Spring Planting

Yea...it's hopefully really spring now....it had better be anyway since I planted a bunch of flowers this weekend...lol! I just love this time of year and getting the bedding plants out to brighten up the yard. The bursts of color always make me feel like smiling. We still have a lot to do since we moved back to this house. The renters trashed the yard as well as the inside of the house. From what I have been told by neighbors the bare spot right out the front door was the smoking area when the renters had parties.....and it shows! We tried seeding that area last year but couldn't get anything going there. I really hate having that big old patch of dirt right out front! It is right under a big tree too so that makes it a challenge as well.

We have decided to go ahead and get sod this year. I am so excited about getting rid of that eyesore....not to mention the mud that gets tracked in from it when it rains! It was recommended that we put zoysia down since it is a shade loving grass. Hopefully it will do well. I'm actually sort of excited about having a shady area. Some of my favorite plants can't take full Oklahoma sun and I didn't have any shady areas at the other house. So this year I get to have hostas and impatients...yea!

Summer tee report....it's done!! Well...not blocked, not sewn together yet, but all the pieces are done. Hope to get the shoulder seams done, pick up and do the neckline tonight and have it ready to wear by tomorrow. Yipee!

Have done a couple more inches on the first basic sock and will probably do a few more small projects before I do anything else big. I like instant-gratification...lol!

I did remember that I have a baby shower coming up really soon so I will actually probably put everything else down and work on a hat/socks combo for that. I cast it on last night and have about 3 inches done on the hat so I should get it finished by the 6th....I hope so anyway!!! I found a skein of Magic Stripes in the stash that is little boy looking and am using that.

After that...hmmm...maybe finish a square for the family afghan, try a toe-up or magic loop sock..neither of which I have done yet! Time will tell. I will probably change my mind a dozen times between now and when I actually cast something new on!

SP 10 Strikes Again!

My SP has spoiled me once again!! I came home Friday to another box of goodies!!! She is just awesome! She somehow knows me well and chooses things that I love!

The first thing I found was a great canvas tote bag. Perfect for medium sized projects! Then under that I saw the awesome book "Knitting Loves Crochet". I haven't crocheted for years, but some of the projects in the book are sooo cute and I can't wait to give it a try in combo with my knitting. There was also a little pamper me kit with botanical lotions and soap. That's the kind of stuff I always buy for other people and never for myself so it will be such a nice treat. Along the pampering lines she included a nail block. It's so cool....each side does something different...file, smooth, buff and shine! Another skein of Opal was tucked inside too...in a beautiful shade of rose! And....last but not least The Yarn Harlot's latest book!!! And get this.....look what was on the front inside page:

Is that just the neatest thing or what!!??

Do I have the best SP out there! You bet I do! Thanks so much SP! You ROCK!

New Use for a Doggie Door!

When we moved back over to this little house we found that one of our prior renters had installed a different back door with a doggie door in it. The door is pretty scratched up and we have plans to replace it one of these days...along with a bunch of other projects yet to be finished!! We have pretty much ignored it since we have been here then decided a week or so ago that since it's there we might as well show Cricket and Stoneleigh how to use it. Maybe then we can avoid at least a little of the "Let the dogs in-Let the dogs out" syndrome!! They are so funny! The first couple of days they would still go to the back door and "tell" us they wanted out so we would have to go over and show them again how to do it...but when they wanted to come back in they would hop right through!

I had Savy & Dax for a while yesterday while Amanda went to an appreciation luncheon Savy's school gave for the mommies that help out a lot. It didn't take them long to notice the newly un-covered doggie door...lol! It was definately a source of amusement! That thing entertained them for quite some time! Now I just have to worry about finding Daxton outside if I turn my back for a minute..lol!

He is definately one busy little man! The last time they were over here he stayed pretty much in the den exploring and pulling all of the videos and dvds off of the bookshelf. This time he was EVERYWHERE!!! It's amazing how fast those little boogers can move! We have a step down into our den area that has always been a bit of a challenge for other babies who have been over here...but not this little guy! He had it figured out in about two seconds!! It is so neat to watch a little one exploring their world at this age! The sheer wonder of just about everything they see on their little faces is priceless!

Something I didn't notice yesterday when I was taking the pictures that jumped out at me when I uploaded them is that little tongue sticking out of Daxton's mouth in every single picture!! Now that is concentration....lol! What is so funny is that his Daddy does that when he is concentrating on something too! Like father - like son!

Not a whole lot to show on the knitting front. I so envy knitters who just knock out one project after another!! I wish I could speed up my knitting process. I have been working on something every day, but just haven't gotten anything finished lately! I am almost done with the summer tee....just the shoulders on the front and one sleeve to go....and have about 4 inches done on the basic sock. It just seems to be taking me forever.

I did get into my stash and re-organize it a litte yesterday. There was some stuff in there that....if I'm to be honest, I will probably never do anything with. Even knowing that.... it was hard to religate it to a box for the next Guild swap meet!!! Why is it so hard to part with yarn that you know you probably aren't going to knit? It's a strange phenomonen, isn't it? Other things I decide I'm not going to use aren't so hard to let go of....so why yarn? Anyway, I am a bit more organized...and I did pull some stuff out and put it in a box. The really weird thing is I ended up having one more shelf full of yarn than what I started out with...lol! DH had a shelf of stuff he says he never uses and offered me some of "his space" for my stash....not THAT is a good hubby wouldn't you say!? Now I can dig through some of the bags I have tucked away and get it up on a shelf too....or maybe not....then he'll know how much stash I REALLY have...lol!

"Tattoos" and a Day in the Park

I didn't get much knitting done this weekend so nothing to report there...just added a few rows to the summer tee and the basic sock. It's funny...I've read several times out there in "blogland" that people are in a sort of a knitting funk right now and I seem to be too! If it's beyond idiot knitting I catch myself having to frog it over and over. Guess it's something in the air...lol....or in my case, I'm just distracted for some reason.

Other than no real knitting productivity I had a really nice weekend. We spent most of Saturday down at D & A's. DH helped David move a bedroom suite Amanda bought to the house and helped him hang a new ceiling fan in their bedroom. We brought Savy on home with us for the weekly overnight and, as always, enjoyed her so much!

We did arts and crafts as usual and by Sunday morning we all three were sporting new "tattoos"! Compliments of Savy, of course. I got pics of mine and hers, but Poppy had already washed his off by the time I got the camera out! She has always been intrigued by tattoos! Probably because her Aunt Mel and Uncle B have them. In my generation, when and where I was brought up, we thought tattoos were just the most awful thing ever!! Funny how your perception of those kinds of things change....well....sort of :-). I still can't imagine ever getting one myself...mostly because I'm a wimp...lol! I keep saying when I'm really old I'm going to get one just for the shock factor to my family!

Sunday afternoon we took a trek to the neighborhood park. It's so nice that we have two parks within walking distance to our house....and I'm so happy the weather is getting nice so we can go when the grandkids are here!

We all had a good time, including Stoneleigh! He got to meet a new puppy friend while we were there. This park has only one really big slide with open stairs so he had to be helped this time, but when we go to the other park he actually goes up the steps and slides by himself...over and over!! It is the funniest thing! He didn't seem to like this one that much though!

He didn't like the swinging things quite as much as Savy did either....lol! But all-in-all we had a great time just being outside together. After playing for a while we headed back home for a snack. Not long after Amanda came to pick her up and drop off some garage sale stuff. We are planning to have a garage sale in a couple of weeks. I have already donated a bunch of stuff to Habitat for Humanity and the garage is still full. I can get the van in but the other side is just packed. One of the hazards of down-sizing...lol! Ever since we moved back over here half of the garage has been packed...then when I retired and turned my real estate office into a hobby room I piled a bunch more stuff out there. I have been hanging on to "office" type stuff...like copiers, fax machines, etc. until I knew whether we were going to get the bakery or not so it is all out there too! Hopefully we will be 100% sure...one way or the other....before I have the garage sale so I can get all that stuff gone!!!

I am going to try to end the post with just pics from the park. I see other blogs where people do that all the time, but being the technically challenged person I have become, blogger seems to have issues when I try to do it...lol....guess we will see! Have a happy Monday!

SP10 Challenge

Ok, this may prove to be a tad embarrassing...lol! My SP 10 Hostess, Robyn, has issued us another challenge/contest! She has these periodically and they are such fun and so interesting! This time the subject of the post is to be about our oldest yarn/project. And boy is mine OLD!!

I learned to knit when I was around 11 or 12 to earn a Girl Scout Needlework badge! I can still remember walking to this little old lady's house (at least she seemed old to me at the time :-), every Saturday for my knitting lesson. I have knitted off and on since then. For years I would interchange my crafts. I'd knit for a while, put it down, cross-stitch a while, put it down, quilt, do miniatures/doll houses, go back to knitting, etc. I even got into oil painting for several years and taught kid's oil painting classes. Sometimes it would be a few years before I did a lot of knitting again.

I guess it was about 6 years ago that I picked up the needles again and haven't put them down since! Anyway....back to the oldest project!! I started this project for my older daughter, Melissa, when she was in high school. She just turned 32!!! Soooo I guess that makes this about 14-15 or so years old!! After digging it out and looking at it...I honestly can't remember why I didn't finish it! It was working up really nice and I was so close to having it done!

It is a pattern from Pingouin summer 93 booklet. The price on the book is $6.95....my how things change...lol! I was doing it in Katia Papiro, a 53% cotton, 47% linen blend. I wish there were a price still on the yarn...now that would be interesting, wouldn't it? Maybe, now that it's been brought back to my attention, I'll jump in and finish it this summer...who knows!

Got my second SP10 box to the post office yesterday. I just love doing this and thinking up surprises for my pal! I hope she likes this box of goodies as much as she seemed to like the first one! It's hard not to talk more about it since I'm having so much fun, but she is a real sleuth....and I don't want to be figured out before the reveal so I had better hush!!!

Hope everyone enjoys this beautiful day! I'm starting to get the urge to go outside and dig in the dirt! It's funny how that is such a balm for my soul!! I have found that it is the perfect thing to lift my spirits and give me peace when something has happened to hurt or upset me...especially when it was unprovoked.

I'll end the post with something I read last night. DH and I have a nightly routine. I get a publication call Daily Bread and we read the day's devotional every night in bed together before we go to sleep. The day's scripture was Luke 6:41-45. Part of the analogy was this - "Being able to see other people's faults easily without ever noticing my own is not just an indication of hypocrisy. It can be a wake-up call that the problem in a struggling relationship may be me. Perhaps it's my attitude that needs to change. Or I'm the one who needs to apologize. Maybe I'm the person who needs a humble spirit. It's a lesson some of us have to learn over and over. We can't change others, but the God's help we can change our own behavior. When our attitude changes, it may seem as if others have changed as well."

Wip's, SP10 and Dashed Hopes

What is that saying about "Best Laid Plans?" One of mine was to keep WIP's in check and only have a couple of things otn.....well....you know how it is when you get just totally bored with something...and you are having "issues" with the other something...lol! And, of course, circumstances sometimes dictate a different type of project is needed.....like riding in the car!

The run-down is this....DH and I did make the trip to Tulsa on Saturday. I dropped him off at the Oklahoma Aquarium for his Comas meeting and I took off in search of LYS's! I have finished the back and one sleeve of the summer tee...working on the front, but was on the lace-work at the bottom and didn't want to mess with trying to keep up with a chart in the car.....and I am doing a new kind of heel (for me anyway) on the intarsia socks for Savy and having issues with that so I HAD to cast on something mindless for the drive!!! Had to, you know!

I chose to start a basic pair of socks...plain ole ribbing, stockinette foot, etc. out of some Austermann Step I had in the stash. It's the one with Aloe and Jojoba in it. Working with it doesn't really feel all that different than working with Opal in my opinion...I guess the true test will come with the wearing! Of all the socks I have done...and it really isn't all that many since I just started doing them last July.....I still always grab the basic socks out of Opal if they are clean. I have noticed that my wardrobe has become really limited since I learned to knit socks.....I always choose the same outfits over and over......to match whatever hand-knit socks are clean...lol....I guess some would consider that a "quirk"!

I did manage to hit 2 stores in Tulsa and only spent money in one! I try, when on road-trips, and visiting yarn stores to only buy things I haven't seen in "my" LYS's! I want to keep them around, you know!!

This round I picked up one of those WIP tools to help with unlabled stash and some skeins of sock yarn I haven't noticed around here but have read about online. I got 2 skeins of Panda Cotton in Red Cinnamon. It looks more orangey than red to me. Also got some Celestial Merino Dream by Lucy Neatby in Fiery Fuchsia. A girl came in the store with a pair of socks on she had done out of it and they felt sooo soft! Last, but not least...some Colinette Jitterbug in colorway Raphael 70. All-in-all...I didn't behave too badly!

Then when we got home....the heritage afghan Amanda and I decided to do just kept taunting me! I couldn't stand it and started one of the squares! Other than the intarsia sock everything I have going is an "idiot knit", so I guess having another one I have to concentrate on a little is not a bad plan...you think?

On the SP10 front, I have heard from my pal again! She is just too awesome!! She has been emailing me with "hints" about my next package. The girl sure knows how to build anticipation! She has sent me two links recently and says the next box should go out this weekend. The links she sent are www.knitpicks.com and www.schoolhousepress.com Pretty interesting, huh? I'm also almost ready to send out my next box to my SP!! I still have to "embellish" a couple of things and go get another thing before I let it fly. Not going to say anything more because I don't want her to accidentally figure me out in case she reads participant blogs looking for clues!

On to the dashed hopes.....not really though....I have felt all along that our endeavor to purchase a local business was iffy at best and I honestly do think that if it were in God's plan for us, things would work out. When talking to the banker yesterday he sort of threw a monkey wrench into the plan!! Both DH and I both left the bank with the same interpretation about the amount of cash injection needed to get the loan....an amount we felt we could pull off. Well....yesterday the banker made an off the cuff comment about the amount being 10% more than what we thought!! We would have to mortgage/sell/leverage pretty much everything we have to do it and I'm just not inclined to do that! If we were in our 30's or maybe even 40's...maybe...but I just can't justify putting our future that much at risk....even though I do think it's a good business with a lot of potential. Anyway...unless the current owner is so desperate to get out of the business and is willing to do some creative financing the deal is pretty much dead. I still can't tell you the name of the place since it looks like we aren't getting it and they don't want employees to know they are trying to sell, but I can tell you it is a bakery. DH has been in that industry his entire life and knows it inside/out. He even did the wedding and groom's cakes for all five of our kids and they were gorgeous!!! A good fit for us, but not the right timing, I guess! Worst case scenario is that I have had some good excercise for the old brain cells for the past 6 weeks working on the BP and SBA packets...lol!

Frustrating Week

Finally!! I actually feel like getting on the computer for more than a couple of minutes! The week started out great and I had all these productive things planned!! Clean the house, get all the laundry caught up, finish the SBA packet and get it turned in to the bank, go by and knit/visit with my buddy Susan, go watch Savy get her dance pics made.....well...what is that old saying about "best laid plans?" LOL

I did something....and I have no clue what it was....that caused my back to "go out". I don't know if there is a more technically or medically correct term for it, but that is what I have always called it. It happens to me periodically and has for several years....and it is so frustrating when it does! It is so darn painful. There is just nothing you can do to get comfortable. Sitting, standing, walking, lying down...doesn't matter....just hurts like the dickens. And sitting in front of the computer is out of the question! Needless to say, none of my "things" got done this week as a result. I have spent the entire week leaning to the right and living in a sweat suit with an ice bag crammed down the back of my pants.....sporting a HUGE bum...at least it looked that way :-)!

On the bright side...the only thing I could tolerate doing is knitting so I did get a few things done for the Guild's charity. Three sets of hats/booties and a little blanket...well...the blanket does need a few more rows, but that should be done in plenty of time to turn everything in on Sunday at the Guild meeting.

Isn't it funny that things really bug you when you can't do anything about it? Strange phenomonen. I can usually totally ignore things like dust bunnies on the hardwood floors....at least for a few days....unless I can't do anything about it. Then it drives me insane...lol! And of course, all four of the fur-kids decided to be high maintenance all week....getting into things, making messes, etc.

Anyway, I am much better today...not totally back to normal...still a little stiff if I bend over to pick something (or someone) up, but not hurting any more. Am planning on being a little low-key today so I don't hurt it again!! The plan is to go to Tulsa tomorrow with DH for his Comas meeting and visit the yarn stores there and I don't want to miss out on that trip! There is no way I could stand a ride in the car for that long with my back the way it has been all week, so I'll probably spend most of the day carefully pampering my back!

Family Blessings

Count your blessings, name them one-by-one. Count your blessings, see what God has done.....I love that song.....so meaningful and so very true!! We celebrated Easter with part of our precious family yesterday. What a beautiful thing! I wish more of the family could have been here too but they were here in our hearts! My sweet girl, Mel, called me early to say Happy Easter and Amanda called her Dad's parents to tell them the same. The only thing that would have made the day better is if they could have been here! Mel & her hubby, for obvious reasons, but yes....my ex-inlaws too. I simply adore them and have missed them terribly since their son & I divorced. They will always have a special place in my heart and I so wish I could see them more but they live too far away to make it there very often.

The kids had a great time hunting for the Easter goodies, we all ate way too much and just enjoyed watching the kids play.

Amanda and I decided on the squares we are going to put in the family throw and divided up the patterns, but not a lot of knitting took place for obvious reasons :-)!

While we were in the kitchen getting dinner ready Daxton busied himself in my tupperware cabinet! It is so funny to me....the things kids do! It reminds me of Melissa's first Christmas. She was my first baby and the first grandbaby in the family for many years. She had so many toys that first Christmas that it was insane! No way one baby could play with that much stuff. We parents/grandparents do that sort of thing, don't we? LOL! Anyway, the "toy" she dragged around and played with the entire day after Christmas was..........a bag of uncooked macaroni!!! All that money spent on toys and the simplest thing caught her attention.....like Dax and the tupperware. He had way more fun with that than any of the Easter treats!

Stoneleigh even got into the Easter festivities....he was obsessed with the plastic eggs! He would push them around all over the floor and chase them. We finally had to take them all away and put them where he couldn't get to them because he was wayyy to crazy and drove us nuts!

Well...I have never tried to just post a bunch of pics without much verbage....I talk too much...lol...but I'm going to try to close this post with just some more pics from the day! Hope everyone enjoyed their Easter and had a wonderful day!

A few more.....

Coloring Eggs

We had Savy last night and it was so much fun!! We did all our normal stuff...coloring, painting envelopes for sweeps, playing with babies, etc. We also colored some Easter Eggs!! Of course, it looks like a tornado went through here...lol...one did...a 5 year old, two legged one!

Tomorrow they are all going to come back over for Easter Dinner! We'll go down and get Dad too. It's always a good time. Since they are coming over here the Easter Bunny will be leaving things in our yard. Of course, he'll be leaving a letter in their "mailbox" again this year. When Savy was two DH, I and her Mommie..... (mostly DH) built a playhouse in our backyard for her and other grandbabies to come. I found a cute little mailbox that sits on the front porch and every year Santa and the Easter Bunny send mail there! This year there will be two letters in there...one for Savy & one for Dax!

Went to the Knit-In at Gourmet Yarn tonight. Had a great time as usual!! MG is having a contest to re-name the Knit-In. We have a lot of crocheters that come too so the name doesn't really fit. She had a few suggestions but none that really fit the bill so the contest continues! Will have to get to thinking on that!

I ended up casting on a pair of basic socks in Opal to work on at the Knit-In. I finished the back of the tee and didn't want to mess with doing the lace work border while visiting....pretty good chance I would have had to frog it when I got home anyway....lol....I don't do well with talking and thinking at the same time :-)!! I also hit a snag with the intarsia socks for Savy and didn't want to work on those tonight either....sooo I now have 3 things otn. Have been trying to limit myself to 2-3 and MAKE myself finish stuff...so far, so good.

Amanda did come up with an idea tonight while at the Knit-In....we decided that we are going to start a "family" aran throw. She and I are going to both do squares on it then when we get it done we will have a family heirloom! I love stuff like that. I have a quilt that I pieced several years ago that I left up on the frame for months. Over time I, both my daughters and my Mom all did some quilting on it. That quilt means so much to me because each of our hands shared in the creation of it!! Now that Mom is gone everytime I look at it I think of her sitting at my quilting frame putting a few stitches in it. We picked up some Plymouth Encore to get the throw started while at the shop tonight. I am just so blessed to have a daughter that enjoys the same things I do and values the same things I do. She is my best friend as well as my daughter and I'm so proud of the woman she has become!

She also bought me some Claudia Hand Paint sock yarn!! Turns out she got me as a swap partner on another swap we are both in. That is just so funny! I've only done about 6 or 7 of those. They are usually international swaps with anywhere from 20+ people in the swap. Out of those we have done I got her once and she got me on this one! Strange, huh? Anyway, I got to pick my swap stuff this time....well....sort of...she pretended she was buying it for herself and asked my opinion about what kind I would get if I were her.....sneaky little thing isn't she? Anyway, after she went and bought it she came back in and tossed it in front of me and said it was MINE...stinker....in the best possible way, of course!

Other than that still working on SBA packet and hoping to have what we need from the current owner and have my part done by next week...then will be done...one way or the other! I promise I'll fill everyone in on it once we know if we are getting it or not. Still not really thinking it will happen, but it's in God's hands and what will be-will be!

Also putting together my next SP10 box. This is just sooo much fun! I know we are only required to send a certain amount, but I just keep running into things and getting these great ideas about things I want to get for her that I think she will like!! I can't help it...I just love doing surprises for people.

Weekend Report

We had another good weekend around here! Even busier than most...lol...just different! Of course we had Miss Savy for an overnight on Friday. I always look forward to that! Even if all we do is hang out, color and play. She is just so much fun!

Saturday night Ron and I ventured out and checked out the Riverwind Casino. They are one of his customers and the head chef had told him he wanted to "buy us dinner" to thank him for taking such good care of them! It was strange going into a casino right down the road from home...almost felt like we were on a vacation in Vegas or something! We had a great dinner in the Traditions then wandered around watching everyone gamble. I did "throw away" ten bucks on the slots :-). It took a total of about 5 minutes...lol! Good thing I'm not much of a gambler...except maybe entering sweepstakes. Anyway, it was a nice change from sitting in front of the boob-tube every night!

On Sunday we went to the Medival Fair down in Norman with David, Amanda and kiddies. We even took Stoneleigh! All the kids...both two legged and four legged were so good! Of course, I forgot my camera, but fortunately Amanda remembered to take hers! She has a shot of me and Savy riding the elephant and a couple of Stoneleigh riding in Daxton's stroller on her blog.
It was fun, but we were all worn out after 3-4 hours!!

On SP10, my hostess has created another contest!! We are supposed to put up pics of projects we love and hate!! I'm so glad she has these contests...it really helps out when I haven't done much on the knitting front and don't have anything to post! Here is my "love it" project. Mainly because I'm so proud of myself for hanging in there and finishing it! In my opinion, the pattern stunk! It was very poorly written and I had to constantly email and call MG with problems and questions before I could get it done!

As far as the project I have hated the most.....I guess this one counts....I hated it so much I never finished it! I got so tired of messing with with I haven't even taken the time to frog it!! I think I started it about 4 years ago. I really thought I would like it because Amanda had done an afghan out of Homespun a few years back and it is the warmest thing to cuddle up in, washes like a dream, etc. So I thought...wouldn't a sweater jacket be awesome out of it? Anyway...I just did not enjoy doing it....at all....and I can't remember for sure, but I think I had pattern issues with it as well. Anyway....I see this homespun becoming another afghan/lap robe sometime in the distant future instead of this!!

I haven't said anything in a while about our attempt to buy a local business. I finally finished the business plan and we met with the first banker a couple of weeks ago. Very discouraging meeting! He was ONLY interested in collateral and barely glanced at the BP. Didn't ask a single question about experience, qualifications or plans for the business....all he cared about was whether there were enough assets to cover the loan. DH talked to another bank on the phone....they didn't even ask for a face-to-face meeting.....and again...were mainly concerned with collateral. I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel and move on but DH wanted to go talk to two more banks that people had told him about. We met with both last week and lo-and-behold, they were both very interested and very encouraging! I have received an SBA loan packet from one of them and will be working with the bank officer on it the next week or so. No guarantees, of course, but the door hasn't slammed shut yet!