Boy Scouts and Pics

Monday, Feb 19 found us off work and out of school for Presidents' Day, but we all got to go to Boy Scouts! It was fun to see what the boys and folks do at a meeting, AND I got to do a lot of knitting there. It was fun!

Tuesday, Feb 20 shows Samwise feeling all better and overseeing the doings of the kitchen sink again from his favorite perch. Sweet boy kitty!

Wednesday I wore my newly-finished Mohair neck scarf. I had it tied for a while, but it was too warm around my neck, so I used this little pin to clasp it. :-)

Thursday, Feb.22 I finished up the legwarmers. I did them on magic loop, I think a size 9 needle. They were fun, easy, and they look good!

Today is Friday, Feb 23. I went to Knitwits at the Merc, and then to lunch with some of the ladies. Very nice time! Before that I met up with my pal Carol at Panera. Last time we met at Bear Rock, but they're not opening til 10 now, so they suck. The group went to Villa Nova for lunch - very good Italian food at normal-people prices. Was just like back home in Youngstown, it was so good! Don't they all look like nice ladies?

quiet day

Several pictures for today! (See, I TOLD you I'd catch up from that lag time.)

Today was a quiet day after we ran some errands. After stopping at a few other stores, I popped into the LYS while DH did the grocery shopping. I'd forgotten they were having a huge trunk show from Cider Moon and I indulged in a few skeins of their lovely yarns. Yum!

After we were home for a while, watching TV, reading (DH) and knitting (moi), we lit a fire in the fireplace - isn't that lovely?

And finally - I've been wanting to knit up some of these fingerless gloves since I saw the pattern on Knitty.com . I cast these on in Classic Elite's Lush yarn this morning, and lo and behold they're blocking now! This pictures doesn't do them justice, but the knitty site does. There is lovely cable detailing on the cuffs and by the knuckles. I love them!

Boy Scout Camp!

Feb. 16, 2007 - several pics

Simon left this evening for a few nights in a cabin (no running water!) with the Boy Scouts. Hope he doesn't freeze his patootie off!

This is some of the snow - you can see that there was so much the driveway couldn't even been completely cleared. Ugh! About half of that pile is ice, too. You can't see it well, but the side of the house is coated in about an inch of ice, as well.

After being traumatized first by her brother, Sam's illness and disappearance, and then even MORE traumatized by his return home, Rosie is finally back downstairs - here she is nearly falling off the window sill by the kitchen sink. She was so enthralled by the dripping faucet that her drooping backside didn't bug her.

Well, on the third try the neck of the sweater finally fits over DH's head and it's ready to finish. I have about a dozen ends to weave in, and a few holes where I added the new balls of yarn, and then some blocking, and it's donesky! And he even likes it!

Picture This

Feb. 15, 2007

Yea, yea, I know - I need to tink back and fix that neck hole. Sigh. The colors look good, though, right? Right???

Sweater Obsession!

2-14-07 My second snow day in a row (unprecedented!) found me inside ALL DAY! it was great! I did knit a bit on other things, and I made breakfast, lunch, dinner for myself and Simon (and b and d for DH), along with cookies - yum! But mostly I just worked like a woman obsessed on this sweater for DH. As you can see, I've started the decreases at the top and I've been adding in the color. Still a lot to go to finish the neck, but I am thinking it's looking pretty good. Also, it'll probably be done before Monday - that's my goal, anyway. :-) I imagine I'll be back at work tomorrow, but it should be a great office day since I was originally scheduled to be doing a puppetry workshop in Zanesville and was going to be gone all day. Given that they still had a Level 3 Snow Emergency all day today, and that things are generally a mess, the workshop is cancelled. (yahoo!)

Picture the Snow!

Sunday, Feb 11 I went out to Ugly Tuna for what we thought would be all-you-can-eat crab legs. No luck. Turns out they stopped that special, but we did get a pound of legs for only $7.50, and that seemed like plenty to me. Was yummy, especially with the sweet potato fries - yum!

I am with, L to R, Sanne, Misty, Deb, Teresa and Theresa (she's shy).

Deb, on the other hand, is not at all shy.

Sanne is from Denmark and is really delightful. She is Misty's Au Pere.

They all seemed mildly interested in the picaday thing, so they had fun doing the pics with me.


Monday, Feb 12 I worked on attaching the sleeves to the body of Mike's sweater. I had to take two tries because of a math error, but all is well now and I'm ready to start shaping the top.

Today, Tuesday, Feb. 13 is a Snow Day! Not just for the schools, but even the library is closed! Yay us! Si and I did venture out to do some shopping (new shoes and pants for snow stuff and his upcoming Boy Scout weekend in the woods, hobby stuff, Invention Convention stuff, etc) This is Simon, out to shovel the walkway. I should have made him shovel the driveway, too, especially since a nice man with a snowblower came by and did the sidwalk for him. If tomorrow is a snow day again (a definite possibility) I will make him do the driveway.

More Pictures!

I don't have enough pictures to cover all the days I've missed, but there is a goodly batch, and I'll try to get back to the one-a-day thing today. Promise!

Well, Samwise has been our worry the last few days. Monday he was perfectly fine - exhibit A shows him sleeping on Mike's lap, thoroughly happy. Tuesday he started acting weird and Wed morning we were sure he was sick. It took him in and he had to spend 3 days in the hospital! He had a urinary tract blockage, poor baby boy!
You can see his front leg, where the IV was in. He seems better now, but he's still recovering. We're all very glad he's home.

On to WIPs:
Mike's sweater is coming along well. This is the body. Now I'll knit up the sleeves and then I'll join them at the armpits and knit the rest! It's really cool, with lots of math to do along the way. There's a group of us all making sweaters with EPS (Elizabeth's Percentage System), explained pretty well here.

I cast on this hat at knit group Friday morning, and finished up by the TV in the evening. It's made of Lush Yarn, and it knit up in a jiffy. It's for a friend of mine who is going through Chemo - I just saw her at a meeting Thursday and didn't even know she was sick until then. This is very very soft, and I hope she likes it.

I also just cast this baby on. I would like a fancy neck scarf like the one I made my mom. This is all mohair, though, and it's already bugging me a bit, but it should make a pretty little scarf, and it's still outrageously colored, so it's my style.

WIPs and Bad Hair!

Saturday, Jan 27, was Bad Hair Day at our house. Of course, we have a lot of them, so if you've not yet sent a card, don't feel bad.
I was going to post a pic of my FIL on Christmas morning to show how this phenomenon spans 3 generations, but I promised him I wouldn't (and he threatened to take me out of the will if I did, actually). :-)

Sunday, Jan 28:
A lovely Sunday. I decided to spend as much of the whole day as possible with my son. Morning was lounging on the couch knitting new leg warmers - a more sedate pair for me to have at work when I have to go to big-wig meetings, etc. We took frequent breaks for snuggling.

Took hubby to the yarn shop for a quick trip - had to get him to pick out new yarn for his sweater. It's my first-ever grown-up-sized sweater and the whole thin-yarn-make-cables-everything-perfect thing was making me insanely afraid of even starting the darn thing. The yarn I got him for Christmas was so thin I would have had to use size 4 needles or smaller, and it was kind of freaking me out. We got new chunky yarn and I was even able to cast on and do some of the bottom ribbing last night. Thanks to Knittingbrow for being at the store, wearing his excellent yolked sweater, and giving us Manly Advice on our purchase and my cast on. Smoochies, KB!

But the most fun thing was taking Simon to family swim time at McConnell Heart Health Center where I work out. He resisted the photo of his wet-headed self, but I resorted to begging and it worked. Also, later last night he lost a tooth! He's growing quickly!

My other book group

1-26-07

Here are some of the women in my other book group! I forgot to take a picture until it was almost too late! Tonight we discussed Waiting for Snow in Havanna and had loads of good discussions. What a great bunch of women! I am doubly blessed to have 2 book groups! More than that, though, because I have the KnitWits and I have women from work and women from Home Church, too. Yay me!

Can you tell I'm an extrovert??

Here's to Great Women!

Sunday, Jan 21 - Book Group #1
We discussed After This by Alice McDermott. I was not as taken with the writing style as the reviewer. I found it somewhat interesting at first, but then I started thinking "when is the introduction going to end?" I'm glad I read it, though I am also glad I didn't bother to finish it. LOL


Monday, Jan 22, Baby Gift! I finally finished up the baby jumper and hat for Lucia Catherine. Isn't it darling? I can't wait to gift them! Mom went into labor Monday morning (the day I finished the gift - 2 weeks before due date!) She didn't have the baby til Jan 24 . . . 49 freakin' hours of labor, and no DRUGS! She's insane, but she's still a very nice woman.

Tuesday, Jan 23
To be honest, I didn't really see much of the day that was worth photographing. Very busy at work and so on, so this is my workout stuff. I did manage to get to water aerobics, and I'm glad I did.

Wednesday, Jan 24 (the day little Lucia Catherine was born and officially named and all that - BTW she's the daughter of one of my staff and his wife.)
I spent nearly all day working at my desk - writing evaluations and preparing/practicing for the training I did on Thursday, and, as you can see, eating while I did some number crunching.

Thursday, Jan 25
I trained CPI Foundation for the second time. My partner in crime was Debbie (on left). The next 2 ladies were in our class, and the fourth is a friend who works at the building where we had our class and joined us for lunch. We had a great class! All wonderful women at lunch, too. Very lovely time!

Today might be a picture-rich day as I'm going to breakfast with a friend, then going to knitting group, then tonight is Book Group #2.

I also need to get embroiled in another interesting knitting project. I need to re-buy yarn for hubby because I'm not liking the yarn I have, and I could pick up my tank top again and work on that (what, something for moi?). It's also been a while since I've made anything for Simon, so that's rattling around . . . and I want to make a retirement gift for my buddy Jean, but her retirement is not til April 1, so I have time.

Party Week!

1-17-07

Our administrators brought us lunch! Soup, salad, fruit, veggies, rolls and brownies. etc. Very nice! We earned it back in September when we all participated in the "Steptember" initiative to become more active and healthy. Yay us!






1-18-07

This being Thursday, I did storytime. Here is the stuff I used. Our theme today was eggs. I got to tell 2 of my favorite jokes. First, why do chickens like the library? Because of all the "book book books!" Then, when we talked about all the other kinds of animals that lay eggs, I asked the kids why frogs like the library. Because they like to "read-it read-it read-it"! :-)



1-19-07

Mike and I went out to our favorite place for dinner. Lovely little restaurant called Ba Sho, where we go for sushi. Best we've ever found! Here is Mike's plate of sashimi . . . and Mike, of course.

1-20-07
I cast on the baby sweater at the Merc on Friday, Jan 12. I had been going to make the Baby Surprise Jacket, but I wasn't confident that I understood the pattern's instructions, so I frogged it and started this kimono jacket sweater. Love it! I altered it a bit so I wouldn't have to sew any seams. I did Kitchener stitch across the tops of the shoulders, then picked up stitches for the arms and knit those in the round to the cuffs. It was fun! I'm really looking forward to making a grown-up sweater next.

BEFORE PICTURE: I didn't quite finish the sweater before the shower. I still had to sew on the ties, so I wrapped the sweater and the ribbon and gave that to her. I asked her to open it first, and then while she opened all the other packages, I sewed the ties on.

AFTER PICTURE: with the red ties. Isn't she the cutest pregnant lady? She's a dear, sweet person. I'm so excited that we'll have a baby in our small group! Jheng's mother is going to be arriving in Columbus on Tuesday, from China. She is a knitter, too, so I plan to bring her to the Merc (even though she knows no English, I'm sure we'll figure out a way to communicate). Jheng doesn't knit at all, and her mother knits, crochets and quilts, so I'm going to do my best to spend some time with her!

Jheng also got 2 baby blankets, both crocheted, from other women in our group, as well as lots of store-bought loot. It was a lovely shower!

Meme and pics

1-13-07, Saturday, was my friend Martha's going-away party. She's moving to Kentucky. This is her, holding her new scarf (look familiar?).

Sunday, 1-14-07 I had some ladies over in the evening for a hobby night. We just sat around, knitting or crocheting and gabbing. It was very nice. I didn't take any pics while they were here, but this is one of the candles I'd lit. I've always liked this circle of frogs. Luckily we did no frogging that night!

1-15-07 was MLK Day, and this is Simon at the breakfast we went to. See my other blog for a brief overview of that event, if you like. That afternoon we visited friends up in Mt. Vernon, OH. I call it a retreat center - nice house out in the country.

This is the boys' lego city. Obviously, Simon has fun playig with Tim (the elder) and Sam. They've been friends since they were very young and Megan was Simon's fulltime babysitter (I think he was 3).

Tuesday, 1-16-07 I spent a good deal of my work day at the Main Library in meetings. This is a pic of the atrium. You can see the check-outs down there. I'm on the second of three floors taking the pic. I love how the architects incorporated the exterior wall of the original Carnegie building as an interior wall of the updated/expanded building (dedicated in 1990).

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.
Take this http://www.quizilla.com/redirect.php?statsid=20&url=http://www.quizilla.com/makeaquiz.php">Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code

Since this is supposed to also be my knitting blog, I have this meme for your quizzy pleasure. I should be working out this morning, but I'm going to go back to bed for another hour instead. Blah.

NAKIE!

The weather outside has been gray, grey, gray. Not very cold today, windy sometimes, rainy a lot, and more gray. Blah. I, however, have had some nice days.

Wednesday, 1-10-07, Simon went to Claddagh with me to meet up with the Wed. Night Knitting Group, a.k.a Sharing Needles. We had a very nice time, Simon drawing and me casting off this long narrow scarf for my friend, Martha (she's moving to KY - the state, not the jelly). It's got a picot edge. It's from yarn I got a while ago and wound into balls and I can't for the life of me remember what kind it is. I think it's wool and alpaca blend, worsted weight (maybe DK?), and I knit it long and sideways on size 7 needles. I got bored and did some YOs and stuff to keep myself interested. I wasn't going to block and flatten it, but I think, now, that it will look better that way.

Thursday, 1-11-07 NAKIE!

I did what I usually do on Thursday mornings - I did storytime! Little Amina (age 3) decided that this doll needed to be "nakie" before and during storytime - it was so funny! Me: I don't think he needs to be nakie - it's chilly outside.
A (with great glee): yes! Nakie! Nakie, nakie nakie! (while taking his clothes off him)
Me: Well, he really should wear a shirt in the library, what with all these people around and all.
A: Nakie! He wants to be nakie! (yes, she was nearly shouting)
What I would have liked to say: Why don't we all get nakie for storytime! LOL
What I really said: Well, his shoes and socks are sewn on, so you can't take those off. Sorry!


Friday, 1-12-07 - Met with Carol E for knitterly fun and chattering galore at Bear Rock Cafe - love knitting on the couch near the fire!

I had cast on and begun a Baby Surprise jacket, but the pattern was confusing me and I need a baby sweater in a week, so I need to put off this experiment until I don't have a deadline. I've frogged this green stuff and I'm going to find a simple, quick knit to be ready for next Saturday's baby shower for Jheng. I'll knit this: http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/pie/pie.html instead. For some reason I can't make the links html stuff work here on blogger right now , so you have the full link. Not as cool looking, but gets the job done.