Lacy Mock Cable Progress

Time for a knitting update! I almost said that I must be the slowest knitter in creation, but then I realized that I haven't touched my knitting since the weekend. So I don't think it's so much that I'm slow, rather I just don't always get to it. Regardless, this is where I am on the Lacy Mock Cable Socks using the yarn from my secret pal Janet. I truly love how this yarn is knitting up in this pattern! I would definitely use this brand of yarn again as there has been no splitting and has just been a joy to work with. My only complaint is that I'm using Brittany needles and the ends are not pointy enough to do a yarn over two stitches. I have to really work for that stitch, but the rest of the pattern just knits along beautifully.

And I've had her for a little bit, but I don't think she's made an appearance on the blog yet. This is Bobbie, the sock bug I splurged on. I carry my knitting to work each day in this bag as I'm able to kind of wad it up and toss in my bigger work bag and she can handle it. (I also just noticed a couple of strands of Joe hair on my sock bug face. I guess he's just with me everywhere I go! This is also the reason I carry a lint roller in my car, there's one in my desk at work, one in the laundry room, etc.)

In exciting, remodel the house news: When filling up my cute tabletop water fountain yesterday before work I noticed the carpet was damp in front of it. Our first thought was that the fountain was somehow responsible, except that we noticed the water was coming up from below rather than the other way around. Keith called me last night and said that it's our hot water heater. So guess what we'll be doing tonight??? :)

Preach the gospel at all times...when necessary use words. - St. Francis of Assisi

Joe The Dallas Stars Fan!

This dog is just awesome. Last night Joe wanted to put on all his Dallas Stars gear in anticipation of tonight's game and this is the result. (and lest everybody think we're totally off the wall, it's really Keith's shirt and hat....) Isn't his grin awesome?

Gold Bowls and No Yahoo

An interesting phenomenon is happening in my computer world - I'm no longer able to get to my Yahoo Mail and most times to anything Yahoo from my home. Obviously I am one to panic, but that hasn't really gotten anything done. What HAS happened is that I've done so much more this last week than I ever have.

And now I've honestly started wondering if perhaps this isn't a message from God telling me to get my priorities in line. I don't think I've been honest with myself about just how much time I spend on the computer. I truly love it and would prefer surfing around to watching tv or any of the other usual down time activities. But I also know that I have no self-control at all on this thing.

Without access to email and chatting online with friends online I've managed to start walking again - I'm up to almost 5 miles a day now (an estimate). We've only eaten out one meal in this time and really we all spend more time together. These two things have resulted in a five pound loss for me in a two week time period.

Last night, after first checking to see if I could get my email ;) , I went and got a box out that I'd brought home from my grandmother's house. It was a very sensory time unwrapping the newspaper from so many special items. Most of the things hadn't made it out of the box yet because I wanted to be sure they had a special place and would not get broken. Since we bought the corner unit for the dining room (IKEA...gotta love 'em!), that's the spot. This gold bowl is so beautiful and more than likely its beauty doesn't come through in the photo. The doily underneath was purchased a few weeks ago when Loni and I headed out to garage sales early one Saturday morning. I'm so pleased with how perfectly the color matches the bowl.

I know that I won't ever give up my computer time completely, but I'm hoping that through this "drought" I might learn a lesson in moderation.

LSSK Square #5

YAY another Brooklyn square! This square is from Manda and she gave it to me at knit night earlier this week. I am sooo sad though because Manda will soon be leaving us to move to the west coast for love - what's up with that??? She is an awesome knitter (and podcaster!) and I've enjoyed getting to know her. And it's so sweet that she's helping me to love my new grandbaby!

All Alone....

WHEW! Last night I felt like I'd landed in an episode of The Waltons or something. First, my cell phone died. I mean DEAD battery died. So I plugged the poor thing in and hoped that it would resuscitate. My next step would have to be mouth-to-mouth, but I was going to wait and see if the plugging in would work first. And thus lifeline number one to the outside world was gone.

No worries - I'll go see what's new in the email. WHAT??? For the love of all that is good and decent in the world - Yahoo would NOT let me in! I kept getting a little box pop up on my screen with an error message that made me want to weep. All.Night.Long.

I was simply incredulous! What ever did we do before cell phones and email? Did people really sit around together like they did on The Waltons? Was it time to break out the Monopoly board?

I broke into a cold sweat, my breathing was a little heavier and I felt slightly dizzy. Really what else could a woman do in this situation......I went to bed early. ;)

Ring the Bell Pa, Dinner's Ready!

Last night I tried a new recipe - Chicken and Dressing Casserole - and it was oh so good! I cooked the chicken Monday night so that last night all I had to do was assemble the casserole and put it in the oven. I did admit, much to the delight and laughter of Keith and Lynne', that I changed the recipe before we had even tried it. I get teased about this quite a bit from my family. ;) But this recipe calls for mushrooms and I know they don't care for them, so I left them out.

The amazing part though is that, horror upon horrors, I forgot to take a picture! This caused more laughter as they are all used to the camera on the table when it's a new recipe. Of course I like the pictures for the blog, but I also use MasterCook for my recipes and they have a nifty feature that allows you to add a photo to any recipe you enter.

I love it when I find a new recipe to add to our rotation. :)

Jalepeno Appetizers

These are the best appetizers and I don't have any idea what their official name is! Loni had made them for us some time ago and we recently had them at their house again.

My biggest advice before starting is to wear some gloves to prepare these!!!

Cut the top end off a jalepeno pepper, slice in half lengthwise and clean all the seeds out (there's the reason for the gloves!). Fill with cream cheese and wrap half a slice of bacon around, securing with a toothpick (Loni had turkey bacon for these and it was great). Cook on the grill over medium heat until they have browned. Serve and enjoy!

Slap Stitch

Last night Keith and I met several other knitters for Slap Stitch, an event held at the Dallas Stars Hockey game (where we beat the Phoenix Coyotes in overtime - yeah baby!). I've been droopy today since I was up so late, but it was oh so worth it.

Some observations from the evening:

~ I enjoyed meeting Alissa's daughter. She has a great, outgoing personality. And Alissa put on the most beautiful shawl partly through the game.
~ I heard something last night that I've never heard when at a hockey game before: "Does anybody have a tape measure?" And me answering the gal 3 rows down from me that I do, handing said tape measure to Keith and him handing it down.
~ Really I think they need to install Ott lights for knitters at hockey games.
~ Keith leaning over to Lise and I when something would happen so we could sorta keep up with the game. "In case you guys were curious, we just scored a goal." ;)
~ Looking at the sock I had been knitting for three hours and realizing how little I'd finished. My poor husband got his first taste of how I do my hobbies. He was actually a little incredulous at the amount of talking I did instead of knitting or watching the game! Hard to believe we've been married 27 years and he's just figuring this out - LOL!
~ Watching other knitters is fascinating. The gal right in front of Lise and I was truly the fastest knitter I've ever seen. At one point I thought about ripping the bag of cotton candy out of her hands and telling her to stop eating and get back to knitting so I could watch her some more! She knit continental and I swear I thought she'd have an entire afghan completed by the end of the game. And the lady in front of her was knitting lace! We drooled every time she held it up. I have to knit lace in a very controlled environment - no noise, interruptions, etc. - and here she was at a hockey game knitting lace. What a woman!
~ Keith thought it fun how much all the knitters around us laugh and do it so heartily. I think he's starting to understand why we enjoy getting together.

I didn't take a camera because I thought I remembered (incorrectly I might add) that no cameras are allowed inside the AA Center. But I did have my cell phone and once it decides to let me have the photos it's holding hostage I'll post a picture.

Knitting Secret Pal

I guess this is catch up week on The Blog!

My online knitting group recently had a secret pal swap that was a blast! Normally I shy away from this sort of thing, but this time I threw caution to the wind and joined. We were swapping sock knitting kits and really the only parameters were to include sock yarn and a pattern. Naturally we all did more than that! Here at work I don't have access to all my photos, so you won't be able to see the fabulous yarn and pattern Janet sent, but you CAN see the awesome bag! This bag is totally DA BOMB for me and so something I would've chosen had I seen it in the store! I think it will be travelling with me Sunday when we go to Slapstitch at the Dallas Stars Hockey game. Too fun!

LSSK Square #4

I have been remiss in my blogging duties and more importantly, in posting a thank you and photo.

When we got home from Atlanta I had another grandbaby square patiently waiting for me. This one is a soothing soft yellow color and perfectly knit by Blogless Carrie. ;) And while it did take me too long to get this posted, I assure you that I have loved on this square and rearranged all the squares again, all the while imaging little Brooklyn on the blanket.

Thanks dear!

Three for a Walk

Last night after dinner Keith and I snapped a leash on Joe and set off on a walk. I have a BIG case of spring fever right now as the weather is just gorgeous, so this was great. We ended up walking about three miles, which made the poor dog pant and walk s-l-o-w-l-y by the end. This is a great way to spend time with your beloved, too. We talked, we held hands - it was just so nice.

There are so many things starting to bloom right now. Our personal favorite was a crocus that was coming up through a crack in the sidewalk. Perhaps some day I'll learn to always have my camera with me on walks. :)

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." - Thomas Merton

Grant's Canal

On the way home from Atlanta we stopped for a brief...break at the welcome center on the Mississippi border. It was there that we discovered we just happened to be right by Grant's Canal. Now we had just recently learned of the Grant's Canal and when we learned how close we were we decided to take a quick side trip to see it in person, seeing as how we are all somewhat of a history buff. We (more realistically - I) had visions of being really choked with emotion when we were on the grounds of this historical site where years ago so many had given their lives in vain. The reality wasn't nearly that touching. In order to get there we drove down some deserted back roads before seeing the historical sign pointing to a little turnoff. We looked around a moment before deciding it was probably safe to get out and look at the signs. I was horribly disappointed in the whole thing. It looked to be nothing more than an overgrown drainage ditch. We scurried back in the truck, locked the doors and headed back to the highway.

I suppose that sometimes it's best to leave things to the imagination. :(

Hey It's Good To Be Back Home Again...

We're back from a wonderful, though too short, trip to Atlanta for my nephew's wedding. The ceremony was heartfelt, the bride was beautiful and the reception was so much fun. We did tease my nephew about the Air Force being kind to let him have that time off to get married as he had to report back on Monday. :) It's so good to see everybody and it did make me wish that our families could've lived closer through the years.

Keith, Lynne' and I did enjoy the drive out there and Atlanta is just beautiful. I'm glad we decided to drive because I've not seen any of the area before.

And Joe was very happy when we picked him up from the doggy hotel. The employees told us what a sweetheart he was and how much they enjoyed him being there. Awww... :)

"May there be such a oneness between you that when one weeps the other one will taste salt." - Unknown