Whiskers On Wednesday!!

Not a whole lot going on with the Kitties this Wednesday. It is a WONDERFUL rainy day.....I do love a good rainy day!!

Some cat napping going on.....

And a bit of rug wrangling by Heidi......

Just another day in Kittie Paradise!!

The Weekend Recap

Because I was THE last human on the face of the earth that had NOT read Twilight......not a stitch of knitting was accomplished and pretty much nothing else was done either! LOL!!

Friday Fill Ins!!

Wow....I can't believe it is time for another Friday Fill In!! This week has FLOWN by!!

And...here we go!

1. Why do we have to be responsible.....sometimes I just want to do what I WANT to do, not what I SHOULD do!!

2. Worry and planning for the future are now habits.

3. I have more yarn than I need, but not as much as I want and NEVER the right weight or amount that I need for any given project!

4. I had never heard the phrase " people get high exercising " and it work for me.....but then again, maybe you have to exercise for more than 10 minute intervals for those endorphins to kick in.

5. I will "do" the way I always do.

6. How was I to know that life would go by so fast...I would have savored it more.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hopefully having my little dog Max feeling back to his old self, he has been sick the past 24 hours, tomorrow my plans include emptying out a storage warehouse and Sunday, I want to do my usual.....KNIT!

Friday Fill Ins!!

And...here we go!

1. When I look to the left, I see my scanner.

2. My kitchen is the room that has the best view in my home.

3. Let it work, I NEED to work .

4. Website date entry , done dirt cheap! (as in free for my hubby).

5. Standing up for what is right is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

6. If you have any bulky weight yarn, a sweaters worth for trade feel free to contact me...I have LOTS of sock yarn!!.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to doing NOTHING, tomorrow my plans include getting together with friends to knit and Sunday, I want to sleep late, make waffles!

Psychedelic Birds Nests

YIPPEE.........the roving trees are in bloom!!! LOL!!


In 24 hours the birds have picked
the trees clean....going to be some very colorful nests in the hood this year!!









In 24 hours we have gone from this.........





















To THIS.......busy little bird!!! Interestingly enough...it appears the FEMALE has done all the work, building the nest.....with the MALE showing up as the sun was setting to check it out......just like a man!! LOL!!



















AND.....My sister knows how much I want some sheep....so she got me this one!!

Spring Entertainment

In addition to watching the Hawks feed their young......and doing a bit of hawk "home remodeling"....there is also a bit of new construction taking place!!!

I believe this corner of the house will have to be passed over for cleaning this year!!

Every year we take a Spring pilgrimage......around the house, to make a list of all that has occured during the winter months and needs to be addressed before summer hits. Which of course is almost impossible to complete all that needs to be done, considering Spring usually consists of only a couple of weeks before Summer hits!! LOL!!

The new addition is right off the back porch, which has been a constant source of entertainment for Heidi who has spent countless hours watching the comings and goings of the construction crew. (Thankfully supplies are plentiful and we haven't had the problem that Sydney has has had)!

It will be fun watching things progress!! I'm heading back out to distribute some bits of roving in hopes some will be incorporated in the new house.......looks like I may be too late though....this "house" is almost finished.....I imagine there will be new tenants in the next few days!!

AND....check THIS out!!

Is this not THE cutest rug??

My Mom sent this to me and the picture doesn't do it justice....looks rather washed out when in fact, the colors are very rich!!

It has met with the Heidi seal of approval.

And if you are wondering why there are so many different rug patterns you are seeing, it is for Max....who is pretty much totally blind now. He has such a hard time on the hardwood floors, would start walking then stop.....and whine.....but with the introduction of the rugs....he can feel his way to his food bowl and not get scared. I love this little dog to pieces and fear when it is his time to go.....I'm going to have to go with him!!

Spring Sock Knitting

This Weekend was GORGEOUS!! Temperatures in the high 70's!! (Was it last weekend we had 2" of snow)?? Alabama weather at it's finest!! LOL!!

I did a tiny bit of knitting this weekend and with the weather so nice....I had to head outside with needles and yarn in hand.

I love this time of year....there are sure signs of Spring around, yet the trees for the most part are bare, which makes for prime bird watching. DH and I sat in the yard with binoculars watching the Hawks. We have two nests in our yard and one of the Mama birds was quite busy!!

It's Friday!!!!

And...here we go!

1. Helping a friend was my last random act of kindness.

2. Another place, but wait.......I like THIS place!!!

3. I don't care for people that display the negative things in matters of the heart......a genuine, kind heart is more important to me than anything else!

4. Coffee, tea or MARGARITA!!!

5. Unfortunately my want list and my checkbook must sometimes take separate paths.

6. Our Family and Friends reminds me that there is nothing you can't weather!!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going with a friend and my sister to an open house for a new restaurant, tomorrow my plans include working on income tax (yuck) and Sunday, I want to what else.......KNIT!!!!!!

WOW.....23 Years!!

23 years ago today......................


I got MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can NOT believe 23 years have FLOWN by.....very scary, time just shouldn't go by so quickly!!


I checked the "official" list of traditional anniversary gifts, hoping that year 23 was the year of wool......but no such luck.....it is silver plate for those that are interested...but who can knit with silver plate????? LOL!!
Oh well.......

BUT.......we don't tend to follow the traditional around here, so instead of silver plate.......I got .......


SNOW.........


























LOT'S OF SNOW
(well, lot's of snow for middle Alabama)




























BEAUTIFUL, GLISTENING, MAGICAL SNOW!!































Now how lucky can a girl get???

BEST guy in the world...AND SNOW???



Heidi was enthralled by it all!!

Friday Fill Ins!!

And...here we go!

1. I'm a packrat, I'm not a good cook, but I love to try , I LOVE to knit.

2. Why do I have so much yarn and not not enough time to knit it all?

3. How does this computer work, anyway?

4. Every morning, I put a dish of stinky can cat food on my Dryer for Bella to eat so the dog won't get it.

5. I consider myself lucky because I have family that loves me, an ABUNDANCE of friends, a home to live in, food to eat, and a nice yarn stash to knit from.

6. One day we’ll see man land on mars.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting, tomorrow my plans include most likely helping hubby with work and Sunday, I want to stay home in my P.J.'s and knit, but will be going to a family birthday party, which is always a good thing!! Everyone knows Birthday Cake has ZERO calories!! LOL!!

Book Review, Socks and Juliet Finds A New Home

Like Elizabeth, I too received an invitation to review Knitting the Threads of Time: Casting Back to the Heart of Our Craft by Nora Murphy. (And be sure to read Elizabeth's review as she is much more eloquent than I am)!

When first thumbing through the book I thought it was going to be an easy, quick read, in a nutshell, the journey of someone knitting a sweater with little "epiphanies" added in along the way. I was wrong!

This book incorporated an INCREDIBLE amount of history, along with so many personal observations.....very interesting....from the first documented date of knitting to present day!! Despite curiosity, there is no way I would have spent the amount of time involved to discover all the facts this book brought to light for me!

A very enlightening history lesson knit together with a story not just about the act of knitting a sweater, but all the lessons learned both with the knitting and the personal reflections of how it correlates to life!!

The local history of Nora Murphys hometown (St. Paul, Minnesota), was also VERY interesting to me as well!!

I'm also with Elizabeth in that I wish the author had included a picture of the finished sweater.

A book worth reading!!

And It Burns, Burns, Burns.......The Ring Of Fire.....The Ring Of Fire..

SOCKS!!

Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Lagoon

I love this pattern!! An easy, quick knit that fits fantastic!!

I think this is my third pair!!

Last but not least, Juliet has left the building.....sent on her merry way to a friend who has been instructed to pass it along once she has HER Juliet knit!!

I have enough yarn in stash to knit another Juliet, but it is Ecowool and I am not sure if I want to re-knit with that yarn or wait until I can get something else......

Deceived by Juliet

SO!!!!!!

I found this pattern and decided since I wanted to knit a sweater, but I'm not a sweater wearing gal, this pattern would be PERFECT for me.

This is what Juliet is SUPPOSED to look like!!



In particular, notice how the edges of the sweater do NOT meet or touch, there is SUPPOSED to be a rather sizeable gap in fact!!



















Unfortunately, MY Juliet is too large (despite my initial thoughts it would be too small). When I initially laid it out to dry/block it was HUGE....and I managed to "scrunch" it down as much as the pic shows....and it doesn't look so huge in the picture. BUT....when I have it own, I can wrap it over like a double breasted coat!!!!




According to the pattern and my bust size I should have knit a large. I wasn't ever able to achieve the size 14 stitch gauge, but got 15, so I went down a size and knit according to the medium rather than large.


I do like this sweater and I have enough ecowool to knit another, just wonder if the yarn had anything to do with it. Once I pulled it from the water it had "bloomed" to seemingly ginormous proportions, or maybe I'm just used to socks!!

Ahhhh.......it's fun to learn from your mistakes!!! (insert sarcasm)!! LOL!!

National Margarita Day!!

Today is NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY!!

REALLY!!

Certified by the Food Channel!!! That's good enough for me!!!

*^%$# SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you see this???

Do you SEE what it is DOING????

Here...look closer!!

Do you SEE ???

What IS IT with these freaky squirrels LICKING the mortar!!?!!

Over the past years, they have licked the very mortar away from the edges of the bricks!!!

Sadly, the cats are even tired of it....barely worthy of a second glance!!

Yeah....not so cute anymore are they??

And to THINK......I used to think squirrels were cute little critters!!!

Friday Fill Ins!!

1. Give me a Margarita and I'll drink it!

2. Whenever I see a yarn store my heart races.

3. I wish we would never lose our loved ones.

4. Homemade Banana Pudding was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious.

5. To live in this world is to make some happy and to tick some off! LOL!!

6. Other than this one, Jessi's is the last blog I commented on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to a Mardi Gras Party, tomorrow my plans include, straightening the house a bit, bake a bit and Sunday, I want to KNIT!!!

Whiskers On Wednesday!!

(Latest Installment Of Which Is The Superior Cat)

I shall sit upon my throne, underneath the lamp, and stare down upon my LOWLY subjects!!!!

Ahhhh....... tis good to be the Queen!!

Anything YOU can do I can do BETTER!!

No you can't, no you can't, no you CAN'T!!!

(Note the Regal Head Pose)

CRAP!!!!!!!!!

Hee, Hee.....I will not even LOOK at you now, you are dismissed.....not even worthy of a glance!!

Monday Update

Ahhhh........Juliet is OFF the needles!!!

I have got to decide the number of buttons and make the button loops before I block....but Ohhhhh.....I am so darn tickled!!!!

Knit with Cascade Ecowool.....because that was all I had in my stash but I will most DEFINITELY be knitting this again....once I'm off this darn yarn diet!! LOL!!

Suzanne shared some good tips for knitting this particular pattern!! Thanks Girl, you saved me a great deal of time!!!! :) :)

BUT....more important, it is Heidi Approved!!! LOL!!!

We are pretty low keyed around here when it comes to "occasions".....like Valentine's Day, Anniversaries, Birthdays. Valentine's day generally consists of cards exchanged and a special dinner prepared.

In anticipation of a good meal for dinner, we had a light lunch.....ahhhh....but love was in the air even then. Look what I pulled from a bag of chips my DH and I were sharing!!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Friday Fill Ins!!

I'm trying to get back to regular blogging and always enjoy Jessi's Friday Fill In posts so much I decided to be a copy cat!!


And...here we go!

1. It seems like I'm NEVER organized.

2. CLEAN UP when you're done, please?

3. If I thought you would Uh Huh...I'd yes indeedy!!

4. Lucky is what I think of most when I think of you.

5. To me, Valentine's Day means love and chocolate and not necessarily in that order!!

6. God gives me strength.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working on Juliet.....tomorrow my plans include contemplating picking up the bits of tree limbs that blew down during a recent storm (note I said CONTEMPLATING, not actually committing).....cooking a special Valentine's dinner for my DH and Sunday, I want to H.O.P.E.F.U.L.L.Y. finish Juliet!!

Whiskers On Wednesday!!

Remember THIS picture?

Heidi has a NEW love in her life!!

Isn't that JUST like a cat??? Loves you one minute....then it's off to someone new the next!!

Miles of Malabrigo

Not REALLY miles of knitting.....but felt like it!!







75 inches pre-blocked.







Malabrigo Worsted, Stonechat, 2 X 2 rib.







Knit by request for my nephew that moved from Ft. Lauderdale to Richmond Virginia......yes.....he's cold!!!










Also knit, the One Row Scarf.

Punta Yarn
Forest Merisoft color.


This yarn is very, very similar to the Malabrigo.


These scarves will be on their way to Virginia today!!


Now I must finish gift socks then it will be time to visit Juliet again!!!

One Of My Favorite Holidays!!!

Ahhhhhh........I thought it would NEVER get here!!!

Two Things You Shouldn't Mix

Two items that perhaps are on your desk at this very moment........glue stick, lip balm.

But two items that should NEVER be placed on the SAME side of your desk, within easy reach.....while working...or otherwise distracted.

Do NOT ask me HOW I know this to be true......

Or as a Professor of mine used to say, "A Hint To The Wise Should Be Sufficient"!! LOL!!

Whiskers On Wednesday!!!

Generally speaking, Bella likes to add her expertise in the kitchen PRIOR to cooking....but apparently the fact that the cookie sheet was warm was more important than the fact that it had FLOUR on it!!

I use a LOT of dish detergent in this house while cooking!! LOL!!

This cat is SOOO cold natured!! Always looking for warmth wherever she can find it!!

Sitting underneath the lamp is another favorite place.

]

And Heidi???

She is something all together different!! LOL!!

Socks On Monday

Finished!!

Finished!!

Burning Rings of Fire

SUCH a fast, easy pattern!!

Two More Pair!!!

Juliet.....ahhhh, sweet Juliet.....I swatched for you and came up a little more than required....but you fooled me!! You are mighty small.....too small I am afraid for these big girls.

I'm going to string you on a lifeline and give you another chance....but better start packing, cause if you don't fit like you said you would......it will be off to the frog pond for you!!!!

Addendum: Reason number 9,395,832, why I love my husband: While inspecting Juliet, I decided that the yarn just wasn't working for me......and my husband....darling dear that he is....looks at me and says, "Well, if you don't like it, why don't you go get what you DO like and start again!"........be still my heart!!!!