More Fun with Flickr - Thing #10

I've been having all kinds of fun with Flickr this morning. I've been playing at Big Huge Labs, using their tools. See what I've done?

First, I made myself a smart-alecky name tag . . . I love the pink! Actually, this could be a fairly useful tool. I'm thinking of encouraging my PTA officers to make name tags for themselves. If I make one for that, I'll be on my Flickr photostream.

Next, I played with the beaded photo thingy. One thing I like about these applications is that you can take pics from your computer - you don't have to load them to Flickr first. Cool.

Finally, I couldn't resist the thought bubbles. Ha! I saw the app for making trading cards, but I thought all of these looked like more fun. Maybe I'll do trading cards later. I'm thinking it could be really cool to make trading cards for each staff person for our next all-team meeting!

Twilight Fans

Those of you enamored of the Twilight Series (Parson's staff, this means YOU) - have you seen this comic?

flickr toys

More toys, suggested by Gerald 2.0 :
First, a contestant for my banner, if I can figure out how to put it into the template in the right spot. This comes from Spell with Flickr



Next time, I'll go to the trading card thingy he suggests. Right now, I'm going to go back to my regularly scheduled day off and watch an episode of Firefly.

How much is enough? (#9 of 23 things)

How much is too much news? How much is enough? How much time should I spend reading news each day? These are questions I've always had in my head . . . well, maybe not always, but for a really long time.

I have never been one to read a lot of news. It's depressing, often, and it takes time when I could be DOING things. So when asked to explore news feeds I thought to myself "gack! I don't even like to READ the news!"

But I have found that some well-chosen RSS feeds of headlines is a helpful way to cut down on the time it takes to read the news while still being aware of what is going on in the world. So now I have some headline feeds that are easily accessible from my browser toolbar. I can scroll down the list of headlines and just pick the few that interest me. The rest I can ignore. yay! Ignoring is fun!

For all of my friends who are news junkies (you know who you are!) - happy now?

#8 RSS Feeds and Blogrolls

Hmm - say it again - "blogrolls". Does that sound yummy to anyone else? This week's Learn & Play stuff starts out with some great information on what an RSS feed is and how to use them. I already use Google Reader to keep track of all the blogs I follow. Am I a faithful follower? Nah, not really. I like how GR will give me the first line of the post and I can use that to determine if I want to open it and read it or not. I do read a lot of blogs, though, so don't think I'm not reading!

I have about 80-90 blogs that I watch. Some are mostly dead, while other blogs have new posts every day. What's great about the Reader is that I no longer have to go to each one and see what is going on. I can just look at those who've updated. LOVE IT! Saves me so much time, and it helps me keep up better!

I should probably add a newsfeed or two - but I haven't yet. I don't generally like reading the news - it's often depressing. But I guess that's just a personal problem I have!

So - in the spirit of Learning and Playing at work, I've also investigated Bloglines. I started an account and added some feeds. It's neat! I like being able to easily share your blogroll with others. Here is my public blogroll - yippee!

Si's Birthday Party

We had Si's Birthday Party very early (2 weeks!), and it was a perfect-weather day! It was warm, but not beastly, the sun was shining and the sky was blue! We found a good spot in a local park, set out some balloons, set up our propane grill and waited for the boys. We had about 16 boys, total. Fun - and loud!

Mike was our GrillMaster - good cookin, Sweetie!

The boys played games (yes, there is a kid in that tree - we made him get down) . . . .


and ate . (that badge Simon has on says "If you knew my family you'd understand - what do you think he means by that? LOL Actually, we'd joked about it so much that I made him the button this summer when I had access to a button-maker.) . .





And although we'd said "donations to Ronald McDonald house in lieu of donations", I did make sure he had a little something to open. He likes his new shirt!

We also have a healthy donation to RMH that Si and I are going to deliver either tomorrow or next weekend. I'm so proud of my kid!

Penblwydd Hapus Simon!

I Like those Stinkin' Badges!

I've added a few more widgets, after discovering them through other peoples' blogs. Tell me what you think about the Flickr and Meebo badges!

Techno Geekness in Libraries

I've been reading blogs from librarians for a long time. Although I've read lots and lots, and I have lots on my blogroll (see sidebar), there are really only a handful that I will go to all the time. One of them is Amanda Credaro's
Warrior Librarian. It's satire at it's bookishest! She's covered all the bases over the years, too. For instance, I just hit the "home" button from one of her other links and got a bogus 404 error message. It's hilarous! And who among us can resist being able to re-arrange Melville Dewey's face!
(This brief review of the website is my "Thing #7" for L&P @ CML)


On a personal rant, today is the first day of school for CCS, and I dutifully dropped my son off instead of making him take the bus. I just can't resist that puppy dog face he makes when begging! OK, I'll be able to resist tomorrow . . . Anyway, I stupidly forgot to take our traditional "First Day of School and Try To Look Happy About It" picture. I'll grab one tomorrow and post it. (boy, by the time they hit 8th grade, it's hard not to get jaded!)

Knitting banned in Library?!?

I love Shelf Check

. It's usually a very timely comment on what is happening in the library world. Today's strip is about
this article about an Ontario Library that banned all crafts in the library. Seriously? I teach kids to knit my library as often as I can! In fact, I just spent some time this afternoon organizing some of the yarn and needles that my knitting pals have donated so that I will be able to easily access it all as needed.

Ban weapons? Yes. Ban knitting needles? NEVER!

Freakin' Flickr

The next "thing" I needed to do (after last week's assignments of starting a blog and posting - duh!), was play around with flickr apps. OMG - I had no idea there were such crazy things out there! Today I found a Flickr Chia Pet thing to play with (talk about wasting time!), a whacky little music thing, but what I really wanted was to be able to create a photo mosaic. I found mosaickr and starting playing around a bit. The tricky part is that I don't have more than a hundred or so photos in my flickr account. I'm going to have to work on that!

It was a little slow to use, but that could be the connection here. I took this photo of Michael Stephens and myself and tried the tool.


As you can see, it turned out kinda splotchy. Maybe I I stand really far away . . . . (getting up and walking far away) . . . . nope, still doesn't look much like us. LOL It was kinda fun to see how it worked, though!

I also had fun this morning, creating a cool new flickr badge for my side bar. Boy, my sidebar is starting to really look neato! I need to take some time to clean up and change how the LibraryThing stuff displays, though. I don't like that big font, but I can't figure out how to fix it - any readers out there wanna give me some tips?

Hi-fi, Sci-fi - Library

Great music video about how libraries are changing! Be sure to watch all the way to the end - cute kid!!!! Who knew guys from Kansas could be so cool? Don'tcha just love Library Staffers?

Out of the 'Lympics

Well, I've gotten about 1/2 the sleeves done on Simon's sweater, my Ravelympics entry, but I'm very low on yarn. I'm going to have to take drastic measures (a.k.a. do some striping) if I don't get more yarn. There are 3 people on Ravelry who have the yarn I need listed as part of their stash, and I've sent messages to all three. Hopefully one of them will come through!
Until then, I'm taking myself out of the Ravelympics and going back to knitting on other projects. Sigh.

Things 1 and 2

Lifelong Learning - I love it! I love thinking outside the box and learning new things and evolving. Here are a few of the things I've been learning this week:
* playing the mandolin
* new song lyrics
* cooking gluten-free foods (for a friend)
* how to live with a teenage boy (I learned that sometimes they sleep PAST 12 and won't wake up when the phone rings!) "That energy which makes a child hard to manage . . . afterward makes him a manager of life." - Henry Ward Beecher

Using technology - I also love using technology to learn! I learned to knit with a website. I find song lyrics (and the songs themselves) online. Last night I was practicing a new song with YouTube! Of course, it sounds a bit different with my voice and my mandolin. LOL Of course, I have a clear goal for this - not looking ridiculous the next time our little group plays in public. Ha!

So - this is my first actual "thing" of the 23 things. I've now finally completed last week's exercises. I'll go log this progress and come back for this week's activities!

(thanks for reading!)

Ravelympics, NYC, returning to work, Learn and Play

We had our kick-off for Learn and Play and CML on Tuesday. I went in, and I'm really glad I did! Gerald and the rest of the team did a great job with their presentation!

And Michael was fabulous! He's so inspiring. If you aren't a library-blog-reader, you probably don't realize that he's a blog ROCKSTAR!!! See what his blog is like here.

I'm really looking forward to doing the 23 things given as our goals to learn more about Web 2.0. Obviously, blogging isn't new to me, but I'll find things to learn and blog about, don't you worry! I'm saving my big excitement until I'm officially on work time, though . . .

I've sorta kinda been on vacation this week. We didn't go anywhere as a family, but we DID put in some hours for the Boy Scout Garage Sale that is our only fundraiser of the year. Took all summer to gather all the goods, took all week to set up, took 6 hours yesterday to sell as much as possible, will take a few more days for our old bodies to recover. I was a cashier all day, while Mike helped me and helped in the Furniture tent some. Simon was a delivery kid, doing whatever the adults asked of him all day. TIRED! I've got no pics because I didn't want to run the risk of my camera being sold. :-)

Last weekend I helped my dear friend Carol move her son to NYC. He's living and working there as part of Teach For America. We took him clothes and stuff and got him into his new apt., although he's been there all summer already. We drove out Friday, played in the city Saturday, moved him Sunday and then . . . .

drove to Elizabethtown, PA, to stay with Ann the night, then drove home on Monday. Don't ask us about the driving home on Monday part - let's just say we made a slight navigational error and it took a bit longer than necessary.

I've been working on a sweater for Si. I cast on during the first day of the Olympics and I hope to finish by the closing ceremonies. It's part of the
Ravelympics game on the Ravelry site. I have the body done up to the armpits, and I am almost done with the sleeve cuffs. I'm going to do both sleeves simultaneously so I don't have to take notes along the way for increases. LOL

Meme from Carol

TYPE ONLY '1' WORD. IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!

1. Where is your cell phone? charging

2. Your significant other? work

3. Your hair? messy

4. Your mother? amazing

5. Your father? delightful

6. Your favorite thing? singing

7. Your dream last night? anxious

8. Your favorite drink? water

9. Your dream/goal? peace

10. The room you're in? kitchen

11. Your fear? disliked

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? college-mom

13. Where were you last night? knitting

14. What you're not? done

15. Muffins? gritty

16. One of your wish list items? money

17. Where you grew up? Ohio

18. The last thing you did? shower

19. What are you wearing? playclothes

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pet? felines

22. Your computer? on

23. Your life? complicated

24. Your mood? anxious

25. Missing someone? Simon

26. Your car? transportation

27. Something you're not wearing? shoes

28. Favorite Store? Merc

29. Your summer? eventful

30. Your favorite color? changes

31. When is the last time you laughed? knitting

32. Last time you cried? yesterday

33. Something you hate to do: clean

34. Something you love to do: sing

35. Something you wish you were able to do well: diet

Knitting for Charity

If you're a frequent reader, you might have noticed that I love knitting for other people. Family, friends, aquaintances, and strangers - it's all good, in my book! I particularly enjoy knitting for charity. Well, I just bought a pattern for charity! The Hibiscus for Hope is a pattern created specifically to gain support for Breast Cancer Research in Canada. I know, it's not even my own COUNTRY! I can't resist!

Knitting and the Olympics!

OK, why haven't I posted more knitting? I'll tell you why - it's all the fault of Ravelry. This great social networking site for knitters and crocheters has been taking up my attention. I love it! I post my projects, keep track of what is on my needles, how long it takes me to do projects, etc, and I can post my pics there, too. I can also check out what my friends are making, and we can comment to one another.

They're starting an incentive with the Olympics, encouraging us to cast on a project during the opening ceremonies that will be challenging . . . and then to finish before closing ceremonies 2 weeks later. I'm going to do it! If I put this link here can you see my project page on Ravelry, or does it just take you to the homepage again? Let me know.

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!

BSJ notes

I am making some more baby sweaters. I guess I'll keep them handy for extra babies . . . or I'll donate them. At any rate, I'm going to put down a few notes for myself for later.

When I do them, instead of marking in the stitches for decreasing and increasing, I'm marking between (starting betw. stitches 36/37, counting in from each end of my 160 cast on stitches). For my decreases, I'm knitting up to the last 2 stitches before the marker, then SSK, move marker, K2tog. I decrease until 90 total stitches remain, as the pattern says, which means that I'll have 23 stitches in each end section and 44 stitches in the middle (if all goes well).

When doing the middle of the back to add length, I never do 10 ridges, but rather 5. I think it gives a nicer proportion to the jacket. I love doing this on a circular needle, too, about 16"-20" long.

The rainbow sweater is done with Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn on size 2 needles. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

P.S. My husband has confirmation for a new position. He gets to stay with the State, and he's even still in ODNR! Strangely, he's going back to his original degree (Petroleum Engineering) and will be starting as a Geologist in mid-July. Ahh, isn't God gracious to us?

Henna and embarrassment

I got the coolest henna tattoo on Saturday at the kick-off party for Summer Reading Club at one of my branches! It looked even cooler before I did Wheels on the Bus while it was still wet and smeared it. LOL Now I'm BRANDED!

Why am I embarrassed? Is it because I have an armload of henna that will take 2 weeks to wash away? NEVER! It's because the young people in Columbus were obnoxious to visiting knitters at TNNA and one of my fave bloggers wrote about it:

Columbus is plagued by roving bands of young men driving up and down the main drag by the convention center yelling rude things at innocent conventioneers in the crosswalks like "Hey bitch, could ya walk a little slower?" Columbus needs to invest in some midnight basketball leagues and a few good traffic lights.

Anyway - Knitter's Connection starts tomorrow, and I have 2 classes! Yay! Last year I spent a load of money on yarn, and I still have some left. This year, I'm spending money on classes (knitting backwards and double knitting) and avoiding the market. Why avoiding the market? 3 reasons:
1. I still have a huge stash that will take me years to knit up.
2. My husband's job is . . .umm . . . well . . . ambiguous at this point, so spending money that isn't already spent seems indulgent, especially considering point #1.
3. I've decided that time spent with my parents and kid sounds more appealing than spending money I don't have on yarn I don't need (see 1 & 2).

Stop me before I become a grown-up!

Some FO's!

First, my FO's (finished objects). These are my new socks - made from Tiny Toes yarn, color was called "City Brights", and boy, are these bright! Put on your shades before looking directly at my feet! I was going to make them basic toe-up socks, but then The Evil Sock Genius posted his latest diabolically wonderful heel pattern, and I had to try it. I love it! It creates a flap and gusset, just like we all love in cuff-down socks, but it's toe-up and it's easy - no picking up stitches! Miraculous!

This is a simple hat for my friend, Lisa, who is starting Chemo next month. I hope it fits her! She has kind of a big head, but even with measurements it's hard to really tell what will happen w/o hair.




And, since I have 2 new FO's, I cast on a new project - a baby sweater! This is obviously for a baby boy - our friends Dave and Vera are expecting in September, and I'll be hosting a shower for her in August. :-)



OK - knitting news is done for now. Now on to some bragging! Simon got a medal for decent GPA in school - that's cool. He also got a few certificates for participating in Mock Trial and Power of the Pen, and he won an award for "Outstanding Witness" in Mock Trial. yay! He also has something in the student exhibit at the Columbus Arts Festival, but I have to admit that I let the heat deter me from going to see it this afternoon. He didn't want to go, either, so we went to the pool for an hour instead.

And this is Samwise, one of our cats, who had burrowed under the bit of carpet at the back door. I think he thinks he's invisible there while he watches the bunnies and birds in the yard.

Sammy, honey? We can still see your head and tail!

Meme from KB

Knittingbrow tagged me, and I'll pass this meme on to you.
“The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.”

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
In 1998 I was working at the Main Library, in the Center for Discovery - the Children's area. It was like a wonderful dream because I was working with my best friend, Scott. We had a puppetry company called "Hoot N Annie", too, and it was fantastic. Simon was 3 years old, and he was just switching sitters, from the Houstons, who had him from age 5 months til then, to the James', who are still some of our best friends (our friends in Mt. Vernon). I was thinner then, and much more healthy in many ways. That was also (I think) the year we bought our house.


2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Learn more about Project Manager stuff at work.
Get antibiotics to take before my dental appointment tomorrow.
Cancel health club membership.
Go to Boy Scout Court of Honor.
Meeting with Gerald and others at 11.
- I did them all!

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Salsa flavored Sun Chips
Dark, dark, dark chocolate
Ice Cream
Edamame
Sesame Sticks

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
First, I would pay off all of our debt (and any that our 2 sets of parents may have) and start a trust fund for my son and his future.

I love KB's idea of a Foundation . . . the Foundation I want to start would focus on funding/providing education programs for new parents, to teach them the importance of being their child's first teacher, and to help instill a joy of discovery in the parents as well as helping them find ways to instill that same joy in their children. I'd like to start it locally, but then take this information out, further and further, and become "The Carnegie of Early Learning" by starting and maintaining similar programs across the country and around the world. I feel that the best investment in the future is investing in early learning (before age 5).

I would also want to start/fund arts curriculums in the schools run by my church. They already have good programs, but I'd love to see them increased. I'd also like to provide for better salaries for the teachers there.

Then I would start trying to visit every continent in the world . . . and lots of the countries within them.

5. Places I have lived:
Boardman, OH
Grove City, PA (college dorms)
Columbus, OH: Doris Ave., Queensbridge Dr, Oakland Ave, and where we are now.
Yes, that's my complete list.

6. Peeps I want to know more about:
Slang
Yarmando
Aunt Gerry
Nick
Rachel
Amanda
Nancy
and Bob, even though I doubt that he'll do it.

Crochet!

It's a dark picture, but I think you can see that I've been crocheting! I picked up some hooks and books at JoAnn's on Wednesday, and I've started hooking up some of the acryllic yarn that was donated by an acquaintance from Cup O'Joe, where our little knitting group meets. There's lots of folks who need warm, durable blankets out there, so this is probably going to go into a donation box. My hands are cramped and tired now, after crocheting so much this weekend, but it's been fun, doing a new craft!

Sock Yarn Baby Sweater

It's the sweetest pattern! You knit it cuff to cuff. I bought this yarn really cheaply online last year, and this is a great project for it. I cast on Wednesday morning. This is a sleeve and a few rows of the front and back of the bodice. It'll be really cute! I like how the patterned yarn is giving natural verticle stripes.




A friend in church is preggers, and I think she's having a girl. This will be perfect!







My lillies of the valley are blooming, and I picked some, as you can see. I got this cool vase at the garden center of Mill Creek Park in Youngstown last year when I was there with my Mom. It's perfect for these "white choral bells". So, gaze on these delicate flowers, and if you're a mom, Happy Mother's Day!