Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Photos


This is a picture of my Knitter's Treasure Swap package from Nancy. I love the Kool-Aid dyed yarn colors.


This is the book I bought for myself. Alan Dart's Irresistible Gifts to Knit.


This is the Watkin's giveaway that I won a few weeks ago.





These are the view of the sunset from my back porch.


These are shots of the hummingbird at the feeder.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

10 on Tuesday

10 Words People Would Use to Describe You

Stubborn
Crazy
Weird
Silly
Friendly
Creative
Smart
Funny
Loyal
Introverted

Monday, April 27, 2009

The Highwayman

Since today is my birthday, I thought I would share my favorite poem as a gift to you:

The Highwayman
PART ONE
I

THE wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

II

He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.

III

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

IV

And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say—

V

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

VI

He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet, black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonliglt, and galloped away to the West.

PART TWO
I

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching—
Marching—marching—
King George's men came matching, up to the old inn-door.

II

They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

III

They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They had bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now, keep good watch!" and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say—
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!

IV

She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

V

The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain.

VI

Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up, straight and still!

VII

Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him—with her death.

VIII

He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

IX

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
* * * * * *
X

And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding—
Riding—riding—
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

XI

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard;
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Weekend Report

This weekend was fairly quiet.

On Friday, I came home to find my Knitter’s Treasure Swap package had arrived. It was very exciting. It contained the following:
  • Three skeins of yummy yarn
  • One big skein of Kool-Aid dye yarn
  • Homemade stitch markers
  • A sheep shaped bar of soap (which coincidentally, I sent the same one to her)
  • A notepad
  • A measuring tape
  • Some Starburst
  • 24 Hour Knitting project book
  • Tea
  • A handmade quilted project bag
This list is from the top of my head and I may have overlooked something. I am going to post pictures tomorrow since I forgot my camera today. Thanks goes to SwknitsMN.

Later that night, we watched Order of the Phoenix which wrapped up our Harry Potter marathon. I also worked on my sister’s Christmas present which was a bit of a disaster. I worked the first part of the pattern and got about 20 rows in when I was supposed to change colors and realized I had done it backwards. I knit brown where it was supposed to be white but I fixed it.

The screw up on this project just confirmed that I am a spaz sometimes when it comes to knitting. Take for example, the Easiest Baby Blanket for Melissa's baby. This blanket is worked with one strand of Caron Simply Soft in pastel variegated and one strand of Bernat Baby in purple. I was plugging away on it and got to where I had about a foot of the Simply Soft left and realized that I forgot about the border on the edge. It is supposed to have 8 rows of garter stitch but I don't have any more Simply Soft left. Well, no problem right? I'll just unknit it and put the edge on. Well, apparently I did not go back enough so it didn't work right. Instead it reversed the stockinette pattern on the wrong side. So unknit again, drop a stitch, pick it up before the whole thing gets ruined, and try again. Repeat same mistake. Finally, say "to hell with it" and put it down before I kill someone and move onto another project for the time being. (Interestingly, when I went through my scrap yarn for the new project, I came across another small scrap ball of Simply Soft which means I can continue making the Easiest Baby Blanket in the correct size.)

On Saturday, Princess Ivi and I got up and gave Nyx a bath after we picked a tick off of her. She was very good for her bath. She really liked being scrubbed. Then we took her to the flea market. This woman was there with upholstery fabric for $2 a yard. I found some really nice fabric to re-upholster a couch mom has for me. (We won’t do it until just before we are ready to move out.) The fabric is cream with turquoise, yellow and green wavy lines. I like it and at $2 a yard, you can’t beat it.

We also picked Nyx up a bag. She is so small and she is still skittish around people that we needed something so we didn’t have to carry her all the time. She liked the bag once she realized that we were still there beside her.

When we got home, I made chicken tenders with honey-chipotle barbecue sauce, fries and salad. (This is the dish Princess Ivi orders every time we go to Applebee’s and it was really easy to recreate.)

We watched...ummm....something while I worked on Marci’s gift and then I talked to her until the wee hours of the morning.

On Sunday, we went to Michael’s. I picked up some clearance wrapping paper with cute elephant’s on it and a few goodies for my envelope swap partner. Then we went to Red Lobster for my birthday dinner. It was tasty. Princess Ivi gave me a beautiful necklace she beaded herself and a little statue she painted. (The statue is one my mom made). I will post pics tomorrow.

After we got home, I did laundry, knitted, watched Last Cake Standing and went to bed.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Friday Fill-Ins!

1. Apparently there's some sort of belief by everyone in the office (except me) that I am the only one who needs to answer the telephone.

2. Today is a sunny day.

3. 2009 is okay so far. Sometimes it is great, sometimes it sucks.

4. Oh, yeah, that was it.

5. For too long I've been fighting with the child support system and seeing absolutely zero results.

6. I am not obsessed with the Easiest Baby Blanket; I am not! Just because I have frogged it 8 times for the edge does not mean I am obsessed.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sitting on my butt working on my sister's Christmas gift, tomorrow my plans include doing laundry and possibily tackling my yarn stash and Sunday, I want to eat lobster at Red Lobster where Mom and Princess Ivi are taking me for my birthday (which is Monday)!

Happy Birthday Isaac!!!!



So today is a super special day. On this day four years ago, my nephew Isaac was born and he brought light into everyone's life. I thank God everyday for bringing him into our world. And I thank God for the strength of my sister and her husband who handle all the challenges of having a child with Down Syndrome and Isaac's health issues like champions. And, of course, I thank Him for the great doctors and nurses who cared for Isaac when he was in the NICU.

I wanted to send a special message to Isaac:

Isaac,

You have come so far in your life over the past four years and I am so very proud to be able to be your aunt. I love you so much and I can't wait to see how much you change and grow in the coming years. I miss you sweetie but I am always thinking of you!!!

Love , Aunt Len

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Update

I am still plugging away on the easiest baby blanket for Melissa’s new baby. I should be done tomorrow.

I also have been working a little on the Spiral Tube Socks. They are very slowly coming along.
Nothing else is new for the moment.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Friday Funnies

You get a little moody sometimes but I think that’s because you like to read. People that like to read are always a little f**cked up. — Pat Conroy

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

What it's all about


Quotes

I collect quotes. I try to write them down in a composition book but most of the time, I scribble them on a scrap piece of paper or print it out and stick in loose in the book. Here are some that I found to add to my faves:




there are worse things than being alonebut it often takes decades to realize thisand most often when you doit’s too lateand there’s nothing worsethan too late. — Oh Yes - Charles Bukowski

To live in this world
you must be ableto do three things:to love what is mortal;to hold it
against your bones knowingyour own life depends on it;and, when the time comes to let it go,to let it go. — from "In Blackwater Woods" by Mary Oliver

I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know? — Ernest Hemingway

Use what talents you possess, the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. — Henry Van Dyke

There is a light that never goes out and it’s called hope. — Morrissey

Don’t do anything by half. If you love someone, love them with all your soul. When you go to work, work your ass off. When you hate someone, hate them until it hurts. — Henry Rollins
When life gives you limes, make margaritas. -Unknown.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them. — Dalai Lama

Sometimes, love lost does not hurt half as bad as a love that never had a chance to grow. Sometimes you meet people that change everything, but more often, you change everything for someone you never even meet. — Tyler Knitt

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. — Albert Camus

Hate is just a word for somebody you love but no longer believe in. — Hugh Macleod

Found

Yesterday morning I was flipping through the closet and saw a pair of jeans. Or at least I thought they were jeans. It was tough to tell since I hadn't put my glasses on. Unfortunately, I couldn't wear jeans yesterday.

But this morning, I went and grabbed them and they are jeans. They are the missing jeans and I am so happy that I found them. My life is complete again.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter at the Beach

How was everyone’s Easter? Mine was good. I surprised Princess Ivi with a bag of Easter goodies. I had commented to her on Tuesday that I hadn’t gotten anything for Easter and she said "That is okay, Mom. I am 13, you know?" But she enjoyed her bag of goodies just the same and I think she enjoyed it even more because she wasn’t expecting anything. Then we had an improv Easter egg hunt. Mom had hidden 28 eggs and she even put money in some so Princess Ivi made $9.15.

We took a spur of the moment trip to Flagler Beach. It was nice. We took Nyx with us. We were a little worried at first because I think the last time she was in a car was when she was dumped off in the middle of nowhere. But once she realized we weren’t going to do that she was good. And she didn’t get carsick. She seemed to like the sand but she had no interest in the water though.




The drive home was nice because we took a few minutes to drive up the coast and point out all of the houses we would buy if we had a million dollars. About halfway through this adventure, I remembered that I really don’t like the beach so I am not sure that I would own a beach house.

Once we got home, we had a late dinner of honey ham, scalloped potatoes (homemade, of course) and coleslaw. It was yummy.

Princess Ivi’s spring break started today but I had to get ready for the work week. I wish I was home with her instead.

And I just realized that I forgot to buy the Sunday paper. Damn. Maybe I should break down and get the subscription since I keep forgetting. But then I have to decide what paper to get: there is our very disappointing local paper that has local sales flyers and no coupons, the Gainesville Sun that has coupons and the Michael’s coupons and drones on and on about the Gators, or the Florida Times Union that has coupons, Michael’s coupons but no local sales flyers and covers more of the Jacksonville news. Hmmm...I guess that is the trouble with living in the middle of the two.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I found a new favorite recipe. It was the Creamy Asparagus Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes from Cooking Pleasures magazine (from Cooking Club of America). It was so good and I will definitely make it again. It would be yummy with chicken or shrimp too. Here is a pic from the magazine:



Also, the Knit Witch posted this website and asked that you go and vote for the reusable bag her husband designed. It is great so GO VOTE and then spread the word to your friends.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter

When I was a kid, maybe nine years old, I saw the Easter bunny. He was six feet tall, with a straw hat that his ears poked out of and a puple vest. He wasn't a costumey-type (wow, I am making up words now) rabbit. He was a real rabbit. Just very big. Of course, I told my parents and they just laughed it off. But I can still vividly recall seeing him. Which I guess means that I am crazy.



Anyway, I wanted to wish you all a Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Here is a basket for you with goodies in it.



Friday, April 10, 2009

Finally Friday

Yesterday reminded me of how superstitious people are. I went to the grocery store for work and my change was supposed to be $6.66 but the cashier wouldn't even say it so I gave her a penny so my change back would be $6.67. It was cute.

My previous post when I was talking about Joann's and all the goodies I bought, I forgot to metion that I saves $20.08 because I had a 20% coupon so it wasn't too bad.

Here is a quote from one of my favorite authors....
Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. - Kurt Vonnegut

Well, it is Friday and I am exhausted and crabby so I will refrain from posting to avoid the whiney post.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Weekend Catchup

So, I feel like such a slacker. I haven’t posted in a while but I have been so busy at work that I haven’t had time to blog. Imagine that? That is the trouble with only having a computer at work and not at home.

So here is my wrap up for the weekend....

Friday
After getting off of work, I headed home and sat through Twilight with Princess Ivi. It has some cute lines in it but I don’t like Kristen Stewart. I felt like she had no personality and she really isn’t a good actor. It was hard for me to forget about Cedric when seeing Robert Pattinson but I did it and it was funny to see Princess Ivi get all worked up about her favorite characters (Edward, Emmett, Jacob, notice a theme going). While watching the movie, I worked on a secret project for the Swaps on a Budget Ravelry swap.

Oh, I was also surprised by my mom’s boss who picked me up a knitting bag filled with yarn, crochet hooks, circular needles, stitch holders and stuff. She found it at a yard sale and the yarn is good quality (4 whole skeins) and nothing stinks which is good.

Saturday
Princess Ivi and I spent the day together. First, we cashed my paycheck and paid my car payment. Once the business stuff was done, we went to CVS and loaded up on Twizzlers, gummy worms and Andes mints (don’t ask) and headed to the movie theater to see Fast and Furious. This movie was surprisingly good. I was worried it would be a stinker after the second and third doses of Fast and Furious but I think this worked because it had the same original people in it. And of course, the hot cars that were worth drooling over. My one complaint, neither Vin Diesel or Paul Walker took their shirts off. Pooh!

After the movie, we headed to Wallyworld for groceries and Key Lime Pie. Dinner consisted of bratwurst and salad. Dessert was Key Lime Pie for me and Chocolate Silk for Princess Ivi. I love Edwards frozen pies.

We watched Lifetime Movie Channel’s Nora Roberts’ Collection, High Noon. This was much better than the last movie because these people could act. It had the girl who plays Claire from Lost and the guy who used to be on Jack and Jill (on the CW).

Then, of course, I talked to my sister until about 1:30 a.m. which is what I do every Saturday. This Saturday was spent doing crossword puzzles. I know, we are a strange family but when your best friend lives 1200 miles away, you find ways to do the things you enjoy together. It helps that we both have Go Phones so it is free for us to call each other. (Well, we get charged the $1.00 per day usage fee but the minutes are free which is a good thing too since we are on the phone for about 2 hours every Saturday.)

Sunday
On Sunday, Princess Ivi and I headed to Gainesville. But first we had to go to Beall’s and pick up a purse like mine for Mom. Her’s is black. Mine is pink so we can tell the difference. I also bought a really cute purple bag that I am going to use for my knitting bag when I go to the SnB meetings.

When we walked out of the store, all we could smell was yummy Chinese food so we hopped in for an egg roll each. It was cute to see the boy (probably 14 or 15 years old) staring at Princess Ivi.

Then, we went to Joann’s for the Customer Appreciation sale. We bought some goodies for my swap partner in the Knitter’s Treasure Swap on Ravelry as well as some beading supplies, a quilt kit for my friend’s baby, some ribbon for Princess Ivi and some thread for mom.

After Joann’s, we stopped in at Hank’s Yarn and Fiber to stroll through. I did good and I didn’t buy any yarn but I did pick up something for my swap partner.

Then we had to run to Michael’s to find a frame. No luck but Princess Ivi found the Twilight poster that she had been looking or and I found some items with sheep on them and I couldn’t resist.

On our way home, I was struck again with how attractive Princess Ivi was when a young man on a motorcycle almost crashed into a truck and toppled over because he was too busy staring at her. My baby is growing up.

Once home, we had dinner of seafood salad subs. Then, it was laundry and getting ready for the week.

Monday, April 6, 2009

I won something...

I am so excited. I won something. I entered the giveaway that designergirl007 was having here for Watkins spices and I won. The set includes Cinnamon, Granulated Black Pepper and Vanilla.

I never win anything so I am every excited.

I am going to post my weekend catch up later this afternoon.