Thursday, November 30, 2006

I am admitting defeat in the time department. I have come tot he realization that I will not be able to get the Irish Hiking Scarf done in time for Christmas to give to my Dad. I tried plan B, but that didn't work si I have moved on to plan C. THat one is working out great and I will be able to get that one done in time. Also just when I thought I was done knitting scarves done for the year I Have another one to make. It's being donated to a Cancer benefit. My friend's 18 year old daughter has cancer. She has to go tomorrow to have a cone biopsy and that will determine if she has to have a hysterectomy. Later this month there will be a benefit/fundraiser held in her behalf to help raise money for her treatments. I'm going to be donating a scarf to the raffle they will be holding.

Otherwise knitting has been going quite well. All the major people's gifts are done (besides dad). I am finally returning to my knitting group this weekend and man I cannot wait. I haven't gone fore 2 weeks and I've been gatting cranky and antsy about it. My landlady knew I was going this weekend no matter what was going on at the store.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

I know this has no knitting content, but I just had to share it with you guys. It's my adventture the other night with my cat and the animals I was petsitting.


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Cliona freaking. Cast: Cliona, Nikita (a fully grown Alaskan Malamute), and me. For anyone that is not familiar with Alaskan Malamutes this is what I got from the American Kennel Club and Nikita fits it "There is a natural range in size in the breed. The desirable freighting sizes are males, 25 inches at the shoulders, 85 pounds; females, 23 inches at the shoulders, 75 pounds." Nikita isn't a show dog though.
Now my apartment has a set of stairs that you can go down to go into the house where my landlord and lady live and I have access to the house at all times. The weekend before thanksgiving I was down in the house letting Nikita have roam of the house. I went up to the 2nd floor and Nikita followed me. I heard Cliona meowing and opened my door to check on her. Nikita started charging up the stairs. THe following events happend so fast. At the sight of Nikita, Cliona at the top of the stairs jumped higher (like there were springs in her paws) than I ever saw her jump before. She started hissing and growling (and did so through the whole thing), launched herself off the banister, across the stairway, then off the wall. Nikita is now up the stairs. Cliona is coming down out of the air (thank you gravity) and I have to duck. If i didn't I would be like the person in the comics with a cat hanging off my face, with the front claws in my face. I'm trying to keep Nikita from getting all the way in to the apartment, but decide it's a loosing battle. Cliona hits a wall, lands, sees where Nikita is ans up she goes again. I manage to catch her midair. Ad I catch her I see that Nikita has found Cliona's favorite toy, a fur covered mouse and is licking it and proceeding to destroy it. I manage to get Cliona into the bathroom and shut her in it. You can her her grown through the door (solid wood). I quickly make a peanut butter sandwich (she loves em) to lure the dog away from the toy which is now mutilated and out of the apartment. I get Nikita squared away and go to check on Cliona. She's curled up behind the toulet. She lets me hold her for about 10 min., then wants down, only to walk around with her back arched and tail like a bottle brush for the rest of the night. I never did see her in the morning. I laughed myself to sleep. To make it even better the cat invites himself up 2 nights later. Trust me I was in the cat house for that.

Recipe for a potential disaster here:

Ingredients:
1 mischevious cat named Cliona
1 Foolish human
1 6.5 foot artificial Christmas tree (prelit)
Christmas Decorations
More Tree lights

Directions:
Have human assemble the 6.5' tree. Leave Cliona unattended with the tree.

Where's the disaster: Cliona has never experienced a large tree in her 2 previous christmases. SHe has only experienced a small tabletop one. Now that I have the room for a larger one I went and got one. TOnight will be the first night for her with the tree. In a stroke og genius though I have tied fishing line around the tree and anchored it to the wall so that she cannot knock the tree over. THere is stil potential for disaster though.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Coolest Thanksgiving Knitting Haul

I got the coolest haul today. It was almst like Christmas a month early this morning for me. My mom's mom (my step-grandmother) used to Knit and I mean Knit. I never really got to know her and see her knit though. Over the past year I have been inheriting her knitting needles that mom has saved since her death. Well today mom gave me a bag of needles. They were all circs!!! We're talking 17 pairs of circs ranging from size 2 to 10 and from 12" to 32". Most are all plastic, a few are all metal (including the cable), and some are metal tips and the rest plastic. Most of the needles are bent near where the needle becomes/joins the cord. It was so cool.

I need another needle case now.

Also my Secret Pal got her package and liked it. I'm happy about that.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Hidden info for my SP

I got this from my SP.

A - Age: 26 (counting down to 27)
B - Band listening to right now: Led Zepplin
C - Career future: For the next week and half: Running my Landlady's Paint your Own Pottery and Stained Glass Studio After that: Job Hunt Eventually: Social Worker
D - Dad's name: Richard
E - Easiest person to talk to: It's a combo of: Ada, Robbyn, Diane, and Jessi
F - Favorite song: any of the songs from "The Phantom Of THe Opera" never could choose a favorite.
G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Gummy Bears
H - Hometown: Waterford
I - Instruments: (I'm assuming this means musical instruments played) It was standard that in 3rd grade everyone played the recorder. I later played the Flute and was Horrible at it.
J - Job: Volunteer most of the time
K - Kids: None myself, I live vicariously through friends and friends adopted as family. Through that I have in girls: 3,5,7,9,12 year olds and in boys: 2, and 13 year olds.
L - Longest car ride ever: New London, CT to Cape Canaveral, FL
M - Mom's name: Biological: EggDonor Step-Mom (a.k.a. Mom): Nancy
N - Number of people you've slept with: I don't think about this topic as it sets off flashbacks and nightmares.
P - Phobia[s]: Snakes, Pekinese dogs
Q - Quote: "Everything great that has ever happened to humanity since the beginning - has begun as a single thought in someone's mind. And if any one of us is capable of such a great thought, then all of us have the same capacity - capability - because we are all the same. " -- Yanni
R - Reason to smile: I'm alive!
S - Song you sang last: La Vie Boheme -- Rent
T - Time you wake up: Saturdays: 7 a.m. Sun & Mon: 11 Tue - F: 10
U - Unknown fact about me: I'm an only child and love it.
V - Vegetable you hate: brussel sprouts
W - Worst habit: Tempting fate with my latex allergy. Example: Trying to get a rubberband on or off something (using something else to pry or using paper towels as a barrier which are a bad idea) that I know I definitley can't without help.
X - X-rays you've had: Mre than I can remember.
Y - Yummy food: Sweet potatoes
Z - Zodiac sign: Sagittarius (and i do take after the sag's traits)

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

FYI

If I seem to go missing over the next couple of weeks I haven't forgotten about any of my secret pals. I haven't forgotten about updating. I haven't forgotten at all. Starting Thursday Night I am taking over running my friends store while they are away on vacation. I know it will be hectic for me and I fully intend to do my best to get here during the time that I am watching over the store, I just wanted to post this just in case.

Note to my SP: Your package went out today.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Busy Weekend

The past weekend was one heck of a knitting weekend. I did so much knitting that at one point my index fingers didn't want to completely straighten out without hurting much. Between SnB Saturday morning, the bus ride home afterwatrds, and watching TV in the evening I knit just about an entire hat (all but 1" of ribbing) including making up and one whole slipper sock. The hat took longer than most hats since it was the first time I did a hat without a pattern. Yes I ventured into the land of creating your own patterns. Sunday after housework I started the mate to the slippersock I did the day before. I had a birthday party to attend, and a migraine to sleep off afterwards which meant sleeping through most of monday, but by 7 yesterday evening that slippersock was done. Like I said it was one heck of a knitting weekend. I got more done in 3 days than I did all week.

knitting X-mas List Updated

Below is mylist of christmas knitting that is to be done as it stands now. Red = Done & Ready To wrap

IMMEDIATE FAMILY
Dad --- Irish Hiking Scarf
Mom --- Branching Out (Scarf on Knitty)
Ruffle Hat
Aunt Shelly --- Embrace (Scarf on Knitty)
Ruffle Hat
Uncle Herbie --- Scarf & Hat (both of my own design)
Aunt Bo --- Scarf (drop stitch)
Ruffle Hat


ADOPTED AS FAMILY ( Completely Subject to change or if time doesn't allow, elimination)
Pam --- Slipper Socks
Jon
Mandy --- Slipper Socks (purple)
JR --- who know what yet, but in orange
Julie --- Slipper Socks
Nicky
Carlie
Ally
Kirsten
Madison
Jonny --- Felted Paint Brush Holder
Sydney --- Slipper Socks
Sammy --- FIngerless Gloves

OTHER FRIENDS
Don
Robbyn --- Slipper Socks
Diane --- Slipper Socks

Monday, November 06, 2006

A new week, what trouble can one get into?

Yay! It's a new week. One thing not everyone knows about me is that I love Monday nights. Not because the first weekday is over, but because I get to see a bunch of friends the next day at DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy). Having DBT is my Monday.

I started DBT because (and I'll be quite frank) back in 2001 I started cutting myself as a form of release. I have since stopped cutting thanks to DBT and other things. Through this group I developed several friendships. We're like family to each other. What's different about these friends (my groupmates) is that even though they are non-knitters, they understand about me and my knitting. They don't mind if I ask if I can call them back in a few minutes because I am i in the middle of a row and need to finish it or "I'll be messed up when I return to it." They know to approach my bags with caution as you never know where a knitting needle or whatever else I may have for knitting may be in it. They don't try to take me away from my knitting. They let me talk about knitting even though they don't understand what I'm talking about. Heck when they come upon free yarn and they grab it for me. One of them gave me a skien of Lion Brand's Homespun for christmas last year. They don't ask questions. They just nod, smile, and let me carry on.

As for trouble I can get into, I have several WIP's, I started another, and looking at another to start. Oh and I'm planning on starting a couple stained glass projects this week too.

My Secret Pal's package is all ready to go out. I'm just waiting for a couple things I ordered to arrive. Once they come in...out the package goes.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Is it Saturday yet??????

It's been one of those weeks. The time change has messed me up. Yeah I appreciated that extra hour of sleep. My body though took a few days to adjust to it. I adjusted to a 5 hour time jump 9 years ago better than I adjusted to changing the clocks back an hour. The 5 hour time jump was when I went to Ireland and then returning from. They're 5 hours ahead.

I haven't been able to get much knitting done this week since I've been sleeping. Trying to adjust from the time change. Also allergies are doing me in. Gotta love it when the leaves fall and you have an allery to mold. We had tons of rain and wind over the wekend so that helped the leaves fall and now that it's nice out the mold is growing. I'm stuffed up and miserable. Also busy helping out at the shop and babysitting. Well more like adolescent sitting, but what are you going to do with a 12 and 9 year old after school nowadays. Daycare isn't an option as they are too old and you can't leave them home alone. So I watch my niece and nephew (ok landlord and lady's grandkids, but they're like family).

Hope to get back on track with my knitting come Friday. If not Friday then I'll efinitley get back on track Saturday. I'm definitley looking forward to Saturday. Knitting group, friends, great coffee with chocolate in it...what else can one ask for. Ok maybe not having to get up at 7:30 a.m., but I can deal with that part. Why so early? Well on most weeks I take the bus and on the bus it takes 90 mins and then a 10 min walk to get to knitting group. It's only 2 towns away, but busses around here it can take 30 min to get a regular 10 min drive away. There are times I can walk half the bus route faster than the bus can drive it. Last week, this week and for a couple more weeks a friend is picking me up. We have a couple places to go first before knitting. It's all worth it though. To get out of town, see friends, and knit elsewhere, when you don't have a car...you'll deal with getting up early. So is it Saturday yet??