Small Knit

I thought I'd try something small to get my knitting mojo back and make a cowl (ravelry link) and whip up a nice, useable FO.  It's portable and so easy to get done.  And, I can use some yummy yarns or use up some yarns!

Here is a look at how it might end up.

ttfn

Well, THAT was Fun (not).

So we Moved. Again. In December.
We must be in some sort of a vortex--move in the month of December once, and you end up repeating the mistake again, and again. And again. The first "recent" move was in December and was a major relocation from Hot-Lanta to Metro DC (McLean, VA). That was NO fun. You know this was no fun for me if you have already read through the rest of this blog. You can get all my complaining. Well, some of it. (There's lots more where that came from.) When you move in December, you have to juggle all the stress of moving, and all the holiday issues and then also all your things are in a STATE (chaos) while you are supposed to be gathering all your well-organized files and receipts for filing with the crooks, er IRS. Our intention was to move to a more "urban" and smaller (smaller--as in easier-to-maintain, as in MORE TIME TO KNIT!!!!) place. We put our house on the market before the whole financial world fell apart and just before the vultures started picking clean the bones of anyone selling a house. Fair Market Value: Fair market value of a home is the price that both a buyer would be willing to pay and a seller would be willing to accept WITHOUT UNDUE OUTSIDE PRESSURE. We no longer live in the same America I grew up in. And Fair Market Value does not exist anymore. Mortgage: did you know that the word means "Death Pledge"? The "American Dream" has turned into the American Nightmare.

This is one of the things that keeps me sane:

Just as we (myself and two daughters) were really getting some knitting momentum all h*@% broke loose. I haven't knit much (or paid attention to this blog) much since. We thought, "instead of 3 & 1/2 baths and miles kitchen space to keep clean, let's look for a smaller place;   hows' 'bout  One Bath and One half bath."   (We're all compact and efficient with our stuff--what we want is more time.) Well.  We ended up in a gorgeous townhouse, which is really the thing to do in metro DC. It is like PULLING TEETH to get work done on a house here. In a townhouse, if you play your cards right, you can get low- , almost no-maintenance situation. The outside is all landscaped and maintained and ours is so nice to come home to.   But.  Five and a half baths!  Opps, we did it again.  (I'm calling Maid Brigade.)

This also keeps me sane and happy:



Make it a great day. You are the only one who can.

Busy Fall and Christmas

We've had quite a whirlwind Fall and Christmas! Daughter #2 is in training for Russian Vaganova Ballet. Quite serious she is, and classes and rehearsals nearly every day (off Thursdays, and Sunday!) Every December they perform a new version of The Nutcracker Ballet. SO, this makes for a busy Fall right off the bat. Then, there were kitties, and knitting of course! and visiting family, and truckloads of leaves (beautiful this year) and more.
































I'll leave a little photo tour for now, and come back with more comments when time allows.

ARE YOU NICE?

Well, I can only read this stuff in small snippets.

ReadThisArticle!!!


If you are not eating anything right now, and you have a strong heart, go read the article about sheep.

I thought that surely Knitters would know about this, and DO something. I've seen what can happen when Knitters set their minds to it and take action. Well, I was horrified to read about Merino Wool (mostly from Australia, New Zealand, and some other places--read labels, check sources) ABUSE. I'm more surprised to find that many Knitters I've written to don't even respond. What's UP with THAT? Either people don't know, or they don't care. I HAVE to believe that they care, and they just don't know. We'll see. This shows the real story: photos of innocent sheep . And, sorry I had to be the one to inform you, but it's "got" to stop! If you agree, here is info on how everyone can help: What We Can Do.

Just a little over a year ago, there were no knitters in our house. Now, there are two Knitters (DD and me), and one little knitter (youngest DD). When we found out the real story about Merino, it made us SICK.
Our stash is shamefully (wonderfully) LARGE, with three of us always finding more wool. You can imagine! BUT. We check what we are buying before we buy. (You should, too.)



If you are brave, and if you really care, read up and let me know what you think! Help spread the word.

KTS 3 BOUNTY

Look at all these goodies from my swap pal, Isobel! Luscious yarns in my favorite colors:











And check out that dessert!!! Talk about tea and cakes! Well, she didn't SEND the cake, exactly. But the recipe book with that, and lots more, in it. And how about that cute pack with hand cream, a tape measure, marker, pen and all. Then the tea! I've never even seen such a fancy tea infuser, and now I have a fancy tea infuser. We can really make a "proper" cuppa' tea now.






























Isobel even sent a gift for each of our three children. They were so excited. It was fun for them to help me open the box and see all the tea and yarn and goodies, but they really felt special having a gift of their own in there. That was SO thoughtful, and I appreciated that lots n' lots.














And there was CHOCOLATE, of course. Yummy kinds we don't have in the U.S. We do have Walkers, but these are not the same Walkers as in Ireland. I'll do my own version of a taste comparison later (Walkers from U.S. vs Walkers from Ireland). But, I can tell you right now, they're both very yummy.

Thank you, again, Isobel. Your swap package to me could not have been more wonderful. I'll be posting some FOs with my new yummy yarns (and needles--did you see them, Peace Fleece needles!!!!), but do NOT hold your breath. I haven't been knitting TOO long. I do get there, but speed-knitter, no.

Books by the DECADE

So, we are going to document our reading this summer thanks to a challenge over here. I'm joining the challenge mostly to accompany and encourage our children. LORD knows I am busy enough and probably won't need to add something like this to my schedule. But. They found the challenge, and I am NOT going to discourage reading! Besides, I found some books I'd really like to read (or reread).



"Attorneyback" just got back from camp, and so he has a lot of deciding to do, to finalize his list. He will likely read twice as many books as he is listing, so it will not be a problem. He just has been away for two weeks, and is EXhausted right now.

Here is the list for "Attorneyback" , for (20) books, so far:

2000's. TBA
1990's. TBA
1980's. Bourne Identity
1970's. God In The Dock, C. S. Lewis
1960's. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee.
1950's. Hornblower, C. S. Forester
1940's. There Is A Tide, Agatha Christie
1930's. Flying Colors, C.S. Forester
1920's. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, C. S. Forester
1910's. TBA
1900's. The Sea Wolf, Jack London
1890's. TBA
1880's. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
1870's. TBA
1860's. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky
1850's. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
1840's. The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas
1830's. Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
1820's. Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott
1810's. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen


Here is the list of (15) books for little "PinkBalletToes":

2000's. The Tale Of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
1990's. Running Out Of Time, Margaret Peterson Haddix
1980's. Sweet Valley High/Lost At Sea, Francie Pascal
1970's. Nancy Drew/The Mysterious Mannequin, Carolyn Keene
1960's. Harriet The Spy, Louise Fitzhugh
1950's. Mary Poppins/In The Park, P.L. Travers
1940's. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint Exupery
1930's. Mary Poppins Comes Back, P.L. Travers
1920's. The Fairy Caravan, Beatrix Potter
1910's. Daddy-Long-Legs, Jean Webster
1900's. Secret Garden, Frances Eliza Hodgson
1890's. Blue Fairy Book, Andrew Lang
1880's. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
1870's. Little Men, Louisa May Alcott
1860's. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
(and might read more!)


Here is the beginnings of my list. (I am still exhausted from getting kids home and settled from camp, but I promise I will work on my list this weekend!)

List of (12) books for "KathyinDC" is as follows: (as you can see, I want to totally "live/read" in the past, heh)

1940's. The Diary Of A Young Girl, Anne Frank
1930's. Murder At The Vicarage, Agatha Christie
1920's. Mysterious Affair At Styles, Agatha Christie
1910's. The Tale Of Mrs. Tittlemouse, Beatrix Potter
1900's. Heretics, G. K. Chesterton
1890's. Personal Recollections Of Joan Of Arc, Mark Twain (he states this as HIS favorite of all his writings)
1880's. A Study In Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1870's. TBA, undecided.
1860's. TBA, undecided.
1850's. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens (the book he wrote midpoint of all his books, and his most "autobiographical")
1840's. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
1830's. Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo

Ninja-Kitty.

First, some seasonal Eye Candy for you:















Now, the ceilings. See what I mean? Those are 25 feet UP! It literally took 2 1/2 years to find anyone willing to climb up there and paint all of it. It looks nice. With the white (primer-white) gone, all the angles just look striking, not disturbing.
Check out crazy ninja-cat!!!! She even jumps from the top of the cabinets to that window sill 20 feet up and sits there looking outside! She's a wild 'thang'.