SPRING

Spring is here, or at least will be at 1:26. Saw this quote and thought that it was pretty appropriate. “The first day of Spring is one thing the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month” Henry Van Dyke With an expected high of only 37 and 10 -20 mile per hour winds and snow showers it doesn’t feel like spring. This works out pretty good though as I have lots of stuff inside to keep me busy.

Went out Friday to help a friend and we ended up stopping at a store called the Trading Post. Now for all intents and purposes this is a hardware store with lots of gadgets. I walked out of the store with...yarn. KoolWool by Lionbrand, in charcoal and claret. A discontinued line that they are selling for $4.95/skein on their site and I got for $1.99/skein. I got enough to make two 6 foot shawls so will end up with one of each color or a plaid, I have yet to decide.

We decided the house is going to be similar to this…
http://www.shortenhomes.com/cape/capehampton.htm. Ours will have two dormers instead of three but they will be a little wider. The work will start soon but for now we are doing all the decision making. Saturday we went shopping for flooring, doors, windows, countertops, kitchen cabinets etc, etc, etc. I have waited 10 years for this house and I am soooooo not enjoying the whole process. I don't want to think of where to hang each light/light switch. In my happy world someone would automatically know what I want and blink it would all be done. I hate shopping. I go in with my list, get what i want and I am out of there. Do I miss out on some good deals...yes. Do I not see some things when they first come out...yes. Do I care....no. I do know I am going to have to buy a whole lotta "calming chamomile" tea to get me thru this.

One problem is my tastes are going to change. What if I get a green countertop and then I start to hate green? But on the other hand I don't want to live in a white zone because I am afraid of picking out a color. My children would quickly add some color to all that white and I know for sure I would not like those colors.

Second problem is when I finally make a decision like on shingles (they talked me out of a tin roof) I picked Colonial by Owens Corning. I picked this because it is a menagerie of colors so I am not really making a decision on one but picking them all. Well they are out of them…until when?...nobody knows. So after a day I picked out a kitchen and bath faucet. I tried putting up pics of them but blogger isn't taking them.

I know that when it is all said and done I will be extremely happy and I know that I am extremely lucky. I think it is the fact that I am finally getting what I want that makes me scared to make the wrong decision now.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

For some insight into why we celebrate this day check out the video here... http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/?page=video
and while at that site take the quiz to find out how much you know about the Irish.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

And we have....Robin

As I was sitting on the computer checking my email the man was standing by the door looking outside. He said get the camera I see a robin.... I get the camera and for the life of me I couldn't find the robin. He kept saying in the tree and I kept saying you're seeing things. But I guess it is because of him being color blind that he is able to distinguish the monotone's with more clarity or what but I didn't see that bird until he turned and showed me his red breast and then I was able to snap this. Yes it is grainy because of the high zoom and taking it thru the glass but it is a robin. This is four days earlier than I saw it last year and leaves only 4 Days, 4 Hours, 59 Minutes until the Spring of '06 http://holidays.bfn.org/spring/ Seeing as how I haven't gotten a thing started in the greenhouse I guess I should now get off my duff and get motivated.

And it only continues...

The weekend only got better and better. We got up early had a big breakfast, uncovered the pile of brush and set that on fire. The kids had a friend come over for the day which stopped them from picking on each other. Then the man of the house went over to a friends to help them put in a new door. When he came home to get a piece of wood they needed he brought me a present. It was a bucket with this note attached....Found my mom's knitting needles, what better person and friend to give them to. From my mom's hands to yours. Love Gxxx
It was like Christmas in March, there were....
1 set size 17 -14 inch
1 set size 15- 14 inch
1 set size 13- 14 inch
2 set size 10-14 inch (already in use on the Shrug for #1 using a cheaper yarn)
3 set size 9-14 inch
2 set size 8-14 inch
1 set size 8- 9 inch
2 set size 7- 14 inch
2 set size 6- 14 inch
2 set size 5- 14 inch
1 set size 4- 14 inch
1-size 5- 29 inch circular
1 size 6- 29 inch circular
1 size 7- 29 inch circular
2 size 8- 29 inch circular
1 size13- 29 inch circular
2 sets of 4- 7 inch size 5 dpn's
3 cable stitch holders
tapestry needles
3 size pompom maker
point protecters
5 -e crochet hooks
1-f
1-g
2-h
1-i
2-j
2-k
1-n
2-f 9 inch afghan hooks
1-g 14 inch double ended afghan hook
Rush'n Punch Russian Punch Needle Embroidery
6 in 1 Knit-Chek Gauge
assorted sewing needles, pins and stitch puller
I called her up and thanked her profusely for this gift. The fact that she was so close to her mother yet was giving them to me meant alot. I will need to think of something to make using said needles for her grandchildren who are her pride and joy. It may not be something from their great-grandmother but will be made using her needles.
And I was able to finish one of the rib & cable fingerless mitts. I love productive weekends like this...now if my week would just follow suit!!!

Weekend Wonders

So far this weekend has been so incredibly warm that we were able to get a lot done.

On Friday we took #3 to the doctors to find out she did have an ear infection. While waiting for her medications I got a copy of IK. On the way home #3 looked at it and decided I could make her the Rib-and-Cable Mitts. I want to make the Streakers Shrug for #1 daughter, so I came home and went on the computer to find out where to get the yarn for it…..$25/skein and I need three. I will make it but not with that. I will either buy a cheaper yarn or spin something suitable. I am cheap. I also saw Aphrodite by Rowan Yarns again for #1 daughter. Went looking again and you can only get the pattern from their book A Midas Touch which costs $15.95. Again I am cheap and will not pay that for one pattern as the others didn’t really interest me. Then I realized a warm day was passing me by and we went out and finished the greenhouse and started to put some stuff inside. One of the best things I found was a pray mantis egg sac on a calendar I had hanging in the old greenhouse. I hung it back up in the new one.

Last fall I never cleaned out the greenhouse garden so on Saturday we pulled everything and raked it all into a burn pile for Sunday as it is too windy today (Although not windy enough to make the kids kite stay up!) Anyhow this garden is about 20 x 40 and has flowers and herbs beds growing outside the fence. We were able to get all that cleaned up also. If the weather holds (more like my body which is exhausted) we should be able to completely finish the big garden in about two to three days. Yes this one was neglected in the fall also. Any clean up that did get done Mom did. We got so tired of eating tomatoes and just left the plants. I didn’t think I would ever get sick of tomatoes but the cherry and grape ones just kept producing like crazy. They had flowers on them still when they finally got hit with frost.

We went through the wellhouse where the potatoes, cabbage, onions etc. is stored and got rid of anything that had gone bad. As we were coming in for dinner we looked up and saw a flock of geese flying north! I was starting to worry since everyone was calling the news station telling them that they had seen geese and robins and I hadn’t. Now I just have to wait for the robin.

Tomorrow we will burn off the pile and hopefully get started on the big garden. Right now I am off to a nice hot tub and then I am going to get started on the Mitts as they say the warm weather is not going to last and she may still need them this year! There is also the fact that she is the only one that oh’s and ah’s over things I make and so is very deserving!

Warm Weather Cometh

Last Friday I spun and spun and spun and gave myself a case of repetitive motion syndrome. I need to spread my spinning time out more but when I get the time I get the time. So I have stopped spinning until it feels all better and have only knit a little.

I made a sock. Yes I have done this before but I made the sock pattern too combining three other sock patterns. I saw different parts of socks but one was toe up (never did) one had the "stars" the way I like but I didn't like the stripes on that one and all I had in red, white and blue was woolease yarn. I wrote down instructions as I went and now I have to go back and change some as the star part is a little tight because of the stranding and should have been done in a bigger needle. I have the revised one on the needles. I started this while sitting in the emergency room with the oldest son. He was playing basketball last night and hurt his ankle. He went home, showered and went to bed. Needless to say he didn't go to work this AM. He called me and had me take him to the hospital. He has a severe sprain and a fibula avulsion fracture and nice fancy blue boot to wear. Now the #3 child is complaining of an earache which will mean another 50 mile round trip to the doctor's tomorrow...more knitting time.

Tuesday a big yellow truck that couldn't find it's way to my house called and asked if we would meet him for the delivery. Curt got back with a big package in the back of the truck. I know good things come in small packages but this is a great one. It was my greenhouse. He went right to work, cursed a few (read alot) but the frame is up and the panels go in tomorrow. Which isn't soon enough for me seeing as how green things are popping up all over. We are suppose to have 60 degree weather tomorrow!

Earlier in the week we took down the old greenhouse and picked up stuff that had blown all over during it's demise. I was also able to pull out the last tray of black walnuts and go thru them. Hopefully I will be able to make black walnut brittle this weekend. But then again why spend the "nicest weekend since November" inside?

I heard this is the 5th warmest winter on record. The weather man also showed a graph of snow fall. The last two times we only had less than 30 inches of snow, the following winter we had 80-90 inches. Which means I need to get started in the greenhouse so I can stock the shelves for next winter. The only downside it this cuts into the fiber fun.

My New T-shirt

I got a new T-shirt from friends of mine. The front reads.....
and the back reads......
I love it!!!

I also heard from babygirl and she is back in Iraq. She called about noon to let me know. Hopefully the next four months go by fast.

Time flew by

The time flew by and #1 left yesterday. I was doing fine before we left for the airport, got on the internet and her friend sent me a post that she wrote on her myspace and that's when I lost it. She said I could post it so here it is......

how do you tell your best friend that they are an inspiration to you ? that amongst all the difficulties you run from in your own life, they are meaningless when set next to the difficulties they have faced in their life? when someone offers them a way out of returning to iraq, they say thanks but return to stand beside their fellow soldiers still over seas. how do i sit here and cry over an overflowing washing machine when i know she is facing terrorists determined to take her life ,and returns to fight willingly. i am grateful that jessica was able to come home and spend time with us for a few short weeks, and i know that she will return home safely in june for good. but right now i know she has to go back to that aweful place... she leaves tomorrow. and all i want to do is hide her so she can't leave. I know that she wouldn't feel right because she'd feel like she deserted everyone who is still there. she is such a good friend so strong and caring , i sometimes wish i could be there by her side, but i know that i would never survive. i'm not half as strong as she is. i just want my jessica to know how much i look up to her, and how much she inspires me everyday. she has a light inside her.. one that is infectious and genuine. i just want her to shine on.. i want her to stay bright and hopeful until she returns for good. because i know that no one wants her to leave. i know that she doesn't want to leave for the same reasons she knows she must. she cares so much for everyone in her life and right now her friends in iraq need that little firecracker to keep them going. so i will continue to shine with her. if one goes out we fall apart. i know that she would not let me fall.

Made me cry and still does. It's good to know your kids have friends that care about them so much and one that can express so eloquently everything you yourself feel. But we got her to the airport and we were able to go thru security and wait with her to board. Stayed there till she flew away. Her Army buddie's dad told me to read Psalm 91 so I came home and read it. Here it is.... http://www.houseofrefuge.com/psalm91.htm I also found out that "good bye" which they say not to say because it sounds so final really is an etymolgy for "God be with you" so Good bye baby girl see ya in June.

I called her twice before she was out of the USA. Last time I spoke to her she was checking out guys in Atlanta GA airport! Somethings never change!

The HUGS group had a raffle of homemade donated items last year and was talking about doing another this September. I have decided to make a shawl that they can raffle off. I already emailed one of the people who donated last year and she recommended a neutral color. Now I just have to decide what fiber to use and how I want to do it. Leno lace, basketweave, twill, plaid? Gives me something else to think about but is still #1 related.

So the kids are home from school and the snow is piling up. Should go shovel or do housework but I think I'll just veg with them today. I think Bambi 2 was on their agenda.