I'm Done!! Vacation was Great!!

I'm done!!
Parker's socks got done last week on our way down to Daphne Alabama. WOW...must have had 30" of knitting on size 1 needles! Kendra was over last night and I showed her the completed pair and she just shook her head and smiled. I put them next to her and they easily went to her knees, but I'm sure if she put them on they'd be longer.

It's been a while since I've taken the time to post anything. Knitting is still going well. I'm definitely suffering from 'Wintertime Sleepiness' and don't do much when I get home from work except 'plop and watch'. Bill & I have a love of NCIS and it's now on every weeknight at 5:00 with 3 back-to-back episodes. The pathetic part is we've seen them all before!

Vacation was Great!
Bill picked me up from work at 3:30 on Feb. 17 (Tues) and we headed south to finally make it to my sister Jo's place in Daphne, Alabama (only been trying to get there for several years). We drove just south of Nashville and spent the night, then finished up the trip on Wed. morning. We got all but 1 chapter of John Grisham's Appeal listened to on the drive. We had a great time. Walked the beach. Ate at some great restaurants. Toured the USS Alabama. Went to Mobile for a Mardi Gras parade. Went to Biloxi MS to a casino. Of course, I wasn't as lucky as everyone else. Bill got into a poker tourney and came in 3rd place ($140 with a $30 buy-in...not bad for 3-4 hours) Dick immediately won $100 at a quarter slot machine. Jo & I spent the entire time playing penny slots and having a great time. She was up about $35 at the end of the day. I was down a little under $20...BUT...actually I was UP $80. On the way into the casino, I (kiddingly) asked Bill if he was going to support my gambling and he took out his wallet and gave me a $100 bill. So...I used MY $20 bill to start gambling...hence I ended up a winner, too!

The food was absolutely fabulous. Ate way too much fried food but it was sooo good. One day for lunch we went to 'LuLu's' which is Jimmy Buffett's sister's restaurant. Jo had her cookbook, and after looking thru it, I decided to buy one, too. There's the history of LuLu's in the front, which is a really neat story. I would highly recommend dining there if you ever find yourself in Daphne, AL.

We got up early on Sunday and drove the entire way home. We made great time. Only problem was a 20 min. delay near Covington KY. Even tho Bill did all the driving, I was extremely tired. I hated to face reality and go to work on Monday!

I completed most of a worsted weight shawl on the trip home. I'd started it last fall and it was just waiting patiently with other UFO's. I need to go through my stash to see if I've got another skein so I can do the decorative finishing edge, otherwise need to search ravelry and see if I can find a skein to purchase/swap. It's triangular and looks really neat. I've probably got it about the right size but need to put it on waste-yarn and try it on. Figured it may as well get done so I can wear it before warm weather sets in. My next shawl is going to be with lace weight yarn and probably rectangular. Now to find a pattern. I'm NOT doing 'yarn-overs' since I find them a royal pain in the butt. I know they look great, but I need more of a 'no brainer' when I knit. That will probably be my summer 'car' project on our trips to the boat on Lake Erie.

Time to make a black raspberry (aka yum-yum) pie for Marshall's birthday dinner tomorrow.

More socks...

Well, it's January 8th and I've completed 4 socks (that sounds like more than 2 pair) and I've started on the BIG ones. Yes, I've begun the pair for Parker's size 15 feet. I'm using KnitPicks Felici in Dakota and doing 2-at-once-on-one needle.

When Parker got home from work today, I made him take his socks off so I could measure what I'd done, to see how much more I needed to work on the toe before I was done with the increases. Low and behold...it was right where it needed to be to stop the increases and work on the (loonnnggg) foot. They are turning out really neat. The colorway has earthy tones, along with a little pit of purple. Yes, he likes it. This is the boy that has a very pink dress shirt (hey...who can ridicule a guy that's 6'6" and weighs over 260lbs). With the other knitting that I know I'll end up doing, I'm hoping to have the foot part done by the 3rd week in Feb. when Bill & I head to Daphne AL to visit my dear sister Jo and hubby Dick. Since we're driving, that will give me plenty of sock knitting time.

I met several other (ravelry) knitters at lunch yesterday. We're going to try to meet the 1st and 3rd Wed. of the month. I felt like the 'mother hen' since they were all young enough to be my daughters! But, we had a great time and I look forward to our next lunch/knitting together.

Kendra's going with her dad to the Ohio State basketball game tomorrow evening so I'll actually get to catch up on some dvr watching. This time of the year it seems like most of the tv watching is college basketball or shows we record and fast-forward thru the commercials. (we'd be very hard pressed to watch a regular show and watch the commercials)

3 more days till Jack Bauer. Hooray! I know Marshall's coming over to watch on the big tv, but I'm not sure about Kendra. She came over to watch Redemption, so I'm assuming she'll be over both Sunday & Monday night and bring little miss Darby with her.

Speaking of Darby. She now has her official name. It is Darbocet SH Spotsworth. We all know that Darbocet is because she can be a royal pain, SH is for the 'shit head' she can sometimes be, and Spotsworth for Maggie's legacy to live on.

One of these days I'll actually takes pictures of my completed projects and post them...

Stash Knit Down 2009

Well...I joined the "Stash Knit Down 2009" on Ravelry. Now to see how well I can do! Using up 100 skeins/balls of yarn from my stash sounds great, however, that's A LOT of knitting without buying any more yarn.

I began my first stash knitting yesterday on January 1st. I started a pair of worsted weight socks for myself. Since I never wear shoes in the house, I need to keep the digits cozy with socks. I picked a butt ugly green (originally bought [I thought] to use in a felted purse). The only reason I used that yarn was it was already wound in a ball . I'm doing magic loop, toe-up but am doing 1 sock at a time since I probably don't have enough green for a complete pair. I'm just going to knit away at socks till I use up the single skeins of worsted that I had to purchase. I might even get adventuresome and make toes/heels a different color. I really don't care if the socks match...that makes them more fun to wear.

I've got a hair appointment today so I know I'll get some knitting in while my hair cooks. I'm hoping to have the 1st sock done by tomorrow. The sock count down has begun!!

I also need to start the socks I'm test knitting, again from ravelry, Big & Tall group. Parker's getting a neat pair of colorful size 15. I don't know if I'll like the pattern though since the pattern is top-down. Those big socks are going to take forever with sock weight yarn using size 1 or 2 needles!! They are definitely getting done 2-at-a-time...I'd never finish the 2nd one!!

Off to start a spreadsheet for my yarn de-stashing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well, another year is over. Can't believe it's New Year's Eve already!

We're going to the Ohio State basketball game at 4:00, then going out for Mexican food. On our way home, we're making a surprise visit to Kendra's to pick up Darby for the night. She and her siblings, along with numerous friends, are meeting at her house tonight before they head to a local 'watering hole' which they can walk to. I'm sure she'll owe me big time for taking the puppy off her hands!

I put my knitting 'away' last week when I was cleaning for a Christmas party at our house. I haven't gotten a single project out yet. Can't believe I've gone almost a week with no knitting...that's a first. I might have to dig something out to take along to the basketball game this afternoon.

Happy New Year!!

My anniversary

Today is my 34th wedding anniversary. Bill & I went to the Worthington Inn for their Sunday brunch. It was very nice. We both agreed that the desserts were the best part of the the buffet...and we usually don't eat desserts in a restaurant.

After we left the restaurant, we went to my LYS so I could get the yarn and pattern for my lace class that starts Tuesday. It's so hard to pick out a color! I wanted something neutral, thinking maybe an off-white or very light beige. I ended up with a gray/brown. Depends on what you put it next to, what color it is. It's 70% merino/30% linen. I need to wind the yarn and copy the pattern before Tuesday. The class is at 6:00 so I'll probably just head to there straight from work and get in a little more knitting time.

My office moved Friday so I didn't get the day after Thanksgiving off. I also ended up taking Parker with me and going Saturday morning (instead of going to the Ohio State basketball game with Bill) for about 4 hours to get more things put away. At least my office is put together. Now to get the rest done...

Parker starts his job tomorrow. Hooray! It's not what he wants, but at least it's a paycheck until he finds an accounting job. He'll be working for a firm that does collections. He'll have 2 weeks of training before he actually starts.

Time to put together another menu plan. November's went very well. I think there was only 1 day that we forgot to get something out of the freezer and had to improvise our menu. It really is nice having a plan and knowing what's for dinner. Marshall's proably coming over more in December so I told him he could help in the planning. Now to get Bill off the computer that's hooked up to the printer so I can print a calendar.

Lace Knitting

I'm plugging away on my shawl. I've essentially put the lace weight yarn one away for now and am working with the worsted weight. I've frogged as much (or more?!) as I've knitted. Those damn 'yarn overs' are driving me crazy! The row after the yo I seem to miss one of the extra stitches and of course I don't realize it until the next row when my stitch cound is off. I will prevail...and I will be the winner. My lace knitting class starts in 3 weeks so maybe the instructor can give me some pointers. But...I can see it could very much be another addiction.

I actually made a menu plan today. I used to do it when the kids were little, then got away from it. I've been thinking about it for awhile. Then today Bill mentioned we should do one, that way he could do more cooking, knowing what to cook. So...I pretty much immediately sat down and did one for the next 2 weeks, Sundays thru Thursdays. Of course he said 'we' should do one, but he didn't contribute any ideas!! But...if he'll cook...

What happened to October? I think all I did was go to work and come home and crash. (it's been extremely busy at work)

No, that's not true. Parker's been hired (temporary) by the McCain Team Ohio. He's finishing up his 3rd week. Almost every evening of his 2nd week, I went to his office about 8:00 to help him with his paper work. That enabled him to get home before 1:00-1:30 a.m. His last day is election day. I'm sure on Wednesday he'll spend the day sleeping. He's targeting the money he's making as his 'move out of the parentals' fund. Now...to get a full time job so he can do just that.

My latest knitting addiction is definitely lace knitting. I'm working on 2 shawls, one with lace weight and one in worsted. Of course I'm liking how rapidly the worsted weight is going. I'm also taking a lace class at my favorite LYS in December.

Kendra's puppy is getting so big. Darby is such a pretty thing. She's definitely got a little mind of her own! She's regressing a little in her potty training and it's driving Kendra crazy. I keep reminding her this is pay-back from when she first brought Darby home and there were no accidents. Kendra's got a very long work day next week so we're keeping Darby overnight. I"m sure we'll make a trip to the pet store for some goodies!

I got Kendra's Christmas list several weeks ago...without any prodding. I sent her brothers an email telling them the pressure was on, that I had her list. (I told Parker I didn't expect one from him till after the election) Well, I got one from Marshall. Then I got a text message from him saying he'd like 'several' more pairs of knitted socks. My response was 'Funny, Funny'. When he was over yesterday I told him there was no way I'd have time to make him even 1 pair before Christmas and maybe he should learn to knit himself. I think he likes the idea, but he's afraid I'll have a national ad campaign telling the world that he's knitting! I'll see if I can get him to do a cotton dishcloth for himself...