She Knits At Traffic Lights

New Business Venture

2011-08-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

After getting laid off from a job I had for 23 years, it has been a journey. Currently, I'm working a job I love, but need to be creative at supplementing my income as I am now in the same boat as so many people these days. So to keep myself in yarn and continue to enjoy my knitting I have started an opportunity with Avon.
Yes, I'm now a middle aged Avon Lady! I remember being a little girl and watching my mom have coffee with her Avon Lady. Now it is vastly different with websites and a wider range of products.

So here is to my new journey......Knock, Knock!!

8 more days till I

2011-07-13T13:35:00.001-07:00

8 more days till I leave for Knit Camp!!!

Jasper in the bag

2011-06-11T22:58:00.001-07:00

Jasper in the bag a video by she_knits_at_traffic_lights on Flickr.

Jasper is horrified when he discovered he was stuck in a shopping bag. You can see the indignation in his face while we all stare at him.

Start Walking Guide: Your Social Media Sole-Mate

2011-06-11T22:42:00.000-07:00

Start Walking Guide: Your Social Media Sole-Mate: "Walking and eating your way toward a healthier you? Receive help with step-by-step guidance, tips, reminders and a personal fitness journal!"

American Heart Association - Learn and Live http://www.startwalkingnow.org/res_widget.jsp

2010-04-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today is the day!!

American Heart Association - Learn and Live http://www.startwalkingnow.org/res_widget.jsp

If You're Going Through Hell

2010-03-02T08:22:00.000-08:00

by Rodney Atkins (seems appropriate to me now)

Well you know those times when you feel like
There's a sign there on your back
That says I don't mind if you kick me, seems like everybody has
Things go from bad to worse
You think it can't get worse than that
And then they do

You step off the straight and narrow
And you don't know where you are
Used the needle of your compass, to sew up your broken heart
Ask directions from a genie in a bottle of jim beam
And she lies to you
That's when you learn the truth

If you're goin' through hell keep on going
Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there

I've been deep down in that darkness
I've been down to my last match
Felt a hundred different deamons breathin' fire down my back
And I knew that if I stumbled I'd fall right into the trap
That they were layin'

But the good news is there's angels everywhere out on the street
Holdin' out a hand to pull you back up on your feet
The one's that you've been draggin' for so long
You're on your knees might as well be prayin'
Guess what I'm sayin'

If you're goin' through hell keep on going
Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there
When you're goin' through hell keep on movin'
Face that fire walk right through it
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there

If you're goin' through hell keep on going
Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there
When you're goin' through hell keep on movin'
Face that fire walk right through it
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there

========================================================
Where are the Angels now?

Why would anyone think that anything will change if they are not willing to try?
How can you think it will ever get better?

Why another Dreamer?

Forgive me, I just don't understand your ways and not sure I should even care.

Bite me! I will just knit now.

Tube Scarf

2009-11-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

I just finished a scarf today......which I started one year ago today.

The Classic Elite's Tube Scarf is a very pretty, light weight, lacy knit that is absolutely WONDERFUL to wear. It was only after I wrapped this around my neck that I feel in love with it.

I wanted this scarf the moment I saw it in the pattern book. Once I started knitting it however, I had a hard time sticking with it. Knitting two panels to 60" length seems to drag on slowly, but when one of the panels is in straight stockinette stitch you lose all sense of direction, the world stops rotating yet seasons come and go and you feel like you are only growing older while knitting this never ending panel. I imagine that it would be similar to knitting a roll of toilet paper. Only with the Silky Alpaca yarn you find yourself petting it more than you'd ever squeeze a roll of Charmin.

I would rethink the BLACK panel. It was slow and boring to knit, but the yarn just felt so good in the hands that the longer it got the more I wanted to knit on it. The problem came when sewing the panels together. The black color made it nearly impossible to see the edge of the stitch and more than once I wanted to just stab myself in the eyes with the needle. You need extremely good lighting when you sew these panels together......something I had trouble finding at home.......In the bathroom under the heat lamp was my best light, but who wants to sew on a scarf while dripping with sweat?

I really do love this scarf now that I have it and can wear it. Of course, this scarf is also the first knit project I have made where both of my daughters uttered ooohs and ahhhhs while petting and rubbing the scarf on their necks and face exclaming that now they each want one!!

Figures.

Traffic Jams are Ok!

2009-11-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

Last night while driving home from Lori's Frames, Fibers & Frills, my LYS, I came to a screeching halt. This two lane portion of westbound 8 was blocked by what I'd later find out from a radio report was a roll of carpet blocking two lanes.

So while people sat idle in their cars, grumbling, yelling out their windows, overheating with frustration, I just turned on the overhead light and pulled out my knitting. For 40 minutes my needles clicked away on the Meandering Vines Shawl while workers removed debris and three tow trucks towed some unfortunate cars away that apparently hit the carpet.

I am knitting this shawl with Zauberball sock yarn in the cranberry colorway.

This morning I looked my work over and am happy to report, not one dropped stitch and no corrections needed.

Knitters have such great coping skills!

Halloween Night and knitting away the frights.

2009-10-31T18:47:00.000-07:00

To quote Vincent Price, “It's as much fun to scare as to be scared.”

Tonight is Halloween and it has been a tradition that we set up a spooky entrance where someone decked out in costume jumps out and scares the living [insert your favorite adjective here] out of the Trick or Treaters.

My favorite part the next morning after the sun comes up, we go out to the front lawn and find all the spilled candy and rate our family's performance by the amount of goodies that have been dropped from the Trick or Treaters running for their lives.

Can you find Jasper in the picture?

Tonight, Janeva is going to take the lead. She has fixed a black coffin lit by a strobe light where she will jump out and let out a scream as the Trick or Treaters start to leave with their treats. She has been at it for about an hour now....and from the screams I'm hearing we are going to need a shovel to pick up the loot off the front lawn in the morning. Uh...and I think some people are going to be doing a unexpected load of laundry as well.

(It isn't all horribly, we are hearing lots of giggles and claps from the parents at Janeva's performance)

Meanwhile, I have spent the day getting in the mood by watching horror flicks and knitting. A great combo I think!

I had the priviledge of being selected to test knit a new pattern for Kalurah's "Ireland Knit Version" a neck warmer that is a great knit. This evening I sewed on the buttons and took the pictures. I love the buttons!! I think they are perfect for this neck warmer. I used Cascade Pastaza yarn which after blocked is very soft. This is a fun and quick project, which would be a great candidate for some Christmas presents.

Now I'm going to go block another project! I am on a knitting role these days.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Epic Knitting - My First Lace Project

2009-10-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

Epic Knitting. That is what my first lace project has turned into! I have never been interested in lace knitting before. When other knitters shared their lace projects I'd look, smile, nod, and appreciate the project with a "that is really pretty" while thinking, "not for me".

This summer my favorite LYS, Lori's Frames, Fibers and Frills had a Forest Path Stole KAL. The pattern looked overwhelming, and my first reaction was "I could never......". Then I heard my mom's voice in my head "Of course you can...." and not wanting to miss a opportunity to knit with friends, I signed up thinking that I'd do it to learn new techniques.

I have to be honest and say that at the very start of this lace project I was struggling and not really enjoying it all. The Lily of the Valley panels at one point just pissed me off because of the annoying little nubs, lumbs, nipples, pimples [insert your own here] doodads that had to have 5 loops purled together on the wrong side. As a typically tight knitter these little bulges gave me hand cramps and night sweats.

I think around the 3rd tier, I realized that I was not enjoying this project because I was stressing over those nubs. At that point I just surrendered and purposely focused on letting go of my frustration over knitting the little nubs, if nothing else, I'd be a nub pro by the end of this project.

Gradually, the enjoyment factor grew. I really was starting to get excited that I was sticking with it and this lump of lace was growing. I was also surprised how this very fine yarn was also very warm.......but then I was knitting during the heat of the summer too!

Ocasionally I would lift the lace work up and try to see the pattern of each tier....and while I could see that there was all the stitches that correlated to the charts, I just didn't see all the detail that I thought should be there. I began to worry about whether I was missing something. I continued on, compelled to finish.

THEN, I finished.

THEN, I blocked......I blocked late last night, the lighting was soft, (we need more light in the house!), I kept glancing at the clock as I was stretching, adjusting...pulling gently here, gently there, getting the edges straight, pinning and pinning and pinning. At 11:00pm, I stopped, I couldn't do more and I had to get up very early! I was tired...and so was Jasper....

Jasper was REALLY tired, apparently.

Anyhoo, I put towels over the top to protect this project from Jasper, the wonderfully fun and energetic kitty that has an incredible destructive streak when it comes to yarn.

This morning, I woke up and quickly checked the Forest Path to see if it was dry. I removed the pins and picked up the stole and then I stood there just amazed. Amazed at the airy, fluffy, light feel of this delicate lace that I was holding. I knitted this!! I am blown away!! I don't think the pictures really show the color and the pattern as nicely as being up close.

I think I might be a Lace Knitter!

Taking the UP-Cycle T-shirt class

2009-10-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

I have been attending the UP-cycle T-shirt Class being taught online by Stefanie Japel.

The class is in week two of the three week program. The course takes t-shirts through a recycle process: dismantle, various methods of dyeing (with a very good presentation on color theory) and then knitting the t-shirt yarn into new items. Stefanie also gives four patterns for projects with this class.

This is not your ordinary online course mind you. Stefanie will be adding classes as her site grows, but if this is just a hint of what is to come, this could change the way people take classes in the future. It is perfect for any busy person juggling jobs, family and squeezing time in for their knitting. The class is self paced and all materials readily accessible.

I highly recommend this class or try the Fitted Shawl class just to experience this online class format and see if you won't agree with me. It is great!!

Good thing that the class is self paced for me, Jasper has added some extra challenges as well as entertainment for the family throughout the class thus far.

Take time to relax

2009-09-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Remember I introduced you to our newest family member, Jasper, our little black kitty? Well......

Today I'm going to take Jasper's lead and just relax today.

Jasper really does just sleep like this!! If he was any more relaxed I'd have to check to see if he has a pulse.

We all should be so relaxed, eh?

Enjoy your day!!

Never Forget

2009-09-11T10:07:00.000-07:00

Remember that day when we were all busy taking our kids to school and rushing our way to work?

Remember how Islamic Terrorists changed our lives by killing innocent men, women and children heading to work, or flying to destinations afar?

Remember how we all stopped in our tracks and held our breaths with tears streaming and stinging our faces? Huddled around TVs and Radios living the events of that day, the sights and sounds in shock and disbelief?

Remember for weeks after 9/11 we all took things a little slower, showed one another patience, consideration and care?

Remember when we were ALL Americans, not just Conservatives or Liberals, Republicans or Democrats, Left or Right........Just Americans, outraged that our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers would be cut down for doing nothing more than just living their lives and living out their day?

Remember when no one apologized for being American?

Stand together, take time to consider everyone around you with compassion and gratitude. We did not deserve the events of 9/11, we did not cause the events of that day. Do not apologize for it and do not apologize for being a Proud American.

DO NOT ever FORGET 9/11.

Reconstruction begins.....

2009-08-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Preparing for the kitchen repair. We are done with the tear outs, dry outs, asbestos removal, clean-out, dig-out etc.

First order of business is PAINTING. Grant was just thrilled.

I think painting the bricks is the worst........so I gave that side of the kitchen to Grant!

Do you see the jeans? The jeans that are barely covering the Ghost Buster Boxers? Well, Grant was in total weekend warrior mode, when he went to Home Depot. While heading into the store a panhandler was about to ask Grant for some spare change when he spied the jeans Grant was wearing........then held out some money for Grant. What a week!!

We got the Kitchen nearly painted but won't be able to finish now till the cabinets are put back in and I can clear out the dining room, then I'll paint the corner that is currently blocked.

I have to admit, Grant did most of the painting. I was distracted by the Ghost Busters!

Sitting In The Middle Of A Debris Field

2009-08-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

It has been quite awhile since I blogged. Clearly, I lost my Blogging Mojo for awhile and now it is time to get myself back together.

This has been a spring and summer season of trials and tribulations for me and my family. Starting in April, Jillian had an accident and totaled my car, my cute convertible. While trying to find a used car to buy, Grant's car broke down, leaving us with no car for a weekend (that is right up there with losing the TV remote control.....we were in a state of vapor lock for three days). In one week, we got Grant's car repaired, bought an older used car for me (youngest will be learning to drive in a few months) and also managed to get a nice used car for Jillian. Truth be told, Jillian is now driving a nicer car than Grant and I, but with all the safety features, including side air bags, it is the only way I can sort of rest easy.

We had a couple of nice things happen in between disasters, like adding a new member to the family. Jasper, the cutest, blackest, kitten with the biggest Catitude you have ever seen. Jasper has brought a lot of laughter to the household and the fact that Grant is not a "cat person" adds to the entertainment and wonderment.

Jasper likes to hang out in the oddest places, here he is, in the bathroom sink.

Keep in mind, we have ONE bathroom so there are times when Jasper hanging in the bathroom sink causes some conflict in the house. Like.......

.....when Grant wants to brush his teeth!

Unfortunately, Jasper also has drama tendencies himself (indication that he fits right in with this family). About four weeks ago, then 3 months old, Jasper was running around the house in what we call a "Kitty Spaz", jumping on the furniture and bouncing across the floor. I could hear Jasper's little paws pounding the carpet when I was rounding the corner from the hallway to the living room. All of sudden I felt an impact on my shin, and heard a pop! Jasper ran full tilt into my leg and went straight into Janeva's room under the bed and let out a horrendous cry. I was sick to my stomach because I was sure Jasper had a horrible injury. I called the vet and was told to take him immediately to the emergency vet hospital. Turned out, our little Jasper had a concussion and an eye injury. He is doing fine now, but Grant is convinced Jasper is not very smart.

Grant's dad and stepmom, Michael and Annette, came to visit us from Australia. Grant was able to take a road trip with them to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon and Skywalk and then we all did some local site seeing. It was great having them both here and they got to spend time with the girls, Jasper and I when Grant was working. We really enjoyed their visit and the time flew by far too quickly.

Jillian is working now, and Janeva has enjoyed having the summer off......

Then, three weeks ago, we discovered that we had a broken drain pipe under the slab in the kitchen. Resulting in the tear out of our kitchen and having the slab jack hammered up to find the offending pipe.

The pipe has been fixed and now we are looking forward to having a weekend of painting in the hopes that our cabinets and flooring will be installed next week. So we have been living in a small house with all the contents of the kitchen in every available space in the dining room and living room.

After all the fans, dehumidifiers and jackhammers running to dry out the walls and concrete floor then fix the pipe, I am now enjoying the quiet of the dogs barking, the kitty meowing, the kids complaining and Grant bitching. We are now in the rebuilding phase.....I think it will be moving along quickly now and can't wait to have a kitchen again. We all are sick of microwave dinners, paper plates, bowls and plastic utensils.

All the while I have just kept knitting on my summer project, the Forest Path Stole and making some impressive progress (if I do say myself) while sitting in the middle of a debris field.

I have never worked with lace weight yarn before this summer. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long!!

Going back to a timeless saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!". Well, we have enough lemons for Lemonade, Lemon Bars, Lemon Pudding Cake, Lemon Curd and on and on.

Yet, we all are still grinning. This is one of those weekends that we will be glad to see come to an end, but we have added some new tales to tell and we can laugh about it all later.

How have you spent your summer?

A Correlation Between Disaster Movies and the Economy?

2009-03-29T04:24:00.000-07:00

While watching the Airport Disaster movie series last night which I wrote about here, I got to wondering about why these films were so popular back in the 70s.

In the 70s there seemed to be a running theme in the movie theaters, disasters like Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Flood, Swarm, When Time Ran Out and the list could go on and on.

In the 70s we were in a deep recession and then stagflation. I remember the long gas lines then gas rationing, and rampant inflation. It was an incredibly stressful time for families and I remember my parents were anxious about the changes occurring in government policy and the impact on our lifestyle. Our lifestyle was very middle class comfortable before the recession of the 70s but nothing that would be considered lavish or excessive.

It seems odd now looking back and seeing that the movies that people flocked to for entertainment were disaster themed. I admit to my own fascination in these type of films but I always chocked it up to the time in my life when these films first came out. I was in my teens and these were action packed movies and groups of us went to the theater and it was all good.

Now as an adult I find it curious that not only were the movies back then disaster flicks but that they are now being replayed quite frequently on movie channels when there seems to be so many similarities in the economy....high unemployment.....rising prices......housing issues (back then it was rising interest rates).

I realized last night between Airport 77 and Airport 79....that really the "disasters" were the back story to the "survival" of the characters. The characters of the movies finding their inner strength to overcome fear and fight tenaciously for their survival. Also, it was the good people that lived and almost always the mean and evil people died horrific deaths. There were tragedies but there were greater triumphs at then end of the movies which left the viewer feeling good in the end.

While sitting on the couch, on a wonderfully quiet evening at home, knitting and watching disaster movies, I figured it out.

Get your Frequent Flyer Card Ready!

2009-03-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight, on the AMC channel there is an Airport-a-thon. Back to back Airport disaster movies!! Tonight's line up is Airport 1970, Airport 1975, Airport 1977, The Concorde: Airport 1979.

For this occasion I'll be starting the Turtleneck Tube Vest while watching hundreds of people crash and burn. My husband, Grant has the night off so we may sneak in some kanoodling to the romantic sounds of passenger's screams and moans, making this just about as perfect a night we have had in over a year!! (I told you all I have been stressed!)

Interesting point: In Airport 1970 the heroine is, a sweet old lady, Mrs. Ada Quonsett a stowaway who knits throughout the whole disaster without so much as slipping a stitch!

Now, put your seats and trays in their up right position and fasten your seat belts we are ready to take off. Our Cabin Steward, Grant has arranged for a Chinese dinner to be served.

Knit on.

UPDATE: Look at the In flight Snack Steward Grant, of Couch Sitter Airlines brought me.

I don't think I will be bitching about Qantas Airlines after this flight.

Quiet Knitting

2009-03-24T20:32:00.001-07:00

Is it just me?

I have been feeling stressed out, frazzled, irritated, agitated, high strung and overly anxious for the last 2 months. This last week I simply just hit a wall, I had enough. I was strung out from not sleeping soundly at night and having random thoughts that would interrupt my sleep. I have been miserable.

I think it is the cumulative effects of all the bad news about the economy, anxious about the unemployment outlook, the 401K looking more like a hole in my pocket, money going in balance going down. Getting our taxes done and ending up owing instead of getting a return and the government telling us that the $13.00 a week the feds are giving us is like this magic tax cut....but for those of us in California we are getting reamed at the State level with higher taxes and fees for just about everything. Not really feeling the "Golden State" right now if ya know what I mean.

I don't think I'm isolated in this crap bubble. Everyone seems to be pissed off and have hair triggers. More people are driving aggressively and tailgating for no particular reason rather than just changing into a passing lane and going by. In the grocery store a woman had a minor freak out last Sunday because she had to stand in line. Who doesn't expect to stand and wait their turn at the check out? I really don't think there is a magic happy pill for what is ailing all of us.....

This last week I stepped away from watching so much news coverage. I replaced it with DVDs like JAWS, Aliens, and tonight I'm watching Volcano. It appears that I'm comforted by watching movies of natural disasters, beach goers being eaten or a slobbering alien beast splitting the crew of a space ship to bits.

The other thing that I have been doing is whipping out smaller knit projects. This last weekend I knitted up two scarves both using the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf pattern.

One made in a really soft worsted weight Malabrigo and the other made in a Cashmere Merino Wool blend. I really love the way they turned out and found the pattern to be very relaxing and quick knit. Perfect for gifts!!!

I am lining up some more disaster movies, like Dante's Peak, Leviathan and yarn to relax with in the evenings.

I am feeling better now.

Death Defying Shopping Trip for Knitting Needles

2009-03-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

Friday the 13th, any other time one just thinks of the “bad luck” day and snicker a little. Last Friday was one of those I remember thinking “don’t break a mirror, watch out for black cats and don’t walk under any ladders” then chuckled and went on with my day.

I’ll admit to being a little stressed about work lately, my job security is only as good as the length of my current funding which runs out in June. I have had to step slowly away from watching all the doom and gloom in the news reports about the economy. I have not opened any of my retirement account statements in the last 6 months, what’s the point, really? I have a mortgage with one of the WORST mortgage companies…Chase. Chase deserves it’s own post on this blog which will come at a later time…stay tuned, but I suspect if any of you have a mortgage with that lender you’ll know ahead of time what I’m going to say and if you don’t have a loan with them and considering a refi on your home, unless you are a Congressman or Senator…stay clear of them……….but I digress.

Last Friday, I went through my day like any other Friday. In the afternoon I decided I wanted to start a project for my hairdresser. I thought the Just Enough Ruffles Scarf would be a great scarf for her and since I have an appointment in a little over a week I’d have a good chance of having it done by then. The problem I encountered is that this scarf really does require a longer cable needle in the size that I was using. No big deal and it didn’t seem to be a problem because I could run up to the LYS after I picked up Jillian from her school. She gets out at 5 and I’d have an hour to get her and to run to the store. Well, here is how that went down and how I nearly died or at a minimum cause a big mess…….

4:45pm texted Jillian telling her I was in the parking lot. (Sometimes she gets out a little early on Fridays)

Texted conversation between Jillian and me:

Jillian: “Great, I will be right out because I have to meet Megan at 5”.

Me: “Well I need to swing by the LYS to get needles”.

Jillian: some version of teenage pig Latin with symbols and abbreviations was texted back….I got the thrust of the message as having attitude because she was in a rush.

I decided to just sit in the car and grow irritated.

Jillian gets out to the car we load up her supplies and we get on our way. Jillian having time to think about my “quick trip” to the LYS was fine with it but warned that it really did need to be quick because she knows me only too well. A “quick trip” to the LYS for needles could end up lasting hours looking through books, patterns, feeling up yarn skeins…….in other words, she knows me. But I reassured her that the store would close soon so I could ONLY have a quick trip.

After an IN/OUT trip with needles in hand I jump in the car. Jillian smiling saying “I’m proud of you mom, that was a record!” Shared a giggle over that and we were on our way in time for her to meet Megan who we found out was running late.

First traffic light we hit was red but about to turn green. There was a car first, then a truck, I am behind the truck and then a long line of cars right behind me lined up waiting for the green light. The light turned green and the first car went through the intersection. The truck starts to move on and I follow……only the truck stopped short right at the light…I hit the brake hard and stop just short and the car behind me slams on his breaks. The light is green….no one is moving. I’m really getting irritated because it appears that the jackass in the truck is looking at instructions….is he turning left or right….does he go straight through….? Well the light turned red while he was deciding. I’m steaming the guy behind me was even worse and I am glad I couldn’t read his lips from the rear view mirror cause I’m sure it wasn’t nice.

Cross traffic now has the green light and they are speeding through the intersection……I thought that every driver was looking smugly at us as they whizzed by. Jillian and I start discussing her plans for the evening and having a light conversation.

All of a sudden we heard a loud bell ringing and THAT is when I realized that I was straddling the Trolley Tracks!! I look at the light and it is still red, the car behind me was too close so I couldn’t back up. I see the gates starting to come down and I’m starting to feel my heart rate jolt and the pounding of my heart up into my throat. I vaguely remember Jillian yelling, “MOM, GO!” and I yelled “WHERE”. I am frantically looking side to side to see if I could see the Trolley coming, then I saw it was coming from the right side.

All of a sudden the light turned green and the truck took off….but the gate is now smashing down on the top of my car and banging loudly. I look to the right and see the driver of the Trolley and his mouth was wide open as if he was yelling …..screaming to get out of the way.

In the car behind me….I see in the rear view mirror the panic in the guys face and he is motioning to the cars behind him to back off. He manages to back up a little bit.

I hear Jillian yell “MOMMY!” just as I’m able to back up a little bit off the tracks. The gate was bouncing down the windshield and resting on the hood of the engine JUST AS THE TROLLEY breezed by.

I looked over at Jillian, Jillian is looking at me just before we both bursted into tears. We both are covered in Flop Sweat (flop sweat = profusely sweating from nervousness when you are caught doing something totally STUPID) We both tried to quickly regain composure and look around us wanting some reassurance that no one we knew saw this spectacle. Once we realized that we were going to live, and that no one from either of our social circles saw this episode we started to calm down a little. For Jillian, meeting Megan didn’t seem quite as important now.

Jillian nearly completely recovered just quietly said “That was so lame.”

Silently we went the rest of the way home.

I came home and immediately went into the bedroom to lay down. I held a couple of balls of Alpaca wool and thought I’d hold off starting any knit projects. I figured my gauge would be way too tight.

While laying down I realized that the last time my darling daughter Jillian, whom I adore, called me “Mommy” was about two years ago when she was passing a Kidney Stone.

A Day Break

2009-03-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

After a couple of days of excitement...... well okay, it doesn't take much to excite us here but participating in a protest was exciting enough. So much so we needed to take a break!

Janeva, Grant and I went to the Model Yacht Pond in San Diego. Not really sure why we picked that place because we don't have a Model Yacht but it sounded interesting so we headed there after stopping off to pick up some Subway sandwiches.

The sun was out and the day was warm which was a nice break from the rainy weather we had for the last couple of weeks. For California, we had "weather" with puddles and everything!

We got to the park and found a nice spot to set up with a full view of the pond.

After we ate our lunch, Grant and Janeva decided to walk to the other side of the pond were the "Sailors" were walking along the side of the pond directing their yachts up and down the race route. One really nice guy started talking to Grant and then offered to let Janeva take his boat for a spin. First he had to explain the radio console to her but after that she was rounding the buoys like a pro!

While Janeva was Sailing, Grant was taking photos of the Sailboats.

All the while I knitted on my Columbia Berets using leftover yarn from the Texturized Tweed Coat.

I have made two of these berets from the leftover with enough to have stashed away for snags and mishaps.

A great day for a picnic, a little sailing and some knitting projects to relax with.

San Diego Tea Party February 2009

2009-02-27T13:39:00.000-08:00

I got a mention on Michelle Malkin's blog! Susan from San Diego and Trafficknitter ......that would be ME!

First off I have not wanted to get Political on this blog. However, I have been growing madder and madder of the last few years by the arrogance of Washington and this issue crosses all lines.

The spending is out of control. Point fingers all you want if you are so inclined, but the fact is, ALL of Washington needs to be accountable for the "Crisis, Catastrophe, Armageddon", (plug in the word of the day here).

For me, the last straw so to speak was the MASSIVE (my word of the day) spending that was voted on, then signed by the President four days later in Colorado and, by their own admission, not ONE lawmaker....nor the President ever sat down and READ THE BILL. So how can any one of them know let alone explain how any of this spending will affect the country in the near future as well as generations to come??? Let alone say it will SAVE US!!

So, because of the MALPRACTICE of the political process, I did something never before compelled to do. I PROTESTED!!

Grant and I attended the San Diego Tea Party. Both of us holding our signs with our own individual expressions of frustration in full view. Grant was promptly interviewed by every news outlet that attended. As a newly arriving immigrant, his situation has a unique slant to everyone else feeling the same way. Why should he pay for everyone else's bailout when he has been refused loans as a result of the U.S. banks not taking into account his credit rating from Australia? He has started here from scratch and now while trying to build his life here, he is now having to prop up those that perhaps just didn't take the care they should in managing their own finances.

Grant with sign ready.....let the Tea Party begin!

Grant managing his mini media storm. His sign captured the attention of a lot of people today.

We had 600 people show up for the San Diego Tea Party. It was a great turn out, and by all accounts it was a peaceful and respectful display of frustration.

The message is clear.....The Chattering Class do care about all the "little tiny porky amendments"! Let Washington DC eat the pork....we are all full here!! Someone tell Sen Charles Schumer he may be "Shovel Ready" but the American Tax Payers will no longer stand to be piled on quietly anymore.

Back to knitting now.......

Second Sock Syndrome, ME?

2009-02-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

Remember this post about the "Glitter Sock" ?

A year to finish a pair of socks? Yep. I can't believe a year has passed but I am now the proud owner of a new pair of glittery socks!

We are expecting rain over the entire weekend so I guess I should start another pair now!

Texturized Tweed Coat and The Buttons

2009-02-04T19:19:00.001-08:00

Casted on for the Texturized Tweed Coat on Christmas Day. Discovered a mistake in the seed stitch about the time I had put the sleeve stitches on a holder. Ripped it back and started over on January 5th. On January 12th sitting in an Emergency Room with my mom for 12 hours I turned the wait into a one woman knit marathon and made huge progress on this sweater.

After I had knitted the sweater, Grant and I hunted for the buttons, I found the buttons, and I finished putting the buttons on last night. NOW, on February 3rd, I could announce that my Texturized Tweed Coat is FINISHED! TADAAAA!!!

It is a very striking sweater and rich in texture. The pattern was very well written and easy to follow. The design flattering and the collar.....what can I say....I just LOVE IT!!

Here it is, modeled by Janeva......can you tell she is irritated that I am making her model a wool sweater on a day where the temperature in Southern California hit 85 degrees?

Today, was the first day that I didn't work on this sweater ........I honestly miss working on this sweater! It was a fun knit.

Buttons Buttons I Found the Buttons!!

2009-02-03T20:21:00.000-08:00

Remember a few days ago, I ran Grant ragged looking around town for buttons? I was beginning to worry I'd have to settle for any button I could find in the quantity and size just to complete my project.

Well two days ago I found a treasure trove of buttons right here in town!!

As Cute As A Button is located in Point Loma (San Diego) California. They are an online source for buttons but if you want to go to the shop you can call ahead and set up an appointment. I had the shop to myself and was able to lay out all kinds of different buttons on my project before finding the PERFECT buttons for my Texturized Tweed Coat.

More about the project tomorrow, right now we are talking buttons! Kim, the owner of "As Cute As A Button" was kind enough to let me take some pictures of their selection!

As you can see, my photos don't really do the buttons justice, but you can kinda get an idea of the volume and selection that they have.

If you are needing buttons for a project, take a moment to look at the link above and see if you can't save yourself a lot of time, gas, and a big fatty headache by finding the perfect button in the comfort of your home shopping in your PJs!!!

Recycled Yarn?

2009-02-01T12:42:00.000-08:00

RECYCLED YARN?? This sweater was once a completed vest. But the vest was not a big hit with any of the three girls in this household...including me. So NOT a hit that I have no "before" pictures of the vest before I ripped it all out.

I frogged the completed vest after it sat for a year unworn and unappreciated and recycled the yarn to make this sweater for Janeva. HUGE HIT! The sweater pattern came from Stephanie Japels "Fitted Knits" book. The sweater is called Boatneck Bluebell......but in our home it has been renamed to "Janeva's Freshman Sweater".

Not only was this sweater a fun knit for me but also fits Janeva beautifully and she loves it. It also appeals to my sense of frugal knitting (not something I'm known for!) and the fact that I didn't just let a finished project sit off to the side to be forgotten.

I won all the way around with this project!

Buttons Buttons Where are the Buttons??

2009-01-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

Grant helping me look for the perfect buttons, which is the hardest part in making the Texturized Tweed Coat!

The Most Dangerous Place in the U.S.

2009-01-25T15:43:00.000-08:00

The most dangerous place to be today?

Standing in the space between my husband and the TV on Race Day Sunday.....which could also be Super Bowl Sunday or whatever hot sport game on any particular Sunday.....

Here are the two phases to the "YOU are blocking the TV" incident:

FIRST, If you wander into the space between Hubby and the TV you get good natured warning:

SECOND: If you just stand there and even think about trying to engage a conversation you get "The Look":

Is it any wonder that I got so excited when I found this beer at a speciality market in town?"

What dangerous spot did you wander into this weekend?

Old Knitting Magazines

2009-01-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

Not so long ago my husband, Grant, asked me this: "Is it really necessary that you keep all these OLD, outdated, knit magazines? You must subscribe to all of them and and get new ones almost monthly! "

Realizing that he is a non-knitter (his picking up knitting needles twice in 18 months does NOT make him a knitter) I took a deep breath and exercised patience and understanding when I delivered my response......."OMG, are you freakin kidding me? These knitting magazines are a treasure and very valuable!"

Concerned that my explanation of why I kept every back issue of various knitting magazines would not be convincing enough I started to thumb through them one afternoon.

In the Winter 1998 issue I found several patterns that really caught my eye.

The first one, a cabled hat named "Aran Top Knot" by Maureen Egan Emlet. I had the yarn in my stash so I knitted it over the weekend.

Then in the same issue a sweater caught my eye. "Icelandic Traditions" by Lois Young. The pattern called for Plymouth Galway, but I substituted with Cascade 220 and started that sweater right after the completing the hat.

I have always gone back and rediscovered patterns that when I may have first glanced at them thought, "I wish I could make that", and then picked out what I thought of as a beginner project. But now when I rediscover a pattern, I love the fact that over the years I have developed the ability to just dive in and make what I like.

After finding these patterns in this old issue. What did Grant say when he saw me knitting on these projects?

Grant: "You are just knitting those old patterns on purpose!"

Knitting and Fondue Makes A Great Combo!

2009-01-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

In the late summer of 2008, my niece Allyson and her daughter Hannah (making me a Great Aunt) decided to learn to knit. We started to get together more regularly to work on projects and so that I could help them if they had questions or got into a jam. Driving 2 hours to my house for our Family KnitFest started to become a regular thing.....which I think is a perfect way to spend a weekend day!

On one of these days, Grant had a rare day off and so not wanting to be left out, he pulled out his Knitting Supplies that he received at one of the Padre's Stitch N Pitch games.

FLASHBACK: At that particular game Petco Park handed out a beer cooler with two balls of yarn and a set of knitting needles to people for that Stitch N Pitch. Enough to make a scarf. I told Grant that since he received this knitter's pack he HAD to knit something. He immediately started knitting along with Janeva and later interviewed for an online magazine.

Not to be outdone by the rest of us knitting on our projects, Grant decided to prepare an elaborate Fondue to graze on during our Family KnitFest.

So knitting and grazing that day led to two completed projects. I finished the Rusted Root sweater for Hannah.

Allyson finished her first project, a baby blanket for one of her co-workers. More projects have been started since our Family KnitFests began and it looks like there will be more of us attending the Stitch N Pitch games this year too!!

The Winterberry Hat

2009-01-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

I'm on a roll....another post about a knitting project!!!

In October 2008, I took a class for this Winterberry Hat at Lori's Frames Fibers and Frills in Alpine, CA. The pattern design was developed by Charlie Hada, one of THE best knitting mentors/teachers one could hope to find. I will say now that it has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to be in her class for 6 years and to continue on with Athena who started out as Charlie's assistant.

This is a perfect project if you want some instant gratification. It took less than a week to knit up and then with a little extra embellishing using French Knots, Duplicate Stitch and a Lazy Daisy or two it just looks like a intricate pattern that required so much more time.

This is a great project for winter gifting if you need something FAST.

Hannah received this hat as a birthday gift and I was tickled to death by her reaction. Everyone should have a Hannah to knit for!!

Cabled Coat Survived

2009-01-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

Started this project approx 2 weeks after receiving Vogue Knitting in the mail in 2007.

Fun knit, lots of pattern and texture going on. Ran into a few problems initially on the charting of one of the cables but it was fairly quick and easy to correct.

It took roughly 5 weeks for me to knit all the pieces. The problem I ran into was the constructing the pieces together. I would baste it all together and then the seaming would just look “off” and didn’t sew together as nicely and neatly as the knitting appeared. Frustrated I set this project aside and would occasionally pick it up and in frustration set it aside again.

Seriously, this project caused me a bad case of “Knitter’s Constipation”. I could finish it, hated not finishing it so I felt guilty when I’d start and finish projects while it sat in a corner of the closet.

November of 2008 I found out that a good friend and knitting mentor, Charlie Hada was starting a finishing service. She agreed to put this sweater together for me and NOW I LOVE IT! I felt vindicated too because she found it a challenge as well.

Charlie’s finishing is flawless, the seaming particularly around the collar and the center seam on the collar with matching the cable stitches perfectly just blow me away. I could never have imagined that this would come together so beautifully after all my attempts.

Sadly, my photography doesn’t do it justice.

Eyeing the situation.......

2008-12-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

At first I thought Grant had a reaction when he saw this year's Christmas bill.......but it turns out he caught a box with his eyeball while at work.

He was very lucky and the doctor said he should fully recover in about four to six weeks.

That should give him enough time to write a best selling novel about a dysfunctional family and their holiday celebrations, eh?

Massive Bailout

2008-12-20T10:16:00.000-08:00

Another kind of a Massive Bailout dumped by The Bluebird of Happiness is my guess.

Seriously this bird had to be scary HUGE given it's dump capacity.

National Photo Exposure

2008-12-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

Last May we were in the midst of a hectic end of school year schedule. Jillian was graduating High School and turning 18, Janeva was graduating Middle School and turning 14, and Grant's daughter Angela flew in from Australia and was turning 19. All three girls have birthdays in a three week span. Grant planned a birthday bash which would be a kick off for his daughter's visit with us. A lot of our Geocaching friends came to Peter Piper Pizza to celebrate Angela's arrival and all the girl's birthdays.

I was taking pictures throughout the evening. Among the pictures were random shots of all the girls individually, together, and coupled at random. They were just your normal snapshots of time. I have always been a prolific photographer at family events so this was no different.

I think it last July or August that I was viewing some of my favorite websites. One of my clicks took me to the Family Circle Magazine website and I saw a photo contest link. The photo contest was themed "Family Time Photo Contest". I read the rules and thought it looked interesting and I thought it would be fun to submit a few of my photos.

I went through my files and piles of photos and decided on four or five photos that would fit the theme beautifully and were some of my personal favorites.

On the 17th of November I received an email from the editor of Family Circle Magazine notification that I had won third prize and requesting more information....address, full name etc. Out of some 5900 entries, one of my photos won third prize!! I was in total shock and some what disbelieving. Two days before Thanksgiving, I received a very official package asking me to sign a release so the photo can be published in an upcoming issue and to sign off the tax papers in order to receive my prizes. One prize arrived yesterday and THAT is when all of this became real to me. OMGosh!! I WON THIRD PRIZE IN A NATIONAL CONTEST FOR A MAJOR PUBLICATION!!!

The problem is, I don't know WHICH photo won so now I'm dying of curiosity now to find out which one of the photos will be published!

I am now a Mobile Blogger!

2008-11-30T09:29:00.001-08:00

I am now a Mobile Blogger, thanks to the new camera phone that Grant surprised me with. (Thank you Honey!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T08:04:00.000-08:00

Giving Thanks is on the agenda today. After all the political strife of the last year, the economy tanking, pension plans disappearing, investments and 401Ks sliding into the black hole as the result of what we are told is a deep "recession" (I think it looks more like political manipulation and criminal acts by insiders.....but I digress) it seems that there is very little to be thankful for. But, giving time to look deeper, I was surprised and comforted for all the things I have to be thankful for after all. I hope you are able to take a moment and give thanks and express appreciation for what you have and perhaps it will give you comfort too.

I am very thankful for.......

....being here to share this holiday with my family. As a cancer survivor, I "GET IT" today is a gift!! Try to live each day as it is your last. (When life is hectic, it is easy to forget this.)

....having a warm meal to share with my family. Even more thankful at being able to prepare a meal for my family. (My mashed potatoes are to die for!)

....having my mother to call this morning and share with her an early morning laugh and getting to look forward to her arrival next week.

Side story: I miss my grumpy gruff father, and I appreciate the strength and humor that he passed down to me and my own daughters. My favorite memory of him, just before he died, I was in Tennessee taking care of him and helping my mother caring for him and cooking for both of them. One night, I baked a big batch of cookies when the house was quiet. He was pretty much bedridden by then so I stayed on California time and stayed up till the wee hours of the morning so my mom could try to sleep. After the cookies had all been baked and the last batch was laid out on the counter to cool, I laid down to try and rest. That day had been particularly rough and I was drained. Just as I was about to be drift off to sleep I heard a noise in the Kitchen. Mouse? I hoped not...something shifting in the cupboards? This isn't California, nope no earthquake. What was it? I got up to investigate. My mom was sleeping soundly. Went in to check in my dad...it was dark in the room so I couldn't really see him but was listening to his breathing. It didn't sound right. Stepped lightly over to the side of the bed for a closer look, and in the shadow of night could see he was awake. I whispered "are you okay?" and he mumbled back "uh huh". But he didn't sound right, his mouth was puffed a little. THEN I FIGURED IT OUT and said to him "HEY!! Did you get into the cookies??!" He couldn't really answer because he had a mouthful of cookies. I then said "I caught you red handed old man, you are sooo busted!" The two of us had the biggest laugh over that!! He had to really struggle to get out of bed and shuffle to the kitchen...but he did just to SNEAK a cookie!!! That memory is one of my favorites, only later did I discover it would be one of the last. I'm very thankful for that moment and memory of my dad.

I am thankful for....

....having a wonderful growing relationship with my niece Allyson, and getting to share my love of knitting with her and daughter, Hannah. OH...and hearing how they are now infecting others with handmade knits of love. (I know she will read this, ;) ) I can't wait to see Heidi's project too!!! Knit on Girls!!

....having a warm dry home to wake up in. (we are currently being pounded with rain and had a tornado warning just a bit earlier....this is unheard of in Southern California!!)

....having a loving husband who makes me laugh, puts up with my yarn, wears the sweaters that I knit him, and who on occasion makes us a fantastic fondue dinner just so that we all can knit and graze on a marathon knit Sunday! (Allyson, Hannah and I finished two projects on one of those days!!) It was fiberly fun!

....having a job, that provides the family with a small amount of security and allows us to do some of the small things we do for fun. (All too often I forget to be grateful for just having a job.)

....having a friendship with my x-husband so that on holidays and special occasions we all can celebrate and share a meal and everyone can get together and share these moments with our two daughters.

....having an extended family in Australia and getting to learn more about another culture. I'd love to share a traditional Thanksgiving Day with all of them one day. I think that they would enjoy this day as I grew up celebrating Thanksgiving.

The more I sit here and think of what I am truly thankful for, the more I have to be thankful of.

I hope that you all can find things in your life to be thankful for.

A discovery

2008-10-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

As you know by now, my husband Grant is one of the contributors that are featured in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: Divorce and Recovery Book. This is about his experience in writing his story for the book and my discovery coming from all of this.

It was about a year ago that I stumbled across a notice about a contest where several of the “winners” would be featured in a book. I encouraged my husband to submit a story. Much to his surprise he was told he won “first place”. It was exciting for Grant as he had recently immigrated to this country to pursue a new life and a writing career.

This is a second marriage for both Grant and I. What I discovered from my divorce is that a heart can be so wounded that in the healing process scars develop, much like any wound on your skin does, the deeper the wound, the uglier the scar. Typically, scar tissue results in a loss of sensation, a numbing of that area which has been hurt so significantly.

Although not unique, my divorce was a traumatic one. I was determined to survive it and live on. I have felt that the resulting scarring of my heart has been a closely guarded problem for me. I knew I had “healed”, “moved on” and “progressed” from a failed marriage and have been able to work with my ex-husband reestablishing a friendship for the sake of our children. Yet, I was still numb and unable to really feel the way I used to feel about people and situations like I had before the divorce. I assumed that I was emotionally damaged by disappointment and divorce, consequently going through the motions with this lack of sensation that I had grown to fear. Is that normal? I have felt numb to deep heartfelt emotions and feelings for anyone or anything. Or so I thought………

I was happy and proud of Grant for submitting his story and winning a prized status of being published in one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I know that his story relates to a very painful period in his life and to have the courage to share something like that was probably very difficult for him at first.

Last night, after a rare dinner date, Grant and I were strolling through a mall and stopped by a large bookstore. Grant was able to find “his” book. (this is how it is referred to in our home as ‘HIS’ book). We stood in the store and scanned the Table of Contents to find his story. He was visibly touched at seeing his story and name in the book. Since he had been recently notified that his copies of the books had not been sent due to an oversight, he purchased the book so he could send it to his daughters in Australia.

We came home, excited and I felt blessed as this seemed a great way to end an evening out. We plopped down on the couch, kicked off our shoes and took another look at the book. Grant went to the back of the book to look at the bios of the contributors. Flipping the pages forward and backwards, we looked three times only to discover that he is THE ONLY contributor whose bio is not included!

Imagine the crush of disappointment that is now the reality. The diminishing of Grant’s role in this publication by omitting his name in the section of the book devoted to “Contributors”. How did this happen?

This leads me to my newest discovery. I healed much more than I ever knew till now, because I now hurt for my husband and feel his disappointment. I would almost prefer being numb.

Grant shared an inspirational story of recovery and shifting of roles as the result of his divorce. A very difficult time in his life should not have to be celebrated by a new disappointment from which another recovery has now begun.

A question about my own fears of old wounds appears to be answered now. It is now apparent, I’m no longer numb, it hurts to see someone else hurt.

While I'm not able to prevent the hurts and disappointments that my loved ones will face, I hope I can be strong enough to help them overcome set backs and move on stronger than before with resolve to not be knocked down in defeat but to regain footing and resolve to try again and succeed.

UPDATE: Grant sent an email pointing out the omission of his bio in the book. This morning he received an email apologizing and saying that it would be included in the next printing and his copies of the books would be replaced with the newer release in December.

For me, this is perhaps why I knit, it is not just a hobby, it's a coping tool. I use the time to knit to ponder these moments and sometimes it keeps me from reacting immediately in a manner than I'd likely regret later. In the last week I have received four new knitting books.

Glam Knits and Custom Knits are two books that I will be using a lot. The patterns are well written and the projects look like they will be fun and engaging. Knitting On Top of The World has a few projects that interest me and each time I thumb through this book I find something new. The book itself is just gorgeous! The Mason Dixon Knitting Outside of the Lines, is a fun book, a great read and the projects are functional, fun and even conversational pieces. I particularly like the reusable swifter floor mop pad and when I saw the knitted cuffs for rubber gloves I about pee'd my pants from laughter. These two projects just suit my family's twisted sense of humor beautifully! I don't know if I'll make a set of these for my sister and wrap them up in a gorgeously Christmas package or use them as a stocking stuffer. Either way, I can hear the laughing already!

Oh yeah! I am going to be coping all this weekend with these new books and my stash of yarn quite well.

My Husband Is A Writer

2008-10-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Today has been an eventful day.

The girls left today to meet up with their father in New Orleans for a family reunion. So the morning seemed hectic with the packing, checking what was packed, identify items that hadn't been packed (i.e. toothbrush), doing last minute small load of laundry because of the typical "Mommmmmm, I can't possibly go to New Orleans without my favorite top" crisis. So with hair on fire we leave the house for the airport. Girls meet up with their Grandma and the three of them are off for what is hopefully a 5 day fun filled trip reacquainting with great uncles and cousins.

From the airport Grant and I had to do a whirlwind tour between two bases to get my expense report generated and submitted so I can get my money back from this week's trip.

Back at the house by 4:30 to meet up with a roofing contractor to get an estimate. I'm long overdue for a new roof and while I knew it was going to be expensive, but this is turning out to be a budget buster. Anyhoo........

FINALLY, around 6:30, Grant and I find ourselves starting the evening with no kids, no contractors, no mandatory errands, no paperwork or mail to go through........we look at each other and both of us seem to say "what now?"

This evening Grant and I had a really great dinner at Claim Jumpers and proceed to waddle out of the restaurant and stroll over to a Barnes and Noble. I head over to the knitting book section (Grant always knows where to find me if I'm in a bookstore). Grant goes off to some other section......usually somewhere in the area of WWII history section. I'm looking through the knit book section and I'm mentally adding to my Wish List when I turn around and see Grant standing behind me with a book in his hand.

About a year ago, Grant submitted an entry in a contest for one of the upcoming Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Soon after he sent in his entry, he was notified that he won first place! In the last year we'd get periodic updates as to the release of the book and the title. About three weeks ago we were told the final title of the book, "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Divorce and Recovery" with a release date.

This evening while at Barnes and Noble, Grant found the book. I call it His Book, but he will tell you "it is a book that I contributed to"......whatEVER.....it is HIS FIRST U.S. American book published. I can even prove it!!!......

I thought it was pretty exciting to be standing in the middle of a leading bookstore and find a book on the shelves with a story in it that my husband wrote. I think he was excited too!

This was a great way to end an evening!!

Traveling Knitter - Day Two

2008-10-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

Well......I didn't sleep that well last night.....guess the new surroundings, the big fluffy white bed, and all this quiet space to call my own was just too much for me to be able to relax. Morning came fast enough though. I finally gave up and just got out of bed at 5:30 to get ready for the complimentary breakfast (little things like that excite me).

I left my room with the best view from the top floor to head down to the lobby where a dinning room off the main hall was suppose to set for breakfast. I got to the elevator where I found a sign was posted over the buttons that simply said "Elevator is out of order, please take the stairs at the end of the hallway. Sorry for the inconvenience."

So I stood there and pushed the elevator buttons. You know what? The elevator was really broken. So I ended up taking the stairs. No biggy. Problem is, I think I ate more than I normally would have because the damn elevator was broken!! Eating more was really just a delay tactic hoping against all odds that the elevator would be repaired.....at 6:00am. I end up taking the stairs back up to the room to get ready for the training class. 40 minutes after I got back into the room I was walking back down the stairs and heading out for the day.

My smelly rental car had trouble starting this morning. It was a cool foggy morning and the car wasn't turning over. The car made sounds like it had climbed up and down stairs all morning but I dominated and with my foot firmly pressing the gas into the floor, it started and I was off to a running start.

The class went well and I was able to keep up with class. The training facility had lunch brought in.....(great, more complimentary food). I was fine up till lunch time, but after lunch I was struggling to stay awake. The Italian food that was brought in was great and very filling. I was badly in need of a nap after a hearty lunch. I took comfort noticing that EVERYONE else in the class was leaning back in their chairs or leaning a little more heavily on their desks.

After the class, I headed back to the hotel....walked right past the gym and giggled when I saw the elevator was once again operational. I got "home" and kicked off my shoes and have settled in for the night. I brought food in from Chili's and now just too full to move, let alone discuss.

OH...since this is a knitter's blog, I think I'll post some pics of a couple of newly finished knit projects. This is a Winterberry Hat that Hannah absolutely loved. When I get home I'll try to take better pictures of it because it really is cute. This is the first project that I got to embellish with french knots, lazy daizy stitch and duplicate stitches. (I'm really hooked on duplicate stitch now!)

Here is a pic of Janeva in her Rusted Root top that I finished last week. She is such a joy to knit for because she is so excited to not only get a new top, but to model it for me too.

One more day of training and then I'm back home where I'll be a little more appreciative of the noisey chit chat of my daughters and knitting clutter next to my bed and my snoring Australian next to me trying to wrestle some covers away while I sleep soundly again.

Traveling Knitter

2008-10-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

I'm up in Irvine, California to attend a two day course in an up and coming database system. I'm not a professional traveler, I'm not even a good amateur......

In order for me to attend a two day class, it took 3 days to create a profile and make reservations for the hotel and rental car on the "travel site" my company requires us to use. Now I can see the benefits if you travel ALL THE TIME...but for me, not so much.

In my profile I put "non-smoker" for the hotel room and rental car. So I knew I was screwed when I picked up my rental car and the inside of the car smelled like the Marlboro Man had been last man driving that car. Problem was I was in a hurry....so I didn't return the car. I just rolled down the window and held my breath.

I was more than shocked to discover that the rental car ran my check/visa card for more than three times the estimated total cost (holding amount) for the three day rental fee. This freaked me out because I didn't know if I'd have enough for the hotel room.....so this was one major reason for the sour stomach I had all day. This really triggered me and I got wound up AGAIN over those dumbass AIG executives with their big fancy fat bloated expense accounts and craptastically huge extravagant trips. Do you think they ever got a stomach ache sweating the moment when their credit cards were swiped at a hotel? How about one of those brilliant bailout politicians in D.C.? ........but I digress.

As is typical for me, I had put everything off till today to do before I left. I had laundry and grocery shopping. Jillian participated in the "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" Walk-a-thon this morning and needed my taxi service as well. Jillian had a great time, and did a great job raising money with a bake sale that her team did the day before.

Between errands, some chores and packing clothes that all took me about an hour to do, but I still had to pack a knitting project. 3 + hours later, I packed up 4 knit projects and got into the car and headed North on the freeway. I got on the freeway and discovered that the smelly car also has a wicked shimmy when going freeway speeds. This wasn't going well.

It was later than I had intended so I was pushing to get to the hotel before 5pm because my niece Allyson, and her 10 year old daughter Hannah, were going to meet me. They have the knitting bug big time (hmmm, how could that have happened?)_ and so we had a night of knitting planned.

I arrived safely, rattled and frazzled but ready to kick off my shoes and knit awhile. Allyson and Hannah arrived about 5 minutes after I got the room. I discovered that I had left the camera at home so I only have the cell phone camera with me. Here are a couple of shots of the hotel room. I didn't even think of the cell phone camera while Hannah and Allyson were here. The pics are kinda rough but you'll get the idea. The room is very comfortable with a great seating area and was perfect for a mini Stitch N Bitch.

On the bed you can see the new Laptop that Grant surprised me with. It is perfectly pink and fun. The best part of all is that he set it up and when I log on, Ravelry pops up! WAY COOL!!

Allyson and Hannah are now new members of Ravelry, which is going to be great for me because now I can watch their projects grow as they progress. They are recruiting my nephew's wife and his daughter too. This Christmas is going to be a BREEZE!! Can you imagine this..... I only have to give them some yarn and exclaim, "It's a new pair of socks, or a scarf, or a bag, or a hat.......or whatever .....you just have to knit it!"

Currently, I'm blogging on my pink laptop on this wonderfully fluffy bed and I get to sleep in till 6 or 7am. I have a TV remote, and a knit project beside me. I think I'm okay with this business traveling stuff after all.

I'm BACK!!!!

2008-10-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

I am knitting again! It has taken several months for the flair up of my hand to die down and get the all clear to knit again by my doctor. I started with a couple of felted projects because the size of the needles are bigger and it is straight knitting. Seemed like a good place to start....

The first project is a Gelato Bag made with Cascade 220. This is the first time I ever felted anything on PURPOSE! I was nervous about throwing the bag into the washer with a warm water setting, but I survived it and now I'm hooked. Jillian has already claimed this bag as hers. I actually think this bag should go through the wash one more time though.

This is a Booga Bag made with Noro Kureyon. I liked the colors and the bag knitted up fast......one Saturday. Jillian is eyeballing this bag too, but I think I might make several of these felted bags and use them as "gift bags" at Christmas time.

It's good to be knitting again. Lots of stress around this time of year and with the economy tanking and an election around the corner I'm grateful to have something to distract myself with. Sooooo, how about that craptastic bailout, eh?? (never mind)

On the home front, Jillian is still driving with a "learner's permit" which means that she has to have a "grown up" with her. I am the only grown up in the house apparently so the two of us are stuck with each other. Jillian is doing great, I on the other hand, not so much. I sit in the passenger seat, put my seat belt on, and then the oddest thing happens..........my butt becomes vacuum sealed to the seat and makes a sound like a Tupperware lid which Jillian has said is how she knows "we are good to go".

Upon arriving home and after she pulls into the driveway, I once again inhale which apparently breaks the seal between my butt and the seat and I'm able to jump out of the car. Then I need to lay down for about an hour which is about the time I can feel my legs again.

If I had known in advance the anxiety of riding with my teenage daughter while she is learning to drive.........I may not have stopped taking the pill.

About the time Jillian is licensed and I'm comfortable with her driving, Janeva will be getting her learner's permit........so she keeps reminding me!

Introducing "The Enforcer"

2008-08-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing much to write about on the knitting front. I haven't finished any projects this whole summer because of the lingering hand issue. The couponing is continuing however. Single Dad Tom is pretty close to pro and Tall Chocolate James is so freaking good, the stores not only PAY him to take stuff out of the store, this last Friday, the store literally paid him to bring stuff back. This leaves Comic Ronn to envy Tom and James and Barely 20something John can only hear the story and wonder how. Let me explain......

A few weeks ago, our little gang "Four Cheap Guys and a Frugal Chick" nearly wiped out the San Diego county Walgreen stores of Pop Tarts and Nutrigrain bars. There was a promo that if you buy 5 boxes of Pop Tarts for $10.00, you'd get a $5.00 Register Reward (RR) back as a credit to use on your next purchase in the store. Well for some reason there was some computer foul up and so what really happened is if you bought $10.00 in Pop Tarts or Nutrigrain bars, you'd get $10.00 in Register Reward making your purchase entirely FREE. Toss in a couple of coupons ....and the best we did was buy 5 boxes of Pop Tarts for $8.00 and we'd get $10.00 RRs back...MAKING $2.00 profit.

It was THAT particular deal that made believers of The Four Cheap Guys.

This week, Tom and James asked me to go with them to Walgreens to do "coupon training" and see if we figure out some good coupon/rebate deals during lunch. Cruising the store Tom did really well, buying nearly $80.00 worth of stuff like hair irons for his daughter who is his coupon clipping helper, his total out of pocket (OOP) was around $10.55 but after RR and rebates he will be making some money....so basically, they paid him to shop at the store.

James and I did the "Ragu and Skippy" deal. James bought 6 jars of Ragu on sale for $10.00 getting a $5.00 RR back and a lip balm that was on sale for 2.99 giving a $2.00 RR back. Using coupons, James basically got out of the store for about 5.00 but getting back $7.00 in RR. We left the store all of us on a coupon high but James kept looking over his shoulder (I call this couponer's paranoia). I asked him what the heck he was doing and he said he was expecting to see Security coming after us. He was a little surprised to find that combining the coupons with sales and promos could net you stuff for nearly pennies.

The next day, James was going to shop for the Skippy peanut butter. On the coupon both the Skippy Regular and Natural peanut butter was pictured so he picked up 6 jars of the Natural peanut butter. While James and I were waiting for Tom, James was studying his receipt intently. By the time Tom came out of the store, James figured out he was short a $5.00 Register Reward that he was expecting. We all looked at the flyer and then realized that the deal the store was offering didn't include the Natural Peanut Butter so James decided to go back in and return it, because without the RR he was not getting nearly as good a deal as he was expecting.

James takes his receipt and the peanut butter back into the store to return it. The clerk is about to give his money back when the manager comes to the register. The manager "takes over" and starts questioning James asking if he did anything with the peanut butter, tampered with it. James explains that he thought it was part of the Ragu/Skippy deal and he'd get a RR for it, but since this wasn't part of the deal, he didn't want it. The manager was satisfied and gave James his $10.00 back.

On the way back to work, James is studying his receipt, counting his money and really puzzled because he felt he got too much money back. Turns out that the manager was so busy asking questions that he ended up giving James the full amount back....instead of the amount less coupons. So, James ends up $3.00 ahead.....just for walking into the store.

The day before, James basically got paid to take stuff out of the store, and this day he was paid to bring stuff back!

Meanwhile, I have no sympathy for Walgreens. They, Walgreens, has great sales, give great rebates, and offer store coupons that can be used with manufacturer's coupons, but the employees at certain stores can be complete jerks....looking at someone using coupons as someone stealing from them....or treating you like you are taking money out of their own pocket. I have always felt that the deals were good enough that I would never consider doing anything out of bound or attempt to stretch the boundaries of honest coupon redeemtion. But when I run into a situation like I did this morning....I seriously come out of the store a wreck feeling humiliated.

This weeks' Walgreen's flyer has an instore coupon for "Dawn Dish Soap - 10.3 ounce size" limit 2, for .99. This coupon can be used with a manufacturer's coupon that I have for .50 off any size Dawn dish soap. I went to the store and expected that I could get two bottles for .50 each. When the clerk rang me up, he said I couldn't use the coupon....because it was one per purchase. Well I was purchasing two, therefore I should be able to use two coupons. The manager came over, told me I was wrong but he would allow it THIS TIME and that he wasn't going to be taking so many coupons in the future. WTH???

I came home all ruffled and irritated and told Grant about it. So it began

Grant: "How many of those coupons do you have?"
Me: "A bunch, but they won't let me use them."
Grant: after reading the wording on the coupon, "well I guess we will just have to go to Walgreens and clean them out of their Dawn Dish Soap now".

Off we went. This time, there was no challenge or issue across multiple transactions. They took my coupons, let me buy my coupon limit and they were all friendly and smiley.

In the car, I looked at Grant and said...."what the heck just happened? They were great about it this time but this morning they were just awful and mean."

Grant: "This morning, you didn't take your Coupon Enforcer with you!"

I'm going to take couponing to a whole new level now.......... 8-)

Celebrity Sighting and Breaking News Update

2008-07-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Stephanie the creative blogger from A year of Crockpotting stopped by and commented right here on this blog's post from yesterday. Of course I had to run and get Grant to show him that she posted on my blog! Since he is a fairly new blogger, he can only envy me at this point but he is sharing in my excitement.

On the coupon front, I have a quick correction, as I had previously posted, Single Dad Tom went to Walgreens and his total bill before coupons was $109.00 (not 120.00), he did a great job getting using $41.00 in coupons but the BREAKING NEWS is that today he reviewed his purchases and discovered that he also qualifies for $12.00 in rebates. That is coming pretty close to 50% savings on his first trip out with his coupons!!

I told all of the guys at work that I was blogging about their coupon adventures and so now of course they are discussing the possibility of forming a union. CCBCA (Coupon Clipping Blog Characters Association)?

Recipe Review and Couponing Update

2008-07-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

The "Coq au Vin" recipe from "A Year of Crockpotting" got a 3 out of 4 thumbs up in our Aussie-American taste test. Janeva wasn't "thrilled" with it, but I'd make it again because Grant and I have taken it to work and had it for lunch and it is just as great as a leftover as for a Sunday sit down dinner.

Tomorrow I'm going to try the Cowboy Stew and see how that fairs in this household.

I owe Grant a good meal tomorrow because he has a day off and it will be spent waiting for a Pest Control guy and then Grant has to walk Murphy and his neurotic brother Max around the block for 30 minutes till the bug juice dries off. Not exactly a great day off when you aren't expected to get off work till 2am the morning of.

On the couponing front, the guys at work have made a couple of trips to a nearby grocery store during lunch to mentally work out this coupon stuff. I figure if they will do this, they are liable to get really into it fast and start saving some money........or will they?

Single Dad Tom went to Walgreens and knocked $41.00 off his bill using his beginners stash of coupons!! His first time out with his cache of coupons and I think he did a great job. Tomorrow we will be going over the rebate offers to see what rebates he may have coming at the end of the month.

Tall Chocolate James (that's how his wife describes him) is cutting and using his coupons but hasn't really gone for the big kill yet. He went to Target with his wife (could be a married guy's version of a date) and they were able to use some of the coupons there. James always has questions about what stores has what sales. I think he is just processing all the information before he just goes out there and starts working deals.

Barely 20something Single John is just taking it all in, and alerts the other guys to big breasted women in low cut tops bending over in the canned good aisle. I figure that at least the kid is getting familiar with a grocery store and telling his mother of some of the coupon deals.......and ya can't discount the potential for his being scooped up by a well set Cougar looking for a young guy who's coupon savvy! (Side note that struck me funny - the link for Cougar directs you to the AARP website!)

Should Have Been a Comic Ronn married with two kids is cutting coupons (or might make his wife cut them) and is looking for the FAR (free after rebate) stuff so he can sell it on Ebay. He is using the coupons but isn't really saying if he is hitting the deals by combining them with store sales and store coupons. After reading Trump's "Art Of The Deal" and looking for any lucrative deal he can find, I can see Ronn producing a new line of videos "Couponers Gone Wild" or something and perhaps recruiting Barely 20something Single John as a spotter.

Be warned the next time you are in the grocery store bending or reaching for that can of Sweet Peas.

Passing The Time - Trying A New Recipe

2008-07-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

I found this amazing blog "A Year of Crockpotting" and I'm trying out this recipe today. I'll let you all know how it turns out and if it passes the Aussie-American taste test.

I have been forced to take a break from knitting the last few months. I'm hoping and praying that this isn't a forever issue for me. Knitting is a therapy, hobby, passion, conversation starter and all occasion coping mechanism for me.

A few months ago I noticed swelling and pain in my left index finger whenever I was knitting. Now I have been known to have marathon knitting sessions, which explains why I own 6 wonderful crockpots and have had my eyes on that robot vacuum cleaner and floor moper for the last several years. I had cut back on my knitting sessions to try and not get to the point of chronic pain, but over the last couple of months it got to the point where it just doesn't matter, when I knit, my hand hurts. So I sought out an orthopedic doctor to see if there was a magic glove, pill, lotion, vitamin, diet or anything that could be done to allow me to knit pain free.

I felt kinda silly going to a doctor for just one finger, and sillier still getting ONE finger x-rayed. The x-ray was taken (I was amazed at the different shots and angles you can x-ray ONE finger) and the doctor said they came back "normal" although I requested to see the report myself (long story, which resulted in my need to see any reports and understand what any doctor tells me backward and forward, go figure).... the wording on the radiology report stated "normal for age". What the hell does THAT mean? The doctor explains that what it means is that I have the onset of arthritis which is apparently "normal" for women my age (a 40 something woman?). "Isn't that an old person thing?" I ask..... moments before realizing that the doctor appears to be about half my age (he must have excelled at medical school and is one of those prodigy Doogie Howser types, finishing medical school in his teens or something, I'm thinking)

The doctor did suggest a cortisone injection in one of the tendons and inside the knuckle joint which out of desperation I agreed to. That shot hurt like a muther, but after about a week my finger seemed all better......till after about an hour of knitting. (insert harsh language here)

Despite all this, I have been working on something fairly simple, a Green Gable tee for Janeva using Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in the Nymph colorway. It has taken me about 2 1/2 weeks but if I take breaks and pop some Motrin, I am able to get my knitting fix in.

For now, I will use some of my "extra" time finding new blogs, new recipes and maybe even shock Grant with a couple of cleaned out closets or something. Grant would say, "Cleaned out closets, you???? Not bloody likely!"

I have to say, he'd be right on that one. 8-)

Cosmic Question

2008-07-13T10:49:00.000-07:00

Do household drains only block up on the weekends?

Let me paint the picture here. Small house, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 Australian husband, one slightly annoyed wife (that would be me), two teenage daughters, one practically resident teenage boyfriend and two Labs.

Do household drains only block up on the weekends? It seems to be the only time they do at our house. Friday night, as if on cue, the tub drain plugs up tight. 4 bottles of Liquid Plumber, 3 hours of Grant playing plumber, 5 gentle WIFELY suggestions to call a plumber.....then as if this is written out by Stephen King, the block worsens to where we have the laundry machine in the garage backing up into one side of the kitchen sink. Then Sunday arrives. Kitchen sink is backing up when we do laundry so we have to bail water out of the sink when the laundry is in the rinse cycle to avoid flooding, so water is getting tossed out the kitchen door from the sink onto the side yard. The dogs see this and start pacing around the tree in the middle of backyard to guard the only workable urinal at our address, as if just waiting for Grant to overtake their domain. The bathtub cannot take one of the daughter's 20 minute showers so we have two very irritated, and irritatingly complaining teenage girls.

The bathroom sink, which is the only sink that is draining, but that is because the water from the bathroom sink makes the water rise in the bathtub when the sink drains. I'm praying now that our one and only toilet holds, or we are going to have to frantically upset dogs in the backyard and three girls in the house wishing we had bigger bushes in our landscaping. Today Grant surprises us all with a offer to to go to the movies. (I think he googled and status of their bathroom facilities first though). We are scrambling around to get ready for the movies.

I decide I should try to shave my legs before the movies, because I see a horrendous traffic jam in this Aussie-American household tonight. As a result, I had a rude awakening to the fact that I'm too old to try and balance on one foot while sticking the other foot up to waist height to clear the counter and put my other foot into the bathroom sink, which unknown to me till today is designed for a size 7 shoe size and I have a (nice for balancing) size 9 1/2 shoe size foot. I curl the toes under and endure. After finishing shaving one leg, I'm dripping in sweat and exhausted. I walk out of the bathroom with a limp, hoping I don't need a hip replacement and filled with anxiety at the thought of trying to shave the other leg. (right now I'm just thinking I'll sleep on the other side of the bed and explain to my husband "this is my good side".

The good news is, my wonderful husband (whom I adore) calls a plumber who will be out sometime tomorrow to launch us back into the 21st century with working indoor plumbing again.

The Economic Squeeze

2008-07-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

In the last week or so the main topic of discussion around work has been about the impact of the current economic squeeze we all seem to be under lately. Whether it is the rising gas prices or the increases on the price of foods at the grocery store, it seems all areas of our lives are impacted and the situation is threatening to get worse before better in the coming months.

I have always been drawn by the challenge of trying to work the coupon deals at the grocery store. This has been something I have done off and on for years as our family needs shift. I get excited when I'm standing in line with all my groceries in the cart and my coupons in hand, knowing before I pay my bill that I have just whacked my food bill by 65% to 70%. I can't help but be amused at the initial groans from the annoyed individual standing behind me when they see me holding a bunch of coupons but when my total comes up and the clerk comments on my total savings after coupons, is all of a sudden interested and full of questions.

Currently, I work with a diverse group of men in various stages in life and it would seem odd that the discussion of coupons would hold their attention, but like me, they are sweating the current situation and looking for ways to squeeze the most value out of their spending dollars.

As a result, I'm going to be stepping the guys through the grocery store sales cycles and how to maximize the benefit of using coupons and rebating. I will put links on my blog to some of my favorite coupon sites and will periodically post progress reports from the guys. I've also decided to start along with them and take this step by step as if I were just starting out too, so then I can measure our progress as a group. We will experience the slow start of acquiring the coupons, some of the typical pitfalls of a workable file system and re-evaluate along the way to achieve our goal of facing the money squeeze without cutting out some of our favorite foods and perhaps ending with a surplus of household items which can then be donated or shared with neighbors.

So it begins......
Week One: Acquire all the coupon inserts from FIVE Sunday newspapers this next weekend. Sign up for the club cards at two of your favorite grocery stores. Mine are Ralphs and Albertsons. Also, pick up the sales fliers for those grocery stores as well as a drug store you frequent. The two drug stores I will be using are RiteAid and CVS. CVS also has a store card that you use to get coupons and Extra Care Rewards. Here is a great article that explains where we are going with all of this.

Using coupons immediately will reap you some savings, but I believe it will take approx 8 to 12 weeks to really get a good understanding of a workable system and make couponing/rebating a habit rather than a short term experiment.

Follow along with us if you like and if you have any additional tips or comments please share.

Unexpected Blow Back......

2008-07-07T16:18:00.000-07:00

What have I done?

As a loving and supportive wife I feel it is my job to encourage and support my husband in his writing endeavors. I am in fact his biggest fan. After all, he encourages and supports my knitting habit! He even wears the sweaters I knit for him.....AND is willing to try on a wool sweater in the hottest month of Summer!!

So, in turn, I have been strongly encouraging Grant to write for himself and to create a blog of his own. What I didn't anticipate is that he would not only listen (this time) but that he would actually follow through and become a "blogger". My husband is a new member of the blogosphere.

What I didn't realize was that I would be a topic of discussion in the blogosphere!!

Independance Weekend - Catching up......

2008-07-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

I need to get into the swing of things again.

Since the end of May, I have been overwhelmed with activities.

First, Jillian and Jimi's Senior Prom. An exciting and wonderful cash draining event, but a fantastic photo op, so I was thrilled. The one thing ....small thing really, was that Jillian wanted to wear tennis shoes with her dress so she could "bust a move" on the dance floor in comfort....[scratching my head] I was able to inject one last motherly "influence" on her before she turned 18 and she instead wore a cute pair of silver flats. She was comfortable AND still fashionable, go figure.

Grant's daughter Angela arrived from Australia to spend some of her school break with us. We celebrated Angela (19), Jillian (18) and Janeva (14) birthdays during one big bash as Peter Piper Pizza where Grant had arranged a gathering of Geocachers to welcome Angela to the U.S.

Then as if that wasn't enough fun, we had Jillian's High School Graduation. Neither Grant nor Angela had experienced an American High School Graduation ceremony before (but Angela did point out she had seen it in movies before) so it proved to be interesting for them. I didn't even think to prepare them for it, because this is all I have ever known a graduation ceremony to be. They were expecting something more somber and dignified...... but really, let's be honest. It is really more like a carnival. It is fun, exciting, noisy and HOT with most parents in the stands just plain RELIEVED and shocked to see their kids in the traditional Cap and Gown. Then about 2 hours later sitting in the summer heat under blinding sunlight, you are so over it!!! Particularly, if your child's name is called at the beginning of the ceremony you just want to grab your son or daughter, hug them, congratulate them and leave them to cheer their friends on the rest of the ceremony.

But wanting Grant and Angela to have the full American High School Graduation Ceremony experience.....we stayed for the ENTIRE thing...even getting there 2 hours before the ceremony began so we could be assured of seats. I think it safe to say, Jillian had someone fly in the furthest to see her graduate!

Jillian hated the hat, cursed the hat, refused to take pictures with the hat! The thoughtless rebel! Still, I was touched by the moment, seeing her holding her diploma and knowing another big milestone has passed....and then I did something my mother would do, I cried. (OMG, how freakin embarrassing!)

So, with a week to recover, we did it all again. Janeva "graduated" from Middle School and is now officially in High School.

I managed to get a few more photos at Janeva's ceremony, and she was enjoying her time in the spotlight.

Once again, another milestone, more tears (me), and the realization that I am becoming more and more like my mother. I just can't wait to read Jillian's and Janeva's blog when THEY become more like ME!!!!

Oh yeah.....Karma, embrace it, I say. 8-)

Janeva's First Sweater - Flashbacks

2008-05-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was going through old photos and came across some photos of Janeva and the very first sweater I ever knitted for her.

Of course it comes with a story.

Soon after the holidays back in 1998, I decided to try my hand at knitting again. Knitting something for Janeva made sense since she was the smallest person in the house at the time. So I bought a pattern and some yarn from a LYS and got re-introduced to knitting.

Of course I had to pick a Cable Knit sweater to start with. I picked a color that I just knew would look great on Janeva so I didn't have any worries about the color.

I plugged away and knitted on this sweater each night after work. Janeva would sit next to me on the couch and watch me intently and asked me questions.....she was 4, so she asked me questions about questions at that age!

I told her that I was knitting her something and she was even more interested. But as the sweater progressed, just a normal wave of stress hit our household. Thinking that knitting was a great stress buster I just continued on.

As with any knitting project, I was getting more and more excited as the sweater took shape. By the time I had sewn the sweater together and picked up the stitches around the neck I could hardly contain myself.

I finished the sweater at the end of February and was tickled to hear the weather reports of some particularly cold weather coming our way. FANTASTIC!!! I was going to finish the sweater and Janeva would beable to wear it just in time! I casted off the neck and sewed in the ends. Moment of truth. I told Janeva to get ready to try on her new sweater and with delight she came running over. I was HORRIFIED to discover that that somewhere around the time I was knitting the armholes, my gauge changed and I had started knitting tighter. So tight in fact, the neck of the sweater would not go past her forehead! BUT THE STITCHES LOOKED GREAT!!!

With great determination I was not going to let this sweater get the best of me. I ripped the entire sweater out, steamed the yarn, rolled it back into 10 neat little balls and started over.

I finally finished the sweater in JULY. No weather reports of cooler weather in the forecast. I still presented the sweater to Janeva.

Janeva delighted in telling me how proud of me she was was excited to model it for camera.

After the photo shoot Janeva gave me a big hug and a kiss, then handed the sweater back to me and said "This color is YUCKY!".

This was the only day I could get her to wear this sweater. Yet I still love this child very much.

The Passenger - A Test in Motherly Love

2008-05-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

So, on Wednesday, April 30th, Jillian got her Learner's Permit. Because she is over 17 1/2 years old, the lady helping us at the DMV happily announced that Jillian wouldn't need to bother with the "Behind The Wheel" formal training. (she wasn't joking!)

This explains A LOT!! I'm driving on the California Highway to and from work having to concentrate on just surviving the other driver's around me. The roadways in California have to rank as one of the worst because of the numbers of unskilled drivers we have. Now I know why.

Jillian's dad paid for the formal instruction so we are making good use of it.

The flip side is she needs PRACTICE with a licensed driver (over the age of 25) with her.....I suppose that the idea behind this is that the licensed driver can instruct the new driver and help prevent him/her from getting into an accident. (My preferred method of risk mitigation is to just simply take the keys away from them!). I was hoping to pass this task over to Grant, who was a police officer with the traffic division in Australia. So Jillian ends up driving on the wrong side of the road....big deal...at least she will learn to signal and stay in her lane which is more than most of the drivers around here. Grant has thus far passed on riding in the suicide seat..... I mean ride as the licensed driver.

That leaves me. Mom. Mom who is high strung at the idea of my kids crossing the busy street at the ages of 17 and 14. I get to ride with Jillian while she practices. After calling the DMV and the Highway Patrol and their telling me that "No, you may not have medicinal alcohol to calm the nerves before the practice sessions nor be under the influence of mind altering medication either." I braced myself ...that's just GREAT...I have to do this stone sober and as I enter into my heart attack years. I couldn't be more or less ready.

So we go........

The first time Jillian sat in the driver's seat of my Chrysler Sebring Convertible, she looks at me beaming, I tell her to put her foot on the brake before she turns the key, she sweetly asks me this question......keep in mind, the look on her face gave no indication whatsoever that there was anything wrong with this question........"Mom, which pedal is the brake?"

Me: "HOLY MOTHER OF GAWD" (speed dialing the El Cajon police to see about a waiver on the whole drug/alcohol/impaired issue....FOR ME)

We discuss the pedals and the fact that if she hears me screaming, I'm expecting her to step on the big wide pedal to the left of the long skinny pedal. Jillian feeling ever confident turns the keys and we are off.

With the exception of her starts and stops and turning, she is actually doing better than I thought. We drove around the neighborhood (I don't like these people anyways) and then practiced in the parking lot of Holy Trinity Church. (I just needed to be closer to God at that moment). Jillian got the starts and stops down smoother. I won't even go into describing her attempts at parking. Other than to say we have a one car driveway and at the end of our session she pulled into the driveway and parked the car...ONLY ONE TIRE was actually ON the driveway. The sweetest part was she got out of the car and looked proudly at the car and didn't seem to wonder about the parking job.

I suddenly realized why the Pope kisses the ground after a flight. I think the poor man is flying with a student pilot!! I didn't actually kiss the ground but I did pause outside of the car and was thankful to be home.

Yesterday was a huge day for us!! Jillian had a hair appointment getting ready for her Senior Prom which was last night. I clearly was not in a lucid state at the time and apparently agreed to let Jillian drive us to her hair appointment. ON THE FREEWAY...MERGING into and out of traffic and everything. We arrived safely, but I was completely dripping in Flop Sweat. (Flop sweat is what I call it, when you see a performer on stage that has completely screwed up their performance and the look of horror on their face and the sweat is oozing out of every pore of their skin. THAT is a great description of me after riding with Jillian on the freeway!!!)

We have had some very sweet tender Mother/Daughter moments during these driving sessions. Like the time that Jillian sweetly said she feels like we are having great bonding time. I thought that I was seriously bonding to the seat of the car, but I like Jillian feeling closer to me. She also complimented me with "WOW Mom, you are doing great! You haven't yelled at me once this trip". She didn't realize it was because I wasn't breathing.

I remember when I was learning to drive, my mother would gasp for air and grab the door handle...flinching and gasping the entire time I was driving those first years. She would announce that there was a red light up ahead only for me to tell her that it was 4 blocks ahead! Tell me to slow down and to watch for pedestrians. (come to think about it, I'm the one gasping and grabbing the door handle when I ride with my mother now!)

I called my mother to tell her how I'm having to ride with Jillian. The woman laughed at me. As if this is some universal payback or something.

As bad as it is for me to see Jillian starting to drive, drifting further and further into independence and becoming her own person....it is absolutely shattering to me to discover that I'm turning into MY MOTHER.

Teenage Milestone - The Learner's Permit

2008-04-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

Jillian passed the California Department of Motor Vehicles written driver's test.

My response: "OH CRAP!!!"

"Grant, pop the top off one of those wine coolers for me please!"

Summer Knits and Crochet

2008-04-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have been staying busy starting and finishing some knitting projects, no surprise to those that know me. Right now I'm staying pretty busy with outfitting the girls, but I have a long list of projects in the works at the moment. I feel a push to finish some of these projects before starting new ones, so in the next few weeks I'll be posting updates on those projects and starting planning some new ones to start during the summer.

I finished the tank top I started for Janeva, from "Knitting loves Crochet" by Candi Jensen.....good thing too because I think the kid grew about 3 inches from the time I casted on, to the time I finished the bottom border!

The tank fits Janeva nicely and will look great with a pair of jeans.

The next project I am working on is The Hourglass Jacket from Stitch Diva Studios. I am using Silk Purse yarn with a variegated black and blue color way. It is turning out great thus far and I'm excited that Jillian is already loving it. This will be one of her Graduation presents. Unfortunately I needed to have her try it on to check the fit. This gave Jillian ammo to tease me over the fact that I can't keep a secret to save my life.

So far, the fit is good and this jacket is working up real quickly.

I can't believe both girls have graduations this June, with both their birthdays in between. I didn't plan for this 18 years ago, that's for sure!

Day Trip - Lesson Learned

2008-03-20T20:30:00.001-07:00

Since you are one of my most loyal readers, I feel I can share this with you and let you take away the lesson learned from my experience.

As you know I got Grant a camera for Christmas.

When we were on our day trip to Borrego last Friday we both were snapping pictures, me and my crappy old digital and Grant with his nicer newer one with the higher megapixals and better video taking capabilities.

I was happily snapping pictures and hunting for flowers and points of interest to photograph that would be suitable to share with you and also put into our scrapbook. Points of interests like the men's facilities on the trail (still grossing out). I really didn't have any thoughts of taking videos. Seriously, videos of flowers? Why would you?

On our way home we took a different route than the one we drove that morning. We went up Montezuma Pass that would take us through Santa Ysabel. There we stopped off at Dudley's Bakery and The Julian Pie Company. These two bakeries are right next to each other, so it EASY to stop off at both places and do the right thing by stimulating the economy of Santa Ysabel.

But going back to the journey of driving to Santa Ysabel.......we are near the summit of Montezuma Pass, Grant pulled over to take a PHOTO of the valley from one of the turnouts.

From that elevation and the fact it is a pass between the mountains, it was windy as hell. I mean SERIOUSLY windy and I was having to focus on not getting blown off the road over the side of the cliff. So I stood BEHIND Grant (as any sensible wife would....thinking if Grant blows over the side, then I'd take that as the signal to head for the car).

Grant yells into the wind toward me, "I'm going to take a panoramic shot of the valley". HE SAID "SHOT"...I'm sure of it...and so I naturally assumed that he was using some fancy feature on his new camera or that he would later splice together numerous SHOTS with some fancier photo editing software back home. Instead, he was taking a "VIDEO" and I was oblivious!

Back home, Grant is looking at the photos and previewing his video, when I hear him say "What the hell is that noise at the end?" "I don't remember anything behind us!" "WTF, IS THAT???" Then he falls out of his chair laughing.

All you can hear is the wind blowing, but then you hear me cough a little dainty cough, and then moments later let loose with an impressive BELCH while standing behind Grant!!!! It was so windy that at the time, it went unnoticed by him....and I don't remember doing that at the time. As a Lady who would never do something like that NORMALLY, I have to assume that it must have been from the wind blowing into me. Um, you'd buy that, right??

So here I am, making promises and deals with Grant all over the place so it doesn't end up on YouTube!!
Lesson Learned? Chose the gifts you are giving VERY carefully!

Day Trip to Find Desert Flowers

2008-03-16T10:52:00.000-07:00

6am on Friday morning we were on the road for the two hour ride to the desert. There is a small window of opportunity to see the desert in full bloom after rain has fallen. I had always heard about it, but never was able to make the trip to see it. I was excited because this would be a new experience for me, and Grant had not been in this area before so it was new to him as well.

Initially, we found that it was dark and foggy which isn't the best combo for a drive on a two lane windy mountain road. About when I was ready to say "turn around" because the visibility was not much beyond the hood of the car, we rounded a bend and the sky was crystal clear.

About 30 minutes into the drive we started to see the sunrise and the scene took on a whole different feel. Typically on a day trip you are focused on "getting there" to then enjoy the day. Seeing the sunrise during the drive gave us the feel that we were "there" all along the way.

We arrived in Borrego Springs at 8am and decided it would be nice to have breakfast there. It was pretty quiet and not a lot of stuff was happening at that hour. But we did find a place and proceeded to have a breakfast to die for at Kendall's Cafe in the Borrego Mall. I think it was the homemade salsa that they put on the top, it was UNBELIEVABLY GOOD!! In fact, I'd drive the two hours just to have that omelette again then turn around and drive the two hours back home....IT WAS THAT GOOD!

After breakfast we started driving around to see if we could find the flowers that we had heard so much about. We ended up at Coyote Canyon and found a nice array of purple, white and yellow flowers.

The sky was crystal clear, but the wind was intense at times.

Indian Head Mountain, can you see the face looking up at the sky?

We spent about an hour in Coyote Canyon then drove on to the Anza Borrego State Park and parked at the Visitor Center. We then walked the path to Panaromic Outlook. It was still quite windy and it was really starting to get hot. Grant wanted to explore Palm Canyon Trail, I was more than happy to find a shady spot to sit in and wait for him.

Then I was more than ready to head for the car when I discovered their bathroom facilities on the trail!

Although the "girl's room" at least had a block wall where you can go behind....my immediate reaction was still "oh, hell no!!!"

Wardrobe Malfunction

2008-03-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

Today was the last work day of the week for me so typically it is the more "casual" day for apparel. The day started out pretty normal, I woke up around 4am, moved around the house slowly and in the end of the week fog that always seems a little thicker at the end of the week. I remember getting dressed in my jeans and sweater, then slipping my house slippers on an puttering around the house.

I toasted a bagel, took the dry towels out of the dryer, put the finished load of laundry in the washer into the dryer, watched a little bit of the early morning news program while ate my bagel and had a glass of juice. At some point, I must have realized it was time to get moving and head to work....so I packed a lunch, grabbed my knitting bag, a couple of books and some work papers and made my way to the front door before realizing that I needed to say goodbye to Grant. I put everything down, quietly made my way to the bedroom, whispered good bye with a little peck on the head. Turned around and made my way out of the bedroom, trying to make sure not to bump the bed and knock him into a full wide awake status. At the front door, I picked up my lunch, my knitting bag, grabbed my keys and then quietly exited the house. Loaded everything into the car before realizing I had to go back into house to get my cell phone......went back into the house, grabbed the phone, then went back to the car.

Once in the car I made sure I had my wallet (it was in the bottom of the knit bag) found out that the TV remote must have fallen into the knit bag so I had to return THAT to the house. Another "back and forth" then resumed my " pre commute check list".....got the wallet, the ID badge, my lunch, my knit project to work on at lunch, a pack of gum, the cell phone, key is in the ignition........"Houston - We are Go for Ignition Start Up!"

I don't remember the actual drive into work, it was uneventful and frankly at 5:30am I'm pretty much on autopilot.

Now I'm in the employee parking lot, getting all my stuff ready to take into my office. I walk to the building, get all the way into the building when I sense something is just a little "off". I look down and then, "OMG!" I realize that I STILL have my slippers on!!!

Working with the bunch of guys I work with....it will be a little while before I live this down.

Daylight Savings - a rant

2008-03-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one that feels ripped off by Daylight Savings every Spring? My weekend is an hour shorter and as minor as that may sound...I FEEL that loss of an hour on my drive into work come Monday morning. Do you find the people on the road and at work seem extra grumpy the week following the start of Daylight Savings? In fact I think everyone is grumpier till the clocks roll back in November!

We allegedly gain an hour in the fall, but then it is taken back in the Spring. But I think we lose at a minimum 2 hours every year in this cycle of "give and take". As the following video explains......

It is now 8pm, I am starting to roll the clocks forward in the house so that by the time the time changes, I'll be done setting all the clocks.

Testing

2008-03-07T20:48:00.001-08:00

Testing

Sneaking Away.....

2008-03-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day that I really was able to go out and do anything after coming down with the flu a little over a week ago. I was off today and Grant had to go to work late so Grant decided that we'd sneak out for lunch.

Normally when I have an off Friday and the girls are at school, Grant and I have a "date" where we either go out for breakfast or lunch....so today was not untypical in that sense, it was just not our normal Friday "date".

The issue is Grant's definition of "SNEAKing" out for our lunch date.

"Sneaking" implies a secret....or to stealthy do something that goes undiscovered by others......doesn't it?

Well, Grant gets so INTO sneaking that he has to PROVE that he is sneaking to those very people that he is sneaking away from, i.e. the girls.

So what does Grant do, every single time we go out to lunch while the girls are at school???

Grant takes pictures with his camera phone of our plates full of food then sends the pictures to the girls on their camera phones while they are at school!! This way, he finds out if they have their phone on when they are not suppose to AND he gets the added satisfaction of letting them know he is up to something while they are studying hard at school. Or whatever it is they do at school these days!!

Now that would be the end of this blog post except that this evening.....Since Grant is working late, and Jillian has a date, Janeva and I are having a "girl's night" watching horror flicks and we decided....rather Janeva decided that I should spring for pizza. So a girl's night complete with pizza, horror flicks and having the run of the house in our pjs! It's one of the BEST ways to spend a Friday night!!

Imagine my surprise when I look over at Janeva as she starts to break out the pizza and I see her holding her camera phone to the pizza.......

Looks like Janeva is giving some "PAYBACK"!

Happy Anniversary for Grant

2008-03-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

Another anniversary comes and goes......

About a week ago I came down with the flu. It was nothing more than your typical flu, one what makes you wonder for a few days if you'd live through it....but you almost certainly will. The question is, will your relationships and family still want you when it is all over?

Add to that, the stress of knowing that an anniversary is coming up and while you had in mind what you were going to do and the gift you were going to pick up you had not anticipated a need for a "Backup Plan" in the event that you were flat out with the flu.

The day before the Big Day, it became clear that I was not going to be in any shape to get to the mall and pick up the gift, let alone find a card that was suitable to give to Grant. However, that didn't stop Grant from teasing me and dropping hints that I was going to be thrilled and excited to wake up the next day.....increasing my frustration and irritation over my situation.....why I just couldn't wait to find out what the "anniversary fairy" was leaving me!!

It was then in that heightened irritated flu induced frustration that the following conversation took place:

Grant: "I have to run to the store to ummmm, well....I just need to go to the store."
Me: "Great, go then."
Grant: "Do you want me to get anything for you....I mean......aside from what I'm going to the store for ...do you want something?" [insert a smuggly smirk]
Me: "Nope"
Grant: "Nothing? I can easily pick something up while I'm out".

OKAY....that was it!

ME: "YES!! While you are out could you stop at the Hallmark Store and pick up an Anniversary card..a NICE one, not a lame one....and one that is really sweet that says all the crap you'd want to hear from me! If it is loaded with sweet romantic crap, THAT would be the one to buy so I can give it to you tomorrow! Don't you dare come home without a great card because I don't want to look like an ass not having a card for you on our Anniversary, damnit!"

Grant: [slowly backing away from me, eyes wide.....and after he determines to be a safe distance away......breaks out in an uncontrollable laughing fit!!!]

You know that silly bastard still didn't get me a card to give to him on our anniversary!!!!? I won't let him forget that either!!!

Meanwhile....I was able to capture Jillian with the camera wearing a little cardigan I knitted/crocheted for her.

In keeping with the family tone this week Jillian said "FINE!! You can take my picture, but don't get my face it it!"

I think we could pass as one of those TV families!!

While the husband is away.....Confessions Part 2

2008-02-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

Here we are on Freaky Friday with an actual post specifically for those of you that are knitters:

As it happens, while Grant was away this week, I have received a few knitting books in the mail! My favorite time of day is when the UPS truck comes barreling around the corner and I hear the brakes of the truck screeching to bring it to a stop in front of our house. I am at the door waiting after hearing the metal clanking of the door opening and the driver steps out with my packages. Anyone from Ravelry that has ever seen my library count will clearly see that I love collecting knitting books and magazines!

This week I received 4 knitting books.

The first book was Knitting Circles Around Socks: Knit Two at a Time on Circular Needles by Antje Gillingham

The second book was 2-at-a-Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes

Both of these books have great sock patterns and both explain the method for working two socks at the same time on circular needles. "Knitting Circles Around Socks" uses the two circular needle method while "2-at-a-time Socks" uses the Magic Loop method. As someone who is familiar with both methods I find the two circular needle method to be easier and I don't have to buy a special length needle to make a pair of socks. I will work patterns from both books using my preferred method using two circular needles. Either of these techniques are great to master in order to avoid the dreaded 2nd sock syndrome. The patterns in both of these books give a well rounded selection of socks for the family and so far I'm happy to add them to my collection.

The third book was Cover Up with Nicky Epstein: Knitted Afghans from her Personal Collection There are roughly 21 different patterns of afghans in this book and there isn't one of them that I could easily pass on making. At some point, I would like to make them all.....something to look forward to in the years to come.

Okay..I lied, the fourth book is actually a crochet book. It is Nicky Epstein's Crocheted Flowers This is similar to her Knitted Flowers book but a nice companion to have if you are both a knitter and crocheter. I love to embellish simple sweaters for my daughters and so both books have something to offer.

I love collecting and using books as much as I do yarn. The only limit is space, and one can always just add on to the house or move up I suppose.

Only thing left to do is to tuck the books away before Grant gets home tomorrow. He will certainly notice the first time I bring them out....by then my response can be "What? These books?....I've had these for awhile now honey!" 8-)

Taking Vacation to Clean House and......

2008-02-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

While Grant is away to the romantic city of San Francisco for a conference, I decided that it would be a good time to use some vacation time to clean the house. Clearly, a decision that I didn't think through. Vacation......to clean the house? WTH was I thinking??

When I'm not cleaning, I'm looking at videos on YouTube ABOUT cleaning. I think the diagnosis here is BOREDOM.

I do think that this girl in the video has the right idea though......

Okay....how bored am I? I have been taking pictures of my yarn!

See?

Oh...and this one has clam shells smashed INTO the yarn apparently....

Can you imagine the grip I'll have on my coworkers when I return to work and give them the blow by blow details of what I did on my vacation?

Daytona 500 - The Race Day

2008-02-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

Well, as expected, Grant was ready for the race, including his coordinated wardrobe. He wore a NASCAR T-shirt, although it was covered by the Leather NASCAR jacket which he wore INSIDE the house during the race. He had his Pepsi and AMP Energy Drink, the two main sponsors for the team he was rooting for......apparently.

If you think I'm making this stuff up.....I have photographic evidence.......

The most exciting moment came right before the start of the race when I was logged onto my computer and I happened to see on my blog, the list of "Live Traffic" someone in Daytona Beach, Fl had logged onto MY blog....So, I excitedly raced over to where Grant was sitting waiting for the start of the race and said..."you won't believe this, but.." then I noticed the look on Grant's face which was a combo of concern and puzzlement. I asked him what the problem was and he as he was intently looking at the TV coverage of the Pre race activities he said "I haven't seen Earnhart, Jr. yet". To which I excidedly said "I KNOW...I am trying to tell you, HE IS READING MY BLOG!!".

Grant slowly tilted his head up to look at me with that WTH expression on his face and said "WHAT?"

I said, "don't take my word for it...look at my blog!!"

Grant typed on his laptop (which was already on his lap with some NASCAR forum on the screen) and he logged onto my blog and I pointed out this .....which again...I now have photographic evidence for all you, my readers/fans.

Grant exclaimed "OH $#*^!" (in a beautifully thick Australian accent)

I am really flattered that Earnhart, Jr was reading my blog yesterday, but I hope next time he will wait till AFTER the race. Since now Grant is blaming me and my blog for his finishing somewhere around the 9th or 10th place.

Meanwhile, with all the excitement I still managed to put together this flouncy vest for Jillian!!

And this Tunic Vest for ME!

Daytona 500 Eve - Lessons Learned

2008-02-16T21:00:00.001-08:00

Remember this situation that happened on Super Bowl Sunday when Grant:

"....failed however to answer the question "what would you like to snack on and eat on Super Bowl Sunday?" resulting in the early morning realization that on this rainy, windy, cold day he was going to have to drive me to Costco to get provisions. Or starve."

Today when Grant woke up this morning the first thing uttered from him was "I need you to pick up a few things at the grocery store today, for tomorrow".....

Me: "Good morning, why?"

Grant: "Tomorrow is the Daytona 500 and I don't want to have to go run around picking stuff up before the race."

Me: (with my hand in the air to fend him off as he is starting to rattle off his list) "write a list otherwise I will forget something."

Grant looks at me like I have three eyes and walks away muttering.

Later I look at the list he gave to me and everything is recognizable as "necessary man snacks" for your typical Sunday sport day in front of the TV with the exception of one thing...the last item. "AMP Energy Drink".

Me: "What the hell is this?"

Grant: "Oh, that is some energy sport drink of some kind."

Me: "You don't know what it is? Have you had it before?"

Grant: "No, but it is the drink that is sponsoring Dale Earnhart Jr., so I have to have it."

Me: "YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT?"

Grant: "Yes, I want to drink it during the race."

Okay, I stop there because I don't understand it, don't need to understand it....perhaps it is like a new type of cashmere/merino blend of yarn or new knit book that has just been released or something. I know how a good yarn sale triggers an irrational response from me, so perhaps this drink/race/sponsorship stuff triggers Grant that way. Not entirely unsympathetic to uncontrollable urges, I can understand that.....I guess.

If it is anything like my love of yarn, then it could be a can of piss and it simply won't matter. The man HAS to have it.

So....for tomorrow, Daytona 500 Race Day, Grant has his provisions lined up and another 500 miles will be put on the couch. When he signals his PIT CREW (aka ME) for team Husband, the unchallenged champion spectator of race day Sunday. I will happily drop my yarn, run for the refrigerator and grab him his can of AMP Energy Drink before Earnhart's Pit Crew has the lug nuts off the first tire!

Go EARNHART!

Earnhart is one of those race car drivers, right?

Update on the Valentine's Day Gift From the Heart

2008-02-14T19:44:00.001-08:00

Jillian and Jimi just wrapped up their Valentine's Day dinner and the events that they both so carefully planned out.

When I came home from work, Jillian was already well into her dinner/evening preparations. However, when she arrived home from school a few hours earlier she came home to find her room fully decorated with over 20 red balloons, a giant balloon bouquet in addition to some pink roses, and a present which was a CD by their favorite group "Just Surrender".(I didn’t even know they had a “favorite group”!) So...by the time I arrived home, Jillian was not only happy and humming, but she was calling me "Mommy", in that sweet happy girl voice.

I haven't been called THAT in years....wait, I take that back...I was "Mommy" last year when she was in the ER with Kidney Stones.

Anyhoo, so Jimi pulled off some great surprises of his own!

Jillian completed her surprise dinner without any problems, even ensuring that the hot dogs were cut into bite size pieces. She carefully made the salad tearing the lettuce...the lettuce she went to the grocery store for so SHE could pick out the freshest head of lettuce!!

This gastro intestinal testing gourmet fare was enjoyed by both on a beautifully set table for two with candles lit.

Janeva (13), Jillian's little sister, is suffering a full blown Gross Out by now from "all this romantic CRAP". So, before Jillian and Jimi sat down to eat, Janeva and I left to figure out what we would do for our dinner. We ended up having dinner at Applebee's and had a great time.

We arrived home after about 90 minutes which I thought for sure was long enough to finish dinner and do the dishes. Apparently "Valentine's Day" ends with the dinner and not with the dishes .....

NOW, I’m thinking the little “Star Trek” Valentine Card which plays the theme song to Star Trek I gave my husband seems a little bland.

So, tonight I'll have to step up my game and surprise Grant with “Lets make a special entry into the Captain’s Log tonight” 8-)

A Valentine's Day Gift from the Heart.

2008-02-13T15:48:00.000-08:00

My oldest daughter Jillian has been dating her High School Sweetheart, Jimi, for about 15 months now. Two days ago Jillian came to me and we had the following conversation:

Jilly: "Mom, what are you and Grant doing for Valentine's Day?"

Me: "Grant is going to be working in the evening, so probably nothing much, so I was planning on bringing some work home and staying in."

Jilly: "Oh....um.....well, maybe you and Janeva (her pesky little sister) could go out to eat or something.....maybe?" "What do you think?"

Me (with Homeland Security threat level rising a level): "Why?"

Jilly: "Well I wanted to make Jimi dinner for Valentine's Day....and well.....maybe you and Janeva could go out?"

I had to make sure I heard her right.....not only does Jillian NOT cook, I wasn't sure she even knew where our kitchen was! Jillian's idea of "cooking" is heating up a can of soup......in the microwave.

So this evening after work, Jillian asked me to take her to the grocery store to pick up a few things she is needing for this special dinner. Are you catching this? This dinner includes her going to the grocery store and picking out the food herself!! Jimi is special!

I am trying to figure out what her menu is based what I'm seeing going into the cart. Curiosity got the best of me so I asked.

MENU: Macaroni and Cheese with Hotdogs cut up into it, a Fresh Green Salad ("not that one out of a bag mom") and Strawberry Shortcake.

If that wasn't so damn sweet, I'd be gagging right now!

I bet that when Jimi is presented with his dinner tomorrow night, it will be enjoyed and rival any gourmet cuisine from a five star restaurant.

So for Jillian and Jimi, and to their special evening, may we all enjoy tomorrow and appreciate the simple moments that make life precious. (OH...and I knitted THAT silver shawl for her formal...**bragging**)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Test

2008-02-09T09:23:00.001-08:00

Test

This port is a test

2008-02-08T22:59:00.001-08:00

This port is a test

Empty Message

2008-02-08T22:50:00.001-08:00

Confessions - Part 1

2008-02-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

I suspect that this will be an ongoing series of random posts confessing little lapses in critical thinking or on the use of manipulative tactics to getting what I want. Because I'm a married woman....

Have you ever wanted something REALLY COOL, but if you just went out to buy it without any discussion with your significant other, you'd risk the dishes getting rattled in the cupboards? Or if you were shopping with your significant other and was thinking about picking up something that you wanted, you'd get talked out of it? Or worse get "Hon, we'd better wait on that".

Christmas 2007
For months I have been eyeballing digital cameras. The "old" camera an Olympus C-700 still works pretty good but it has taken a beating the last three years in Grant's man-bag while on Geocaching hunts.

So on Thanksgiving weekend I got an email from Circuit City advertising an online holiday sale which included some fantastic pricing on some digital cameras. I got a fantastic deal on the Canon Powershot A570IS and so I ordered it. It has great features and was on sale at a more than reasonable price. (this is called, justifying an impulse)

About two weeks before Christmas and pretty much done with the Christmas shopping, I got another email from Circuit City. This time the sale included digital video cameras. We had been discussing getting one so that we could take videos and send them to family. (more justification) I saw the Panasonic PV-GS85, and I bought it. We have some events coming up this spring and summer so I'm really excited that we are now well equipped. (CLASSIC justification statement)

Grant, who has not fully grasped the American concept of "impulse buying" and "retail therapy" would most likely have preferred my exercising some self control. (Back peddling)

So in a very smooth and brilliant move I made those cameras, PRESENTS for Grant.

Here is Grant after opening them up on Christmas morning......

Ahhhhh, look how happy he is!!!
(NOW, he just doesn't understand why he always finds them in my bag when he wants to use them)

For out anniversary I am getting him 10 skeins of a soft Alpaca Yarn in teal green!! 8-)

Super Tuesday....

2008-02-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

Feeling frustrated at the whole election process and not feeling like putting together the words for a rant....I think a little video to lighten the mood will do wonders!

How can you not walk away smiling now??

Musings on Super Bowl Sunday

2008-02-03T14:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, this Sunday morning was known in advance to be out of the ordinary. It is Super Bowl Sunday after all. Grant still assimilating into the American culture and learning to embrace holidays and events begins to show his enthusiasm and appreciation for a day off with plans of planting himself on the couch for all and certainly main sporting events.

I could vehemently argue with anyone that this is more of a MAN thing versus cultural assimilation, but I digress.

The Super Bowl game is certainly an event, one which requires pre-planning and strategy for maximum enjoyment. So Grant maps out the seating arrangement in the living room weeks in advance, proclaiming his spot next to the corner table with ample room for snacks and drinks, the recliner footrest, direct centered unobstructed view of the big screen TV.

He failed however to answer the question "what would you like to snack on and eat on Super Bowl Sunday?" resulting in the early morning realization that on this rainy, windy, cold day he was going to have to drive me to Costco to get provisions. Or starve.

Credit goes to Grant here for not blowing his stack at the fact that during the Costco run for a few provisions ended up with a massive cart of miscellaneous "good deals" that I found on everything from razors, to plastic airtight containers to organize the pantry in the kitchen. Total bill for this little snack run: $234.84

Once we returned home and after Grant unloaded the car (in the driving rain) and by the time I unpacked everything, Grant dried off and put on his flannel lounging pants and a sweatshirt preparing for his day.

About 90 minutes before the big game, I got a call to pick up Janeva from a sleepover at a friend's house. Stopping at a red light and looking off to my left I saw something that just struck me as so funny that I immediately called Grant and told him what I saw and asked him if he'd quickly drive to the intersection and snap a picture so that I would later have proof of what I was seeing.

Before you look at the picture, imagine this: After a small amount of grumbling, Grant got dressed, putting on his jacket and boots, went out into the pouring rain and wind, got into his car and drove to the intersection....then had to get out of the car, walk up to this man standing at the corner of this busy intersection, apologizing to the man for interrupting his waving at passing cars explaining that he was there at his wife's request to snap HIS picture. Grant got the guys permission and he even eagerly posed for this picture.....

Now I ask you.....where but in Southern California will you get an opportunity to see a man named Jose Hernandez posing as Lady Liberty?

My heartfelt thanks to Grant for going above and beyond the call of duty and also Jose Hernandez for making this special moment bringing two cultures together for our amusement.

On my way home, Grant called me on my cellphone to tell me he did in fact get the picture for me. Then asked me to stop off at the store to get some chips as we forgot to get them at Costco when we got the six layered dip that was sought after for today's event. Total cost for the spontaneous chip run at the grocery store: 22.15

NOW back to me and my knitting the sock.......

She says "Bling Socks", He says "Glitter **** Socks"

2008-02-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

This week has been a killer for Grant. He has been keeping some crazy hours, pulling a couple of all-nighters and entering the end of the week in a daze.

Today, while Grant was trying to catch up on some sleep during the day, I was tip toeing and quietly amusing myself. After channel surfing through 300 channels I remember I had a sock that just needed the toe grafted and it was done. Not a pair mind you, just the first part of a "pair" of socks. I got the pattern from the More Sensational Knitted Socks book by Charlene Schurch.

Of course as soon as the toe was closed I HAD to show somebody....and the only body that was near was Grant....so it stands to reason that I had to wake him to show him my new sparkling sock!

Me: "Hey look, I just finished a sock!"
Supportive Husband Grant (with eyes half open): "Very Nice"
Supportive Husband Grant (looking at the clock): "I like that Glitter Sh*t in the yarn."

Me: "ummm, I don't think that "glitter" and "sh*t" works in the same sentence dear".
Husband Grant (noticing the pattern makes them thicker than most socks): "They look like they would be good Hunting Socks".

Me (thinking WTH?): "HUNTING SOCKS!!? ARE YOU KIDDING?"
I walked away shaking my head thinking it must be an Australian thing or a tired man thing, probably just a man thing!

Admiring the sock I decided to try it on.....

You can just see the hint of glitter, but it's there, REALLY!

You can not NOT smile when you foot looks THIS good!!!

Now, I just need to make another one!!

Christmas Lights 2007

2008-01-11T20:33:00.000-08:00

The Australian and the Art of Creating a Christmas Display

Grant was very upfront and direct that he was not really into decorating or arranging outdoor Christmas displays. I've always said that I wanted to decorate the house with lots of lights and be one of the houses where people stop, point and stare. So Christmas 2007 started off with us both having two entirely different ideas of what constitutes "decorating".

Grant agreed to hang some lights along the edge of the roof. I assumed that his hanging lights would be like my making Christmas cookies. Once I get into it, I don't want to stop and I can just bake and bake. So imagine my surprise that after hanging ONE strand of lights, Grant actually thought he was DONE?! I was really fortunate because the local drug store had Christmas lights on sale early enough that I was able to score boxes of lights at a price that even Grant would have to agree was a great deal. Or so I thought.

When Grant realized that the boxes of lights I was showing him that were a such a fabulous deal were expected to be hung on the outside of the house, he got kinda into it.....like into it getting done. I came in to put another batch of cookies into the oven when Grant proudly said "done!"

Problem is, he put a strand of multi colored lights around half of the living room window and around the other half were all blue lights. So I told him that it looked great but that I kinda envisioned the multicolored lights going ALL THE WAY around the window.

See, I think he's starting to get into this?

Grant: "So what are the blue lights for".
Me: "For bushes, trees or empty spaces" (we only have two little trees).

So Grant took down the blue lights and strung another multicolored strand around the rest of the window, and from the kitchen I heard "Done".

Me: [yelling from the kitchen] "There is another window visible from the front that needs to be outlined in lights".

Grant: [mumbling in the front yard] "$#%^##%^!" (or something like that)

Grant then got into "blue light hanging mode" putting them into the little trees that we had just planted the month before. Only the cord didn't reach long enough so he had to run to the store for an extension cord. (I think I heard more mumbling, but I can't be sure)

Coming back from the store and plugging the lights into the extension cord he fired them up. "HOUSTON, We have a Problem". Apparently we had a bulb burn out which makes one entire line of lights got out. I really didn't see it a problem and thought Grant could be reassured because I bought EXTRAS!!! 8-)

So, Grant took down the broken lights, hung a new strand, had the trees lit up and called the girls and I out to admire his work.

Janeva: "Um, what are you going to do around the garage door?"

Me: "OH...I have some more lights that can go around the garage door!"

Have you noticed that even in the picture, you can just see in his face exactly what he is about to say?

Jillian: "That's a great start, but a lot of the neighbors have lighted figures in their yards and we probably need one too"

Grant: "Holy $#%^, what am I $#%^*& (insert just about anything here)"

Janeva: "Hey Jillian hear how Grant's accent gets thicker the more frustrated he gets?"

Thinking fast, I gave Janeva some home baked cookies still warm from the oven. Handed Grant a beer and Jillian and I quickly exited left.

Then I noticed......a car slowly driving by.......the people were stopping, pointing and staring. I was THRILLED.....then I realized it was because Grant ran out of the house in his Christmas boxers to lock up the car.

The next evening, the girls and I had some shopping to do and we all three screamed in the car as we turned the corner. Right there in our yard, standing there waiting for us.....was a LIGHTED Reindeer whose head turns from side to side when the lights are on. No one else's deer MOVES!!!! OMG, how cool!!

We came running into the house to thank Grant and find out if he was really getting into this decorating stuff.

Grant said (smiling) "I am now, the lady down the street dragged her husband up to the front of our house to look at the lights and as they were walking away I could hear her telling him how she was going to the store to buy some lights that she saw on sale."

Two days after Christmas, Grant had some errands to run and he came back with three bags full of boxes of lights......and one lighted Penguin figure whose wings go up and down when the lights are on. WHO'S INTO DECORATING NOW??!

Next Year's Plan!

FIRE STORM 2007

2007-10-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up and got ready for work per the usual Monday morning routine. I was watching the news and they were giving updates on two fires in San Diego county that had broke out yesterday afternoon.

As we are having Santana winds, everyone in Southern California knows that this can be a challenge for the area Firefighters. However, after the Cedar Creek fires of 2003, I don't know if anyone in San Diego county will ever look at another fire storm as predictable again.

I go to work, and some of the people that I work with were being affected by evacuation orders and there seemed to be a lighter number of people in the building. The next indication that we were needing to brace ourselves was a call from the two school districts that Jillian and Janeva are in. School was canceled!

Well, I managed to stick around work for a couple of hours, not really able to get any work done as I was getting radio news and internet news of road closures and evacuations orders. It is times like this that even if you are not directly impacted, you just want to be with your family. So I left work and went home.

To be truthful, the air quality in our area was better than I expected, the roadways that I traveled were clear and the traffic was fine. Seemed like overkill really. But, I convinced myself to continue onward to home.

When I got home the girls seemed glad that I came home. We discussed the lessons learned from the 2003 fires and I decided that I would go NOW to get the car fueled and get some provisions....like water....batteries......and some COMFORT food (which explains why the girls were happy to see me).

Grant was home on a day off, so I convinced him to go with me to COSTCO...(for our Australian fans, that is a huge warehouse where you buy food in bulk, saving massive amounts of money on the "per unit" cost, but never can manage to get out of the damn place for under 300 dollars and watching your husband blow an "O" ring from shock!!!) So Grant and I wandered through the warehouse and I was thinking back to the 2003 fires remembering how bad the smoke and ash got and how miserable it was to go for a quick food run to the corner grocery store. Well......I was on top of it this time....I was on a mission. I bought a boat load of meat....a case of toilet paper (nothing makes you feel worse during a Natural Disaster than realizing that the roll on the dispenser is half gone and is the LAST roll in the house!! eeeeek!!!!) We bought a case of size C batteries (still haven't found anything in this house that actually takes C batteries though) and then cases upon cases of water, diet soda, and regular soda. OH...and I bought a magazine too!! Grant looked at me sideways when I put the magazine in the cart but I pretended to not notice.

After I wrote the check, and Grant picked himself off the floor, we made our way to the car. I was actually feeling pretty smuggly and confident that we were set for just about anything now.....THEN IT HIT ME!!! I turned to Grant and said "OMG....this is a FIRST for US!!!" Hugs were given in the parking lot and Grant pulled back with a look of concern and said "WHAT, is a first for us?" (I think he was trying to figure out if that was the largest check I had written at Costco) I said, "This is our FIRST Natural Disaster......TOGETHER!!" He acted like I was nuts.

Later in the day, the news was informing viewers what to take in the event of an evacuation order. Grant decided that this would actually be a good day to kinda work out a family plan and we should actually prepare as if we were going to evacuate. So.....Grant gathers up the pink slips to the cars, insurance policies, his immigration papers...INCLUDING his Greencard......our passports, birth certificates and marriage certificates and all that practical crap.

Meanwhile, I get my preparedness bag ready. I sort out knit patterns, picked our 5 projects our that I want to make (this was soooo difficult), went through my yarn stash and coordinated the appropriate yarn and quantities with the right patterns. (this was also a tremendous task) I placed each pattern with it's appropriate yarn in those large ziplock bags....the BIG ones. Then I got a change of underwear and my toothbrush, a pillow and a pair of comfy shoes and headed for the living room. Janeva arrives in the living room, with her favorite blanket, a pillow and a stuffed toy and the remote to her tv. Jillian came out with her ENTIRE wardrobe, her entire set of bedding, all of her shoes and her Curling Iron.

Grant has spent the rest of the afternoon and evening, drinking.

Back to Me........

2007-10-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

In the last few months I have had some computer issues, work issues, knitting issues, kid issues, back to school issues, and Australian to American, Man to Woman translation issues.........so I have finally realized......I HAVE ISSUES!! So to recap........

So much stuff has happened since the 4th of July. At the end of July, Grant and I took my mom to the Hannity Freedom Concert. Grant and I had gone last year and we were amazed at the crowd and the vibe there. We both knew my mom would be thrilled if the concert was half as good as last year. Grant was able to get tickets; stage center, 8 rows from the front. That concert was a blast!!! All for a great cause, to raise money for the families of fallen soldiers and to ensure their children will be able to go to college. A lot of American Pride, Flag Waving and giving thanks that we as a crowd could praise God and not be told that it was politically incorrect to do so. This event really deserves it's own blog post complete with pictures. I will tell all about that evening in an upcoming installment.

Shortly after the concert my mom needed to get back to Nebraska because her sister was failing. So Grant drove my mom to New Mexico on a 14.50 hour adventure which at one point nearly got Grant deported!! He drove through an Arizona Border Patrol station. As the border patrol agent started to wave Grant and my mom through, Grant asked why the flag there was flying at half mast (because seriously, when DOESN'T Grant ask a question or offer comment??). Recognizing that Grant's accent didn't sound "Southern California" but rather from somewhere farther South, he was asked for his license and Greencard. Problem was that Grant didn't have his Greencard with him. So he got grilled by a cranky border patrol agent who threatened to detain him then tried to roust my mother for transporting an "undocumented alien" cross state lines.

Okay, right here should have most American's rolling on the floor laughing out loud with tears running down their cheeks given the current political climate. We have hundreds of thousands, and most likely millions (depending on whether you are a Democrat or Republican stating the statistics) of undocumented Mexicans and "Other than Mexicans" (OTMs) running over our borders to "do the jobs American's won't do" and plenty of times to "do the crimes most American's won't do" as well. As a wife of an Australian Immigrant, I have PLENTY to say about this Country's dysfunctional immigration policy..........But I digress......

Long story short.....finally they got waved through and Grant and my mom got to enjoy the rest of there journey without incident.

Next, Jillian and Janeva start back to school. I'm thrilled with how this year is going for both girls and their mid semester report cards are FABULOUS!!! I'm really proud of both of them. Both girls are working toward a major milestone....Jillian is working toward graduating from High School next June and Janeva will be graduating from Middle School the day after Jillian. So I'm already planning their celebrations!

Grant and I have some really BIG news.....but he has sworn me to secrecy till sometime next Spring. For our Australian Family, that would be about April/May of 2008. OH......and let me just take this right off the table now....I'M NOT HAVING A BABY, so ya'll just calm down already!!! I can assure you, the news is BIG and we are really excited about it, and the fact that I have to keep a secret that long is going to test me greatly.

So....I'm back, I now have full function within this blogging program and look forward to learning all I can to bring more links and news. I've got lots of knitting projects in the works and am looking forward to showing those off soon.

Lyn, keep reading......you'll be able to see some things that will be coming your way!! 8-)
Olga, now that I have a gauge and the sizing down a bit better, you should be seeing something posted in a little over a week!!
Nancy, the weather is getting cooler and so I'll be stepping it up on your cable knit sweater as well.

OH...and this update is for Michael. The red scarf I was working on while visiting you is in about the same state as when I left Australia. I have told Grant that I think it will take a round trip to Australia to get this scarf done! I think the scarf is going to be stunning....but it is a total bore to work on and it puts me to sleep after only a few rows!!!

More to come........

Weekend Knitting

2007-07-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Since this is actually a "Knitters" blog, I figure I should have a post now and then about some actual knitting.

This weekend I felt completely burned out from the week before so I pretty much stayed close to home and did some knitting on a FEW of my WIPs (works in progress). I just realized that all of these projects have one thing in common, they are knitted from the top down, in the round, and with a raglan sleeve style. I had never knitted anything from the top down till about 5 weeks ago and so far, I think this is my preferred method for the moment. It requires little finishing work when the knitting is done and that is a HUGE BONUS. You can literally finish knitting in the afternoon and typically walk out in the evening wearing any one of these projects.

One of the fastest and most engaging knits I have going on right now is a pattern named "Fifi". I got the pattern through The Sexy Knitters Club who is using this pattern as one of the Summer Knit Alongs. I have worked on this sweater for a little over a week now and it is moving along swiftly. I am going to modify the pattern to make 3/4 sleeves instead of the cap sleeve as written in the pattern. The yarn I'm using is the yarn recommended by the pattern, Rowan Calmer. Calmer is a soft cotton with an incredible memory and one of the few cotton yarns that behaves like wool and makes this particular pattern a joy to knit.

The next pattern, has been a great knit as well. It is a pattern named "Wicked" which I found online at Zephyr Style. The picture doesn't show the detail of the neck edging which will be repeated on the sleeve cuffs. Other than the neck and cuff detail it is mostly a straight knit which makes it a great project for mindless knitting in front of the TV or in the car. I have been working on this knit for a little over 3 weeks now. (I can get 3/4 of a row done at a long Traffic Light!! 8-) )

Last but not least, is a pattern named Boatneck Bluebell, from the Fitted Knits book by Stefanie Japel. When I got this book I truly hit a jackpot. I have several projects going from this book and the detailing and the fitting on the patterns are fantastic. I used Cascade 220 wool for this knit and it is all but done with the exception of a little sewing up of the 2nd sleeve and then it needs to be blocked. This sweater took about 1 1/2 weeks to knit up, but has been sitting in my knitting bag for about 3 weeks begging to have the finishing done on the sleeves. I have enough of this yarn left over to knit a vest for Janeva for her back to school wardrobe!! (an added plus)

Aside from this knitting, I cleaned out some drawers, and Janeva and I baked a cake to practice for our Cake Decorating class that we are taking together.

All in all, a very quiet weekend and sometimes I think those are the BEST!!!

The Australian on the 4th of July

2007-07-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

The day started off like any other holiday. All the girls slept in till about 9am and then slowly the house woke up and a steady hum could be heard. Grant was the last one to get moving. Apparently, he didn't get the memo.

My mom is staying with us for the summer and since EVERYone in the U.S. BBQs on the 4th of July, she decided that Grant needed a brand new BBQ to break-in for this 4th of July festivities. At 9:15am we realized our first problem. The BBQ needed to be assembled.

I wake Grant up with ...."Grab your hand tools!"

It would help if I explain: Grant is a fabulous writer. He is wonderful with computers. He loves to hike into the middle of nowhere and is fearless when confronted with the indigenous wildlife there. He single handily helps clumsy drunks stay in their seats at the ballgames. He is incredibly patient and kind when he rolls over in the middle of the night to find the random knitting needle that I had been searching for just a few hours earlier. He will even confront a neighboring diner in a restaurant when they say something vulgar or use "inappropriate language" in front of me. But when it comes to power tools....or hardware....wellllllll

.....as Grant assembled the tools needed to assemble the BBQ, I readied the first aide kit. With everything laid out in the side yard, and instructions (yes my husband actually READS the instructions! :::she says proudly:::) and a couple of beers under his belt, the assembly took place without a grumble or even a DNA trail.

Mom and I had planned a large meal, so together we got ready for Grant's first American BBQ.

Mom presents Grant with "BBQ TOOLS" (insert Tim Allen's man grunts here) and the one that really enthralled Grant was the spatula with a bottle opener built in it. He pulled the tops off one beer after another with that thing.

The BBQing went really well, and Grant did a fabulous job. Everything came off the grill finished in perfect timing. Grant got into the holiday BBQing and his confidence was high as he was flipping the meat with one hand and tossing back a cold one with another like an old Pro. (The oven-mitt Grant is using has a Christmas pattern on it. NOTE TO SELF: buy Grant a butch oven-mitt)

My mom and Grant had a great time and it should be noted that they get along fabulously. She cheered him on as he cooked, and Murphy was hopeful that one of them would drop some food for him. Max who is camera shy and had the smarts enough to stay away from the hot BBQ just sat back and supervised.

(OMGawd, I just realized that if you look real close at the picture above, I think the damn dog was licking the tongs that were used to remove the food off the grill!!!)

Anyhoo....

After the meal, we all lounged around and relaxed (because we could.... NOT knowing Murphy's secret taste testing had taken place!)....and waited for the fireworks.

Janeva, Grant, Murphy (I am still grossing out wondering what else he was licking) and I walked over to Kennedy Park to watch the fireworks. I was very nervous taking Murphy because in years past, both Max and Murphy would freak out in the backyard when the fireworks would go off. But Grant was determined to take Murphy and said "no worries".

We get to the park, we laid out a blanket and took our positions. Grant and Murphy were sitting in front of Janeva and I. It was completely dark, and then we see the first flare go up and then BOOOOOM! Murphy jumps up and barks excitedly into the sky. I'm thinking "that's it, we gotta get him outta of here."

Grant pats his back and says "Sit down and watch the damn fireworks Murphy. You're acting like a Nancyboy, it's not like you are in Iraqi for crying out loud!"

I kid you not! That dog sat down, looked up in the sky and from that point on, he mumbled, did little whisper barks and Janeva and I ended up watching the back of Murphy's head as he tilted it one way then another. THE DOG WAS WATCHING THE FIREWORKS!!! Janeva asked about the mumbles and little whisper barks and I said, "I think Murphy is ohhhhing and ahhhing!!!

So the night ends, Janeva and I ended up missing the fireworks because we were watching the back of Murphy's head. Who knew?

Taking the Australian to the County Fair.....

2007-06-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

We arrived at the fair around 11am. I proudly presented my free "Exhibitors Pass" for entry and we immediately see a stage to the left. We arrived just in time for the "Animal Noise Contest"!! I'm anxious to see the Needle Arts display to see if any of the items I submitted were displayed. This was my first year submitting anything and the primary reason for doing so was to get the free passes to the fair. But now that I was at the fair.....I was anxious to see how I did.

Grant and Janeva wanted to make animal noises.....their making noises is nothing new....but to see them do it one stage would be a first....how could I say no to THAT!!

Janeva jumped on stage first, she decided at the last minute to make the sound of a domestic cat whose tail is being stepped on. She made some hissing noises and a hedious meow cry into the microphone. So loudly and startling that I think any stray cat within a 2 mile radius ran for cover! Being the proud mother that I am, I cheered, hooted and whistled for her.

Later in the competition, my husband stepped up to the microphone. Strangely, he spoke softly into the microphone.....was he nervous? He explains that he will be making the call of a "rare Australian Red Kangaroo male"....and he proceeds to make this soft clicking, almost chirping sound. Everyone strained to hear it, because seriously, how many chances do we get to hear one of THOSE in San Diego?? Again, being the proud wife, I cheered, clapped and made a scene....but all the while looking at Grant thinking the performance was suspect. Seriously! He could make ANY noise and name it as something rare and in Australia....who, in San Diego will challenge him??

BTW, Janeva took 1st place, and Grant took 2nd place in the competition! While they gloated, my mom and I were thinking we should just be happy to be seen with them. (rolling eyes)

We stop off at the Australian deep fried potatoes...and anxiously wait to taste an Authentic Australian dish. We loved them, my mom raved, I enjoyed them, Janeva thought they were "okay"...and Grant said he never seen anything like it in Australia. Go Figure!

So...off to the Needle Arts Display!

I enjoyed seeing all the beautiful knitting and crochet and tatting displayed. I then was thrilled when in the midst of the display Grant found the first of four sweaters that I had entered......I took a Blue Ribbon First Place prize in the Woman's Knitted Sweater division, Third Place in the Mens Knitted Sweater division, and a Third Place for a knitted/crocheted combo sweater in the "Other" division. I was thrilled!

I was doing the Happy Knitters Dance out of the showroom, and Janeva totally into the spirit of competition entered a pie eating contest. Even though this sweet little girl of 13 was up against some hulking teenage boys (perhaps THAT is why she entered?) Janeva took a respectable 3rd place in the Pie Eating Contest!

While Grant and Janeva went off to ride some of the stomach turning rides on the Midway, mom and I decided to shop the vendor booths. We scored some hair clips and three of the "it slices, it dices, it mixes, and purees" cutters. (Mom a few days later testing the slicer gives it a thumbs up review.....only the thumb now has stitches it it!!! OUCH)

All in all, we had a fabulous time. I am knitting with a new purpose....to enter into next years fair so we can get the free passes and see Janeva take 1st in the Pie Eating Contest!!!! (She announced that she is in training and I need to bake pies now.....hey....I could maybe enter one of those too!!)

The History of My Obsession

2007-06-07T11:18:00.001-07:00

I learned to crochet when I was 19 or 20 by Jeanette, a coworker at the time and now longtime friend. I lived across the street from her during the "Dallas" and "Falcon Crest" era of the 80s. Every friday night, I'd go to Jeanette's house to watch the friday line up of night time soaps and we would be joined by all of Jeanette's cousins. Everyone was crocheting baby blankets and booties at the time and I believe all of them had learned from their Grandmother the patterns that they crocheted.

This was completely new to me, so I was thrilled to learn the basics from Jeanette and then found myself completely obsessed. I'd work all night to complete a row. I absolutely loved watching a long strand of yarn take shape through MY fingers!

At one point, I branched out to reading everything about crochet and learning to read patterns which developed into a pattern collecting obsession. Back then we didn't have all of the magazines devoted to knit and crochet as we do now....so I'd buy anything that had "yarn" mentioned in it. In ten years, I enrolled and subscribed to any magazine and crochet club that was available and was able to have a large collection of what would now be considered "vintage" patterns. How many patterns of Granny Squares, pot holders, spoon covers, dish cloths and baby booties can you have? I'm sure I don't have them all, and yet I have more than I will ever beable to make, and I'm STILL collecting them.

I really can't explain what I'm about to disclose next. It just happened this way....

I didn't know anyone that knitted. Yet, while on a mission to find patterns of all things crocheted I'd find patterns for knitted garments and for some unexplainable reason, I'd buy them. Why? "Because maybe one day....." perhaps? I would spend hours reading the patterns, looking up the yarn they called for and just think "I wish I could KNIT that!"

In June 1990, I gave birth to my first daughter, Jillian. Apparently, that triggered Post Partum Knitpression. When I returned to work, I discovered that a yarn store was located within my reach during lunch hours. In September 1990, I walked in, found a beautiful pattern for a cable knit sweater and skirt set sized for 12 months. I purchased the wool (in a deep navy blue) the pattern and the needles. Then one of the gals at the store showed me how to cast on, make a knit and a purl stitch and what a cable needle was and then I was off to make the most adorable outfit for my baby Jillian. One of my first Motherly Missions!

I worked full time, had a young baby, and the typical household duties but with the time left over, I worked on this knit project. Remember it was sized for 12 months....

I finished Jillian's outfit in August 1993, she was 3 years old. Southern California, in August, knitted in wool. It came out quite nicely though. We had two sassy kittys, Seg and Pacer, who ended up adopting the knitware for beds.

I stopped knitting, but continued to buy knit magazines and patterns....something that I still can't explained.... Somewhere around 1998, I exclusively bought knit patterns and magazines and stopped pursuing crochet.

In 2003, I discovered Lori's Frames and Fibers in Alpine California. A wonderful and recently expanded yarn store. I rediscovered knit but stayed safely on beginnner patterns. Lori encouraged to go beyond the label of beginner, intermediate or advanced knitter and told me to just knit what I LIKED.

With all of the encouragement and support I got from Lori and the Wednesday Night knit group there I still stayed within my comfort zone picking knitting projects. Then Lori shared with me that there was a class at Foothills Adult Education Center and the team of Charlie and Athena who teaches all of the handknitting and crochet classes there.

Because of Charlie and Athena, I feel fearless at attempting any project. I knit what I want and enjoy the process of learning from any of the mistakes or adjustments needed in any of the patterns. Because of having them as a Knitter's Safety Net, I have grown this hobby into a full obsession.

I have become "A Knitter" vs "Someone Who Knits".

(OH ...SIDE NOTE: Jillian will be 17 years old next week. Three months ago, I finally made a sweater for Jillian. It is a knitted/crocheted combined sweater which is currently at the San Diego County Fair. It not only FITS her, but she LIKES it as well. My first Motherly Mission is finally completed.)

Couch Mileage

2007-05-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

My husband had informed me earlier in the week that today is the 91st running of the Indy 500 and following that race is the Coca Cola 600. That means a full 1100 miles will be put on the couch today alone!

That also means that I have a full 1100 miles of uninterrupted knitting time for ME! Okay....uninterrupted is not exactly going to hold because I'm in charge of "Pit Stops", as I AM the PIT CREW for team Husband, the unchallenged champion spectator of race day Sunday.........meaning that when he comes into the Pit area, I'll have to be ready to drop the knitting for refueling (snack runs) and change out the tires (fluff the cushions and pillows so he won't throw a rod)

Combine that with the Encore channel's running of a "Jawsathon" (all four Jaws movies running back to back) on Monday, if I were a betting woman, I'd say that we will be shopping for a new couch by Tuesday!

For Race Day Sunday I have started the Two-Toned Ribbed Shrug from Stefanie Japel's "Fitted Knits" book. I am using a Schaefer Yarn for the MC in "Jane Addams" colorway and it will be trimmed in Cascade 220. These colors are perfect for my youngest daughter Janeva who is the intended recipient for this project. I don't usually knit with variegated colored yarn but I'm already loving the yarn and the look it is giving so far.

My FIRST post on my own blog!

2007-05-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Grant and I married in 2005. Grant immigrated from Australia to the U.S. in 2005 after a two year long distance relationship. After all the huge phone bills and several trips to the U.S. so he could take me on REAL dates, Grant decided it would be so much easier and cheaper if we both resided in the same zip code. So he made this huge leap, leaving a career, family and practically all the material things one accumulates in a lifetime behind and arrived in Southern California to start a new life with a new wife, her teenage daughters Jillian and Janeva, and their dogs Max and Murphy. Side Note: Murphy has a blog of his own and now apparently only understands Australian.

Shortly after Grant arrived he discovered that I was a KNITTER. He knew I knitted, he thought it was charming that I knitted from time to time. That was his impression BEFORE he arrived.

I wish I had a picture of the first time he opened the closet to claim some space as his own, and found my stash of yarn. Okay, well ONE of my stashes of yarn. I think maybe it was about four months before he found ALL of the yarn that is tucked in various parts of the house, the garage, closets, bowls, in bins, in plastic bags, under beds and in the attic and even in my car.

About four months after Grant's arrival, he got to experience his first earthquake. It was a mild 4.2 in the wee hours of the morning. I woke up startled and threw my arm over Grant to ensure he didn't jump up out of bed not knowing what was going on. When the shaking ended, Grant calmly asked "what was THAT?" I said "An earthquake, don't worry it was a small one and we are all fine." Grant said "no doubt, if it had been a big one we all would have been buffered by falling balls of yarn! No worries!"

A day does not go by without an outburst of laughter somewhere in the midst of our normal chaos or a simple explanation is offered of "It's okay, he's Australian" by myself or one of my daughters to a puzzled onlooker.

Life is an adventure when the subtle cultural differences and language barriers are factored in with the normal grind and routine of an otherwise typical life.

Finding out what we will get when my husband orders dinner at the drive up window in his thick Australian accent makes fast food one of those simple little unexpected surprises.

Welcome to my blog, to our adventures and all the knitting. Perhaps we can put you in stitches as well.