~ Fat Cat Crochet ~

Find me over at the dot com

2009-11-07T22:13:00.002-05:00

I'm Baaack!

2009-09-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

Wow! What a week! It was such a fun filled yet relaxing week spent with family. We had no plans or agenda and spent most of our time in or on the water. Since laptops and water generally don't get along I'll be trying to catch up on my Reader, visiting y'all and leaving comments this week.

I'll leave you with this interesting photo I took while on the road not far from where I live.

You might be a redneck if..

Stay-cation

2009-09-03T23:18:00.007-04:00

This is where I'll be....

And this is what we'll be doing...

Wish you were here! I'll try and post again soon ;-)

I'm on Stay-cation

2009-09-02T17:57:00.000-04:00

Two Cousins and their husbands are coming in this Friday for Labor Day Week. They have never been to this house before. I'm too excited!!!! I'll be taking Stay-cation so I can spend lots of time in the lake with them. I'll take pictures but probably won't post until after they have gone on Sept 12th.
See you then!

Off the Beaten Path

2009-08-27T12:52:00.011-04:00

Well not really far off. I was on my way home from Charlotte last weekend. It was a bright, beautiful day when I see this on the horizon.

What IS that? I couldn't figure it out. Then as I drove closer I realized that the city of Gaffney is very clever in disguising their water tower.

A little further down the road I passed this charming old school house and I just had to get off the highway to get a closer look.

I just love old buildings! There were no signs indicating how old it was or why it had been moved to this location. Even Google came up empty.

The door was locked so I couldn't get inside but I was able to climb up and get a photo. It was just as it should be.

Frozen in time.

www.fatcatcrochet.com

2009-06-09T09:16:00.001-04:00

You can now find me at...

www.fatcatcrochet.com

Come on over and leave me a comment:)

Ta-Da!

2009-02-16T10:33:00.004-05:00

Well, it's up and running. It's not perfect but neither am I. There is nothing new today but go anyway. I'm still tweeking it so some have patience. Oh and I am Sooooooooo open to suggestions. From now on I'll be posting here. See you there!

From My Love, MY ELPH

2009-02-14T15:18:00.003-05:00

My favorite French Toast breakfast, made by most favorite person. I love this man. I don't know what I ever did to deserve him.

Good Morning World!

2009-02-13T09:41:00.008-05:00

This is what I woke to this morning.

Well not exactly. What actually woke me was the Jaspurr kitten walking on my head and the Sparkie dog licking my face. But after I cleared them off the bed and found my glasses and looked out the bedroom window, I saw this. Doesn't it just make your heart sing! What a great day to be alive!

Work is progressing on the Turnberry Cardigan. I've completed one of the front pieces and started the other.

The website is almost setup and ready to use. I was playing with it last night but all the widgets aren't in place yet. Hopefully this weekend I'll get it all together and come Monday morning, if all goes according to plan (yea right) you'll come here and find a link over to the new site. If everything doesn't go well you just find me ~~bitching and moaning~~ still here. Miss Suzy Sunshine. Yup, that's me.

The easy part has been the switch to Wordpress. And I'll document all of that for you. It's getting the domain name, hosting site, my tech guy to actually work on it ~~while I'm NOT standing over him~~, getting the blog URL pointed in the right direction...do I sound like I know what I'm talking about? Yea, that's what gets me in trouble. Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thankful Thursday

2009-02-12T05:11:00.002-05:00

I am so thankful for the ELPH. He deals with my many moods and all my flaws and loves me still. He makes me French Toast with Cinnamon, Bananas and lots of Love for dinner after I've had a crappy day. I love this man with all my heart.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-11T06:21:00.000-05:00

.com (not yet)

2009-02-10T14:38:00.004-05:00

Slowly, slowly coaxing my tech guys to "GET OFF THE STICK! I got people chompin' at the bit here!" Not the least of all me. Jeeze Louise what's a girl got to do to get a site hosted around here! (Don't even go there!)

Mean time I think I figured out how big a moron I am and the Turnberry sleeves in the process. Don't ask. So I have some frogging to do before Knit Nite tonight.

And just because he's so damned cute. Jasper napping on my laptop.

Pretty, Pretty Weekend

2009-02-09T06:36:00.017-05:00

What a beautiful weekend!

Look at that sky!

The Dogwoods are starting to develop their Spring buds.

I can't wait for the hardwoods to bud.

You can almost hear the heart beat of the Pines.

Do you remember the scene in Phenomenon with John Travolta? Where he just stands there and listens and watches and "feels" the trees sway? I love that scene. I "feel" that scene. The ELPH and I have a lot of these Loblolly Pines in the yard. Some people cut them down for fear that they'll fall on the house. I love them. I love to watch them sway (gently), and hear the wind in them.

Another Stellar Day

2009-02-08T18:28:00.005-05:00

Stunning Day

2009-02-08T10:05:00.000-05:00

We had a gorgeous day on Saturday with temps just above 60F (15C) and in the ELPH's mind that's warm enough to take the boat out. And it was beautiful! We packed a couple PB&J's, a couple bottles of water, the dog and some dog treats and off we went. We weren't going very far. Just wanted to get out and enjoy the day.

As soon as we got out to the main art of the lake the wind picked up a bit but not enough to change our plans. We tooled around at a leisurely speed, ate our lunch and enjoyed the warm sun. The trip back was a bit windier thus chillier.

Even Sparkie tried to get out of the wind and stay warm. She's a good dog.

Maggie Wrap Swatch and .com

2009-02-07T20:02:00.007-05:00

I continue to translate the Maggie Wrap pattern from diagrams to write instructions. I have completed two squares but have not blocked them yet. The yarn is the wrong gauge so the squares are a little over an inch larger than the pattern calls for.

But they are just swatches so it's all about getting the pattern down. I'll block the swatches tomorrow and take them over to Margaret at Yes Yarn next week for approval.

I purchased my domain name for the .com and will get it hosted next week. Then RM, my favorite techy guy at work, will set me up with Wordpress and we will get this show on the road. So patience people! The wheels on this gig are a turning!

Maggie Wrap and .com update

2009-02-05T10:33:00.003-05:00

I've gotten a couple swatches of the Maggie Wrap completed but the gauge is too big so I'll need to go down a hook size and start again. The pattern is pretty easy. It took longer to translate than to swatch. I forgot the camera. Sue me. Photos tomorrow.

Do you remember that I work for a small ISP, web design and computer repair company? And I've been flogging myself with Blogger for the last week? Well this morning I decided to ask our in house web designer (because he is way more patient with me on these things than the ELPH) (Love you Honey!) some questions about .coms and Frontpage, pros & cons that sort of thing. I really sat down and thought about how I would phrase my questions as I tend to just start speaking and dribble comes out until eventually there is enough information out there for you to get a general idea of what the hell I'm trying to say. So I go into RM's office and say "I'm looking at a .com for my blog. What can you tell me about Frontpage? What do you use?" I take a breath to ask another question and he cuts me off to say "Nonono. I'll hook you up with Wordpress. I can move all your posts and widgets over intact. It's easy. Here look." RM pulls up a site he's working on and inserts a picture BANG! Then he moves the picture and the paragraph adjusts to the picture!!!! No bazillion hard returns mysteriously jumping in there. "Don't like it there?" he asked. BANG! "Move it over here. Don't like the size?" Bang! He resizes the picture. Right there IN the document!!! He looks at me over his shoulder because I'm uncharacteristically quiet and ever so gently shuts my gaping mouth with his index finger and laughs! He said "Don't worry. I got you covered."

RM said this would be easy so hopefully I can get with him again today (he really does work) and get the skinny on all this.

I just hate when I'm stubburn.

Knit Nite and Tally's Sweater and a (dot)com

2009-02-04T12:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I decided to take a break from the Turnberry and really look at this Maggie Wrap pattern. Margaret at Yes Yarn loaned me the book Blueprint Crochet, where the pattern appears.

Note the title: Blueprint Crochet. The entire title: Modern Designs for the Visual Crocheter.

There are even little diagrams below each picture on the cover. Should have been a clue. Maybe I should have actually looked at the entire book instead of just the pretty pictures because inside there are no written instructions!

That's right NO WRITTEN PATTERNS. NONE. Zippo. Nada. What's inside you ask? Well let me just show you...

Yes that's the pattern. How nice. I've made items from patterns that use diagrams but they were always ACCOMPANIED by a written pattern!

Now, don't get me wrong. I can read this. Really...It says...ch9, sl, sc16, ch2, dc, ch1, picot, ch1, dc2tog...See! It's just a different way of reading a pattern I guess. I'll get it down here in a bit.

In the mean time lets take a little look at Knit Nite! Here are most of the ladies that meet at the Piddlin' Patch every Tuesday night.

We even have our very own Knitting Instructor, Jackie (not pictured) who joins us almost every week. The Knitters in the group all started a sweater with Jackie a few weeks ago. Those three ladies on the left there, those are my Crochet buds!

This is Tally. She's the fastest knitter in the South!

Gorgeous! Not the Almond Coffee Cake! The sweater! Well the cake was Dee-Lish!

The Piddlin' Patch is the cutest little Frame Shoppe. When it's light again at 6pm I'll get a picture of the place. Cute, cute wooden frame house with front porch. Anyway Sara, the owner offers all sorts of other craft supplies; Embroidery Thread & Cross Stitch, Paint & Brushes, Basket Weaving and of course Knit & Crochet.

It's a small selection by comparison but she'll order anything if need be.

I've been thinking about this header business and blog issues and my inability to to use PhotoShop and Blogger together or separately and I've been thinking about getting a .com. Some of you use Blogger and have a .com. Pros? Cons? If I get away from Blogger all together and go with FrontPage document process, thoughts? I'm no techy by any stretch of the word. The ELPH is quite the Tech-no-dweeb and I work for a ISP and computer repair company but all I know I've learned through osmosis. Besides, why do I need to know this stuff when I'm surrounded by people who eat html code for breakfast and like it?

The .com poll and suggestion box is now open. Any and all contributions, suggestions and concerns are greatly appreciated.

Not quite Header, Turnberry Hell & The Maggie Wrap

2009-02-03T08:46:00.013-05:00

Ok the header isn't quite right. That's part of it but, the background is supposed to be transparent and the font isn't supposed to be black and the picture of my fat cat is missing. At least it fits in the space provided and moving in the right direction. I'm thinking at this point it might be easier to just skip blogger all together and set up a .com. That's still an option but we'll see.

Tonight is Knit Nite and as usual we Ladies are meeting at the Piddlin' Patch. I've got my camera in my knit bag and hopefully it will jump out all on it's own and take pictures of the lovely sweater most of them are making.

As the Turnberry Cardi sleeves are still ~~causing me to pull my hair out~~ giving me fits and it's intended recipient's birthday was Dec 27th, (Hell it's a Spring color anyway) I'm switching gears. A few months back I attended the Grand Opening of Yes Yarn's new location in Anderson. Margaret, the store owner, approached me about Crocheting a garment on Commission. I was so taken by her request I froze! Sure, I've made things as gifts for people but they really can't say "Gawd that's aweful, I'll never wear that!" See cuz it's a gift. They have to smile and say "Thank You!" no matter what. So like I said when Margaret approached me about this I was speechless.

This is what Margaret would like me to make.

Yea. I know! Beautiful right?! And after my inital panic attack, I got to looking at it. It's just Granny Squares really. I can do this! So I brought the pattern with me today and between customers and phone calls and basicly my real job, I'm going to see if I can whip out some swatches. (Yes, Holly, SWATCHES! OMG! I know!) I figure if someone is going to PAY for my Crochet, then it should probably actually FIT that person, the least I can do is swatch.

Oh and don't worry about the header, I'm to ~~pigheaded~~ stubborn to quit. If it KILLS me I'll get it right. Or beg for help.

No-thing (again)

2009-02-02T12:32:00.006-05:00

I spent most of the weekend ~~farting around~~ working on my blob header. What? You didn't notice it? You say it looks the same as it did last week? Huh! That's because I'm completely incapable of making Photoshop & Blogger work together!!!!!!! I have the header I want all set up in Photoshop as a GIF file. And when I upload it to Blogger it either stretches it to full screen or squishes it to postage stamp size. And when I say I ~~farting around~~ worked on this all week end I mean ALL WEEKEND! Friday night I was tempted to pitch the laptop through the picture window. The ELPH suggested I leave it alone for a bit (good advice).
Saturday I started anew. I mean from scratch. I couldn't remember what changes I'd made to which file and my desk top was covered in edited files so I just wiped the slat clean and started again. Only to be stumped again my the Bloggger upload. Saturday evening we had Friends and neighbors B & J for dinner. It was wonderful if I do say so myself. I made my Grandma's recipe for Pork Chops (pictures? Wha? I was too worked up about the freaking header to take pictures!), lightly browned boneless chops, covered in a can of stewed tomatoes, cooked til done. And they MUST be served with mashed potatoes and green beans. But I cheated and used Green Giant Steamers Red Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans in a Rosemary Butter Sauce. Aside: One bag= plenty for 2, not quite enough for 4. live & learn. J made her world famous (OK neighborhood famous) salad, I popped in some biscuits, opened a(nother) bottle of wine and we were good to go. B & J are healthier eaters than the ELPH & I so I tried to watch the carbs and portion size. But I did buy dessert. Just two slices of plain cheesecake, one for each couple to split. After dinner I brought up the subject of my Blog header issues with B. He's a whiz with photo editing software and gave me a couple pointers that I hadn't thought of. But after several glasses of wine I wasn't in any shape to attempt working on said header.
Sunday. Oh, Sunday. Why does the Pre-Game start 10 hours before the game!!?? Why do all the other stations assume you'll be watching the Pre-Game and run CRAP all day? I couldn't even find decent House re-runs.
Anyway all that time spent on the header ment that nothing else got done. No-thing! No swatching, no Turnberry crocheting. So once again I got nothin!

I got Nothin'

2009-01-30T08:52:00.001-05:00

And my site is in the middle of an upgrade. Sorry. Might get something up later. . .

Somebody Loves Me!

2009-01-29T04:52:00.000-05:00

The beautiful Sometimes Sophia (we're twins, identical of course, separated at birth, ya know) graced me with this very special award this week. She's a wonderful story teller, poet (with a small rodent problem), adventurer (she walked the state of NH!) and has some serious mad skillz with Photoshop. Go on over and check her out. Tell her Linda sent you and while your there check out some of the cool people on her Blog Roll.

I'm still working on the Turnberry Cardigan by Drew "The Crochet Dude" Emborsky. And the depressing task of decluttering my closet. Three bags of clothes went to Goodwill yesterday. After that it's (insert scary movie music) The Craft Room. Currently storing everything from used glue sticks and dried lotus blossom pods to aquamarine sewing thread and retired Partylite candles & holders. Halloween, Christmas , Thanksgiving and Fourth of July decorations, fabric remnants, and music cassettes. I really need to find a home (someone elses) for this stuff! Do I have any takers? Anyone? Bueller?

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-28T04:22:00.001-05:00

I think the ELPH is keeping the thermostat too low.

What do you think?

The River

2009-01-27T04:48:00.001-05:00

Some songs just speak to you. They make you realize what you already knew. This one reminds me to learn from yesterday, from my mistakes, to take risks. Small risks. To not let life pass me by.

What songs inspire you, remind you to reach higher?

The River – Victoria Shaw/Garth Brooks

You know a dream is like a river

Ever changin' as it flows

And a dreamer's just a vessel

That must follow where it goes

Trying to learn from what's behind you

And never knowing what's in store

Makes each day a constant battle

Just to stay between the shores...and

I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Like a bird upon the wind

These waters are my sky

I'll never reach my destination

If I never try

So I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Too many times we stand aside

And let the waters slip away

'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow

Has now become today

So don't you sit upon the shoreline

And say you're satisfied

Choose to chance the rapids

And dare to dance the tide...yes

I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Like a bird upon the wind

These waters are my sky

I'll never reach my destination

If I never try

So I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

There's bound to be rough waters

And I know I'll take some falls

But with the good Lord as my captain

I can make it through them all...yes

I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Like a bird upon the wind

These waters are my sky

I'll never reach my destination

If I never try

So I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Yes, I will sail my vessel

'Til the river runs dry

Neat Nick I Am Not

2009-01-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

Apparently some of you are under the impression that I am some sort of Neat Nick. Whatever gave you all this idea? I can tell you the opposite is true. Heck I can SHOW you!

See the ELPH and I don’t have children so, no toys or shoes or book bags laying about. But who needs kids when you have me?

Here is the Back Entry, that door leads to the garage.

The empty popcorn tin and the old flatbed scanner? Yup, they've been sitting there since Christmas. On the wall directly in front of that bench is a whole row of hooks for hanging jackets and such. That’ll be important to remember for the next two photos.

From the Back Entry you walk into the Kitchen where you will find…
What? What’s this? A Jacket? And another pair of shoes? No, can’t be! Cuz there’s hooks back there just for hanging coats, purses & bags on, right?

And look at this living room! How do people live here?
That stack on the table? It's my stuff. That’s been there 2 weeks. Aside from the book on the top, I don’t even remember what’s there.

Turn around. Let’s see what we have here in the Front Foyer.
Ah yes, two MORE pairs of Linda’s shoes and yet another jacket. And the dog leash hanging on the door knob? Yes, it’s supposed to be stored in a drawer in that foyer table there on the left.

This Plant? It is directly behind it is a very nice, cushy leather chair in the living room.
The Jaspurr cat launches himself off the chair right into the middle of said plant and tears the leaves off. I can clean these up every ten minutes but it looks like this again when I turn around. I think I’ll just wait out his obsession and then clean it up.

Back into the Kitchen
hmmmmm…this is not looking good.

Oh my. This is definatly not a good thing. So now you know. No neat nick lives here. Maybe when I get that cardigan done I’ll give you a peek at my closet. You know the one full of clothes. All kinds of clothes I can’t wear.

On second thought, maybe not, it’s in worse shape than the rest of the house.

Turnberry Cardigan (WIP)

2009-01-22T06:33:00.001-05:00

A Work In Progress

I’ve been working on the Turnberry Cardigan since November. I haven’t been working very diligently. It shouldn’t take this long. This is why I don’t have an Etsy shop. I crochet when I’m in the mood. This pattern is so easy I don’t know why I haven’t been working on it. This is all I’ve gotten done in two months. Just the back.It’s ridiculous. So tonight I’m going to post this and work on one or two for future. Then I’m going to finish this sweater. So if I’m off for a little bit I'll be on the sofa, crocheting my little fat fingers off:)

An Interview? Who me?

2009-01-19T18:15:00.011-05:00

Have you ever wished you had the opportunity to interview a few of your blog friends? Well Di over at The Blue Ridge Gal did just that. And she interviewed me! The way I gab, I would have thought you knew everything about me by now:)

So without further ado, here is the interview!

1. Last July you spent a day in Gatlinsburg... you bought a fantastic looking purse.... so, are you a purse and accessory freak and is your closet over-flowing with fashion or neat and tidy with just the minimum? I am so NOT a Fashionable Girl! I was in Gatlinburg with my sisters’ family and the nieces were all looking for purses. That one just caught my eye and the girls loved it so for $20 I figured what the heck? And my closet is far from tidy! It’s full of clothes that don’t fit.

2. You're a stitchin' fool... lol... and I am jealous by the way. Do you or will you ever sell your creations on Etsy, if no, please explain why not. I love to crochet and I love making things for my friends and family, in my own good time. I’m afraid if I open an Etsy shop, it will make Crocheting more of a chore than a pleasure. Although just recently I've been asked to make something on commission! I’ll keep you all posted on how that goes.

3. I see you have a fat cat and a skinny dog. Have you always had pets in your life and can you name all of them and tell us about your very favorite one? My family always had pets while I was growing up. The ones I would call mine, that I was responsible for were a half wild, female, calico cat my brother named Tough Guy, a female Husky mix named Ralphie, brother & sister cats named Elliot & Vanessa, psycho kitty Tasha, and an awesome cat Bruiser (he was a dog in another life). Bruiser was probably my favorite. He had the most and best personality!

4. What is your favorite style of house. Country farmhouse, Colonial, Cottage or Contempory? I LOVE old houses. I mean really OLD houses. Style schmyle. Make it OLDOLDOLD and I'm in love. There's just so much history there.

5. What is usually playing on your iPod, car radio or computer when it comes to music. What song moves you to feel emotional and why? There is usually Country CD's in the truck but every time I hear Etta James sing “At last” I get chills!

Now it's your turn if you would like me to interview you just leave a comment and I will email you the questions! Here's the directions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I’ll respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Carolina Snow

2009-01-18T10:23:00.016-05:00

The ELPH & I were snug in our bed this morning when The Skinny Dog (aka Sparkie) decided it was waaay past time for her morning pee and jumped up to inform us. As she snuggled inbetween us to lick our faces, the ELPH informs me "Your dog needs to go out."
Really? What ever gave him that idea? Now, being the Alpha Dog of this Pack, I snuggled deeper into my blankets. You see, I say when we pee around here! The ELPH came back to from his trip down the hall and said "It's snowing!" I said "Bull shhhh..." Peeked out from under the covers and finished saying "...iiitt. It IS snowing!" Now I really didn't want to get out of bed. But my Best Girl Sparkie really did need to go out so I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, put on a coat and out we went.

Yup, that's Carolina Snow.... There!.... Right there! On the ground! That white stuff!
Are you blind?!!? STOP LAUGHING! phffst. Never mind. Any way, I walked, Sparkie sniffed and did her business. It was so quiet you could hear the snow. (Shut up.) It was pretty cool. Look! See? Accumulation!

Sparkie's seen a couple of Carolina snows. She's never quite sure what to think though.

Snow sure looks pretty in the Pines.

Don't you agree?

STOP LAUGHING! I can hear you, now stop it!! Look! SEE! Accumulation!

Oh forget it! I'm going back to bed.

What the...?

2009-01-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

No my window is not dirty....

It's snowing in South Carolina.

Bbbbbrrrrrr!

2009-01-16T11:02:00.007-05:00

Went into the garage this morning, got in the truck and started it. Temp gauge said 44F inside the garage.

On the road to work and this happened...

Then this....

and finally...

Bbbbbrrrrrr!!!

Winter in Chicago Suburbs

2009-01-16T04:56:00.000-05:00

Got this email from my (younger) Sister yesterday.

Hi all!
Winter is here in Chicago, received an additional 4-6 inches today of light fluffy powder. Schools are canceling left and right for tomorrow, temps expected to be the lowest in 16 years.
(from weatherchannel.com) TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO RAPIDLY DROP TONIGHT AND COMBINED WITH THE STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILLS OF 30 TO 40 DEGREES BELOW ZERO THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.

I've sent some pictures of my flower pots and one of the grill, anyone for BBQ? Enjoy!

A Meme

2009-01-15T09:16:00.008-05:00

Lo over at Slap Happy Musings tagged me with this meme and it sounded like fun. All you have to do is go to your pictures, pick the 6th photo from the 6th file and blog about it and tag 6 people. Here is mine.

My Mother October 22, 1960

She was 18.5 almost to the day. She wore her sister’s dress.

I'm not going to tag you. I'm a rule breaker like that. Free will and all. Have fun!

How did I NOT know?

2009-01-14T04:37:00.027-05:00

My Mother In Law, Bea, used to Knit and Crochet. Ask me how I found out this vital piece of information that could have smoothed all the rough edges of our early relationship. Go ahead, ask me. Ready? I learned that my MIL used to Knit and Crochet while the ELPH and I were moving Bea from one apartment to another last weekend. I came across one double point needle (DPN) and one crochet hook. I sat there on the floor and said to Bea "I didn’t know you knit.” She said “Oh, yes but it was a long time ago. Oh, I have something for you.” She comes back and hands me this.

11 Crochet Hooks, 3 Afghan Hooks, 12 pairs of Knitting Needles, 4 sets of DPN’s, 2 Circular Needles, a Cable Knitting Needle and the longest darning needle I’ve ever seen. Seriously, it’s like 8 inches long!

32 Needles and Hooks in a 50 year old case that doesn't look a year old. The ELPH doesn't even remember is Mother knitting. And there's no evidence except this case. No knitted hats, sweaters or mittens. No baby blankets. 32 Needles & Hooks people! You don't have that many if you're a casual crafter. She had to have been serious some point.

How am I just learning this? ELPH and I have been married 15 years. I have crocheted numerous items for him and have worked on projects in her presence. How did this subject NOT come up? This would have been such a bonding point for for us. Bea & I haven't always been on best of terms. (Let's just say NO woman would have been good enough for her Only Son and leave it at that.) But over the years we've found some common ground. At the very least knowing that we had this craft in common would've given us something to talk about.

I am so happy to recieve all these needles and hooks. First, because there are Bea's. And second because when I finally learn to knit properly I will already have every needle I will ever need.

Bea is a very lovely woman. Born in Germany in 1924, raised in New York City. She was an elementary school teacher. She skiied and climbed mountains and she still swims half a mile a day. She is very traditional. She comes from a generation that took great pride in doing things just so. When she entertained it was done to the Nines. Tableclothes and napkin rings and the good silver. Juice in juice glasses, water in water goblets, wine in wine glasses, and cordials. They "dressed" for dinner and wore gloves and hats to church. She always tries too hard to make us feel welcome and at home.

It's an era almost gone. And now when ever I use these hooks and needles I'll always remember...That no one ever told me Bea knit!

Moving MIL

2009-01-12T16:27:00.001-05:00

The ELPH’s parents moved from their retirement home in Tennessee into a two bedroom apartment at Carlyle Place 8 or 9 years ago. Carlyle Place is a Continuing Care Retirement Community with tons of amenities and services. ELPH always told his Parents that their moving there was the best gift they could give him as he never has to worry about whether they’re eating or getting out or if someone will find them if they fall and get hurt. They have several friends that moved from the same Tennessee neighbor hood living there also.
ELPH’s Father died a few years ago from cancer. So in an effort to stretch her limited income as far as possible the ELPH suggested his Mother move to a smaller apartment. She agreed but was not optimistic that an apartment would open up anytime soon as “someone has to die” in order for her to get a new place. A One Bedroom “just down the hall” opened up two weeks later. When she called to tell us she was practically in hysterics because she only had 30 days to move! ELPH & I calmed her down and told her we would take care of everything. So last Saturday we drove 3½ hours down to Macon, GA to get her moved “just down the hall”.
Now I love my MIL but she’s not much on organization or planning ahead. When we arrived nothing was packed and she was fretting about “We are never going to get this all done today. You’ll have to stay all week to get this all moved! All this is never going to fit in the new place!” Breathe, MIL, breathe. (Take another Blue Pill, Linda) I have to keep reminding myself that she is 85 and physically she is but mentally she’s probably 65. She had moved all her clothes from the closet and a few miscellaneous things from around the apartment. “Just down the hall” turned out to be “just on the same floor”. The new place is on the opposite side of the complex. It took me 3 minutes to walk from the old place to the new. We must have walked miles!! With the exception of her dresser, the ELPH and I got all the furniture she was keeping moved to the new place by Midnight. She nearly had a fit when we said we forgot our inflatable mattress and would sleep on the floor. But we were so tired we could have slept anywhere. My feet hurt all the way up to my hips!
Next morning we got some help from ELPH’s Cousin G. We were so glad he was able to come too! By 3:30 we had pretty much gotten everything MIL wanted to keep into the One Bedroom. And Cousin G took all the furniture MIL no longer wanted away with him when he had to leave. The ELPH and I will have to go back one more time to pitch out the trash and have MIL go through some of her things and the stacks of papers she’s collected. You know stuff you might need someday like the owners manual for the toaster you received for a wedding gift in 1912 and that you finally replaced in 1932. But you might need that manual so don’t throw that out! Actually it was quite funny. MIL is a container whore. No really she has a container for everything. We found a zippered bank bag and ELPH pitched it in the trash pile. MIL said “oh don’t throw that out! It’s still good!” He asked what are you using it for? MIL said “Oh I might put something in it someday.” Um remember she’s 85? Apparently she doesn’t. But then again her Mother lived to be almost 100. Yea. Woo-who.

I'm here! Really!

2009-01-08T09:39:00.002-05:00

Sorry to be off the grid lately. Nothing exciting. Just getting caught up at work after the Holiday's.
Going to Macon, GA Saturday to move MIL to new apartment in same building. Should have some good stuff from that. Promise to have a post by Monday.

Yes Yarn has a New Location

2009-01-05T06:25:00.001-05:00

Yes Yarn has moved to...

3016 North Main St, Anderson

(Below Papa John's Pizza. New sign has been ordered. )

And with my new trusty GPS I found it without any trouble! I am in LOVE with GARMIN! The ELph bought Lake Map Software for it so guess what? That makes it a "we" gift. But I don't care! I can go to any yarn shop in the U.S. and Canada and never get lost. OK and we can use it on the boat to Track Back from the Tiki Hut without hitting anything in the dark. I guess that's a good thing. But GARMIN will live in MY truck! And the ELPH will require special permission signed in blood to borrow MY GARMIN to run his Lake Map Software on. So there.

Anyway, I found the new YES YARN store no problem. And it is amazing! The old store was inside and upstairs of a Quilt Shop, in three small rooms. The new store is all one room and you can see everything! Even so Margaret & Deb have still managed to make it cozy.

The place was hoppin' when I visited on Saturday! There had to have been 25 people in there.There are several places to sit and knit or check out the books and patterns.

Margaret never left the register! Go Margaret! Go!

And Debbie...Debbie? Well Debbie was all over the place helping customers in every corner of the store! I couldn't even get a picture of her! Jackie was there too teaching a class in the Knitty Corner.

Look at all the pretties! Noro, Rowan, Tahki, Debbie Bliss, Plymouth, Classic Elite and Swedish Yarns and Hand Painted Yarn!

And all sorts of cool gagets, needles and hooks, Oh My! All beautifully displayed and in easy reach.

Busy, busy, busy!

Best Of luck Margaret. See you real soon!

New Boots

2009-01-03T18:05:00.008-05:00

How adorable are these?

Don't they look Hot?!!

Don't they me look thinner?

I think not.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-02T16:00:00.000-05:00

About a month ago our dear friends Karen & Tony, called to invite us to their New Years Eve party. Awesome! Then Karen asks ‘should we have it here or at your house?’ I never even hesitated when I answered ‘Our place of course!’ We love Tony & Karen like family. We’ve known them for 15 years and are very comfortable just sitting on the sofa, all with our laptops or falling asleep watching a movie. We always enjoy our visits together.

Along with Tony and Karen we invited Hamilton and Lora down from Tennessee and our neighbors Bill and Judy.

Tony is an amateur chef. And by amateur I only mean that he doesn’t cook for a living.

But he could.

He’s amazing! He really enjoys cooking so much that if he’s not in the kitchen he doesn’t know what to do with himself. So we let him have at it! He had smoked some ribs and chicken earlier in the day and Karen emptied their refrigerator and stocked ours when they arrived. Judy who is new to the South, made the New Years Tradition of Black-eyed Peas, Collard Greens and Corn bread. Man was it GOOD! I contributed by purchasing a Mrs. Smith’s Blueberry Pie and Breyer’s Vanilla Ice cream. Trust me. It's a good thing.

We were so busy talking and drinking I didn’t take any pictures of the spread. Needless to say we covered the kitchen counter with food and ate. And ate! Then we drank. Not too much. We’re all in the mid-40’s and up and don’t recover nearly as well as we used to. But we had a very nice evening capped off with fireworks at midnight launched from our beach.

New Year’s morning Tony cooked up this great breakfast.

We all gathered around the stove for our morning caffeine fix and to watch the Master Chef at work.

English muffins soaked in egg (like you would bread for French toast) then rolled in crushed Special K flakes and….are you ready?? Coconut! Just a touch of syrup and OMG! Heaven on a plate. Amazing!

After breakfast we just hung out and talked. The girls went and joined the very smart animals of my house in the living room sunbeam. Lora tried to steal my dog.

She tried to bribe me with this beautiful platter.

Although it does go perfectly with my décor,

I insisted on keeping both the dog and the platter.

We LOVE when friends and family come to visit and we wish they all had more time to spend with us. Maybe this summer when the weather is more suitable to boating we can do this again.

Fourth of July anyone?

Annual Vet Visit

2008-12-31T12:49:00.010-05:00

The ELPH and I took the whole pack to the vet today for yearly vaccinations and to get our newest pack member Jaspurr checked out. We find it easier to just suck it up and stuff them all in kennels and get it over with.

Fat Cat Pipurr (Pie-purr) HATES the "box"! She is now so big she can just barely turn around in it. And damn it! I'm not buying a bigger one just for the one trip a year that we use it! Aside from that it's always been a fight, literally, to get her in the carrier. It's like a cartoon! Hide the carrier as you bring it out of the closet, cuz if she sees it it's she's under the bed like a shot! And I'm now too fat to get under there after her!

ELPH stands the carrier on end and I grab the beast. You remember the cartoon where the cat puts all four paws on the door frame and can't be pushed through? Insert that image here... I'll wait... So now I have this 20# cat upside-down trying to get her head first into the carrier only she has managed to get all four paws on the entry door and won't be stuffed in! OK grab the front paws, get them IN the box, now the head is out and back feet are still firmly planted on door frame! GAAAAAAAAAAA! Well we finally managed it but not without me sustaining a gash to the hand. Nothing a little Neo-Sporin can't handle.

So now we're at the Vet and we decide Pipurr will be first. We open the door on the carrier and she won't come out. So I look inside and all I see is Fat Cat Ass. I pick up the carrier and try to dump her out on the table. Nope. Not gonna happen. So the vet says "don't worry we can do this". He reaches in grabs a slab of fur and gives her the shots right there! Easy-peasy! Close 'er up step back and see what she weighs, minus 2# for the carrier and we have....drum roll please.....19#! Pipurr remains the heavy weight in our house, although she has actually lost a coupe pounds, probably in just the last month that we've had Jaspurr. She's down from 22# last year.

Our Skinny Girl, Sparkie, is a svelte 27# and in excellent health! And she was very brave when they drew blood. The pack leader (moi) had to turn away just at the sight of the needle.

And our new boy Jaspurr they estimate at 7 months old and weighs in at a healthy 7#. Doc took a look at his teeth and said "Oh! He's going to be a big boy!" How can they tell that from teeth?? Anyway we left Jaspurr at the vet to um... ahem... have his "ginger bits" removed. We pick him up in the morning.

Now I'm off to join the ELPH in making the house guest ready before our K&T and L&H come to help us celebrate the ringing in of the New Year! See you all in 2009!

Happy New Year!

Family at Christmas

2008-12-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas dawned white here in South Carolina. Not snowy white.

Foggy white.

We had a very quiet, laid back day.

Friday we had a couple of neighbors over for a casual dinner and then on Saturday the ELPH and I and the dog drove up to my parents place outside Gatlinburg, TN.

We arrived just in time for a sunset drink on the back deck.

Sunday morning was so pretty we took our coffee on the deck. It was so good to just sit and catch up and relax with my (younger!) sisters. Don't they look great?

Mom was having a good day too. She didn't seem to know us but was happy for the company.

Later she had what my father describes as a "sad episode" and what I would call a full blown melt down. She was in hysterics, sobbing and completely panicked. We have no idea what set it off. It took about half an hour to get her calmed down.

The kids spent most of their time like this.

And the guys spent some time like this.

So we put them to work.

That kept them out of trouble for a little while.

We had a very nice visit. It was short and it's been too long between visits but with these youngsters in the house, the activity and the conversation, never stopped. Just trying to get them all in one spot at the same time was a challenge. This is the only picture of the eight that I took at this sitting that someone wasn't moving or talking or laughing!
It was a great couple days but it's good to be home. Next I need to gear up, clean up and stock up for New Years Eve when we will have a houseful of friends. Should be a great time!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T04:40:00.003-05:00

From my Family to yours;

Pipurr (aka Fat Cat), Sparkie (aka Skinny Dog) and Jaspurr,

The ELPH and Myself

Merry Christmas!

Historic? Antique? Nope. Just OLD

2008-12-19T18:17:00.039-05:00

Holy Bee over at Knit with Snot for You posted a list of Random Knitterly Things. One of her favorite things that she knit or crocheted was a Ripple orange/green/yellow afghan she made in High School. Holly loves color, lots and lots of color but she really LOVES Orange & Green!

This got me thinking about my Crochet Beginnings. My Mom was quite crafty. She could draw and paint and sculpt clay, knit, crochet and sew. She taught me to crochet when I was 10. My very first project was a lavender & white striped Poncho with a drawstring neckline and fringed bottom. I remember it used a a big hook, Mom probably gave me the pattern. I loved that poncho. I wore it everywhere! I wish I had a color photo of it but this black & white will have to do.

Yes, that's me. Circa 1972 (Told you it was old!)

I don't remember making anything after that but I'm sure there were scarves and hats somewhere in there made from all shades of lovely Acrylic.

In my twenties I made baby blankets for my friends and my cousins and my co-workers. Lots and lots of baby blankets. Usually a pattern called Reversible Baby Afghan or Shells and Chains Afghan. The Reversible took twice as long to make because you were literally making two blankets in one. I only made this one if I knew long in advance of the arriving baby. And if I knew the sex I could make one side blue or pink and the other white. The Shells and Chains blanket I could whip out in a week, riding the Rock Island train from Blue Island to Downtown Chicago everyday gave me lots of time to work on it. I'd make up 2 or 3 in white and stash them. When I needed a gift quick I could just trim it out in pink, blue or what ever color they were using in the nursery. Clever huh?

When I met the ELPH, OK he wasn't the ELPH then. He was the Hot, Tall, Blue Eyed, College Educated, North Side Guy in the Cool Silver Pontiac Fiero GT!

But HTBECENSG CSPFGT doesn't roll off the tongue like ELPH does.

Anyway he had this great townhouse in Hoffman Estates that was way better that the South Side basement apartment I was living in, so I would usually drive an hour up the Toll Road to spend the weekend at his place. (gasp! say it isn't so!) So for our first Christmas together I decide to make a afghan for his place. You know something big enough for both of us to snuggle toghether under. This Plaid Afghan is what I made. I added a couple extra rows to make it Queen sized.

It's made in strips, single crochet two strands toghether, then whip stitch the strips together. One color is carried throughout the strip. Navy & Lt Blue, Navy & White, Navy & Cranberry, Navy & Navy. Boring, boring, boring and it took forever but easy, easy, easy. And because it's two strands it's thick and heavy! Perfect for those cold Chicago winter nights.

So Holly? Tracyb? All my ZPDK buds? I'll be happy to send you the pattern and material requirements if you want to give it a go. Holly, I think this would look AWESOME in shades of Orange & Green! What do you think?

So there ya go. More than you probably wanted to know about me & my crochet!

A Trip in the Way Back Machine

2008-12-19T04:27:00.024-05:00

I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the 60's & 70's. Recently my sister PJ (who still lives on the South Side) called up all excited, "Listen!" she said. I listened. And waited. I could hear her in the background but wasn't sure what I was listening for. Turns out one of the seasonal cartoons from our youth was playing on the TV and she wanted to share. I was bummed I couldn't hear it.

That got me to thinking about the shows I grew up with. Which reminded me of how few channels we had growing up. Five. We had five TV channels; CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN and the PBS station. We actually had to GET UP and TURN THE KNOB to change the channels! And heaven forbid should you need to turn up/down the volume because you had to GET UP to do that too! hmmm....maybe if i got up off my fat arse to change channels/volume today my arse wouldn't BE so fat? Naaaa!

Does anyone remember The Ray Rayner Show?

(Photo courtesy of http://www.chicagotelevision.com/rayner.htm

He had a big white duck he would haul out every day and feed lettuce to and then let him swim in a kiddie pool. That duck HATED Ray! It would bite him every chance he got!

How about Garfield Goose?

This was one of my favorites!

(Photo courtesy of http://www.chicagotelevision.com/frazier)

And Bozo the Clown?

Did you know they had a TEN YEAR waiting list for tickets??

Photo courtesy of http://www.chicagotelevision.com/wgntv.htm)

Or how about Captain Kangaroo?

(Photo courtesy of http://timstvshowcase.com/kangaroo.html)

And one of my very first TV memories...."Romper, bomper, stomper boo. Tell me, tell me, tell me, do. Magic mirror, tell me today. Have all my friends had fun at play? I can see Scotty and Kimberly and Julie and Jimmy and Kelly and all of you boys and girls out there!" Romper Room!

Well after a little surfing on Youtube I found the two short cartoons PJ was trying to let me listen to. I've only ever seen them while in Chicago so I'm assuming they're a Midwest thing. So for those of you who've never seen these sit back and take a little trip in my travel back machine.....they sure bring back memories for me.

Bonus points for those who know what this is and where you could find it...

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-17T04:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Past

2008-12-16T06:19:00.000-05:00

1968...don't ya just love that Charlie Brown tree?

I snagged this from The Blue Ridge Gal, a blog I just found. She snagged it from someone else, but I don't think she'll mind if I borrow it.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper. I like to give a pretty package. But I don't mind receiving a gift bag.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
I prefer to cut my own tree, I love to wander the tree farm and I like the smell. That said, I now own two artificial trees. I can put them up earlier and take them down later and not worry about torching my house.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Live trees go up 10 days before and come down two days after Christmas. Artificial goes up the first week of December and comes down New Years Day

4. When do you take the tree down?
See above

5. Do you like egg nog?
I love egg nog! I drink it til I'm sick. Sorry.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Oooo...that was a long time ago. I'm sure there were several lovely dolls and one year I got a guitar but nothing I still own.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Men in general. Dad always says he doesn't need anything. Brother is pretty particular. The ELPH usually is easiest. He gives me a list of websites and item numbers:)

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Sisters. And the Dog. (Heck, she's happy to play with the envelopes my junk mail comes in!)

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Nope... don't know why either.

10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
Mail! And we still need to do them + the letter.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A too small sweatshirt with a design cut out on the entire front and blue calico cotton sewn on the inside of the shirt so the calico showed through the holes. Yea. I was so happy.

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
The Bells of St. Mary's

13. When do you start shopping?
Throughout the year really but in earnest just before & after Thanksgiving

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes, but I knew the recipient wanted it.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Peanut butter stuffed dates, rolled in powdered sugar. Mom used to make these every year.

16. Lights on the tree?
White only and lots of them!

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Carol of the Bells, Trans Siberian Orchestra version

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay home if we can. This year were going to Macon Christmas Eve to have dinner with MIL and Saturday after Christmas were going up to Tennnessee to visit my folks.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Yes! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner & Blitzen and of course Rudolph.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas Eve? Christmas Eve??!!?? How can you open your Christmas presents BEFORE Santa delivers them??????????

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
The Hill People. You know who I mean those people who come out of where ever it is that they spend the other eleven months of the year. And the traffic!! OMG! Do these people only drive between Thanksgiving and Christmas? That green arrow up there? Yea you! That means TURN NOW!!!! Where DO these people come from?

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Silver & Gold

24. Favorite Christmas memory?
When I was little, less than 6, my Aunts & Uncles and Cousins would all gather at Grandma & Grandpa's, my Mom's parents. They had one of those white aluminum trees and Grandma put only red ball ornaments on it. They had one of those

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
A GPS. I could get lost in a paper bag.

Actual Crochet!

2008-12-14T15:18:00.008-05:00

Ta-Da! A Finished project!

(O.K. almost. Still have to weave in the ends and block.)

The Aran Isle Muffler by Ann E. Smith
from Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Crochet

I LOVE crocheted cables!!!!

I had so much fun making this scarf. I love the yarn. Cashmere Luxuary Aran yarn. It's 45% Merino, 49% Microfiber and 6% Cashmere. The local Tuesday Morning had 5 balls of it and I bought it all back in the Spring.

Like most Yarnies I'm sure, yarn speaks to me. I had no idea what I was going to make when I bought this but I knew the project would find the yarn. Then right around Thanksgiving Lo over at Slap Happy Musings bought the cutest jacket. And as she live in Northern Frozen Tundra Illinois I offered to make her a scarf.

I'll be mailing it out as soon as she send me her address!!!! Lo? Hello?

The Tuesday Night Knit Group (ZPDK)

2008-12-12T09:16:00.001-05:00

Zombie Prom Date Knitters!

Back Row: Pat & I. Standing: Tally, Donna, Jackie, Sara.
Seated: Gwen, Beverly, Linda, Robyn, Diana

These are the very fine Ladies I meet with every Tuesday night at the Piddlin' Patch Frame Shoppe here in town.

Sara is the owner of the shop and carries all number of needles, hooks and books and a small corner of yarn. Her store is chock full of all kinds of crafty goodness from cross stitch & basket weaving supplies to decorative candles and holiday decorations. She is so sweet to open her doors to us every Tuesday evening for as long as we decide to stay. She always gets a pot of coffee going and has a few snacks set out for us when we arrive. We are so appreciative of her that we all pitched in and bought her and her husband a gift certificate to a local restaurant. She was very surprised!

She keeps threatening to sit down and join us at the yarn table but she usually is flitting around the shop or in the back framing a special order. Someday we'll catch her!

Jackie is a knitting teacher. Sara invited her come to the Piddlin Patch to teach a class on knitted socks (before I merged my little group with theirs) and she likes our company so much she keeps coming back. Did you know you can UN-knit???? Well I didn't but Jackie can!

She's a whiz at fixing the weird mistakes we bring in. And she's always teaching, always ready to help.

This past week we all met at Robyns beautiful home for a Christmas Dinner and a little knitting. She had several beautifully decorated Christmas trees, one with nothing but Reindeer ornaments on it! Robyns got a thing for Reindeer!

(check out her shirt).

And she has the most extensive Dept 56 snow village I've ever seen outside a store! And this isn't even all of it!

I'm so lucky to have found this group of ladies. They are all so nice. I hope I can get to know them all much better in the coming year.

Thankful Thursday & Christmas

2008-12-11T03:14:00.001-05:00

Today I'm thankful I have a job. Especially after that last call I made. Let me explain something. See all my life I have been in Customer Service. From my very first job as a bank teller, to my Colorado experiences in hotel reservations, front desk and switchboard, to cocktail waitress, retail sales, to office manager. I can guarantee you I've been on the receiving end of an angry, frustrated customer phone call or two (or ten). Today it was their turn. All I want to do is cancel a service. Why is this so difficult? You would think it would be perfectly clear after the last 4 monthly phone calls to cancel said service and the fact that I haven't paid any of the last 4 monthly invoices you've sent BECAUSE I HAVE CANCELLED THE SERVICE FOUR FREAKING TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fortunately (and unbeknownst to me) my boss has had this very same conversation with them as well. So when I blew my top with this imbusil, ignoramus, useless waste of flesh with the job description of customer service rep, my boss just laughed and said he couldn't believe I didn't blow sooner. Huh. Well. O.K. then.

I'm also thankful that this...

and this...

Now look like this....(And the Choir sings "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!")

Jaspurr was VERY interested in the tree. He was all in the box (yes I have an artificial tree. Get over it!) and the packing material and once the tree started to go up he was all up in it too. So I decided to forgo the glass ornaments untill he settles down a bit an can be trusted not to "kill" my tree and all the pretty danglies.

But at the moment he finds every thing about the tree very exciting and conciders it his personal play thing.

You lookin for me?

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-10T03:27:00.000-05:00

Hi! My name is....

2008-12-08T05:57:00.006-05:00

Jaspurr

Well, my new Mommy took all the names that everyone suggested and went out on the back porch and hollered each one out several times. Yes. She did. It was quite embarrassing. Several of the neighbors came out and yelled back at her. But when she called my name, I came a runnin! Miss Sophia has it right. I am quite sophisticated and I purr all the time.

That skinny dog doesn't intimidate me in the least.

And the Fat Cat? Well, I'm so damn cute even she's starting to warm up to me! Look how close she let me get today!

Thank you all for helping my Mommy find my name!

Name that Kitten

2008-12-05T08:15:00.008-05:00

Our new boy doesn't have a name yet.

We have several floating around...

But nothing feels right...

Suggestions?

Thankful Thursday

2008-12-04T05:47:00.000-05:00

I'm thankful for Ravelry.com. Since discovering and joining this online Knit & Crochet Community in May I've "met" so many new friends. I've joined in on charity knit/crochet projects. I've started my very own blog and "met" other blogers across the globe.

I'm so thankful for all the people I've "met" through the Internet.

I'm so thankful I'm not "weird". That there are people out there in the world that have the same concerns and life issues that I do and that I've been able to vent and commiserate and offer advice to my cyber friends.

Thank you all for coming into my life and sharing yours with me.

Visit KD over at A Bit Squirrelly for more Thankful Thursday.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-03T05:48:00.000-05:00

Packing Skillz Demonstrated

Unmentionables & shave kit (and extra shoes if required) in bottom

Slacks laid full out over end on suitcase

Shirts; button collar and every other button

Lay shirts face down

Fold sleeves as shown to fit width of suitcase

Fold shirts in half

Place shirts on top of slacks

Fold slacks over shirts

Done!

Do not pack kitten.

New Family Member

2008-12-01T23:06:00.010-05:00

Look what followed me home

O.K. so I picked him up. At the Feed Store. But look how cute he is!!! That's what I told ELPH. Actually the phone conversation went something like this...

Me: ELPH, from now on you have to go to the Feed Store and buy the cat food.
ELPH: Why?
Me: Do you have any idea how hard it is to get out of there with JUST cat food??
ELPH: What do you mean?
Me: They ALWAYS have the cutest kittens there! It's all I can do to NOT take them all home! You have to go next time.
ELPH: Oh come on. What did they have?
Me: The cutest orange & white brothers you've ever seen! They were all up on the counter, purring and rubbing their foreheads on me.
ELPH: Really? Long hair or short? (Ah ha! Now he's hooked!)
So I talk him into taking me out to lunch. On the way back to the office I ask him to come with me to "just look" at the kittens. (insert evil laugh here "bwahahaha")
You can see the result:)

Fat Cat is being a total wimpy girl cat. Hissing and spitting and time Buster gets any closer than this...

Never mind that Fat Cat out weighs Buster by, oh lets be conservative here, say 15 pounds! She's being a big, fat, baby is what she's being.

The Skinny Dog is being so good. She just wants a good sniff but Buster is still nervous about being in a new home but has already learned that Skinny Dog has a healthy respect for cat claws and if Buster doesn't run, the dog won't chase. More cuteness will follow.

Beginings of a Blanket

2008-11-30T14:17:00.008-05:00

A few posts back I showed you the blocks I've made and sent away to the other participants of the Ravelry.com N.Y.O.B.E. Fall Group. Here's a look at the ones I've recieved so far...

This one came from Michigan,

this one Texas,

Alabama,

New York,

California,

and this one from Washington

When the rest come in I'll stitch them all together and we'll have ourselves a right fine fall color blanket. I'm planning to use a flat braid technique to piece them.
What color do you think I should use?

Just What's Happening Today

2008-11-29T14:41:00.022-05:00

Happy 68th Birthday Dad!

From your little Girl

In other news...

This is where we had Thanksgiving dinner. The Walhalla Liberty Lodge is a beautiful Victorian Manor built in 1884.

It was the first time we've made reservations for Thanksgiving. I must admit it was a little strange NOT to be eating all day and picking at the carcass all evening. And stranger still not to have all that food and all those dishes staring at me all weekend. But let me tell you I could really go for a slice of pumpkin pie right now.

On the other hand my behemoth behind may actually be diminishing just by NOT having those leftovers, cuz you know I’m not working out! Matter of fact my BB has been parked on the sofa all day crocheting and watching the Clemson/So. Carolina game. Go Clemson!

We went Atlanta on Friday to visit ELPH’s cousin G, wife P, twin 7yo boys and 15 month old daughter. ELPH’s Mom & Aunt were there as well. G & P have a beautiful home filled with family and fun. The boys are all about Guitar Hero. They played all afternoon long. We all ate a very nice simple lunch and I had a sliver of a pretty tasty Pecan pie for dessert. We had a nice visit. We don’t see them often enough. It was a perfect way to spend the afternoon. Did I remember the camera? Um, no.

I'm been taking a short break on the gift cardigan I'm making. I've gotton the motifs for the cuffs and hem done so far. Eventually it'll look something like this... only in a aqua color.

But in the mean time I'm working on a scarf for friend. I've got about 8 inches or so done so far. I hope I have enough yarn to make it a decent length.

Well, Clemson has won and the ELPH is probably going to want to eat something tonight so enough for now.

Thankful Thanksgiving Thursday

2008-11-27T04:48:00.003-05:00

Visit KD over at A Bit Squirrelly for more

Thanksgiving Edition
This is my Family, Thanksgiving 2007.

Thats my sister S and her family there on the left. Me and the ELPH are next then Mom & Dad. Next is sister P and her Hubby and their twin girls. Then my brother J and his wife on the right. I am so thankful we were all able to get together last year.

We're all over the map these days; S in Virginia, Mom & Dad in Tennessee, P in Chicago, J in California and it's rare that we're all in the same place at the same time. We made a special effort that year. See Mom has a condition called Vascular Dementia. It’s a blockage of the main artery in the brain that slowly chokes off the blood supply and causes irreversible brain damage and eventually a stroke and death. At this 2007 Thanksgiving she recognized most of us as her children. She laughed and played with the kids and joined in as much of the coversation as she was able. She had good moments and better ones. Last week I went up to visit Mom & Dad and for the first time she had no idea who I was. For the entire visit. I didn’t mean for this to be a heart aching post. I just meant to express how much it meant to me that we had all been together.

Hold your families close. Not just during the holidays but always. Forgive grudges, agree to dissagree. Tell them you love them. Everyday. Even if the don't remember your name.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-26T03:00:00.001-05:00

Secret Packing Skillz

2008-11-25T11:39:00.008-05:00

So yesterday I boasted about my secret packing talent. It’s true that I once helped a girlfriend move out of her crappy apartment (and relationship) by moving her out on our lunch hour. It was extremely difficult for her but easy for me. The guy was an ass and beat her on several occasions. There was no way I was letting her back out now. I had no sentimental attachment to anything there so it was easy to just pack stuff up. Since then I have had lots of house packing practice. The ELPH and I have moved 6 times in 15 years. No wait, make that 9 times. 6 homes, 3 rentals (while said homes were being built). Give me packing paper, a Sharpie, a tape gun and some boxes and we are outta here!

Suitcases I'm meticulous about. Everything must go in just so. The ELPH travels almost every other week on business and I pack his suitcase. Yes, Ladies, I pack his suitcase. Why? Because even though I won’t be seen with him, I don’t want him to be a wrinkled mess. And I do a better job of it. RealSimple has some great tips but in general here’s what I do.

First: Nag ELPH to put everything he needs to go in suitcase on bed. Every. Thing. I’m not responsible if you don’t have any underwear when you get there. I just pack it.
Second: Shoes go in first at the bottom along the sides (ELPH travels in casual clothes so a second pair of shoes is necessary.) Shaving kit in the bottom between the shoes. Line with socks & underwear etc. Lay pants in suitcase so waist is at bottom of case (over shoes & shave kit) and legs are hanging out over other end.
Next: Lay out all shirts buttoned, flat, face down, one on top of the other. Fold sleeves straight across shoulder to shoulder and hem to collar. Place shirt bundle on top of pants, fold legs over shirts. Small items may be packed in shoes and tucked inside along the edges but that’s it basically.

Having lovingly packed the ELPH so that he is neat and as wrinkle free as possible upon arrival, I am fully aware that he does NOT unpack when he arrives at the hotel. This does makes me completely insane.

Manic Monday

2008-11-24T09:27:00.008-05:00

Do you ever talk to yourself out loud? What do you talk about?
Absolutely! Usually if I have a problem it helps to hear it out loud. For some reason it's easier to figure out the answer if I can "see" the question.

What stresses you out? LOADED question! This minute? People who call back numbers they don't recognize. Example...
"Yea, somebody from there just called me."
"Um, did they leave a message?"
"No."
"Hmm. So you are calling a person back who dialed a wrong number and didn't leave a message?" Smart.

What are your secret talents?
I can pack you up and move you out of your apartment in a lunch hour. Along those same lines, I pack a mean suitcase.

You can find Manic Monday here.

Ahhh Sunday

2008-11-23T18:30:00.004-05:00

This was what I call a really good weekend. It was all about me, me, me! ELPH had an appointment on Saturday that would take up most of his day. Which left me to my own devises. Wee! ELPH did take the dog out before he left so I was able to sleep in until almost 9am. Cup o coffee, bowl of cereal and the paper, ahhhh. A hot shower and then…SHOPPING! Yes, yes, I know. Friday is THE sale day but I despise shopping in crowds. I have no patience for the people, lines or parking lots. So since I’m not getting magically thinner (imagine!) and nothing I have from last year even remotely fits, Girlfriend LW and I shopped for clothes. A new Kohl’s opened up a couple weeks ago and she & I have been hot to get there. I’m bad to pick out black anything (it’s slimming, right?) Same ole, same ole; black pants, beige sweaters etc. So it was difficult to NOT pick up every pair of black pants I saw. LW was piling stuff in her basket while I meandered around looking for NOT black. I found a couple things and went to the dressing room to try them on. Next thing I know LW is outside my room throwing more clothes over the door. Stuff I wouldn’t have picked up to even look at. But I tried everything on in my NOT black adventure. A lot of it was fabulous! And all of it would have been purchase worthy had it not been for my XXL behind. These over the butt fashions this fall don’t go well with my XXL behind. All in all though I did find a couple pairs of not black pants and two beautiful not black sweaters. I will definitely be shopping with LW again.
Sunday was again a very leisurely morning with breakfast out at the local family owned restaurant followed by the dreaded but unavoidable Sunday Wal-Mart/Lowe’s trip. Fortunately we didn’t need but one or two things at each and we managed to stay on task. Back home we did about an hours worth of yard work, nothing to strenuous. Back in the house, back to the couch, the laptop and remote to give my behemoth butt another chance to enlarge its self. What I wouldn’t do for some ice cream right now.

Actual Crochet

2008-11-21T03:17:00.025-05:00

I joined the N.Y.O.B.E. (Not Your Ordinary Block Exchange) over on Ravelry.com back in September. In this round there are 4 groups; Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter, 12 people per group. I’m in the Fall Colors Group. We hail from all over the globe and these are the blocks I made for them;

California

Alabama

Kansas

Canada

Wisconsin

New York

Washington

Pennsylvania

Australia

Michigan

and Texas.

Everyone in the group Knits or Crochets a 12 inch square for each person in the group and mails it out as soon as it’s complete.
Me being the over achiever (read: panic stricken, “how am I ever going to get these all done by Dec????”) was the first in my group to completed all my blocks.

Whew! Now onto the next project. Oh but I hesitate to show you the pattern. See it's a birthday present for a friend and she might see it. Hmmm....to risk it or no?

O.K. maybe just a peek....

This is just a glimpse (but not the color I'm using) of the birthday project that I hope to complete before the first of the year.

Thoughts?

Thankful Thursday

2008-11-20T03:37:00.001-05:00

I am so thankful for my Ever Loving and Patient Husband (Elph) and his love of engineering, his joy of tinkering with PC's and his ability to love me. Flaws and all.

I love you honey. Thank you for fixing my laptop. xoxoxxoo

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-19T03:00:00.000-05:00

The Best Part of My Day

2008-11-18T03:00:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning, the alarm beep, beep, beeping, annoyed that it was morning and the dog was pacing to go out. It was chilly in the bedroom and I just wanted to cover my head with the blankets and go back to sleep. But when I was able to focus further than the end of my nose I saw this.

I jumped out of bed, (dog runs ahead Yes! Gota pee, got to pee!) banged my knee on the footboard (that's gonna leave a mark) and limped to the kitchen. Camera, camera, camera! Where is my camera?? I know the colors won't last long.

Can't find the camera! Should have put my glasses on! Purse! Purse! Where's my purse? Ah! There! BAM! (Fall over dog who's trying to figure out why the hell I can't find the front door.) Camera, yes! O.K. Please, please, please light still be there.

Sigh. Dispite it being morning and my inability to function before 9:30am without coffee...sigh

It's a good day to be alive.

I'm Baaack!

2008-11-17T22:18:00.012-05:00

Yes! The ELPH has done it again!

Oh I got me one Sweet Man here folks!

My very own Geek Squad!

Not only did he order the new hard drive as soon as the other one breathed it's last breath,

(read: his life would be miserable if I don't have my own PC) he paid for it. And he installed the new drive as soon as it arrived,

(read: Miserable. As in Hell) he loaded and updated the program software and anti-virus. It was all up and running when I arrived home from work. I love this man!

He knows me so well.

Friday, Friday, Thank Goodness it’s Friday!

2008-11-14T12:39:00.012-05:00

The ELPH and the dog and I are going up to Tennessee this weekend to visit my Parents.

Fat Cat gets the place all to herself for 24 hours.

Hopefully the new hard drive will be here Monday.
I will post again as soon as I can.

Have a great weekend.

Tapioca

2008-11-13T11:41:00.020-05:00

Tapioca

as in Busted...

Broken...

Garbage...

My Hardrive took a nosedive...

I Got my best Tech Guy workin on it.

Be back soon.

Sooner if the boss takes a long lunch

and I can squeeze in a couple scheduled posts from here at work:)

Thankful Thursday

2008-11-13T03:00:00.001-05:00

I’m thankful for my morning coffee
and my co-worker who always arrives early to make it.

I’m thankful my co-workers understand this morning coffee issue and don’t speak to me or expect me to speak to them until after my second cup.

I am thankful for my job and the people I work for/with.
They really are a very nice bunch of people.

And understand my morning coffee issues.

2008-11-12T03:00:00.001-05:00

O.K. This is so cool! I'm speechless. NOT!

I’m flattered and flustered and blushing.

I received a bloggy award!!

Midlife Mama at Midlife Musings nominated me as one of the recipients of

the Kreativ Blogger award!!

So, here are the rules. Some rules are good. Plus ya gotta share the lurve!

List six things that make you happy.

Pass the award on to 6 more Kreativ bloggers.

Link back to the person who gave you the award.

Link to the people you are passing it on to and leave them a comment to let them know.

So here goes. Six things that make me happy...
1. Watching my dog run... ALWAYS makes be smile
2. Watching birds soar... calming and at peace
3. Sunbeams... safe and warm
4. Kayaking on a smooth lake... good to be alive
5. A box of tissues popcorn & a movie (chick film of course), on the couch...do I need to explain?
6. The smell of fresh cut grass...weird I know but this is MY list

BTW: The Ever Loving & Patient Husband is WAY top of ALL lists but y’all know that, right?

And now, I award this Kreativ Blogger award to (drum roll, please):

A very funny (ha ha funny, not weird funny) lady over in Scotland and a fellow yarnaholic the Spinning Fishwife

A kindred spirit, Sometimes Sophia at I hope you have a good day Charlie

Lo at Slap Happy Musings because she’s beautiful and funny and likes Easy Cheese!

CG at Dreams of a Country Girl cuz she’s the slackinest, most nonchalant, coolest camera toten’ Mom on the block.

24 over at Twenty Four at Heart cuz she’s not afraid to talk about anything (yesterday; Sex Toys! Hello!) on her blog!

Holly at Knit With Snot for You cuz she’s a Rockin’ Zombie Slayer

Now, Go! Pass on the Bloggy LURVE!

The Rest of the Story...

2008-11-11T03:00:00.018-05:00

03. Climbed a mountain - 2 more than once!
I lived in Steamboat Springs, Colorado for almost 6 years.

Howelsen Hill Ski Area holds a unique place in the history of skiing. It has sent more skiers to international competition than any other area in North America. Howelsen Hill is the oldest ski area in continuous use in Colorado, and has the largest and most complete natural ski jumping complex in North America. Howelsen has been the training ground for more than 64 Olympians making over 90 Winter Olympic appearances, 15 members of the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame and 6 members of the National Ski Hall of fame.

Elevation: 6,969 base, 7,136 peak

The brown "tower" in the lower right of the photo is the judges stand for the ski jump.

I watched many a Fourth of July Fireworks from the top of that mountain!

Mt. Werner is in the Park Range in NW Colorado. It reaches a height of 10,568 ft above sea level and the base elevation is 6,900 ft. It's vertical rise of 3,668 ft, makes it Colorado's second highest. It has five peaks (from lowest to highest), Christie Peak, Thunderhead Peak, Sunshine Peak, Storm Peak, and Mt. Werner.
The Steamboat Ski Resort operates on 2,939 acres of the mountain. It regularly receives some of the highest levels of snow in Colorado. The most recent ten year snowfall average was 334 in a a year. Much of the mountain and the resort are contained within the Routt National Forest. It is 153 miles NW of Denver.

Formerly known as Storm Mountain, it was renamed in 1965 in honor of Buddy Werner, an Olympian from Steamboat Springs who was killed in an avalanche in Switzerland in April 1964.

Sometimes Sophia at I Hope You Have a Good Day Charlie asked about this...

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
The ELPH and I share a birthday week in September, so we often do something slightly extravagant. When were living in Ringoes, New Jersey, The Coach n Paddock restaurant in Hampton, NJ teamed up with a balloonist and did a Champagne & Appetizers, Sunset Balloon ride and then Dinner at the restaurant. It was AWESOME! OMG! Middle of September beautiful evening. That "hot air blower" was loud!

Cinton, NJ

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment - Tracyb at the Yarnaholic and Sometimes Sophia I Hope You Have a Good Day Charlie asked about this one.

It was horrible. I had this witch of a boss and I was in the process of transfering out of her department when she went into the hospital for routine surgery. And. she. DIED! Yea. And what's the first thing that popped into my head? The Wizard of Oz song "Ding Dong the witch is Dead". I litterally laughed out loud. Yea. Please God open the earth beneath my feet and swallow me whole.

50. Gone sky diving - Tandem. This was TOTALLY AWESOME! Sooo gonna do that again!!!

Unfortunately no pictures.

56. Alphabetized your CDs - And the DVD's. Nerd, I know.

19. Slept under the stars - See #81

81. Rafted the Snake River - Lo at Slap Happy Musings asked about this (she held a Tarantula!)

O.K. it wasn't the Snake. It was the Green River through Desolation Canyon in Utah. 5 days on the river raft with 13 other people and no hot water, no showers, no outhouse and lots of beer. Sleeping on the riverbank, eating under the stars. Very. Awesome. Fun.
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more thatn 2 days - See #81

98. Passed out cold - More than once.

First time due to a blow to the head while falling off a JetSki. The helmet wouldn't have helped (even if they were required then) I have the chin scar to prove it.

Second (third, fourth) alcohol induced. (Slow learner, maybe due to the first time?)

109. Touched a stingray - Very cool, soft, kinda like slimy moss

<- That's me with the goofy grin

This is not me -->

131. Parasailed - Totally Awesome!

Destin, Florida 1992. ELPH and I had just gotten engaged!

Some Today - Some Tomorrow

2008-11-10T03:00:00.023-05:00

This post quickly got out of had as several people requested the stories behind some of my answers. So I'll post the short answers today and the stories tomorrow.

Confession: I may have stretched the truth just a bit, on a couple of these. In an effort to lift the guilt I have reveled them here.

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea- Stretched: O.K. so maybe it wasn't the ocean. We were boating on Tellico Lake in East Tennessee. But the lightning struck so close to the boat it made my hair stand up!

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise - Senior class trip. Nassau, Bahamas

15. Gone to a huge sports game - Da Bears vs St. Louis Cardinals! In Chicago. At Soldiers Field. Frozen my ass off. They lost thankyouverymuch.

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables - Stretched: When we were kids Mom had a garden in the back yard. We grew green peppers and tomatoes and little short stubby carrots.

22. Watched a meteor shower - Does Halley's Comet count?

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can - Regularly

34. Ridden a roller coaster - LOVE, LOVE, LURVE ‘em! The bigger the better!

36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking - Every time I hit the dance floor! I have no shame. Think Elaine on Seinfield. Really, people have gone blind.

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk - See #13

47. Taken a road-trip - Many but just one for now...Drove from Steamboat to Santa Monica, then up the coast to San Francisco and back to Steamboat one spring. Stayed in state park campgrounds in tents.

49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach - see #13

58. Sung karaoke -Never again

62. Kissed in the rain

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain - Every chance I get

65. Gone to a drive-in theatre - Not since we were kids. Mom & Dad had a VW bus with a moon roof. We used to stand on the seats and watch the movie out the top. Until the party poopers behind his honked!

67. Started a business - Tupperware, Angel pins and PartyLite

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

72. Gotten married - Twice

74. Crashed a party - twice (had nothing to do with #72)

75. Gotten divorced - Once (age 23)
83. Gotten flowers for no reason - the best kind
84. Performed on stage - grade school, I was a ballerina in a portrait

87. Eaten shark -Looks like steak, tastes fishy
88. Kissed on the first date - Oh yea! He was so HOT! (and I'm forward that way)
93. Been on a cruise ship - Honeymoon

95. Performed in Rocky Horror - Stretched: Only from the audience

108. Piloted an airplane - Stretched: It was a simulator. And I crashed, several times while trying to land at Meigs Field in Chicago. Hence the reason I haven't done it IRL this one.

113. Broken a bone - Dancing! See #36

114. Gone on an African safari - Stretched: Only if Disney’s animal kingdom tour counts
128. Had your picture in the newspaper - See#84
128. Ridden a horse - L.O.V.E !
132. Touched a cockroach - Stretched: Lo For real? With the bottom of my shoe!
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes -YUM!
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream - Thank you ELPH for helping me to learn that I'm worth more than I thought.
146. Dyed your hair

What I've done so Far

2008-11-07T05:00:00.001-05:00

Lo over at Slap Happy Musings did this over at her place this week and I thought it was cool. And CG over at Dreams of a Country Girl did a little "Ask and I will Tell" with her readers. I thought they were both shiney ideas and I decided to combine the two.

In the following list I have bolded all the things I have done so far. I invite you to peruse the list and ask me any question you'd like. You got questions, I got answers. Anything you wanna know. (Well almost anything. My weight and bra size I'm taking to the grave.)

Come on! It'll be fun! I promise honest answers.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

02. Swam with dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped

11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise

14. Seen the Northern Lights

15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby's diaper

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Gotten drunk on champagne

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run

36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk

42. Had amazing friends

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

44. Watched whales

45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe

47. Taken a road-trip

48. Gone rock climbing

49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach

50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them

54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow

56. Alphabetized your CDs

57. Pretended to be a superhero

58. Sung karaoke

59. Lounged around in bed all day

60. Played touch football

61. Gone scuba diving

62. Kissed in the rain

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theatre

66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites

70. Taken a martial arts class

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight

72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party

75. Gotten divorced

76. Gone without food for 5 days

77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice

80. Gotten a tattoo

81. Rafted the Snake River

82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"

83. Gotten flowers for no reason

84. Performed on stage

85. Been to Las Vegas

86. Recorded music

87. Eaten shark

88. Kissed on the first date

89. Gone to Thailand

90. Bought a house

91. Been in a combat zone

92. Buried one/both of your parents

93. Been on a cruise ship

94. Spoken more than one language fluently

95. Performed in Rocky Horror

96. Raised children

97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking

103. Had plastic surgery

104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication

106. Lost over 100 pounds

107. Held someone while they were having a flashback

108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray

110. Broken someone's heart

111. Helped an animal give birth

112. Won money on a TV game show

113. Broken a bone

114. Gone on an African safari (Only if Disney’s animal kingdom tour counts)

115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

118. Ridden a horse

119. Had major surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet

121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States

124. Visited all 7 continents

125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat

127. Eaten sushi

128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about

130. Gone back to school

131. Parasailed

132. Touched a cockroach

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey

135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

143. Built your own PC from parts

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you

145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ

148. Shaved your head

149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone's life

Ask away!

Thankful Thursday

2008-11-06T08:45:00.003-05:00

I can not be more thankful for my health today.

I am thankful to live in a country were I count.

For my freedom to chose...anything.

For family and friends who love and care about me no matter what.

And always for my Ever Loving and Patient Husband.

Wordless

2008-11-05T12:35:00.004-05:00

Is there something wrong with me?

2008-11-04T12:45:00.003-05:00

Well yes, many things but we’ll get to those soon enough. Right now I’m talking about gadgets and being wired. I do not own an iPod. I have a six CD changer in the truck and I’ve had the same CD’s in there for almost a year. I LIKE the songs on them. I play them over and over (and over) and obviously don’t get tired of them. I don’t listen to music at home either. Unless I’m cleaning and that’s rare. I have a whole slew of CD’s on the shelf but rarely even look through them. I buy music maybe once a year.
I also don’t own a Blackberry or iPhone either. Matter of fact the only person I text is my brother. Mostly about the gas prices in our respective states. He lives in California. The time difference is an issue but J and I catch up with each other by phone maybe once every other month or so. My sisters and I talk every day, sometimes more than once. We’re girls after all and we talk about their kids and well, girl stuff. “Whatcha doin?” “nothin’, how bout you?” My phone does have a camera in it but I don’t own the cord that would allow me to download the photos I might take.
And what is this Twitter thingy? I can only assume it’s another method for keeping in touch on the go. But you know what? I’m connected enough. All day I’m at the computer. I’m lucky enough to have a job (and a boss) that, when my tasks are completed for which they pay me, I have the opportunity to check in with my blog friends and update mine. I have IM but I don’t like it much. I like my space. My quiet. I like being unplugged. I think if I had those gadgets I would be so focused on them and what’s going on else where that I would forget to look up and see what’s around me. I don’t begrudge anyone who does own and use them. I can see how they would be incredibly useful tools for some people. Actually I’m surprised that my sister P doesn’t have an iPhone. She has 5 kids between the ages of oh I don’t know…23 & 13 maybe? All the kids have different jobs, activities and sports. Half the time I call her she’s either in the van with half the kids or on her cell at home and had to put someone on hold on the land line to answer my call, has 3 kids asking her nine different things and the dogs are barking at the houseplants! Yea never mind, she needs an iPhone like a hole in the head.
Obviously I have my blog but I don’t update it everyday. Sometimes it’s because I simply have nothing of interest to share and most of the time I post for myself. I SO admire those of you who come up with these witty topics and write so eloquently about them. I’ve only been here 6 months and I’m still evolving. I’m not sure what gene I got but brother J got the writer gene, sister P got the keep pluggin along gene and sister S got the domestic gene (Fantabulous cook!).
I think that if I were more “plugged in” that I would need to up my Zoloft dosage. I have a hard enough time keeping all the things in my head from spinning out of control as it is. So I think on the subject of what’s wrong with me? I’d have to say nothin’. I’ve think I’ve found my happy medium.

A Day in the Life...

2008-11-02T10:25:00.017-05:00

Of the Fat Cat

Let the brushing commence...

Yes, yes, that's the spot.

Ah yes, there too.

That's enough now, thankyouverymuch.

Whew! That really worked up a thirst.

A little on my chin you say?

You may admire me now.

Must rest. Weak, so weak.

A Nap or Breakfast? Hmmmm....

Breakfast it is.

It smells like dog but it's oh so cushy.

I'm ready for my close-up now.

That Mutt is really pushing it!

Humph, ya can't stare at me up here.

I think someone shrank my perch.

Someone measure this thing will ya? (12"x15") I'm telling you it's shrinking!

What? What!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T09:41:00.003-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-29T08:33:00.002-04:00

Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival

2008-10-27T09:08:00.028-04:00

WOW! Where to start? Let’s see. I was accosted by this guy the minute I was in the door.

I was doomed from the start.

But when I finally fought myself free I saw this.

It was amazing. There were spinners and roving.

And customers trying out new Spinning Wheels.
Bags of raw fleece.

and Tables of dyed fleece.
Boat loads of yarn And Orbs of Fluff.

Oil painted Sheep "Sheep Incognito" painted by Connie Tögel.

Silk Roving

and Angora Roving

(More bunnies)
Walls and walls and walls of hand painted yarn

And rolls of batted roving.
There were Knitted Alpaca throws and Mini Alpacas and Felted Alpaca toys
Kids (SEVEN kids in here family!) hawking bunnies
Beautiful Wet Felted Flowers

And Gorgeous Mitered Squares Jackets
Knitted Granny Square Wraps,
Amazing Knitted Sweaters
and Entralock Berets.
So what followed me home? This…. Roving from Ravelry’s own Knit Witch, a 5 pack of Gale’s Art Roving, Donna's Organic Shea Butter Hand treatment, Miss Babb's Sock yarn for the Troubador Socks in my Ravelry queue and a Miss Austen, crocheted circular love knot shawl pattern, designed by Elizabeth Nicole foe the Unique Sheep.

Whew! Man did my feet hurt. I really wanted to buy everything I layed my hands on, which was everthing I saw! Alas, I have too many thing in my queue already. Too much on the To Do List! makes me even more scatter brained thatn usual.

You Are Awesome!

2008-10-25T11:05:00.018-04:00

Today we walked for Alzheimer's.

We. You and I. All of us, we walked today.

O.K. Maybe YOU didn't walk but the Skinny Dog and I did.

And with your help we raised enough money to get her a t-shirt too!

We had a Great Morning for the Walk at South Cove Park.

Just over 100 people raised over $12,696!

And you were a part of that. A very Important part. The Biggest part.

Sure we walked but you need money to fund research and you sent it!

$350.00

was raised through my Alzheimer's Donation Page.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

You Are Awesome!

Groping & Orgasms

2008-10-23T16:39:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow I’ll be groping fiber & having yarn orgasms at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival in Fletcher, NC. I'm going to try to meet up with as many Ravelers as possible and take lots of pictures of all the pretties.

ATTENTION! YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!

I’m walking for Alzheimer’s on Saturday morning.

THIS Saturday morning October 25th.

You still have time to Donate Here. Come on people, I’m a little short!

Five Bucks! What's five bucks? Please? It’s for a really good cause.

And to those of you who have donated Thank you!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Thankful Thursday

2008-10-23T08:31:00.003-04:00

I'm thankful for the Internet.

Yes, the internet.

Without which I would never have been reminded of

just how many good, kind and giving people there are in the world.

I'm thankful to live in a free country

where EVERY PERSON has the right to voice their opinion.

As always, I’m thankful for my Ever Patient and Loving Husband,

our health and our Family & Friends

First an Award, Now Prizes!

2008-10-18T13:52:00.028-04:00

Do you remember those Orange & Green Squares I made for the Hopps for Hope Blanket? It was so much fun and it gave me the chance to try out some new stitches. And it was for a Great Cause! Such a great cause that Chris at Briar Rose Fibers (the most awesome hand painted yarns you’ll ever see) donated Prizes.

None of us got into this for prizes. Prizes weren’t even mentioned when this all started. We crocheted and knit squares because Holly is such an awesome person who’s always thinking of others. She’s the “Hey wouldn’t it be cool if we..” person in our crowd.

Where was I? Oh yea, Squares. Well apparently I made the Most Squares. *blush* And for this feat I received this….

That's 600 yards of Sport Weight, 100% Superwash Merino, handpainted yarn, called Grandmas Blessing from Briar Rose Fibers. And that’s not all! Holly really out did herself. Look what else she sent!

Fluff! Spinning Fluff! Ooo! Fluff! Now I can practice my spinning! I was SO not expecting this!

Oh but look what else!A Fat Cat Spinsanity Spindle and some of Em's Fiber !!! Can you believe it?!? Now I can really perfect my spinning in Fat Cat Style!

Here's a look at the entire package....

There's that beautiful hank of delicious yarn from Briar Rose. Isn't it Gorgeous?!

Next is Fluff! (O.K. I know it's called Roving but Fluff is so fun to say!)Fluff, fluff, fluff! Spinning fluff from Holly's very own stash! She's awesome like that. And for spinning that fluff is the most Awesome Fat Cat drop spindle! Did I mention that is hand made, hand painted by Shannon of Spinsanity Spindles. You can purchase her handmade spindles on her Etsy shop, or if your a touchy-feely-gotta try it out type person you can do just that at The Smoky Mountain Spinnery in Gatlinburg, TN, The Spinning Loft in Howell, MI and Threadbear Fiber Arts in Lansing, MI!

Next up are some very cool Star Wars stickers. (Bet you didn't know I saw that movie NINE TIMES in the theater when it first came out, did you?) and two WearYellow LiveStrong Lance Armstrong postcards.

That pink and yellow fluff? Thats Handpaited fluff from one of Em's batts! Yes, can you believe it?! Fibers by Em (That's Spinsanity's daughter!) can also be found at the Spinsanity Spindle Etsy Shop.

There's a big ass Q size crochet hook (a size I didn't have by the way), a VERY cool Wine Journal, (Oh Holly, you know me so well!) the thank you note and an Official Knit with Snot for You Membership card! I'm exhausted! But I have just two more Thank You's please! (because I'm almost out of exclaimation points....)

Thanks again Chris for donating some of your beautiful yarn!

And thanks Holly for the Kalamazoo comics. They were funny!

I got an Award!

2008-10-17T18:21:00.004-04:00

Although I've only been blogging for a very short time, it has really opened up a whole other world for me, as I'm sure it has for a lot of people. It helps keep us in touch with friends and family. It helps build a whole new community where we can meet new friends and network our interests and expand our knowledge and visions of what we can accomplish or want to try. And it's nice to have a place where I can just express myself about anything and everything. Or just vent. Now I need to pass this award on to eight other blogs that are deserving of this award. But first a HUGE shout out to the woman that peaked my interest in blogging and started this whole crazy ball of yarn unraveling; Thank you Holly! You can visit her over at Knit with Snot for You.

So now I'm passing it on to these 8 great bloggers and each of these recipients should extend the friendship by passing it on to eight others. And now the next winners are;

Twenty Four at Heart

A bit Squirrelly

Barking Mad

Sometimes Sophia

Derfwad Manor

It's like I'm ...Magic

pj momma

Knit Witch

Pass on the LOVE Girls. Passon the LOVE!

It's Official!

2008-10-16T22:29:00.035-04:00

My friend Holly was the first person to comment on my blog.

Holly lives in the mitten.

She married an Ogre and birthed 3 Pigs.
(Seriously! Look how TALL he is!)

She knits , she crochets and

she spins.

She recycles and she fights the Man.

She’s a Tie-Dye wearing ,

cake eating ,

two fisted drinker.

She ~~stalks~~ knows Famous People.

She’s practically a one person sales force for Briar Rose Fibers.

The most awesome hand dyed yarn you'll ever fondle!

But most importantly she’s a Zombie Slaying, Charity Knitter.

She knits for the Cancer & Kidneys.

She’s got them standing in line to join her team

of Zombie Prom Date Knitters.

And now it’s official. I've got all the official gear; bags, buttons and t-shirts....

I am proud to announce that Fat Cat Crochet has joined forces with the Zombie Prom Date Knitters!

Thanks Holly for being the coolest and most awesome!

And for letting me ~~crash~~ join your Team.

Check out her awesome at Knit With Snot for You.

Thankful Thursday

2008-10-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

I’m thankful for my morning coffee and my co-worker who always arrives early to make it.

I’m thankful my co-workers understand this morning coffee issue and don’t speak to me or expect me to speak to them until after my second cup.

I am thankful for my job and the people I work for/with. They really are a very nice bunch of people.

I’m thankful for the sunshine that blazes through my office window.

As always, I’m thankful for my Ever Patient and Loving Husband, our health and our Family & Friends

How do YOU define Recreational Companionship?

2008-10-13T21:57:00.020-04:00

My husband was in heaven this weekend. He requested some “Recreational Companionship”. Now before you go getting the wrong idea, let me give you the Hubby's definition of Recreational Companionship. Recreational Companionship means going with Hubby to big box home improvement store where I sit on a can of paint for 1.3 hours while Hubby tries to find special nails he needs for a project.
Why can’t they place chairs around these places? Or better yet a coffee shop? Yes, a coffee shop with home improvement magazines filled with very cool arbors, and fountains and beautiful landscaped back yards. That would be perfect! Then the Hubby wouldn’t have to listen to me sigh every 5 seconds. He could window shop at his leisure and I could enjoy a nice cup of coffee and a pretty magazine. Sorry.
Recreational Companionship means that even though I do not need anything from said store and that MY to do list involves piles of laundry, ironing, dishes and just sitting on my ass enjoying the relative peace and quiet, I still go to the big box home improvement store with Hubby.
This weekend Recreational Companionship involved a dethatcher, a lawn tractor with clipping catcher, an aerator, grass seed & fertilizer.

A primer on grass; Here in South Carolina most people grow a hot weather grass like Bermuda

or Centipede.

Hubby & I being Yankees from Chicago prefer a grass that doesn’t go dormant and turn brown in Winter.

So we chose Fescue. It requires more (automatic) watering and more frequent mowing (by me-but I do a freaking fantastic job!)

Anywho, Hubby did 99.9% of the work. And a great job he did too! My problem was that I just wanted to sit on my ass (It's Sunday!)on the deck and crochet up another squares for the NYOBE. But because he asked me real nice (and it wasn’t 105 in the shade) I didn’t complain (too much). I pulled crabgrass weeds by hand, while he went to rent the dethatcher. After he ran (sometimes literally) the dethatcher through the yard, I used the lawn tractor to suck up the thatch. Sounds easy right? Sure it is, except tractor throws up all this dust and thatch and debris and it blows all over you ( I had dirt & debris EVERY WHERE!) and the catcher bags got full in ONE length of the lawn. And what to do with the thatch? Where to dump it? We don’t have trash pickup in this area; we take everything to the recycling center, glass, plastic, oil, paper, cardboard, tin, aluminum, tires, batteries. (You name it we recycle it.) Regular ole trash trash goes in the landfill. But they won’t take lawn debris. Hmmm. OK. For now I’m going to dump it all in the back of my pickup truck. (yes, that is my truck). So now the lawn is dethatched and sucked. I can rest now. WRONG! Now I have to go find someplace to dump this load so we can return rented dethatcher and rent aerator. And with my handy dandy magic wand poof! All gone. Really! (It was not illegal)

Hubby let me take a break in which I took the opportunity to move laundry from one machine to another , start another load and fold the dry stuff.

By now Hubby has completed the aeration and seeding and wants me to spread fertilizer. Back on the tractor and off I go. Yippeee! So the lawn looked like this on Friday

and this on Sunday afternoon. Yea, all that work

to make the yard look like crap. Oh but come Spring it will be the prettiest lawn in the development. All because the Hubby is an amazing hard worker and asked for some Recreational Companionship!

I HATE Mondays

2008-10-13T12:42:00.001-04:00

You don't even want to know. Better mood & Blog Tuesday.

A Small Request

2008-10-10T10:44:00.003-04:00

I look at my NeoCounter a couple times a week and it's cool to see all you lurkers and the places that y'all are from. I'd love for you to leave a comment. Just "HI"is fine. Maybe a quick note on what you were really looking for that brought you to my site. I'm just curious that way. Thanks!

Thankful Thursday

2008-10-09T15:43:00.003-04:00

My (cyber) Friend, KD, orver at A Bit Squirrelly gave me this idea. Thanks, KD!

I am thankful for my Ever Patient & Loving Husband

I an thankful for our health

I an thankful for our beautiful home

I am thankful for my Family
(and that my Mom still recognizes me, even if she doesn't remember my name.)

I am thankful for my Friends
Local and Cyber

I am thankful that I no longer live paycheck to paycheck

Twisted, Naked Crochet Squares

2008-10-05T10:28:00.044-04:00

Ha! Gotcha didn't I? Lets see how many of you got here by searching twisted & naked:)

Anywho, I joined the NYOBE (Not Your Ordinary Block Exchange) over on Ravelry last month and all I've managed to whip out is two and a half 12" squares. This should be easy especially since I whipped out 6 or 8 squares for the Barbara J Hopps charity blanket in no time flat.

So just to blow my own horn here they are.

This one is called Basket Weave and is pretty simple and straight forward for me and didn't take but a couple hours to complete.

This one on the other hand I frogged several times! I'm sure is in a book somewhere but I winged it. It looks simple enough but I managed to add stitches to the edges and inbetween the FPhdc more than a few times!!

This one is still in the process and I also made up but I'm sure it isn't original. It's also giving me fits but I haven't had to frog yet. It should be finished this weekend if the Hubby doesn't find any "really important, absolutely can't wait", yard work for me to do.

You know like picking up pine cones cuz they look untidy in our "natural" area.

Yea, right. I'll get right on that Honey.

I am really enjoying these Cabled squares though. I'm not big on making Granny Squares and I've always loved the look of Knitted Cables. As I'm sure you've concluded from the Why, why, WHY? post I've ong been unhappy with most crochet patterns. I am now very determined to make pretty, non-holey, Granny Square-less items!

Oh and look! Look what I can do!

It took me like 4 hours to knit this much so, if anyone from my Ravelry NYOBE is reading this, you will be getting a CROCHETED square from me unless you're willing to wait until next year or longer cuz I haven't learned to cast off yet either.

I must admitt it's easier than I remember.

As a kid Mom taught me & my sister Phyllis. My gauge was so tight I couldn't get the needle into the stitch. It frustrated me to no end. Phyllis on the other hand went on to make sweaters. One in particular I remember was red with a white angora flower knitted into it near the shoulder. It was beautiful and I was jealous.

Oh! I gotta go! Hubby wants to go out on the lake! See ya!

My View lately...

2008-09-30T13:22:00.016-04:00

You might have noticed my Ever Patient & Loving Husband and I live on a lake.

It's a very pretty lake,

very clean

and clear.

We enjoy it as often as we can.

"What?!?" you say, "Every chance you can?" Yes, you see, we still have our jobs to go to, laundry to do, a lawn to mow (yes I do that. Why? because frankly, I do a better job than my Ever Patient and Loving Husband), mulch to spread, groceries to buy, meals to cook (OK, so the extent of my cooking involves opening a box and pressing 3,0,0 start) garments to crochet and blogs to write. But when that's all done (or we say the hell with that it's too pretty, lets get out on the lake), we do enjoy the lake.

We have great neighbors and good friends we often get together out on the lake.

When we see them (or visa-versa) out floating in noodle chairs we grab a drink (alcholic of course. Hello!) (Did you know the Big-T Tervis Tumbler will hold HALF a bottle of wine?) and head out as well. It turns into small floating, drinking, sunburning, party.

Last year good friends and neighbors L&D purchased kayaks. We'd often see them floating out in the cove just talking about their day and generally winding down. It looked like a great way to end the day. A few weeks ago good friends and neighbors B&J bought kayaks too. Well! I won't be left out like this! So the E.P. & L. Hubby & I bought a pair too.

This is my view of the lake now...

It really is very relaxing and especially fun when our Friends join us.

This is J & B.

They've been living near Hollywood for the last 20+ years.

This is L with her teacup poodle Simba. Simba is 14, nearly blind and mostly deaf. We love her.

That's DW. Did I mention we drink while kayking?

I did?
Good.
Just checking.

It really is a great way to wind down at the end of the day.

O.K. Fine! It's just another excuse to get together with our Friends and drink! O.K.?

Like we need an excuse.

Why, why, WHY?

2008-09-29T15:08:00.091-04:00

I crochet. You might have figured that out just by reading the title here. Knitting is much more popular I believe but it makes me angry and frustrated when I knit. No one wants to be around me when I'm angry and frustrated so I layed the needles down but continued to feed my fiber addiction with the hook. I am often very dissapointed in crochet pattern books. They seem to have an endless stream of scarves, tote bags, belts and fun fur. So when I stumbled on these two very "special" websites What Not to Crochet and What Not to Knit I just had to pass them along. Some of these are truely hidious, don't say I didn't warn ya.

There is the typical ~

And the "High Fashion" ? ~

The Low Fasion ~

Childrens ~

Scary toys for said kids ~

Fasion for Men ?~

(He's looking too longingly at that horse for my taste))

Koosies for your Coffee ~

Covers for your Feet ~

& Legs ~

Home Accessories ~

And my all time personal favorite........

Why? Why, why, why?

I'm Walkin' Here!

2008-09-24T12:21:00.020-04:00

I'll be joining the Alzheimer's Memory Walk at South Cove Park on October 25th.

Mom & Dad always wanted to retire to the Smokey Mountains. Both my parents have lived all their lives within 20 miles of where they were born. In recent years they vacationed almost exclusively in a little town called Townsend, near Gatlinburg. They love it there, the scenery, the people, everything about it.

Just before Dad retired a few years ago

Mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Actually she was misdiagnosed. What she has is Cerebral Vascular Dementia, caused by a hardening or blockage of the artery in the brain. The symptoms are similar and there is no cure for CVD either.

Mom & Dad did move to the Smokey Mountains about 3 years ago. On her good days she knows her friends and where she lives, how many and who her children are. How to dress and feed herself. But it's not a 24 hour good day. It's more like 3 minutes here and 3 minutes there. Mom is happy every day though. Everything is new to her almost every day. She looks up at the sky and clouds and marvels at the mountains and in her good moments she remarks that it's beautiful and she can't believe she lives there. Dad is taking care of her at home for now. We got her an I.D. bracelet with her name & address on it along with Dad's and my cell phone numbers, incase she wanders off (which is not so much a symtom of Vascular Dementia and has not been a problem). He has looked into and toured several facilities that can take Mom on a Day Care basis and eventually full time. His biggest fear is that when he does have to admitt her to one of these facilities, he won't be there for her when she has her good moments.

So I walk for Alzheimer's. Won't you join my team? Or start your own team and find a walk near you! Or be a wimp and just Donate Online! I'd appreciate it and I know many others will too.

Have you ever wondered?

2008-09-21T15:59:00.030-04:00

Did you ever wish you were Deanna Troi, the telepath, half Betazoid, half human of Star Trek Next Generation? To be able to read peoples minds for just one day? I'm pretty sure most of us have wondered at one point or another what others think of us. Do they like us? Why? Why not? And it's not often if ever, that we really know.

I often come across bitchy and a bit aloof. I can be outspoken. If you ask for my opinion, you better be ready to hear it. Once in a job interview, a potential employer asked me what I thought my best assest was. I told him my honesty. When asked what I thought my biggest flaw was my answer was the same. I usually talk too much and too loud and laugh even louder. I'm not a very girly girl. My daily make-up routine involves eyeliner, a sweep of neutral eye shadow, mascara and tinted chap stick. And I'm a casual dresser, jeans & t-shirts mostly. When I dress up I add blush to the makeup and clean dark jeans to the wardrobe. It's not that I don't care because I do but I'm not going to change who I am to make you happy. This is who I am, take it or leave it. I have had a quote on my desk at every job for as long as I can remember;
"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind." Dr Seuss

Then I got this birthday card ...

It reads: She's the one you've known forever. The one you go to for honest advice and genuine support. The one who accepts your quirky little habits and understands you in a way few others can. She's the one you can call at any hour ~ to laugh or cry or complain. The one whose voice has been there all along, sharing secrets and dreams and singing your song when you needed to hear it most. She's the one who can read your mind, hear your heart and love you just the way you are. She's your lifelong friend...but so much more. She's your sister.

If one of my Sisters, someone who has known me all her life, feels this way about me, well I figure at least some of the people I call Friend might feel the same.

It's nice to know.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-09-18T22:24:00.014-04:00

September 19, 1961

NYOBE

2008-09-17T15:25:00.004-04:00

I joined the Not Your Ordinary Block Exchange over on Ravelry.

Here’s how it works. There are 12 women in my circle…
JR in California
AM in Alabama
TB in Michigan
SK in Kansas
MT in Canada
RR in Texas
RL in Wisconsin
KH in New York
KI in Washington
ML in Pennsylvania
SL in Australia

and me in South Carolina

Each of us will make 12 knitted or crocheted 12 inch squares in Fall colors. As I complete each square, I’ll photograph it and post it here (and on my Ravelry page) and mail it off to one of the 11 other women in my circle. It’s really cool because you don’t know what design you’ll get. When you get all your squares you sew them together to make your very own NYOBE blanket!

Direction Dysfunction & My "local" yarn store

2008-09-15T12:01:00.008-04:00

Just a few bits of information about me before we start. I have a direction dysfunction. This means that not only do I not know North from South from East to West. It also means I don’t know my left from my right. Whenever I go somewhere I always have a map. Not that it’s always useful. I mean if you’re lost how the hell you are supposed to find yourself on a map!? Anyway, even with the map I almost always make one wrong turn. It’s that whole left/right thing. That leads to making the same wrong turn the next time I make this trip because I went that way LAST time!

And now, The rest of the story.
Saturday I head out to one of the two ”local” yarn stores, the closest being 32 miles (57 minutes) away in (B) Anderson. An hour and a half later I find myself in (C) Greenville. No where near (B) Anderson. Well there is another “local” yarn store here somewhere so I wander around to find it. (Don’t wander too far…remember the direction thing.) No luck. I manage to find my way back to the main road but I have no clue how to get from where I am to where I need to be.

I swallow my pride and called my ever Patient and Loving Husband. The brief conversation goes something like this…
Me: “Hi, I’m lost.”
Hubby: “You’re lost?” giggle “How can you be lost?”
Me: “O.K. I’m not lost. I know exactly (C) where I am but it’s not where I want to be (B) and I don’t know how to get there from here without going home (A) first.”
Hubby: “O.K., my love. Where do you want to go?”
And my ever Patient, Loving Hubby, who excels in Direction, proceeds to tell me how to get from where I am to where I need to be.

The whole reason I’m shopping for yarn is because I joined Round 2 of the Not Your Ordinary Block Exchange (NYOBE) group on Ravelry and I don’t have any of the colors required (dark red/browns/gold/dark orange/some dark green) in the worsted weight required in my Stash.

SO! I finally get to my “local” yarn store. Guess what? They ain’t got what I need! Aaarrrghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh sure they have worsted weight in blue, pink, yellow & Kelly green but no Falls colors! Fine. Fine! I know there’s a Michaels & a Hobby Lobby on the way home (those I can find) so I’ll stop there. Low and behold Michaels has only ONE color (in Wool-Ease) that I can use and Hobby Lobby has nothing! Nothing! Aaarrrghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now this would discourage some people. Oh but not me. This just makes me mad. And when I get mad I'm gonna prove a point damn it. I’m gonna find the yarn if I have to order it from Haiti. And I’m gonna make some of the bestest, squarest, coolest 12 inch squares you’ve ever seen!!

So there Yarn Karma! I’ll show you! I’m a leaf on the wind watch me soar!

I'm a Very Lucky Woman.....Why you ask?

2008-09-05T12:55:00.025-04:00

Because I have a cat who brings me live prey to practice my pouncing...

A dog who makes me smile just by being....

A husband who loves me unconditionally inspite of my flaws (and there are many!)...

I have a wonderful, caring, loving family...

Because I live in a place where I can see beautiful sunsets and...

Even more spectacular sunrises!