Clark Intermediate Winter Percussion

My youngest son, Kenny, joined Clark Intermediate Winter Percussion this past spring Semester. The director was a remarkable young teacher named Joseph Avery. Joe and his friend, Donald G. Durham, arranged the music and choreographed all of the moves. The kids, who are all seventh and eighth graders, attended practices for an average of ten hours per week for four months. And the result? They won the Championship. (Kenny is in the right hand corner playing the chimes).

Twenty Things I Learned About Being Stuck in a Hospital Bed

1. Any motion picture that has been "Edited for Television" is missing most of the scenes that explain the plot.
2. A dropped ball of yarn will roll directly UNDER the hospital bed completely out of reach of my extendable "grabber" only when my boys and husband are out of the house.
3. The phone will only ring if I’ve fallen asleep.
4. It will be a wrong number.
5. It is not a good idea to try to turn a heel after taking Vicodin unless experimenting with yarn sculpture was the actual end goal.
6. No television commercial which sells perfume makes sense.
7. Jeffrey Goldblum utters the phrase "Must go faster, must go faster" in the movie, Jurassic Park in the scene where the tyrannosaur is chasing the jeep. He says the same thing in Independence Day when the aliens are chasing him and Will Smith through the alien spaceship after they launch the bomb.
8. Four dogs cannot physically occupy the same place of honor on a hospital bed – although they will try.
9. It is quicker to have a 12 year old reset the "Tivo" unit than trying to read and understand the Instruction Manual.
10. If you ask your husband or son to retrieve a set of double pointed needles from the other bedroom, they will bring three needles of one size and two of another size, then look utterly mystified when you tell them they brought two sizes, while arguing that all the needles are the same length.
11. ALWAYS inspect the laundry basket BEFORE the load is washed when your sons offer to "do the laundry for you".
12. The more annoying the television ad is, the more likely it will air over and over and over again throughout the weekend. A funny or cute commercial is seen once.
13. A walker is not a suitable substitute for a swift when winding balls of yarn from skeins.
14. The instruction "drink plenty of fluids" is in direct opposition to the instruction "limit the number of times in and out of bed during the first three days after discharge".
15. Husbands get cranky when you wake them up a 2:00 a.m. for a glass of water, then again at 3:00 a.m. to help you to the bathroom.
16. Hospital tape is designed to stick to everything EXCEPT the bandage it is holding is place.
17. It is quicker to have a 12 year old turn off the Spanish subtitles you accidentally turned on than trying to read and understand the Instruction Manual.
18. Boys are not amused when you tell them that the skein of yarn they brought you after spending thirty minutes searching through your stash is the wrong dye lot.
19. "Tastes just like homemade" really doesn’t.
20. Sponge baths are no substitute for the real thing.

Farewell to Dallas

Thus far, 2008 has not been a good year at all.
In March, I caught the flu and was very sick for nearly six weeks.
Then the economy has been taking its toll on my business, meaning that although I am doing the work, I am only getting partial payments, or in several instances, notices of bankruptcy filings where I am a named creditor. This means lots of appearances in the federal courthouse to stay on the list of creditors who are apportioned something.
In June, one of my workers announced she was getting married in July. Apparently, getting married leads to total lack of common sense and she opened an email with a "greeting card" attachment. Now, I have a very strong rule with regard to my office computers which is as follows: -- NO emails are to be opened unless they are on an approved list of senders and the original email address checks out (which generally means we call and determine if we have been sent the email). I have very good and very expensive virus software. All of which was useless when "Miss-19-years-old-and-I’m-in-love-and-what-if-the-card-was-sent-from-Prince-Charming?" decided to ignore office policy and hit the "open the attachment" button in the email. You guessed it – after ten house calls from my computer whiz, restoration of my backup files (which thankfully were not corrupted) and entering two weeks worth of work, we were back in business.
That same month my quarter horse, Dallas, developed colic in the intense heat of summer in Fresno. It was 112 Fahrenheit when Dallas started showing signs of distress. I immediately called his vet who came out and treated him. Dallas was given pain killer, mineral oil, antibiotics and lots of water. We kept him walking for almost 26 hours straight. It was touch and go, but he pulled through. The vet was concerned that another bout of heat would be bad for Dallas at 27 years of age.
But now my left hip was hurting so bad that I could barely walk, sit upright, stand, or lay down for any length of time. I was referred to an osteopathic doctor who determined that I had no cartilage left on the top of the femur. So off to the surgeon for a total left hip replacement on August 27th. All went well until they were "seating" the prosthesis and split the femur to my knee. (In layman’s terms, the bone broke in two) That required installing clamps around the bone before continuing the original surgery. I’m home as of yesterday but have been cautioned that I will have limited mobility for at least six weeks before the leg becomes "weight-bearing". Translation – I get to walk with a walker or crutches until mid October.
Fresno was 107 Fahrenheit yesterday. This morning, Justin went out and Dallas was down. Justin took me out to the barn in the back of my car and Dallas got up for me. But when Dr. Stabbe got here, he told me that Dallas’s heart rate was 85, there were no bowels sounds detected in his intestines, his temperature was subnormal and the rectal exam showed the intestines were bloated and twisted. Dallas was in a lot of pain and Dr. Stabbe said that he was "not confident" that treatment would save him. Dallas has been a cantankerous and crusty character, but he was been my faithful companion for fifteen years. I was not going to put him through the agony for a slim chance of survival. We did that in July and here he had now coliced again less than five weeks later.
Dr. Stabbe offered to go his horse trailer and take him to his clinic and euthanize him there since I was not in any shape to load and drive Dallas by myself.
Dallas left my house for the last time 15 minutes ago.

Christmas 2007

Last July, as Dan, Kenny, Justin and I pulled out of our driveway in Washington after a wonderful and relaxing summer vacation, Kenny gazed back wistfully at the house and wished that we all could celebrate Christmas together in Washington. During the long drive home to California, I imagined a happy family scene for Christmas, 2007:

My family is settled around a brightly lit and richly decorated Christmas tree. A cheery fire snaps and crackles as it burns in the hearth, while outside the window a lovely white snow blankets the yard. The scent of Christmas candles mingles with the aroma of Christmas dinner. Christmas carols pay quietly in the background as Justin, Kenny and Dan carefully unwrap their packages, all of which are "exactly what they wanted".

Happily deluded by my private dream, in a moment of utter insanity, I said "Yes, let's spend Christmas in Washington."

By October, reality was beginning to rear its ugly head. It started with airline reservations. Any other time of the year (except maybe Thanksgiving) I could locate tickets for $79 to $99 each way. Now, despite the fact that I was making reservations three months in advance, the cost of each ticket was roughly three times that of the National debt. (Apparently, airline companies aren't affected by the Christmas spirit.) I finally located tickets at a reasonable price but they required travel out of San Jose (two hours from our house) on Christmas Eve. Quickly deducing I was not going to be able to find, purchase, and decorate a tree in less than ten hours once we arrived on December 24th, I decided to decorate a tree during my October vacation.

In California, this didn't seem to be much of an issue. All the major stores start to display their Christmas inventory before Halloween. In fact, it is not at all unusual for many of the stores to be sold out of the majority of the "good stuff" by October 20th. But when I got to Washington, there was nary a decoration in sight. After checking ten different stores, I explained my dilemma to the manager of Scott McClendon Hardware. Wonder of wonders, they had a pre-lit, eight foot tree left over from the year before which they were willing to sell to me.

Next I had to locate decorations. After checking with local merchants (and enduring looks that suggested that they thought I was some kind of lunatic), I was finally directed to several gift stores in Seattle, Silverdale, and Shelton which carried Christmas ornaments on a year round basis. The catch was that all of the shops required at least a forty five minute drive to reach --- and all in opposite directions. Four days and seven trips later, I finally had enough ornaments to decorate the tree. I even found a tree skirt, a wreath, and a present for Dan!

Speaking of presents..............Oh, oh! The only way to get them to Washington on time was to ship them. Over the next two months, I became a clearing house for Christmas packages. I wrapped and reboxed everything, then made roughly 6,654 trips to the UPS store. Once each box was on its way, I had to track it online and notify my neighbor, Lennie, that a box was on the porch. She then retrieved the box and took it inside. Now add in the stress of the holiday season in Family Law. I began to feel like the Grinch in that Dr. Seuss cartoon. More than once I caught myself walking around and muttering "I must stop Christmas from coming!" to myself. It didn't work.

Before I knew it, it was December 24th. Alaska Airways recommended passengers arrive two hours before the flight to ensure time enough to get through security. Since our flight left at 6:00 a.m., we arrived at 4:00 a.m. Alaska Airlines apparently didn't read their own memo and didn't open Baggage Check-In until 5:00 a.m. Dan ranks waiting in an airport somewhere between having a tooth pulled without Novocaine and contracting a raging case of the flu. He paced in front of the ticket counter for a solid hour. Once it opened and our bags had been checked, we dashed to security. There is a math equation which states that the speed an airport security line moves is directly related to likelihood that you will miss your flight. Needless to say, it was close. Once in the air, there was turbulence.....lots of it. As we bumped and bounced on our way to Seattle, Kenny began to get air sick. You know, those air sick bags DO come in handy.

I was rethinking this whole "Christmas in Washington" thing when we finally landed at Sea Tac International Airport. I was relieved when we boarded the Kitsap-Bremerton Shuttle to Port Orchard, where our neighbor, Lennie, picked us up and drive us the remaining 20 miles to home.

Surprise! Lennie and her husband, Duane, had opened the boxes and finished decorating the house. Duane had hung Christmas lights on the outside of the house. Lennie had stocked our refrigerator. As a final touch, Duane had lit the pellet stove and turned up the heat while Lennie retrieved us.

This is what we saw when we opened the front door.

Kenny helped me finish up last minute issues, including folding luminarias. A luminaria means "light" or "little lantern". In New Mexico (where I grew up), luminarias are made from brown paper bags weighted down with sand and illuminated from within by a lit candle and traditionally displayed on Christmas Eve. These are typically arranged in rows to create large and elaborate displays. Tradition states that the lights will guide the spirit of the Christ child to one's home.

As a fund raiser, Kenny's class sold luminarias pre-cut with a candle cut-out. I folded them, Justin added a cup of dry sand to the bottom, and finally I added a votive candle (they last 18 hours). As night fell, we lit the candles.

Kenny turned on the tree lights and set up the Ipod to play Christmas Carols. And wonder of wonders, the Christmas spirit finally began to arrive. Gone was the stress and exhaustion. Instread, we were a family happily settling down for the night.

Christmas morning was happy and relaxed. We had a wonderful time finally discovering what was in those boxes. Dan found the most adorable sheep for me.
It moves when its back is stroked and bleats. Dan said he went to over seven stores trying to track it down.

After packages, I fixed crepes. Halfway through breakfast, it started to snow!!!

And boy, did it snow! As the snow got deeper, the boys donned hats, coats and gloves and headed outside for a snowball fight.
It was sort of one sided since Justin is so much bigger and stronger. But it didn't matter, Kenny had a great time.

As I stood at the window watching (I'm no dummy -- those boys would have hurled snowballs at me if I had gone outside), I realized that we HAD had a perfect Christmas.

Happy 12th Birthday, Kenny!

The Liberty Belle

Dan loves vintage airplanes. When we first started dating over 16 years ago, he took me to an airshow to see a Boeing B-17 nicknamed "Sentimental Journey". He happily gave me tour of the plane, explaining all of its history and quirks. Years later, Dan and I had the opportunity to fly in a B-17 called the "Nine-O-Nine" sponsored by the Collins Foundation. The flight, which stretched from Torrance, California to Monterey, California was, and remains, a very special memory for each of us.This week, Dan was excited to learn that another B-17 called "The Liberty Belle" (owned and operated by The Liberty Foundation) was coming to Fresno. He wanted to take Kenny to see this piece of history, and give him the opportunity to tour the inside of the plane. Boeing built 12,731 of these aircraft in the from 1936 to 1945. Today, only 14 are currently airworthy. Operating costs are on the expensive side, running approximately $3000 per hour. As a result, it is a real treat to see a B-17 that can actually fly. (Most of the remaining B-17s are part of ground based museum collections.) Kenny took a picture of his Dad posing by the front wheel.

After Dan explained to Kenny how a prop is different from a jet engine, we were allowed inside the plane.

The plane was nicknamed "The Flying Fortress" due to heavy armament to protect the aircraft during raids in World War II. Before the advent of long-range Fighter escorts, B-17s had only their .50 inch (12.7 mm) caliber machine guns to rely on for defense during the bombing runs over Europe. Because the bombers could not maneuver when attacked by fighters, and during their final run they needed to be flown straight and level, individual aircraft struggled to fend off a direct attack. In the picture above you can see two of the defensive guns and a yellow oxygen cylinder.

Because this B-17 is airworthy, all of the instruments in the cockpit actually work.
Dan in the cockpit area explaining the various instruments and how they work to Kenny.

Kenny discovered his favorite part of the plane. He said that it would be "just great" if he could sit in the nose gunner's area if the plane was in the air because"you can see the whole world from here".
And now Dan and Kenny get the surprise. I had booked them on a flight over Fresno. They attended the pilot's briefing then climbed aboard. The Liberty Belle taxis to the main runway.

Take off!

Kenny got his wish as he sits in the nose of the airplane and watches the world go by underneath his feet.

Kenny took this picture of the propellers over the Sierra Mountain Range.

Kenny took this picture of his Dad at the communications desk in the aircraft. I think Dan looks like he's enjoying himself, don't you?
After 45 minutes in the air, Dan and Kenny returned to the Fresno Air Terminal.

When Kenny and Dan exit the plane, both are all smiles. I was glad they both got to enjoy this bit of history together.

I Thought That I had Already Completed 6th Grade.

I have a complaint about 6th grade. Where is it in the teacher's manual that says that homework assignments should take between 2 and 3 hours to complete each night?

Tonight's homework assignment was the following:

1. Review this week's 20 new spelling words. Look up the definition of each word and write it down.

2. Read pages 79-92 in the Literature Book and write a paragraph about storyline. Be sure to include the names and description of the three main characters.

3. Complete problems 12-32 of the Math Workbook.

4. Draw a picture of a flower and label all of the parts, including petals, stamen, pistol, stem.

5. Read about a current event in the newspaper or on-line. Make a copy of the story and bring it to class for discussion.

Now take a look a typical evening schedule in my life:

1. I leave my office between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

2. Drive 20 minutes to Clovis to pick-up Kenny at his great-grandmother's home. Arrive between 5:20 p.m. and 5:40 p.m. Chat with Meme (Kenny's great grandmother) for ten minutes.

3. Drive home. Arrive between 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

4. Start dinner while Kenny starts his home work.

5. Eat dinner at 7:00 p.m. usually ending about 30 minutes later. Clear and wash dishes while Kenny starts his home work again.

6. If all goes well, we finish the last assignment between 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Kenny helps feed the dogs, takes a shower and gets ready for bed.

7. I now have about 30 minutes free time to try to blog, knit, or read before I take a quick shower and head to bed myself.

I don't remember spending all my evening hours as a 6th grader doing homework. I distinctly remember having time during the evening hours to be with my family --- to have "fun time" with my Mom, Dad, brother and sisters. I know that school work and learning is important but Kenny has already spent the entire day at school (he gets out at 4:00 p.m. because he is in drama) and now spends his entire evening doing homework. It is no wonder kids are sick of school by the time they reach high school!

Halloween

For some reason my Halloween post remained in "draft mode". Kenny was disappointed because he was allowed to wear a "cool" costume this year and wanted me to post it for all the knit bloggers out there. He imagined that he would be the talk of his classroom on Halloween as his classmates tried to guess who it was under the mask. Instead, the Drama Coach spotted Kenny as he walked onto campus in his costume and promptly cast him as the "Ghost of Christmas Future" in the school's upcoming production of "A Christmas Carol". Kenny came home and somewhat disgustedly asked me why I didn't tell him he had picked out a "Christmas" costume!

Happy 19th Birthday, Justin!

Where did the time go?

Coke (and Root Beer Slushies) are bad for Computer!

It is amazing how much we take for granted until it is not around. Take, for instance, my laptop computer.

With the advent of microchips and Centrino processors, the lowly laptop evolved from a expensive plaything with limited capability to a powerhouse that competes easily with unwieldy desktop models. About four years ago, I made a decision to switch from a desktop to a laptop as my personal computer. I have been very happy with the decision. My computer goes with me to court, to seminars, up to Washington, on airplanes, in cars, and trains. Last February, I upgraded to a new Hewlett-Packard Pavilion Entertainment PC. It literally has most of my life packed into its hard drives.
So imagine this tranquil scene. I am sitting at the kitchen table typing on the computer. Justin and Kenny burst through the front door with a surprise for everyone. They had stopped at the local A&W and brought Root Beer Slushies home for everyone. Since it was 105 °F (40 °C ) in Fresno, the prospect of a icey drink was a welcome treat.
Kenny reached into the paper bag the boys had used to transport the drinks in the car, and grasped my Slushie by the rim of the cup lid. He then started to pass it over the computer to my right hand. Just as he was directly over the open keyboard, the lid pulled off the rim of the cup and the entire drink cascaded into the laptop!

I jumped up and quickly unplugged the computer. But the damage was done. I watched in stunned dismay as root beer slushie poured out of every port in the computer. The laptop made a sort of a sizzling gasp, then went dark.
Kenny immediately started a mantra of "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry..." as he tried to wipe up the spreading puddle. I tried to soothe him and deal with the electronic catastrophe at the same time.
The next day the computer was off to Hewlett-Packard for repair. I had purchased the "3 year - all inclusive" extended warranty on advice of my husband when I bought the computer (he envisioned that I would drop the computer, not test its capability to mimic a sponge).
The repaired laptop arrived Saturday. I plugged in the computer and opened the screen. Apparently the repairman was not amused at the sticky mess underneath the keyboard.
I spent the weekend reloading all my programs and downloading by backup disks. I’m back in business!

When It Rains, It Pours........

Telephone calls at 5:18 a.m. are never good news. Last Sunday morning (July 15th), I received just such a call from my 18 year son in California. "Mom!" Justin asked urgently. "Are Dave and Becky back from Europe?"
"No, why?"
"I’m next door watering their yard for them before it gets hot and the back sliding glass door is open. I think someone’s in the house. Should I go in to check?"
Now thoroughly awake, I told him on no uncertain terms to stay out of sight and dial 911! The Fresno County Sheriff’s Department immediately responded and discovered that Dave and Becky’s house had been ransacked and vandalized. Dave’s truck was gone along with a number of his powers tools, his shotgun, electronic items, and a host of other things. The thieves had apparently heard Justin make the call and got away before the deputies arrived.
The rest of the day was spent on the phone helping Justin and the deputies locate Dave and Becky’s son and daughter, calming Justin down, and having him do a careful search of our yard and out-buildings to see if we, too, had been hit. Fortunately, we appeared to be untouched.
But then, at 1:00 a.m. on Monday morning, Justin again called. He had walked out to feed our horses when he heard someone talking and the sound of an electric drill near the garage. He immediately ran back inside and called me once again. This time, I gave him the direct line to the Sheriff’s Department and the whole thing started again. The burglars had come back and were attempting to break into a metal agriculture shed by stripping the siding from the building. Again, the culprits fled before law enforcement arrived. And now we were missing tack for our horses.
Thoroughly spooked, Justin asked permission for his friend, Arman, to stay at the house with him. I readily agreed. At 11:00 p.m. that same night, Arman was sitting by the side of the house talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone when he heard someone jump our wooden fence. The burglars had returned to Dave and Becky’s home and were once again trying to get inside their garage! Again, the deputies responded and spent nearly two hours searching the orange groves surrounding our place.
Realizing that whoever was targeting the houses apparently knew Dave and Becky and Dan and I were on vacation, we made the reluctant decision to return home early. We have now spent several days going through our sheds, our boat, and other out buildings determining damages and missing items. Needless to say I haven’t been able to attend to my blog. But things have settled down and I am now able to catch up. I will have a lot of great things to share starting with tomorrow's posting!

There and back again...

I had to go into the office yesterday and deal with an emergency. Since I am currently in Washington State and my office in California, this required more than a simple phone call.

When I headed up to Washington state, the matter that so rudely interrupted my vacation had been settled. The couple agreed to sell their rental property, pay off all their debts, and split the remaining money. Despite the slump in real estate, the property was in escrow. Everything should have gone smoothly--except that the husband failed to inform his attorney, my client, me, or the judge that he had surreptitiously borrowed over $100,000 from his girlfriend and had given her a Deed of Trust on the property in violation of court orders.

The Deed of Trust had not been recorded so a previous title search failed to turn up anything amiss. But when the girlfriend discovered that the Husband was cheating on her (go figure-- he cheated on his wife with her), she recorded the Deed of Trust. When the escrow company did a new title search for the sale, the newly recorded Deed showed up and a demand letter was sent. Girlfriend demanded all of the proceeds be given to her. The escrow company informed my office they intended to honor the Deed, which would had effectively deprived my client of her rightful share.

As you can guess, Monday was spent at the computer emailing drafts of a Request for Emergency Court Orders, setting up an emergency hearing, and making plane reservations.

On Tuesday, I got up at 4:00 a.m., dressed for court, and drove to Sea Tac Airport. I caught the 8:30 a.m. flight to Fresno, arrived at 10:30 a.m., and headed directly to my office. I spent the next five hours negotiating a temporary agreement in my client's favor, drafted a stipulated Order, arranged to have the Judge sign the temporary order, filed it, and sent my staff out to serve conformed copies. The monies will be held in trust until a formal hearing in August.

At 4:00 p.m. I returned to the airport to check in for the 5:55 p.m. flight to Sea Tac. It was an hour late! Thank goodness I had tossed my knitting into the flight bag at the last minute. While I waited, I knitted on the back Elsebeth Lavold sweater. We finally boarded and took off at 7:10 p.m. I continued knit throughout the flight. I managed to reach the beginning of shoulder shaping by the time we arrived at Sea Tac International Airport at 9:00 p.m. I reclaimed my car and drove 45 miles home. I arrived at 10:30 p.m. and discovered that Dan and Kenny had a lovely home cooked meal ready and waiting! Although I did accomplish quite a bit on the sweater, on the whole I would not want to do that again anytime soon!

Scavenger Hunt

Problem: I am excited! The house is clean. Dan and his mother are off on an excursion. I have a new book with a beautiful sweater pattern that I can't wait to begin. I have cashmere and silk yarn that is as seductive as the siren's song, and ...........I have an 11 year who has just announced that he "is bored" and "there is nothing to do". I want to knit and need some time relatively free of distraction. What to do?

Solution: Hand Kenny my digital camera and tell him he is on a scavenger hunt. His mission? To photograph as many different creatures on our property as he can find. Since Kenny is NEVER allowed to touch my camera, he is both awe stuck and excited. Tossing a careless "Bye, Mom!" over his shoulder, Kenny is out the door.

I wind center pull balls of yarn --- thirty of them. Then I cast on 104 stitches for the back of the sweater. At the end of five rows, Kenny is back. He proudly shows me his first captures........

A swallowtail butterfly.....

......and a honey bee. Then he is gone. I am now ready to begin some minor shaping. I change my needle size, decrease 2 stitches on the each end of the sixth row, and knit 6 more rows. I check the gauge just to be on the safe side and am relieved that it is exact. As I pick up my needles to start the next row, Kenny is back. This time he has photographed.......

.........a banana slug.........

.......and another swallowtail butterfly. I tell Kenny that he has already photographed a swallowtail butterfly and he indignantly tells me this is a different butterfly (it is lighter than the other one). Sensing that I may end up with scads of butterfly pictures, I quickly change the rules. I tell Kenny that the animals have to be different species. "Oh." he says and off he goes. I knit another 10 rows. The yarn is almost worsted weight so I am beginning to see significant progress on the back.

Here comes Kenny. "Look, Mom!", he says as he shows me the display picture. I don't see anything. "Look closer" he insists. There, in the center of the picture, is a tiny toad's head. "In case you couldn't see it, I took another one."

Then he is out the door again. I continue to knit. The back of the sweater is stockinette so it is mindless knitting. I am enjoying the feel of the yarn and the quiet rhythm of the needles. The sliding glass door opens. "I need help getting pictures of this one, Mom!", he yells. I need a break to stretch so I stand up. "What do you have?"

"A snake!" I look. Kenny has captured a garter snake. No offense to the snake, but I have baited hooks with worms bigger than this fellow. I obligingly take the picture. And so the morning goes........I knit....he takes pictures. By the time Dan and his mother return, Kenny has photographed.......

.........Mothra (this moth was almost two inches long). I made sure that it went outside immediately....you can't trust any moth around wool..........

..........a squirrel (in the bird feeder, of course!).........

.........and the biggest prize of all... this doe.

As for me, I was able to knit a significant portion of the back of the sweater relatively undisturbed.

A good morning all around.

It's like Magic!

This is the weekend that I need to load the trailer and all the big, strong males in the house have simply disappeared. Dan had to go to Las Vegas with the detectives in his bureau. Justin got a call from his employer requesting he work Saturday instead of Sunday. Even my neighbor, Dave, is gone. So it is now up to Kenny and me to finish the job. This may take a while...........

Minus Three and Counting

My husband, Dan, is fairly reserved. In his 18+ years working in law enforcement, he has seen the worst in people on a near daily basis and has to deal with the aftermath of a family's worst possible nightmares. As a result, Dan tends to keep his opinions to himself and strongly dislikes turmoil in his home life. In our nearly sixteen years together, he has come to view my fiber obsession as amusing at its best and annoying at its worse. He knows that I have definite stash issues and rarely comments when new yarns, fleeces, books, equipment or software programs make their way into the house. He did raise his eyebrows when I purchased a 48 x 12 foot construction trailer and installed it in the back yard as a studio for my knitting mania. But aside from a gift card to my LYS on my birthday or Christmas, he doesn't contribute to my addiction. And to put it bluntly, he thinks all the sheep plushies I have been given or collected over the past 15 years are just plain silly. So imagine my surprise when I came home Monday night and I discovered this sitting on the television set in the bedroom.

Just when I think I've got him totally figured out, he up and changes the rules of the game. And the sheep is seriously cute.

I am in the process of getting ready to head to Washington State. Kenny and I will leave on June 30th. We will be driving my car and pulling a small U-Haul trailer. Going along with us for the ride are our four Schipperkes and Kenny's Ring necked Parakeet.

Since I found the missing skein of Sublime, I decided a good project to take up with me is the vest I have been working on. I now have enough yarn to complete the bands for the arms and neck. This is the front of the vest in its pre-blocked state.

And this is the back. I hope to have them blocked tonight so I can post the "before" and "after" pictures for a comparison. It never ceases to amaze me the difference blocking makes.

My final play toy is the new software for my sewing and embroidery machine. I like to embroider designs onto knits, particularly children's clothing. I haven't installed it yet but if the reality is only fifty percent of the hype it should make digitizing patterns much easier.