Saturday, March 24, 2007
The new faucet
We love it, and I especially love not having a big pool of water on the
counter which was provided by our leaky faucet. Cleaning the sink
pre-small group tonight was a breeze. Thanks FIL and Dh!
counter which was provided by our leaky faucet. Cleaning the sink
pre-small group tonight was a breeze. Thanks FIL and Dh!
new knit 'baby' sweater
It's done!
I knit it on size 4's, using Bravo Fun by Schachenmyr Nomotta. I gave
it away tonight to a church friend's baby from our church small group.
It was admired by all, including the recipient. She had been tired and
fuzzy till she saw it and then she smiled a big smile and held it. It
was really sweet to know that it is already appreciated by the 6 m
baby!
Now one of three projects is done, and my sweater is really close to
completion. I sewed in a sleeve but I don't know if I did part of it
right. I am not sure how it is supposed to look. I am also still
working on my sock #1, and soon that will be my only project- sort of.
There are others waiting.
I knit it on size 4's, using Bravo Fun by Schachenmyr Nomotta. I gave
it away tonight to a church friend's baby from our church small group.
It was admired by all, including the recipient. She had been tired and
fuzzy till she saw it and then she smiled a big smile and held it. It
was really sweet to know that it is already appreciated by the 6 m
baby!
Now one of three projects is done, and my sweater is really close to
completion. I sewed in a sleeve but I don't know if I did part of it
right. I am not sure how it is supposed to look. I am also still
working on my sock #1, and soon that will be my only project- sort of.
There are others waiting.
Dirty dog Sydney
This is my friend's dog at the dog park near the airport. It was our
first time going to this park and it was really fun. It was like dog
world with dogs of all breed, shapes, and sizes. Sydney found some mud-
our dogs stayed nearby us and remained clean.
first time going to this park and it was really fun. It was like dog
world with dogs of all breed, shapes, and sizes. Sydney found some mud-
our dogs stayed nearby us and remained clean.
new colors
the blue curtains are actually sarongs I bought in Australia on our
honeymoon. They were put back up for the time being until I decide on a
different type of curtains for this room. I was thinking maybe
chocolate brown to add some subduedness to the the room, or pink or
orange to spice it up. Any suggestions? The colors are very true to
life in this pic.
honeymoon. They were put back up for the time being until I decide on a
different type of curtains for this room. I was thinking maybe
chocolate brown to add some subduedness to the the room, or pink or
orange to spice it up. Any suggestions? The colors are very true to
life in this pic.
square
This is all that remains of my former paint job. I was going to have
more than one square, but I could only find this one area of the wall
that I really liked, so I saved it by itself.
more than one square, but I could only find this one area of the wall
that I really liked, so I saved it by itself.
new layout
This is how it looks now. That is the quilt I made with DH's grandma's
help. We had to put our nightstands at the foot of the bed, since there
wasn't room for them on the sides of our big new bed. It works fine to
me, plus it protects the front of the footboard wood from dog
scratches.
help. We had to put our nightstands at the foot of the bed, since there
wasn't room for them on the sides of our big new bed. It works fine to
me, plus it protects the front of the footboard wood from dog
scratches.
First sock
Using toe-up construction. Shelly Kang introduced me to this method in
a way that made sense, with lots of hands on instruction. It's almost
spooky how it comes together so well. It is pictured atop my new King
size sheets of 320 thread count, and the "cloud" mattress. Three happy
makers in this pic.
a way that made sense, with lots of hands on instruction. It's almost
spooky how it comes together so well. It is pictured atop my new King
size sheets of 320 thread count, and the "cloud" mattress. Three happy
makers in this pic.
mug n' honey
Grandpa Bert does not use this mug anymore, but I do. When I use it I
think of him and I like that. These are two things that make me happy.
Remembering Grandpa Bert and his Dutch heritage and all my memories of
him, and this crystallized honey. I had lost this honey for about a
year, and found it back on the Happy feet penguin saturday. This is
really the best honey. My Dad buys it for me from Roland Nelson from
Hutchinson. He has his own bees. UMMM!
think of him and I like that. These are two things that make me happy.
Remembering Grandpa Bert and his Dutch heritage and all my memories of
him, and this crystallized honey. I had lost this honey for about a
year, and found it back on the Happy feet penguin saturday. This is
really the best honey. My Dad buys it for me from Roland Nelson from
Hutchinson. He has his own bees. UMMM!
V-day flowers, way after v-day
Another happy thing is when flowers from Valentine's day last. DH
outdid himself for sure this year, and gave me three flower
arrangements. One was some cute flowering daffodils, this blooming
Begonia, and a dozen beautiful yellow and red edged roses. We stayed
overnight in a hotel in Minneapolis and he surprised me by having
placed all the flowers in the room earlier that day. It was really
beautiful, and this is the last one of the three that is still
flowering.
outdid himself for sure this year, and gave me three flower
arrangements. One was some cute flowering daffodils, this blooming
Begonia, and a dozen beautiful yellow and red edged roses. We stayed
overnight in a hotel in Minneapolis and he surprised me by having
placed all the flowers in the room earlier that day. It was really
beautiful, and this is the last one of the three that is still
flowering.
Happy feet, happy treat
I know some people really didn't like this movie, but I really enjoyed
most of it. It made me think about kids that I work with who are
different than others, especially kids with ADHD as Mumble the penguin
had some very energized feet. It made me see the beauty and the
purposes of differences between one person and another. Granted, it
felt like it tried to make too many statements which left me somewhat
confused about the director's intent, but overall I appreciated the
message.
Dh will attest to my positive movie-going experience with this flick. I
rarely discuss movies right after seeing them, as I need time to
process my thoughts.
So, the pic here is a happy moment of a Saturday morning when I opened
my last box of Happy Feet specially marked cereal and found that I had
gotten the singing amigos. I put my toys together to form this train.
Those amigos actually sing, too.
most of it. It made me think about kids that I work with who are
different than others, especially kids with ADHD as Mumble the penguin
had some very energized feet. It made me see the beauty and the
purposes of differences between one person and another. Granted, it
felt like it tried to make too many statements which left me somewhat
confused about the director's intent, but overall I appreciated the
message.
Dh will attest to my positive movie-going experience with this flick. I
rarely discuss movies right after seeing them, as I need time to
process my thoughts.
So, the pic here is a happy moment of a Saturday morning when I opened
my last box of Happy Feet specially marked cereal and found that I had
gotten the singing amigos. I put my toys together to form this train.
Those amigos actually sing, too.
Monday, March 19, 2007
New faucet
I was going to try and get a pic of our awesome new faucet up tonight before bed, but I was stopped by my DW - being male, I did not stop to think about cleaning off the faucet (it's new, how dirty can it be?) before taking pictures, and Corgimom would not allow anything short of perfection to go on the blog. So hopefully there will be some pictures soon which will do it justice!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
not enough time in the day for just plain fun
There haven't been many posts lately because I have been busy. Busy with all kinds of things like shopping for a new bed and mattress, repainting the bedroom since the nearly four years ago paint job, working, knitting, working. Did I say working? Too much of that has been going on.
So much that I can barely find enough time to recharge my own living batteries for the following day. I have the ritual down. I come home, and plug in my MDA (my Mega Data Assistant is what I call it, to others, it is a smart phone), then I hunt down my Blue Tooth, and once I find it, I plug that in too. I might get a chance to check my e-mail in the day for a few moments, or like tonight I check it when everything else is taken care of. I also find my RAZR phone, and plug that in to get ready for the next day.
I try not to think about my next day's appointments, or worse yet all the appts. I have had lately. I try to think about my dogs, my family of DH and my dogs, knitting, playing my piano, exercising when I have energy/time, and sometimes reading or doing the pre-bed word search. I know, it really gets me ready for bed to hunt and find words, and cuddle with my fam'.
Then, I go to the "Cloud." I believe DH coined this term for our new ultra luscious, I just can't get enough of it mattress. Fittingly enough, we have become Care Bears, because we sleep on a cloud. As Care Bears, we have continued to use our alarm clocks, and have familiarized ourselves with "snooze" quite well. I hit it a few times before rising from the cloud to greet or survive the coming day.
It is almost time to go to the Cloud, but before I go I have a few short little knitting-related snippets.
I am once again knitting on my blue will-I-ever-get-this-done sweater sleeve. One sleeve is done, the second is about an eighth done. I also have now hunted down all the necessary buttons for it. This process took a few weeks, as I had to go to two different JoAnn Etc. stores.
I also resumed knitting on a baby sweater for a baby that was born in September. Fortunately she is one of those long babies- but not very wide. It will still fit here when it gets done. It's a seamless baby sweater and I have completed all but one and a half sleeves and sewing on its buttons.
Lastly, I must say thanks to Shelly for availing me of her time last Friday,to her daughters for sharing their mom with me long enough to teach me how to correctly cast on for Shelly's toe-up socks, and how to seam in half mattress half Kitchener, a skill I will use when I get my second blue sleeve done.
Pics will follow, I promise. I took a bunch on Saturday, then busyness took over, and I'd rather visit my Cloud than do all the work to upload them.
So much that I can barely find enough time to recharge my own living batteries for the following day. I have the ritual down. I come home, and plug in my MDA (my Mega Data Assistant is what I call it, to others, it is a smart phone), then I hunt down my Blue Tooth, and once I find it, I plug that in too. I might get a chance to check my e-mail in the day for a few moments, or like tonight I check it when everything else is taken care of. I also find my RAZR phone, and plug that in to get ready for the next day.
I try not to think about my next day's appointments, or worse yet all the appts. I have had lately. I try to think about my dogs, my family of DH and my dogs, knitting, playing my piano, exercising when I have energy/time, and sometimes reading or doing the pre-bed word search. I know, it really gets me ready for bed to hunt and find words, and cuddle with my fam'.
Then, I go to the "Cloud." I believe DH coined this term for our new ultra luscious, I just can't get enough of it mattress. Fittingly enough, we have become Care Bears, because we sleep on a cloud. As Care Bears, we have continued to use our alarm clocks, and have familiarized ourselves with "snooze" quite well. I hit it a few times before rising from the cloud to greet or survive the coming day.
It is almost time to go to the Cloud, but before I go I have a few short little knitting-related snippets.
I am once again knitting on my blue will-I-ever-get-this-done sweater sleeve. One sleeve is done, the second is about an eighth done. I also have now hunted down all the necessary buttons for it. This process took a few weeks, as I had to go to two different JoAnn Etc. stores.
I also resumed knitting on a baby sweater for a baby that was born in September. Fortunately she is one of those long babies- but not very wide. It will still fit here when it gets done. It's a seamless baby sweater and I have completed all but one and a half sleeves and sewing on its buttons.
Lastly, I must say thanks to Shelly for availing me of her time last Friday,to her daughters for sharing their mom with me long enough to teach me how to correctly cast on for Shelly's toe-up socks, and how to seam in half mattress half Kitchener, a skill I will use when I get my second blue sleeve done.
Pics will follow, I promise. I took a bunch on Saturday, then busyness took over, and I'd rather visit my Cloud than do all the work to upload them.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
I love a good espresso drink
But I most always say "no" to the whipped cream ( this is an interesting scientific link I found on the electron micrographic image of whipped cream, but a bit graphic) offered on such drinks. These drinks are usually high in sugar and calories, and at times, on good days, I try to be a little healthy, so I usually order the smallest size. I figure I can save a little money, and ingest a few less grams of sugar this way than if I'd ordered the medium (which my best friend says I should always do, it makes the drink more worth it she says).
I also say no to whipped cream when I am having a good day. On a bad day, pile it on, its a coping mechanism of mine. I usually have an espresso drink on Wed. at SnB. About 90% of the time it does not have whip cream, since I've only worked a little by then, and haven't really had a bad time, yet.
So I should have known I was asking for trouble when I said "yes" last Wednesday to whipped cream on my Dunn Bros. caramel latte macchiato. Oops.
After I drank my medium sized whipped cream topped drink I began having a baddish day. It wasn't entirely bad, but it was certainly chaotic, and not without its challenges. That day I had talked with Beth of Beth's blue room blog and she was telling me about how her little daughter takes deep breaths while upset. I was so impressed that she had learned this skill at such a young age. I found myself taking many, many deep breaths on Wed. , all post- whip cream. There were lots of crazy drivers on the road, ( here are some road rage tips and info from psychologists) and I found myself creating an operatic song with lyrics to like "don't merge till it's too late, that it's the best time to merge", and "don't worry about being a stinker- go ahead, and don't use your blinker." "You know they'll call you bad names, it's true, they always do (call you bad names)." It was actually an amusing way to handle the infuriating driving time I had that day.
So there were countless deep breaths, as cars merged past their lane lines into spaces too small for them. There were other times were out of state cars puttered along in the slow lanes, while semis merged on in small spaces at approx. 80 mph. It was a super fun day. Sarcasm detected.
I really do blame the whip cream. It must have been my subconscious, or my intuition, that told me to use my coping mechanism prematurely- to enjoy the whipped cream before I earned it. Oh, did I mention there were work crises too?
And just the day before I had driven about 135 miles, and had a severe leg cramp in my right knee. The driving was painful on the way home, and I found myself wondering if I'd get pulled over for speeding as I tried to speed up my long drive home. At a stop light near the end of my drive I was alongside a cop car with a K9. I tried to stare in the back to see it, but the sky was dark and the roads were tinted. I was a little disappointed. I figured if it pulled me over for speeding I could at least see it, and by the end of my day I thought it would be fun. But I didn't get a look at it, not even a peek. Disappointment.
I also say no to whipped cream when I am having a good day. On a bad day, pile it on, its a coping mechanism of mine. I usually have an espresso drink on Wed. at SnB. About 90% of the time it does not have whip cream, since I've only worked a little by then, and haven't really had a bad time, yet.
So I should have known I was asking for trouble when I said "yes" last Wednesday to whipped cream on my Dunn Bros. caramel latte macchiato. Oops.
After I drank my medium sized whipped cream topped drink I began having a baddish day. It wasn't entirely bad, but it was certainly chaotic, and not without its challenges. That day I had talked with Beth of Beth's blue room blog and she was telling me about how her little daughter takes deep breaths while upset. I was so impressed that she had learned this skill at such a young age. I found myself taking many, many deep breaths on Wed. , all post- whip cream. There were lots of crazy drivers on the road, ( here are some road rage tips and info from psychologists) and I found myself creating an operatic song with lyrics to like "don't merge till it's too late, that it's the best time to merge", and "don't worry about being a stinker- go ahead, and don't use your blinker." "You know they'll call you bad names, it's true, they always do (call you bad names)." It was actually an amusing way to handle the infuriating driving time I had that day.
So there were countless deep breaths, as cars merged past their lane lines into spaces too small for them. There were other times were out of state cars puttered along in the slow lanes, while semis merged on in small spaces at approx. 80 mph. It was a super fun day. Sarcasm detected.
I really do blame the whip cream. It must have been my subconscious, or my intuition, that told me to use my coping mechanism prematurely- to enjoy the whipped cream before I earned it. Oh, did I mention there were work crises too?
And just the day before I had driven about 135 miles, and had a severe leg cramp in my right knee. The driving was painful on the way home, and I found myself wondering if I'd get pulled over for speeding as I tried to speed up my long drive home. At a stop light near the end of my drive I was alongside a cop car with a K9. I tried to stare in the back to see it, but the sky was dark and the roads were tinted. I was a little disappointed. I figured if it pulled me over for speeding I could at least see it, and by the end of my day I thought it would be fun. But I didn't get a look at it, not even a peek. Disappointment.
Watch out for this little rascal!
Her eyes nearly match the snowflakes! Her "deer in headlights pose."
a sweater to knit for my Aunt
I have been waiting to start this until I finish my blue sweater. That
could be within two weeks if I keep working on it. The wool is really
pretty with its subtle variations. i can't wait to see how it knits up.
could be within two weeks if I keep working on it. The wool is really
pretty with its subtle variations. i can't wait to see how it knits up.
shapely sweater of my own design
This is our guest room bedspread, with my "blocking rug". The rug is textured and from IKEA. I will have to see if blocking on a textured surface alters my knits in any way. Has anyone done this before?
My sweater and Noro kureyon Mistake rib scarf are blocking here. The scarf used to be pretty short. I would fold it in half and loop the two ends through around my neck, and it would end at the top of my chest. Now it is probably about a third longer, and super soft. I washed it in Eucalan after I subjected it to some smelly environments without thinking ahead. Oops. I am quite happy with how my sweater is turning out too. I better be happy with it for all the frogging and tinking it has received thus far. It will have buttons to go with the buttonholes, once I can find some more of the same design I picked out, and another button band for the buttons to be sewn onto. I was just going to leave it as is, with just the one button band, but it didn't look balanced enough. Also, my collar trim looks like it ended too soon on the right side, and needs to be extended. I might thicken the other button band too, it looks kind of narrow in the pic.
My sweater and Noro kureyon Mistake rib scarf are blocking here. The scarf used to be pretty short. I would fold it in half and loop the two ends through around my neck, and it would end at the top of my chest. Now it is probably about a third longer, and super soft. I washed it in Eucalan after I subjected it to some smelly environments without thinking ahead. Oops. I am quite happy with how my sweater is turning out too. I better be happy with it for all the frogging and tinking it has received thus far. It will have buttons to go with the buttonholes, once I can find some more of the same design I picked out, and another button band for the buttons to be sewn onto. I was just going to leave it as is, with just the one button band, but it didn't look balanced enough. Also, my collar trim looks like it ended too soon on the right side, and needs to be extended. I might thicken the other button band too, it looks kind of narrow in the pic.
my new sleeve knit in the round
This is not an accurate color representation, the real blue is brighter. This is a comparison of the knitting in the round gauge and the knitting the sleeve flat. Notice how uneven the stitches are in the bottom piece when I was knitting flat. The red sweater is a J Crew sweater that I have had for years that fits me really well. I am using it for a comparison.
My gauge kept coming out uneven when I was knitting flat. I tried switching needle sizes every other row, trying to knit tighter on one row, usually the knit row, and looser on the purl row, taking breaks and focusing on being relaxed while I was knitting, etc. to no avail. Until another SnB'er, Anne, asked why I wasn't knitting them in the round. Then I wanted to do it that way, so I gave it a try. I was very pleased with how the sleeve has been turning out.
My gauge kept coming out uneven when I was knitting flat. I tried switching needle sizes every other row, trying to knit tighter on one row, usually the knit row, and looser on the purl row, taking breaks and focusing on being relaxed while I was knitting, etc. to no avail. Until another SnB'er, Anne, asked why I wasn't knitting them in the round. Then I wanted to do it that way, so I gave it a try. I was very pleased with how the sleeve has been turning out.
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