical therapy, I am finally on the mend and can see that there is hope I may one day be healed!

Luckily the 3 sessions of PT last week started me along my way enough that I was able to enjoy the weekend of Easter festivities. McKenna was making her spring debut after a winter of isolation, and the family was so happy to see her and be able to interact with her after all these months. We wondered if she would be overwhelmed by so many people after having such a quiet first 8 months of her life, but she took it all in and entertained everyone with her cuteness.

Saturday we spent with Mike's family, and then had brunch with my family on Sunday morning. Here are a few photos from the weekend. I whipped up the ducky in about a day, and McKenna liked chewing on it.

My big girl with her little girl

Me and my little hunny bunny

McKenna and her new ducky

McKenna trying on Auntie Kait's Ugg boots.

Maybe next year she can borrow them :-)

McKenna and her Uncle Jake

4 Generations:

Great Grandma, McKenna, Mommy and Grandma

Aunt Kaitlyn and McKenna

We're not sure, but these might just be

the longest eyelashes in North America!

OMG!

The Easter Bunny brought me PEACHES?!?!?

My FAVORITE!

OMG!

2010 Olympics, I will miss you

2010-02-28T22:20:00.006-05:00

I love the Olympics. I'm sad they are over, but sure did enjoy the thrills of victory, and the agony of defeat (especially that hockey game... but what an exciting nail biting game it was)

I took part in the Knitting Olympics this year, and squeaked in my last bind off stitch mere moments before the Olympic torch was extinguished. I thought I had til 10:30, so good thing I went gangbusters for that last hour or so. Here are the Skew sox that don't fit me, so Kaitlyn is modeling them, and will hopefully enjoy them. I want to make another pair, for me, once the math is figured out for my size. What a fun knit! It really boggles my mind that Lana came up with this very unusual construction!

Here are my gold-medal socks

Here a mitten, there a mitten, everywhere a mitten mitten

2010-02-23T20:45:00.003-05:00

Here is what I've been sewing on the old Singer treadle machine. It's got the "get up and go" needed to get through all the layers of felted wool. I've got a few more pairs almost done.

I've bought so many thrift store sweaters lately that I keep saying I may need an intervention. It's fun to find just the right ones for the mitten tops, and then pick from the many plain sweaters for coordinating palms, and cuffs. I am using cashmere for the linings.... yummy... and warm!

PS... how cute is this face?

Sewing

2010-02-17T10:06:00.000-05:00

On the last day of 2009, I brought this Centennial (1951) edition Singer treadle sewing machine home.

A local lady had it on Craigslist for a price I couldn't pass up. My Kenmore sewing machine was a gift from Mike for our first Christmas as husband and wife. It has been giving me trouble lately, and I went on Craigslist to see what I could find. I had no intention of buying a vintage treadle machine, but the price was right, it was local, and It works great. It only sews a straight stitch, so I will still need to get my Kenmore fixed or get another machine for other sewing purposes. But for now I'm treadling away. It did come with a ruffler attachment and a few others that I will have to play around with. I'm still getting used to the treadle and some of the quirks of this older beauty, but here's the play mat top that I've put together for McKenna.

There are a few loops of ribbon inserted into some of the seams. She can finger those (as babies love to play with ribbon tags on their toys, etc) or they will be used to hook toys onto the mat with those plastic rings. I just got the backing material on Thursday so need to sandwich everything together with the batting, etc and decide if I'm just going to tack it at the corners of the pieces or do more quilting on it. For now it's been draped over the back of the couch where I feed and play with McKenna a lot and she loves looking at it.

I bought the "workhorse" Singer for a purpose which will be shared here soon, after the recipients of my labors have gotten their items. I don't want to ruin the surprise here.

The lady I bought it from also had a few other treadle machines for sale. They were much older, and had beautiful oak cabinets with lots of flair. But the machines themselves used weird barbell-shaped bobbins that fit into a bullet-shaped case, the needles needed to be longer than what you can normally find these days, etc. While I would have loved one of the more beautiful looking cabinets, I wanted something I would feel more comfortable with, since I was going to be using it and not just looking at it.

I haven't decided where it will end up in the house, but for now it's in the family room where I can sit down and sew a bit when I have a few minutes while McKenna sleeps or plays.

Wow, an actual FO!

2010-01-29T20:25:00.005-05:00

I am happy these socks are done, but none too proud of the fact that they took me 18 months to knit! I started them to take to a Stitch 'n Pitch game (in 2008!) and made quite a bit of progress on them for a while... then they got ignored for a very long time. These are the Socks of Kindness, and I used Jojoland Melody yarn.

My first FO of 2010. Now, what to put on the needles next?

ps.... Jake was the photographer for this shot.

Message from McKenna

2010-01-13T18:45:00.009-05:00

Hi everyone,

Thanks for stopping by my grandma's blog!

I hope you had a great Christmas, and that the New Year is off to a good start!

My grandma has just finished working on her personal page for "Team McKenna Faith" (that's me) for the March of Dimes walk coming up soon. Well.... when it gets warmer, that's for sure! My mommy has done the March of Dimes walk the last few years. Who knew I would be one of the babies born prematurely... one of the babies that she was walking for and didn't even know it.

As you can imagine, this cause has become even more important to Mommy and Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, and our whole entire family and circle of friends (and there are a lot of them! Have you heard about those crazy parties in our family? Whew, I'm going to have to get used to all that commotion! So far I've led a very sheltered life!) .

anyway.... since we all had the experience of me being born before I was done cookin' in the oven, we definitely want to help prevent other families from going through the turmoil and emotional struggle that premature birth can cause, as well as the added financial burden, possible birth defects, etc. (Grandma put those words in... my vocabulary is not quite THAT good yet!)

Some of those babies in the NICU with me were not doing as well as I was. I wish every one of them could be as strong and healthy as I am now. I wish all of us could have stayed in our mommy's wombs a little longer so we could grow inside and not in the NICU. It was not a fun place to be for any of us, but those wonderful angels (nurses and doctors) helped me get bigger and stronger so I could go home to be with my mommy and daddy.

All the big people in the family are trying to get a really big team of local friends and family to walk with us. I will be in my stroller, which will be all decorated with balloons and signs. It's going to be a fun weekend (we will walk two different events in one weekend in 2 different locations) It's a lot of walking, but it will be great! Don'tcha think?

I know you can't come walk with us, but please consider a donation for our team, for a very worthy cause, in honor and celebration of ME! Just click on the banner. Easy-peasy!

Thanks a bunch!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO,
McKenna

(my grandma, the Bloomin' Knitiot, thanks you too!) Mwah!

PS... just a little reminder.... this is me on the day I was born. I only weighed 2 lbs. 5 oz.

and look at me now! 5 months old, almost 10 lbs. Yay!

10 Things

2010-01-07T20:22:00.003-05:00

Inspired by my friend Maria's recent post, here are 10 things I am most looking forward to in 2010:

1: Watching McKenna continue to grow stronger and seeing her develop so many new skills during this next year.

2. Getting rid of the UGLY wallpaper in our family room and hopefully getting new furniture too. I'd like to maybe get rid of the mantle and put tile around the fireplace instead. We'll see.

3. A vacation? I didn't get one last year....

4. Swimming in our new pool. Please let there be a summer this year!

5. Being more active, being more careful with my eating, and losing some weight.

6. Adding sewing back into my leisure pastimes. Knitting kind of took over for a while, and will not go away, but I'll be doing more sewing this year.

7. McKenna being able to spend more time with the family, as RSV season ends, and her lungs become more developed. Hurry spring!

8. The March Of Dimes Walk for Babies in April. Supporting the March of Dimes in their battle against premature birth has taken on a whole new meaning in our lives. We are hoping to gather a huge team to walk in honor and celebration of McKenna, our little miracle.

9. Getting back into the habit of reading. I've spent very little time with my nose in a book lately, and I miss it!

10. I vow to be a better blogger this year!

Blue Moon

2009-12-31T19:23:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! Tonight there is a "Blue Moon" which I feel I must mention, since my company name is Once In A Bloomoon Creations. A Blue Moon comes every 2-1/2 years, but only about every 19 years on New Years Eve . So, now that you know that piece of info......

Let me just say, 2009 had its share of moments, that's for darned sure...

The highlights:

~Kaitlyn graduated from high school with high honors

~Kaitlyn got her drivers license and a car (THANK THE HEAVENS ABOVE I am done carting that girl's butt around!)

~Kaitlyn started college

~Kim and Drew announced that Mike and I would become grandparents!

~McKenna was born

~I became a very proud grandma!!

Some of the challenges:

~Insomnia came to visit and didn't want to leave... I still have sleepless nights at times but things are somewhat better. That was a struggle for quite a few months. There have been several other health worries, some of which are still unresolved. Other family members have had their share of health issues as well.

~McKenna's birth was 9 weeks early, due to Kim developing severe pre-eclampsia. McKenna's 45 day stay in the NICU downtown was emotionally, logistically, and basically in all ways challenging. We all got through it... I am humbled by Kim and Drew's strength and perseverance during this time to do everything they could for their tiny preemie daughter. Happily things have only improved over time and she is doing so well now!

~The timing of McKenna's birth coincided with my planned trip to Portland to go to the Sock Summit. While disappointed about missing the SS, I was also going to be able to visit with my sister who lives too far away for me to see more than once a year if we're lucky. And I was going to finally meet my dear online friend Maria. We have "known" each other online for 12 years and we were so looking forward to a face-to-face visit (and some sock knitting together). But I needed to be here to support Kim and Drew as they learned to cope with the situation and help them get through it to the prize at the end....

~Mike worked about a million hours (slight exaggeration, I think... but I'm not sure) this year... way more overtime than he would like at this point in his life. I try hard to not complain, considering the rate of unemployment, especially in Michigan. And considering a couple of family members lost their jobs this year, we do consider ourselves fortunate to not have faced the prospect of Mike looking for a new job (again). But really, 70+ hours a week when you're in your 50s gets a little hard on the body (and mind). Give the man a bit of a break. We'd all be a little happier and less stressed, that's for sure.

My business was very slow this year, but I am going to take part of the blame for that. My focus was definitely elsewhere, and the lack of extra time to devote to promoting my patterns was just something I had no control over.

I spent a very huge portion of the spring, summer and fall planning and executing a graduation party, a baby shower (that came after the baby!), then caring for McKenna when Kim went back to work...I was devoting my attention to everything (it seemed) but Jake. Guilt overpowered me at times... I felt like he spent way too much time at the bottom of the totem pole this year, and I tried very hard to make special times with him, but it just felt like I was throwing him a bone. I am hoping to somehow make it up to him. He was a trooper, thank goodness. I hope he doesn't resent the lack of attention compared to everything else that happened this year.

Jake didn't really have any huge milestones, but I will report he is doing great in 7th grade, and loves being "Uncle Jake" to McKenna. So many days he rushes in from school, scrubs his hands, and comes to say hello to her. Such a good boy :-)

So that was 2009, and I think we are all ready for a New Year. Here's to the hopes and expectations and dreams... may they all come true!

Dodecahedron---I just call it Pointy Ball!

2009-12-17T10:07:00.004-05:00

What's this? Another blog post so soon? Another FO so soon? In the midst of the holiday chaos?

I finished up McKenna's ball last night. Knitting the last point after stuffing it was pretty tedious, but I'm happy with the results. I put a cat toy (bell in a cage) in the middle of the stuffing for a little jingly fun. I hope McKenna enjoys her dodecahedron for years to come.

click for pattern

Oh heck, let's just add one more photo here. I made this Pretty Thing cowl for my good friend Tamara. I used alpaca, (because Tam loves her some alpaca) but it kind of hid the stitch pattern. Next time I make a Pretty Thing (and I will do this project again) I will use a less fuzzy yarn. It's a pretty thing indeed!

Pattern available on Ravelry

McKenna's Stocking

2009-12-15T11:43:00.006-05:00

I went to my stash and came up with these 4 colors to knit McKenna's Christmas stocking. Not Christmas-y colors by any means, but definitely girly-girl colors. I made up the pattern as I went along, and had no idea how it would turn out. McKenna thought it was a pretty cozy sleeping bag before it went into the washer for felting!

I haven't felted anything in a while, and I guess I forgot that standing over the washing machine with a watchful eye is the key to getting the results you want. I had the stocking in the washer for only 8 minutes, and it was done. I would have stopped the felting a bit earlier had I been standing there. It's not WAY too small, but I would have liked it if all my design elements were a bit more visible and also if it were just a wee bit bigger to fit more goodies inside in future years.

I'll be needle-felting McKenna's name once the stocking is dry.

Hey! What happened to my sleeping bag? It used to be THIS big! I can't fit in that anymore!!!!

My new toy

2009-12-11T15:46:00.005-05:00

My new piece of electronics arrived today. I decided I needed one of these slick little Flip video cameras. The fact that you could personalize it with a photo or a graphic really sealed the deal for which camera I might buy. I love the fact that no one else will have a camera exactly like mine!

It really couldn't be any easier to use. The USB connection "flips" out of the top of the camera and you plug it right into your computer, without any cords.

The software is so user friendly. Within mere seconds you can save to your computer, email your video, upload it to the internet, pull screen shots from it, make it into a video greeting card, burn it to a DVD, etc.

The Flip MinoHD is quite small, (smaller than my phone) and will slip easily into a pocket or purse. I am going to be taking a ton of video of McKenna (and Christmas, and many other things) How handy, to just be able to whip it out because it's with you all the time, instead of having to haul around the big video camera, in its big case, worrying about if you have a blank tape or DVD to record onto, etc.

I'm so excited to get the early Christmas present that I bought myself. I got the power adapter free (you get one free accessory on the website right now) which allows me to charge it when I am away from my computer. I also want the HDMI cables that will let me watch the videos on the TV, and also the mini tripod which will come in very handy.

Knitting has resumed....

2009-10-21T18:55:00.004-05:00

My cut has healed, but I still have swelling, pain and numbness in my finger. I decided I couldn't wait any longer to knit McKenna's pumpkin hat, so it was knit yesterday with my finger up in the air. My tension was definitely all over the place. Oh well, it still turned out to be a cute hat for an adorable little girl. Hopefully my finger is back in working order before too much longer.

Well....

2009-10-05T16:39:00.003-05:00

There will be no knitting with THIS (or the pain that accompanies it).

Public Service Announcement:

Can Lid + Stupidity = 6 Stitches (of the non-knitting variety)

McKenna hits the yarn store....

2009-10-01T21:52:00.008-05:00

McKenna is 2 months old today, and she decided it was about time she shopped for yarn. She had an appt. downtown today, which happened to be in the building next to where City Knits is located. So McKenna convinced her mommy to take us inside so she could pick something out.

She quickly was overcome by the yarn fumes, and went off to la-la land, which meant she had to trust me to pick out the yarn. I picked Crystal Palace Bamboozle, in the Tulip colorway (which reminds me more of melon colors than tulips, but it's pretty!) I'm not sure what I'm going to make with it yet, but it sure was exciting to me that one of the very first places McKenna went (besides to her doctor appts.) was a yarn store!

No knitting, just McKenna

2009-09-20T19:14:00.004-05:00

This picture was taken today and I love it SO much that I had to share!

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

2009-09-15T19:01:00.004-05:00

McKenna is leaving the hospital tonight!!!!!! We are all so relieved, happy, excited, etc. This sweetie is finally going to sleep in her own home with Mommy and Daddy. YAY!!!!

ps... that's the latest new hat from me :-)

Blanket of Love

2009-09-04T22:04:00.004-05:00

I started this blanket soon after finding out Kim and Drew were expecting. It was a "stop and start again" kind of project, with lots of other knitting going on in between. When McKenna was born early, I had to get the needles clicking again to finish up her blanket ASAP!

Kim's second shower is tomorrow, and I just took the blocking pins out of the blanket and wrapped it. I am very pleased with how it turned out. Such a difference from pre-blocking. It was a rumpled blob ... and now it's a thing of beauty, if I do say so myself. I can't wait to see McKenna wrapped in this blanket. Each of the 55,772 stitches are filled with Grandma love!

ps... McKenna is doing great, and will be leaving the hospital very soon! Yay!

Apple Blossom Cardigan

2009-08-30T20:48:00.002-05:00

I knit this sweet little sweater for McKenna this week. The pattern (available free on Ravelry) called for worsted weight and size 10 needles, but was going to be too big. I used DK weight, and size 6 needles, and it is more her size. I'm hoping it will be perfect for her to wear home from the hospital (which we are hoping is VERY soon!) I am going to use the lace pattern at the bottom of the sweater to make a matching hat, and will whip up some booties too. I can't wait to see her wearing this!

Sweet McKenna

2009-08-19T19:12:00.003-05:00

Words are not really necessary. This face says it all!

McKenna continues to do very well. She's reaching milestones, gaining weight, and we are all hoping her stay in the NICU will be over soon. She has changed SO much since she was born, looking better (and cuter!) every day! She is loved by so many. Thanks again, everyone, for your continued prayers. They are working!

I am one proud Grandma!

Sizzlin' Sunday

2009-08-16T10:10:00.004-05:00

A quick update, and I'll try to post pix very soon.

McKenna is now 2 weeks old and doing great. I am going to go see her in just a little while. I have not seen her since Monday, which breaks my heart, but it was all I could do to pull things together for the baby shower (yesterday). Thanks to many good friends and wonderful family members, it was a beautiful day for Kim and Drew. So much love was in that room, and we had McKenna's photos on a digital frame slide show, so she was with us in spirit.

Kim is doing great. Her blood pressure seems to be under control and the symptoms of preeclampsia are all but gone. She is exhausted, understandably, from all the trips to the hospital, catching up on her class for her Masters, phone calls, paperwork, and just getting things ready for McKenna to come home. Now with all that extra LOOT from the shower, she'll spend a lot of time getting everything set up in the nursery for her. How fun!

Happy Sunday! I'm hitting the pool when I get home! It's a hot one!

Welcome to the world, McKenna!

2009-08-03T21:44:00.004-05:00

My grand-daughter McKenna was born Saturday evening, more than 9 weeks early. She weighs 2 lbs. 5 oz. and though very tiny, is doing very well! She came out crying and breathing on her own, and is full of spunk. Of course I fell in love with her the minute I saw her. I am hoping to be able to hold her tomorrow.

The way things happened made for a wild ride, and even though it's not what any of us had planned, it looks like it will all be ok.

I missed out on 2 months of knitting time... I'd better get moving on finishing up that other project, and making a few preemie hats!

McKenna's arrival put a wrench in my plans to go to Sock Summit, and while I'm disappointed, HERE is where I need to be...where I want to be. Kim is going to need a lot of help in the coming weeks. I want to be the one helping her.

I can't believe I'm a grandma!! Squeeee!

May I present to you....

2009-06-28T18:51:00.006-05:00

the new addition to our yard...

After much delay, swimming 2009 has commenced. I thought the new (bigger) pool would never get put up and filled, but here it is. Oh swimming, how I have missed you! Now, if the weather would just warm back up again.... I can't believe we are expecting highs in the 60s and 70s this week after the sweltering week we just had. Can it please be summer and stay summer?

And here, just as a little bonus, is a picture of the little baby robins that hatched this past week or so. Mama Robin built her nest in my philodendron that was hanging out on the porch. They are getting pretty crowded in that little nest!

Food as art

2009-06-17T17:45:00.003-05:00

This post is for you, Lynn!

I saw the colors blended in my pan as I was stir-frying tonight, and thought "Well, isn't that pretty?!" and ran for my camera.

I wish I had caught it while the red onions were still colorful, but along with them, there was orange pepper, broccoli, celery, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. The meat was strips of turkey breast. Sooo good.

And to cleanse the palate, a small dish of homemade Lemon Ice.

Jake did most of the prep work. He cut and juiced the lemons, measured out the other ingredients and mixed them together. It was certainly delicious and he's already said we need to make it more often. This was our first time. I ended up mashing my strawberry in while I ate it, and decided next time we make it, we'll add some chopped strawberries to it before the final freezing.

GO WINGS!

2009-06-09T10:02:00.003-05:00

Jake's first meal of the day... we are SOOO excited about tonight's game, hoping that the Wings beat the Penguins again in game 6.

Repeat ... so sweet!

The Baby Bump

2009-06-04T10:54:00.008-05:00

I can't get enough of looking at Kim's belly. Isn't it cute? I know there are pregnancies everywhere, but this one is most special!

Here's what I've got on the needles for the baby bump right now. It's a little more than half done. Easy garter stitch short-rows. Good mindless knitting for hockey games.

GO WINGS!

Kaitlyn has graduated!

2009-06-01T19:51:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Kaitlyn, and 400+ classmates, graduated from Romeo High School. Commencement was held at Freedom Hill, an outdoor concert venue, with a covered pavilion. It was on the chilly side to begin with yesterday, and being in the shade, with a stiff wind, made for a somewhat uncomfortable couple of hours. I neglected to wear anything warmer than a short sleeved shirt, (well, yes, I WAS wearing pants) and believe me, I was sure wishing I had a hand-knit shawl around my shoulders! What was I thinking? Mike, Kim, my parents... they all had jackets. Jake had a long sleeved shirt over another shirt. Me, I wore goosebumps. I really felt bad for the girls graduating.... they all had dresses on under their skimpy little white gowns, and I'm sure they were freezing!

The ceremony was quite nice. Kaitlyn graduated with High Honors and we are very proud of her! Congratulations, Kaitlyn!

We will be throwing a big graduation party for her in July. I really need to get to planning that.... and a baby shower..... tick tock tick tock....

Sock Summit

2009-05-27T11:54:00.005-05:00

Like hundreds (thousands?) of others, I was poised at the ready yesterday, waiting for the moment when class registration for Sock Summit '09 was to open. Like almost everyone else, I experienced the problems that occurred as we all clicked at once. It was a time-consuming, often frustrating process, but in the end, I got into a few classes I wanted, as did Diane, and Jane. Unfortunately Maria didn't, but I am hoping that as the double-bookings are sorted out, her class will open up and she can get in. Fingers crossed for you, Maria!

The IT people were warned that a capable server was necessary to handle the influx of crazy-ass knitters, but they, once again, failed to realize our numbers. Server crashed. Server did NOT serve its purpose. Many people are left very upset in the wake of what happened. Thankfully I am not one of them. I feel for the people who had classes snatched out of their shopping carts and were not able to get them back. But I hope after the initial disappointment fades, they will still go to Portland and enjoy the camaraderie of all of us who will be there, as well as the many wonderful things that Portland has to offer.

I am arriving a few days early, and not taking a full class schedule, because I want plenty of time to experience some of the sights and sounds and tastes and experiences of Portland. I am looking forward to spending time with people who mean so much to me, (Diane, Becky, Jane, Maria, Lynn) and meeting many others who may become future friends.

I'm very excited and looking forward to August. But in the mean time, I have a lot of summer activities to enjoy before that happens. The first of which is Kaitlyn's graduation on Sunday.

Congratulations, Kaitlyn!

More Baby knitting

2009-05-19T20:31:00.005-05:00

Over the past few days I knit this cute little sweater and hat. Garter stitch with bulky yarn on size 10 needles. Lickety-split, it was done! The buttons are not sewn on yet, but that's a minor detail.

This is for an upcoming baby shower. I wanted to get it done so I can get back to secret baby knitting for my granddaughter.

Kim passed the 20 week mark on Sunday, so she is officially in the second half of her pregnancy. We went shopping for some prego clothes last night. I can't believe she was still trying to squeeze that belly into non-maternity pants!

Prom

2009-05-15T05:52:00.003-05:00

Don't they look great?

So excited!

2009-05-07T21:00:00.004-05:00

I'm going to be doing a lot of knitting for a little princess. My first grand-baby.... It's a girl, due early October.

Kim and Drew found out today. I am beyond excited. I wish I could knit in my sleep. There's just not enough time to knit all the precious sweet little girly-girl things I want to knit!

Announcing new Ripple Slip Pattern

2009-04-12T11:31:00.008-05:00

My new pattern is now ready and up for sale. The "Buy It" buttons are over there in the sidebar. ---->>

I've added it on Ravelry (where you can see a few more photos). I still need to add it to my website.

There are many options with this pattern:

Scarf or Shawl
Knit stitch pattern lengthwise or widthwise
Yarns in 2 contrasting solid colors
2 colorways of a self-striping yarn
A self-striping yarn with a solid

Here are some photos for ideas:

Scarf, 1 skein Kauni, split so that contrasting colors were alternated, knit lengthwise:

Scarf, 2 skeins of different colorways of SWTC Karaoke, knit widthwise:

Shawl, 3 Skeins Silky Wool and 5 Skeins Silk Garden Lite, knit widthwise:

Shawl, 4 oz. each tan and black DK Alpaca, knit lengthwise:

Let me know how you like it!

Go Spartans!

2009-04-06T15:43:00.005-05:00

So, any N. Carolina fans who are in town for the big NCAA Championship game tonight woke up to this:

Hope they're enjoying the Michigan weather! At least it was decent on Saturday and most of yesterday.

Jake wanted green pancakes in honor of the game tonight, so I went one better and made 2 of these (only one survived the flip though)

So.....

2009-04-06T14:10:00.008-05:00

Saturday was quite the day of surprises, for many people.

First of all, let me tell you....The very best way to throw a surprise party is 6 months after the birthday!

Yep, on Saturday, my family and friends got me, and they got me good. Now, generally I pride myself on being a rather observant person.... one who can pick up on things and put them together when they are going on behind the scenes. But not this time. No sirree. I think part of it was that I was so preoccupied for 2 months trying to bite my tongue (which is missing big chunks at this point) and not let it slip that Kim and Drew are expecting (until they decided it was time for the announcement). Or maybe I'm just getting old. Who knows. But SURPRISED I was. Totally, 100% clueless, and it was great!

But, let's back-track to earlier in the day. Kim and Drew came over to make the announcement to Kaitlyn and Jake, who were kept in the dark up until this point. Kim had made up Easter baskets for them, giving them to them early (supposedly) because Kaitlyn is leaving for FL at the end of the week. In the eggs was not candy, but puzzle pieces. Kim had gotten some of those blank puzzles from Michael's, and I helped her write a poem that would reveal at the end that they were going to become an aunt and uncle. They worked together and put the puzzles together, and read what was written on them. Their reaction? I think they were in shock. Neither one of them said a word. They didn't even look at Kim and Drew. They both kind of had a glazed look on their face and stared off into space or down at the floor. I don't understand it, but eventually I coaxed them into saying something and giving hugs! Weird...

Then a little while later, the phone rang, and then Jake asked if he could spend the night at his friends' house to watch the NCAA game (he's a huge Spartans fan) and that Kim and Drew were going to drop him off, because they were leaving to go to the mall before we met up again at Mike's brother's house to have a card party. LIES! All of it, LIES! Kim and Drew were really going to pick up the party sub, the cake, the chicken, etc. Jake went with them so he would be there with the video camera ready when I came around the corner and was surprised. (I even put the video camera case into the car myself, but it had been loaded with something heavy so I wouldn't know the camera wasn't in there)

We pulled up to Chris and Deb's house, and yes, there were a few more cars than I was expecting to be there, but it didn't send up any red flags at all. Mike said something like "It looks like everyone is out in the yard, so lets just go that way first.... I'll follow you" So I went through the garage into the back yard, and there were a LOT of people standing there, and then they said Surprise! and it took me a minute to figure out what the heck was going on, because there was Jake (NOT at Trevor's house spending the night) with the video camera, and there were some of my knitting buddies (who would NOT be at a Bloom family card game) and you know my 50 year old brain had to pause for a moment and "get it".

So, Mike and Kim had been planning and making this happen and I had no idea. And then we got sick and THANK GOODNESS we got better in time to be able to enjoy it without having to cancel or infect everyone.

Here's just about everyone that came to my party...

BUT WAIT! There's MORE!

Kim had been telling me (probably more lies) that she and Drew were going to make the baby announcement at our Easter gathering. But I told her there were going to be people at the card party who would be out of town next weekend, so she should do it early. (I had NO IDEA how many people would be there on Saturday that would not be there next weekend! LOL) Her idea was to get everyone together for a group photo, have them say "cheese" for the first picture, then have them say "Kim and Drew are having a baby" for the second one, and whoever was taking the pictures would get all the reactions to the announcement. Unfortunately, because it was such a big crowd, (and because most of them are loud-mouthed Blooms, and I say that with deep affection, y'all) and because Debbie who was taking the pictures was kind of far away to get us all in, not everyone heard what she said so Mike yelled it out again, and still...blank stares.... smiling for the camera.... and FINALLY people started getting it and there were hugs and tears and cheers and it was really great. Deb continued to take pictures (until my camera card filled up.... I should have emptied some pictures off there before I went... darn it) but my friend Tam also had the video camera going and got all the celebration afterwards. It was great.

Here's one of the best pictures ....The look on my SIL Debbie's face is priceless. I don't remember...it's all a blur, but she must've screamed something out because everyone is looking at her! LOL

Phew, I am so glad to be able to speak freely now without having to try to keep this secret any longer. My firstborn is going to be a mommy. And what a great mommy she is going to be. Yay!

They plan on finding out (if baby cooperates) if it's a girl or a boy next month at the ultrasound. Then I can knit specifically for gender instead of the generic knitting I am doing right now.

Much to tell...

2009-04-05T18:39:00.003-05:00

...... but I'll save the big long story for tomorrow. For now, it's just the announcement I've been wanting to make for over 2 months since I found out........

I'm going to be a grandma!!!!

Let the baby knitting begin.....

(SOOOOOO excited!)

Knitting content....No words needed

2009-04-04T13:48:00.005-05:00

Ok, a few words. Cupcake hat/sweater set for baby shower in 2 weeks. My friend/neighbor Donna's granddaughter is arriving soon! EXCITING! I was so happy to find the cupcake buttons once I decided to do the cupcake hat to go with the sweater. Very happy with how this turned out!

Cupcake hat from Itty Bitty Nursery and Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater

House of Flu

2009-03-26T12:17:00.003-05:00

Jake got it first, got better, had a relapse, got better again, then it hit the rest of us full force in the last few days. All life as we previously knew it has come to a standstill as we muddle through with our chills, aches, fevers and general comatose-like states. Be back soon!

Blooms, and notes about the kitchen project

2009-03-12T10:45:00.009-05:00

There is one more flower to open, but here is my amaryllis in all its glory.

And here it is with a backdrop of my new kitchen color. (Though this is not really the best indication of the color...more photos of kitchen progress to come soon)

Mike is off this week, so we are trying to get as much done as possible. The ceiling is painted, the walls are about done. We still have to paint all the trim (white) and put it back up. The doors will be a darker shade of the walls, and they still need to be painted. We are getting new base moldings, so all of that needs to be bought, cut, primed and painted.

We are taking out our ceramic tile countertop/backsplash and putting in a really fun retro Formica (the boomerang pattern from the 50s has been revived, and we are getting it in the aqua color, which is why we picked this color for the walls) The countertop is almost exactly the same color as the turquoise Fiestaware, so I will use some of the accessory Fiesta pieces around the kitchen.I am thinking yellow and red accents here and there will be nice (See that metal edging on the coral Formica table in that link above? We are trying to find a source for that metal strip for the front edge of the countertops. Originally we were going to have Home Depot make the countertop with a bullnose, where the pattern would go around the front edge of the countertop, seamlessly. But we decided to buy the Formica sheet and do the countertops ourselves, saving money, allowing for this fun retro-looking edge application, and it will also eliminate the corner seam in the Formica, which I was not happy about having to begin with) . We are going to put up some sort of metal backsplash. Not positive yet, but it might be diamond tread. We are also putting in a dark gray composite sink. There is gray in the Formica, so that will tie in. Plus I'm just sick and tired of trying to keep an almond colored porcelain sink looking nice. It's always got pot marks, stains, etc. Dark will be much easier to deal with!

We're also putting in a new bank of cabinets with the same fun countertop, so I can store more of my appliances, and have another work surface as well. HOPEFULLY it'll not be another clutter collector!

Here is my stove, which fits in with the retro look we are going for

I spent a while last night looking for a fun new cookie jar, and found a few prospects. I also found a cute clock that I'm hoping to snag on ebay.

After 5 days of rain, and a flooded yard, the sun has come out, but the temps have plummeted. We got a dusting of snow a little while ago. It was nearly 70 just 6 days ago. But this is not unusual. It takes a long time for Michigan to let go of winter.

Jake was home sick the past 2 days but went back today. I hope he's doing ok. So far no call from him asking to come home, so hopefully he's snapped back.

Off to order the countertop. Soon there will be tile-smashing going on! Fun!

Soup Party

2009-03-12T10:30:00.004-05:00

Saturday evening was fun! We went to a Soup Party, which is an annual event, but this is only the second time we've gone. I don't know why we've passed so many times before, cuz it sure was great!

The premise: Everyone brings a Crockpot full of soup. Unusual recipes are encouraged, so that there aren't 6 pots of Chicken Noodle, ya know?

Someone brings a few loaves of crusty bread to go with, but there are surprisingly few other things to eat such as appetizers, desserts, etc. Believe me...... you don't need them. I think I tried small amounts of about 6 soups and felt full the entire evening.

The photo shows only about 1/2 of the Crockpots. There was another table set up on the other side. This is the only picture I got though. I meant to take more pix, but I started sailing with the Cap'n.... (Morgan, that is) and well, I guess I forgot. Me and the Cap'n had a good time though.

Some of the soups that were made are listed here (and again, I meant to actually write them down, but...well...the Cap'n stopped me)

Dill Pickle
Lasagna
Taco Twist
Reuben
Buffalo Chickenjavascript:void(0)
Onion
Creamy Tomato
Loaded Baked Potato
Mexican Wedding Soup
Stuffed Green Pepper

to name a few. Everything thing was really good! To add to the festivities, there is a raffle drawing. I didn't remember this from the one other time we went, but that was a long time ago. Anyway, the host/hostess (My BIL's brother and his wife) provide prizes for the drawing. There is a Crockpot (of course), ladle, and other assorted kitchen goodies. The money collected from the raffle is split and becomes 2 of the prizes as well. We won a cash prize of $63. WOO HOO!

Crazy weather

2009-02-10T13:07:00.004-05:00

We're supposed to hit a record high today. The record is 56, they are saying 58-60. There is still snow out there that needs to go somewhere, but unfortunately the ground is still frozen solid. To top it off, thunderstorms tomorrow.

If we didn't live on this particular dirt road, I would not have a problem with the washing away of the 8 weeks of snow that has accumulated with no real melting. ( We didn't get our typical January thaw.... the snow just kept coming and the temps would hardly budge out of the single digits and teens.) But when things get warm really fast like this (and add some rain on top of it) our road can not handle it and turns to a muddy mess. Every year I pray it is not the year we have to resort to parking at the corner and putting on our boots to walk home. We've come close a few years, but this might be the one. Hoo boy... fun times.

On the knitting front, I am almost done with one of the pieces for my new pattern. The pattern will have several different options to choose from, and I am hoping to have samples to show all, or at least most, of the options in photos on the pattern. I'm getting good feedback about the design, and will announce it here when it's ready.

I spent about 7 hours Saturday in the company of my knitting buddies at Kim's house. We had ourselves a little mid-winter knitting retreat. Lots of chatter, food, and knitting. Unfortunately I was the first one who had to leave.... I really didn't want to leave but I had to tear myself away to go to a fundraiser that night. We had a really great time. Kim lives in a rural area where wildlife abound and at one point during the afternoon, 4 deer came and stood right outside her dining area window to feed a bit, and then stared as us while we stared at them. It was so cool!

Feels like a heat wave!

2009-01-23T13:11:00.006-05:00

I was able to walk out the door to get the mail without turning into a popsicle today. We're having a one-day heat wave here. It's 35 degrees at the moment. Now, to some of you (Hi Maria!) who may be enjoying unseasonably warm temps, we have been below freezing, and quite often below zero, for a while now. Brrr.... We also had a bunch of snow dump on us again last weekend, but thankfully none since then.

It's going to get frigid again this weekend. Single digits overnight with highs in the teens. Winter has a tight grip on us this year for sure. My wool socks and felted clogs are on my feet constantly. I've even had to wear socks to bed a few times and let me tell you, it has to be mighty cold for me to go to bed with socks on. I HATE having my feet covered in bed. Most times I have them sticking out of the sheets and blankets. So yes, this little warm up today feels nice. Even if it is short-lived.

I started these socks before Stitch 'n Pitch this summer so I could knit something small at the ballpark. After the game, they got put aside so I could work on my Rhinebeck sweater. I finally decided to pick the socks back up, and I've made a good bit of progress in the past few days. Hopefully they will be done this weekend. I love the pattern and the yarn!

I have another pair of socks that have been in progress even longer than these. I need to finish them so I can dive into my sock yarn stash and start a new pair. I really want to knit up some of my sock yarn before I buy any more. Not all of it, mind you, but at least a couple more pairs of socks have to come from my stash before I buy any more (and I already know what the first purchase will be. I got to see and feel some Mini Mochi last night and it is so pretty, and SO soft. That yarn is going to make some scrumptious socks!)

I'm working on a new design right now. It's being tested, and I hope to get the pattern written up, photos taken, and have it for sale soon! Watch for details here!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T13:37:00.004-05:00

The holidays left very little time, energy, or desire to blog. But here I finally am!

Christmas was wonderful. We had Christmas Eve here at our house, with Kim and Drew, my parents, and my brother Andy and his family. Mike made homemade kielbasa, and golabki (pronounced gawumpki....which is Polish stuffed cabbage). We also put a ham in the oven, and had some yummy side dishes. SIL Karen brought an awesome salad that I will definitely make again. It was unique and wonderful! Here is the link: Spinach Salad. She used fresh bean sprouts instead of canned (a very wise choice in my opinion!) and added Toastettes croutons as well. Yum.

Kim and Drew spent the night as they always do, and we all woke up in the same house to share the festivities on Christmas Morning. Lots of great gifts were passed around and then opened and enjoyed. We had a rather lazy day, just the way we like it.

New Year's Eve plans were changed at the last minute. The party we were to go to was cancelled so we ended up picking up some take-out and staying home. No problem. Another quiet, lazy day. Same with New Year's Day. More time for vegging.

This morning I awoke to a strange sound coming from downstairs. Even as I came down, I couldn't figure out what I was hearing. Turns out Mike had started stripping the wallpaper and had the steamer going to get the paper and glue off once the top layer of paper came off.

We have been talking about redoing the kitchen for many months now, and if you don't take that first step, it will never happen.

We've had the same theme in the kitchen since we gutted and remodeled the kitchen not too long after moving in over 15 years ago! It's hunter green checkerboard, and apples. I loved it at the time we did it. I've had a LOT of matching accessories added to the room over the years, but after a while you just get to the point where it starts to drive you crazy. Apples, apples, EVERYWHERE!

When I got my Fiesta dishes, I started thinking more seriously about changing things up. So now it looks like we have made the decision to do it. I can't wait. The few walls that we've gotten the wallpaper off today already look better (though we will have lots of repair work to do before we can actually put some fresh paint up). And unfortunately, it's not just 4 walls of one room that need to be done. The apple/checkerboard theme goes towards the back entrance area, and also down the hallway to the stairs. I think it's actually on 15 surfaces. A big job, for sure. But it will be worth it in the end. I am SO ready for this!

My plan is to paint all the walls one color of Fiesta (pretty sure I've decided on turquoise) and then the window and door moldings will be a combination of the other Fiesta colors that I have in my dishes. It's going to be quirky and whimsical, and I'm going to love it! I plan on using Porcelaine 150 paints (mixing to make Fiesta-like colors when they are not available) and painting all of the 40+ ceramic cabinet and drawer knobs I have now. I have looked and looked and have not found anything I like to replace them without spending about $500. I have used the paint before and it is very durable after being baked in a regular oven...no kiln needed!

I have no idea how long this project is going to take, but I'm glad it's finally underway and I really am looking forward to my fresh, new kitchen! Long overdue.

The big issue we have to decide on is whether to tear up the ceramic tile countertop and backsplash now, or have that be a separate project later on. The tile is almond, with an almond/green checkerboard backsplash. It REALLY needs to go (I'm thinking about a soapstone or concrete countertop). Now, or later, that is the question.......

Off to put the last of the Christmas decor away. Hopefully weeks won't go by again before I blog the next time, huh?

(Holy cow, I just went back and looked at the post when I got my Fiesta dishes and started talking about taking down the wallpaper and painting the kitchen. That was over EIGHT MONTHS AGO! It took us a while to get to this point, huh? Sheesh!)

Busy Busy BUSY!

2008-12-16T07:28:00.008-05:00

Holy cow, December is just flying by!

I think everyone is scrambling to get ready for Christmas this year. With Thanksgiving being late this year, December was right around the corner, and now it's half over already. Sheesh!

No knitting pictures to show, no knitting content to report. I'm too busy doing other things. Decorating, getting packages ready for the mail, baking, etc.

I've taken some time out to have some fun along the way though!

Kim and I had a little 2-day mother/daughter outing 2 weekends ago. We went shopping in Frankenmuth all day on Sunday (and a little more Monday morning) and then headed over to Birch Run outlet mall to shop the rest of the day. We had a fun time, and it was nice to get a little more shopping done while spending time with Kim. Included in the fun was a HUGE chicken dinner at Zehnder's in Frankenmuth. Zehnder's is an institution, THE place to eat when in Frankenmuth, but we had never been there before. Our waitress was a real sweetie and we really enjoyed her after a long day of hitting the sidewalks. The other place you MUST go to is Bronner's. A true Christmas wonderland! We spent over an hour there Sunday night but they closed down the store when we had only seen about 3/4 of the store, and so we had to go back in the morning to actually make our selections and purchases.

Here are Kim and I outside the Frankenmuth Woolen Mill store. Kim froze her butt on the metal sheep toy. It was about 15 degrees that day.

This past Saturday was Mike's company Christmas party. They provided everyone a room (or a taxi ride home instead) at the hotel complex where the party was held. It was nice to be able to enjoy the evening and then just go upstairs and sleep it off. A good time was had by all (That tends to happen when the alcohol is flowing freely!)

It's crunch time now, so I must fire up my KitchenAid mixer and get back to work!

We're having Christmas eve here with my mom and dad, Kim and Drew, and my brother's family. My brother loves cheesecake, so the past several years his gift has been a couple different flavors of cheesecakes. After baking, I freeze them, then cut each one into 4 pieces, wrap in foil and pop them back in the freezer. That way he can just pull out 1/4 of a cheesecake now and then and have a little treat. So I have 2 cheesecakes to make for him, and one for us to have Christmas eve. I also want to get some cookies made. I will try out something I bought myself at the outlet mall, which my friend Tam told me about. There was a 3-6 week wait to get one online so I was happy to find it in the store.

It's the New Metro beater blade for my mixer. It's got silicone edges that scrape the sides for you and it even gets down to the very bottom of the bowl where sometimes things don't quite get mixed in.

Ok, time to get into the kitchen and get crackin'!

(I just heard on the radio we are going to get some snow this evening. Yay! Yesterday morning it was pouring rain, and I really am not happy when it pours in December, washes away the snow and makes everything muddy brown again. It was 50+ degrees when Mike left for work yesterday morning, but down into the low 20s by afternoon. Brrr......)

Thankful

2008-11-27T07:09:00.005-05:00

I am thankful for so many things this year, and counting my blessings on all of my fingers and toes.

Our family is blessed with health, employment, (two biggies in my book) many friends, and a wonderful family to gather with and share a feast. We will count these blessings and many more, and pray for those less fortunate.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yay Hooray! The Sweater! It is D-O-N-E!!!

2008-11-21T17:24:00.008-05:00

Back in the spring, I went to Threadbear in Lansing for the "More Big Girl Knits" book launch. They had many of the garments from the book there to try on, and I fell in love with the Hot Cocoa Jacket, designed by Jordana Paige. I decided to make it, and meant to have it done in time to wear at Rhinebeck. I could have done it, but I am such a procrastinator. When will I ever learn? It didn't help that I lost a month of knitting time right before Rhinebeck when I was messing around with the CRT contact lenses. Oh well, that's all water under the bridge. The sweater is done, only a month late. I sewed the button on yesterday and wore it last night to show off to my knitting buddies. It was met with rave reviews, and I was so happy to finally be able to wear it. It was COLD last night, and as I walked in from the parking lot I could tell it was keeping me toasty warm. But with that big open neckline, something was needed to go with it.

Here's what I came up with. This is a scarf I knit with yarn I spun about a year ago. It's the first project that I have knit for myself with my handspun. That makes it very special to me! I used all of the 4 oz. I had spun, with only a teeny tiny little ball left. The pattern is called Mariko,and it was designed by Joan at Heritage Spinning and Weaving. I'm not sure if the pattern is up for sale yet. I loved knitting it. Very easy to memorize and I think it was perfect for the yarn. I started the scarf last Thursday evening at our knit night, and I think I surprised a few of the gals when I walked in with it a mere week later, done, blocked, and around my neck.

See more photos and information about both projects on my Ravelry pages. (Click up there at the top right)

Now I need to take a little knitting break and rest my hands. I figure between knitting the collar on the sweater on Friday, and knitting the full scarf, I knit almost 40,000 stitches this past week. Yes, that is the correct number of zeros....40 THOUSAND stitches. Yikes!

Overheard at Great Clips

2008-11-16T20:33:00.002-05:00

I took Jake to get his hair cut today, and was knitting while I was waiting. BTW-- The Hot Cocoa Jacket is OFF THE NEEDLES and in the process of being seamed. Everybody say YAY! (YAY!) I was knitting a scarf with some handspun.

There were two little girls, sisters, maybe 5 and 8 years old. Their grandma was getting a haircut and they were very patiently waiting. The older one was reading to the younger girl. I heard the older one say "she's knitting" which made my ears perk up and then the little one said "I like that!" So I looked up, and she was looking at me, so I said "Thank You!". She asked me if it was going to be a scarf. I said yes, and held it up to show her. The older sister said "Is that really hard to do?" I assured her that once you learn how that no, it really isn't that hard at all. Then the little one said:

"I thought that was in the olden days".

I very gently corrected her and said "Oh no, there are lots and LOTS of people who like to knit!!"

I hope someday they will learn how. I would have showed them if Jake wasn't done just then!

Gratitudes

2008-11-14T12:19:00.004-05:00

A day that started out gray and drizzling, turned into a sunny, warm day with a beautiful full moon at night.
I am sooo close to being done with my Hot Cocoa Jacket. I'll be so glad to weave in the ends and finally wear it! Just in time, because the weekend looks to be freezing!
Kaitlyn's teachers had nothing but good things to say about her at conferences last night. She must really shine when she's at school. I am proud of her hard work and am amazed by the effect she has had on her teachers.
Getting together with my knitting buds last night was a blast. There were only 4 of us in attendance last night, which is unusual, but we had enough fun to make up for those who were not there. A lot of laughter (and good-hearted teasing) and more laughter...it's a wonder we didn't get kicked out. Good times, for sure.

I am keeping my nephew Jared, and his lovely Annalise, in my thoughts and prayers today. They were evacuated from their home in Santa Barbara due to the fires. I pray they will be safe, and their home and belongings will be untouched by the flames.

Spinning again!

2008-11-06T11:58:00.005-05:00

Coming home from Rhinebeck with some lovely fiber has inspired me to dust off the spinning wheels. They haven't been touched in many months. Shame on me! I forgot how much I enjoy spinning!

Before I could get started on the beautiful BFL I got from the Briar Rose booth, I had to crack the whip on myself and finish up the merino I started spinning for Linda (I hate to say how long ago). It has been a huge weight on my shoulders and I am happy to say that since I've been home, I finished spinning it, plied it and then this morning wound it into 2 hanks, soaked them, and they are outside drying right this very moment. I'm hoping that the 70 degree temps and sunshine will help them dry so I can present them to Linda at our knit-night tonight.

Meanwhile, here's the first bobbin of Briar Rose BFL. (isn't it GORGEOUS?) Click to get a better look....

The fiber is prepared well, and it is a joy to spin. The colors in the roving are just beautiful and I love seeing how they blend together as I spin. I will probably end up with 3 bobbins, and am debating if I should do my first 3-ply or stick with 2 ply. I'm not sure if the colors will look too muddy if I ply 3 strands together. I guess I could try a little bit and see, and if I'm not happy, just do 2 ply!

Abolish the College!

2008-11-04T10:26:00.003-05:00

Electoral College, that is...

A little politcal rant here. I try not to talk politics with friends and family or on this blog, and this isn't about the candidates or how I am voting, but I need to vent....

My annoyance at the electoral college method of election is growing again since I heard this morning that McCain could have 3 to 4 MILLION less votes than Obama and still (possibly) win the election. I totally do not agree with this. I would like for someone to please explain to me why it is so important for us to vote when our individual votes are not what decides the election. Is this democracy??? Hardly. I understand why they might have thought it was a good idea at the time (not that I agree, but that was THEN, and this is NOW!) Does it make sense to hold onto this old idea? We have come a long way since this system was put in place for its archaic reasons.

I would like to think that all Americans would say they are perfectly capable of making up their own minds on who they would like to vote for and that they would like their individual vote to count. Is there really any average-"Joe The Plumber" who thinks the electoral college is still a good way to decide our leader?

If you agree with the Electoral College, please leave me a comment and tell me why you do not want YOUR vote to count.

I know I want MY vote to count. I want my family members, neighbors, friends all to have their say. I want YOU to have your say. I want everyone's vote to have equal weight in a decision this important. I want those who are voting for my choice as well as those voting for the opponent all to have equal say in who runs this country for the next 4 years. I want people in states with only 3 EC votes to feel their individual vote counts as much as someone who lives in a state with many more EC votes. Why is this not the way we do things?

I suppose if you live in one of those "undecided" states today, your vote will count. Sort of. I am reminded of 2000 when I felt like only those who lived in Florida had any say in the election. Oh how those votes were scrutinized and agonized over, and gosh, was your chad hanging or not? Over a month ....they counted and recounted while the rest of the country (if they were like me) sat back and wondered "why isn't MY vote just as important as those in Florida?".

And when all was said and done, a group of 538 strangers decided our president. Decided for the masses. I much prefer if the masses decide for ourselves, thank you very much. The masses said Al Gore, but the EC said nope, you get George Bush. I thought there would be talk of changing the system at that point. I thought the people of this country would say "Wait a minute! What just happened here!? We need to look at this and see if maybe we shouldn't come into the 21st century and really let the people decide (since that's what most people incorrectly assume is actually happening). But the uprising never came.

Click here for an explaination about how the Electoral College works, (you should really go read it if you're not clear). I especially like the final paragraph:

If all this sounds incredibly complicated it’s because it is. This is, however, the way the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest democracy” conducts its business. A far more democratic system would be for the American people to vote for the candidate of their choice. The candidate with the most votes would be declared the winner. This would also mean that the candidates would have to campaign in each of the fifty states because every vote would count. From my point of view, this would certainly not be ideal, but it would be an extraordinary improvement over the absurdity that presently exists.

So, I'm off to vote, even though it doesn't really count..... Michigan is already decided... Our EC is blue. McCain gave up campaigning here many weeks ago. Basically this said to me "Michigan's votes don't count anymore." I guess the only votes that really count today are from the states that haven't already been decided before election day. I really hope this system changes in my lifetime, or at least in our children's lifetime.

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Main Entry:: de·moc·ra·cy
Pronunciation:: \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\
Function:: noun
Inflected Form(s):: plural de·moc·ra·cies
Etymology:: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos + -kratia -cracy
Date:: 1576

1 a: government by the people ; especially : rule of the majority

End of rant...

Have a great day (It's going to be in the 70s here today! Woo Hoo! Gotta love Indian Summer!)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T09:53:00.009-05:00

My little leprechaun and the Zombie Prom Queen 2008 as they went off to school this morning....

Rhinebeck Recap

2008-10-23T07:52:00.009-05:00

I've already posted about my birthday, but there was so much more to the weekend. Linda, Tamara and I left early Thursday morning, drove up to Pt. Huron and across the bridge into Canada. The drive was just beautiful. It was a crisp, clear fall day. The further east we got, the more the landscape changed. Soon we were in the rolling hills, and they were covered in autumn's splendor of colors.

It was a very long drive, but I knit for several hours of it, thinking I might be able to actually finish my Rhinebeck sweater, but it wasn't to be. The chatter and laughter made the time fly by and before we knew it we were checking in to our hotel.

Frankie had arrived just before us. Frankie was a friend of ours, and was a member of our knitting group before she moved to NY a while back. She and Linda knew each other before they joined our knitting group. It was great to see her again!

We all had some dinner and caught up a bit with Frankie, then got some sleep.

On Friday we enjoyed the fall colors some more, and the big event of the day was visiting the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park. Click the link for lots of info, and photos of the interior.

I loved hearing the guide tell the all about the Vanderbilt family, and the history of the magnificent home that we were touring. (Magnificent, but the smallest of their many homes). We were not allowed to take photos inside, but I got some great shots (with my new camera) of the grounds, and the mansion from outside. Here is just one of them:

After the tour, we went into Red Hook to find some lunch. We ended up at Bread Alone Bakery. Yum. After that we visited a winery, and then the indulgence of the day, we found Taste Budds, which is all about chocolate. Here's what I ended up with. I told myself all along that I was not holding back this weekend. Whether it was food, or drink, or fiber...I was going for it!

Isn't it pretty? It was sooo good. It's called Life By Chocolate (better than Death By Chocolate, right?) Chocolate graham crust, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse and chocolate glaze. Here's a peek at the inside. Mmmmm... And yes, I ate the whole thing.

When we were done poking around in Red Hook, we headed back to our hotel for a bit, then went back out, tried to find a Geocache but Tam's phone wasn't able to pinpoint close enough. In trying to find it, we did enjoy driving through a neighborhood with some beautiful old homes. The architecture in the area just oozes history. The girls decided to get a light dinner from Panera Bread, but I still was filled up with the above chocolately goodness. We went back to the hotel and knit in the lobby, watching TV, while they ate. Eventually I walked across the parking lot and grabbed some Taco Bell when I got hungry. There were several other knitters in the lobby. It was nice to just relax before the craziness was to begin.

I've already posted about most of my day on Saturday. Sunday was more of the same.... walking and browsing and fondling and desiring and deciding and buying and eating and spending time with friends and enjoying the animals, etc. I think a future post will highlight all of the purchases.

We were back on the road early Monday morning. We left the hotel at 7am, when it was 28 degrees and there was a thick layer of frost on everything. It was actually several hours later before we saw the last of the frost. It took a long time for the sun to warm things up enough to melt it off. Enjoyed the scenery all the way home, but it was very anti-climactic.... The excitement was gone, we were exhausted, the landscape became more and more flat as we left the mountains and rolling hills behind. Before we knew it we were sitting in a long line of cars to cross the bridge back into Michigan from Sarnia, Ontario.

I arrived back on my doorstep at 7pm, and fell into bed shortly afterwards. After a wonderful whirlwind birthday weekend, it was great to be back in my own bed.

What a day!

2008-10-18T21:59:00.005-05:00

Oh my goodness, how much fun did I have on my 50th birthday today!

It started early, and my first gift was on my bed when I got out of the shower, from Tam. It was a skein of pretty green Socks that Rock yarn, and the book It's Not Easy Being Green. Cool gifts, thanks Tam!

Rhinebeck was fabulous.... SO much to see, and about a gazillion people all sharing the same fun. I loved watching all the beautiful handknits walking by. That was really fun.

I got to meet Jane today. We've known each other only online for several years now, and finally meeting her in person and spending time with her was wonderful. It was not awkward in the least, and we really had fun. We spent some time going through a few vendor barns and then split up again, making plans to meet for dinner later.

Tam and I continued on and bought some goodies. There was some fiber (chocolate-colored alpaca roving, beautiful autumn colored roving, black alpaca yarn and some beautiful autumn colored yarn... I wanted my fiber purchases to remind me of the beautiful landscape of the changing colors on the mountains near Rhinebeck, hence the 2 purchases of autumn colors!) and I bought a number of other fun items. The PERFECT button for my sweater (no, it did NOT get finished, but I'm still plugging away) I really could have used that sweater today. It was a bit chilly, especially when the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up a bit. I got a few Christmas gifts for Diane (neener neener, Diane!). I bought a beautiful handmade lucet.

There were a few other purchases, and I may get a few more things tomorrow. But I enjoyed the experience so much. Seeing all the animals, all the various vendors, and like I said before, just the wide variety of handknits on everyone from infants and toddlers, as well as women and men of all ages.

We watched the Frisbee-catching dogs, we watched the sheep-herding dogs. We wanted to hug all the alpacas, and laughed at the long bottom teeth on the llamas (I had never noticed that trait before).

Mid-afternoon I looked at Tam and said "stick a fork in me, I am DONE!" I was so exhausted. My feet hurt, my knees hurt, my back hurt. So we joined the other hundreds of people who seemed to have had the same thought at the same moment, and slowly made our way back to the hotel.

I iced my back, then got in the bath to soak for a while, and rejuvenated myself. We rested a bit, and then Jane and her cousin came and met us and we went out to dinner. We ended up at Ship To Shore and had a really good dinner, but mostly a really great conversation.

Oh, and there was the matter of the BEAUTIFUL green scarf knit for me by the lovely Jane. It's Kid Silk Haze. So soft, so light, yet warm. I just love it. Thanks again Jane!

The plan originally was to go to the Ravelry party in Red Hook after dinner, but we talked for hours and ended up missing it. Oh well, I was very happy to have spent the time with Jane to get to know her a little better. Jane's cousin Gail was great to be with too. Such a nice time.

Tomorrow morning we'll get up a little slower and arrive at Rhinebeck a little later. We'll revisit some of the places we took notes to go back and look again, or decide on (or against) some things we couldn't decide on today. I don't know if it will be more or less crowded (or the same) but I'm hoping maybe a little less crowded. There were a heck of a lot of people there today. I mean... seriously, a boat load of people.

But...what fun it was~

Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who made this day very special for me!

Pictures tomorrow or when I get home.

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-10-18T06:20:00.003-05:00

I'm off to buy "some" wool! It's a beautiful fall day in New York....we're gonna have some big fun!

Yay!

Note to self: Tomorrow, go to Rhinebeck

2008-10-15T12:20:00.002-05:00

YIPPEE! The time has finally come. I've been planning this trip for close to a year, and it's time to go! I'm jumping out of my skin with the anticipation of it all!

Ok, back to packing!

Fabulous Fall Foliage

2008-10-12T22:21:00.011-05:00

What a beautiful weekend! It's been quite chilly, especially in the mornings when the temps have been down in the 30s and we've seen quite a bit of frost already. But this weekend was in the mid to upper 70s and sunny.

Saturday we had a bash here to celebrate Kim's college graduation. She now has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration. Her major was Management. She did most of her classes while working full time, so it took her a few extra years, but the hard work paid off and I can now say I am the proud mother of a college graduate.

Before the main group of guests arrived, we had a little tiny celebration for my birthday, since I won't be here on "the day". Mike wanted to give me my gift early, so I could familiarize myself with it, and take it with me when I leave on Thursday to go to RHINEBECK! OMG can it really be less than 3 days til I leave???

I got this for my birthday. I took the above photo (and those below) with it yesterday afternoon. I have a lot to learn about how it works. Right now I'm shooting mostly on automatic. Whew, those 12.2 megapixels blow me away!

Do you know about Geocaching? I had heard about it several years ago and thought it would be so much fun, a nice family activity, and a way to get some fresh air and exercise as well as seeing some sites we might never have seen otherwise. The whole "digital treasure hunt" idea just sounded exciting! We didn't have a GPS at the time, and just recently got one. We created our account, found some nearby caches on the website, and off we went! We have found 7 of the 8 caches that we searched for over the past 2 weekends (that 8th one we've looked for 3 times and still haven't found it. It is very nearby our home so we will keep trying!) What a blast. We took advantage of the above-average temperatures yesterday and went to a nearby Metropark for a hike and to scope out a few more "treasures". Some of them are "micro" size and often difficult to find (size, terrain, and difficulty of each cache are listed on the website) Here are a few pix of Jake with a micro (in his left hand in the first picture--click for a bigger look-see) and 2 bigger caches, which are usually filled with toys or other small items for you to trade with, as well as a log book that you sign with your Geocaching name and the date. Micros are usually tiny little tubes with a piece of paper rolled up in them. You have to bring your own pen for those, and no treasures are inside to trade.

These are the 3 caches we found yesterday. Once you get to the coordinates, you never know where it might be... even up in a tree!

If you have a handheld GPS, or have the capability on your cell phone, check out this fun activity! I just wish we had started this at the beginning of the summer instead of now, when winter will soon cut off the fun. We could have hunted outside of our local area as we traveled during our vacations.

One of the caches we found yesterday had a Geocoin in it. Geocoins and Travel Bugs have registration numbers are trackable on the website. Whoever places them in the cache wants someone to take them out and move them to another cache. Sometimes they are supposed to move to a certain destination. The one we found came from WA and wanted to move as far east as possible before heading back to the west coast. I plan on taking it with me and dropping it in a cache somewhere in Ontario or NY on my way to Rhinebeck.

Speaking of Rhinebeck....my plans have changed a bit. My dear, generous friend Christine, who was going to pick me up from the airport and whisk me a way to WEBS on Thursday (and take me to NYC on Friday, and accompany me to Rhinebeck, and provide me with bed and breakfast while there) is suddenly having medical issues and will not be able to do any of these things for or with me this weekend. I am sad, and worried, and hoping she will have a full recovery without too much more pain and suffering. FEEL BETTER CHRISTINE!

SO.... I have canceled my flights, and will now be going by car with my friends Tamara and Linda (members of my knitting group for several years). Tam has so generously let me squeeze into her room since there was not a bed to be found in the Rhinebeck area at this short notice. THANKS TAM. I have to admit I would prefer to not be in a car for all of those hours there and back, but at this point am very happy to have that option.

So there will not be a trip to WEBS or a trip to NYC this weekend, but....we will stop at Niagara Falls on our way east, and Friday will be spent moseying around, taking pictures of what I hope will be some beautiful fall colors, and some scenery I haven't seen since my last time in NY which was oh....about 30 years ago! Tam loves photography, and has a camera that is very similar to mine, so I'm hoping she can give me some pointers as we are out and about taking pictures that day.

The trip is changed, but except for my constant concern for Christine, will be just as much fun, I'm sure. The time in the car will give me an opportunity to finish my sweater if I haven't done so by then. I'm on my way up the sleeves right now. I may be seaming and blocking in the hotel room Thursday night or Friday, but here's hoping my Hot Cocoa Jacket will make its debut on Saturday (MY BIRTHDAY!) at Rhinebeck.

Hope to see you there!

Disappointed....

2008-10-06T21:02:00.002-05:00

Well, I gave it a good shot... almost 4 weeks, and no less than 13 CRT lenses, including a pair that was custom made for my own eyeballs. But my eyes were stubborn. The eye that was being corrected for close vision was fine but we just couldn't get the distance vision to be clear. We even switched which eye was being corrected for close and made that the far eye, to no avail.

I was really hopeful, especially when I got the custom made lenses, that I would wake up one morning and really see clearly. It just never happened. I could tell a difference, that things had improved, but it just never was good enough. I've been walking around in a haze for most of 4 weeks. It's been very frustrating. Today, I called it quits.

I've gotten used to no glasses though, so I am going to keep wearing contacts. I haven't worn contacts in a long time, and even then, it was only occasionally. I'm hoping I can do monovision with the soft lenses. Right now I'm transitioning again, letting my eyes go back to their "real" shape, so I can get the right prescription. It will take a few days, and meanwhile I have 3 pairs of lenses to mix and match for the best vision each day until I'm back to where I started.

I have never been one to put makeup on every day, but I find myself doing so now. I had my eye (pun intended) on the Bare Minerals products for a couple years, and recently bought a starter kit, and have added a few more items since then. I'm getting used to putting eye makeup on every day too, now that my eyes are hanging out for all to see instead of hiding behind glasses.

I guess I'm liking the compliments I've been getting the past few weeks. It helps that I have a haircut (and color) that I really love right now. Looks like I'm spending my last few weeks in my 40s looking better than I have in a while. If I could only miraculously lose a bunch of weight, I'd really be happy! But I haven't done the work to make it happen, so I have no one to blame but myself for that.

10 days from now I'll be enjoying the first day of my 50th Birthday Weekend with my friend Christine in CT. I'm so excited that it is getting so close. I'm looking forward to meeting up with good friends from all over, a trip to NYC (my first ever), and of course RHINEBECK! I've been plugging away on my sweater...I am still hoping to have it done in time. We'll see! (NO pun intended that time! LOL)

Pool? What pool?

2008-09-27T15:17:00.005-05:00

After 21 years of service, our 24' pool is history. We first put this pool up in the yard of our Victorian home in Richmond, MI (I wish I had a digital photo to insert here, it was a gorgeous old home, built in 1879). When we sold the house 6 years later, the older couple who bought it was not interested in having the pool, so we took it down and moved it to our new home, where we have enjoyed it for 15 more years.

The side wall was so faded it was almost white (having started out as a blue-ish gray woodgrain) and things were starting to corrode.

Mike started looking for pools on Craigslist. Eventually he found a 28' pool for $500 or best offer. It was about 6-7 years old, already taken down, and came with a much better filter/pump than what we had. We ended up getting the pool for $350.00! Considering this brand in this size goes for about $6,000-7,000 new, I think that is a heck of a deal! There are a few things that need to be cleaned up, and we will probably paint the top rails, but how can you beat that price? We'll have to buy a liner, obviously. We are going to dig the middle out to about 6-1/2 to 7' which will be nice, and put in a bottom drain which will make it much easier to keep clean.

So we started draining the old pool last week, and today we unscrewed a million screws, found lots of wasp/hornet nests under the railings and inside the side posts (as well as many spiders and their nests and webs too) as we dismantled the whole thing. Mike will haul it all off to the scrap metal place and come home with a few bucks.

We were hoping to get the bigger pool up this fall so we'd be ready to go in the spring, but that probably is not going to happen now. Instead, Mike hopes to at least get the hole dug and prepared before winter, and we'll put the pool up in May. It will be nice to have a bigger pool, especially at such a bargain price!

Look Ma! No Glasses!

2008-09-17T11:23:00.006-05:00

I'm a week into my Orthokeratology, using Paragon CRT lenses while I sleep. It has been a little frustrating at times. Yesterday was a day I was questioning whether or not this was a good idea. I do feel better about it today.

I have made 5 trips to the eye doctor in 7 days. I have had 4 different CRT lenses for my right eye, and one for my left. I have in my possession a soft contact for my left eye and 3 different ones for my right eye. So far I have managed to keep them all straight (I think!). While my eyes are in transition, I wear whichever combo gets me through the day until my next appointment.

I am going for the "monovision" correction, which means my left eye is being corrected for close vision and my right eye for distance. This morning there was a distinct improvement with my "really far" vision, and close up was better than yesterday, though not quite as clear as the first few days. I can definitely tell the lenses are working. Now my brain just needs to bring the two together, because the mid-range is still pretty blurry. So walking around the house is fuzzy, but reading and computer work are pretty clear (no knitting has been going on, but maybe today!) and I may try driving without soft lenses today (but will bring them with me if I feel I need to pull over and give myself some "correction").

The concept is very cool, and hopefully the monovision will eventually make things clear. If I don't think I can handle the monovision, the eye doctor will end up correcting both eyes for distance. This will mean I will probably have to wear reading glasses at times. I guess I can live with that. But I'm hoping I can avoid glasses either altogether, or for a very large portion of my day.

I've had glasses on my face for 43 years (I wore soft lenses for a couple of years, and even then it was off and on, not exclusively). I am ready to be rid of them. I just was too afraid to go for the LASIK.

So there has been a little hiccup in the progress on my Rhinebeck sweater, but hopefully I will be back in full swing and can still get it done. If not, then being able to see without glasses or contacts (during the day) will be well worth it.

I was able to create a WEBS fund with money I got from eBay auctions that ended over the weekend. I sold off some stuff from my crashed car. Free money! I still can't believe that someone bought the manuals for $47.00! I literally had them in my hand over the trash can before I decided to try to sell them on eBay. I got $40.00 for my iPod cord (it was different than the one I needed for my new car) People will buy just about anything, I swear! It's all good though... now I have money ($225.00!) for my trip to WEBS and it won't take away from my Rhinebeck fund! Yay!

Never Forget....

2008-09-11T07:14:00.002-05:00

I am thinking back to the morning of September 11, seven years ago, and the days that followed. I remember thinking how life would never be the same. I remember feeling "stuck" for weeks. I had a hard time going about my daily tasks. I felt so guilty about being able to do the simplest of things, when so many were suffering and when so many were taken from us in that horrendous act of terror.

We've all gone back to living our daily lives. Years later the memories are not as clear or as painful. But let us never forget those who were lost, or those who took them from this world.

This morning people will stop for a moment of silence to honor those whose lives were taken, and we will also mourn the loss of our lives as they were before that tragic morning 7 years ago.

There will also be mourning of a different kind today at my daughter's high school. A student was killed in an accident yesterday on the way to school. She was a senior, at the beginning of a school year that brings so many special moments. Her classmates are going to have a rough day today, dealing with her death, realizing how fragile life really is. Kaitlyn has known her since middle school. I can't imagine what her parents and close friends are going through this morning, especially the 4 other students who were involved in the accident.

Please drive safely. People are in such a hurry, or talking on cell phones, or texting, or just being careless. I have been hypersensitive to these things since my own accident 3 weeks ago. Slow down, people.... stop for that yellow light instead of running the red light. Make sure there is no one coming before pulling away from a stop sign. Pull over to use your cell phone. Don't drive down the freeway typing text messages. Seriously... is it worth losing your life or taking someone else's? Just slow down and be careful!

~Chelsea Pascoe~ rest in peace.

~America~ pray for peace.

Excited!

2008-09-09T07:40:00.004-05:00

Tonight, 6 of my SILs and I are going to see Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick in concert. We have been waiting for this night for months! We have seats in the 7th row, and plan to have ourselves quite an evening. I am blasting Journey right now to get myself in the mood (not that my mood needs much convincing, really). I will probably listen to Journey all day today.

My friend Deb lent me a DVD of a recent concert, and I have to say, it's a little weird to hear/see someone other than Steve Perry singing. But I'll give "the new guy" a chance and I'm sure I'll enjoy the concert nonetheless. He sounds very much like Steve.

(I am pretty sure that the first concert I ever went to was Journey, in the late 70s. I distinctly remember paying $6.95 for the ticket. Tonight's ticket cost roughly 20 times that amount. Luckily I am not paying for it. What is up with ticket prices these days? SHEESH! Even the nose-bleed seats are ridiculous!)

The weekend: I met my new grand-nephew on Saturday. Wouldn't you know it, I didn't have my camera. Let me just say, Charlie is a real sweetie, and so darned cute. I loved holding him and sniffing his little baby head. I wish he didn't live so far away. He's going to grow up so much in between visits. Darn.

In other news...

Rhinebeck is quickly approaching. That means I have very few days left in my 40s! The big 5-0 is looming right up there in front of me. It's all good though. What better way to turn 50 than in the company of fiber-loving friends at Rhinebeck? I finally bought my tickets so it's official...I'm going to Rhinebeck!

AND!!! It looks like there will be a trip to WEBS squeezed in on Thursday when I arrive. I'm flying into Hartford and my lovely hostess informed me that WEBS is about 45 minutes away and if I only have a carry-on (this may be an issue, but I will work around it!) we can zip over there for a short time before she has to be back home. WEBS! I'm going to WEBS! Thanks Christine! Big excitement even before the big weekend at Rhinebeck!

There will be several friends there to help me transition into my 50s. Friends who I know here in Michigan, and friends I have known only online. I am finally meeting Christine (and hopefully Mary Beth) who I have known online for 11+ years. We have been part of an email loop which has seen members drop out over the years but there are still 11 of us who have kept in touch. Thousands and thousands of emails have been sent and read by all of us over the years. I have met some of them, and hopefully will someday meet them all. (HI loopies!)

Jane will come from GA, and I will also be meeting her for the first time, after knowing her online for quite a few years too. Jane has been so helpful to me as a test knitter for my patterns, and I have enjoyed our friendship so much as it has grown. I can't wait to see her in person!

My friend Tamara will be driving from MI (hopefully Linda will still be able to join her!). Frankie used to be in our knitting group but she moved to NYC several years ago. She will be joining us as well.

Now that the event is getting closer, I finally decided to get my butt in gear and have been knitting furiously these past few days on my Rhinebeck sweater. I am almost done with the back now, and that is only the first piece. Luckily sleeves and fronts are smaller, but that is 4 more pieces. Yikes. I am focused though, and hopefully will have it done in time. But, I just know that if I do finish it, temps will probably be in the 80s that weekend. And if I don't, well it will probably snow or something. So I'll work on getting it done so the weather will be picture-perfect for everyone who will be there.... never mind showing off the sweater, huh?

So that's the excitement around here. I'm off to make an appointment at the eye doctor to check out Corneal Refractive Therapy. It's a great alternative to LASIK for chickens like me who are afraid of the lasers, but still want to see without going through their day wearing glasses or contact lenses. If anyone has experience with this please leave me a comment!

I also need to call my doctor to make an appointment to get the results of all the tests from the past few weeks. Here's hoping they all say I'm normal! (not that I believe for a minute that I really am normal, but I'd like my test results to say I am!)

Moving on....

2008-08-30T06:59:00.005-05:00

The bruises have faded.

The horrible sounds and memories of the crash are replaying in my mind less often.

I'm starting to get over the sadness of losing the car I loved so much. Well, I WAS starting to get over it. Yesterday, I saw another green xB in my town. They were a limited edition, are very rare, and I have never seen another one in the Romeo area. I have not seen another one ANYwhere in over a year. Yet yesterday I had to spot one coming down the road. It was like a knife to the heart. With a twist.

I still freak out a bit when I see cars pulling up to intersections, hoping they'll stop. I am much more aware of every car around me and what they're doing, and trying to second guess their every move. It's rather nerve-wracking. I'm sure this will eventually pass, though I will continue to be more careful and aware.

I continue to be thankful and feel blessed about my lack of injury and pain. That is most important in this whole situation. (But I still want my car back, dammit)

I guess you never realize how much you rely on your transportation until you are suddenly without wheels, without warning. I am so lucky to have a neighbor/friend who was so generous and lent me her car throughout the week. I was able to do most of the things I would have normally done, and my inconvenience was greatly reduced because of her. Thanks Donna!

I got my new car on Wednesday. It's kind of cute (NOT as cute as my xB). It's a cool color (NOT as cool as my xB's green) and I guess I'm happy. When I got the insurance check, I paid off the loan on my xB and had some money left over. I got a good interest rate on the new car, and my payments are less than what I was paying on the xB, even with no money down. So I'm not out anything, financially, because of this accident. No, my losses are emotional rather than financial or physical.

Notice I am calling my old car "the xB" rather than Yarnbox. The reason? Because my new car will also be Yarnbox, until May. I had renewed my personalized plate in the spring, and decided to just transfer the plate for now, rather than have to pay the full fee again so soon. I have a temporary in my window for now, because I haven't been able to bring myself to put that plate on my new car yet. It feels like it's a Yarnbox imposter. I have 2 weeks to break down and do it.

So, here it is. My 2009 Chevy Aveo5 2LT. She's got some features that the xB didn't have. I'm thinking I might need to have a sunroof put in, just to make me feel a little better (and because I deserve it, right?)

The color is actually prettier than what it shows in this photo. I haven't had a chance to get a better picture, due to weather issues. Weather...that means there is now mud splashed on my new car. We are supposed to have 5 days of sun (and HEAT) now, so she'll be getting clean again today. I may be taking her for a little road trip this weekend. Depends on if I head to the lake when Mike and Jake leave this afternoon, or if I wait until morning to go.

Happy Holiday Weekend, everyone! Have fun, and stay safe!

ps...this car has side airbags, and OnStar, which both make me feel much better.

Oh my poor Yarnbox....sniff

2008-08-20T19:15:00.008-05:00

So, it's been quite a summer. A pinched nerve in my back (not once but twice) leaving me pretty much incapacitated until I could get fixed up by my wonderful chiropractor.

Then, I ripped my leg open and needed 18 stitches.

I raised my hands up and said to the universe: "What next?"

There was my mistake. Universe answered and said "How about THIS?"

This morning I was coming home from Best Buy, with a back-up drive for my computer. I've never gotten into the habit of backing anything up. I've heard so many horror stories lately about people losing important files, especially photos. I've been pushing my luck for too long and decided I needed to start protecting my digital information.

I got the last one of these on the shelf at Best Buy. On sale, too. It even coordinates with my orange laptop cover!

So, I was minding my own business, was less than 3 miles from home, and had myself a little bit of excitement. A guy pulled out from a side road (while I was traveling toward the intersection at 55 mph) and he attempted to turn. I think he thought I was going to stop (he had a stop sign, I did not). I had enough time to lay on my horn and try to swerve around him, but he hit me right on the side and flipped me over. There is nothing that compares to the feeling you get when you are starting to roll over. I put my hands over my head and just prayed there would not be another car coming down the road to hit me again. I came to a stop, upright, within a few feet of an accounting building. I'm glad I didn't hit that too.

Anyway, I am ok (as far as I know). Sore, and will most likely be more sore tomorrow. I assume the insurance company will say my dear Yarnbox.... the car I have loved most in all my life, is totaled. Here is a photo of where the roof scraped the road (or vice versa!) More photos on flickr here

Where has summer gone?

2008-08-16T09:05:00.008-05:00

Wow, summer has really flown by. (Doesn't it always?) So many plans are formed when school lets out, and then the lazy days just flow one into the next and before you know it ... POOF! It's over and school starts again.

We have just returned from a camping trip. It was a week for Mike and Jake, who left last Saturday. I brought Kaitlyn and a friend to the campground on Monday, and came home yesterday. Mike and Jake will return today. During the days when it was just the 2 of them, they did some fishing, golfing, and just hung out together having some "guy time", which I'm sure they both enjoyed a lot!

The 4 of them went to Cedar Point on Tuesday and I had a nice QUIET day by myself at the campground.

While they were gone, I:

~made some progress on my sweater (still a long way to go and time is running out!

~read (Whack a Mole by Chris Grabenstein... I have really enjoyed all 3 books in this series)

~watched Olympics

~basically enjoyed my solitude.

Wednesday we went into Monroe (hometown of Custer) and went to the historical museum. Very interesting stuff! One of the biggest battles of the War of 1812 was fought in the area.

We spent Thursday on Put In Bay Island which was a TOTAL blast. Took the ferry over, rented a 6-seater golf cart for the day and just took in the sights, toured the Heineman winery and Crystal Cave (which was the world's largest geode, and you got to be inside of it. SO COOL!) Played 18 holes of mini-golf with a War of 1812 theme. Lots of history on the island. And lots of fun things to do. We had lunch at Mr. Ed's Bar and Grille, which was right across the street from a beautiful park overlooking the marina and lake. We loved buzzing around on the golf cart along with hundreds (thousands?) of other carts. The day was beautiful and we really had a great time.

Mike has the camera, so I will post photos later on.

Now it's back to reality. I'll have to catch up on laundry (everything smells like campfire of course) and restock the fridge and pantry. Jake missed his "Dawg Days" this week, which is where the kids go and get their schedules, get their pictures taken, order yearbooks, turn in emergency cards, etc etc. I'll have to take him in before school starts to take care of some of that. I can't believe I no longer have a child in elementary school, after all these years. Jake is off to middle school. And Kaitlyn is a senior. It's a big year in the Bloom house. We still need to buy school supplies (once again, I urge all teachers...please send a school supply list to your students before school starts, especially if you have items on your list that are out of the norm....did you ever try to buy school supplies after school starts? They've already gone on clearance and there is nothing left). When I worked at Target, every mother of every 6th grader came to Target after school started, looking for a clipboard, and boy were they pissed that we didn't have hundreds of them on the shelves waiting for them. (Note to self...Jake is a 6th grader...pick up a clipboard....it'll probably be on his list)

We also need to get Kaitlyn's senior pictures taken in the next few weeks. Her photographer will be my good friend Debbie, who is so creative and has a special talent for getting great shots. She did Kim's wedding photos and they are stunning. Check out her website. Beautiful photography. She is also mentoring Kaitlyn, since my dad's photography genes seem to have been passed down and she wants to also make photography her career. Grampa couldn't be prouder!

Time to tackle another load of laundry. More will be coming when my men pull in with the camper shortly. I just got a call that they are on the road.

Favorite Things

2008-07-29T09:37:00.004-05:00

Play along on your own blog if you feel like sharing!

My favorite:

Sport: hockey with baseball a close second
Game: poker
Color: green
Movie: Bridges of Madison County
Broadway play I have seen: none
Broadway Musical I have seen: none
Song: Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer"
American city I have visited: Savannah, Georgia and Skagway, Alaska
Foreign city I have visited: Victoria, BC
Book: "Lightning" by Dean Koontz
Children's Book: All Judy Blume books
Classic television show: Felix the Cat
Recent television show: Heroes
Actor: Johhny Depp
Actress: hmmmm....don't know
Perfume: don't wear it
Food: Lasagna
Dessert: cheesecake
Chain Restaurant: Ruby Tuesday
Local Restaurant: Jet's Pizza
Car: green Scion xB
Condiment: Mayo
Kitchen Appliance: Foreman grill
Home Appliance: macbook
Beauty Product: Bare Esscentuals/Bare Minerals products
Piece of clothing: shorts
HGTV Show: House Hunters
Food Network show: Unwrapped
Author: Marisa de los Santos
Male Songwriter: Neil Diamond
Female Songwriter: Sinead O'Connor
Holiday: Christmas
Ballet I have seen: The Nutcracker
Disney character: Eeyore
Flower: Daisy

Alcoholic drink: Southern Comfort with lemonade
Non-Alcoholic drink: Pepsi
Magazine: Interweave Knits
Animated movie: Brave Little Toaster

Television network miniseries: Roots
Season: Summer
Male vocalist:Neil Diamond

Female vocalist: Trisha Yearwood
Day of the week: Saturday
Household Chore: Laundry (Favorite? LOL I guess it's the one I mind the least)
Ice Cream: Death by Chocolate
Candy: Peanut Butter M&Ms
Artist: Van Gogh

A little getaway

2008-07-20T09:14:00.002-05:00

Jake and I are venturing north to spend a few days at a cabin on the Manistee river.

I'm bringing my laptop, and will venture into town in search of a WiFi connection, and hopefully can check emails daily.

If you've ordered a pattern and don't receive it right away, this is why. Please be patient...all patterns will be sent by Thursday evening at the latest. Thanks!

TTFN!

Ouch, Part 2

2008-07-17T21:05:00.006-05:00

So now that my back is better, what the hell, go for some stitches, why don't we? Let's add a little more excitement to the summer, huh?

Sheesh? What is NEXT? (If you're squeamish, perhaps don't read what comes next, though I will try to not be too graphic.....)

Under that large dressing are 18 stitches. (6 inside and 12 on the outside)

The gauze on my calf is just covering a scrape, and there is another (larger, deeper) scrape above the wound that needed the dozen and a half sutures. It was not pretty. It was not a nice clean cut. It was ...well...like something I've never seen before. I also have a small scrape and bruise on both of my arms.

What happened was...I was getting out of the pool, coming down the ladder. And unfortunately not one, but TWO of the rungs were missing the nuts on the bolts that go through the ends of the rungs. (Unbeknownst to me, because they are UNDER the steps of course). The middle step gave way first, then the bottom and before I knew it I was hanging on for dear life, with a gaping hole in my leg caused by the bolt on the middle step as I slid past it.

Jake was outside with me when it happened and I've got to hand it to the kid, he was amazing. He ran and got me whatever I asked for at lightning speed, didn't get grossed out by what he was seeing (I know Kaitlyn would have probably passed out and been totally useless to me at that point)

I first applied pressure with a towel, but then saw that it really wasn't bleeding much (I still don't know how that's possible). I then sent Jake for the gauze and tape that I had left over from my gall bladder surgery, got things covered up as best I could , and had Kaitlyn drive me to the ER.

It must have been an interesting wound, because the nurses (and other staff on hand) all filed in one by one to gaze, and comment, and call to whoever else walking by "Have you seen this?"

Then of course the parade again once it was sewn up (2 hours later) to marvel at how nice it looked.... you know, closed up and not gaping open and gross, and all.

And darn it, why didn't I grab my iPod on the way out the door? I could have listened to a bunch of Harry Potter, or some nice soothing music as I was trying to ignore the sewing up of my leg (and all the nasty things that procedure entailed.)

At least I had finally gotten around to shaving my legs after the pinched nerve incident.

ps...I do have knitting news. The Princess Lace Wrap is blocked, and photos will follow tomorrow. I just unpinned it from the sheet on the floor so Mike didn't injure himself in the morning as he stumbles around in the dark before work.

Ouch!

2008-07-09T17:55:00.003-05:00

So yesterday I was just going through my day, minding my own business.....

Then right before I was going to make dinner, I tried to get up off the couch. And couldn't. I was stuck in a hunched over position and any movement toward standing upright caused great pain in my lower back. The rest of the evening I was fine only if I was still, but any movement whatsoever brought about my phrase for the evening which was OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW! (complete with an ugly grimace on my face).

Trying to sleep last night was not fun. Just getting into bed and laying down caused bolts of lightning to shoot through my spine. Getting comfortable? That took about 1/2 hour of very tiny movements. Turning over when I started feeling the bedsores forming from lack of movement? OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!!!!! Getting out of bed this morning? Oh, fun!

I managed to get into the shower, but was not able to shave my legs or even wash my feet. Of course I had to drop the soap (and knock the shampoo bottle down off the shelf too) each of which took a long, painful time to retrieve. As soon as I was dressed I made my way downstairs and got right on the phone with the chiropractor. They were able to squeeze me in. I didn't dare sit down when I got there, for fear I wouldn't get out of the chair again, so I was ushered back to a room, where I STOOD waiting for over 30 minutes. Granted, they had to squeeze me into the schedule, but I was not happy to be left standing there for so long, especially at least 20 minutes of it was past the time they told me to come in!

Anyway, he said I have a major pinched nerve, did some adjusting, and told me to go home, find a comfortable position, and stay there, with ice on my back. And come back at 6pm to see if the adjustment was holding. So I came home, had some lunch, took my book and my iPod up to bed with an ice pack. I watched some TV, listened to the Harry Potter audiobook on my iPod until I started nodding off. Took a little nap, turned the TV on again, wowed my sister with some emails from my iPod (she was whining that she can't email from HER iPod) and finally made my way back downstairs for another trip to the chiropractor, after asking Mike to pick up some pizza on his way home.

I am back again, sitting here with ice stuffed down the back of my pants. Lovely.

Maybe tomorrow I can shave my legs.....

Summer afternoon in the hammock

2008-07-08T14:43:00.004-05:00

Remember my new toys that arrived a few weeks ago? Here they are all decked out in their colorful protective coverings. I originally wanted a green case for my macbook but orange runs a close second as far as favorite colors. It came today from Overstock.com. They were having a 10% off sale over the weekend, and since it was already cheaper than the original website I found it on, and now would be even cheaper, I took the plunge.

Fun, huh?

"myPod" now has a lime green aluminum case (complete with belt clip which turns into an easel) I have also ordered a silicone skin for it for times when the clip is not necessary, and also some new green earbuds. Not just because they were green, but because I find that the earbuds they send along with the iPod Touch are pretty much useless (unless you have huge Shrek ears or something). I don't understand why this great piece of technology comes with such crappy earbuds. I have read/heard the same thing from so many people. When you're buying an expensive item like the iPod Touch, you should not have to immediately go out and buy new earbuds to go with it. Apple: listen to the people and fix this issue!

So my new toys and I are spending some time hanging out in the new hammock. Remember what I said yesterday?

Life is good......

Life is good

2008-07-07T23:14:00.003-05:00

It's 12 minutes past midnight....12 minutes past the 29th anniversary of our wedding. Amazing. So many memories....

Mike and I went out to dinner (Jake came with us because Kaitlyn was at work) and then the 3 of us stopped for ice cream before visiting Mike's brother who is recovering from heart surgery. He's doing very well, thank the heavens above.

The holiday weekend was so much fun. We gathered with family where we almost always do on the 3 holidays that mark the beginning, middle and end of summer.... on the shore of Lake Huron in Michigan's "thumb". The weather was perfect (save for the first night that was 45 degrees.... Hello? Isn't this JULY?) There was no rain, there were hardly any clouds, the wind was calm (a rarity, believe me) and the temperature couldn't have been more divine.

Mike was able to enjoy a 3 day weekend (many weekends lately have been non-existent as he has been working every Saturday and a lot of Sundays too). It must've felt so wonderful for him to finally get a chance to relax and enjoy some down time. It sure felt good for me, knowing he could sleep in and just enjoy the days spent with family, having fun . Eat, Drink and Be Merry. There was a lot of that going around, that's for sure.

My SIL turned 50 on Saturday, so the festivities of the weekend were not just for the holiday, but for her birthday too. Her "real" party is on the 19th, but the preview was a lot of fun as well.

Of course today I spent a good amount of time catching up on things around here. MUCH laundry, cleaning out the camper, vacuuming the pool (which somehow became disgusting in our absence) etc.

I just finished reading Belong To Me, by Marisa de los Santos. I am sad that I am done reading it. After reading Love Walked In by her, and now this one, I am longing for more by this incredibly talented author. I don't have another book to start, so I guess a trip to the library is in order for tomorrow. I have to remind Jake to read more. He's not reading as much this summer as in summers past. I think some reading time together in the new hammock tomorrow sounds good. As long as it's not too unbearably hot out there. Well, we could always cool off in the pool.

Knitting content: Princess Lace Wrap is off the needles. Photos to follow, after it has been blocked. Back to the sweater I need to finish by October/Rhinebeck!

Apple of my eye

2008-06-22T17:42:00.010-05:00

Three days ago, some new toys arrived on my doorstep. They have both kept me very busy ever since.

I have been increasingly unhappy with my PC laptop for months, and have contemplated taking the plunge and trying a Mac. The more I heard and read, the more I thought that was the way to go. When Mike said "go for it" I didn't waste any time....I placed my order and about 36 hours later these arrived on my doorstep (the iPod Touch was "just because")

Even the packaging is darned attractive!

Still untouched:

I have almost 600 songs, and some photo albums, loaded onto the iPod. All of the music is from CDs we have here, except for one song from the iTunes store. My first ever iTunes purchase. It's too easy, and that may be quite dangerous!

I have had fun playing around with all the features. I know I am going to love being able to get my mail or use the internet anywhere there is a WiFi signal, with no extra fees. There are just so many bells and whistles on this little thing. Simply amazing!

I've put in a library request for the first Harry Potter audiobook on CDs so I can upload it to "myPod" and listen to it. I have never read any of the HP books, or seen any of the movies (though every book is either in this house or has passed through it and we have all the DVDs) I've wanted to read them for a while, but I've decided to get the audiobooks and listen instead. I hear the narrator is just awesome.

Here is my new MacBook as I started writing this post. There are lots of things that are set up differently than on a PC and I am still stumbling my way around. I will definitely be taking advantage of the free workshops at the Apple Store, and most likely will sign up for their one-on-one sessions. You can hardly beat the price....$100 for a year, and you can go for weekly, one hour private sessions. That's only two bucks a pop if you use them all! I have a lot to learn, and with all of the awesome things this machine can do, I want to take full advantage of all of the features.

A few months back my friend Jane had people leave comments and suggestions and helpful hints in her blog comments about MacBooks, since she is also considering getting one. I'll have to go back and read them again now that I have mine!

Besides these new toys keeping me busy, I was also helping Kim prepare for the surprise party that was held here yesterday for her husband, Drew, and his very good friend Dave, who both turned 25 this month. Dave's girlfriend Tiffany helped throw the party. Kim has known Drew and Dave both for about 9 years. They were both here frequently during their high school days, along with many others in their close-knit group of friends... many of whom were also here last night. It was so good to see them again ... it brought back a lot of good memories. Coincidentally, Kim, Dave, Tiffany and I all worked at Target together too. That's how Kim became friends with Tiffany, and that was even before Tiffany and Dave started dating. Kim was thrilled when they did, and the four of them spend a lot of time together.

We had a lot of prep to do for the party... setting up the tent outside, getting the yard and deck looking pretty, cleaning up the house. The girls came over on Friday night and made some food, put lights around the deck for mood lighting, etc.

We did have a major downpour yesterday, not too long before the party started. Then it rained off and on for part of the afternoon after the guests arrived, but eventually stopped raining (and cooled off dramatically). Drew and Dave were both VERY surprised, and everyone had a really great time. Mike and I both slept til 10:00 this morning. That is soooo unusual for him. He must've need it. He's been working so many hours lately. I think it's catching up with him.

We had some cleaning up to do this morning, of course. But it has turned out to be a beautiful day. There has been rain all around us but somehow it has missed us. It's in the 70s with sunshine and a light breeze. Lovin' it!

I hope the rain also stayed away from my friend Tamara and her husband Craig's anniversary party today. They are celebrating 25 years of wedded bliss. Congratulations Tam and Craig! Happy Anniversary!

Where has the last month gone?

2008-06-14T08:40:00.008-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been more than 5 weeks since I last posted. A LOT has happened since then!

The main event was a surprise visit to my sister in South Dakota to help her celebrate her 60th birthday over Memorial Day weekend. She had absolutely NO clue, and after her initial dumbfounded look of confusion, all she could spit out was "What the hell?!" (Which then became the buzz phrase for the entire weekend...too funny)

We had such a good time, and I am so glad I was there to surprise her, and help throw a surprise party for her on Monday evening before I left on Tuesday. There was some knitting going on, mostly in the backyard...the weather was pretty nice the whole weekend (except for the clap of thunder Friday night that practically knocked me on the floor it was so loud!) We also spent a good amount of time doing some dyeing. I brought along some Knitpicks fingering merino, some Lion Brand Fisherman's wool that I scarfed up a few years ago when Joann's was clearing it out, and also 3 skeins of white sock yarn I had gotten in a yarn swap. Diane had several kinds of natural wool also, and we set about putting color to it. First we had to wind the big Fisherman's wool into hanks. We decided to make some really (REALLY) long hanks so that we could have longer lengths of color when we dyed. It was kind of a pain, but in the end I think it worked out ok.

Here we are making the hanks, thanks to a piece of exercise equipment and a chair:

And here's what it looked like when it was ready to be dyed:

Some yarn in the steamer:

And all skeins drying outside:

A couple pix from the party:

Since I've been back, school has let out, baseball season has come to an end, summer has arrived with a vengeance (both in terms of heat and storms). The pool is open, a new hammock was acquired yesterday, let the fun begin! A storm last weekend knocked out power to over 200,000 people in our area. We were out for 26 hours or so. Mostly an inconvenience, the worst of which was having to bail out the sump pump....many many gallons of water hauled up the basement stairs and dumped in the driveway. We MUST get a generator....this is not fun.

We have a well, and so when the power goes out, the well pump doesn't work either so we don't have water, except for what is in the holding tank in the basement (and the hot water tank) We try to use it sparingly during an outage, knowing there is no more once that's gone. We went to Kim's for showers, and to charge our cell phones. Many people were without power for 3 and 4 days, so we were lucky ours was restored after only 1 day. Of course the storms keep coming, day after day, and knocking out more power.

Today (after another storm rolled through overnight) is supposed to be just lovely. Sunny, lower humidity, and about 82 degrees. Perfect. We will be at a graduation party this afternoon/evening where a pool has recently been installed. I think we are going to have a really nice day today!

Father's Day will find Mike enjoying the new hammock purchase. Doesn't this look comfy? I can't wait to try it out myself. I forsee lots of naptime, reading time and knitting time taking place right here:

Wordless Wednesday

2008-05-07T20:30:00.002-05:00

And the winner is.......

2008-05-02T15:02:00.003-05:00

Jacob Bloom!

Winner of the District Spelling Bee!

WOO HOO!!!

I couldn't be more proud. I have just been beaming all day.

All of his hard work paid off!

Winning word: proprietor

First Step

2008-04-29T09:25:00.011-05:00

We have been contemplating some redecorating around the house. We've been here almost 15 years, and most of the decorating in the public areas got done shortly after moving in. The downstairs half-bath has been redone recently, but the family room and kitchen (and attached areas such as the entryway from the garage, the hallway, the staircase) are all sporting their 14- year-old looks. We are tired of it! Things look dated and tired and worn and well, you get the idea. It's time for some fresh decor around here.

This morning, these arrived on my porch:

Inside were these!
8 place settings in 7 Fiesta colors (I got 2 sets of green because....well, you know why! I'm all about the green) I also got 4 extra dinner plates and 4 extra bowls. I ordered all of this Sunday evening and Tuesday morning here they are! This website has great prices, free shipping over $100, and is obviously very fast! They have every serving piece or Fiesta accessory you will ever want or need. I'll be going back for more now that I have the basics. I went to Kohl's yesterday and got a serving platter and 2 large bowls, since Fiesta is on sale 55% off this week. I would have gotten the place settings there too, but they have the place settings with cup & saucer, and I wanted mugs instead.

Don't they look oh-so pretty in my dishwasher?

~~I can't wait to put them into the cupboard.~~ They are clean now, and look how pretty!

I emptied out and washed down the cupboard this morning. Our kitchen is done in apples and green checkerboard at this time, and I had done some Gallery Glass (imitation stained glass) on the glass doors of this cupboard to match the wallpaper border. I've always loved how it looked, but that wallpaper will be coming down soon, and I want just clear glass now so I can see my new dishes!

Like this:

I thought it would be as easy as removing the glass from the doors, peeling off the designs, washing the glass and putting it back in the doors. Well, the Gallery Glass was acting like glue, and it was quite difficult to get the glass out of the doors. We finally did though, with the help of a hair dryer. One door is still down and needs to be put back together and put back up.

These new dishes are the catalyst for the overhaul in the kitchen. I don't think it will be long before the wallpaper will come down and new paint will go up. I'm thinking I'll use the yellow color from the dishes as the wall color, with one (or more!) of the other Fiesta colors for trim, doors, etc.

So, one cupboard is emptied and washed down, and refilled. Now it's time to go through the other cupboards, drawers, etc. Empty them out, throw some stuff away, put some in boxes for Goodwill. Wash everything down, organize and replenish them. I'm hoping to gain extra space by weeding out some junk, and getting things nice and fresh, ready for that new paint job that's coming soon!

The family room redo will be very soon too. I am sooooo sick of the wallpaper in there. NO MORE WALLPAPER! I'm deciding on a color scheme. I like the chocolate/lime combo, but I'm not sure if I can convince Mike of that one. I think with some turquoise or coral accents it would be quite nice! We'll see....we might come up with something completely different. Whatever it is, will be a huge improvement over what it looks like.

This is what it looks like now:

See what I mean? Blech....

No knitting news at the moment. I haven't picked up my knitting since Friday. I did manage to add $90.00 to my Rhinebeck fund though. I played cards with my SILs on Saturday and Lady Luck was on my side! Yay!

Hot Cocoa Jacket

2008-04-20T10:41:00.007-05:00

The yarn for my Hot Cocoa Jacket (designed by Jordana Paige) arrived from Webs yesterday. YIPPPEEEE!!! I cast on last night and seem to be the first one on Ravelry to start this pattern. I'm quite excited to be knitting myself a sweater....the first one in decades! Of course, being the hot-blooded woman that I am, I won't be able to wear it indoors (I can barely stand a long sleeved t-shirt during the winter, let alone a sweater....this is unfortunate, but it's the way things are). I have held off on knitting myself a sweater for just this reason. But there were several times the past fall and winter when I was outside and I thought to myself "if I had a nice sweater, this would be a good day to wear it". So when I tried on this sweater at Threadbear last weekend, I knew I had found "the one".

You can see me wearing it here (nice shot of me with my eyes closed and a blurry hand, but just look how it gives me a WAIST!). The design is very flattering, and that is the thing that sold me. Of course the yarn (Rowan Cashsoft DK in the Lichen color) is really nice to knit with too. I'm going to love this project! (we'll think about assembly when the time comes...I don't want to spoil my enjoyment with such thoughts so early on).

Thanks, Jordana, for a great design! Thanks, Amy and Jillian, for another great book! Thanks Rob and Matt, for hosting the book launch party!

Wish me luck on getting it done by birthday/Rhinebeck time! (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can............)

Hooray for Jacob!

2008-04-16T20:32:00.004-05:00

Today the top 15 fifth-grade spellers in Jake's school competed in their final Spelling Bee to determine who would represent the school at the district Bee. Guess who was the winner!?!?! Yep, Jacob! We're so proud of him. He was just beaming when he came home from school today.

Jake said when the principal made the announcement to the students on the PA today, he commented that the spellers were so good that at the end they had to break out the 6th grade spelling words. Jake's winning word was 'antibiotic'.

He and the runner up will compete against 10 others from the other 5 elementary schools in our district. Jake is pretty confident...he has not spelled a single word wrong in all of the classroom spelling bees all year. WTG Jacob! Good luck at the District Spelling Bee!

Will spring come to stay?

2008-04-15T07:51:00.006-05:00

This morning there is a sparkling layer of frost over everything outside, but it will melt fast as the sun comes up higher, and we are supposed to get to a high of around 60 today after temps in the 20s this morning! Brrrrr!

Sunday morning I woke up to snow flurries swirling around outside. I was hoping it wasn't going to amount to anything, since I was off to Lansing for the book launch of More Big Girl Knits at Threadbear. I headed out before 11am so I could be there by 1pm. As I drove north, I saw some cars coming my way that had a couple inches of snow on them! Yikes! But the sun came out, the snow stopped, and it turned out to be a pretty day. Cold, but pretty. (Later that day my friend Maria sent me an IM saying she was sweltering in 100 degree heat out in California! Crazy weather!)

The book launch party was fun. Amy and Jillian are just fun to be around. There was a very boisterous group of ladies who had gathered to try on the sweater samples from the book. Everyone was oooh-ing and ahhhh-ing as the sweaters were modeled. "Oh, that looks GREAT on you!" was heard over and over and over. It was nice to have the sweaters there to try on, see how they look on you, before deciding to go ahead and knit one of them. Things got really loud and there were screams of laugher more than once during the afternoon. Maybe everyone was on a sugar high from the beautiful cupcakes and cakes that we were all enjoying.

I have been wanting to knit myself a sweater for several years, but nothing really caught my eye as "the one" that I wanted to knit. Well, I found "the one" on Sunday. It is the Hot Cocoa Jacket designed by Jordana Paige. (Scroll down to April 4 to see the blog entry about the sweater).

I tried it on, and it was quite flattering. Someone commented that it was a "butt buster" sweater, and it actually gives me a nice waistline. It is the textured diagonal lines, and the nice shaping that does it. It didn't hurt that the sweater was knit in Rowan Cashsoft DK and just felt divine to the touch. I considered alternate yarns, did lots of searching around on Ravelry for reviews of substitutions, etc. I found good and bad reviews of all the yarns I considered, and in the end, decided to go ahead with the Cashsoft. Several reviews complained about pilling, but I have a nice sweater shaver if I need it, and will be very careful when washing the sweater. I am a warm person to begin with, and absolutely cannot wear a sweater indoors. This will be something that will be worn more as a jacket on a cool day, and hopefully will wear well. The color I ordered is called Lichen.

I am going to cast on as soon as I get the yarn. I want to make sure it is done by October for my trip to Rhinebeck for my birthday. I will have other projects on the needles during this time, but I want to allow enough time to see that it gets done by fall. Some people don't knit in the summer, some cut way back. However, I think I knit just as much in the summer as any other time of the year. I just don't want to have a wool afghan in my lap when it's 90 degrees! I can certainly handle some sweater pieces though.

Right now I have a pair of socks on the needles (almost done!) and I started a lacy scarf from the Piecework magazine my mom gave me last week. It's called the Stork's Nest scarf. I'll share the socks when they are off the needles, and here is a sneak peek of the scarf:

In other areas of my life.... springtime means my chaufeurring is stepped up a notch. Kaitlyn has track practice or a track meet every day after school. Jake has baseball practice a couple times a week, and the games will start soon. Mike has been working later with his new job, so is not able to help out much in this area, and there are times when I am trying to juggle overlapping schedules and trying to be in 2 places at once. It can be rather frustrating at times, but I'm glad they are both doing something to keep active. I am going to have to miss Kaitlyn's meet today since it is about an hour away and Jake has practice. My mom and dad are going to go to her meet (they live closer) and maybe Mike will be able to catch the end of it and bring her home.

Last night the Red Wings played their 3rd game against Nashville in their first playoff series. The Tigers were also playing last night. We started out watching the hockey game, which was going very well. We flipped to the baseball game to see we were losing 5-0. Ugh....not another game where we get blown out...the season is not going well, after all the hype before it started.

Well, I don't know what happened, but we were flipping back and forth between games, and it was at almost the exact moment that the Tigers started turning it around and getting some runs that Nashville scored twice within mere seconds against the Wings to take the lead. The Wings ended up losing a game that looked like they might win, and the Tigers came back from being down 5 runs in the game (twice!) to win 11-9! I hated to see the Wings take a loss, but boy-oh-boy, did our boys of summer need that win to give them (and their fans) a boost! The Tiger bats were hot last night....after quite a few games were they were ice cold. I surely hope this is the beginning a new trend, and that this season just got off to a slow start. Hopefully it is going to be as great as anticipated. Please?

And boy, do we love playoff hockey! Never a dull moment!

GO TIGERS! GO WINGS!

Opening Day

2008-03-31T08:15:00.005-05:00

It's Opening Day for the Detroit Tigers today. The fans have high expectations for the team this year. They've played very well the past few years (after a very long slump!) and have acquired some new talent. It's going to be a very exciting year!

Jake is really anxious for baseball to start. The Tigers season, of course, but his own baseball season as well. Hopefully practice will start this week, weather permitting. We had snow flurries yesterday, but today we're supposed to be in the 50s (FINALLY). Maybe spring will actually come to Michigan this year after all! I hope so. It's kind of miserable for the kids to be playing in nasty weather (and not much fun for the spectators either!) Jake has a short season, but he really enjoys playing.

To help us get in the baseball mood, we watched The Rookie last night. What an awesome movie. If you haven't seen it, you definitely should! It reminds you to follow your dreams, even in the face of adversity and nay-sayers.

I finished a pair of socks last night (I'm waiting to see if the sun comes out so I can get a photo) and just cast on with the spring-colors yarn I showed in my last post. I played around for a little bit to come up with a stitch pattern that will compliment this yarn. Hopefully what I decided on will work well. I am already loving knitting with these colors rather than the dark, muted colors of my last pair.

I'm going to watch the Opening Day pre-game coverage, then the game, and knit springy socks! Jake is back to school today after a 10-day spring break, Kaitlyn is still in FL, so the house is mine and that's my plan!

Go Tigers!

Time to catch up a bit

2008-03-29T08:53:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, my daughter Kim invited some of her friends, aunts and coworkers, and I invited a few friends, to share in an evening of meal prep at Dinner Kitchen. None of us had done this before though many of us had wanted to try it. We selected the meals we wanted to make ahead of time, so that when we got there, our ingredients were prepped and waiting for us to assemble the dishes. Some ingredients were premeasured, and others we had the choice of how much or little to add of something (mostly spices and herbs, but a few other things too) depending on our own tastes and those of our family.

Here are some pictures from that night. I accidentally left my camera at home, so called my friend Tamara to bring hers. These are all shots she took while we were there. I haven't gotten the pix that Kim took yet, so I don't have one of Tamara in this bunch. Drat!

Easter was a lot of fun. We celebrated with Mike's side of the family on Saturday. The kids had a blast. We also celebrated our nephew Alexander's 5th birthday that day too. On Easter Sunday my brother and his family came over for dinner, and some Wii competition. Mike made a prime rib in the roaster that was TO DIE FOR! YUMMY! Andy and Karen brought a ham that was also very juicy and tasty. We had roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, homemade bread, mashed potatoes, fresh pineapple and canteloupe, etc. etc. I made Cream Puff Cake for dessert and that was a huge hit. I don't know how anyone had room for it after that huge dinner! It sure was delish.

On Tuesday Kaitlyn left for Florida with a friend and her family. She is having a great time. Today they are going parasailing. Sounds like a blast!

Since Kaitlyn got to do this, I figured it was only fair that Jake got some fun too, so we got a room at Sterling Inn for a few days. There is a waterpark at this hotel, and he was excited to get to do this. My nephew came and swam with Jake one of the days for a few hours. It was great to see the big grins on their faces every time I looked at them. Personally, I was happy to get home to my own bed and routine. I was thinking I would get a lot of knitting done while there, but that didn't happen. I did finally finish the book I was reading that was 2 weeks overdue at the library. Now to pay the fines. OOPS! (REALLY good book, BTW. Incredible true story)

I did manange to knit a few rows on my socks. I'm hoping to finish them this weekend and get on to a new pair. I've chosen the yarn (a beautiful mix of spring colors, hand-dyed by my friend Lynn. If you haven't checked out her site, go do so! She's got beautiful yarns for sale, as well as nice pattern designs! Sometimes she has polymer clay buttons for sale. Lynn and her husband are also talented musicians. You might want to pick up a CD or 2 while you're there!
Now that I know what yarn I'll use for my next socks, I just need to pick out a pattern that will compliment the yarn.

Today is the baby shower that I knit the green cardi, hat, booties and socks for. I also knit the burp cloth from the Mason Dixon book, in a blue/yellow/white cotton I found for the UM family this baby is being born into (GO BLUE). I can't wait to have pix of the bebe in the items I knit, though it will be a while. They will fit in the fall (I HOPE).

I also found out today that another nephew and his wife are expecting their second child. YAY! More baby knitting in my future!

Hooked on Baby Knitting!

2008-03-16T20:12:00.005-05:00

I'm on a baby-knitting kick! I gave these cute booties to Debbie for Kasie on Friday. I just adore how these turned out.

I made the mistake of searching Ravelry for the tag "Baby" today and came up with 1367 pages of the most adorable baby knits. I ended up ordering another bootie pattern that is just to die for. I'm not going to say which one yet, until I have a pair knit up. Then I'll share. I just want to knit baby stuff all day long. What is going on here?

I have a feeling there will be some more knitting going on before the shower. I did end up making a hat to go with the green sweater/sox/booties set. I'll try to get a picture of that tomorrow.

Believe it or not, I'm sick again. This has been a horrible winter. There is so much crap going around...it's hard to stay healthy. I'm hoping a good night's sleep (with the help of some Nyquil) might help. If not, tomorrow it's me on the couch with.... what else....some baby knitting!

New Bloom baby to look forward to

2008-03-10T12:55:00.009-05:00

I finally got the buttons sewn on the baby sweater and got some pix of the finished ensemble outside in the sunshine.

Our nephew Nick and his wife Sarah are expecting their first baby in May. The shower is the end of this month. I'm so glad that (for once!) I didn't procrastinate and actually have the gift done EARLY! Gasp! A real miracle, if you know me well. I may still knit a little hat to go with this sweater, socks and booties set. If I get it done, fine. If not, I'm happy with what I've got right here!

Nick and Sarah opted to not find out the gender of their baby, so I had to put unisex buttons on the sweater (and knit it in a unisex color). There were SOOOO many really really cute girly buttons I could have chosen, and also some cute boy-ish ones (trucks/cars, or fishing/hunting/outdoors themed ones, etc.) These teddy bears are ok, but I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't able to use some of the others that were just adorable. I think buttons can really "make" a garment, and I'm not sure these really do. Oh well, I did the best I could.

This new baby is the first one that will be born to a cluster of 6 cousins that have gotten married in the past few years, including our daughter Kim.(Those would be our kids' cousins....meaning our nieces and nephews, and Kim). I'm sure there are going to be a bunch of pregnancy announcements coming fast and furious in the next couple of years as these newlyweds all start growing their families.

I am SO excited at the prospect of our first grandchild being right around the corner. That is going to be one decked-out-in-handknits baby!

Knitting? Why yes, there's been that too!

2008-03-09T18:38:00.002-05:00

Here are a few things I've been working on since the last knitting content was posted.

Mom's 80th Birthday Bash / Kaitlyn too!

2008-03-09T13:01:00.010-05:00

I'm finally getting around to writing about the wonderful fun-filled family weekend we had mid-February. For months my sister and brothers and dad planned a surprise for Mom's 80th birthday. Surprising her is not easy, believe me. If she gets the slightest little inkling that something is up, she's got it all figured out in a heartbeat. It can be quite annoying when you're trying so hard to put together a surprise! We didn't know if or how we would pull it off, especially since she said to Diane when she was here for Christmas, "You know, I'm expecting a surprise party for my birthday". C'mon....who says that? Mom, that's who. LOL

Things had already been in the works LONG before she said that. Luckily the out-of-town siblings were all able to make it here for the big day, and this time Diane's daughter Melissa was also able to come. Yay!

Diane and Melissa came in early on Friday morning. I picked them up from the airport. We had tossed around the idea of heading to Lansing that day, since our brothers weren't arriving until later in the afternoon. Snow had been predicted, but that didn't happen. So we decided to go for it. I have been wanting to see Rae's new store, and I hoped to meet up with Lynn there that day, but Lynn was not feeling 100% and I thought it better to not bother her, and let her rest. We decided to head to Threadbear first, since Melissa had not been there. Unfortunately Matt and Rob were not coming in til later in the day, so we missed them, (and the dogs). From there we went to Rae's. She wasn't there either, but I did get to finally meet and talk to Sharon who was working instead. I've been reading Sharon's blog for a couple of years now and I don't think our paths had ever crossed before that day.

The only thing I bought at Rae's were some new magnets for the back of my car. Along with my "YARNBOX" license plate, and my yarn/needles magnet, my new "k2tog" and "ssk" magnets look right at home. I'm sure the non-knitters who drive behind me are often scratching their heads wondering what it all means, but I figure those who need to know, do!

When we were done at Rae's, we decided we'd better get on the road since we had another 2 hours until we got to Andy's house. Andy was picking up Dave and Brian from the airport, then we were all meeting to surprise Mom. The plan was for Andy and his family to go out to dinner with Mom and Dad, but we were all going to be at the restaurant waiting for them. We got to the restaurant where Andy had made reservations, only to find it under construction! We promptly called Andy to tell him, and made alternate plans. Luckily the restaurant we chose was able to quickly set up a table for 14 for us and we all chatted for a while, waiting for the birthday girl to arrive.

I think that was the real surprise...that we were all there, on Friday. I think Mom was expecting something to maybe happen on Sunday, and so she was a little flabbergasted to see us all sitting there at the restaurant.

We ordered WAY too much food, but had a good time catching up. Then we went back to Andy and Karen's house, played Wii for a while, then split up for some sleep before the big day. We had planned a party for Mom on Saturday (which we had to tell her about, so we could get ready for it in the morning!) We had about 30 friends/family members gather for lots of good food, laughter and fun.

Once all the guests left, the kids were hanging out in the family room in the back of the house. Mom, Dad, me and my siblings were in the living room in the front. We caught up on some family history, and then started pulling things from our own memories, and really had a very special time reliving some things from the past. Good times!

Dave and Brian were leaving early the next day, but Diane and Melissa stayed until Tuesday. So we had a few days of hanging out before they had to leave. On Tuesday we left the house in time to hit a few yarn stores on our way to the airport. We went to the new City Knits in Mt. Clemens, Knotted Needle on Mack in Grosse Pointe Woods, and The Wool and the Floss in Grosse Pointe. Diane, Mom and I had tried to go to all 3 of these the day after Christmas when Diane was here but they were all closed. We were happy to check them out this time. I had been to Wool and the Floss before but the others were new to me.

So that was our fun weekend. It was really great to have the whole family together again. Mom loved her alpaca "Odessa" hat that I knit her. I had Kaitlyn and Jacob write letters to her as their gift. She really doesn't need any more "stuff" and I knew that would be special. They wrote about why they thought she was a special grandma, and some special memories they shared with her. She really enjoyed reading those. Mom got lots of gift cards from her friends and family, so I'm sure she'll have fun spending all of those!

Mom and Dad left for a trip to Florida just a couple of days after the party. They stayed most of the time with Mom's cousin, but made a trip down to Boca Raton to see Dave and his family, and on the way home will stop at Brian and Lori's house in Savannah. Actually they should be there right now, and leaving for home tomorrow I think. It was kind of funny, Brian and Dave flying up here for a few days for the party, only to find out that they'd be seeing Mom and Dad in their own houses in just a week or so.

Kaitlyn's Birthday

Kaitlyn's birthday is the same day as Mom's. She got a few gifts at Mom's party. Mom gave her a photo album that had pictures of the 2 of them taken on (or near) their shared birthday each year. Melissa had helped with this project, using her creative/crafty scrapbooking skills to embellish the pages. It was a very special gift. On Monday, we went to BD's Mongolian BBQ for dinner, where the waitress made her quite a "lovely" hat for her to wear during dinner.

Kaitlyn's camera bit the dust at Christmas and so we bought her a new one then as an early birthday present. She can't be without her camera! She definitely has her Grandpa's photographer genes, that's for sure. She takes some really great photos! Here are some pix that I took on her birthday:

Good Bye Joe

2008-02-29T16:54:00.003-05:00

Today I said tearful good-bye to Joe. I laid my hand on his beautiful oak casket, leaving him with my hand print, and my heart print.

Joe, and his lovely wife Lillia, were my Godparents. They were my mom and dad's best friends for over 50 years. They have been a huge part of my history, and I have so many fond memories. Besides my own family, they and their children are the only ones I can think of who I have known from the very beginning of my life. Growing up, we lived close enough together to see them all the time. Neither my parents or Joe and Lillia moved from those houses, so they remained close in proximity and close friends over the years.

As you can see from this photo, Joe was a firefighter. Actually a Fire Chief at the end of his career. My dad was the photographer of this portrait (I think back in the 60s). Joe didn't really change much from this picture. His hair turned gray (but he always had quite a head of thick, wavy hair, even at the end) and he acquired a few more ~~wrinkles~~ laugh lines, but he stayed just as handsome as he was back then.

I spent time remininscing with Joe and Lillia's children last night at the visitation, and it really brought home that this is an end of something that was always a constant in my life. Things certainly changed when Lillia passed a few years ago, but now with Joe gone.... well......

Joe lived a good, long life (82 years).

Godspeed, Joe. I'll miss you.

(P.S. Say hi to Lillia)

Blech

2008-02-24T10:10:00.004-05:00

I had really hoped to update my blog by now, cuz there's so much to catch up on! However, I've been in bed since Thursday night. I've progressed to the couch, at least for now, but don't know how long I'll last here.

Stay tuned...I'll post soon about the extremely fun and special time had by my family last weekend.

This is not junk mail!

2008-02-05T08:18:00.001-05:00

This came in the mail on Saturday....

Kaitlyn's best ever HS report card.

She has worked very hard!

All As !!!

WTG KAITLYN!

Update:
Jake's Progress Report showed up on Monday. He is sad that he got his first "B" of his elementary school career. 89%....oh, sooo close. Jake has had All As every progress report and report card so far. He's in 5th grade now. He's going to work hard to turn that B into an A! WTG Jacob!

Little treat for me, Great Etsy seller!

2008-02-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

Last week I ordered a little sheepy something for myself from an Etsy seller. I don't remember how I came to be on her Etsy page. She may have had an ad on Ravelry, or was mentioned or recommended somehow. Anyway, this seller sure pays attention to detail, making every customer feel special, even for a small purchase like this. Go check out MissPurl's Etsy shop. Go on. I'll wait.

Today this came in the mail. Look how cute this little box is:

As I untied the bow and opened the box, I realized the box was handmade.

Inside was my little sheepy, snuggly wrapped in lavendar tissue paper, sealed with a sticker:

And here's my little sheepy cell phone charm. I'm not sure that's where she'll end up living, cuz I don't trust myself not to break her (glass). I may end up making her into a special stitch marker, or add her to a bracelet. Not sure yet. But how nice that the cord was pink to match my phone, huh?

Twilight Zone Moment

2008-01-25T15:27:00.000-05:00

This is really bizarre, and hard to explain!

The other day I signed into my online account at the local library. I wanted to place a hold on a book that I had heard about that sounded interesting.

But, there in my "checkouts" list, was a book that I had not checked out. It was "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin.

I made a mental note to call the library and let them know that I had not checked out this book. (At the time I thought to myself that I had never even heard of this book....)

Later that day, I took a few moments to read a page or 2 of the book that I had been reading for about a week called This Day in the Life, Diaries from Women Across America. It's a great book where women from all walks of life sent in a diary of what they did June 29, 2004. I was reading the entry of Nadine Goldman, 65. She is a grandmother from Baltimore.

I read a few pages, and in the last entry of her day, written at 11:20 pm, she wrote that her 9 year old grandson loaned her a book that he thought she would enjoy reading. Then she named the book....

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.

(insert Twilight Zone music here)

How strange is that? Nadine goes on to say that he probably read it in one day but it was taking her longer, even though it was a good book and she was enjoying it.

When I went to amazon and checked into this book, it tickled something in my memory that I had indeed heard of this book before and thought it sounded interesting. However, it was not on my "to read" list, I had not reserved it at the library, and I definitely had not checked it out, no matter what the library's computer said!

I am thinking maybe this weird coincidence is trying to tell me something. I think now I have no choice but to read this book and see if there is a message somewhere in it that the universe is trying to get me to see.

Here is what amazon says about the book:

When an eccentric millionaire dies mysteriously, sixteen very unlikely people are gathered together for the reading of the will . . . and what a will it is!

I don't know what message I could find in this storyline, but I'm going to keep my eyes wide open to the possibilities.

Apparently this is a children's book, and perhaps I first heard of it from Jake's school librarian. I think I will have him read it to me. I love when he reads me a book (paybacks for all the books I've read to him!) The last one I think was Charlotte's Web. He's got a knack for reading aloud. He really puts a lot of personality into the characters and uses great voice inflections.

I think I should have Jake check it out from the school library though. It seems weird to put it on reserve now, after just having had the conversation with the circulation desk insisting that I didn't check it out!

Bummer

2008-01-22T23:35:00.000-05:00

Today I was working on my new mitten pattern, and I looked down and saw something on the floor by my knitting bag. I picked it up, and was quite disappointed to see that it was a broken piece of one of the needles I was knitting my socks on.

I'm assuming that maybe Jake stepped on my knitting bag since it was on the floor, and the piece fell out of the bag. I was knitting the socks on two 24" circs. It was the first time I had tried this method, and I had pretty much decided that I still like Magic Loop best. I really wanted to knit more on my socks tonight, so I am Magic Looping on a 24" needle. Yes, 2 socks on 1 circ, that is not nearly long enough, but I'm managing. I'm hoping that when I go to the shop in the morning that there is a size 1 24" needle waiting for me so I can knit on my socks more comfortably again.

On another note...I finally remembered to get a picture of Kim's Peekaboo mittens that I made her for Christmas: