My Dad is GREAT!

My Dad got his test results from the Oncologist today - he's been in treatment for Prostate Cancer for the last 7 months or so. His tumor is shrinking a LOT, and he's doing great! In fact, he's doing so well they don't even need to SEE him for another 6 months! Yay!

Learn and Play at CML: blog count!

How many blogs do you have? How many social network sites do you keep up with? How many are you signed up on? I am losing count of my own! I have 2 blogs I've written . . . and keep fairly regularly. I have a couple more group blogs I've contributed to. I'm fairly regular on Facebook, and I like Ravelry a lot. I also Twitter, and I've tried Plurk, but since I'm already established at Twitter I think I'll stop plurking.

I have accounts at a few other social sites, but I don't keep up with them. Some places, like MySpace, make (or at least used to) you get an account just to be able to see and comment on other people's pages.

OK - blog count for me:
There is this one you're reading. There is my Live Journal blog, which I post to occassionally. I contribute to Zimmermania sometimes. I've blogged for PLA. I blogged for CML while I was at PLA. I've encouraged blogging as a learning tool for other staff. Now there's a new initiative starting at work that will have people starting blogs for work. Why would I want to start a new one? I might use the opportunity to try a different software, but then again, maybe I'll just use this one or my LJ and be done with it! But here's my question - is it appropriate to lead all those work folks to my personal blog? Do I want them all here, up in my bi'nness? Yea, I guess it's ok - I've got nufffin to hide, right? Besides, maybe one or two of them will take up knitting as a result! W00t!

Nintendo A Capella

I love music, and I used to love playing Nintendo . . . so when I found this video I just had to share!

Education in the US

What is happening to our education system? What can we do about it? Are these questions even answerable?



One thing is for sure - change won't happen if we don't even talk about what is going on.

A Scout, scenery and felting!

Here is our scout, ready for a week of leadership training - doesn't he look great? The tan is complements of his week-long canoeing trip in Michigan this past week. 12 hours after he arrived home we left to drive him to the next camp. Crazy!

You can see how hazy it was down in Southern Ohio this morning. Beautiful, but very humid and hot.

Anyone know what kind of flower this is? There seemed to be a lot of them along the roadsides today. First to ID it wins a prize!

I was inspired by the artwork of my friend and colleague, Mary Ann, and I have been knitting these bags all weekend long! I still have some final touches I want to put on them, though, before showing them to her and . . . get this! . . . trading her a purse for one of her paintings! Like a Real Artist!

I made a few others, too. It's been fun, knitting them. I'm pulling 3 strands of Lamb's Pride Worsted together so I can play with the colors more, using #19 needles (golly, those were expensive!)

I plan to do some needle felting to put the pussy willow pods on the fronds.

another word cloud

This one is from some of our website content regarding Ready to Read. Click on the thumbnail picture to view it bigger.

Word Cloud

This is a cloud of the last 5 or 6 posts I've made here.

Fun! Try one yourself!

Passion Quilt

I posted this at my other blog, but I've decided that I like it enough that I want to share it again and again. The idea is that you choose an image that inspires you, add a caption, and post it - like making your own motivational poster. It's a challenge that has been going around the library blog world for a while.

I like the way this came out, don't you? It's Si, of course, several years ago when he still didn't care about people watching him or what they'd think of him.

Want to try making your own? Let me know if you do!

Meme from MIL

Sorry about all the CAPS!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I guess not really, but sort of named after my mother's great aunt

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Watching TV, I'm sure

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I don't mind it much, but I'll tell ya, my sister thinks it's horrible!

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? good bologna or roast beef

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes - 1 son

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes! If nothing else, I can be quite entertaining to watch (as I mess things up).

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? No, never. {tries to look innocent}

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS ? No

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not for a million bucks . . . ok, well . . . maybe for a million bucks, but not for any less!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? either Cheerios (and not the generic kinds!) or some kind of yummy granola with nuts and dried fruit

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? If they have laces, but most of my shoes are slip-ons

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? OK mentally, not so much physically

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Chocolate Pecan Ice Cream from Handels

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Either their smile or their eyes

15. RED OR PINK? BOTH!!!!!

16. WHAT IS THE THING YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT YOURSELF? My body

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Pop-pop - he would have loved to know Simon. Grandma, too, really.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK? Well, I got this email, but obviously, I'm posting it to my blog instead of emailing it out. I'd love for some folks to email it to me with their answers or post it on their blogs w/answers!

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Ha! None! Still have my nightie on!

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE ? Cheese and crackers last night after the Boy Scout meeting

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The sound of the cats' water bowl filter

22. If YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Hot Pink!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Lilac bushes, campfires, garlic and onions being sauteed

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mike

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I love her! Thanks, MIL!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I don't enjoy much on tv - maybe Synchronized Swimming and Figure Skating - I like sports live, though, even baseball and football

27. HAIR COLOR? Gray, brown, blond

28. EYE COLOR? Hazel, I guess

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? I used to, but I like my glasses so much now that I don't bother - I think the glasses help disguise the wrinkles or something.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? dark chocolate with salted pecans, thick angus steak with garlic and bleu cheese, cheese fondue

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The first few episodes of the John Adams Mini-series, I think

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? light green

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Neither, it's Spring and Fall for me, thanks. I love the changing times.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Basically, if it doesn't have chocolate in it, it doesn't count as dessert to me, usually . . . except maybe some really high-quality vanilla ice cream

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Oh, I dunno, I have a sneaking suspicion that no one will.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? see #37

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Golly, I've got several going: Diamond of Drury Lane, Thursday Next in First Among Sequels (on audion in car), and a sociology book about how we develop racial identity called Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? We don't have one

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Nothing - I was with the Scouts from right after work until 9, and then I came home and collapsed - LOL

42. FAVORITE SOUND? regular people singing together, children laughing

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles . . . no, the Stones . . . no, the Beatles . . . ahh, ok, then - Both!

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? either Southern California (San Diego?) or Vancouver - wait - mapquesting . . . Vancouver, BC wins!

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can play the ukelele . .. kinda . . . and lots of other instruments (mandolin, clarinet, saxophone, mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, nose flute, ocarina, thumb piano, beer bottles, etc) and I sing!

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Youngstown, OH

FO's and the 2 Skein Surprise!

Well, I'm very late in posting these pics, so I appreciate your patience. First the pics from our "2 Skein Surprise Exchange". We had a lovely time at the Northstar Cafe in Beechwold, too!

Kathy got socks from Kay (she's the Sock Princess, afterall).




Kate got a shawl from Gerald - lovely orangey-reds!








Natalie made a lovely bag for Barb, who couldn't join us - I never did find out why.








And she got a great bag from Kate!









I made a bag for Jenn.








Gerald got socks from Kathy. And I got a really cool Mobeus bowl from Kristin (which, for some odd reason I don't have pic of yet - look for one on the blog soon!). Kristin seems to have some "unfortunate exchange juju" because this is our second one in a row where she didn't get anything at the exchange party. Poor KKKKK!







I had to share this pic of Si and our friends, Elizabeth and Laura. E loves, adores, is enchanted by Simon. Si, being a teen, likes this adoration but can't show his appreciation and doesn't quite feel comfortable accepting her fealty. Nevertheless, he did condescend to have his pic taken when we lunched with them a few weeks ago.








And these are the promised FO's! As you can see, I'm still obsessed with the BSJ. LOVE IT! It's such an easy pattern, and it knits up so quickly that I can't resist making more! I made the smaller with sock yarn (Kureyon from Noro, gifted to me by the WONDERFUL KB!) My DH says it's not manly enough for a boy baby, though (unless he's named Joseph), so I knit the worsted one you see in denim. It's nice, too, but the stripes had to have ends woven in. Yuck. Anyway - 2 more sweaters done!