Birthday Weekend

This year my birthday fell on a weekday.  I seem to have had a whole birthday WEEK, however, and I have really enjoyed it.  The evening before, we had a birthday dinner at the In-Laws'.  The day of, I had a cake.  It wasn't a great cake, but I didn't have to make it and everyone agreed that it was an awful cake.  Yesterday we delivered the munchkins to Grandma so she could keep them overnight and gave us money to see a movie/have dinner.  It turned out that outside work would take precedence, but we did eat out all day long and went browsing through used car lots for my next vehicle.  Got a lot of the outside work done and we're both pleased with the progress.  Played some WoW.  Today was spent doing more used car shopping, I got clothes, spent my Michael's gift card, and used up a Ruby Tuesday gift card.  Had a great lunch!  I ordered the lobster tail and petite sirloin with tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette and grilled green beans.  YUM!  I was having a difficult day due to pain issues, so we called it a day after lunch and picked up the kids.  Finished binding off mom's socks in the truck on the way home.

Came home and played WoW.  I ran to get some minor groceries.    Used my brand new yardage counter to figure out how much of the Alligator Eats Black Pumpkin I really had (724 yards, not the 600 I had originally calculated).  It took me over two hours to get that number and wind the whole skein into a ball.

I'm off now to begin the cast on for Lazy Katy!

Hexipuffery

I had every intention of blogging yesterday, but never followed through.  It was boring around here anyway.  I ran a package out to the PO and that was the extent of my adventures out of the house.  It was a yarn swap that played in for a Rav group.  The hexipuff madness invaded and I was quick to succumb.  I have put the puffing on a back burner so that I can finish those socks but after that all bets are OFF.  I have a gallon-sized ziploc bag filled to almost bursting with mini skeins of sock yarns sitting right next to my chair.

There are Wollmeise minis and KP stroll tonal minis and Koigu KPPPM minis plus hand dyed, handspun, unknown sock yarns, etc.  I know there are people with MANY more minis than I but I don't care.  I really intend to USE rather more than I intend to STASH.  

Terrible lighting on the first but that's my first grouping of puffs.  I have more :D  The second pic is of my hand dyed that a Rav friend (PirateRed) spun.  She sent me a miniskein so that I could experience the awesome.

I have a full day planned for today, mostly relaxing and some shopping.  I have a gift card to spend, after all!

Happy 41st!

I ran errands.  Specifically, dropped a prescription by my pharmacy (please, let the insurance pay for it this time!), mailed a package, got lunch for Little Girl, and deposited a surprise! check from our county tax office.  I took a "Happy Birthday" phone call from my mom and received a pattern for the Lazy Katy shawl from my Rav friend, JuleeQue.  I looked through my handspun and I think I'm going to make it out of my Alligator Eats Black Pumpkin yarn.

Dinner last night at the In-Law's was ham, potatoes, corn, rolls, applesauce, and SIL brought a veggie pasta.  I graciously accepted (read; GIMME GIMME! hands) a gift card to the brand new Michael's store in Lakewood.  Scott promised me a half day for entertainment and shopping in Lakewood on Saturday after we get some more outside work done in the morning.  I'm excited!

I'm still working on mom's socks.  I'm still looking for Little Boy's glasses.  I'm still recovering from this darned cold thing I suffered through last week.  Thank all the good things that the week is almost over!

...and this is what Little Boy was doing while I was busy writing this post.

And So, My Fortieth Year Ends

Halloween 2011.  Munchkins went ToTing as cowpokes.  We went to the smaller town next to us and went down two streets.  They had a great time, she yelled "Trick or Treat!" at everyone and "Happy Halloween!" and "Look, Mom!  A Pirate!" or whatever the costume flavor was when one passed.  I had to prompt him to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" to everyone.  He just wanted to see what people had in their candy bowls for him to take.

The last two weekends, we've torn out one of the plaster walls in the living room and repaired lathe and put up 1/2" shiplap foam for insulation purposes.  I put plastic on three of the dining room windows.  Doing that prompted me to move the mountain of computer parts off of the desk that was in front of one of the windows.  It all went up to the third floor and I swapped the elliptical machine and the desk that was in front of the window, so the whole room has opened up a bit.

I turned the heels on mom's socks yesterday.  Now to work up the leg!  I may actually get these out to her in time to mail by her birthday.  I can hope (and knit like a fiend!).  I'm also working on a wisp, an improvised cardi, and hexipuffs.  I broke down and bought the pattern from Tiny Owl Knits so that I could center out puffs AND the original puffs.

I also "got back into" BPAL.  I'm wearing Dancing with Death at the moment.  Love it.  I also LOVE Carnival Diabolique, The Robotic Scarab, Autumn Moon of the Mirror Stand, and Blood Kiss.  I still have about ten that I need to try ON, but I'm almost through all of my purchased imps.  Sigh.


Frack died yesterday morning.  I don't think she was egg-bound as we got an egg from her (at least, I'm pretty sure one of the three eggs we got was from her) just the day before...but she died, regardless.  I was moping about it all day.  Realistically, we are going to be EATING these birds before all is said and done, but it just felt weird to lose her so early and for an unknown reason.

Scott brought home my birthday gift early though-check it out!

So, I've been busy loading it up and figuring it out.  I love gadgets SO HARD.  Tonight we're going to his dad's for my birthday dinner.  Rose is going to keep the kids this weekend so that Scott can take me out.  They're both so good to us, I love having these wonderful people for my In-Laws!

Mom made me a quilt for my birthday/Christmas gift.  

I've been very blessed.  I have a great life and I appreciate everything that has brought me here and all the things that keep me here.

Crafty Nonsense

I'm currently knitting this improvised drape front cardi.  I've done the first front panel and am working to the back section (think rectangular, knit side-side).  Going well enough.  Then I have the blue jean shawl otn.  I also have a 198 Yards of Heaven shawlette otn using my hand dyed cormo yarn (the yarn was from MelissaSpata from MOHS group on Rav-she got it from her co-op and sent me this skein and one other that I have dyed).  Plus the pair of socks otn for mom (this is a different one-I finished ONE pair, now I'm doing this one).  So.  FOUR projects on needles.

I have been browsing patterns in my search for a good armhole setup for this cardi and saw the pattern, "Ecuador" and "Pole" by the same designer.  $6.00 for each pattern.  Throw in the overwhelming urge to purchase the "Beekeeper's Quilt" pattern for $5.50.  That leaves my PP empty.  Haven't bought anything yet, but that's where the brain is at the moment.

I HAVE patterns here for stuff that I want to make ("Silk Ribbed Corset", I'm looking at you here) but don't have the yarn requirements, and then there are the two Christmas things for Nikki (the hat she asked for and a Mario Mushroom I think she'd love).  I keep looking at my spinning wheel and the fiber I COULD be spinning, but right now I want to KNIT.

I should be making soap, too.  I could be expanding my Etsy store with pretty smelly stuff and instead I'm perusing Rav instead.  It doesn't take long, it's not HARD.  I would rather wind off mini skeins from my full ones for the silly hexapuffs.

I did buy a share of KP tonal sock yarns!!  They won't be ordered until after the 13th, so I MIGHT have new minis around the end of the month to play with.  If I can just remember that I need to be PATIENT.

Not complaining...just getting this out of my head so I can get a new perspective.

Oh, and someone has shown my munchkins the purpose of the Heimlich maneuver....

My shop

So we scheduled today as a "work outside" day.  Dropped the munchkins off at grandma's so they wouldn't be underfoot.  Got gas for the mowers and trimmers.  Came home and plowed into the gardens for the last harvest (cherry toms and carrots) minus the last row of onions that we'll pull for winter storage.  I got the last cauliflower out of the ground and was carrying it to the chicken run for a chickie treat when I hear "GAWK!!"

Scott, already headed into the house, turned and looked and both of us said essentially the same thing-"Is one laying an egg?!"  I stopped where I was in the driveway until all five birds were visible in the run, then we ran over to open the door to the nest box and found

THESE!!

One was cold, must have been from yesterday.  The other (clean one in this pic) was warm, fresh out of a chicken!!