A bit sluggish May 27, 2005

So this wraps up Show Your Flower Eating Insect Week.  While participation was a bit low, Cara made up for it with her out of this world photos.  This little guy looks like an albino slug.  It’s kinda cute.  We have this most excellent spider in the bathroom.  Kevin wants to kill him but I am my mother’s daughter…It could be Charlotte.  Plus, Owen loves it.  He goes in the bathroom and serenades it with is poorly articulated version of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". 

All the kids are home today, so I don’t think there will be much knitting time.  Poor Granny is on her own.  No exciting plans for the weekend.  I will work tomorrow.  And I guess that is the extent of it.  We always seemed to wind up in Paris over Memorial Day weekend when we lived in London.  I wouldn’t mind being there now.  I don’t know if my trip will happen this fall.  We’ll have to see…my friend is visiting in a couple of weeks and again in November.  It isn’t fair to ask him to take more time off for me.  I guess we’ll discuss it in June. 

Well, I am rambling with no direction.  I should go tidy the morning dishes and think of something fun for today.  I hope you all have a wonderful, sunny and happy Memorial Day weekend.

Bug off May 26, 2005

Obviously I am no Cara!  I guess ants don’t really eat flowers but they invade my peonies every year.  Speaking of peonies, have you seen Margene’s?  It is absolutely goregous! 

                           

That’s an extreme ant closeup! 

Knitting…not a lot going on.  I have to pick up for the sleeves on that little Green Mountain Spinnery sweater.  What is it with sleeves?  Granny got her latest shipment of Lantern Moon.  And she showed me another method of casting on.  She hates my most used method. 

Kevin and I watched the season finale of Lost.  I was a bit disappointed.  How long can the show really go on for?  It’s not Gilligan’s Island.  I will share one more thing…I was making Cameron breakfast this morning.  Chef Boy R Mom…Toaster Strudels.  Anyway, after I squeezed the frosting on it, I handed him the plate.  It slid right off the plate and got stuck to his pajamas shirt.  I was dying.  It’s the little things that make my day!

Miss Spider May 25, 2005

Ann tells me since I declared it Flower Eating Insect Week, I must post a picture of a bug every day this week.  Well, this is a bit of a problem.  1.  I don’t post everyday.  2.  I don’t garden much.  3.  I am a horrible photographer. 

In an attempt to appease Ann, I offer you one of my favorite flower eating spiders.

                                          

Miss Spider’s Tea Party by David Kirk is one of my all time favorite children’s books.  I get choked up reading it.  And it is so clever with the counting mixed in there with the story.  I don’t care for the subsequent books nor do I care for the show on Nick Jr.  I was rereading it this morning looking for my favorite page to share and I just loved them all.  But I will share this one…

Ten tiny steaming cups of tea

Were perched atop her trembling knee.

She sipped and sobbed, then heard a cough

And turned to see a small wet moth –

A fragile thing so soaked by rain,

His wings to damp to fly again.

She smiled and took a checkered cloth

To cloak the frail and thankful moth.

They talked and snacked on tea and pie

Until his tiny wings were dry.

Then lifting him with gentle care

She tossed him gently in the air.

Poor misunderstood Miss Spider.  I love her.

                                                      

Quit buggin’ me May 24, 2005

It feels like it has been a while since I posted.  Thank you for all of the birthday wishes for my mom.  Granny backed out on us but with good reason.  My mom got a ton of Manos.  I must photograph her latest throw.  It is goregous.  I feel a fight brewing with my sister over these.  I bought a bit of the discontinued Mission Falls cotton and a skein of Berroco Plush for Ugg booties.  Not too bad but I think I need to stop buying yarn for a while.  It feels like it’s at addiction status.  Maybe workout more and buy yarn less. 

I have been working on the little Green Mountain Spinnery sweater I bought at Maryland Sheep and Wool.  It is knitting up pretty quickly.  Sleeves and neck are all that is left.  Ann, Peggy and Ricki thought the color was a bit feminine so I bought some Lamb’s Pride Worsted in a more masculine color.  I still think the blue is okay but it was 3 against 1.  This will be a gift for Molly, the daughter of Kevin’s twin.  The darkness of the yarn is hiding what little cable detail there is. 

Here and there I have been working on end of the year scarves.  What can I say, I appreciate the teachers more than I hate knitting with novelty yarns.  So, I won’t bore you with those details.  Last week was Flower Picture Week or something like that.  I didn’t participate ’cause I am that kind of rebel.  Instead I say show your Flower Eating Insect Week. 

                              

Happy Birthday Mom May 19, 2005

Happy Birthday Mom!  We are off for a fun-filled day of yarn shopping and lunch.  Granny will be accompanying us.  I tried to rope a certain swine lovin’ knitter into coming but she already has birthday lunch plans. 

I came home from work yesterday to a rather large parcel of Koigu.  I didn’t think I would have quite enough for my modified Alligator Wrap.  I am not exactly sure what happened.  I placed the order over the phone and, well, I got me a lot of Koigu.  The service was great though.  I think I ordered it late Monday afternoon and it was here by Wednesday.  The ladies at Ewe Knit Kits were super helpful and patient with me.  I admit I am a sucker for free shipping.  So I bumped up my order to get it.  I am not sure how I feel about this other batch of colors.  I am going for turquoise.  You know, the variation in screen colors!  But I am bringing it over to my mom’s and we may do a swap.  If not, I can probably piece together a scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I am continuing to work on pulsewarmers.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I finished one pair.  They need to be mailed.  They are subtle but I think the recipient might appreciate that.  They are super soft knit in the Elann Peruvian Cashemere with Miyuki 8/0 seed beads again using Caryn’s pattern.  Ann, at her request, is getting the same pattern.  I finished the first and was working on  the second watching Lost.  Doh.  I am 8 beads short of finishing.  I hate when that happens.  I started another pulsewarmer last week in the green Baby Ull.  The pattern is something I saw online and charted.  I am not sure how well I like it as it doesn’t seem to have enough beads.  Can you see the wave pattern?  There is a fine line between too few and overkill! 

Earlier in the week, Norma posted a picture of the pulsewarmers I knit for her and there was a question about the yarn I used.  It is a Finnish yarn called Takana by Helmi Vuorelma Oy.  It is a 2 ply yarn–one ply worsted and one ply woolen spun.  Sadly, it is discontinued.  A good replacement, says my mom–the mitten maven–is Satakieli, available from SchoolHouse Press.

Oh and I am tagging Kati for the meme. 

Digressing May 18, 2005

I was all set to write a post for ye olde blog and alas, Typepad is down.  No big deal…Microsoft Word to the rescue.  It was a crazy day yesterday but crazy fun.  First, it was Staff Appreciation Day at Owens school.  I missed the luncheon.  It is the first time I have missed it.  I was, however, on a field trip to Police Headquarters with Cameron and his class.  I was in charge of 4 kids and let me tell you—it wasn’t Cam and the other boy that were the problem.  It was the two girls–talk about know it alls–they didn’t listen to me at all.  The teacher had to intervene a few times and I felt like a complete idiot but how hard can you push (figuratively) a kid that is not your own.  I thought of Rachael as we passed the 911 dispatchers.  I wanted to take a photo but they were behind glass and those girls were still being pesky.

Last night was “the movie” for 5^th and 6^th grade girls.  Gracie and I went.  It certainly has changed a bit from the cartoon version I saw in elementary school.  Unfortunately, we sat in front of some immature girls who kicked seats and laughed every time someone on the film said “p*nis”.  Their mothers were behind them and they giggled and hooted worse than their daughters.  It was kind of pathetic.  I admit, I did laugh once but I didn’t laugh loud.  I was just a bit caught off guard when one boy in the movie asked about “boners”.  I was impressed that they now show the same film to girls and boys.  I think, when I was a kid, girls saw the girl film and boys saw the boy film, right?  Even more impressive they touched upon homosexuality, forced interactions and other touchy subjects they said to ask your parents about. 

I voted for the school budget.  It passed.  Yippee!  I knew it would though.  And took Gracie out for an ice cream so we could further discuss the movie and any questions she might have.  She killed me…should I post this here?  What the heck!  She said, “Will any boys ever like me?  You know, will I be able to mate someday?”  I don’t think I heard them say “mate” in the whole movie.  Geesh Gracie, you are a girl not a monkey.  She is so cute.  I reassured her that she was beautiful and boys would be beating down the door someday (and I wasn’t just saying that because I am her mother).  I also told her what my mom always told me, “You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet a prince”.  And one of the best things to do was to work on being a good judge of character.  Surround yourself with good people and you should be okay and to not get herself into a situation where she wasn’t in control.  I tell you this parenting thing is scary!  I am so glad it is Kevin who has to go to the next movie in a few years.

Knitting, is this a knitting blog?  I brought my knitting to the movie and worked a bit on Ann’s pulse warmer. I worked on it at the middle school orientation on Monday night too.  And I am off to work today at Granny’s.  It feels like it has been ages since I worked there.  Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday and we are off to the Knitting Corner in Huntingtonfor Manos.  And I am awaiting some Koigu I ordered.  I wasn’t going to have enough for my alligator wrap/scarf. 

A meme…and not much knitting May 16, 2005

I was tagged by Rebecca for this meme.  I met her at Stitch n’ Bitch (the one and only time I went).  Sigh. 

Three names you go by:

1. Kathleen
2. Katy
3. Kathleenie

Three screen names that you have had:

1. wagonboy
2. justwagon
3. katykev

Three things you like about yourself:

1. I am honest.
2. I am intelligent.
3. I have a pretty good sense of humor.

Three things you don’t like about yourself:

1. I am overweight.
2. I don’t cook dinner as often as I should.
3. I am impatient–especially with Kevin.

Three parts of your heritage:

1. Irish
2. Scottish
3. German

Three things that scare you:

1. Owen not having a fulfilling life.
2. Gracie and/or Cameron having to care for Owen.
3. Skydiving.

Three of your everday essentials:

1. Tea or coffee…at least 2 or 3 cups.
2. Brushing my teeth.
3. Kissing or hugging with my kids.

Three things you are wearing right now:

1. Ecco Receptor slides
2. An Old Navy fleece
3. A hand carved silver bracelet a friend gave me in Alaska with the Tlingit eagle and raven.

Three of your favorite bands or musical artists (@ the moment):

1. Nancy Griffith
2. U2
3. Dave Matthews Band

Three of your favorite songs:

1. It’s a Hard Life Wherever You Go, by Nancy Griffith.
2. Running up That Hill (A Deal with God) by Kate Bush.
3. Can’t decide on a third…

Three new things you want to try in the next 12 months:

1. To improve my fair isle skills.  Or to actually develop some. 
2. Retry yoga.  I think it has changed some since I was in college.
3. When I go to Paris, to be more independent and do things on my own rather than with my friend as a guide.  I love him dearly but he can’t take all of that time off of work. 

Three things I want in a relationship:

1. Honesty
2. Trust
3. Laughter

Two truths and a lie:

1. I have advanced diving certification.
2. I learned in Alaska.
3. I have a brown belt in karate.

Three physical things that attract you to the opposite sex:

1. A good smile (which includes straight teeth).
2. Height
3. Light colored hair

Three things you can’t do without:

1. Sleep
2. Twizzlers
3. my family

Three of your favorite hobbies:

1. Knitting
2. Blogging
3. Tie between movies and reading.  Could I pick any hobbies more sedentary? 

Three places you want to go on vacation:

1. Cornwall, England
2. Hawaii
3. Alaska

Three things you just can’t do:

1. Fair isle
2. clean my house well
3. running–shin splints

Three kids names:

1. Lillian Octavia
2. Hannah Rose
3. James

Three things you want to do before you die:

1. See a cure for autism
2. And a cure for cancer
3. And what the heck, see world peace too.

Three celeb crushes:

1. Remington Steele
2. Oscar Goldman
3. Casper the Friendly Ghost

Hmm….who should I tag?  Ann, cause she always needs some good blog fodder.  And her cold turkey bud Vicki.

May 12, 2005

Not much going on around here.  I guess it is a post weekend letdown.  While it has been a good TV week, I went to bed early and missed most of Desperate Housewives and all of 24 and Lost.  That’s okay, Tivo is there.

Gracie was chosen from the whole district to read her essay on helping victims of the tsunami for the Board of Education.  Unfortunately, the meeting was postponed.  She is very bummed.  I am just very proud.

Relatively quiet day at work.  I was working on a shop sample–a scarf in Eros Drifters–a self-striping version of Eros.  I hate Eros but this was especially bad as I was dropping stitches.  Customers kept picking it up and admiring it.  It was probably their fault. 

I am anxious to cast on one of my new projects from Maryland.  It is probably easier to start the baby sweater–less yarn to wind.  I know I should tink back that last row on St. Brigid but I just don’t have the time and energy to put into it right now.  My mom has offered many times to do it and I should probably just let her.  Anyone else have St. Brigid knitting to speak of?

I finished another pair of pulsewarmers.  For those who have a color preference, let me know and I will try to accomodate.  4 down, 6 to go!  I will end with a picture of Scooby. 

                                                      

May 12, 2005

Not much going on around here.  I guess it is a post weekend letdown.  While it has been a good TV week, I went to bed early and missed most of Desperate Housewives and all of 24 and Lost.  That’s okay, Tivo is there.

Gracie was chosen from the whole district to read her essay on helping victims of the tsunami for the Board of Education.  Unfortunately, the meeting was postponed.  She is very bummed.  I am just very proud.

Relatively quiet day at work.  I was working on a shop sample–a scarf in Eros Drifters–a self-striping version of Eros.  I hate Eros but this was especially bad as I was dropping stitches.  Customers kept picking it up and admiring it.  It was probably their fault. 

I am anxious to cast on one of my new projects from Maryland.  It is probably easier to start the baby sweater–less yarn to wind.  I know I should tink back that last row on St. Brigid but I just don’t have the time and energy to put into it right now.  My mom has offered many times to do it and I should probably just let her.  Anyone else have St. Brigid knitting to speak of?

I finished another pair of pulsewarmers.  For those who have a color preference, let me know and I will try to accomodate.  4 down, 6 to go!  I will end with a picture of Scooby. 

                                                      

MS$WF Mom’s report May 10, 2005

What I bought & why, 2 lbs of Koigu mill ends, 3 hanks of yellow Koigu from the Mannings, because I like it!

3 hanks of Manos, cause I need it for my next throw.

2 hanks of Socks that Rock from The Fold, I wanted to try it.

The Two-End Knitting Book by Anne-Maj Ling, a must have for me that I’ve been putting off.

Needles for the numerous empty Chibis floating around here.

Small MS&WF print, which I’ll have framed for small bathroom in FL.

I enjoyed meeting all you delightful young knitting women.The world of knitting is in safe hands, it’s not all scarves afterall.