Faren's Lair

The view from my chair.

2010-04-24T11:27:00.002-05:00

I had to clean my desk the other day. One, it was a complete mess, and no, I didn't think to take before pictures. And two, I had to make it nice and pretty for the new member of the family.

Do you see it? Here's a closer look.

That's my new iPad. It will do about 95% of what I need a computer for(maybe a 100% if I can find/buy the right app), so we sold my old computer and monitor. That way we aren't out very much. After a year on the Dave plan(becoming debt free) we both decided we wanted a toy(bribe). He got a cover for his truck bed. I think mine is a much better toy. I have really enjoyed being portable, I had a desktop before and wanted to use the computer in the living room like DH does with his laptop. His is a computer technician, so it is weird being the one with the new tech toy. First time since I've known him, but it just isn't powerful enough to be his only computer. And he couldn't justify having a laptop, ipod touch and an ipad. Maybe when we're rich. There are some things that don't work to well on it. Frames don't really work so Google reader is a pain and the app I have doesn't jump out to the web page like I want. Still looking for a better app. Blogger doesn't seem to work either. Debating on whether to change to a different blog host or find an app to work with it. So, posting this from Techpriest's computer while he is at work. If anyone has any questions let me know, I love to talk about it! I think I might have to start calling it the Guide, for the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Picture on the wall is my oldest cousin on the left, my grandmother, and me(youngest grandchild). Fairy watercolor is from a swap on craftster. I bought the frame and mat, but have to cut the mat myself, hopefully this weekend. Yarn Harlot calendar. To the right of the iPad is our engagement photo. On the very left is a votive candle holder. In front of that in the middle is a pegasus laying down with folded wings that I made using the lost wax method. To either side is a rocket and pony. Buddha brought them to me.

Did anyone get that? Just two? You guys need to start watching more science fiction.
Thought I would post pictures of my pretty desk while it is still pretty. Pics left to right: friends kids that I'm like an aunt to(though I really need to go see them more often), Uncle Mike, Aunt Diane and I at a cave in Branson(no one else wanted to go), Dad, Mom, DH and I at the car museum in Branson, a dried flower with fairy from a swap on Craftster, me and my brother at his wedding. Crocheted dragon from craftster, unopened geode, fossil fish, salt rock from Hutchinson salt museum, fossil.
Brother's wedding, nephew, dragon egg(craftster), other nephew, piece of art from craftster.

Moss made me famous!

2010-04-10T19:59:00.003-05:00

Hey guys! Just a quick note to let you guys know I was featured at athoughtfullife on her Friday Feature. She is spotlighting all different kinds of moss items from etsy, so my handspun moss yarn was picked. All the items are wonderful, you should take a look. It is quite an ego boost to be picked for something like this by someone who doesn't know me at all.

P.S. I want a terrarium! With a little mushroom or gnome!

The Status is NOT Quo

2010-03-24T16:28:00.004-05:00

I hate myself. I hate my body. I hate my headache. and I hate whatever god gave me this fucking thing. I hate my doctors and right now I most especially hate my nutritionist. Nothing any of them has ever done has done any good for longer than a couple of months. Why do I even try? Why do I waste my money, my time or my energy? Why do I get my hopes up every time? It just makes me more depressed. And when I cry my headache gets worse. Really, why do I even fucking bother? And take away my comfort food and it makes it even worse. Why can't I have a damn cappuccino if it helps me make it through the day? Oh, that's right, because I thought I would try something new. The Status Quo may not be good, but it is a hell of a lot better than this. I've been on this detox program of the nutritionist's for 17 days now, only 4 more to go. It hasn't done anything except make me more depressed. I haven't even lost any weight, which is supposed to be a side effect. And I really think I've been quite good about it. I've tried, I've really tried. So why isn't it working? No matter what I do it is never enough. Seems like I'm always busy but I never get anything done. I can never catch up with the housework and I never seem to have time to do my craft projects either. I dislike cooking too, so I never want to fix supper, but feel guilty when I don't. Why can't I feel better? Why can't it be easier? Why do I and my loved ones have to deal with this? And why do I have to feel so guilty about making them deal with this? Life is crap and anyone who says different hasn't dealt with chronic pain. Every time I try something new it doesn't work and I end up here, feeling depressed and worthless. I manage to keep a fairly even keel most of the time. Occasionally I get depressed, but I can count on hitting bottom when I try something new. And I don't like telling anybody. I don't want them to worry and I don't want to be more of a burden. Barry might have an idea but I don't think anyone really knows. I broke down in front of the psychologist that was evaluating me for disability. I guess if it was going to be only one person best that it was him, huh? I didn't mean too, but it happened. Nobody has seen me hit my own head before. Different pain, you know? No, not most of you. Or does that make me completely weird? So frustrated at that point too. I just want my headache to go away but nothing seems to really help. So why should I try anymore? Is all this just because I'm sick and tired of my diet? I've been wanting to post about this diet for awhile now, it has finally just exploded out of me. For 17 days I've eaten better than I ever have in my life. And nothing has changed. Not my headache, not my energy level and not my weight. I lost weight on the Curves diet. And no, I didn't exercise much, but when my diet has changed this radically it should have had some effect. The last 17 days has just been a complete and utter waste. And I want them back. Called the nutritionist and she said I should stick it out because some people have a change at the end. And to eat more citrus fruits since my adrenal gland must need supported more since I'm craving chocolate. I think I'm craving chocolate because I haven't had it for so long. It isn't like I ate horribly bad before. The worst was the cappuccino a day habit I had. Hardly ever any red meat, lots of veggies and fruits. I want to go out to eat again. I want my life back, not the life before my headache, that's just a dream now, no, I'll settle for the status quo.

Update: Right after I finished writing this yesterday afternoon Barry called to ask me something. I couldn't keep from crying so he came home early, he managed to get me back to about normal. I still want real food, but I'm not depressed anymore. He made me supper and we rented a movie. Lots of reassurance too. I debated about posting this, but I'm hoping other headache/chronic pain suffers will be helped by it. Sorry about the cussing, but I'm leaving them in just to show how frustrated I was. I hope showing my low point doesn't scare anybody off.

Yes, sir, Cap'n Tight-Pants.

2010-03-04T19:08:00.004-06:00

Shindig roving, I took my inspiration from the TV show Firefly. Based on Kaylee's fluffy layer cake dress. 2 braids, 5 oz total, Superwash wool, Sheep Shed Studios, Brown Sheep mill ends, Jaquard dyes, hand dyed by me. Here is the dress. Picture from http://www.costumersguide.com/

Second sock made on the trip to Branson, Feb. 2010. Yarn from the Two Windows Dye Co. from Yarns in Hutchinson, KS.

Haven't felt to good this last week. Monday was downright horrible, Tues. I at least felt good enough to make it up to Salina for lunch with a couple of the knit girls then to Stitch N Bitch. Wednesday was much better and I managed to finally get a few things done I've been meaning too. Today I'm feeling fairly crapy again. Ah, well, this too shall pass.

Here are some interesting links I've come across.

Just how big is a billion? Awesome picture of Earth at the end and a great quote from Carl Sagan.

39% Of Bagged Salad Is Gross, Some Has Poop - The Consumerist

For my knit buddies out there. Use variegated yarn for lace!

Lucky Me and Kitchen Products

2010-02-22T16:15:00.006-06:00

I was answering a question about freezer paper stencils in the comments when I realized I could make a post out of it! A short one anyway. Here are a couple of tutorials that I like. There are loads out there.

What is so slick about freezer paper is that if you iron it onto fabric the wax melts and adheres to the fabric so the lines look really sharp. The paint doesn't bleed underneath. They are only usable once though. :(

As for transferring embroidery patterns the neatest thing I've heard about is using Glad's Press and Seal. I haven't tried it yet myself, but it sounds like it would work great.

I'm having some good luck lately. Over at Consciously Frugal I did not win the Made in America dishcloths, but felt good about it because she is sending everyone who wanted one a Your Money or Your Life book. Looks like a good book. A book has the potential to change your life. The most a dishcloth can aspire too, no matter how good it is, is to clean your kitchen.

Then at Our Daily Green Kim decided to give away 3 Preserve toothbrush subscriptions instead of just one. Everyone's a winner! I'll get free toothbrushes for a year! Barry will just have to go find his own! On second thought, that might not be such a good idea...I know he would never even realize he was using the same toothbrush for a year.

Finally, I just sold $50 worth of yarn on my Etsy shop! That certainly made my week. Makes me want to sit down at my spinning wheel again. Too bad I don't have any fiber prepped. Unless I wanted to spin white fiber(which is boring) I need to either dye some or card some. I had a wild desire to just order some on Etsy, like it would get here quicker than I could dye my own. Just because I have the money doesn't mean I should spend it.

PS. I just won an ebook over at Chris's. I hope my lucky streak continues for just a little longer! I have something in mind for it!

Yarn for Sale!

2010-02-16T16:44:00.002-06:00

Hey, everyone, I have two skeins of yarn listed and I'll be adding to them. The first one took forever, but now that I have a basic template for the descriptions it is going much quicker. I would appreciate your advice. Did I leave anything out, do I need to change something? I would love to have your opinions!

www.annellsannex.etsy.com

Am I done with Christmas already?

2010-02-14T21:28:00.004-06:00

Seems like a few new people have been visiting this here little blog, probably because I've been interacting (commenting) on some new to me blogs. Who would have figured that is the way it works! It is good to get feedback on my blog too. I certainly haven't been serious about blogging, but I'm beginning to think that being serious might be the problem. I seem to make a big production about each post, which just stresses me out. If I just let the words flow without worrying about them being perfect things go much better. Adding depression into the mix just makes getting anything accomplished even worse. So, I'll try to keep things short and sweet but not perfect and see how things go.

I want to thank everyone who has stuck around for so long with such limited posting from me. And with very limited comments on their blogs! You know who you are. Specially Dana. It means a lot to me.

Karla came by today so I can finally show her and her son's Christmas gifts. For her son I used freezer paper to make a stencil and bleach instead of paint. Paint can fade and crack, though bleach is much easier to mess up. Specially with two sides!

Does anyone recognize the quote? It is words of wisdom from Xander on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I think he is my favorite character on that show, or Willow, or Oz, well, one of them anyway!

Rose's Wrist Warmers from Doctor Who. I used these notes for making the pattern using worsted wt. yarn. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/firespinner526/roses-wrist-warmers

Very involved cable pattern. There is cabling every row for the inside diamond pattern. Still very fun though. I would like to make me a pair if I could ever get around to it.

This is my leftover handspun I knit it from. Karla is a beginning knitter so I gave the rest to her so she could make a matching hat. Could probably get a cowl out of the leftovers too. I thought of making them for her myself, but really didn't know when I would get to it.

I'm working on posting some of my handspun yarn on my etsy shop. I'll let you guys know when it is done! And thanks for the interest!

Winter Wonderland

2010-02-13T20:06:00.003-06:00

Branson was a lot of fun even though a lot of things were closed. We mostly admired the snow from in front of the fireplace and ate. Good vacation, huh? I love these pictures, I think most of them would make great Christmas cards.

What a difference a year makes.

2010-02-04T10:19:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the compliments on the yarn guys. I'll try to work on the Etsy store after we get back from Branson. Leaving on Saturday and back on Wednesday. My parents are going with us and we are all looking forward to it!

Now for something completely different!

When I started having my headache we lost everything financially. Though we were just actually treading water before that, we thought we were fine since we could make the payments. I had to quit my job, so Barry had to close his business down and go get a normal job so we could have insurance. Then one of the cars was repo'd, then we lost the house and moved into a crappy apartment in McPherson. Let's not forgot all the medical bills either. When we moved to Mac we had a lot more breathing room since we didn't have a house payment or big utility bills. Then I finally was approved for disability and received a large lump sum in Oct. '08. We had learned our lesson and didn't do anything really dumb with it, though we did buy more car than we really needed.

Then, about this time last year, Barry asked me to listen to an audiobook(The Total Money Makeover) and see what I thought. He (and me occasionally) had been listening to a talk radio show, the Dave Ramsey Show, the author of the book. All about financial problems. It is kinda like Hoarders, you can say, "At least we aren't that bad!" at the same time feeling bad for them. Anyway, I thought being out of debt, having money in the bank and most of all, having a plan sounded like a great idea.

We had been planning on going bankrupt. We didn't think we had another choice. We had hired a lawyer back when we first moved to Mac that took forever on doing anything about it, now I might thank him! When we decided to follow the Dave plan, since our plan(or lack of plan) wasn't working, we ran our credit to know for sure where we stood. The house wasn't on there which confused us till we realized since it was a 100% loan we had mortgage ins. That was a load off our shoulders. In March '09 we started Financial Peace University, a class put out by Dave Ramsey. Learned everything from how to do a budget to what life insurance to get, it covers a lot. Doing the budget was like getting a $1,000 raise. Made us realize just what we were spending.

Since then we haven't borrowed money from anyone, taken 2 vacations and going on another(one of our debts was a sampler timeshare) with plenty of money, put more money in savings than we've ever had, and payed off about a 1/3 of our debt. Well, ok, we have two big ones(car and hospital) that I'm not including, but they haven't sent us anything in years and we would like to get Barry through his bachelor program and save up the total amount first. Don't wake the sleeping giant until you know you are going to win the fight.

Yesterday we realized that we had all of our monthly bills for Feb. paid by the 3rd. Isn't that grand? March is our 3 paycheck month so we both wanted to see how the budget for March would look. Our extra money going towards debt will be like getting double time and half compared to normal. Plus we are getting a nice refund. We have since changed our with holdings, no sense in giving the government a loan! With all of that we should be able to get the paid off amount to half the original debt. Excluding the 2 big ones, which don't count right now, remember? We will only have the student loan to go.

This is so exciting for us. Every time we pay off a debt we cross it off(we have a chart and a graph!) and it is amazing how fun it is! Maybe we need to get out more... Anyway, getting to pay off 3 at once instead of one a month will be great. Not having to worry about money and knowing we have some in the bank if there is an emergency is so peaceful. Like when Barry had to have his teeth pulled. Money isn't everything but it sure makes things easier. When you have money it isn't an emergency, it is an inconvenience.

We are looking for another place to live. Overall this place has been good to us, but the negatives are starting to outweigh the positives. Moving might slow us down some, but now we feel we have a choice. That means a lot too.

I have lived paycheck to paycheck. Then I got sick and the walls came crumbling down. I wanted to share our excitement and our story so others can learn from our example. I wish everyone could feel this wonderful lack of worrying about money. Think about that, what it would be like not to have to worry about money?

What a difference a year makes.

Not Enough Fiber!

2010-01-29T22:18:00.004-06:00

Dana posted in the comments again, making sure I'm alive. We must be on the same wave length, I've been thinking about posting, her nudge was just the thing I needed. Fiber wise haven't been doing a whole lot. From late Oct. to early Jan. didn't go to any of my fiber groups. No knitting groups, no Minneapolis(ks) spinning group, no Abilene spinning guild. Just didn't work out. Either the weather was bad, I was busy, I forgot or I just didn't feel good. Missed the fiber friends.

Early Jan. I managed to get up to Minneapolis(hr. away) I was up there about 1:30 when Techpriest called. He was sick enough he wanted me to come home. By the time I got there he wanted to go to the ER. I was afraid something was really wrong there for awhile. It ended up being a really bad case of the flu, but I have never seen him like that. He said it was the worst he has ever felt. He had his 4 wisdom teeth pulled not even a week later. That's a lot of pain in just a short while!

Knitted a Christmas present (finished about a week ago) for Karla that I can't show yet as I haven't given it to her yet. That's ok, she isn't done with mine so I beat her! Also made a freezer paper stencil T shirt for her son. I hope I remember to take pics of both of them.

Bought some cotton roving to try. I have to concentrate on spinning it, since it has such a short staple. So I don't find it as fun as spinning wool or alpaca. I'm glad I'm spinning it though, like to stretch my boundaries and it will probably get a little easier the more I do it.

My yarn really wasn't selling at the Yarn Store so I thought I might put it up on Etsy(which hasn't happened yet). Someone bought 3 skeins though as I was packing it up, said she hadn't realized it was there. Here are the most recent skeins I've finished.

Tomorrow the 4 of us from the Minneapolis group are going to Abilene to teach spinning all day to a group of Alpaca breeders! Should be lots of fun, hope I make it through the day!

Lovely Locks!

2009-07-10T17:30:00.005-05:00

A couple of months ago Techpriest and I went to the Kansas Sampler Festival, where towns, attractions, areas of Kansas can set up a booth and tell you all about themselves. There are also vendors, bands, storytellers, etc. It's fun. The sports car club Techpriest is a member of had a booth and in the same tent was a museum that had a guy(Garry) demonstrating spinning. So I took my spinning wheel and had a good ole time. We have since started a spinning group up in Minneapolis (KS!), there is only 4 of us, but it is fun. It is only once a month, but since it is an hour away that works out good. Gerry has a small yarn shop we meet in. The 2 guys have actually been spinning longer than the 2 girls! Garry has been spinning since 1973, one year before I was born!

Garry and I went to Abilene in June to an Alpaca Fiber festival. There was only about 7 alpaca breeders, but there was a good selection and it was all good stuff! After much dithering, I bought a 2.5 lb fleece, for cheap too! It was just the blanket (back and sides) so it doesn't have much vm in it. I'm in the process of carding it. It only needs to be passed through twice. It is still dusty, but I'll wait to wash it after I spin it, much easier.

Lady had to sniff it, probably has never smelled Alpaca before! Also shows scale. That's a big bag!

See that chestnut brown? It is beautiful.

Add closer...
Gorgeous locks!

Here is the lastest I've dyed and carded. Already shipped off for a swap on craftster, will be getting a package of fiber in return here shortly.

1st side of 2 batts of woodland faerie.

2nd side.

Smoke on the Water. There is enough green in there that it should probably be Smoke on the Algae Covered Water, but oh well, I didn't want to think up a different name.

I sold one skein of yarn at the store, helped me buy some more fiber! Once I get some more spun up I might try selling on Etsy. Just got an order in from Sheep Shed Studio. Really good prices. Bought 2 lbs of superwash and a pound of white mill end rovings. Dyed 8 oz of the superwash today for another swap.

I just bought a Flickr pro account so all my pictures can be seen again. I know I haven't shown any of my yarns on here, but they are all on flickr. I have a picture of my wheel in there too, which if I haven't mentioned it, I love!

Well, that's all for now, take care all!

Craft Video

2009-07-09T10:53:00.002-05:00

Thought you guys might get a kick out of this.

Hello, Blogosphere? It's me, Faren.

2009-05-25T16:07:00.004-05:00

Hi guys, Dana was wondering how I was doing, so I thought I would let you all know that I was still alive. Last time I posted was in September, time sure does fly, doesn't it? Still reading all your blogs, just don't have the brainpower to string words together to comment.

At the end of September I was approved for Disability, so in October I went to Chicago to the Diamond Headache Clinic to see if they could help with these damn headaches. I stayed in the hospital for a week. Had a great view of the lake. They doped me up with Methadone (which Heroin addicts use to get off it), still had the headache, but didn't really care that I had one. I was totally out of it though. Techpriest said we had the same conversion three times, once by phone, then by email, then once again by phone just to make sure he was really bored. The doctor put me on new meds, which helped some. Went back in January and tried Botox, it helps some people with headache, but not me. Overall it was a crapshoot. Medicare did pay for most of the hospital stay, but we were still out a heck of a lot of money for not much of nothing.

There for awhile I wasn't going to knit night, just didn't feel up to driving 30 min each way. Haven't really been knitting much either. I have been spinning a lot though. Managed to spin some sock yarn so I started knitting some socks for me. This is the first yarn I've kept for myself since the first yarn I spun so long ago (blogged about two posts ago!) I've made much improvement. Check out my flickr if you want to look at them. A lot of my yarn I've swapped on Craftster, I've gotten a lot of great stuff that way. Last Wednesday I did manage to go to knit night, because I wanted to drop off a bunch of yarn for them to sell! Well, hopefully it will sell. We will see.

On the animal front, before we went to Chicago our upstairs neighbors abandoned they two cats on the porch. One was a kitten and one was full grown. So we decided it would be much easier to find homes for the two kittens and just keep Zoey and Lady, which is short for old lady she acted so old. She wouldn't jump on anything, wouldn't play at all. She is much better now so we have to wonder if it was abandonment issues.

Well, that seems like all my brain can string together, so I better get out of here. Take care everyone!

S is for Sorry

2008-09-01T11:18:00.004-05:00

No, I'm not doing the ABC along, it just fits. I'm sorry I haven't blogged for 2 months, I haven't even told you all I'm back from New Jersey safe and sound! That doesn't bug me too much since you should all know by now I am a bad blogger and don't update nearly as often as I should.

What makes me feel guilty is not thanking Criquette for sending me a Pay it Forward (scroll down) package. It felt just like Christmas!

Clockwise from top: Calorimetry(see pic below) wonderful yarn, torquise(sp?) and pink and dark blue, very lovely and then such a cute cat button to top it off! Three packets of water flavorings that I keep forgetting to try, even though I've been wondering if I would like them for awhile now. A pretty bookmark about adopting cats and dogs. A very cute keyring with two different sizes of paw prints in my favorite color, purple! Already in use, just like the bookmark. And a tin of mints with a girl knitting on the top with yarn balls all over, this will be perfect for holding stitch markers after the mints are all gone. Where did you find them, Criquette? I haven't seen them before.

I received the package last Monday(I know it was a Monday, please don't tell me it was 2 weeks ago!) and figured I would make a thank you post real quick. Yeah, I need to remember that I'm a bad blogger and that just isn't realistic for me. After a few days I thought I should at least write a short email to Criquette to let her know it got here and that I loved it. Then we decided to take a last minute trip out of state this weekend and I totally forgot about it. I plan (cross your fingers!) to tell you about our trip in another post. Forgetting to thank Criquette isn't just bad blogging, it is bad manners. I'm so sorry Criquette! Thank you for all your time and effort, your choices are all perfect for me!

Only one person took me up on my offer to pay it forward, Ms. Knitingale. She doesn't blog anymore, and I miss her! I probably should apologize to her too, since it has been almost a year and I haven't even thought about what to make her. I will try to get on that.

Wish me luck, knowing me, I'll need it!

New Jersey Bound

2008-07-03T20:43:00.005-05:00

Headed to New Jersey to see hubby's family so I thought I would make a quick post to get caught up.
Charity afghan squares for the Dr Who group on Ravelry, profits to go to Doctors without Borders, made with scrap sock yarn.

Chain Chomp Hat (rav link), made for Danny (pictured). Chain chomp is from the Mario video games, basically a big ball and chain with eyes and teeth that tries to eat you.

My first hand spun yarn all dyed up! Joined Karen at her guild dye day and had loads of fun! Was a very poor blogger and forgot to take my camera. I used acid wash dyes, but most of the ladies used natural dyes, I learned so much. Met many great ladies, I will probably join that guild, I want to repeat the experience. I only dyed 2 skeins, but wanted to show all the colors off, that is why there are so many pictures.

Guess who wanted to be in the pictures too?

New member of the family. He is supposed to keep Zoey company, to bad Zoey is afraid of him. No, Dana, he name isn't Wash, but trust me, if he had been an orange cat, he would have been. As he isn't I let Techpriest name him. So, of course, his name is Japanese. Takun (Tock coon), from FLCL(fooly cooly) an anime show.

I'm going to post an email hubby sent to his Dad, it is so true.

Zoey is opera. When she is given food she looks at it and walks away. She comes back to it later and eats it, just to be polite. She sharpens her claws on the cardbox we gave her, she was not taught that, she just knew. When we let her out she watches nature and when we call, she comes back in.

Takun, Tock for short, is heavy hetal. When given food he eats it as fast as he can, growling the whole time. He sharpens his claws on the furniture. I am afraid when he is old enough to let out he will rob a liquor store.

While typing this I have my shirt off because it is a little warm in here. Tock just jumped off another chair and landed on my back, dug in his claws and bit my head.

Faren had a dream that I wanted to take him back. I told her it wasn't me, it was Zoey whispering in her ear while she was asleep. "Send it back. Send it back."

The last few days have been quite something, let me tell you! Well, I'm going to go for now, I'll be back in a week, hopefully I'll have some new yarn porn to show you all.

New Obsessions

2008-06-08T12:48:00.010-05:00

I have been having a lot of fun lately. Well, when my headaches haven't been too bad I've been having fun. Monday Karen and I went to Lawrence to the Yarn Barn. What should have been a 2 1/2 hr drive took about 4 hrs because of the weather. Torrential downpours (and I do mean torrential) and nickel size hail made us wonder if we were going to make it to Lawrence. We were actually lucky, not very far away from us there was baseball sized hail! We stopped at Ottawa for an early lunch so hopefully the weather would pass on by. When we left the restaurant it looked like it had stopped, but after a couple of blocks the rain started again, worse than before! Could not see a thing, so we stopped along main street till it finally cleared up. We were only 20 miles from Lawrence and we were determined we were going to get there. Karen had Christmas shopping to do, buying yarn for all her Christmas projects. She bought a lot of yarn! And don't you feel jealous she is already that far ahead?

Me, I was determined I was going to come home with a spinning wheel. Tried all of them out, from the cheaper ones to the ones I knew I couldn't afford. Majacrafts are nice! I was really hoping though that the one that looked like the best match for me on paper would live up to my hopes of it. At first it had a squeak I really didn't like, but oiled it up and it was a dream. And they had the color I wanted. I got home at 8:30, 12 hours after I left the house, I really over did it that day. The headache told me so, specially the next day. After I rested I had to put it together, with help from techpriest to pound in the legs, while I held them in place. Started about 9:30, finished at 10:30. Take a look at this beauty!

A Kromski Minstel, walnut finish. Isn't she pretty?

Single on the left, first finished plied yarn on MY wheel on right.

I have been thinking about a name for her. The first two I came up with were Kaylee from Firefly(same show where Zoey got her name) and Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Well, it has to be from some Sci-Fi/Fantasy show, doesn't it? Those are the two I identified with the most from those shows. But right now I am also obsessed with Doctor Who (though that one isn't very new) so was wondering about picking a name from there. Rose, Martha, Donna? Though I love the Donna character, the name just doesn't seem to fit. What do you guys think? Which one would you pick? Or do you have another name I should consider? Ann liked Willow, but she hasn't heard about the others.

My other new obsession is lace. I am knitting Convertible (rav link) and it is so much fun. It is my first lace project but it hasn't been too bad so far. I will cross my fingers though. The repeats are over 13 stiches and 12 rows, with ever even row purled.

Zoey, of course, had to help take pictures. Her tail is in the picture up above, and there she is below glaring at the camera. Some of the closeups I had to take without flash because it was so bright.

The pattern calls for button holes on either side and uses cufflinks (buttons sewed together) to hold it closed. That's great, but I knew I would loose those first chance I got. That was holding me back from starting it, but looking through all the ravelry projects on it I found one that solved the problem I thought. She had crocheted buttons for it with the same yarn. I thought it was brilliant. Almost invisible and you can do it as you go along. Yeah, not quite. She sewed them on after she finished knitting it. Well, that doesn't mean I can't do it, right? I found a pattern for them online, struggled with making two (it was quite a pain in the pattotie) when I realized I had forgot the buttonholes on the other side! Aggh! But, in the meantime, the ladies at knit night at Yarns had given me a brilliant suggestion. A bobble. Why wouldn't a bobble work as a button? So simple, so brilliant! I would have never have thought of it! So started over again and having lots of fun.

Hopefully I'll talk to you again soon!

Results

2008-04-12T22:45:00.005-05:00

Well, not the results of all the lessons I was talking about last post, just two.

Ann and I had our spinning lesson today with Karen, and boy did we have fun. Of course, I was a bad blogger and forgot my camera. Don't feel to bad though, it wasn't just you guys I forgot. If you can believe it I actually forgot the roving! Good thing Ann remembered hers! They can't tell me my headache hasn't effected me, my short term memory is shot! Ann took pictures though and said she would email them to me. So, I'll wait till then for a full report of the day. But, once I got home I could take pictures of the results! Look, I made yarn!!!

Not to shabby! Love that last picture too. Oh, yeah, Karen had us start on spindles so we could get the hand motion down before we had to worry about using our feet too.

Since I had the camera out, I took a picture of the results of my crochet classes too. I think Mr.Tweety is pretty cute. Here he is in his new home, my messy computer desk.

Lessons

2008-04-07T20:47:00.003-05:00

Around here it has been lessons all the time, well, at all the time on the weekends anyway.

I've now had two crochet lessons on Saturdays at Yarns. Doing good, don't think I'll go back until(unless?) I have problems with a project. Right now I'm working on this little birdy. Finished all the crochet and am just sewing it together. The only problems I have crocheting is making sure I'm using the right stitch. I thought I was using single crochet when what I was doing was half double crochet. Ah, well, it will come to me. I'm having fun with it, but I can't really watch TV at the same time yet.

On Sundays I have been teaching Karla how to knit. Two lessons so far and she is doing pretty well. Her tension is mostly nice and even, not to loose, not to tight. Though she did decide to redo her long tail cast on when she tried to knit a few! Her first project is a Mark scarf from the musical Rent. It is really just the original Harry Potter scarf in navy and white. I've had a lot of fun passing on the obsession!

Next Saturday (I can't wait!) Ann and I are having our first spinning lesson! Isn't that too cool? Remember the lady I met inline waiting for the Yarn Harlot? Yeah, we are finally getting together. I've been researching online and I think I know what most of the lingo is talking about. Maidens, mother of all, footman, doesn't spinning have the coolest names for stuff? I have also been looking into wheels, I keep changing my mind but I've definitely narrowed it down to four. Ashford Kiwi and Ashford Traveller are on the same page. Kromski Sonata and the original Lendrum. Aren't they pretty? First I wanted the Sonata, now I'm more leaning towards the Traveller. I certainly won't buy any until I spin and I do want to go to the Yarn Barn in Lawrence and try some wheels out. Hopefully the three of us can take a road trip up there soon.

Last, but certainly not least, I will be teaching a couple of classes at Yarns. That is just amazing, isn't it? And just a little bit scary? Yeah, I thought so too! Carla(not Karla!) one of the owners will be teaching with me. She will be doing knitting in the round with magic loop, I'll be doing it with double points. Two small classes of just the basics and one on a Saturday on socks. We are even going to the Italian restaurant two doors down for lunch. I'm fairly excited about that too.

Well, I do have other stuff I want to share, but this is all the important stuff. I've really enjoyed immersing myself in different fiber pursuits. It's a wonderful world!

More pictures than you can shake a stick at!

2008-03-05T11:45:00.012-06:00

Hello, everybody! Today's post is all about pictures. There has been a lot of pictures I wanted to post so now their are all going in the same post before I forget about them.

First up, pictures from the guys' birthday party. Bryan was the king and Nathan was the prince, but the little prince would not keep his crown on!!

Yummy cake, isn't it?

The ballpit now resides in Mom and Dad's living room, but I hear Nathan has discovered how fun it is to throw the balls out of the pit, so it might go away soon. Miranda, I burnt a cd of the birthday pictures for you, hopefully tomorrow I'll drop them off at Moms, I keep forgetting!

Around Valentine's Day Yarns had a big sale so of course I had to help them out, but trust me, not as much as some people did! It was on a Friday Knit Night, so I got home late and the bag of yarn didn't get any farther than the living room. Well, at least I didn't take any farther than the living room. The cat on the other hand......

This is what we woke up to, starting in the bedroom with two balls of yarn on a pile of clothes, leading into the kitchen....

where there is a big ol huge mess! The door straight ahead in this shot is the bedroom door, see the yarn coming out the door? Zoey must have ran in circles in the kitchen with the yarn! Then it heads out into the living room (door on the right).

You can see the yarn better in this picture. There are two different yarns here, see the ball of sock yarn up there?

And in the living room she must have ran around the end table! No, I didn't kill her.

Here are pictures of Zoey's scars.
Scar from her hernia operation.

I was trying to get a picture of both here, there is only about 1 inch of fur between the two. You can kinda see the bald patch on her tummy, but she was NOT helping!

See? Not helping at all!!!

This just might be the cutest picture of Nathan ever! And there are a lot of cute pictures of Nathan, let me tell ya! Miranda sent this in an email, it sure cheered me up!

Excuses, Excuses

2008-02-07T10:53:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I did it! I figured it out on my own! Yay, me! Here ya go, my excuse for the month of December.

Hey Dana, sorry I just now am managing to write you back. When I stopped commenting around the blogosphere was because my husband had some health problems. Since I really don't feel like writing it all out again and I would probably never get you emailed, I'll just copy and paste what I wrote to another friend.
I want to tell you more about the week we have had dealing with DH's crazy lymph node. He started feeling bad two Thursdays ago, went to the dr. the next Monday. He gave us a good antibiotic and told us to come back if he wasn't feeling better by Wed. Well, he wasn't, so he had DH get a cat-scan. Couldn't tell what it was from that so we got sent to a ear, nose and throat surgeon in Hutch that same day. That dr. threw a bomb on us when he said it might be cancer, lymphoma. To find out he had a biopsy done, just went in with a needle to take a piece out. Then we had to wait till Friday to get the results, which were inconclusive anyway! So Friday(same day) he had surgery, the dr. cut a piece out and sent it off to be tested while DH was still on the table. All they could tell was that it wasn't an aggressive cancer. So they did rule out the worst case scenario but still didn't know what it was. The dr. went ahead and pulled the whole thing out and sent it off to be tested. Went back today and the dr. walked in and told us it wasn't cancer and he was very surprised about it, he was pretty sure he would be sending us off for chemo. But they tested it all kinds of ways and did not find any malignancies, still don't know WHAT it is, some kind of infection, so they took some more blood for another round of tests. He is on the mend though, he has felt MUCH better since they took it out.

Since then we managed to handle Christmas, it was nice but more stress. We have a hearing for my disability on Jan. 24th, so had a meeting with our lawyer about it. He kinda pissed me off and depressed me at the same time. Told us we weren't doing what we should have been (why didn't he say something two years ago when we first hired him?), and that chiropractors won't count at all, and they have done the most to help me! Anyway, since then I have been slightly depressed and when that happens I tend to isolate myself without really thinking about it, such as respoding to email or even reading blogs. My bloglines are really up there. Things are ok and will get better.

Zoe just had surgery for her hernia and got fixed at the same time. So, she was abandoned and has two big incisions! she made us feel really guilty for about two days. The stitches on her belly she left alone so that scar is healed. But she just couldn't leave the hernia one alone until I put Fuller Farms Tea Tree Salve on her. I knew it wouldn't hurt her, but she sure didn't like the taste! That incision is getting better now too.

Thanks for checking up on me, hopefully before too long I'll feel like posting something. Hell, I might copy and paste this up to the blog just to throw something up there!
Faren

Both Techpriest and Zoey are doing great, though you can still see both of their scars. We actually just mailed out the last two Christmas presents to family in New Jersey, they had been finished for awhile, but I couldn't seem to get them boxed up and mailed. And no, I didn't take pictures of any of the Christmas presents I made. Or the birthday gifts I made in January. To distract you from those non photos how about more photos of Nathan from my birthday party?

Karla and Nathan, and below, her son and the little tike! February 18th is his 1st birthday! Already! You guys are right, he has gotten big!

My excuse for January?? My disability hearing and the depression caused by anticipating it. It turns out that since they can find no cause for my headaches, I can't get disability because of it. Might be able to get disability because of the depression caused by constantly being in pain, but not for the pain itself. Makes sense, don't it?

Anyway, I decided to finally mark all my bloglines as "mark as read", cause I figured it would take forever to get caught up on over 800 of them. Of course, I have read most of your guys blogs, plus the Yarn Harlot's and Crazy Aunt Purl's, but that is all the knitting blogs I've read. I think I'll start weeding out some of the 150 feeds I have, so it isn't so overwhelming.

later, gater

Is Anybody Out There?

2008-02-06T16:43:00.000-06:00

Hey, everyone, sorry I dropped off the face of the earth for so long. Thanks to everyone who emailed or left a comment wondering where I was. It means a lot. Since I want to finish this post while I still feel like it I'm going to copy an email I sent to Dana.

Ok, apparently I can't paste it, smeggin' thing! I switched over to a mac so blogger probably doesn't like it. I'll try to post again soon with a pretty good excuse as to why I've been gone. Well, it at least is good for the month of December!

Till then here are some Nathan pictures from my birthday in November.

Nathan and his daddy, my big brother.

And Nathan and Grandma, my mom.

A parade of FOs

2007-11-21T20:15:00.000-06:00

That's Finished Objects for all you muggles out there. And muggles, in this context, means non-knitters. I finished quite a few things here recently. Actually, I don't know that I even mentioned starting any of them.

Yarn: Koigu from this post, no I don't know the colorway, sorry!
Pattern: This great pattern from Wendy
Needles: Knitpicks metal needles in size 0
I love this yarn and I love this pattern. It was magic, it was knitter's crack I tell you. I haven't been the same since. The color is a darker than shown, actually, the color in the linked post is much closer.

Squares for Kay for Oliver's American Blanket with the leftover yarn from the socks. The top left I made stockinette with a garter stitch border, 'cause I just love the way it looks in stockinette, but I wish I hadn't bothered. It still wants to curl, and I think all she is getting is garter stitch squares. What do you think?

Eyelash scarf for Mother in Law
Yarn: 2 balls of Bernat Boa in Blue Bird
Pattern: just garter stitch till I ran out of yarn, I think it was 15 stitches across

She asked for an eyelash scarf like is in all the stores right now and I actually had this yarn in the stash from a swap on craftster. (If you haven't been there before, watch out, it is a time sucker) It wasn't the funnest knit, but I found that I had better luck if I didn't look at it while knitting, couldn't see the correct strand anyway, so touch was a better bet. It was fairly quick though.

Now, on to sewing, and maybe To Much Information for some of you.

Can you tell what this is? How about I fold it up?

I bet now you can guess. I've been using cloth pads for a couple of years now. There are many reasons to use them, environmental(disposable pads sit in landfills just like disposable diapers) , health reasons(I've read different places that say disposables are bad for you, no, I'm not looking them up for you), cost (one cloth pad costs about the same as a box of disposables, they pay for themselves before to long), plus they are quite cute don't you think? But the best reason to use them? They are so much more comfortable! Nice soft flannel instead of plastic, and no glue to somehow get stuck to you! That doesn't just happen to me does it?

Anyway, I've been working on these for a while. Doing a swap with someone on craftster for a couple of stenciled tee shirts. Hopefully she'll be ready to trade soon. I'm going to keep at least one.

One of the duckies, I think, isn't that fabric adorable? There are actually 8 here, I stacked them up.

Sock monkeys on a sock knitting bag! Finally made one after saying I could for so long, plus Ann was telling me I needed to make one. Sometimes I need that. I started and finished it in one day! Hooray! Mark the calendar!

Course, it isn't without mistakes. For some reason the chalk (I've used it before with no problem) I marked the pockets sew line with would not iron out like it is supposed to. So I tried to wash it out, still no luck. Gave up on that and tried to iron it dry....yeah, not a good idea. I never said I was an expert sewer! It scorched the fabric a little. But it is still cute and good enough for me. I need to make one for Ann though, I should ask her what fabric she would like. Star Wars maybe? ;)

I had a good day Sunday, so of course I was punished for it on Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday was just awful. Didn't feel up to getting on the computer or knitting. You know it is bad when I can't knit! Just sat and stared at the TV. I know there are a few of you who might not know what I'm talking about, so if you want to hear the saga of my headache, read my first post here.

Well, we will be spending tomorrow with both our families, should be fun. Hope your Thanksgiving will be the same!

Do the Hop!

2007-11-12T17:45:00.000-06:00

The Yarn Hop was lots of fun! Two of the ladies couldn't go with us at the last minute, but we had enough enablers anyway. Lots of yarn was bought, and almost every store gave us a little gift for being hoppers too. We managed to hit all but two stores on Saturday, but unfortunately we lost two more ladies on Sunday. Techpriest found the camera after we were already in Wichita, so while I don't have any pictures of the actual Yarn Hop, I can at least show you pictures of all the goodies!

Twist - Wichita
My new tattoo! My mil and nephew were here Sat. and he told me "That's a temporary tattoo you know." I said, "No, really? I have two real ones and didn't figure that out!" sheesh! The picture was taken 4 days after I put it on, so maybe it is more like semi-permanent. They sell them on their online catalog.
Jitterbug, Kingfisher. I tried so hard not to buy anything that Yarns sells, but I started shooting pictures and realized that they do in fact sell Jitterbug. Opps! I don't think they have this colorway, and if they do, please don't tell me about it! The guilt might kill me!
StitchKeepers, size 0-3, 6 in. I really like this. You slip one end over your dpn's (with sock in progress on them) stretch the band to put the other end on. The caps are even purple! I haven't lost a stitch since I started using it!

The gift Twist gave us, little coin purse to put stitch markers, etc in.

Heritage Hut - Wichita
Just some notions, and yes I know that Yarns probably has them too, but I never think of buying them there!

Yarn - Hutchinson

Knitty Bits Sock Yarn from Two Windows Dye Co. Local dyer, loved her colors! Ann says I stole this skein from her, don't listen! I picked it up first and clung to it like a baby clings to its momma! It is mine, I tell you! The second picture is much truer to the color.

Yarn actually gave us the best gift, look at all this stuff! Upper left is their newsletter, right of that is a very nice pencil bag, lower left the back of their business card(it is a little graph to keep track of the needle sizes you have!) a measuring tape, sample of soak, little scratch pad and a stitch marker.

Close up of the scratch pad and stitch marker. The pad says, doing my part to keep the yarn industry rolling. Aren't they are both cute?

The Shivering Sheep - Abilene

Fleece Artist, Origin. I love that splash of purple in between the brown and sunflower yellow!

Brown Sheep wool wash, 2 oz, was the gift from the Shivering Sheep(don't you love that name?)

Yarns: Sold and Told - Salina, my LYS

J. Knits, Pueblo. I really wouldn't have named this Pueblo, pueblos are sandy colored, aren't they? I bought this colorway half because it was so different than the other skeins I had bought. Though I still love the colors, I just am pulled more to the dark blues, greens and of course purple! So this is a nice change.

The gift from Yarns, measuring tape that is also a keychain.

The Newton Beadery - Newton

The gift from the Beadery. A 20% discount coupon good till the end of the year, but not during the Yarn Hop. Clever of them, wasn't it? And a sample of soak and a sample of foot cream.

So, now I think I have plenty of wool wash and measuring tapes! But still not enough sock yarn, no matter what Techpriest says! :)

Hopping with Anticipation!!!

2007-11-09T15:17:00.001-06:00

The Yarn Hop is tomorrow! I'm so excited! I'll leave McPherson at 7:15 am(about where the 135 sign is)to make sure I reach Yarns in Salina[the second star to the north(well, it is a magical place!)] at 8:00. Karla is opening at 8 just for us, so we can get our passports and some muffins and coffee! Then the 7 of us will HOP (hehe) into Ann's car and head all the way down to Wichita. The rest of the day we will head north as we feel like it.

With a few well placed hints(they were subtle,really! Quit laughing!), I received my birthday money early from two different sources. So I have more money in my purse than I have in a long time, and I don't have to feel guilty for spending it! Techpriest can't believe I'm going to spend it all on yarn. And I might not, but am considering buying yarn for Rogue. But if I want to spend all of it, I can!! Very exciting.

Hopefully DH and I can find the camera tonight. We have just been so busy we haven't had any time to look.

Hope you have as yarny a Saturday as I will!

Cheers!

2007-11-06T21:12:00.000-06:00

I've had pictures uploaded for about a week for a big long post, but I just haven't managed anything more. I keep coming up with other stuff I want to talk about though, so I finally gave up on getting that other post done first. Here is a bunch of random junk.

1. NAIS
National Animal Identification System Plenty of bloggers(at least on my bloglines) have already talked about this and if I try I know I'll never get this post finished either. So, short and sweet, the government is trying to pass a law that will require every farm animal(down to pet rabbits) to have a id tag(which is cost prohibitive). The cost of tags and other equipment will probably put most small farms out of business. If the neighbors animals get sick they can not only seize your neighbors animals, but yours too. That is the basics, if you are interested here are some sites. Hopefully it is enough to get you started.
Small Meadow Farm
Homesteading Neophyte In her sidebar she has a list of NAIS sites.
NONAIS A very big site
Prairie Dreams

2. Oliver's Fund
Oliver is a handicapped child that needs a new wheelchair. They are asking for afghan squares(yes, I plan on knitting some) then they will raffle off the afghan. I have read Emma's(his mom) blog for a while now and really enjoy. I can't link directly to the post so here is her blog and it is the Nov 1 post. This just in, Kay from Mason-Dixon Knitting is going to be a clearing house for all of the squares in the USA. Nov 7 post

3. Fuller Family Farms
I don't think I've mentioned the Fullers yet. They are a single mom with 6 kids providing wonderful milk, butter, eggs, bread, soap, lip balm and all kinds of great stuff. All farm fresh and free range! I love all of their products I've tried. We have eaten much better since I met Chris.
Here is her online store and blog.

4. You Make Me Smile Award
Holly gave me this award, wasn't that nice of her?

The designer of this award gave it out to 10 people with this in mind: “I wanted to create something special for the top ten people who have inspired me through their blogging; the stories they tell, and the lives that they lead with grace and dignity. I visit their blogs for inspiration and encouragement.”

Ok, now I'm supposed to pick ten people huh?

Florence Knitingale
Marianne's Knotminding
Celtic Memory Yarns I love her stories and her pictures of Ireland
Sugar Bunny Boulevard
Prairie Gumbo
Prairie Dreams
Blue Ridge Knittery
Knitting in the North
Stumbling Over Chaos
Sheepish Annie

Sorry no descriptions, it just isn't gonna happen.

5. Any Firefly fans out there? Check out this wonderful fan video!
Alright just go check out this guy's whole site, if you like sci fi stuff. Great song about Heroes and Dr. Who and Star Wars and, and all kinds of great stuff! Here is his list of videos.

6. While Techpriest's Dad and nephew from New Jersey were here the whole family went down to Wichita and ate at Kobe's a Japanese steakhouse, you know, where they cook the food right at the table and make a show out of it? Great food. Most of us stayed outside during the wait and found a place the kids could play ball. Techpriest finally comes outside and we all get excited 'cause it is time to eat, right? Nope, he came outside to tell us Kirstie Alley is in the waiting area!
Yeah, that Kirstie Alley! He had seen her come in and thought it looked like her but couldn't be sure. Then he heard her talking and thought it really sounded like her. Finally, someone brought their kids up to meet her and he knew it actually was her. She did grow up in Wichita, so it isn't totally unbelievable. We didn't disturb her in anyway, well, 'cept for staring at her out of the corner of our eyes. Though it was really close with DH's mom. She hauled the kids over to look at the fishes which was real close to Kirstie Alley. "No, really, you want to see the fishes!" I did think about hauling out the camera to prove to you all that I did actually see her, but we all figured she wanted a quite night out with family.

I think that is it, since Techpriest can't remember where he put the camera. When he does, I have something to show you!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-30T22:21:00.002-05:00

Alright, here is the promised pictures of the pumpkin patch we went to on Saturday before heading on to Greensburg.
The Punkinator: an air pressured cannon on a decommissioned fire truck, will launch a 10 lb. pumpkin a 1/2 mile. Very impressive, you can barely see the pumpkins, just little black dots in the sky.

Mini version, Corn Cannon. DH's Dad and youngest nephew getting ready to shoot. The 4 yr old hit two targets while the 12 yr old missed totally, I find it funny and tease the 12 yr old about it!

See the scarecrow on the windmill and hanging out of the barn window?

Different barn, more scarecrows.

The 4 yr old couldn't reach the pedals, so Techpriest helped. Can't really see it, but these trike bikes have a third wheel in back. You steer by one person pedaling more than the other. As you can imagine, these things are dangerous. You never knew when you would have to jump out of the way of them! I took my life in my hands being this close to them, though I was safer directly in front of them than off to the side!

Even a scarecrow needs to get her hair done. In the building behind her they actually had scarecrow kits, make your own scarecrow!

Barrel ride, you had to watch out for this one too.

The actual pumpkin patch, fairly depopulated.

Techpriest's Mom, Dad, youngest nephew hiding behind him, 12 yr old, and Techpriest on the hay wagon ride.

Aren't we a cute couple? :)

They had some many other things too. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the animals though, guess I was to busy petting them! Pigs, bunnies(so soft!!), cows, I actually forget what else! We all had a good time, about froze for while though!

Time Out

2007-10-29T13:49:00.000-05:00

It looks so innocent, just lying there. Pretty even. But I'm here to tell you that this sock is evil, evil I say! This is the Damn sock, otherwise known as Miranda's socks. I finished the heel, thought it looked funny so tried it on. No go. So, I'm gonna put it in time out till after Christmas.
Miranda, you are NOT getting this for Christmas, at least not this year. Maybe next year if you are lucky.

See? That heel looks funny, doesn't it? Pattern is a modified version of the Monkey socks from Knitting Sutra.

Zoey loves the reflections on Star Wars poster. Isn't the new afghan pretty? It is smaller than the first one so it went together very quickly!

"What does this square smell like?" Seemed like she smelled each and every one.

Just had to take a picture of this pose. And here is a fun little video of Zoey and me playing.

Greensburg

2007-10-28T11:58:00.000-05:00

Techpriest, his Dad & Mom (divorced years ago), his two nephews (one with each of his parents) and I headed out Saturday into the Kansas wilds(west and south). First we hit Turon's Pumpkin Patch had lots of fun, I'll try to post some pictures later. After we wore ourselves out we headed to Pratt to eat lunch. My mother went through nursing school at the community college here and my brother attended for a while too. Mom and I had a lot of fun playing in the Wizard of Oz at the college. She, of course, was one of the wicked witches. :) I was just one of the soldiers of the Emerald City. The adults ate at a Chinese place, the kids had to eat at McDonald's, which took 35 minutes. Then, Techpriest's Mom was in a fender bender, someone pulled out in front of her. We finally managed to get out of Pratt and head on out to Greensburg.

I had left a comment on Prairie Dreams that I would be there Mon. and wondered if Anita could get together. Well, by the time we got to Nickerson to met up with everyone else, the plans had changed and we were going yesterday. Anita was nice enough to go along with the change. Heading into town from the east as we were, at first you don't see the damage. Then, all of a sudden, hardly anything is standing. It was quite dramatic. We met Anita, conned her into driving around with us, and let Techpriest take the kids to the park. It is on the northeast side of town, so was untouched, but it will be torn down along with the swimming pool so the highway can go to four lane.

No pictures this post, it didn't really seem right, kinda rude, ya know? Didn't want to take pictures of someone's heartache. I actually didn't think about it either, to busy absorbing it all. It is totally different seeing it for yourself. Except for a few buildings, the whole town is gone. The kwik shop survived, one brick shop building downtown of a row of shops was still up, a condemned house made it through. The bar and liquor store survived, yet none of the churches did. The courthouse looked alright, but the roof had gotten torn off and set right back down again, exactly where it was. So water had gotten in and caused a lot of damage. Probably be a year before it is up and running again. I saw a house missing, but the garage just a few feet away still standing. By the lake was a car upside down in the trees. We kept asking her "This was all houses?" because it was hard to tell until you got close enough to see the holes of basements and the foundations lying there. Sometimes there were flowers still growing in the flowerbeds. A few houses made it through, and there is some new construction. It was odd, a new house right next to a gaping hole where a house used to be. There was still rumble in lots of places. Some of the street signs were pieces of plywood with the street names spray painted on, some of those had nicer signs stapled to them. A lot of the street signs had been replaced though. It seemed like those street signs said a lot. Anita was raised in Greensburg, yet she said she had to count blocks to know where she was after the tornado. All the landmarks that used to be there are gone. I bet they really needed those spray painted signs. I wonder how difficult it was to figure out which street was which in the beginning. There were things spray painted on the house left too, made by rescuers to know which houses had been searched. Some of these little things hit me more than the big stuff.

I really don't know what else to say, but if you want to get an idea of the devastation here is Anita's list of photo galleries to look at.

MSNBC.com
Wichita Eagle
1133 photos
Ultimate Chase
New York Daily News
National Geographic

Though I haven't looked through all these pictures, I know they don't tell the whole story. They don't show you what it looks like now. Though the majority of the rumble is cleaned up, there is still so much left to do, so much left to rebuild. And it will never be the town Anita remembers from her childhood.

Thank you so much for sharing with us Anita!

What a week

2007-10-15T19:36:00.000-05:00

The Harmony needles showed up, they are pretty. But one of the #5's must have a crack at the tip, wool keeps getting caught in it.

Prairie Gumbo is playing Pay it Forward and I thought it was a great idea too! This is the "Pay It Forward" exchange, based on the concept of the movie where acts of kindness are done without expecting anything in return...just passing it on, with the hope that the recipients of your kind acts will pass it along to someone else. Here's how it works: I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what the gift will be yet, and it won't be sent this month and maybe not next month either, but it will be sent within 6 months and that's a promise! What you have to do in return then is "pay it forward" by making the same promise on your blog. Sound like fun? I might knit something or sew or I might even break out the polymer clay!
Last Saturday I met up with Laura at the Newton Beadery to switch my completed afghan for another packet. Very nice store with a very nice lady that talked to us for quite awhile, even told us her name, too. Unfortantly though, I have a mind like a steel sieve instead a steel trap. Laura being the good blogger she is, remembered to bring her camera. Me, I didn't even think to look halfway decent, let alone bring the camera. I should have remembered what the Yarn Harlot said, bloggers are dangerous, they always have their cameras.
I have already finished the second afghan, but no pictures yet. Hopefully soon.
Tuesday I had an eye app. and had my eyes dilated plus wore contacts for the first time in years. Not good. Besides having an awful time driving the two blocks home my headache jumped way up there to an 8. I didn't even feel up to knitting while I watched tv. The next day got it back down to a 5, but Friday I went and ordered my glasses(that's another story) and wore contacts again to be able to pick out a frame. Went to the monthly knit in that night but had to leave early I was hurting so much. Not long after I got home it went up to a 9. Today it is firmly hovering around a 6. Pretty sucky week.

Techpriest's Dad and nephew are coming for a visit next Thursday, I hope I'm up to it.

That is all I remember that I wanted to tell you, but remember that steel sieve....

Why yes, we did buy a new camera.

2007-10-14T10:31:00.001-05:00

Why do you ask?
Here is the afghan, Zoey thinks it is comfy.

So pretty!

It is kinda hard to see the basketweave, but it sure is pretty, though the 8 ends I had to weave in sure wasn't!

Love this one too.

Zoey was holding the afghan down for me, she is such a helper!

The back side, you can clearly see the whip stitch.

Front side, doesn't look to bad I think.

Weasley sweater ornaments, this one is for Dad. I plan on making 20 of the little suckers, good thing they are so quick!

Mom's ornament.

Left to right: my brother(Nathan's Daddy), our Dad, our Mom, and she is holding Nathan of course.

Mom and Nathan. Miranda had a party for her mother's 50th birthday. We all had lots of fun and chocolate cake.

Chewing on the camera strap.

Techpriest found a cat website, that is a little bat flying around.

Who threw out a perfectly good kitty?

Techpriest saves the day!

2007-10-08T22:48:00.001-05:00

Hey, I (ok, Techpriest helped, by which I mean he saved my sanity)got the buttons to work! Really! Go mouse over them, I'll wait.

Did you see that cursor change to a hand? Isn't that just the most awesome thing ever?
I feel like a big kid now! :)

Something else Techpriest did for me. Found out I won't be able to scan from my computer anymore, but as the last time I scanned something probably at least 6 months ago I don't really see that as a problem. Isn't the little froggy cute?

Greensburg Video

2007-10-08T10:52:00.000-05:00

From Prairie Dreams, a surviver of the tornado, telling her story of recovery.

Got Money?

2007-10-07T17:04:00.000-05:00

I'm done with the Greensburg afghan, hooray! No pictures of course, booo! I don't like being unable to document my FOs! We need to stumble upon some money somewhere! Laura has made a list of where the squares are in the seaming process and packets(squares, seaming yarn) that need to be adopted here. The main post about it is here. You do want to adopt one, right? They are really cute! And it is not really seaming since all you have to do is whip stitch them together, it goes pretty quick. She will be adding more packets as she gets them sorted so check back!

It seems like I can go ages without really wanting anything, then all of a sudden I want everything all at once. The camera is a given, I've already told you about the dpn shortage over here. I ordered the Harmony's on Sat by the way, can't wait to see them! I need a haircut, which I really could go ahead and get, but getting some red highlights sound like fun right now too. And I want a purse, a purse with pockets even! Looking around for a purse I am astounded again by their prices, course I'm cheap about purses, I don't think I've spent more than $30 for a purse in my life. I've looked around on Etsy and really like the style of this shop's purses, but the fabrics are too loud for my tastes, but I could probably ask for one in denim. Her prices aren't too bad either. I also like this style, but would not pay that much for it. I could make that without too much work.

But what will cost the most is a Yarn Hop the shops in central Kansas are putting on. I plan on catching a ride with Ann and Marlene from Yarns knit night. From north to south the shops are:

1. The Yarn Peddler
Minneapolis

2. The Shivering Sheep
Abilene

3. Yarns: Sold and Told
Salina
(my home away from home)

4. Laura May's Cottage
Lindsborg
785.227.3948

5. Yarn
Hutchinson

6. The Newton Beadery
Newton
316.283.9199

7. Heritage Hut
Wichita
316.682.4082

8. Twist
Wichita

More than I realized there was! The yarn hop is November 9, 10, 11. Besides special surprises at each shop, if you go to every shop you will be entered to win a big basket of goodies.
I was going to just scan in the flyer they gave me, but we have changed computers since the last time I scanned anything in and now I don't know how to work it. It will have to wait until Techpriest is unbusy.

Hey, did you realize Kansas has a fiber mill? Me either.

I'm trying to figure how to link to a button, not having much luck. The example over on the right I can get to work, but when I cut and paste my info in to the code it just doesn't work. This will be the first thing I will have Techpriest work on when he gets unbusy. Until him or I get it figured out I'm gonna leave the ugly example button up on the right. Maybe I'll get tried of looking at it and it will force me to have another go.

I think that is all I have to say, seems like I always forget something....

Book meme

2007-10-04T21:28:00.000-05:00

I copied and pasted this from someone's knitting blog, if you remember let me know!

1. Hardcover or paperback, and why? either, unless it is a book I know I'll reread a lot, then I prefer hardcover
2. If I were to own a book shop, I would call it... I have no idea, and if I thought about it, it would take forever, because it would have to be just right!
3. My favorite quote from a book (mention the title) is... The one I can remember is Glorfindol (sp) saying "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." about Gandalf from LotR of course
4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be... Well, Tolkien, Anne McAffery, or right now probably Robert Jordan
5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be... an omnibus of Lord of the Rings, or omnibus of all the Hitchhiker books
6. I would love someone to invent a bookish gadget that...read it aloud for me, while I knit
7. The smell of an old book reminds me of... Safety, peace, hours spent in another world...
8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be...Probably Menolly from the Pern series, to bad she doesn't have a dragon..
9. The most overestimated book of all times is...The Catcher in the Rye, why bother banning it when I couldn't even get through a quarter of it?
10. I hate it when a book...is boring, doesn't engage me

Now for the tagging.... how about anyone who wants to ?

Scottish Festival

2007-09-29T14:42:00.001-05:00

Good thing it is random Wednesday, that means I can just throw this post up without it making any sense, right? I've been trying to post since two weekends ago, well, thinking I should post anyway. I wanted to make a nice, long post about the McPherson Scottish Festival. It ain't gonna happen.

Karla and her son came over both Sat. and Sun. We had a good time. Her son bought us both walking sticks, good kid, huh? Techpriest worked (volunteered) both days, but was able to spend some time with us. Karla and I decided that kilts almost always make guys look better. And there were plenty of guys in kilts around. I decided Techpriest would look good in a kilt too, too bad they are so expensive. He did buy a set of 3 samurai swords, he has been wanting some for a long time, and they were a good deal. Our camera finally went kapluey, so it is a good thing I'm married to the webmaster for the festival, I sneaked some pictures from last year to give you some idea.

Sheepy goodness. It is quite amazing watching the sheepdog move them around.

McPherson Pipe band, my chiropractor is on the front right.

I've finished and mailed my squares to Ms. K for the Miners blanket, but no pictures. My phone will take pictures, but apparently it isn't talking to my computer, or Techpriest's either. And yes, he tried to figure it out too, no go. I am almost done with seaming the afghan for the Greensburg project too. I wanted to start Fetching, even bought the yarn, but no dpns in the right size. So went to the Weasley Sweater Ornaments in Charmed Knits.....and yet again no dpns in the right size. Seems to be a recurring theme, doesn't it? Now, I could magic loop it, but I really am coming to the conclusion that I really don't like magic loop, takes to long to fuss with the stitches. So the only way to solve this problem is to go shopping! My plan is to go ahead and buy a set of Knitpicks dpns in all they offer. I have the sock set(up to 3), but that is it. Do I buy the metal ones to match my current set, or go wild with the harmony set? Or do I just buy the sizes I need tonight at Yarns? Decisions, decisions.

Now for some sci-fi geekiness.

Your home is a

Spawn-camping Wizard's Headquarters

Your kitchen is manned by a team of Keebler Drow Elves. There's a pantry with emergency backup caffeinated beverages. You also have some breakfast cereals in there, but you haven't had breakfast since last Spring. Your master bedroom is decorated to look like the treetop village of the Galadhrim. Your study has every fantasy novel ever written, including multiple editions of the Silmarillion and advance copies of Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition. One of your garages contains a life-sized X-Wing fighter, and KITT. (KITT was a gift from a well-meaning uncle.)

Your home also includes a roost for griffons. You've never actually seen a griffon, but you keep the roost ready anyway. Your guests enjoy your home theater with hi-def plasma screen TV, and the thrones you watch it from. Outside is the moat that protects your home from goblin invaders and extended family.

And, you have a pet -- a unicorn named "Shadowhooves".

Below is a snippet of the blueprints:

Build YOUR Dream House!

Some people have to much time on their hands.

Laura posted this awhile ago, she did a great job putting this video together too!

Answers to Comments

2007-09-20T12:15:00.000-05:00

I think Zoey must have been mistreated. Besides what the vet said, I've seen evidence of it too. While playing with her I clapped my hands and she freaked. Seeing how confident she is now compared to when we got her says a lot. She knows we won't leave her, won't drop her,etc.
She is small, that is a women's 8 1/2 shoe, but I think she is a little bigger than she was. Yeah, we've had rats with tumors, senile ferrets and now a cat with a hernia, the vet sure does know us!

Isn't the Harlot fast? She seemed even faster when she propped that needle under her arm, if you can believe that! Don't worry, Dana, I'm slow compared to her too!

No matter how good a writer they get to finish off Robert Jordan's next book, it won't be him, so it won't be the same story. Feels like the death of that world too.

Dana, I haven't read the Golden Compass, but my husband has. I keep planning on reading it, just hasn't happened yet.

Random Wednesday

2007-09-19T12:52:00.001-05:00

Robert Jordan (fantasy author of The Wheel of Time series) has passed away. Those of his fans that have actually made it through all eleven of his books and are fiendishly awaiting the last one will be glad to know that he has it made plans for others to finish the story. So we might find out what happens to Rand, Perrin, Mat, et al, but it won't be the same. No one could tell the story like Jordan. Or not tell it, since didn't it seem like sometimes the plot wasn't moving at all? I still enjoyed it though. I wonder what the series would have been like if he hadn't have gotten sick? Seems like there is a lot to wrap up in one book.
Here is a comic about it. And here is an essay for why you shouldn't be offended by it. For the two people that reads this blog that might be interested. :)
For the knitters: A demonstration of Stephanie knitting Irish Cottage style. Very interesting.
Back to fantasy authors, Madeleine Le'Engle passed away earlier this month, the Times has a good article. Her fantasy books are classics, The Wind Through the Door was the first I read that had a teenage girl as the hero, at the time I needed that.
Apparently knitting needles are dangerous to public safety.

Zoey went to the vet yesterday. For her weepy eyes she has drops until they are better. I already see a difference. She has a parasite so she gets antibiotics for 10 days. She also has a fairly big hernia that will need surgery. In two months she should be big enough to handle the anesthesia. Most hernias, specially one this big in this young of cat, are caused by blows to the kitten. Sounds like it was a good thing they did get dumped, better than them living with the people that did that.
The McPherson Scottish Festival is this weekend! If you are in the area you might check it out, should be lots of fun!
That it all I can think of for right now, but it seems like there was something else I wanted to mention...

HP

2007-09-18T13:17:00.000-05:00

Lets see if this works. Karla sent me this one.

HARRY POTTER IN THE HOOD

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Fame

2007-09-17T15:50:00.000-05:00

Hey, did everyone see my 15 minutes of fame? Ok, ok 15 seconds of fame....in the knitting world.
Check out my shiny forehead! Maybe a 6 instead of a 7. Oh, yeah, my real name is Annell, that might make it easier to find me!

Knitting Weekend Part 2

2007-09-17T11:03:00.000-05:00

Alright, I just finished the dishes so I can work on my Harlot post for awhile. About noon I received my ravelry invite, which was cruel because I couldn't spend all day browsing through it! But I shouldn't complain to much about two such great things happening on the same day. I did take quick glance around and it sure looks like fun! At 12:30 I was getting antsy, so I packed up my knitting bag and left.

I had the Grease soundtrack to keep me company because it is such a happy, silly cd. I got to Watermark books at 1:30, got my ticket and bought At Knit's End. I wanted to make sure and support the bookstore that brought the Harlot here. I already had Casts Off, but the others I had borrowed from the library, interlibrary loan works wonders. I figure the next time she is in the area I'll buy the other two, she has to come back sometime, right? Since they told me the school(where the talk was held) wouldn't open till 2:30 I headed across town to the yarn store(Twist) hoping there would be someone I knew there. No such luck and by the time I got there people started heading to the school. Which is very close to the book store. I felt like I should have skipped the yarn store, but there was a reason. Headed back across town, found the school and the right door. Found out that the school was already open and that I could have picked up my ticket and bought a book there. I could have just gone to the school and skipped driving all over town, but once again, there was a reason. I got to talking to the ladies around me. "Where are you from? What are you knitting? Oh, pretty. What am I knitting? " Squares for Ms. Knitingale's Miner's Project(which reminds me I need to get the button up!) The lady behind me mentioned she was from about 20-30 min. away from me and was knitting with her dog's hair that she had spun up. That grabbed my attention, I told her about wanting to try spinning and she said she would love teach me! I gave her a card with my blog addy on it and told her to contact me if she was serious. This morning I had an email from her! Hopefully the end of Oct. we can get together. What fun and we hadn't even seen the Harlot yet!

Finally got out of the hot line and into the auditorium and I saw all kinds of people I knew. The ladies from knit night at Yarns had a whole row. 2 seats they were saving for friends with one extra seat left over. Perfect! Must have been destined for me!
I think the first lady's name is Pam, then Jane 2 (I think) then Marleen's Mom(right?) and Marleen.

Jane 1 (co-owner of Yarns) on the left and Kitty, knitting instructor extraordiniare.

Laura is the pink with blue shawl with her two girls on the left of her.

Karla (other owner of Yarns) in the blue, Ann to the left of her. (jokers to the right, here I am, stuck here in the middle with you) sorry, had to do it.

Then Stephanie showed up and took sock pictures, see that white? It's her with the sock, really.
We actually had very good seats, 5th row with a clear shot to the podium. She is very funny and quite nice. I loved all the tales she told about her experiences with C.H.O.K. E. and how the tables got turned on the muggles involved. There was a lot of giggling going on and several times she had to stop talking to let us quit laughing. Loved her lists of different things too. All to soon it was over and she answered some questions from the audience. Someone asked if she knits continental or throw. She demonstrated her mixture of the two on the sock. Then said she learned by holding one needle under her arm (can't remember what it was called), then demonstrated that on a lady's garter stitch scarf. She was very fast doing it that way. Talked about how the fastest knitters in the world prop a needle under their arm, on their hip, or as in Shetland Cobweb knitting(another name was mentioned, Irish lace?) using a hip belt to prop it in. I wanted to tell her, but I totally forgot to, about knowing a lady that does Shetland lace. Techpriest fixed her computer, then at the Lindsborg Millfest I met her myself. Beautiful lace. Thinking about having her teach me how to do that.

Knit while waiting for my turn in line, didn't really take to long. I don't think I embarrassed myself, except when she said, "Let's take a picture." So I gave her the square and took a picture. She responded with "No, I wanted your picture." So I tried to give her my camera.

Yeah, brain fart. She did take my picture after we got the camera situation figured out. If she posts it, on a scale of 1-10 how dorky do you think I'll look? 5 being the average daily me. I'm thinking probably a 7, not horrible, but not good.

That was about it, headed home, and grabbed pizza for supper. By the way, Sat. Techpriest had chili wanting for me when I got home, isn't he the greatest? It was good too, and I don't really care for chili. Then finished up the night by watching a movie and starting to seam up the afghan I brought home from El Dorado.

Realized two things this morning. First, that for some reason blogger wasn't emailing me when someone commented. So I'm sorry I didn't thank everyone for commenting on the last couple of posts, I try to reply to every comment, but probably won't happen for awhile till I figure this out. Then, when I went to start this post I wondered why all my pictures were blurry. Maybe Stephanie's camera rubbed off on mine? Ah, no, I just had it on Marco. Sheesh.

Life is cruel

2007-09-16T12:21:00.001-05:00

The day the Yarn Harlot is here I get my Ravelry invite. So very, very cruel.

Knitting Weekend Part 1

2007-09-15T20:32:00.001-05:00

Let's see how far I get before I run out of steam. I'm tired, t-i-r-e-d. It has been a very long, fun day. Got up at 7, early for me, left at 8:30 right after it stopped raining cats and dogs, though it did rain some on the way down. I have decided there are to many churches on that particular street in El Dorado. "There's a church, is that it? No, that's a Lutheran, don't need a Lutheran church, I need a Baptist church. There's another one, how about it? Nope, First Christian, not First Baptist, I don't think that is close enough to count." This went on for at least 7 churches, and no, I am NOT exaggerating, really! But I found it, before 10 even, and recognized one of Laura's daughter's right off, so I knew I was in the right place. Like the bags and bags of afghan squares didn't clue me in. Went and introduced myself to Laura, grabbed a hug from her and a bag of squares, and waited for my 3 partners in crime. There were about 4 people to an afghan, and that did work very well. Becca was from the Wichita Knit in Public group and Cheryl and Barb were from the church. After Becca had to leave, a nice older lady from the church joined us, we had a few laughs with her too. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to forget about taking a picture of these last three, but somehow I don't think they mind! All these ladies were great, we had a very good time.
This is Becca starting to seam up the rows. We each knit 8 blocks together, then seamed the rows. Laura is in the green shirt checking out our beautiful afghan.

Except for Laura, I have no idea who these ladies are.

One of Laura's daughter on the left, and the lady on the right came from the farthest away, so won a fabulous basket of goodies.

Laura laying out her squares, I don't think she even had time to start seaming it. She was kept pretty busy all day. First setting all of us up and getting all the cookies, banana bread(Cheryl made a great banana bread, it had chocolate chips in it!), etc out. After a round to see all the afghans it was about time for lunch. Which was a pretty good spread, all kinds of sandwiches, Laura made a great beef and veggie soup, Barb brought a wonderful pasta salad and they had quite a few other side dishes.
Then not one, but TWO news crews interviewed Laura! The second crew said they didn't even have to ask her anything she had gone over everything so well. She looked like a pro doing it. Both at the time and seeing her on the news when I got home! It was pretty neat. It only lasted maybe 3-5 minutes on air, but I didn't really expect much more, hoped for, but didn't except any more. I'm just glad they covered it at all. We taped the one, the other channel said they would put it in their archives, so who knows when it will air. Techpriest says he should be able to get it up on youtube if you can't Laura, let me know.

Our first afghan all finished. See that line of green squares down the middle, that is a design feature that is. We were basically just pulling squares out of the bag and it was working good... until we got to the bottom of the bag. Oh, and I almost forgot! From the bottom, second row up, fourth from the left, the light purplish one? I knitted that and I seamed it up. Out of 4600 odd squares, I not only picked up that bag but also grabbed a stack to seam up that included it. I thought that was quite a coincidence until Criquette said she found a couple of her squares too.

Laura, me and Criquette! It was so good to meet these two. I wish we had had more time to talk, but I loved spending time with my partners too. I bet we will get another chance to see each other. I wish I had a better picture for both me and Laura, ah well.

She had some great prizes lined up. All lot of skeins of yarn, mostly sock yarn, all of it pretty. Then this great basket of dishcloth yarn with the Mason Dixon book, I coveted it.

And then this great big basket for the lady that drove the farthest, it had a lot of amazing things in it.

Our second afghan, it went a little quicker once we knew what we were doing! But two were all we managed. Unfortunately, not as many people as we were hoping showed up maybe 30 in all.
We did all have a lot of fun! Every time a group finished an afghan we all cheered and clapped, there was an awful lot of giggling going on too.

I won a door prize too! Lorna's Laces Angel 70% Angora and 30% lambswool. Would you believe that angora is actually as soft as everyone says it is? I didn't realize what the fuss was all about till I felt it. Criquette said she heard us all having a yarngasm over it. That is a fairly accurate description.

Ok, that's it. If I missed anything, I'm sorry, but tonight, this is all I am capable of. I'm not even gonna proof read it. Nighty, night!

Filler

2007-09-13T23:09:00.000-05:00

I'm busy trying to get ready for tomorrow since I should head out of here about 8:30 to get to
El Dorado at 10 for the seaming party. Hopefully I don't forget anything like the camera, batteries, knitting bag, directions, phone, etc, etc. I might try to post tomorrow evening, if not it will be after the Yarn Harlot!

Karla sent me this, it seemed like pretty easy blog fodder.
Subject: First Reaction Quiz
Body: This is called "First Reactions Quiz". You have to type the 1ST thing that comes to mind whenever you hear these 35 things. You can't think and go back and change your answers. Copy and Paste, then delete answers to make them your own.

Here we go:
1. Beer: yuck
2. Robin: 's egg
3. Relationships: good
4. Purple: pretty
5. Power Rangers: not me
6. Weed: mary jane
7. Steroids: too many muscles
8. Cartoons: online
9. The President: a mess
10. Tupperware: handy
11. Florida: Grandma Lillian and Ken
12. Santa Clause: beard
13. Halloween: fun
14. Alice: in Wonderland
15. Grammar: a pain
16: Myspace: blogs are better
17. Worst fear: headache forever
18. Marriage: good
19. Paris Hilton: spoiled hussy
20. Patty cake: Bakers Man
21. Redheads: Me
22. Blondes: have more fun
23. Pass: skip
24. One night stands: not me
25. Donald Trump: with all that money you think he could get a better hair piece
26. Neverland: Peter Pan
27. Pixie Stix: Playing Gurps with chelle and Dan
28. Vanilla ice creature: ice ice baby
29. Hooters: owls
30. High school:sucked
31. Pajama: PJ's
32. Woody: let's keep this pg
33. Wet Socks: uncomfortable
34. I like: pizza
35. Love: Barry

This has been on several blogs lately. This is perfect for me, it is fate I'm telling ya.

You're The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!

by Douglas Adams

Considered by many to be one of the funniest people around, you are
quite an entertainer. You've also traveled to the far reaches of what you deem possible,
often confused and unsure of yourself. Life continues to jostle you around like a marble,
but it's shown you so much of the world that you don't care. Wacky adventures continue to
lie ahead. Your favorite number is 42.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I'm not an etertainer though, or one of the funniest people around

How funny

2007-09-12T22:09:00.000-05:00

Saw this over at Twosheep and thought I needed to post it. I've been wanting to figure out how to post youtube videos anyway. I might just have to go grab a couple of Nathan videos from Miranda's blog.

These two are the funny ones, the ones you just had to see.

Edited to Add:

Dana successfully showed off two youtube videos also! If you are into knitting go check them out! In the comments Marianne asked how she did that, so I thought it might be a good idea to put some instructions up.

If the video plays on the blog: after it is finished there will be a button that says embed, click on it and a new button will come up that says copy to clipboard. Click on that button, then paste into your blog post. ctrl+v is the easiest way to paste.

If it takes you to the youtube website: after it is done playing to the right of the video in the top box it will say embed. You need to highlight the words next to it(make sure you get them all) and copy them. The easiest way to copy is to hit ctrl+c. Then just paste it into your blog post by hitting ctrl +v (don't ask me why it isn't ctrl +p, that makes more sense to me too)

Hope this helps, any questions or advice is welcome!

And her name is Zoey

2007-09-12T14:03:00.001-05:00

Hey all, thanks for all the good names, but I decided on Zoey. She is actually a pretty sweet little cat. She cuddles with us and plays with us and is starting to explore the house. More because she will "lose" us and then we play marco polo until she finds us again. She also will hear me coming in the door and will run to greet me and meow until I pick her up, very cute.

Speaking of cute, I picked this up at the Yarn Barn in Lawrence while we were there for my cousin's wedding. Great place, I had a hard time deciding what to get, but finally choose this beautiful koigu, since Yarns in Salina doesn't carry it.

I've been wanting to get some non wool sock yarn and almost got some Tutfooties (sp?) at the Yarn Barn. I'm so glad I didn't. Because this was waiting for me at Twist in Wichita.

The color(wisteria) drew me first, I picked it up and thought "Hey, wait a minute. Sugar Bunny Boulevard? I know her!" Then I really had to get it, THEN I noticed it was a bamboo/cotton/nylon mix, and I knew it was destined for me. I haven't knitted it yet, but it is nice and soft and springy and so pretty, I love it Laura!

And this is my contribution to the Yarn Harlot's quest to get a square from every state and providence. Knowing my luck she probably already has ten of the silly things. Pattern from here. I did change it a little so that Kansas actually looks like a rectangle with a bite taken out like it is supposed to. Can you see it? Squint your eyes and turn your head. The state is at the top and KS is at the bottom. You really can see it good in real life. Wonderful yarn (isn't it pretty? I love knitting with this stuff) from here. Oh, no, she doesn't have any yarn for sale! Go back through her sold items and take a look at her yarn, so pretty.

Ah, no, it is NOT a willy warmer, why do you ask? It is supposed to be a golf club cover for Techpriest's uncle. I made him one last year and do not remember it looking like this. Oh, well, since I didn't notice it till I took the picture, maybe he won't notice it at all. Got the pattern from Lion Brand's website, hopefully the link will actually take you the right page.

The seaming party for the Greensburg project is on Sat and the Yarn Harlot is Sun. I think I might print up a few cards with my blog address on them, wonder if it will actually happen? Don't think I'll have anyone to go with me, but I'll still have loads of fun. I'm going up to Salina tonight, see if any of those ladies can make it. And I kinda miss them, I haven't been driving up there since the knitting group here got started. I also need to see about buying some yarn for a pair of fetching for Techpriest's Aunt (wife of the uncle who is getting the phallic symbol for Christmas) and yarn for the little Weasley Sweater ornaments from Charmed Knits. No link, I'm holding the kitty, and I'm also just plain linked out. I didn't tell you I bought that, did I? It was during my blogging hiatus. Good book, if you want more info, just holler at me.

Well,until next time, true believers....

(yes, we do watch Who Wants to be Superhero, how did you guess?)

New Member of the Family

2007-09-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

It is all Karla's fault. Techpriest and I headed to Hutch today to go to the state fair, but he had to work on someone's webpage before that so I dropped by to see Karla. She had had 5 kittens basically just dropped off at her place. They really are to young to be separated from momma, about 3 weeks we think, but they should manage. They were just to cute to resist. We had been talking about getting a cat, but were thinking about getting an adult cat. Less work and you can tell their personality.

This little lady has been very vocal today, I hope tomorrow she will have calmed down a bit. She has played with us though, as you can see she likes yarn. Techpriest is training her into a yarn attack cat. We have been trying to come up with a name based on Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Zoey from both Firefly and Eureka, Fiona or Fi from Burn Notice(no, it isn't sci-fi, but both the character and the cat are crazy, so it fits), Susannah from Stephen King's the Dark Tower series. And of course, Techpriest really thinks we should name her Cheezburger, from I can has Cheezburger. So, which name do you prefer? Do NOT tell me Cheezburger, I beg of you. Or can you think of any good ones? Dana, any ideas?

S stand for

2007-09-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

Hey all, I was planning on posting last weekend....yeah, that worked. I did take all the pictures and got them in the computer, just never blogged about them!

STOCKING
First up is Nathan's Christmas Stocking. This was the project for the Intarsia class I took at Yarns. Another great class with a great teacher and good people. The teacher has knit 30 of these stockings for all of her family. I'm debating on whether to do the same or change charts for every person. What do you all think? The teacher was given this pattern from the lady she learned to knit from, who got it from her grandmother....I think, it was a cool story anyway.

Kinda cute, isn't he? Hasn't been blocked, I'm sure you could tell. I hope blocking gets rid of some of the wonkiness, but I'm not going to worry about it. If I feel like knitting him another one 5 years from now, fine, but not anytime soon. Want to see the back? Here ya go.

I shouldn't have carried the red across his hat and face, but I missed that note on the chart, but I did look! I kept thinking that it would be easier if I didn't have to worry about the red, but that didn't clue me in. That was around the point I wanted to take a picture of all the bobbins hanging down and bitch to you all. I wasn't sure I would ever knit intarsia again. I think I'm good now though. Oh, and notice the knot? The teacher did that after saying adamantly both classes I've had with her "NO KNOTS!" There is always an exception to every rule, isn't there? This was actually a nice, quick knit after I figured out what I was doing.

Pattern: Grandma Chan's Christmas Stocking
Yarn: Galway worsted weight 210 yds in color 1, 44, and 82 (love those color names, doncha?)and the yarn store gave each of us a little ball of black
Needles: Knitpicks options size 8 (why has everything I've knit lately needed an 8?)

SCARF
Next up, Techpriest's Dr. Who scarf. I have been knitting on this thing for at least a couple of years. It wasn't too long after I started knitting.

Yeah, it looks like a mug shot, don't it? Techpriest is apparently one of those people that doesn't smile for pictures, though he did offer to pose for me. And yes, we know that in the show the scarf was much, much longer, we both decided our version didn't need to be able to wrap around his neck quite so many times, I ended up using less than half the pattern they provide. This is the only thing he has asked me to knit for him (I have done some sewing for him though), so I'm glad I finally got it done. When he first thought of it, we thought we would have to rent the old Dr. Who series and try to figure the pattern out for ourselves. On a whim though I decided to google Doctor Who scarf, this is proof that you can find anything on the internet. I used the pattern from season 18, it was the one we both remembered Dr. Who wearing. I wish I had found darker colors to match better.

What's wrong with this picture? The end on the very left is the bind off, the orangish end next to it is the cast on...what happened? I did buy new skeins of yarn, but I swear it was the same yarn, was it that I changed needles from a Susan Bates size 8 to a Knitpicks size 8? Yeah, there is that 8 again. Did my tension just loosen up that much over the years? Odd, but I'm not gonna do a thing about it. I'm not one of those perfectionist knitters am I? I'm just glad it is done. I think I'm halfway between a process knitter and a project knitter. If I didn't like the process I wouldn't do it, but I certainly want that project at the end, and if the end takes to long to get here I get antsy.

Pattern: Season 18 Dr. Who Scarf from www.doctorwhoscarf.com
Yarn: TLC worsted in Dark Plum, Red Heart worsted in Burgundy and Claret. I don't want to hear it, there are some(ok, one or two) projects Red Heart is ok for. I had just started knitting, I was broke, and this is a huge project, it works for this.
Needles: Started with a Boye size 8 from the needlemaster set, then went to Knitpicks options 8. So, so much better, they are worlds apart.

I think I'm gonna stop there, though I still have a lot to catch up on. Two more FO's and yarn p*rn, next on Faren's Lair!

Farmer's Market

2007-09-01T11:51:00.001-05:00

Looks good don't it? This is the haul from the farmer's market today. From 12:00, watermelon of course, honey oat bread, banana bread(already gone, quite yummy), tomatoes, a peach from a basket of peaches I bought last Sat. They are yummy too) and Blackberry jam. I've bought the jam before so I know it is good.

I took pictures of these, planning on posting about them, just hasn't happened.

I had to post this picture, he was actually kinda cute. I figured if the broccoli was good enough for him it was good enough for me. Though I heard you had to soak fresh broccoli in salt water to get all the bugs out of it, so I looked it up on the internet and yup, it's true.

I've bought a lot of tomatoes and bread this year at the farmers market. I'm hoping I can find a source for bread for the winter, I don't think I can last without homemade bread!

Long Time No Blog

2007-08-31T21:38:00.000-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted, over a month! I had two emails waiting for me the other day just to see if I was ok. Seems that Criquette over at Prairie Gumbo, Marianne from Marianne's Knotminding and Dana from Blue Ridge Knittery had noticed I wasn't around much and was concerned about me.

Half of it was I felt more like reading some fan fiction (no, not THAT kind! :)) than of keeping up on blog reading. I do tend to go through phases of what I read online. My husband has been sick with strep AND mono the last two weeks, and though I have managed to not catch any of it, I have been worn out. Taking naps in the middle of the day worn out. I've also been busy doing some volunteering for the McPherson Scottish Festival. Plus, my headache has been a little worse and I suppose I have been a little depressed. There are some signs that I'm coming out of my funk though, so let's hope! I have been knitting though, and even took a knitting class. Actually have a couple of FO's to blog about too. I'll try to get a post up about them over the weekend.

Once again ladies, thanks for emailing, it helped get me out of my funk and back in the mood for reading some knit blogs! I'm down to 268 on my bloglines!

If you like my Nathan pictures you have to see Miranda's Nathan videos, they are so cute. I think there are 4 short videos in all. Make sure you don't miss the one of him blowing raspberries, it is the absolute cutest!!

The weekend book 7 came out

2007-07-22T18:07:00.000-05:00

I picked up my book yesterday at 10:30. I had to finish up a load of laundry, so that ate into my reading time. Why yesterday and not my usual laundry day(Tuesday)? Because Raffles has not been doing good. He had gotten so weak that he couldn't make it out of the bedding without help, then it got so bad we just changed the bedding instead of stressing him. At this point he hadn't eaten in 4 or 5 days either and wasn't drinking much. So we were running out of bedding.

I held him most of the day while Techpriest was at work. For the 12th day in a row by the way. I knew from Tika's passing that Techpriest would have to realize that it was time to put him to sleep. As a former CNA(nurse aide) at a nursing home, I have seen death a lot more than he has. Makes it easier to realize when the time has come. By the time Techpriest came home Raffles was twitching, shuddering, when ever he breathed. He knew it was time to say goodbye then. I did fairly well, Techpriest was a mess.

We will bury him beside Tika. Just like what happens to many married couples, these two life long companions passed away very close together. Of the two, Raffles was always the more sedate one, relatively speaking of course. He was more likely to stop to sniff something or let you hold him while he napped. For more pictures and stories about Raffles visit ourlair.

I was hoping for more time to get used to the idea of not having any pets. We are thinking about finding a new place and that is so much easier without pets, but we have both had pets for most of our lives. The last time I did not have a pet was about 8 years ago for 2-3 months between moving out of chelle and Dan's place and moving in with Techpriest. That is also the only time I've lived alone in all my life. Boy was I lonely.

Anyway, last night about 11 I decided to not stay up all night reading, so I did get a good nights sleep, but got up today and stayed in my jammies until I finished reading Deathly Hallows. Didn't even brush my teeth or shower till then. I do have my priorities straight, don't I? Called chelle, she was done too, so we dissected the book for awhile. Called Karla, she wasn't done, so I got off the phone before I let something slip. I doubt Miranda is done so I'll leave her alone for now. And all I'm saying here is that I enjoyed the book.

Since I had been ignoring the dishes for almost 2 straight days I thought maybe I should tackle them before they got to out of hand. Then I started picking up ferret stuff. It was hard to look at, but even harder to deal with. I kept coming across something else. They had several different boxes to hide stuff in, a couple of napping spots plus the cage and accessories, supplements and health stuff. Plus, lots and lots of bedding(we had started adding old tshirts).Oh, and the clear dryer hose. Techpriest was out auto cross racing, so I spent all day alone with no weasels to keep me company, the first of many.

I am doing ok, just a little sad.

All about Harry

2007-07-18T17:23:00.000-05:00

I managed to finish (re)reading the 5th book in time to see the movie on Thursday and finished the 6th book Monday I think. No one who knows me doubted I could get these reread in time, reading books is just a talent of mine. The first time I read OtP(5) I didn't like it at all. Harry was too whiny and taking everything out on Ron and Hermione. This time around I did like it better, but it was still my least favorite book. I liked the movie, it was pretty good, they left out all the teen angst! It seemed a little chopped up,(who can really blame them trying to cram that huge book into movie length?) but Techpriest didn't mention it, so maybe it just seemed that way since I knew what was in the book. I was continually surprised, it seemed that though they got to the same place as the book, they took an entirely different path to get there. Once again, from cramming the book into movie length. Go see it!

Yarn-A-Go-Go mentioned her sister(I think) plays in a band called Knockturn Alley that has original Harry Potter songs. Intriguing, yes? Good songs, specially Slytherin and Hey, Hufflepuff.

From there I checked The Parselmouths out, quite good, my favorites are Love Song for Professor, and What kind of name is Hermione?

I think I need help, I'm gonna be surfing and listening to Harry Potter fanmusic for a while....
I need money too, so I can buy some albums...fun stuff, fun stuff

Edit: Look at this list of Wizard Rock Groups! (yes, that is what they call themselves)
Looks like I'll be busy!

Things to Squee about

2007-07-16T15:04:00.000-05:00

There seem to be a lot of things percolating in my brain that I'm quite excited about, I hope I remember them all!

Tomorrow I'm going to the chiropractor and renting an alpha-stim machine. It uses electrotherapy for pain management. We've been using it in the office and I have had some good results. I'm hoping by using it daily I get some great results! As a side note, my chiropractors (one while I lived in Hutch, and this one in Mac) are really the only ones that have helped me, all the regular doctors ran all sorts of tests, gave me all sorts of pills, that really never did much.

The LYS hooked me and Theresa up and we've been driving up to knit night together ever since. We, of course, have always talked about starting one up in Mac. A knit night, not a yarn store! She got in touch with the county extension office and they said they would sponsor us! Today I went over and finalized plans with them. It will actually be a fiber arts group, knitters, crocheters, cross stitchers, weavers, who ever. We start on Aug 7th, 7-9, every Tuesday!
They are going to put ads on the radio, newspaper, and some newsletters. We get to keep a key to the building(that's how small the town is), and have access to several different rooms. Hopefully we will grow out of the small one! I'm pretty sure there is a frig and coffee pot too.
Isn't that great?

Oh, and I'm planning on taking another class at Yarns. It is a Christmas stocking to learn color work. Same teacher I had for Nathan's baby sweater. I really enjoyed that class and learned a lot. I have been wanting to try colorwork for awhile now, it opens up so many new possibilities!

The best thing to squee about? Marianne thinks I'm a Rockin' Girl Blogger!

Since I think she's pretty darn cool it works out good! I'm supposed to pass this on to 5 other Rockin' Girl Bloggers, so let's see if I can narrow it down.

Miranda: SIL extrodinare, she fits in with my family wonderfully, actually her Mom and stepdad are invited to most of the family get togethers! I'm proud to call her a friend as well as my brother's wife and my nephew mom. She has just started her new blog so to get a sense of her humorous writing style also check out her pregnancy blog and the blog before that! Third time's the charm I guess? I'm so glad she started blogging again!
Karla: Yes, it is on myspace, and no you can't comment unless you have an account, I'm trying to con her into starting a normal blog. We have been friends for about 13 years now, met in the college jewerly class, boy did we have fun. She has a lot of the same interests I do, Harry Potter, any good fantasy book, 80's teen movies(anyone know who Ducky is?). She is a single Mom of a brand new teenager telling tales of her trials and triumphs.
Laura at Sugar Bunny Boulevard: I haven't met her yet, but I'm planning on it come Sept 15! She is the heart of the Squares for Greensburg project. I love hearing her enthusiasm for this project! She is a sweetheart and her girls are adorable!
Farm Mom at Children in the Corn: a great homesteading blog. I haven't commented to much, but I always look forward to her posts.
Prairie Gumbo: I'm fairly new to reading her blog, but she has been very entertaining so far!

People I would pick if they hadn't already been rocked! These are some wonderful ladies!

Ms. K at The Life and Times of Florence Knitingale
Marianne of Marianne's Knotminding
Charity of Knitting in the North
Phelan from A Homesteading Neophyte

And the biggest thing to make me squee with delight?

THE YARN HARLOT IS COMING TO WICHITA!

Do you believe that? I'm not sure I do! See for yourselves, check on her sidebar click on Harlot on Tour. Sept. 16th the day after the seaming party! A whole weekend of being with fellow knitters! I don't think I can stand it! For those of you non-knitters that read my blog, the Yarn Harlot is kinda like the knitting comedian, that is the best way I have to describe her. Her books are very funny, and I hear her shows are amazingly funny.

I really can't wait!

Adventures in Honey

2007-07-15T11:52:00.000-05:00

In the spring Techpriest was talking to one of the ladies in the courthouse about their spouses. Her husband is retired, getting a little forgetful and has some other health issues so that he needs to take it easy. He also has a huge yard with lots and lots of trees, bushes, etc. Techpriest has a wife that needs to get out of the house more often, could use a little spending money, but who you can't count on from day to day because of her headaches. Since then, the two seem to fit together fairly well. We are scheduled Mon, Wed, and Fri, but between me not feeling good, him not feeling good, and all the rain, we usually don't work all three days. We have weeded(lord have we weeded!), trimmed bushes and trees, put up the waterwheel, made some flower boxes, but the most interesting thing we have done is extract honey.

You see, he is the honey man around this parts. Most people in McPherson might not know who you are talking about if you say his name, but call him the honey man and they go "yeah, yeah, lives out on such-and-such street, right? Great honey." Yup, that's him. He has been raising bees for quite a long time.

Last year the bees didn't produce enough honey to last the whole year, HM(honey man) has been out for a couple of months now. Don't worry, I should have enough to last me! This year, he had several hives that died off. I guess he is having the same problem everyone else is having. He is not a big commercial producer though, his hives are about as natural as you can get without being hung up out in the woods.

Well, these hives did make some honeycombs before they died, so I got the fun of helping extract the honey! I thought it was quite interesting, and well worth blogging about. Now, being a brand new blogger, the first day I forgot to bring the camera. So, bear with me.

This is...well, I don't what they call it, but it has a sort of screen on it(see it on the bottom left?) that the bees build the honey combs on. Now, the first day we took these screens full of honey combs and opened them up with a scratcher(looks kinda like a pet comb, but very sharp, we cut ourselves a few times). Quite often honey would just run down once you opened them up, sometimes even popping out like they were under pressure and hitting you. As you can guess this was a very messy process. I had drops of honey all over me, my hands were coated with it, it was hot enough that I was dripping sweat, pouring in my eyes, but couldn't do anything about it since my hands were all sticky! HM said it could be worse, in the fall(aug-oct) it is usually much hotter, and the bees are flying around all over the place, but because they still have flowers to munch on they left us alone.

So after we did that we placed them in the extractor, where they would drip out all the honey. At least, that was the plan. Normally, this takes place in Aug. Normally, July is much hotter than it has been this year. Between last Monday when we put them in the extractor and Friday when we got back to them it had cooled off, rained, gotten hot again and cooled off again. Not good for the honey. One, not much of the honey was in the bottom of the extractor like it was supposed to be. The picture up above was taken on Friday and you can see there is still a lot of honey left and it has crystallized. Second, it has started fermenting. So no good for honey, HM said it would make some good mead though! I didn't know mead was made from honey, did you?

This is the top of the extractor where you load the screens.

Full view of the extractor. Emptying it out into the bucket. We only filled one bucket, that tells ya how much was left in the honey combs. There is a motor on top used to spin all the honey out.

A glimpse in the bucket. If you embiggen you should be able to see all the bits of honeycomb and dead bees floating in there. And yes, we did scrape off all the dead bees we could, but there were some tucked up in the honeycomb too. Don't worry, the strainer comes next.

Look at all the stuff the strainer caught. It actually gets strained a couple more times, but we were done for the day.

See? Much better. HM says that all the foam is from the fermenting. He really doesn't know what he is going to do with it all.

Well, I think that is it for now, talk to you all later!

More Greensburg stuff

2007-07-14T20:31:00.000-05:00

It seems like I have so much to talk about, mainly because I have waited to long to post. I wait until I have enough material for a good long post, then I feel like I have to have a good chunk of time to be able to post it all! So I think from now on I will try to post more often.

Just to make sure I don't forget about it, I'll start with Rebuilding Greensburg. Laura only needs 193 more squares to meet her second goal! Isn't that fantastic? I think that a lot of people are waiting to send all their squares in at once (like me), so there will probably be a deluge of squares come Aug. 1st. That second goal is gonna fly right by. Remember you can crochet squares too, in fact she has a very pretty pattern up. And no, Miranda, don't feel guilty about being to busy to crochet one, I just wanted to post it so everyone knows about it.

Laura's post today was a very good read about the project and how she feels about it. It was reaffirming why this project is important. If nothing else, it will let the people of Greensburg know that people from all over the world feel their pain and sympathize with them and are thinking about them. Just that can help a lot. There are also two links in her post to stories from the Wichita Eagle about mental health issues that are cropping up, and how the rebuilding is going.

I also wanted to let you know that Prairie Gumbo is having a contest for the Greensburg project. You do have to post pictures of your squares to your blog before Aug 16th. She is giving away a random prize and two prizes for the top two people with the most squares. The yarn looks yummy!

Laura is also needing yarn and yarn needles for the seaming party. Check her blog for more details. The seaming party is Sept 15, mark your calendars! I'm hoping to get a group together from here in Mac to ride down together, Theresa said she would go, and hopefully some friends of hers. Laura is planning on feeding us too! Doesn't it sound like fun? If you can please come! We are going to have to seam together 2240 squares! We need all the help we can get!

I knit this square today, my 8th one. My goal is to knit 10, so I'm in good shape. You know blogging does help me finish things. I wanted a picture of this square, so I had to weave in the ends and block it real quick. I hope to post again tomorrow, so watch this space!

New look

2007-07-07T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hey, like the new look? Miranda made me a very sweet header, didn't she? I picked out the pictures, but everything else she choose for me. Does she know me or what? Someday I might search for a good Firefly quote. Specially as now that I think about it, I seem to recall seeing this quote on some other knitting blog. I'm not really going to worry about it though. I will feel like reading Firefly quotes sometime.

Speaking of Firefly quotes, has anyone noticed the quote widget at the bottom of the blog? It is only one a day though, I was looking for one that refreshed, oh well.

Techpriest doesn't seem to think that is a very good picture of Nathan, says he has weird shadows on him because of the angle, what do you guys think? Course, Techpriest also says Nathan looks like MiniMe from Austin Powers, so you have to take what he says with a grain of salt.

I've ripped back past the heel of Miranda's sock, but haven't started knitting the heel again. Haven't knitted at all, I'll get back to it soon. I decided to start reading Harry Potter OotP and HBP so I'm ready when the next book comes out. I'm wondering if I'll get them finished in time.

Well I think that is all I have for now. I'll leave you with this picture of Nathan that hubby really thinks looks like MiniME. It is kinda funny, he looks soo pissed!

Zombies!

2007-07-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

29%

Mingle² - Free Online Dating

Had to take it, had to know my chances. But I'm really not worried, Techpriest will save me. I think he has watched every zombie movie out there, and he was a very good marksman in the army, so we should be good.

Stupid socks!

2007-07-03T21:44:00.000-05:00

These darn socks of Miranda's are going to kill me, I swear! I found different short row heel instructions here worked pretty good, I'm happy enough with it. So I started cruisin up the cuff with my little cable pattern happy as a clam. One minor opps, 4 rows down I forgot to cross a cable, no big deal, dropped the four stitches down, crossed them, brought them back up, no problem. She only wants a 3 inch cuff so finished pretty quickly and bound off.

Now, the last time I knitted a sock toe up(magic 8 cast on with a reverse gusset/heel flap) I had a problem finding a bind off that was stretchy enough for me. I don't know how many I went through, but do you think I would be smart enough to print it off, bookmark it or something? Anything? Nope, not me, apparently I never thought I would want to knit a sock toe up again, or even more unlikely, that I would actually remember the silly thing. So I go a googling, find one that seemed familiar and started. No....it wasn't EZ's sewn bind off, though I had tried it the last time around. How about the next one? Nope not that one either, though that one was a down right bugger to pick out. Finally I find the right one (4th post down by Spinnerella)I am postive that is the same one I used last time, but the stupid sock still won't go over my heel.

What in the world is wrong with the silly thing? Does the cable pattern make it too tight? Should I add more stitches after the heel? I put it down before I would have to hurt somebody. I tried to complain to Techpriest about it, but it just isn't the same when they have no idea what you are talking about. I put it out of my mind(as much as I could) until I was reading my bloglines and I came across Wendy's post today(July 3, 2007), where she answered a commenter's question that had the same problem I do. The heel isn't deep enough, the solution? Frog all the way back to the start of the heel and do one of three things. Knit a gusset heel, a short row gusset, or knit a short row heel over more the half the stitches. Did you catch the part about ripping all my hard work out? Including the heel I worked so hard on three different times?

I'll get over it, I try to remember that I like knitting, so this just gives me more to knit right? I try to forget that if I had done a traditional heel I most likely would have finished this sock already. If I don't try something new I'll never learn anything. You all should feel sorry for Miranda, who knows what these socks are going to look like by the time I'm done?

Friday was fairly bad for me, my headache reached a 8 on the Richter scale. It took till today to get almost back to normal levels. I still went to Hutch Saturday to see Angie and Pearl, two friends of mine that I don't see enough off. Wait, that is would be all of my friends, wouldn't it? I see these two even less. It probably has been years since we really have gotten together and talked. I enjoyed it, but with the headache I really couldn't relax and enjoy it like I wanted too. I had to leave early too, before I couldn't drive the 30 minutes back home. Been having problems going to sleep too. I really don't want to get back in the habit of staying up late and sleeping late, I never get anything done.

Enough with the bitching, yes? Tomorrow we plan on going to my mom and dads to bbq. Brian, Miranda and Nathan should be there too. Baby time! I plan on making deviled eggs, yummy.

Hope everyone has a good 4th of July!

Cute couple aren't they? That's Miranda by the way, the new mommy with the stupid socks! :P

Warning: Random Post Ahead

2007-06-28T21:20:00.000-05:00

Hello, I know it has been a while, but there hasn't been a whole lot going on. Last Saturday we celebrated DH's 34th birthday with his mom and nephew(she is his guardian) by eating at Cracker Barrel, good food. We had fun.

Earlier we had bought me and her new cell phones. I had been using an old brick that was a few years old. DH is a computer tech and is fairly savvy about any electronic gadgets so mil wanted his help too. We both ended up getting a motorazr, so we can use it as an mp3 player as well. Pretty neat phone, I spent all of an evening downloading pictures and adding them to everyone's contact info. Haven't quite worked out how to convert songs into ringtones, but working on it.

Speaking of DH, I'll probably start calling him by his online handle, Techpriest, because he fixes it and prays it works. He has been going by that now for longer than I've know him. Actually, I've been going by Faren online for longer than I've known him too. While reading Robert Jordan's Eye of the World I came across the mention of a farmer who had my last name (maiden), his first name was Faren, loved the sound of it and decided it use it.

The place seems quieter without Tika around, even though she hadn't been able to get into trouble in quite a while. Raffles is doing good, still sleeping all the time, just wakes up to eat and poop seems like. It will be really quiet when he is gone.

Marianne had asked a couple of days ago whether it had rained much here lately. I told her no. It seems as soon as I said that it started raining. Yesterday it poured down. Hard enough to flood the apartment. Again. This has apparently been the wettest spring in thirteen years here. All the rivers are still very high from the last series of rains. Everyone's basements have flooded, I just happen to live in one. Hutchinson has flooded even worse, two of my friends have had two and four feet of water in their basement. Both lost their water heater and one lost the blower to the central heating unit, which means no air conditioning. So I suppose I could have had it much worse, but it is hard to remember that when all the rooms in the apt. have water in them and you have to keep going from one to the other to keep up with it. Yesterday I was ready to move, but we really can't. The rent is cheap, we are in a good neighborhood, the neighbors in the other apartments are nice, and we can keep Raffles here. It is a pain to find somewhere that will let you keep pets. And we are hoping next spring isn't quite so bad.

It is also very cool down here, I've seen it be 10 degrees cooler than it is outside. But sometimes I swear everything is just slightly damp it is so humid. That has been getting on my nerves too, but Techpriest borrowed a dehumidifier today and it has already made such a huge difference! I'm amazed. So yeah, I feel better about the place than I did yesterday, what a difference a day makes. There really are many pluses to this place.

Sunday I cleaned off the sewing cabinet, one set of crafting shelves, the computer room closet, and a set of shelves in the kitchen. These spots just collect junk that don't belong there. So I got them under control for a while.

Techpriest bought me a couple of Red Dwarf books, so I've been reading them. They are good, but I think I like the TV show better. If anyone is interested, let my know and I'll let you have them for what he paid for them.

Not much knitting going on. I finished using the leftover yarn from Nathan's sweater for squares for Greensburg, and I just haven't moved on to anything else. I found some different instructions for short row heels, but just haven't sat down and got it done. I'm going to have to really pay attention, and all I've really wanted was mindless knitting while watching tv. I plan on doing it tomorrow, but we shall see.

Gratuitous Nathan Picture of the Day!

I love this picture of Nathan with his Daddy(my big brother)

Tika

2007-06-20T09:38:00.000-05:00

Tika just passed away. I thought she was going to go sometime in the night, but she was still here when DH got up at 5 to check on her. She was still hanging on before he left for work at 8:30. After I finally talk him into putting her to sleep, she is gone when I check on her before calling the vet.

I feel guilty because I wasn't holding her, but I was getting ready to take her to the vet. Yesterday she wasn't eating or drinking at all, she would move her head away from it. When we got back from the circus, she had somehow managed to crawl on top of the blankets(without disturbing them at all, I found it very strange) and was so cold and unresponsive. If we had been gone a little longer she might have died then. She finally warmed by after using the rice pack over and over. We did hold her all last evening. She was so unresponsive DH thought she was in a coma, she might have been. He figured if she wasn't in pain not to put her to sleep, but I just hated to see her that way.

We certainly will miss her. To see more pictures and read more stories about her go here.

Can't sleep, the clowns will get me!

2007-06-19T16:07:00.001-05:00

Well, I finished Nathan's baby sweater this weekend. It would look better on a model, but I made it big so it would fit him this winter, so it wouldn't fit anyway, even if he was around.
Project: Nathan's Baby Sweater
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Jelli Beanz
Pattern: Plymouth Yarns Hooded Baby Sweater
Needles: size 9 KnitPicks Options
I made this through a class offered by Yarns in Salina, very helpful, I learned a lot, I also forgot a lot. There are still plenty of mistakes in it, but I'm not going to tell! That way Miranda might not notice them. She is a crocheter though, so she might figure some of them out. It is still cute though, and wearable, so that is all that matters, right? The buttons are adorable too! They have a black outline of a car on them. There certainly were a lot of ends to weave in, it will be awhile before I make something that is more than one color!

I finished this not to long ago, love the celtic knotwork. Isn't the piping pretty? It would hold a checkbook or two. The only problem is the cards keep falling out, any ideas? Either how to fix this one or for future wallets?

I was able to finish the sweater because I was fed up with Miranda's sock, actually the heel. I've only ripped it out twice, compared to the toe's 3 times, but I just couldn't take anymore! I thought I had it figured out when I noticed one side has holes...just one side. If it had been both sides I might have left it, they aren't very big holes, they are almost decorative. They are on the side where I knit the wraps with the stitch. I was looking at the Sockapalozza site and noticed that a lot of the short row heels have them. So any idea on what I should do and how I should do it? I intend to look it up on the web, I just haven't felt up to it. Ignoring the sock has allowed me to finish the sweater and another square for Greensburg so that is something.

Today was laundry day again, no horrible parents today, though there was some circus clowns...actually I don't know if they were clowns, but they were from the circus. Across from the laundromat they were sitting up the big tent, I think the whole town came out for that because the elephants were helping. Anyway, the laundromat was full, apparently the circus does it's laundry on Tuesdays too. I had to wait for dryers, but not to big a deal. Then we went to the afternoon show. I was surprised McPherson could get such a big circus. They were really good, acrobats, high wire acts, horses, and the elephants of course, it was a long show too. In the petting zoo they had some llamas and alpacas too, and even a hippo, though you couldn't pet him.
We had a good time.

Gratuitous baby picture

Sorry this post has so many run on sentences and who knows what else, but I wanted to post, and my brain just is not working very well right now. I think it might be time to go to sleep!

Weasels

2007-06-16T10:28:00.001-05:00

Here is the promised post about the ferrets. A month or so after we moved to Nickerson (so after Feb. '01) we bought the two ferrets from a women in Enid, OK. She had just had a baby and having the ferrets run off with diapers(clean, I think) and other supplies was driving her crazy. She said they were two years old.

We renamed them Tika(me) for a frying pan wielding barmaid in the Dragonlance Chronicles, and Raffles(DH) for a gentleman thief. I'll have to ask him the author, I have seen the BBC series though.

Tika(female) is the first picture, Raffles(male) the second. Ferrets are a lot like kittens, they play constantly when they are awake and sleep like the dead when they aren't. And they don't grow out of it. Not until they are so old they can't move like they used to.

Sleeping like the dead.

Playing hard.
They are 8 years old now, ferrets usually live about 6 to 7 years. These guys are old. I don't have a current picture of Raffles(and I don't feel like taking one), but he looks the same as Tika.

Yeah, ewww, huh? You get used to it. But then again, we had a hairless rat too, looked just about the same. They are both hairless, losing control of their back legs, have arthritis in their jaws(they squeak) and Tika is also blind. And just in case any of you do know anything about ferrets, yes, we did have the adrenal surgery done on Tika. Her hair came back for about a year, then gone again. They have gotten even worse here lately. Raffles occasionally has trouble breathing and Tika's body temperature is low. She always has gotten cold easily, but now you pick her up and she feels cold to the touch. So, we started putting rice packs in bed with her. Never too hot, and we put a towel between it and her. She only comes out of the box to go to the bathroom anymore. I've started bringing food and water to her in bed, is she spoiled or what? I think she will be the first to go. But they have been good pets, and they have had a full life.

Here are some pictures of them in Miranda's afghan she made us for Christmas and the ferrets took over. I really don't think we could have enjoyed it any more than they have.

Yes, that is Tika's nose you see, that is her usual spot, she buries herself as much as she can.

Sorry!

2007-06-15T17:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry it has been a few days, I got distracted. Wed. was Knit Night at the Salina yarn store and I just didn't get around to posting in the afternoon. Everyone thought that Miranda's sock was turning out good. I'll probably end up having her try it on, but just in case I'm not posting a picture. I'm ready to start the short row heel, so time to see how it works!

These are the blocks I've made for Greensburg. The two pink-purplish ones on the left are made out of yarn I received in a swap and I can't believe how much straw was in it! It did look handspun. The purple yarn is Cascade 220, and the little bit of blue in the purple block is beautiful handspun yarn from another swap, it was my first taste of handspun. The block on the upper right I made ages ago for practice out of Red Heart, so between the two I don't think it is up to snuff. Occasionally, I do use Red Heart, like the Dr. Who Scarf, but I just don't like this block.

The pattern for these two blocks(and many others) can be found here. I really like the way they turned out, specially after blocking.

Thursday I went to Hutchinson all afternoon and saw my nephew Nathan(tadpole), and since Miranda said it was ok, here is a picture of him. My dad is holding him either the day he was born or the next day. Oh, he was born on his Daddy's birthday! Isn't that neat? I always think of this picture as Grandpa's Hands.
Then last night we watched Ghost Rider, pretty good movie.
Talk to you all later!

Busy Day!

2007-06-12T22:25:00.001-05:00

I've had a very busy day for me! I couldn't get started till after lunch, but since then I've been going. Well, I did get up early for me and went to Curves. Tuesday is laundry day, which means the laundromat. Now, usually it isn't all that bad.We live close enough, and this is a small enough town that I do go home between machines. Today, I thanked every god and goddess out there. And some that don't exist, just to cover all my bases!

I like children, really I do! It is their parents I can't stand. These kids were in the way constantly. In the aisles, sitting in front of the doors, sitting on the washing machine my clothes were in. Sure, once I needed in there his mother yelled at him, but not a word before then! They started fighting too. And why does both parents and the grandmother all need to come to the laundromat? I didn't realize it was such a gathering place. Why can't someone stay home with the kids so they don't drive everyone crazy? In contrast, there was a little girl sitting beside her mother calmly and quietly coloring away. At least there are a few good ones out there.

Then hubby came home early so we could take the ferrets to the vets. I'll try to post about them some other time. We wanted to see why they were still alive. Actually, they are very old and not doing too well, but we wanted to make sure there wasn't anything we could do for them.
Nope, nothing, just try to keep them comfortable.

Then, we did eat out, yay, I didn't have to cook! Back to the house for a quick break. Time for a pack of peas for me. Then back out for grocery shopping...big grocery shopping. At least I had made a list. And there wasn't any horrible parents there. So, came home and put everything away, realized I hadn't put the laundry away, said screw it, and watched Red Dwarf and knitted for awhile.

Forgot about it again(out of sight, out of mind), remembered it again(ah, crap), finally got them put up. Then I could actually come blog! Now I'm off to catch up with my bloglines.

Oh, if your email isn't in your profile I'm just going to answer your comment with another comment. So if you don't see a thank you in your inbox that is why! Hope that is ok.

Gryffindor socks

2007-06-11T16:26:00.000-05:00

Project: Chelle's Gryffindor Socks
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns Gryffindor Stripe
100% Superwash Merino Wool
actually bought from Destash
Pattern: Cuff down heel flap with gusset
2 X 2 ribbed cuff
foot plain stockinette
kitchener toe
Needles: Knitpicks size 0 dpns

Ok, Laura wants to see my projects and specially socks! I've been working on these forever! Well, probably since the end of January. I think I am knitting faster though. The second sock went a lot quicker than the first one. Isn't that supposed to be the other way around? I hardly ever do anything normal, you will find that out! These are my 4th pair of socks, made for a friend of mine, we'll call her Chelle. Her, Karla, my mom, sister in law and I all love Harry Potter, so when Chelle said she only wanted anklets, I immediately hoped I could get two pairs out of the skein. Chelle got first dibbs because she was the first one I told about the yarn when I first saw it. I got so excited about it, I had to tell someone. Since she lived two blocks away from me in Nickerson, I think she got the brunt of hearing about my knitting obsession.

I did have to dip into the second ball, so it has to be for someone with smaller feet than chelle. Which gets it down to me and Mom....do you see where this is going? I've already made socks for mom(which I don't have a picture of), yes, the first pair of socks I made were for me, but I want a second pair before anyone else gets a second pair! Even mom! Yeah, well, I really just love these socks and want a pair for myself and will justify it however I have too. I did make chelle a pair first though, that was unselfish, right?

I tried to make them identical twins, imagine my surprise when I dipped into the second ball and only got one stripe of yellow instead of two! Chelle has already seen them since I was not very confident that they would fit, so I had her try one on. Since mom has the same basic size of foot as me, this is the first pair of socks that I couldn't tell if they were the right size or not.

I am currently working on a pair of socks for my SIL. Learned how to crochet a chain for a provisional cast on and how to do a short row toe. I ripped the toe out 3 times before I was happy, the first one was gauge related. Doing a basic cable pattern, fairly easy but interesting too. I think I like the short row toe, we'll see about the short row heel. I hear they are quicker than the heel flap and gusset?

I was going to post pictures of the 6 squares I've made for Rebuilding Greensburg, but I think I want to block them first. I also forgot about the wallet I finished sewing, so look for that to show up too. Look through my flickr pictures to get an idea of what I make. I know I have more than that though, I'll have to hunt around some more.

Greensburg Tornado

2007-06-10T00:30:00.000-05:00

Since I have insomnia(again) I figured I would post about Greensburg. A town of about 1500, it was wiped off the map by a tornado on May 4. And I do mean wiped off the map, see some photos here. Ten people were killed by the tornado in Greensburg, with another two outside of town. These people didn't just lose their homes, but their whole town, their whole way of life.
The Kiowa County Signal (Greensburg newspaper) has a list of ways to help if you can.

But I'm really here to promote Rebuilding Greensburg: block by block. It is being put together by Laura of Sugar Bunny Boulevard. Here is the main post about it. She has the ambitious goal (well she did already up the goal) of collecting 2240 afghan blocks and seaming them into afghans for 40 Greensburg families. I had to knit for this, it is their whole town, it seems like it is right next door, and it really could have happened to my town just as easily. So, I already have 5 squares done. Why don't you pick up your needles and knit a square or two? It really won't take long at all. They actually get kinda addictive! If you don't want to knit a plain garter stitch bias square here is a website that has some neat free patterns.
Thanks muchly!

Hello out there!

2007-06-09T19:33:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, I thought I would just sit down and start writing instead of waiting for something brilliant to come to me. So, what do you want to know about me? Though I really think anyone reading this will know me pretty well.

My life changed dramatically in Aug of 2004 when I realized I had had a headache for a week. It continued and got much worse. I have been living with a headache of vary degrees every minute of every day since then. All the time. It seems to go through phases, whatever we are trying at the time helps for awhile, then it gets worse again. We have tried many, many different things, with many different doctors. Right now, on a scale of one to ten(ten being the worst), it averages about a 5.

I ended up quiting my job of 7yrs, in '05 after struggling for months with the headache being about a 7. I have had a few part time jobs since then, very part time. I never know when the headache is going to get bad.
My husband and I had to give up our house in Nickerson and move to an apartment in McPherson. It has been very nice to live in the same town as he works in, but it has been an adjustment to move away from everyone(ok, 30 to 45 min away, not really too bad). Our lifestyle has been reduced a lot, living on one paycheck. I am trying to get disability, but it is a long, slow road.

I started knitting because it was one thing I could do while watching TV. I used to cross stitch while watching tv, but I would have to look down a lot and then the bag of peas would fall off my head.

What?

Oh, you want to know why I have a bag of peas on my head? Ice helps the headache, and frozen peas make the best ice packs. Plus, with practice you can learn to balance them on your head pretty good. But not while you are cross stitching! So, knitting. Now I have a new obsession. This blog will have a lot of knitting content. I need to tell someone all about it, DH doesn't get very excited about knitted socks....he thinks we could just go to Walmart and get some!

Well, I think that is enough to be getting on with, so talk to you later.