Bye Bye Birdies....Bye Bye

I knew it was just a matter of time before the babies flew away...I really thought it would be over the weekend.



Things have been a bit "crowded" in the hood for several days now.























Uhmmmm..........so if I don't learn this flying thing the first time I'll end up WHERE?????? That's a LONG way down......THERE!!!!




















I think the thought of "down there" prompted all the practice flying!!!



































And then they were gone! I had hoped to see them actually leave the nest....I went inside for a few minutes, came back out and they were all gone. I noticed Mama Bird was at her usual perch......several feet from the nest where she has pretty much stayed for the past few days....she flew back to the nest, saw it was empty, flew into the woods and hasn't been seen since.

Mission accomplished!!

Weekend In Review

Ahhh....the best laid plans.

Hubby was out of town this weekend, and I had an entire weekend of fiber/knitting/reading all planned out!! Not so fast........

Ended up getting sick Friday night and didn't start feeling semi-human until last night!!! BUMMER!!!!!!!

To catch up....Off the needles:

Duckies

Festooned Frippery Socks

Ophelia is resting comfortably in the basket, plans are to pick her up tonight and hopefully make some progress.

We have been bird watching lately.......the babies are just about to leave the nest!! We have enjoyed watching them and will miss them when they fly away, which I truly thought would have been this weekend, judging by the overcrowding in the nest!! LOL!! Here are a couple of pictures....the quality isn't too good because the only way to get a picture is through the screened porch, so they are a bit fuzzy.

Three Little Babies:

Another Friday Fill In

Good GRIEF.....where has this week gone???

7 days.....and not much to show for it!!

Forecast for today is 87 degrees......Woo HOO.....Spring time in Alabama!!

My best buds are off to Stitches South yesterday/today and I know they are going to have a BLAST!!! I can not be trusted to look without buying and I have an embarrassingly large stash...last count over 100 skeins of just sock yarn....couldn't bring myself to count the other yarns.

Needless to say I have a problem with sock yarn!! LOL!! So I opted out for this year but hope Stitches South is a WONDERFUL experience for those that go and that they will consider the South "worthy" of returning next year!!

I have bought some carders and waiting on some fleece samples to arrive so I can choose a fleece. I can't WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A bit of knitting this week, but I'll post that later.

And...here we go!

1. Apparently there's some sort of weird electronic conflict in this house, every day it is something new that doesn't work or work properly!! UGH!!

2. I do love me a sunny day.

3. 2009, has been a very blessed year so far.

4. Once I took a long hard look at my stash, that was it.....must stop the madness!! LOL!!

5. For too long I've been putting off exercising, eating properly and taking care of myself!! I just don't LIKE to do all that!!! By the time you reach 50, you should be able to eat what you want and do what you want!!!!

6. I am not obsessed with collecting yarn ; I am not! (STOP laughing).

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to possibly going to a wine tasting party or staying home, ordering a pizza and chilling, tomorrow my plans include heading to my BFF friend Cindy's house to help her set up her wheel for double drive and setting up her new Woolee Winder and Sunday, I want to stay in my p.j.'s all day and do whatever I darn well please,catching up with my buds that went to Stitches to hear about all the loot they came home with!! LOL!!

Friday Fill Ins!!

And...here we go!

1. Join me in running away....far, far away!!!!!!!

2. Put a little Margarita in your day! (or maybe a large one???) Hee Hee!

3. Happiness is having family and friends that love you!! Oh...and YARN!!

4. Stressed, dazed and confused.

5. I'm waiting for MY time!!

6. Chocolate is hard to resist.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to eating a hamburger, tomorrow my plans include laundry, working in the basement, and Sunday, I want to KNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yea, Yea, Yea.......

I know, I know......Ophelia is waiting, Spring is here and it will be perfect to wear ....and yet I knit another sock!!

Duckies pattern, knit with Miss Babs Sport Weight, color name to be listed once I find that ballband....I know...I KNOW.....I was going to do SO much better this year with keeping up with Ballbands..........(insert large sigh).

Some things/people never change!!! LOL!!!

Monday Update

Another Easter.........



We spent a day visiting with the family, did manage to sneak a bit of knit time and finish one of the Festooned Frippery Sock.



















This is such a fun, easy sock to knit!! I haven't worked much at all on the Ophelia vest....but did cast on for another sock....(I don't know why I even TRY to knit anthing else....I keep coming back to socks)....I think this last pair I cast on makes pair 34?????

Hi, My Name is Darlene, and I am addicted to knitting socks.

Friday Fill Ins!!

1. Anonymous...is all about being FREE!!!!

2. Getting older is a good thing....most of the time.

3. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, although I would rather STRANGLE you!!!

4. Watching everything bloom is what I look forward to most about Spring.

5. Who needs therapy when there is knitting!!

6. PEEPS MUST go into the Easter Basket!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting, eating BBQ, tomorrow my plans include the annual clandestine, late night hanging of easter eggs on the "Easter Tree" at my God Daughter's house and Sunday, I want to REJOICE.....and enjoy Easter lunch with my family!!

Happy Easter to those that celebrate it!

Weekend In Review

WHAT??????





























It's the invasion of the SOCKTOPUS!!!

Grace picked these up for me from IKEA....the PERFECT way to dry socks...of course Heidi isn't too happy, she can't knock the socks behind the dryer.....boo hiss!

The weather this weekend was GORGEOUS...of course we are back to cold temps and a freeze warning for tomorrow night!! Ahhh....Alabama weather!!

Between pulling a few weeks I managed to finish two socks for a total of 2 pair. The pair on the left are for me.....knit with Koigu sock yarn (my first time to use this yarn).....in the Groovy Socks pattern from Sock Pixie and this may be my new favorite pattern!!! Super fast, not much thinking involved....yep...I like it!! The pair on the right are a pair of garter rib socks knit with KnitPicks sock yarn for my DH.

The pulling of weeds (all 3 of them)...required a chocolate reward.....

I took this as a sign I should be knitting, ditched the weed pulling....(cute little bunny and sheep M&M's)!!

And cast on for another pair of socks...

Shocking I know!!

Mystery Parts.

And...here we go!

1. Angel or not, I will speak up, loudly if necessary to right wrongs.

2. If you show up with yarn you can have me any way you want me.

3. As my mother used to say, you're full of hmmm....I don't recall my mother telling me I was full of anything....perhaps I am in denial?? LOL!!!

4. I HAVE to take a shower after I'm done working out or doing something strenuous.

5. Even in the most crowded of rooms I feel self conscience.

6. Every Day is a day fraught with peril.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching ER as we lost power due to storms, tomorrow my plans include cleaning one flower bed (pacing myself..LOL!!)....and Sunday, I want to cook and knit, my two favorite Sunday afternoon activities!

Whiskers On Wednesday AND FO!!

If it is Wednesday, that means it is WHISKERS ON WEDNESDAY!!

After 6 days of recuperation from shoulder surgery, my DH is back at work!!

Not sure if Bella was waiving goodbye, best wishes on your first day back at work or if this is some international kitty symbol for "you are invading my space now LEAVE" message!! LOL!! Hmmmm....for some reason I don't think it was a "sweet" message! LOL!!

On my needles and a FO!!

I am finishing up two pairs of socks, should hopefully have them completed tonight or tomorrow, I have completed one sock and ready to start the mate.....I have OHHHH so many projects knocking around in my head that I want to get started on, just not enough hours in the day!!

Oh yes....my F.O. .....as in FUTURE OBJECT!! LOL!!

Blue Sky Alpaca cotton, so, so soft and destined to be Ophelia. I absolutely LOVE the cornflower blue color!!! This will be my first time to knit with cotton and hoping that Ophelia will play nicer than Juliet did!!!

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!!