Tutti a tavalo - come to the table ... and knit!

and so it ends... and begins again...

2012-01-01T00:42:00.000-05:00

the video is the vehicle... it's the words... not to worry - we won't forget - you were here....

it's the most wonderful time of the year...

2011-12-24T21:15:00.001-05:00

.... or so i've been told....there are packages to wrap and cookies to bake and cards to fill out and address - there are people to call and people to see and people to maybe catch a cold from - there are carols to sing and church pews to fill and wonder to feel....

and just the day after tomorrow,

yes tomorrow, we will have survived all of the above with verve and can look forward to out with the old and in with the new... in just a week from the most wonderful time of the year...

if it's so wonderful.... um... why is it at the very end of the year?

twelve fourteen

2011-12-14T16:44:00.005-05:00

without it.. there wouldn't have been...

so today ... will always.. be a good day...

always....

T is for Turkey and Two... S is for

2011-12-06T12:05:00.005-05:00

skating! i bet you thought i was going to say Santa - but that is yet to come

Thanksgiving weekend was a birthday weekend for the little miss, who is now officially 2! The other milestone was the first foray into the sport with skates and ice - lol - she's been walking around the house in double-runners for weeks now - and was not much of a fan of ice to start - but once she figured out that daddy wouldn't let her fall - the buzzword of the day was .. "MORE?"

there was also the third in the wedding trilogy - but those are photos for another day...

11 11 11

2011-11-11T08:07:00.004-05:00

when i talk about soldier socks.. these are the socks... and the soldiers - on this veteran's day i renew my commitment to honor veterans of past conflicts and the troops that serve our country today - as it says at the end - we won't stop knitting til the last soldier steps off the plane onto american soil

...and i love you

2011-09-29T10:14:00.007-04:00

my love will fly to you each night on angel's wings.... godspeed... sweet dreams.... and i love you...

shine

2011-09-28T18:50:00.005-04:00

um... yes ... they are playing in a bathroom

_______________________

I hear you walkin around this house sometimes
I wish you never chose to cross that line
Now you walk among the famous ones
You're the angels' sun, but now you're gone
And you chose to shine
Sorry, but you know that we're
Far from fine

he won't be comin' home for quite some time
Guess I'll have to see you on the other side
Now you walk among the famous ones
You're the angels' sun, but now you're gone and you....
You chose to shine
Even on the line
Sorry, but you know that we're
Far from fine
I will live these days, (no, I won't)
I will live these days, (no, I won't)
I will live these days, no I won't hide....
No I, I won't hide

I feel you next to me, your eyes so bright
Never thought I'd see the world so kind
Now you walk among the famous ones
You're the angels' sun, but now you're gone and you...
You chose to shine
Sorry but you know that we're
Far from fime
I will live these days, (no, I won't)
I will live these days, (no, I won't)
I will live these days, no I won't hide
No I, I won't hide, I won't hide

I know you're watching me
Your father's so proud
You were born to be the talk of the crowd
But now you walk among
The famous ones
You're the angels' sun, and now you're gone and you
You chose to shine
Even on that line
Sorry, but you know we're far from fine

I will live these days, (no, I won't)
I will live these days, (no, I won't)
I will live these days, no, I won't hide
No I, I won't hide

I won't hide, I won't hide, no, I wont' hide

My heart with you

2011-09-27T11:32:00.005-04:00

just sights and sounds...

time is not your own...

2011-09-19T11:29:00.006-04:00

i took it for granted when i had it, but now that the parental unit requires a lot more of it, i feel the pinch of time not being my own. I remember this feeling from having little ones - that by the time you sit down at the end of the day you are too tired to enjoy any part of anything but sitting.... this is different ... the fatigue is as much mental as physical, but it is fatiguing never the less....

i promised photos here... and never did them... i have not even really been knitting much - trying to finish a thank you gift of a scarf and i want to throw it out the window... and on top of all this kvetching... it's september - the month i so wish didn't exist anymore....

okay... bootstrap time - quitcherbitchin'... lol i will go and look for photos anon and post them...

spain and france seem a myriad of time away. but it was lovely there... and i had lunch on a small wharf of chorizo and cheese, baguette and ... nope not wine - Coca Cola Light (diet coke in that part of the world).... it was a bucket list moment and i will savor it always.

so many things... so much time...

2011-08-09T15:50:00.006-04:00

it's been more than 30 days since i visited here to write? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot??? lots has happened and i've been on quite a whirlwind - perhaps i should set a spell and actually explain - yes that sounds like a bit of a plan (or the beginnings of one)

I've been here, home, to see the littlest person related directly to me, to Spain, to France and home again...

To Spain to be part of someone dear's wedding - one of Son the Younger's best friends was marrying his best friend in Spain at the end of July - and asked if we (me and the OH) would attend.. i know it made S-T-Y happy to know we were there. I know it made the groom and the bride happy to know we were there. It made us happy to be there... And it was a wonderful wonderful way to see the Basque countryside as tourists don't always see it. The people were lovely, the scene was gorgeous and we had just the best time with families and friends. I will post a few pics here i am sure...

then... as only i would do, speaking not a whit of french, we traveled by car from Spain along the coast to France - Biarritz to be precise - where we stayed a few days so we could do a trip to Lourdes. We stayed within walking distance of "La Grande Plage" in Biarritz and took some pretty photos of sunsets on our evenings there, sipping strong coffee and enjoying the people going by. We did not venture into a lot of sightseeing in Biarritz, because to be honest, we really enjoyed the peace of the ocean.

Lourdes was a holy place and you felt it from the moment you stepped near the grotto. I was a bit taken aback by the carnival atmosphere outside the gates to the shrine, but then i guess i was not really thinking. of course there would be places to buy every souvenir possibly related to Christianity outside a place that attracts millions of pilgrims a year... of course there would be - i wasn't thinking...

but there was the cathedral built on the grotto - and to see it there was just amazing

On our way back from Biarritz to Bilbao in Spain, we took one more side trip to a lovely little village named St. Jean De Luz. but... since this is looking pretty long as it is.. perhaps i will continue tomorrow with the market, the cheese, the bread, the chorizo chiffonade and lunch by the marina... lol

mta: the photos i've lifted from flickr are a bit too big for the parameters of the blog... please forgive

30 days hath...june.....

2011-07-01T09:18:00.009-04:00

and it has been that long since i've had time to stop here - for that i apologize to anyone who might stop by here regularly to see if i have actually posted anything...

the parental unit who was incarcerated in hospital and rehab has finally been sprung! He is still under the watchful eye of visiting nurses and of Physical therapy visitors, but he is piloting under his own power for the most part. His fall was truly a blessing in disguise - and we have the "good old man" back! blessings come in the oddest forms...

i've had a "small wonders" visit last weekend and i include photos of my own personal small wonder.

i completed another of these superquick sweaters - out of knitcol trends - for another soon-to-be member of society. Knitting has sorely taken a back seat these days and i really do miss it. I do not even have a pair of soldier socks on my needles and THAT needs to be remedied pronto!

Plans for our trip to the Espana (how exactly DO you do a tilde? - i know where it is but not how to get it to the proper spot over that N) move forward - it's coming up fast - now if only i can get rid of this raging ear and sinus infection... someone make it go away please....it will be supremely unfair if it doesn't... insert sad face here...

since i've not done it in a dog's age... (7 years? how old is any given dog anyway??)

a quote:

trust me - i'm going to kill every one of these bastards...

when you think things are hard...

2011-06-01T22:31:00.003-04:00

... they get HARD just to show you they weren't hard before...

the hospital situation/rehab situation has become more involved than i would have ever thought... paternal parental unit is... frankly... lucky he fell when he did - because it led to finding a much more serious situation than a bit of lack of balance... i will go no further into it than to say it is a hard thing to deal with a parent being held hospital/rehab captive. And that, as they say, ends that... because if i start, the tirade would make anyone who might currently, stop visiting altogether...

... i am working on a shawl - easy peasy drop stitch pattern - as a gift ... when it is done i will post photos.. promise...

and i have photos on flickr of the debbie bliss baby blanket - but first i have to go and check to make sure i have not already posted pics here - see??? my brain, she is fried...

thank you for the patience of still peeping in when i do not seem to be very constant in my writings...

Raspberry Beret....

2011-05-14T12:09:00.004-04:00

took forever - literally it seems - to get this hat posted - but here is Pamela W. Allen's Baby Beret in Rowan Pure Wool 4 ply -the post on this on her blog is here

photos

my blanket is D O N E... the party is today... i can post pics after that - i will not, however, get to see the face of the recipient - have a patient in hospital in the form of the paternal parental unit... he comes first... but i can share once i know it is in the right hands...

hope on ...hope ever... i have GOT to start another pair of soldier socks i have been remiss in that...

perhaps the hardest baby blanket....

2011-05-09T01:14:00.002-04:00

... of all time...

i have been working on a baby shower gift for the past ... um... maybe since i posted last... it is entrelac... it is a debbie bliss pattern... from her magazine... and it could possibly be the most difficult baby project i've ever undertaken. I am totally not a fan of the instructions - that might just be me... i've been to the LYS twice for direction on the directions. I am rounding on the last row of full blocks.. and then need a row of triangles and the edging - and it needs be done by the weekend upcoming....

... so in a nutshell, that is where i've been - sitting knitting - not doing a lot on line in general, since this is not a "knit and surf" project. It is a labor of love and I do not begrudge one single moment of knitting it - it is a gift for a very special person - but i will say it has certainly ... CERTAINLY... taken my concentration to a new level.

i don't have photos of my actual project to share yet... as it is impossible to lay out whilst it remains on the circular needle... links to the ravelry page for this project - and to one of the people who have knitted the project - http://www.flickr.com/photos/23762979@N03/4841134393/in/photostream - the project as knitted by mel83 - her photos kept me sane when i couldn't figure out where i was headed next -

soooo not that this is a reason to be silent so long.. but i have been... and needed to explain.... lol

the TV's on... but nobody's home...

2011-03-31T20:27:00.005-04:00

Home from the warm to the cold... home to the daily stuff i was not responsible for whilst away... home again home again jiggity jig...

i enjoyed my time away immensely.... sat in warm sunshine.. took a bunch of photos ... finished that sweater i started (after a false finish with monkey arms that had to be ripped back LOL)... finished a pair of soldier socks .... had two books read to me (And Furthermore by Dame Judi Dench and Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen which i am still having read to me)... read two other books (one was the review of the other day and the other was The Tudor Mystery (i think - can't remember and it is packed in a box on its way back here).... interesting take on the transfer of power from Edward to Mary to Elizabeth... with a little stopover with Jane Grey...

i enjoyed being able to sit and watch the "big" tv without having to jockey for position early... no so now... where b&c (my nickname for the husband) is watching inane comedy on cbs right now... comedies that i cannot even really sit in the room with... lol... he wants to watch the glee version of Grey's Anatomy tonite, which we don't really watch... but since thursday is not exactly the superbowl of tv night, i'll bite....

this post has a ranty-kinda flavor, but i feel i've deserted the blog for long enough and needed to say something again.

i will be starting a new little beret for my girl as soon as the yarn gets here. The talented pamela allen posted a freebie the other day (the day after my natal day to be exact) on her blog page TANGLED - and it will be lovely for spring... the blog title is A Beret for Baby and it's just adorable. My "baby" isn't new born... but she is just perfect for a little beret for spring...

and since...i think i've heard this song about 10 times today in commercials for the musical Grey's Anatomy... my musical offering is .. chasing cars... enjoy it...

a quote?

forget what we're told... before we get too old.. show me a garden that's bursting into life...

book review

2011-03-19T13:29:00.003-04:00

as part of the previously mentioned Bookishly Attentive Romance Reading challenge

The Accidental Wedding - Anne Gracie

Maddy Woodford has too much on her plate. The granddaughter of a french comtesse, and daughter of English gentry on her father's side, she should not be penniless, living hand to mouth or caring for her 5 orphaned half brothers and sisters. Thanks, however, to her father's debts, she is doing just that. The family estate is entailed for her young brother and run by an elderly neighbor who has designs on making Maddy his wife - with or against her will - which is why she is hiding with the children in the English Countryside in a ramshackle cottage.

Nash Renfrew, younger brother of the Earl of Alverleigh, is a diplomat to the
Russian Empire. Returning home to England to assume possession of Whitethorn Manor, which was left to him by his uncle Jasper, he unwittingly becomes Maddy's landlord. The two would never cross paths had two little boys not have created a slide out of mud beneath a nearby wall. In an attempt to clear the wall in a rain storm, Renfrew's mount slips and he is thrown headlong into the wall and injured. Maddy, seeing the incident, takes him into her small and (and her bed) to nurse his injuries. Waking days later, Renfrew has no memory of his past, of who he is or where he was headed... but definitely remembers he is a man who is drawn to a beautiful woman. Does he regain his memory? Does Maddy stay hidden from the nefarious Mr. Hulme? Does the obvious attraction between Maddy and Nash bubble over into passion?

Anne Gracie tells their story with humor and enough twists and turns for the read to wonder whether Maddy and Nash will ever wind up together -which they... I won't give it away.

My first Anne Gracie novel was fun and frothy and finished too soon. I like her "voice" and the backstory she created for her characters - i will read more!

Regenerate...

2011-03-13T11:03:00.004-04:00

.... it's amazing what nature can do for your soul when the birds are singing, the weather warm, and the sun shining..... after what can only be called an evil winter... i feel like i can breathe again.

Actually i find myself sighing a lot... just a peaceful gentle sigh... from the lanai...

i am not at the home base but in the land of sea turtles (according to the sunday paper), baseball players and palm trees (not exactly in that order)... i ate breakfast outside this morning.. i am making this post outside this morning... i went for a long walk without a coat this morning... yes... it does the soul good...

i am almost done with another pair of soldier socks... i have to admit i left them to be finished on my flight here and flight back, since they are soooo easy to knit - no pattern necessary.. no problem just a ball or two of yarn and some "sticks". I've started a sweater for little miss in colors that her mom adored last year... it took me the better part of a year to find handpainted yarn in the same color way... of course they discontinued the yarn i made her first St. Patrick's Day sweater out of....

i don't think i can remember how to do the open in a new window link, but i will try. The sweater is a freebie from Classic Elite, Princess Smocked Cardigan and the yarn i am using is a handpaint from Araucania called Aysen in the color 823... foresty and blue-y... and just her colors...

i am better for this respite... or i will be...

where life will lead this day...

2011-03-06T13:43:00.002-05:00

... where i reside we are having a "rain event"... which is far (FAR FAR) preferable to a "snow event"... flooding notwithstanding... the muted sky looks drained of color and therefore life ... but the hawk must still be hungry because he just passed overhead....

March brings "sixes and sevens" weather to my neck of the woods. I fear we have not seen the last of the icky white stuff - because it always snows once close to my natal day - and my natal day is this month... but the prospect of heading out with only a heavy cardie.. or a sweatshirt... and no boots or outdoor clogs.. is just pleasant.. the end...

Today i will finish the sweater that i thought would take me a weekend and instead has taken me a week.. mmphm.. guess i don't budget time well. I am on the button bands in the front - but i have to make a concentrated effort to remember which side says "boy" and which says "girl" - i don't think the young people i am gifting this to will really care.. but .. let's try to get it right, at least in my head...

my soldier socks will be done this week as well - have only been giving them the obligatory 20 min a day - which is really not enough to get them done pronto.. but i have some tv watching to do and they are mindless in the "round and rounds"... so they will be done and i can get them posted as well.

another blog i read alerted me to some new (to me) sock patterns that i might like to try. stop laughing - i can hear you from here - yes i do patterns other than SFS .. i just don't mention it often.

oh.. and i hate the camera i bought.. just hate it.. it doesn't do what i want.. and it is very annoying at that.... and as i say this the neighborhood deer just bolted through the back.. what is this? a nature preserve? all i need is the wild turkeys (not the drinking variety the squawking variety) and we will be able to seriously call noah for a new ark...

noah?????

Hawks in flight...

2011-02-28T17:06:00.002-05:00

... the hawks are back in my neighborhood. We've had a family for three seasons now... i am happy to see them soaring high above the trees and really do love to hear their call. Makes this suburban hamlet a little more rustic....

.... working on the baby sweater from the weekend - hopefully it will be done by wednesday - i gave up knitting last night during the oscars and skyped and facebooked instead...

... b&c (affectionate term for the OH) installed my bluray burner whilst i was away. I burned dvds over the weekend that actually WORK in my dvd player. Not bluray yet, but it makes me feel so much less like a nincompoop to see that it was my old dvd burner that was the problem and not "operator error".

the ever present soldier socks are getting their 20 minutes a day treatment until i finish the baby gift. then they will be front and center til finished. then... (notice i am procrastinating) the fair isle socks. ... i need to do more socks for me.. i almost always give them away.

grey and dreary here.. but no snow... so i will take it... maybe having the winter from hell has made us all more happy to see anything but snow? LOL

New Life...

2011-02-26T12:04:00.003-05:00

...not the Spring variety (although i can actually see my lawn now thanks to all the rain)... but rather the baby variety. I've started a sweater for my neighbors' new son... born on superbowl sunday ... it's called the Wee-one Welcome Set by KnittingAtKNoon (however the picture is not the most flattering - the newer pic on my pattern is in self patterning yarn). I am using KNITCOL trends from adriafil and i like the feel of it so far. The pattern is top down and one piece, yay! My goal is to complete it in a weekend, so i can gift it next week.

So off the needles are my woodruff mittens. I can work on them as needed, and after all, i will be gone again in two weeks and not back til i won't need mittens at home (i hope). My soldier socks have a goal of finish this week as well, although i hope to start another pair for my next trip - they are so easy to knit in transit (who'da thought i'd say that about socks, when so many people have such trouble with them...)

I have not started my fair isle socks yet - i think they will be next (putting the mittens further on hold)... i would like to master that and get on with it....

music.. yes.. there is music today... if i can find it on yt i will embed.. lol

and a quote.. i've gotten away from this and need to get back....

home isn't where you live - it's where people understand you....

information superhighway

2011-02-24T08:14:00.002-05:00

while answering the stocked up emails i have from not being home on the range computer, i took a break to read a few articles in Knitter's Review - the latest is a reprise of how to substitute yarn in a project.

now... i do not create my own patterns. Don't have the talent. LOVE that others do. But to be honest many times those creative people use yarns i cannot afford. so i have long been of the "substituting yarn" category. The article on this (or actually a series of them) helps people who may not have the steps or the information to DO the steps.

I am extremely (can i repeat extremely!) fortunate to have a chart that was created by someone at my LYS years ago. I took the info this lovely person gave me (thank you eileen!) and put it on business cards - and have carried it with me ever since - over the years i've gotten pretty good at recognizing some of the information with regards to gauge and needle size (fingering/dk/worsted come to mind) but there are times still when yarn stumps me. For those times that little cheat sheet comes in way handy!

A similar cheat sheet appears in the article on Knitter's Review this week ... the article you can find if you click here - thank you to Clara Parkes for reprising this article written a while ago. There are links to current yarn info (YARNDEX and RAVELRY have great information stored)and discontinued yarns and what their qualities are (yards/meters per skein etc) in case you have old patterns that do not specify. The newer patterns DO give you (often) the yardage on the yarn they call for - at least when you sub out you can do the math.

with the glut of new media available, one thing i also do is keep a running list of yarn i might need for a project on my ipod (i probably could on my phone, but i like keeping that separate) - just the weight, what it's for, and the yardage - so if i am surprised by a LYS somewhere i can still stash wisely.

i feel i've gotten better over the years and don't buy as indiscriminately - but i do succumb often to internet clearances - not always good for the budget.

so ... what am i knitting... working on the round and rounds of my latest pair of soldier socks. am at the 7 inch mark and only need two more inches to decrease the toes and be done. need maybe to be asking for another pair of legs.

Also working on the woodruff mittens spoken of in my last post - i should learn how to put something in the side bar with 'works in progress' - shouldn't i.. oh well not a necessity since there is probably not a lot of reason - lol - the yarn i am using is the School Products pure merino i purchased in december - it is a little stiffer than i like to work with - but i am hopeful it will soften as advertised. The mittens are for me, since i've lost two pairs this winter - i usually opt for fingerless mitts (will post a couple of pics) but sometimes you just need "closure"

most are a variation of "socks for hands" - a pattern from a calendar from several years ago. I altered it to be knit in the round, with a longer cuff and longer ribbing in the finger area - so it is not the original pattern anymore - but i cannot claim creative responsibility - someone else did all the math - i just did a variation.

could this post be any longer? i am thinking not...

here a stitch... there a stitch...

2011-02-21T20:46:00.004-05:00

everywhere a stitch, stitch...

Having a bit of "how small are these stitches??" today with the soldier socks (in order to obtain gauge in my loosy goosy way of knitting, i need to use 00 needles on the heels and toes of socks.. and the rest of the sock is usually on a 0 (at the most a small 1) - so i took a quick break and started a pair of mittens for ... well maybe even for myself.

knitting a pair of Woodruff mittens by brooklyn tweed (jared flood)in a merino wool i bought in bulk on a trip to School Products. Dark Grey merino... tweedy. I had to learn, however, how to enlarge a chart on a pdf.. and it was not easy. I think it might be a good idea to supply a link for a bigger copy of intricate charts one can purchase as pdf's .. for old eyes that cannot read the small print.. LOL

more music today - Deliver Me, by the Dave Crowder Band - someone posted it today on FB and i was immediately in like with it. When you hear the words you feel spill out of someone else's voice, you know you are not alone with the things you face....

today's quote .... hmmmmmmmmmm....

I daren't hope a woman like that would care for me. No one loves me, no one but you...

a perfect kid...

2011-02-20T23:10:00.002-05:00

... watching a television program tonite and one of the characters said (i paraphrase)... "all those different bits and pieces, put them together and shake them around ... what comes out? a perfect kid... every time..."

and it's true.. no matter what nuances you may or may not love or like ... every kid is the perfect combination of the parts supplied. What happens, happens.. and all along the way there are people somewhere smiling down at them as they try to make their way through the world. Some of them make their way for a very long time... decades, scores, half and sometimes even whole centuries.. some of them only make their way for a little while... but their impact is the same on our hearts... yep... each and every one.. a perfect kid...

i'm back where the weather warns of snow, sleet and freezing rain, instead of a thunder shower and humidity... it's nice to be back in my home... but aaaah was that warmth of the past few days well received... i am almost done with another pair of soldier socks and my next project will be little miss bound i am thinking.. although i do have a pattern for some fair isle socks with a tutorial or two.. i am nervous of (i refuse to say scared of) fair isle, as i know if you knit with a firm hand you will make the dang socks too tight to go over your heel, but i am determined to learn it and become comfortable. wish me luck... LOL

new music tonite - Love and Permanence by Azure Ray - as always thanks youtube for allowing the chance to share the music... although they can be poopy on occasion... lol

have been a bit lax with the quotes lately - will post a really really simple one...

"woman, your willfulness will kill you..."

thanks, i needed that... where the palm trees sway...

2011-02-18T14:35:00.005-05:00

... is where i am ... the sunshine state has been very very good to me...

.....visiting family, with family... and the weather has done massive good to my psyche...the sun is shining and there is green here!

Yesterday i spent an hour or two at the beach (dog beach at Walton Rocks) and today i sat with a "sunning" top on soaking up as much vitamin d as i can before i need to make the return trip to the cold place where the ground is still white (although i hear it is warm there this week too). i am excited to hear some of the snow's melted. it's supposed to be cold next week, but i can stand it, because i will be back in the sunshine once more this spring ...

i even have photographic evidence of the sun, but i have not uploaded it here yet, so i will have to post the photos later.

i feel a little out of touch with my internet contacts, because i have not done a lot with the computer whilst here... but i have spent dedicated time knitting a pair of soldier socks and reading lots of knitting mags...

tomorrow jetblue will wing me home.... sigh....

...and tired...

2011-01-21T10:13:00.007-05:00

You know.. mother nature is a wonderful entity.. she brings us flowers and rain and sunshine in the summer...

it's got to be that she has an evil twin who takes care of winter lately... or she is totally harboring an evil thought or two for the spot on earth where i live.. or for the entire planet i could say, these days...

i have a short photo essay for how i am feeling about this winter....

SICK

AND

TIRED

i've been working on some filing/paperwork issues lately and have only been giving short shrift to knitting.. but i've worked my 20 minutes every day on my sfs socks and have had a bit of extra time to complete a pair of booties and hat for a neighbor who is expecting.. no photo evidence of that yet but i will work on it...

i think i could like this song... Hello World by Lady Antebellum ... because i do see light.. and a little hope .. in a little girl...

RomanceChallenge2011 - Review

2011-01-18T13:34:00.002-05:00

RomanceChallenge2011
Originally uploaded by ddhockey

The Border Vixen - Bertrice Small

This author was a "go to" for a very long time. Her "Skye O'Malley" series was one of the romantic series that brought me initially to romance. The Border Vixen revisits Small's beloved 16th century United Kingdom - this time the borders of England and Scotland.

Maggie Kerr is called Mad Maggie because she can out-fight, out-run and out-ride any of her border neighbors. She runs the keep at Asir nam Breug and sees to the pass between her cousins on the English side and her home in Scotland. The pass has been used for peaceful traverse only for the past 500 years. Maggie is, however, the last heir to her grandfather and as such, needs a husband to ensure the future of the Scots Kerrs and the safety of the pass.

Intelligent, beautiful and savvy, Maggie soundly defeats the only suitor willing to take up her challenge. Humiliated, the suitor turns to James V, hoping to secure by royal decree what his skills in the field could not. James the king trusts no one but family and instead sends his cousin, Lord Fingal Stewart to marry Maggie. The king has picked the perfect man, even if he does not know it. Fingal sees he must win Maggie's heart and admiration before even competing and winning her challenge. The pair make a love match of strength, respect and smoldering - more than a match for the border wars, machinations and schemes of all who try to steal their home and the pass it protects, several of which carry this book to its conclusion.

Ms Small paints her heroines with respect - they are bright, learned, strong (or strong-willed sometimes) and every bit a match for the heroes she offers. At one point, her writing of the intimacies between characters seemed to be a little "out there" - but this book returns me to some of my favorite heroines. Mad Maggie is the traditional spitfire, but Fingal Stewart has qualities of a more modern man in his wooing of the young heiress.

If yo've only read the more current offerings of Bertrice Small and were less than "wowed", give this one a try. I hear my old friend "Skye O'Malley" calling me for a re-read.

Pushing the point and shoot envelope

2011-01-15T09:28:00.004-05:00

... let me say before i start - IT WASN'T me - it was the camera!! The autofocus on the point and shoot camera i gifted myself with was faulty... now.. with another one in my firm grasp, i am getting to know what and what not... wink wink...

working with a digital slr much of the time makes working with a point and shoot sometimes like working with only one hand. This particular new camera is the same make as its bigger sister (canon) so i know the dots, the tees, and the buttons... and after research i found that this one can be manipulated....

so i will play with it in earnest over the next little while and see what it will do - but i also know that when i am in the city, or on the floor with a certain 1 year old whirlwind, it will do just what i want.. point and shoot...

point

and

shoot

so i will continue to point and shoot til i get it into my (sometimes rather thick) grey matter...

and a quote...

home isn't where you live.. it's where people understand you...

repeat...

2011-01-13T10:42:00.005-05:00

there is a ton of repetition in my life.. in all lives i am thinking... make bed, sleep in it, repeat... fill shovel, throw snow, repeat... fill larder, empty it, repeat.. wear clothes, wash them, repeat... now, if i could only remember... think of something that makes you smile, repeat.....

in the days of january when minds turn to the "new slate syndrome", i think i will be happy with... get out of bed in the morning, do it just as you have been, repeat.

knitting is definitely an enjoyment of "repeats"... whether it is in the pattern itself (usually written as 'repeat from asterisk to end' and maybe 'repeat pattern between * to end')... or it's a repeat of making something because you like the way it turns out and must have more than one (pair of these socks, pair of these mitts, hat or scarf that would look better in that great hand painted yarn)... these repeats are not offensive to me as wash clothes, fold them, repeat....i find solace in repeating the stitches that it takes to create an object to wear... or to give to someone else to wear...yes i do enjoy those repeats...

i am currently repeating my socks for soldiers socks, i am on the heels of both socks currently (or concurrently if you like). I am currently knitting the edging on a shawl pattern by Brooklyn Tweed, aka Jared Flood, called Terra i believe in a yarn called Shelter... and btw the edging is two sets of large repeats on either "wing" of the shawl, consisting of approximately 14 smaller sets of 11 stitch repeats. i am also knitting another pair of the cabled fingerless mitts i made to learn how to cable without a cable needle (they are in a post further down with the link.. Mom's something i believe)... because the original ones are too long for my stubby little hands.. i like their length on my arms though, in the cold of january... the photo is of them unblocked and still curly and crinkly...

it's been a long time here, i guess i can safely say that even though i take time off from time to time, i am still writing, hitting 'publish post' and repeat.. i will keep my fingers crossed on that one, too...

a quote... hmmmm......

It is only a business matter, you would be doing me the service...

A New Romance

2011-01-07T11:33:00.011-05:00

i've joined this challenge...

i tend to read a lot of romance ... and my to-read pile has increased thanks to the reviews on this site, so i might as well read the books and see how i like them! I sometimes audio-book them, so i can have someone tell me a story while i work or knit or knit or knit...and i find i like being read to!

totally changing lanes... frankly the most exciting thing happening right now is that i figured out the html for making that picture a clickie to the site AND have it open in a new tab/window. (thanks to another blogger here who gave me another version of the command). woh... i am still toying with the idea of moving this blog into bloggers newer template version, but i am totally afraid i will lose the links/pics/setup i have.. baby steps... baby steps...

...just like a tattoo

2011-01-04T19:04:00.008-05:00

... i'll always have you...

this song (jordin sparks - the speer version whatever that means) has been on loop all day... on loop in my head when i wasn't here.. on loop on the pc when i was..

it's a song about romantic love.. yes.. and about moving on.. yes.. and about no regrets.. yes.. but it is also about how one's life is marked by the people who move in and out of it.. and how no matter what you do to move on, the tattoo will remain ...which is exactly what i want it to do.

mta: i've lost my touch.. my code won't make the clickie open in a new window... i am saddened by this... *wink*
mta part deux... i've found a new touch.. it works again .. YAY

annoyance can be a tse tse fly......or an elephant..

2011-01-03T19:36:00.003-05:00

... i wanted a point and shoot/quick as you can camera... the one i have is icky and slow and me no likey...

... so i looked into it a little.. and decided on a smallish canon that would ... i thought.. do what i wanted..

...so why won't it focus on close things? Why will it not focus when in digital zoom? why.... why..... why....
now i did not purchase this at a camera store.. but rather a chain.. and do we really think that MAYBE 17 year old Tommy or Keisha or Joey or Lannie is going to know whether this camera is faulty or its operator is? I'm thinking not...

so tomorrow i will be on the phone to canon asking ... um. .... why????

i want to be able to take this smallish camera with me when i go places.. but i want it to focus in zoom.. i don't think that is too much to ask...

woh... i finally used my blog for a rant.... sorry....

quote for the day....

you know what men are like... it's all in the challenge...

to upgrade or not ...

2011-01-02T22:33:00.005-05:00

i have had this same blog set up forever.. since before blogger made it template-y... i've learned what little i know about html here.. all the modifications i've made to this page i did long ago.....

... but looking at some of the newer blogs i see things i would like to add that i cannot add ...widgets and the like... and until i change to "layouts" i can't have them.

of course - in changing, blogspot tells me i will lose "some of the changes i've made"... which makes me leery... and sooooooooo... here stays the old version... sans the "follow" button.. or "views" stat... or "share" buttons..and my archive stays start to finish...

but i can post.. i can put my pics where i want them.. and i can change this or that in a manner i understand (sorta kinda) ... so here.. it ... stays....

i finished the pair of fingerless mittens teaching me how to do cables without benefit of a cable needle... now if i can only remember which "way" is done which "way"...lol photo ...unblocked...

a quote...

you don't need henry to explain

1.1.11

2011-01-01T09:38:00.004-05:00

nope... it's not binary code... well, actually if it is, i don't know it.. it's the date..

between last night and this morning i have determined that...

-i am too old for New Year's Rockin' Eve (NKOTB and BSB appearance notwithstanding)

-i am too sensitive for New Year's Rockin' Eve (i don't care if Dick Clark is an icon and is trying, i am sad that he struggles as he does on national tv)

-i am probably too old to be a reveler (having done a new year's eve in times square... i am content to watch it all from the security and warmth of my livingroom now, with a few crudites and a bottle of prosecco...)

-and when you wake up in the morning after that night... the sun is up as usual, the birds are eating, the coffee is perking, the tea water almost boiling (yes i know i shouldn't boil it **wink**) and a new year, apparenlty, has begun.

I will make the rounds a little later to keep the custom my mother spoke of - that a man entering your house first on new year's day gives your house good luck for the year. But the quandry is.. who will come to our house and shove a man through the doorway first, i ask you?

midnight flames (well after midnight so... hmmm.. i think it counts)

quote for the new year...

I understand you completely!

and so... for the holiday...

2010-12-31T08:44:00.005-05:00

if today is the day then okay....

there are days that make others seem frivolous by comparison... today is one... with all the looking forward there always must be a bit of looking back.. because without a backward glance, there would be no glance at all....2011 will mark another year of those glances.. stolen moments of introspection meant for solace...and while i do look ahead publicly, I tend to make those stolen moments far more private. The rocks are still in my pockets, worn down from the boulders that once made up the yoke around my neck.. they are manageable now, easy to carry... easy to keep private...

So 2011 roars towards us all - to some it has already come calling.. and i wish all those who i am honored to call near and dear the best and brightest moments possible in the upcoming days.

and for the new shiny year, here is a small video ... for auld lang syne...

just a breath away... just a breath...and always.. always in my heart...

nope, i don't make 'em

2010-12-30T20:11:00.004-05:00

resolutions.. nopey no... i think when you've seen life do twists and turns that you never ever EVER expect, you realize that resolutions might help and might not ever.. I'm in the "might not ever" category...

an internet friend mentioned tonite that she has been challenged to take a photo every day for the upcoming year. That sounds very interesting to me and i might just take a crack at it. I've long enjoyed photography and the nuances of dark and light - and i might just .. i might just..

i've taken on a challenge from a blog called Loopy Ewe for this quarter - their challenge is about cabling. Now.. cabling i know.. i have a piece 2/3 finished (stop yelling i will finish it eventually) called Stonington that is all cabling. What i am trying to learn and perfect so to speak is cabling without a cable needle. To that end i am working on a pair of fingerless gloves called mom's cabled mitts i think .. (will post the link and it will have the right name i have not a doubt) - and doing my cables without benefit of a cable needle.. sheesh...

sweater btw - in progress, not blocked.. just sitting trying to unfurl after being folded up for far too long(lol)

sooooooo (lucas north in the washroom sooo) ... do i do a year of photos? one every day? They don't all have to be warhol do they? i don't really go very many places without some sort of a camera with me anyway... maybe i'll sleep on it...of course if i do this i might actually post every day for a year.. hahahahahahahahahahahah

a quote.. yes.. a quote...

I was just on a stroll to nowhere in particular...

a little comfort.. a lotta joy...

2010-12-26T15:00:00.004-05:00

the snow teems down in swaths outside my window.. but everyone is where they need to be .. and if they don't get where they are supposed to be tomorrow, that is tomorrow's post... for now.. the chickens are in their roosts and that is a good thing....

snow that might have seemed beautiful and romantic on friday evening now seems very limiting... but mother nature apparently didn't speak to santa as she set out her plans for this weekend.

i can finally post the pics i have of the Lacy Chunky throw i made for a gift for christmas - the pattern was one i originally saw on sorella and company's blog here - i made it with a yarn called vineyard by artful yarns - doubled - in colors named Tuscany that will hopefully play out well in my sister's livingroom and dining room...

a quote. ummmmm hmmmmmm... a quote.. i think i will go with one that is a quote of a quote...

as gabriel oak said to bathsheba in far from the madding crowd that 'home, whenever i look up, there shall be you... and whenever you look up there i shall be...... ' "

only a couple of days...

2010-12-22T21:01:00.013-05:00

... i took photos today of those gifts that are handcrafted... i am still a bit gun-shy and nervous about posting pre-giving... so perhaps i will wait and post them over the weekend instead... tee hee..

currently working on soldier socks.. as i normally have at least one pair in rotation. I am going to make a winter hat for "the bean" because her rudolph hat will be out of fashion as the new year rings in .... so i have in mind a lovely hat called "sea star" by pamela allen (you can see it here ) - i will head down to the "store" aka storage in the basement to pick out yarn for it as soon as the holiday weekend is over. i love the short-term nature of hats... especially ones for little craniums...

The pregame work is just about done. I have the obligatory chocolate chip cookies to bake tomorrow.. as well as a recipe for fleur de sel caramels.. if i can work that into the schedule.. once the company comes it will be short-order cooking only.. so i have to get the "thises and thats" done pre-company..doing my best to keep my head on what i have to do... so my mind doesn't wander much..

this man's voice just makes me want to stop and listen... so listen to James Taylor wish you a merry... click here... thanks youtube... .the photos are mine from ny a week or so ago...and .. have yourself a merry little christmas... now..***i have run into a snag and the clickies will not necessarily open in a separate window... so click when you are ready to move on .. and grrrr***.

sleep in heavenly peace....

2010-12-21T18:39:00.005-05:00

i'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.... sorry as usual for the long delay in posting.. i was doing so well for a spell.. and then there's now... (insert red face here)...

there is a bit of christmas and holiday time that is magical.. there is a bit that is wondrous... there is a bit that is melancholy. ... i am working my way through the bits that no one need follow...

there was a birthday in the midst of my missing-in-action days... 28 would be this year... 28... time for weddings and babies and trips and friends... but alas... not to be... and there, my dear friends... begins the melancholy....

my holiday knitting is done as it can be..i have taken some photos.. and i promise to upload them... but not til they have been delivered to their "recipients" as i am not sure exactly who knows about this little writing corner... lol... i am looking forward to days with family over the next weekend... and just looking forward to some wondrous and magical moments...

and if you happen to see me gazing off quietly into the distance.. just know.. that the words "sleep in heavenly peace" can mean different things to different people.

time again for quotes soon... i promise that too... they're fun... really they are!!

Woefully Lax...

2010-11-30T20:25:00.006-05:00

have not posted this whole month? That is totally unacceptable.. except that .. it's already done and dusted.. good thing i stopped by tonite..

photos of the things i've been talking about making..

the car zip sweater - back opening for the car seat... this picture was hard to snap, wiggle worm was too busy jiggling out of her sweater..

the pumpkin hat for halloween

and two hats Rudolph and Santa

and a first birthday cake..

art and artistry...

2010-10-19T13:38:00.013-04:00

i am constantly in awe of art and artistic people. .. and might be considered jealous in a totally non-confrontational way.. lol...

it is a wonderful turn of life that people can be butchers and bakers and candlestick makers and one day pick up a camera and find a new way to express themselves. The internet is a fantastic melting pot of these creative jewels.. in addition to the traditional crafting versions of creativity we can add such internet specifics as graphics and video to enjoy. People who might not ever even be exposed to Photoshop have delved in to see what they can do to make an icon or a signature.. an avatar or a wallpaper.. the communities of Youtube and LiveJournal are brimming with the work of amateurs and professionals alike.

i am fortunate to be associated with some extremely talented people in this regard. I've posted links to their work before. Standout videographer heathRA (aka heathdances) or spikesbint on youtube ( i've many times mentioned and linked to heather's videos - but if you missed - watch This Woman's Work or her Fix You.. and check out Spikesbint's Romantic Moments)- and graphics by kiteflier on livejournal (i am not sure you will be able to click through, but i have linked them none-the-less). I know that some day we will see these editing talents on the big screen.. or on the 62" "little" screen at home.. just know it..

These people have become friends and mentors in some of the fledgeling steps i take.

I've posted before about the knitting community links i enjoy - those people who design and create from string - Tangled, and A Few Stitches Short... are located in the bar on the right.. as is BrooklynTweed and there are more .. they almost need their own post....

What waxes me poetic today? I received a custom order of a necklace from a young woman who has recently begun designing jewelry... and stumbled across what may be her calling quite by accident.. love the creativity.. love the creation.. a couple of photos for you to come to your own conclusion. The beads compliment each other perfectly in real life.. in photography colors bend and don't always look the same.. the designer/jeweler is Eight & Twenty Bead Co. - she is on etsy but as i said just getting started so there is not a major presence there.. if i can link to the facebook page i will but i think, again, you need to be signed in to fb to see ..

MIA in a good way...

2010-10-15T15:37:00.005-04:00

i've been mia again.. but.. i have a reason (the dog ate my homework.. no really really he did!!)... really really i do!

i spent most of last week in "almost walking land" - my little miss and i had some upclose and personal time whilst mama was away on business. I loved every crawling on the floor, picking up the toys, rocking in the dark moment.. she makes my heart sing. I presented said little miss with the Whale of a Hat previously posted about here, but she was less than interested in wearing it.. and since i am a bit doting, i can only hope that mama will be able to capture her in it at some point and forward the snap to me.

upon arrival back at casa ddhockey, i was off immediately to dog sit for a neighbor of my sister. Without the dogsitting, this person would have sat out her grandson's wedding across the country - so Shadow (big old lunky old black lab - did i mention old?) got to be good friends... right through tuesday 2 am when my corner of the world was subject to horrible thunder, lightning and hail.. poor shads no likey lightning, so he sat with his head in my lap most of the night .. that was when he wasn't sitting with his head in my sister's lap .. or sitting on me on the couch.. LOL

soooo really truly reasons not excuses.

i knit a pumpkin hat for little miss - from a freebie pattern on ravelry here - and i have to mail it quickly so she can have more than a day to wear it! the original pattern calls for cotton - but i had cascade 220 in orange and green - so stash busting this was.. in a manner of speaking.

ZIP is coming along and most finished.. hopefully done by weekend.

i am going to start a pair of leisure socks this weekend too - i have no soldier socks on needles and that is not right.. will get them started even if they are a women's pair - which i have not sent in forever.. but knowing me i will start a men's pair.. i feel badly that they are in need so must do.

there is a trail of quiet still, but i will keep getting up every day.. that's the main job isn't it?

a quote...

Close your eyes.. and you'll remember ...

put on your big girl pants and deal with it

2010-10-02T13:56:00.007-04:00

deep breath.. grabbing onto the edge of the pit...yanking my way back up...

knitting.. purling.. yarnovering.. just keep my hands moving ... i have three projects on the needles and a pair of soldier socks in the wash.

i am knitting ZIP to fulfill a DIL request. She asked if there was a back opening sweater that i might make. Granddaughter could use one that DIL can put over her in the car seat after she is all tacked in.... so .. off to ravelry.. and ZIP.. It's a hoodie but i am not making it one. Checking with the designer, the neck is finished with the moss stitch all around it, so it will be just fine without the hood - and i won't need a zipper as it will be tucked in around my girl. soooo down to the pit (not to be confused with the pit referenced above) and stash diving to find something suitable. Debbie Bliss stash to the rescue.. Merino aran in a color that will be lovely with my girl's eyes.. if i can drag my corpulent behind from the chair i will take a photo of the color. if not.. i'm sure it will make an appearance anon.

i am knitting a project i cannot post. hopefully when i am done with it, i will have been able to ascertain if the person i am making it for checks this place.. if so.. sorry ya gotta wait.

my socks are washed.. need to be popped into the dryer.. then off to a soldier.. i need yarn so i am stopped where regulation socks are concerned til i get more. but i can do a pair of leisures. I have stuck to the 20 minutes rule.. somedays even when i don't want to look at needles.. so.. i am getting there with this as well. it is too satisfying to not do..

i've just said i am going back down to the pit to find more suitable yarn to knit the Augustus scarf - it looks like something that i can lose myself in ... and i am good at losing myself these days...

i carry it in my heart

2010-09-29T11:02:00.007-04:00

Music for the day... thanks youtube

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

...always....

in the middle of a song...

2010-09-28T11:39:00.005-04:00

the question is always there.. no matter the time.. the place.. the logic says one thing.. but the heart another...

Rascal Flatts... why...
thanks youtube..

.

silver wings...

2010-09-27T19:51:00.006-04:00

you know.. wmg can just be such tarty tarts when it comes to videos.. the song is "you're still here" and the artist is Faith HIll... i don't really know if they will let me keep this linked.. if not.. i will just find another song.. not like i don't have them... (oh and by the way - sorry for the stupid commercial at the beginning.. like i said... tarty tarts.. money is everything i guess)

seems like there is something every day....standing in the sun....heard you in stranger's laugh and i hung around to hear him laugh again... and you turned away.....

Weightless

2010-09-26T15:21:00.003-04:00

Black Lab... Weightless... a secret island in your mind... who is to say.. who is to know the truth?

there are many thoughts.. but few answers..

icy cliffs...

2010-09-24T11:14:00.004-04:00

Iceland is Mary Chapin Carpenter's voice at its best.. the wonderful world of youtube makes it so you can listen here while you go about your day...there is a line in it about a stone that she carries like a charm in her pocket...

i saw a play in NY a while ago now.. The Rabbit Hole.. and in it a mother speaks to her daughter about loss - each generation has suffered the same loss.. the elder says that loss is like a yoke with boulders you wear around your neck and as the years go by the stones get chipped away until all that is left are pieces you can carry around with you in your pocket... they are always there - just not for everyone to see - but always with you... (now i have paraphrased a wonderful scene in a play so forgive me).. but the stone in the song is the same idea..

and you go on...

i started another project that since it is holiday related i cannot give any information on.. because i don't know if the recipient reads this spot.. but i will try to do a surreptitious photo or two and go from there.

i don't have a quote.. what??????????? nopey no i don't.. but will soon i am sure...

but i never told you...

2010-09-23T12:05:00.003-04:00

...song of the day.. colbie caillat... you know.. lots of love songs mean lots of different things... and a love song fits in different ways.. so you drop the bits of a song that do not fit.. and hear the bits that do... I Never Told You... like.. if eyes are brown not blue.. or... if it is someone you love but not that way... doesn't make the line "i miss everything about you" mean any less...

i have a pair of soldier socks ready for shipping.. i think that needs to get done. i wanted to get the little sundries that are always needed to pack with, but i don't have it in me to browse a shop so maybe getting the socks where they are going is more important...

and i found this little pattern - A Whale of a Tail hat by Cabin Fever, at the site linked. It was on their blog.. but they didn't have the colorway they knitted it in.. so i punted.. and knitted it in Cascade 22 Superwash paints color "celtic" and it truly does look like a whale's tail (or fluke? i think)

Spooks started this week.. so the quote will be pertinent...

"What was it like, John? .... ..... .... Being Lucas North?"

and the band played on...

2010-09-15T12:40:00.019-04:00

... could refer to the old song.. could refer to the hbo special of several years ago.. could refer to what my head is currently hearing.. could be i've finally gone 'round the bend....

i've been known to say "i can do anything for 24 hours..." so let us just see if that is true.

i have been inundated with inspiration online over the past few days... i think i will go down to the Pit-stash-store.. lol and see what i have that i can make what with where.

i will share my inspiratory places..

there is Sea Star from the blog Tangled- with all it's

loveliness.. and part of the sales go to a worthwhile cause.

there is a designer - who has done a series of three shawls - i was made aware of the third - Saroyan - looks like something i might want to involve myself in.. actually all three are lovely and i do think do-able..

there is a cowl that i have apparently already purchased *gee must have liked it, eh?* from this blog - A Few Stitches Short- called Stryder -

and something that has not been released yet called.. Argonath - go see it - trust me..

i hope these blogs/designers do not mind that i have captured pics from their sites.. i've linked directly to them in each case (using my handy dandy open in a new tab trick) so you can go directly...

since i have been woefully negligent in sharing inspiration lately, i can only hope this helps to bring me up to date and back to speed. as always i appreciate the work these designers share with everyone. Check out all these pages for free patterns to enhance your holiday gift knitting.... or ideas for that special something.. or just to read the words they take the time to share.

and as for me? hmmmmmm ...lol...

a song.. this month will be full of songs.. I'm there too.. i choose to believe that's true... thanks as always to youtube and the poster...

2010-09-11T13:48:00.000-04:00

working on it..

2010-09-08T16:01:00.005-04:00

not always succeeding.. but working on it..have you ever felt like you are walking through a quagmire of mud without boots on? it's kinda sorta like that.. time to shake things up a bit.

i am trying a new pattern that is not new at all - the Gansey Layette from an old (and i mean like 2002 old) issue of Interweave Knits. This is the beauty of ravelry... there is a group that talks about baby things.. someone asked "what's your go-to pattern for baby knitting? " and there are 24 pages of answers. some of the things i would never do.. some of them i would like to start tomorrow. This pattern is okay in the original but i was taken with the version mentioned by the blogger here - Mind of Winter - let's just say i am of a mind to make this ... lol... thanks once more, ravelry for the inspiration...

would you like some music? lol (reminds me of the computer in War Games... 'shall we play a game?')

today's offering is by Jewel - you might have heard her sing it at the Emmy awards for the in Memoriam portion of the program. why.. i am wondering.. is september always the month mentioned in these songs? a bit of providence i am thinking.. The Shape of You.. at least i think that is the name.. it's listed with two different names..

quote? okay.. we'll quote...

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

oh.. sorry.. you wanted a regular quote....here you go....

"... i don't think i would know how to dabble..."

so... it's here...

2010-09-01T12:12:00.005-04:00

the month i wish did not exist.. i'm supposed to be past it... i'm supposed to have dealt.. i'm supposed to be stronger than pulling the covers up over my head and screaming go away...

yes.. i am supposed to be..

last night on david letterman's show, Michael Douglas spoke about his personal battle with throat cancer - and (paraphrasing now) he turned to the camera at one point and said something to the effect of "all you people who have been through this - i get it now.. i get it".. being an actor perhaps up to now he THOUGHT he got the feelings and the fright and the frustration of being "sick" and at the mercy of people who might or might not explain things properly....but he "gets it" now.

and as for me... it applies in a different way... would that no one ever again turns to me and says "i get it now" because i don't want anyone else to ever have to suffer through what they must to "get it".. and frankly .. i wish i didn't "get it" either.

my theme for this month.. it always is.. sadly.. when i first found this song.. 7 years sounded like an age .. now .. seven years truly has gone past.. Green Day...

Madi Diaz

2010-08-18T13:36:00.004-04:00

love the music.. love the music .. love the music..

thanks for the youtube posting madimadidiaz.. love the music...

a quote? sure.. i can muster up a quote....

Home isn't where you live.. it's where people understand you...

guide me...

2010-08-04T14:39:00.006-04:00

there are all sort feeling swirling around these days.... hopefully i will find "my home".. lol

i have not finished my soldier socks that were supposed to be in the mail this week.. i will do and move it along.. see? you should never put them in a project bag or they will grow roots...

quote for today? related but not "by" if you get my drift...

Happy as we were - try as we might, we cannot go back.

another song.. another day..

2010-08-02T19:12:00.002-04:00

you know how i can be with music.. this time i had a way to embed it..

Download this mp3 from Beemp3.com

that is the original video for the song.. but I heard it in a Strike Back video on Youtube..

snarly and snarky

2010-07-27T15:52:00.002-04:00

... that's me..

i can;t push back the feeling; i should be overjoyed and in most ways i am. but something is weighing down the whole mess and i am not doing well fighting it.. so i am snarly and snarky....beware any who venture near...

... i've been productive. sfs ... one sock is ready to kitchener, one is at the toe decreases. yes it is past my weekend deadline to send them but there is another weekend coming up.. i'm already over it and it was probably short-sighted of me to think i would be done and dusted.

...i've been productive... the scots in me (which there is 0) wouldn't let b&c pay to have two pairs of suit pants hemmed with no cuff for 13.00 each... i hemmed them today, and tucked up a pair of my jeans as well , since i had the machine out, the tension fairly okay and the threads all over the floor. i can now wear them without hiking them up to my chin. he picks up the jackets to the suit pants tomorrow.. so i finished first - nanny nanny boo boo

i need to concentrate on the socks now.. they will be done and i will start a cap for a private donation.

i have music.. yay.. i have music....

first off.. johnny cash - redemption day... also johnny cash's cover of "hurt" ... and golden state's All Roads Lead Home.. and madi diaz whereever you are.. which i don't think is on youtube.. thanks as always to the youtube-ers who take the time to put the music up there either as it is or as a video.. all tops of the pops with light and airy...not.. snarly and snarky remember??

taking the calm way...

2010-07-19T23:38:00.007-04:00

.. calm.. peaceful.. no more fist-pumping smileys.. lol .. at least not for now...

i have fast-tracked my sfs socks.. happily i am into the foot on each now and can easily just knit away - so i am hopeful they will be outta here by the end of the week. I do not have any more regulation yarn.. will be ordering for the next shipment ... so i will have to check out the stash and put a pair of leisures on the needles in the meantime. i like doing regulation color socks better as i am thinking there is more of a priority for them.. but no yarn makes that a bit difficult.. lol
by now, it is probably old news.. i've said it here before.. i'll say it again.. sfs? you ask? socks for soldiers, inc. - check out the link... non-profit.. not a scam.. mailing hand made socks to servicemen and women...check it out.. you know you want to. i am a member.. i've knit... several (lol) pairs of socks.. let's just say i can do a heel flap, heel cup and gusset in my sleep...and maybe i have.. LOL - the more things change.. the more they stay the same... olive drab i see you in my dreams.

okay ... slide show finis... til the next time

new music.. sara bareilles king of anything... just edgy enough lyrics to make you smile .. and just sad enough idea to make you close your eyes and think... hate to break it to you babe - but i'm not drowning.. who made you king of anything? ...as always thanks to the poster on youtube.. without it, i don't know how i would share half of the music i enjoy...

a quote.... you know you love them.. too simple is this one.. i need to make some notes on the obscure..

miss hale will not have me.. no one cares for me but you...

woh...

2010-07-18T16:17:00.000-04:00

... i was a little over excited yesterday, wasn't i?

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-17T17:23:00.002-04:00

fist pumping little smiley saying YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - insert it here..

Soaked it last night.. blocked it all last night and this morning.. took it outside to photgraph it and left it there to finish drying.. i think it will be just vine.. i mean fine.. LOL... taking on its last bit of dry under the evening sky...

i'm happy to say it is done.. and i am gusset-ing the second sock for a pair of SFS even as we speak.

step away from the edge..

2010-07-16T21:40:00.003-04:00

.. just do it.. step back.. step back..

count to five and twenty, Tatty Corum and you will be able to be un-vexed.

yeah... right...

stepping away from the edge is so much more difficult on those days when the edge is so much more alluring..

a form of eureka!

2010-07-14T12:53:00.004-04:00

i am very happy to say i've figured out my place in the Leaf Lace Shawl i started about 2 years ago. It was my first foray into any kind of lace work. I did it with worsted weight ultra silk by berroco and ran out of yarn before i could finish. i thought (yeah right) that i had been scrupulous in writing down what repeat/row i should start on.. NOT! Soooooo (lucas north in the washroom so..) i couldn't re-start. Til now!

i determined this would be a finished object this year. Trotted my behind into the studio and sat with the directions, my little row counter complete with rings supposedly telling me which repeat i was on.. and lo and behold.. i was able to figure it out!!!

i have just typed out the edging instructions (need them big bucko) and am going to finish this puppy..

This may not be a eureka to many, but it is to me! And.. what a difference two years makes.. When i first started this project, i needed to single-task. no tv, no audiobooks, no music.. just concentration.. i finished up the repeats last night watching The Deadliest Catch and only needed to glance to make sure i was where i needed to be..

I am done with the heel/gusset on sfs sock 1 and have cast on the leg to foot of sfs sock 2. i will work on them tonite... as i do think concentration of the maximum sort will be needed for the edging on the shawl.

a quote: let's see..

...I believe your daughter and i have already met...

who knew?

2010-07-13T18:37:00.001-04:00

I write like
William Shakespeare

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

film at 11.. so to speak.. i have some things to write about but have to finish up before i can dedicate my time to it.. so.. (arnold).. "i'll be back..."

Natal Days...

2010-07-10T16:04:00.001-04:00

... tomorrow is the natal day of the patriarch of the family ... and tonight we will eat cake (thanks Marie Antoinette) for to celebrate.

cake, anyone?

RAIN

2010-07-09T20:49:00.008-04:00

Rain after 10 days without.. of course on the day i would need an umbrella instead of being firmly ensconced here before the computer.. lol.. it was actually something i could not be annoyed about even IF having to be out in it....lol

i'm working on sock #1 and have finished the heel. picture will follow as soon as i get up and take it. now i will start heel on sock number 2.... aaaah for concurrency.

i bought a pattern for a cowl yesterday from Sue Pandorf (her blog A Few Stitches Short, has great photos so i will only bore you with one) - it is named Strider and is knit from worsted weight wool. I can see gifts here.. LOL

Sue does a lot of fine work with lace/beads/shawls etc... i do not think you will be disappointed in what you see on her blog.

It has been a bit hard not to turn inward lately. I am not sure of the reason. I feel safe in saying that here, since i am pretty certain i am talking to myself.. insert chuckle here..

Last night was a Spooks/MI5 night.. series 7.. the entrance of Lucas North.

a quote... i won't even make you guess...

no new music today.. i am still listening to plastic moon by madi diaz...

"home isn't where you live.. it's where people understand you..."

photo evidence

2010-07-08T11:52:00.007-04:00

gusset underway.. hi little monkey...

i am photo chronicling (which is so not a word) the pair of SFS i am currently doing.. oooh yay bet you are all tingling at the prospect...

but here are the pics so far.. heel flap.. heel cup.. and gusset work.. yay!!

and yes.. that is a flying monkey stitch marker.. from the Wizard of Oz Collection ...lol

the weather is less ominous today.. my mood maybe not so much less....

music? i am listening to madi diaz' new release - plastic moon - you wonder how i have it already? heh heh heh.. i pledged... one of the songs is Let's go... the album version i likey...

quote? quick.. and army like...

I will make this better...

who is mother nature kidding??

2010-07-06T12:06:00.006-04:00

it's 99 degrees F as i type this.. sorry mother nature.. this is not even remotely funny.

no rain in sight either.. what is up with THAT?

dealing with a headache that has me wishing i could unscrew my head from my body today again... but this too shall pass...

can't knit.. can't read... frustrated.. but this too shall pass

missing him like crazy today.. just sayin'.. not so much thinking this will pass...

a quote? okay .. not the usual source though.. someone wrote this on their blog - by toni morrison

"Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that supposed to mean? In my heart, it don't mean a thing."

...in the shade

2010-07-05T13:17:00.003-04:00

they say it will be 100 degrees here this week.. it is not the norm for this part of the country at this time of the year.. but it's summer, so make some ice and sit on it, i guess!

i am trundling through the second sock and have some definite second sock itis... arrrg for not having the 4th circular to be able to concurrently knit these little buggers... but they will be finished by week's end.. or i will stuff them down the garbage disposal.. ooops we don't have one.. oh well

music? this morning whilst watering the little remote patch of grass-green, i shuffled on the ipod and listened to Beth Nielsen Chapman's I Find Your Love -and it made me close my eyes.. and remember a smile....

and then - right into Kelly Clarkson (gotta love the ipod when it shuffles your brain as well as your music!!) telling me how much her life would suck without .. well not me.. but you.. LOL

i've been following a blog with a person who has been graciously posting free hat patterns every month.. the blog is called TANGLED and there are adorable free patterns, some links to not free, but lovely patterns, and some interesting banter.. check it out...

do we want a quote today? someone this morning gave me a lift watching a wibble.. lol

"You don't need henry to explain."

what's showing...

2010-07-01T16:57:00.003-04:00

... something's wormed its way into my day and i am wearing my sad face. Can't shake it; don't know if i totally want to try. I will do my best to see it end with midnight though...

i've received my "legs" for the next pair of sfs socks. i am happy to cast on - i tend to miss soldier socks when i don't have any in rotation. and yes, miss lazy here could start a pair from scratch, but i have the foot down to a science and seem to be able to get much more (and many more pairs) done when i am not burdened by the 12-14" leg.

it doesn't help, i think that today is a very sad day for a close friend. i've a candle flickering in honor, but somehow it doesn't seem like enough...

a quote.. a quote... hmmmm

Cheers Mate...

lovely weather...

2010-06-30T16:14:00.005-04:00

finally!!!

the weather gods have confused the dog days of august with the beginning of summer.. but today it is lovely and not humid like a wet blanket.. there is sun, and it's warm.. but not clingy like nylons... (remember when pantyhose were called nylons? of course not, no one is as old as i am ...)

City Day on Sunday Last - went in and saw the final performance of HAIR.. and decided to make it a double header - saw Next To Normal as well - at "my theater" the Booth.. where i think i've seen way too many plays/musicals. Next to Normal is a dark musical about loss, mental challenges, and how life wraps itself around both... it is powerful and moving but not a Pollyanna type of musical. I highly recommend it, but go prepared. You might be singing the songs when you leave, but you will need a hankie... (omg another old word - WHAT IS UP with me today?)

i am trying to finish the vine and leaf socks i started. and am almost there. but they will be a gift not for me.. ah well... did i post them here? i thought i did.. anyway.. lol

wel i went to check and i didn't post them so let me see if i can get a link or two from flickr...

i've not posted a quote in some time.. now .. have i?

how about..

home isn't where you live - it's where people understand you...

time is unrecoupable

2010-06-22T09:13:00.003-04:00

... watched the finale of the tudors last night. Henry VIII tyrant and wifekiller extraordinaire, uttered those words.. Who knew he would have a brain at the end of the day?

because time is unrecoupable. You can't go back, not even for a minute. You can't make that phone call you said you would but didn't. You can't zig instead of zag; you can't get time to say the missed 'i love you' back. Superman, apparently , cannot fly backwards super fast and make time go backwards.

but.. i wish... he could....'

and ...on to life...

my soldier socks are in the mail.. do not applaud they should have been two weeks ago. lol however.. if you want to vote for SFS in the Chase Community Giving awards (it does NOT cost you a donation) please scroll down or (if i can find the link dooeywhacker) click the link ...

i have a pair of legs ordered so i will be able to do another pair soon. only enough yarn for one more pair before i have to order more.. sooooooo...

i have started a pair of socks for private giving while waiting. there are a couple of pics of the first one done on flickr - if i can figure out how to post them ihere i will

Welcome summer...

2010-06-21T21:56:00.004-04:00

Despite it being morning, the sun is warm - sitting at my outside table nursing a second cup of tea, a book at my side. There should be a sense of peace about - 'tis quiet, save for the birds and an occasional passing truck.. The fountain bubbles along, a constant sound amid the calls and crackles of cat-bird and crow.

There should be a peace about.. there should...

2010-06-18T18:15:00.001-04:00

going... going .. gone...

2010-06-17T14:04:00.002-04:00

Soldier Socks are in the mail... i know i know.. do i want a brass band? no not really - and i hang my head in shame that they've sat here for over a week without washing.. but done is done and dusted is dusted and they are both.. done and dusted. IF you are a member of facebook and would like to vote for Socks for Soldiers on the Chase Charity Giving page.. you can go here.. and vote. please?

had a lovely visit with the offspring, his love of choice, and HIS offspring this past weekend.. happy birthday to him..

also had the chance to actually wrap my hands around a Barnes and Noble "nook" - i am not sure i would benefit from having one long term.. but it would be nice to play...

music? still listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter. ... yup love her..

photos? hmm not really.. well maybe lol

do you ever wonder..

2010-06-07T17:35:00.005-04:00

what makes us head in the directions we head? the idea just washed over me today... i've been doing my best to revamp things.. reclaim things.. renew things.. and i wonder if all the doing and perusing has me in this mood....

hard as it is to believe.. my yarn collection actually m

ight have some sense of order now.. will i do anything with it? who knows.. but at least i DO know what is where... LOL

because of that whole organization binge, i've started on a pair of socks i purchased the pattern for long ago. they are called.. Vine Leaf Socks and are by Polar Bear Patterns - i am knitting them in an overdyed yarn i had packaged with the pattern, so i am totally unaware of what it is.. if i find the ball band i will let you know.. it's a toe-up sock, which i am not totally proficient at, but have nevertheless started.. let's cross our fingers i don't make a mess of it.

I used some opal yarn oddball leftover to make baby socks.. they are cute i think and believe it or not - they match. I did not even attempt to start the second sock exactly as the first.. but it worked out that way.. doo doo doo doo music inserted here please...

music? hmmm.. i've been listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter's new CD - and one of my favorites is Iceland but i also am loving "I Have a Need for Solitude" as always - thanks youtube...

not a quote exactly.. but my favorite never the less...

"and here is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart.. i carry your heart.. i carry it in my heart.."

i didn't really know...

2010-05-10T13:36:00.002-04:00

... just how close to the crossroads i was.. and the desire to run.. well i think abba (and pierce brosnan if you listen to that incarnation) might've had it wrong... lol

Mother's Day was a very nice family day - travelled to the land of Fliars to celebrate with DIL on her first mother's day which had a combo attached - birthday for her! We all went out to eat... followed by a lovely dessert at home - homemade cake and coffee.. with lots of baby ogling thrown in there.. and a good time was had by all...LOL

finishing up a pair of cotton booties.. not much else in the knitting department... long story and not at all pleasant...

... music? nahhhh.. not right now...

quote?

.... ahhhh i'd have done the same thing if i were in your shoes..

standing calmly at the crossroads..

2010-04-29T21:28:00.008-04:00

no desire to run...

there's no hurry anymore.. when all is said and done...

birds of passage you and me.. we fly instinctively...

when the summer's over and the dark clouds hide the sun

neither you nor i'm to blame when all is said and done...

thanks abba... and even though many people might not... thanks pierce...

whistle while you work...

2010-04-28T12:44:00.002-04:00

i promised to try to stop by more often.. so i am ..

... doing up another pair of booties for babies.. woh people are breeding well in captivity these days...

...looking forward to all the intense publicity pre Strike-Back.. and to Strike Back itself!

.. finished that hat - and blocked it - made it simple.. need to photograph it.. will do so promise...

... still have not clapped fingers on the st-denis mags but working on it...

... quote for today...

...His passion is his downfall. That passion came with the birth of his daughter, when he became a father and a husband. It's echoing through his life as a military man and it's becoming a bit of a problem. It makes him question the nature of killing, which is why I was interested in him really as a character....

sun.. and shadow...

2010-04-24T11:50:00.006-04:00

Spring has definitely arrived on the Right Coast.. lol it is just a lovely day here. We are expecting rains tomorrow but .. hehe hehe heh not today.

i am almost done another hat. i have to see if i have pics to upload for you but i am not sure if they are uploaded to somewhere i can link them from (WHAT?????????)

my little blue booties were happily received... so i am glad..

i am thinking there might be a shawl in my future.. hmmm all that stash searching maybe?

and speaking of shawl i am awestruck with Brooklyn Tweed's new offering from the St-Denis magazine newest issue. you can see it http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/ here.

a quote you say??? simple and easy as pie...

"...you don't need henry to explain..."

pack them already!!!

2010-04-21T21:21:00.004-04:00

i've not posted my soldier socks.. i am a poor contributor this year - b this time last year i'd sent in 4 pairs! I am going to make that the work of the day tomorrow.. mark my words...

i've spent the last few days trying to cull through stash yarn, donate what is acceptable, trash what is ugly and lump together birds of a feather. I have a ton of feltable yarn and need to make some of the bags i have drooled over a reality.. ya think?? I love a good knitted bag. something about toting your ... um.. stuff around in something you've made...

I've also worked on the "hoarding site" that is my basement. getting there .. yes .. getting there..

I posted three more hats to the hairless one... i am guessing that by today she's received them. I found a rayon/cotton blend in my stash today that i probably would not make a garment out of, but i would make a hat... LOL

i also found some drop dead gorgeous specimens of yarn and WHAT am i waiting for you might ask??? well there you go.. i love it so much i can't decide on making something. Although i will tell you i have enough to make some outstanding shawls if i would only put my head to it..

speaking of.. Jared Flood aka BrooklynTweed has a lovely kerchief/shawlette on his blog HERE that you should might want to see.. i know it is simple, but it is just simply lovely... i am not savvy enough with increases to chance that i can do this without instruction, but will post this on a back burner and work on it some day.

The whole "cull and trash" business has me in a sixes and sevens mood.... there are always surprises in boxes that are tucked away.... and what you throw away is not the person.. just the things.. but it is hard none-the-less.

New Music? Ahh probably not new to anyone but me, but i have taken a liking to this by Colbie Calliat - some folks are not so much fans... but then don't click okay? I miss everything about you... after all the things we've been through ... i miss everything about you... as someone said about me.. there she goes the "sad song queen"...

i am waiting patiently (not) for Strike Back.. which is so not like something i would normally choose - action hero be damned.. i like the idea of the "flawed hero..." but then ... again... aren't they all?

someday all this writing will go somewhere.. this.. the longhand writing with the fountain pen... all flawed heroes and villains in stories ...

ah... we need a quote don't we..... obscure or obvious? let's do obvious...

...I understand you completely!...

Little Needles... little stitches... little feet

2010-04-18T11:02:00.004-04:00

yes.. they all go together like peas and carrots (thanks for that forrest... no really ... thanks)

i am grafting/kitchenering (i would have never EVthe soles of a pair of tiny blue baby booties for a friend who has just been presented with her first grandchild.. a lovely tiny boy named Sean ... it's a wonderful calm moment making something that will encase a brand new person's toes... film (and photos) at 11...

it's been far too long and i need to make this part of my schedule again i think.. perhaps a bit too long down on the farm??

i've completed my soldier socks.. they are freshly laundered and waiting for the photo op.. perhaps today since they are doing NO ONE any good sitting here looking lonely. I'm out of regulation yarn now.. so i am on to make an order soon... or use some of what i have for leisures.. it's been so long since i've knitted leisure soldier socks ... **sigh**

our little miss had a new sweater for St. Patrick's day and little pink mary-janes for easter - poor angel-face was fighting an ear infection and later a stomach bug... (just in time for easter festivities) but i did get to see her in her easter duds and bonnet... will post of the sweater for sure.. not that everyone in the world is not clamoring to see our girl.. you KNOW you are... LOL

I've also been in the chemo hat business again - i found a really lovely and quick and looking way more complicated than it is hat on Ravelry called the Lotus Hat which is so worth a check out - the link is to the creator's blog and it is a free pattern so do not hesitate.... okay - i will look for my pic of mine.. created out of Tahki Cotton Classic, because it was suddenly summer here on the right coast.. and i know from how hot wigs can be .....

now don'tcha wanna make one?

and in the spirit of returned quotes.....

...i just haven't been able to feel anything.. for a long.. time....

Treading water...

2010-03-05T12:07:00.004-05:00

...or maybe snow if things need to be correct...

... i am still knitting - almost done with a pair of soldier socks (about time, ya think?)

...i am here....

i don't have a quote today... but a song i do... lol get them all the time... you can find it here *

* how sloppy of me - i usually try not to have urls hanging out there like dangling participles... fixed now and much prettier... holy hannah what AM i going on about???

time seems to get away from me

2010-02-22T12:23:00.004-05:00

I'm knitting as fast as i can... i'm blogging not so fast.. lol

I've completed some baby stuff, am working on another pair of soldier socks (down to the round and round)...

I've been away... gotten back.. and might be going away again...

and it's the same no matter how different....

baby knits...

There are others.. hats mostly... and little mitts.. but i have not photographed them.

Soldier Socks i don't always pic... i guess i should... they do mostly look alike though LOL

As for the rest - there has been nothing mostly new here.. i am knitting.. i am sitting.. and life as i know it goes on....

the part of my life with the biggest smile is the baby... i will see her this week after about 2 weeks hiatus... she is a love and just makes me smile from the minute i clap eyes on her til i have to go again... her parents are good to her and for her - and they love her to pieces as we do...

i don't have a quote today - and if i wait to find one, this might not get posted.. LOL

i would love to knit socks for OH and for TH with machine knit legs... but as of now i would feel badly asking someone to knit them who knits for soldier socks. so i bide my time... and with each subsequent "try on" of soldier socks the OH gets a little grumpier.. mmphm.. for the soldiers.. I know.... LOL

if i find a pic of the soldier socks i will post again.. if not.. see you all soon (all?? like anyone reads this LOL )...

weekly... weekly....

2010-01-21T10:53:00.002-05:00

i will try to be weekly... but i may not succeed

this week i am working on socks for soldiers socks.. i can't believe how slowly they go when you only knit 1/2 hour a day...

i've completed the "request hat" - well i am speaking too soon but it will be done today...

and i would like to make a couple more pairs of mittens for my girl... we'll see too...

songbird banking low....

halfway through the first month....

2010-01-18T11:01:00.014-05:00

... i decide to surface. sorry i am not better about regular blogging... lol

i've been off to visit the bairn.. she is just too cute for color tv. she fills up the holes with one tiny smile! a request from the bairn's mummy got her 4 pairs of little baby mitts to keep her little baby fingernails from scratching her little baby face. i did not take pics of them dang myself for not thinking.. but they are a free pattern called from Isanou Knits called Baby Trelawney Mitts - you can see here ... it is also available on ravelry if you are a member there... if you are not a member there and enjoy knitting, it's time to become a member there... LOL. so head on over to www.ravelry.com - i can't seem to get a link to work so you will unfortunately have to cut and paste.

my ever present socks for soldiers socks are getting 1/2 hour a day - it is not the usual constant work, but i am spread a little thinner than usual knitting.

I made two chemo-style caps for a friend who has to deal with that - and have one more made that has not been presented.. and one on the needles. She asked if i had any extra pairs of fingerless gloves so i will be getting a couple pairs of them done for her as well... will check the photos and see if i have them uploaded anywhere.. lol

the above picture is a variation on the pattern "Fetching" on Knitty.com - i just continued the cables up the back side of each glove.

also great news on the friends home front - one of son the younger's best friends got engaged over new years - so i have just finished a pair of handfast mittens for the couple. they need to get going over the ocean so i had better finish up my card and get them mailed! The handfast mitten pattern is from Countrywool and i have made them several times. I like the idea of being able to hold hands and still keep warm.. lol

soooooo (lucas north in the washroom so.. lol) can you tell what i have mostly been doing?

There is a long hiatus between programs i would like to watch on tv now.. i am an NCIS fan, so at least those are new shows... but nothing from .. welll.... you know where.. LOL

hurtling toward a new decade...

2009-12-30T16:27:00.005-05:00

can it actually be 2010 in a couple of days? naaaah... no way not no how nuh-huh...

i am ready to put christmas away and start the next month please. I had a lovely christmas - fully family fundamental - all sort of lovely with our kids and ... yes.. virginia.. their child. She is a wonder - they were wonderful - and all round a lovely time.

but it is quiet in january and no one expects you to be merry and full of comfort and joy. you can sit it out and no one cares... so bring it on...

in the quiet of the winter moon - we remember them...

in the joys we yearn to share - we remember them....

in the rising and setting of the sun - we remember them......

should auld aquaintance be forgot.. and never brought to mind.. should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne.... one of my favorite renditions came to me from sex and the city ... you can listen here.....

a quote... okay .. here you go....

Drink, be Merry, be kind, be thankful.

I wish everyone joy for Christmas, and hope for a happy 2010.

always.....

2009-12-14T12:40:00.002-05:00

awwwww.....

2009-11-27T09:39:00.002-05:00

baby sweater mom8
Originally uploaded by ddhockey

it was his... now it will be hers... lol

is it a birthday? well... we'll see...

2009-11-27T09:36:00.002-05:00

The day of turkeys and pilgrims and stuffing and such has passed. Uneventfully if i do say so myself. The day after that day is a shoppers nightmare. I will not .. i repeat NOT enter into a store that feels the need to whip people into a frenzy by opening at 3 am - the end. Not that they care, by any means, but i just don't think so!!!

Today will bring what it will bring.. or is that who? LOL

i am off to put away dishware and pans - ready to resume real life (hahah not so much)

2009-11-23T14:47:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

news is as news does

2009-11-22T10:18:00.002-05:00

so no news yet on the arrival front. i imagine it is super frustrating for those involved, but do not know of it first hand, since my arrivals were both early not after their scheduled date. Guessing that the date being just a "super educated guess" and guessing that therefore the guessor might have been off by a little.. i am trying very hard not to poke at that - and live in the assurance that when they know something i will know something...

i have sent off possibly my last pair of soldier socks for the year. Having said that, I will set about getting more yarn and possibly legs as of the first and start all over again!

Spooks/MI5 was so intense this past friday i do not know if i can sit and watch beginning to end over again. It had my guts twisted in knots - some fine acting there for RA - Lucas North's torture was evident in his eyes throughout EVERY scene - and i do not even mean those OF torture. I don't think he will fall for the obvious... although in film/tv often men do...

i have ideas for some christmas knitting - yes.. i do believe i should get a shove on.

a quote:

"i saved your life... " "YOU DESTROYED ME!"

since last we spoke...

2009-11-04T15:49:00.004-05:00

...i have not been at all idle... we've attended a baby shower, given a baby shower, traveled to the sunshine state, returned, and have spent one entire week with various and sundry repair people...

tonite.. well tonite is the return of Spooks/MI5... Harry is MIA and Ros and Lucas (ummm we all know who plays lucas yes?) must work beneath the radar to find him in time. it is about to start UK time.. of course i have always depended on the kindness of strangers..... wink wink nudge nudge...

there was a cute little interview with the grid employees up on youtube today - the link you can find here - unless of course they have removed it already.. there are also two previews that you can find here and here.. lol

okay okay i will upload a picture of Mr. Armitage.. aka Mr. Lucas North...

okay.. you want a quote don't you.....

James Bond? Who's James Bond?

it's a climb... this time...

2009-10-14T15:43:00.002-04:00

it's a climb.. this time.. there are so many things i should be shouting from the rooftops about - and yes... and yet....

hopefully it's getting better all the time.. yeah.. okay...

Hand work - still working on socks for soldiers socks.. i have been behind as i have been doing a bit of baby knitting...

... and that as well - um .. the baby knitting.. LOL

Spooks/MI5 starts series 8 in UK on 10/29.. kit off ladies and gents.. start your engines... LOL

when you search.. you just might find...

2009-10-06T09:13:00.002-04:00

... something you'd rather not have in your possession.

sorry to be constantly bringin' down the mood.. climbing up from the pit is not easy this time. there are many many things i have in my brain to do.. and none of them does my body want to cooperate on.

i feel like this, while public, is a quieter forum to mmphm on.. so here i am.. and here i'll stay. happy and peppy elsewhere... promise...

i've gotten past it.. it is yet again in my history...

2009-10-04T14:01:00.011-04:00

it's october and crisp and cool (well... not so much today but it has been) and the month starting with an S has passed into oblivion. Once more.. i've come through the fire and the hollow heart that is that day, and will walk on the other side of it for a while.

in the meantime - today is a happy day. 6th wedding anniversary for the son and bride. They will spend it enjoying a lovely day and i am glad of it...

i enjoyed last weekend's getaway to Chicago - had never been there to speak of (driving through at the speed of sound with b&c and the kids does not count i am imagining) - and really enjoyed being a tourist.... one minor meltdown but i handled it.. i think.. pretty smoothly.. lol... i so enjoyed clapping eyes on people who i had previously not met in person. i got to finally hug a dear dear friend i had never met. it was special. they are friends i will not take the friendship of lightly, as they are just lovely people all 'round.

i knit on socks both on the way out and on the way back. i delivered my little cropped sweater to its recipient in Chicago and i think it was a hit.. i am always nervous and embarrassed when i give someone something i've made.. like.. couldn't you go out and buy something??? lol.. i think they liked it very much - i hope so...

the pattern is from berrocco.com and is a variation of a vintage cropped jacket the pattern is here and pretty easy to do. I love the purple and white buttons i chose.. i think they are too cute. I used Sirdar Legend DK for this sweater so it could be machine washed and dried without incident.

this week i am knitting a wrap sweater for bgw - and working on socks for sfs too. i have to admit i've dropped down in my knitting time on socks to the 30 minutes a day i have promised.. but i do want to try to get other things done for the little wonder that will be bgw.

i will try to post more regularly. honest i will LOL

in honor and respect.. one last look... one last song.. thank you rascal flats.. the song is WHY... and the question is the same...

a quote:

"here is the deepest secret that nobody knows - here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life...and here is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart - i carry your heart - i carry it in my heart..." always

have i mentioned enough times...

2009-09-15T09:40:00.005-04:00

... that i hate september and i wish it would never turn that page on the calendar?

i am doing my best to fight the feeling that i want to hide somewhere and not come out til it is october. i have lovely things planned for this month.. to combat and fight and push back the feelings... so i will fight the battle...always nice to have a little music in the background... here

i have a feeling i will be posting a lot of music in the next little while.. bear with me ... or smack me.. whichever you prefer...

Big news is the new HD 46" tv.. LCD and lovely.. my favorite though is the blu-ray player.. HOLY HANNAH does it do a good job on even mediocre dvds from the past... we were decided on the 52" (well someone.. i will not mention names djw was decided on a 55" um nopey no) but when we got to the store um.. it was way too big. Those stores are way too deceiving with their higher than high ceilings and huge big walls for display. Our tv is perfect thank you kindly..

i am knitting for little initial girl (angel face that she is..)... and for big soldiers.. and have nothing new that's done to share.. but will shortly.. very shortly...

i promised quotes... i had better get back to that...

here's an easy one....

I am free...

as way of a ps...

2009-09-13T10:07:00.003-04:00

look what i found.. LOL

morning.... morning....

2009-09-13T09:41:00.006-04:00

yes tis been yet another while, but i am working on it...lol

i have been doing quite a bit of knitting and it shows pretty well. The shawl i gifted was a large hit, but i cannot find my pics for it, so that unveiling will have to wait.

i finished a baby "day coat/sweater" for BGW and it turned out lovely.

i finished some booties for my dil to gift someone with... and one more pair of soldier socks for SFS

here are pics of the heel - which i always find fascinating.. and the last finished pair ... lol

the new tv comes today... so off i am to make room for it.. LOL i think this will be a bit of a "tv round robin" as they get transferred from room to room.. cross your fingers none get dropped.. LOL

no quote in this post.. i will get back to that - promise!

ps... i still want an iphone

you must remember this...

2009-08-21T14:04:00.005-04:00

... you might not remember me though.. not so good at the blog thing after all.. lol

quick quick to knitting accomplishments. I've sent two pairs of soldier socks to SFS, done and dusted. I have another on the needles.. this team knit thing is the bomb!

I've made a pair of socks for a friend's milestone birthday. They are in a colorway called zinnia because she loves the colors..

I've made a shawl that has not been gifted yet..so.. shhhh...

and will be back i promise soon with pictures...

ps.. i still want an iphone

don't get here as often as i should

2009-06-23T08:21:00.003-04:00

We've done a whole bunch of moving around in the past little while - and i am guessing that i should do a better job at being here to post. I have not posted any links to patterns in a long loooong while and apologize for that. I would like to say I will be better at it, but that might not be true.

So... (Lucas North in the washroom sooooooooo) i am off to the city of ding ding ding and "no more bets". Going to see a friend who is going there - sorta kinda - and plan to have a lovely visit. B&C accompanies so it will also be a getaway for him.

SFS - i am to the round and rounds of another pair of olive drab team knitters.. you know, i can't remember how many that makes this year? Finished a pair of booties for sister's friend - these are getting very easy to do.. hope so, eh? I have also finished a few other pairs for people who have had babies.. i took pictures.. well i think i did.. LOL

TV - this weekend is the last Robin Hood of the season - they have a collosal nerve, those writers, is all i have to say about that...

music? the quintessential - it will be on my playlist for a long long time.. Why is a song by Rascal Flatts that pretty much lays it right out on the table. after all, it's what i ask every day..

you want a quote... don'tcha? hmmmmm

"there must be some good in you yet, yeah? " " You don't know me...."

ps... i still want an iphone

Kelly Clarkson said it all...

2009-06-04T14:03:00.006-04:00

... my life would suck without you.. that song is in my head and doesn't want to leave. Why? i don't know if i can explain it, it's just there.. it is an "ear"something .. my senior status is playing up and I can't remember ear-what.

i am back in business with soldier socks. Got my stash of yarn, my legs to add to and off i am to the races. I was not such a fan of the yarn i was using for the leisures.. so i kept putting off doing them...lol

okay i have said it before and i will say it again - do what you must to see episode 9 of robin hood... take my word for it, you will thank me.

This weekend is the big birthday celebration for Son the Elder, his Bride, and the May birthday people. Son and DIL are off for a week of R&R where there are lots of lakes - don't ask me, I don't know. LOL

and i am off to the land of gators and gator bowls and mickey ... not going to see any of them but rather accompanying my sister on a trip for work to do.. it will have lots of leisure time and will be fun i am sure. But there are definitely "things" that MUST get done. Wish me luck!

Music? hmmmmm was made aware of two emmie rossom songs.. will have to try to figure it out and post later.. Emiie Rossom singing Slow Me Down... and Emmie Rossom Singing Been too long - - go and listen...

a quote.. you are always looking for a quote.. hmmm... here is a series....

"...you made me think.... of someone i used to know... someone who saw good where there was none... she made me a better man...."