Back home

Well we are back home. The weather in Florida was awesome!!! But then we came home to COLD AND SNOW! OHMYGOSH! Talk about a real downer. Really didn't want to come home, but just about had enough Florida too! That whole Naples area is just one big ass shopping area! Everyplace you turn there is another strip mall of stores, just incredible! And traffic, so much traffic.............

DD and I had a great time being together. She also had a very good time going out with the cousins! Put all 3 of them together and watch them let their hair down LOL! Kids.

We also had quality time with family. Dinner at one of Gran's favorite Italian restaurants, memorial service at the 'club' with a super lunch! Very emotional. After we got to stop by the house and just absorb some Gran vibes. All is good.

Got home........spent the first whole day home so very depressed that I couldn't even talk out loud. Ever feel that way? Hubby asked if I wanted to talk about why I was in a blah mood and I just said that I couldn't without crying and I didn't want to cry right then! We were on our way to the bookstore for coffee and relaxation. But them tears have their own mind and just flowed..........no words, still didn't talk, they just spilled over.

DD got a new tattoo, a birthday gift to herself. Also a goodbye to Naples, Gran and just a move forward. Its a Hibiscus in orange and yellow and soooo real looking! Very nice. I did want one also but opted for NOT this time. LOL.

I didn't knit much, a tiny bit on my chevron scarf but I did start a Barbie cardigan! Just finished it last night at knitting. I have to sew on some snaps and buttons but she is already wearing it! I had to try out a free pattern I found online. (don't ask.......I thought that I lost it and was going to re-print it........can't find it now!!) But I did find the one I had printed out in the first place and so was able to make it up. Now that I know how easy it is and it doesn't use much sock yarn and size 2 needle, I think that I can make up a couple to save for Christmas presents!

Off to get Jimmy John's subs for lunch!!

All checked in............

Yippee! Tomorrow at this time we will be landing in sunny (I hope) Florida! DD and I are headed outta here to sit back and relax, visit some family, and sit back and relax some more!

What to pack? Oh I know that I need some clothes.........not too many as just sitting in the sun doesn't require much huh? But what knitting to pack? I know that if I don't pack any that I will have anxiety knowing that I have nothing to keep my hands busy................If I pack a few projects I should be safe. I am thinking of the chevron scarf, socks and small bits of sock yarn and a Barbie cardigan pattern. That should do it!

DD and I have our IPODS hers the phone and mine the touch, so we have kindle books, movies, tv shows, podcasts, audible books and yes even some music. I think that the batteries will die before we get too much done with those! I wonder if there is a solar power charger for them yet?

I am still thinking do I need the laptop? I mean really..........it's not a netbook by any means! I bought this thing a few years ago because I didn't want a PC but I wanted a nice computer with bells and whistles...........so you know it's the huge 17" screen Sony vaio. And yes it's darn heavy!

I will keep you posted as the trip progresses....maybe a few sunny Florida photos and hopefully nothing but good times!

Gray and Gloomy Tuesday

YUCK! It is so gray out today................hard to motivate, and even harder to not slip into that really sad funk.

Tiff and I finally got all of our Florida arrangements made and will be outta here soon! Well next week anyhow. I am so looking forward to just hanging out.

This Florida trip is going to accomplish two things for me, the first and most important one is to meet up with family and friends of my grandma. Grandma just passed away on March 3rd and I know its a good thing for her as she was very unhappy since her husband passed 2 years ago but you know it's hard for me that she is gone. And on the other hand it will be nice to sit around and soak up some well needed Vitamin D!

I have figured out why I have not been keeping up well with this blog, its all the other stuff like Ravelry and Facebook. Sheesh.

Currently I have more than my usual two knitting projects in the works. I am working on the Christening gown and am very near completion. I have only to finish the front left shoulder and then to pick up and knit a border around the arm holes and neckline and to seam the back skirt. I will then need to find a nice white and silver or just white ribbon to thread through the eyelets on the waist and perhaps at the bottom edge also. I may at that time even hand sew some single clear silver lined beads into the center of each of the snowflake patterns on the skirt (maybe, that depends on timing). I decided to make this sleeveless as we are getting into warmer weather and don't want baby to bake in a knitted gown!

The other project still on the needles and not been worked on..................oh crap you know what?! I have a dreaded 4 projects going right now. Ok don't think about it......this too will pass. I have the blue socks that I have not worked on in a couple weeks, the chevron scarf I pick up as just no brainer knitting and then I am also working to finish up a sweater for a customer who started this sweater some time ago, forgot where she was in the pattern and also did a great job with the knitting but the pattern was not the pattern in the pattern! LOL. So she did make up 2 sleeves, these are not to pattern either but they are finished and will look good with the sweater body that I am finishing up for her.
One of the sleeves is shown at the top of the photo, see how the cable pattern is like every other space (or 12 stitches)? Well as you can see in the bottom portion the pattern was supposed to alternate. Eh so I have 2/3 of a front finished and about 10 hours into it now. It actually goes pretty quickly. I have not decided if I am taking this to Florida or not...................Yeah probably along with the chevron scarf. If I get it finished I have something else to get paid for! Yippee!!
I guess that I had better get that gown finished or darn close before I leave then.......not long after our return should be the christening if the parents get it all together.

Well fun has just begun, material has finally arrived.........will be unloaded and DH will have to get his machines up and running to make a few parts. We have only about 1200 to make to have a complete shipment...........

That's my update for now..................Oh Oh get this one. My daughter is going to be 24 while we are on vacation. She said the other that that she was beginning to feel old. I asked her why. She said that while she was out with her friends at a club over the weekend a few cute guys where hitting on her. She asked them their age.........they were 19. She said that is just way to young for her to date. She feels old huh?
Speaking of feeling old, facebook, finding people that you went to school with. UGH! Now that's old. LOL!

Too many passwords!!!!

I had a great weekend!! But today I am trying to do the most simple thing....................just upload a photo to flicker and I can't for the life of me remember the password!!

How many password and account names do you have? I can't even think anymore! If I don't set the program to remember me...................I probably couldn't remember half of them!

HELP!

I got this really cool program to put all your passwords and account names in................yep you guessed it. Can't remember the darn pass code to open it! Am I losing my mind?

So, since I couldn't upload a simple photo to flicker I will put it here and then I can put it in my ravelry group question of the day! LOL always more than one way to skin a cat. :)

Since I am lucky enough.................so far...............to be staying home today, I will be doing some catch up work around the house.

I will catch you all up on my great weekend activities later today.

Chevron Scarf

Hey remember a few weeks back when I won 2 skeins of Berroco Sox Metallic from Lime and Violet? Well..........I decided to go ahead and put them together for the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.I know it's not that far along but it is really pretty isn't it?

Today is Friday.........my whole entire schedule is screwed up and it all started with that time change! I keep getting up in the morning around 4am and want to go to bed at 10pm! Nope, uh uh, no way! I don't go to bed till 11pm and that's final. Oh and if that isn't enough our wonderful customer in Mexico with accounting in Indiana is very late in paying our invoices. The trickle down effect is that now I have an overdrawn bank account and had to borrow money from my DD just in case I need gas in the car or a gallon of milk! Now that just has got to stop. Its like pulling teeth a couple of times a month to get paid on invoices that are well over 60 days. Listen people we have bills to pay and need groceries too! I bet they get their paychecks every week!!

By the time we get paid each time we are so over due on everything that when we pay bills they are due again in a week and how the he** are you going to pay them when they won't bother to pay you again for another many weeks of calling and emailing them daily!!!!

And people wonder why I am so stressed out, tired, and have a don't give a shit attitude. Hrumpfffff!!

There is no consistency and that is what is causing anxiety. The older I get the less flexible. But I guess that is not uncommon right? We get set in our ways and all. Like I am old as the hills. LOL

Time to make something for dinner..............have no idea what I really dislike 'having' to cook dinner. Why is it MY job? I never saw anything in that contract that stated that. I mean I could have a bowl of cereal now and then and call it good! It would be wayyyyyyyyyy cheaper too!

Ok enough babbling................here we go waving the magic wand and making this crap go away! Going to make the food for nourishment and then grab some knitting needles and go to my happy place. :)

Book Review

I have to talk about a new book from Interweave Press!!!! Simple Style by Ann Budd. This book is just too awesome! I think there are only about 2 things in the whole entire book that I don't HAVE to make!

There are '19 innovative to traditional designs with simple knitting techniques' that was right off the cover and I couldn't say it better myself.

Just like all the other Style books by Interweave the directions are very well written and understandable. The photos are very nice. They show the items on the models well and not contorted or hidden parts of the items. It seems there are at least 3 views per project. Totally worth the wait!!

Check it out: Simple Style

My two top favorites in this book are.....................Kimono Classic by Vicki Square, Kaleidoscope Yoke by Katie Himmelberg, Kokopelli Jacket by Margaret Hubert, Organic Cotton Henley by Micki Hair, Stay Put Wrap by Mags Kandis, Offset Raglan by Veronik Avery, and also the Empire Swing Cardigan by Therese Chynoweth.............

Hmmmmmmmm guess that was a few more than 2 huh? I couldn't narrow it down so I guess I just had to list them all!

My new knit list is: Knit Picks Simply Stripes socks, the Christening Gown of my interpretation (if we are still having the baptism before the weather is too warm to wear a knitted gown), I also am going to cast on the Berroco Sox Metallic in 1361 and 1364 that I won from Lime and Violets podcast.Tuesday, February 24, 2009 Episode 81: Right Hand Man Show Notes. I do believe that I will give the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts a try. They screamed socks when I got the yarn but now I see scarf.

Oh and while at the Berroco site I saw this top: Pucker I want to make this too! LOL

See what I mean? There isn't enough time to knit everything that I want to knit! Let alone learn to spin, but I could at least knit what I spin right?

Monday

Well today is Monday........and I just looked at the clock and its after 2pm already!! OHMYGOSH! Where has my day gone?

I finally finished my socks, and as predicted they are a tiny pinch tight in circumference. But that's OK because these ones will actually fit in my shoes. A few of my hand knit socks are too bulky to fit without feeling too tight. And the colors are perfect for khaki pants!

This photo is a bit blurry but to get the colors as close to real this is how it came out. But you get the drift.

I did cast on another pair for me already. Instead of the 56 of the last socks I went with the 64 sts. still size one needles, knit 2 at a time cuff down. I will have to do toe up eventually...........but my brain can just go on auto pilot with cuff down as that is the way I learned.

Not only was it Monday it was the day to gather all the stuff for the accountant! You know tax crap! and how much do we have to pay this year!! Ugh!

Last week sucked totally! Monday granddaughter Reese had to go by ambulance to the hospital for RSV. Then on Tuesday my Grandma passed away. Just about a week after her 86th Birthday. She had a pretty good 86 years. I don't think that she would have complained much except for the fact that her dear hubby passed 2 years ago and she hasn't been well or happy since then. I know that she is much happier now. We will all miss her. I miss her.

Have you ever seen the commercial for Liberty Mutual Insurance? I love that commercial, the music is 'nice' and the whole doing something nice and someone else seeing it and passing it on. Awesome!

So now I will prep some photos for this post.

This photo I was going to save but it makes me feel pretty good! I got this spindle beginners kit about 10 years ago. It just wasn't working for me. Then I just picked it up one day a couple months ago and it worked out OK. Then I Andean plied it and was even more happy with it as that seemed to even out the unevenness. I know that this wool is just wool to me. No tag on the garbage bag or anything that it came in as it was part of the gift I got about 10 years ago! I must have kept it pretty safe all that time as there are no bugs either! Yeah I want a wheel!

construction and socks

not much better than to be stuck in
construction with socks on the needles!!!
YIPPEE

Mocha!!!!

good start for a monday!!!

Getting better ...I thought

Yep just when you think a injury is healing you go and do something stupid and get to start recovery all over again!!
My chiro said I have a bulging disc at c6 c7 that presses on the nerve bundle for my right arm. I get numbness and tingling. So I haven't done much really.
Have only knitted a few rows a day on the christening gown or my socks. Happily on have turned the heal and am about two or so inches from the toe!! The gown still has a due date and it's by march 15th. I really have to motivate a few mor rows a day to get it finished! The skirt section is supposed to be about twenty inches then the waist, bodice and sleeves. Wish me luck! Photos to come soon!
Another drawback to this pain and discomfort also get worsewith computer use! That is one reason for the lack of blogging. Because it's not that I have nothing to say that's for sure! I have figured out how to blog from my iPod! It's one finger typing but as long as I have wifi I can update the blog, yay!!
Time to knit a row before heading to the grocery store. I will update you all with more fun stuff a bit later, lots of catching up to do.

-- Post From My iPod