New Beginnings Shawl - Done!

and, ah hah, I knit.  This is the New Beginnings Shawl, a Facebook KAL.  I title this one yarn vomit.  It is unblocked but finished shawl.  It has beads, etc.  The pattern was free to those of us who participated in the KAL.  Four clues distributed over four weeks.  Great fun!

This is Zachariah helping me block the shawl.  He loves to help block the yarn vomit until it turns into a loverly piece of knitting.  I love having him help me block my knitting.  In fact, as soon as I rolled out the foam, he actually put down his Ipod and jumped down to help me.

and this is the final blocked piece of work.  I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed doing this.  It was with Caron Simply Soft Light yarn in Hawaiian Sky  (a better pic of the color is below).   It isn't really green but more of an aqua/blue, like, oh, a Hawaiian Sky!  

I don't remember what the variegated yarn was but I had in my stash.

I used a multitude of a variety of different color beads.  The beads go up the "Y" and various other places, including a beaded bind off (a new technique learned).  

 There is a new KAL being started in March.  I already have my fingering weight yarn, in black (gasp) for that KAL.  If you want to join in the fun, go to the link above for this KAL on Facebook.

What a way to start the new year

I started off this year with a bang.  Our first day back to work went well.  Budgets, budgets and other budgeting issues (all having to be done by the 15th and having several office administrators putting things off to the last minute like, oh, I don't know, their budgets).

After lunch on the 4th, I didn't feel too well.  We were getting lots of snow and I got home right after Dave, Lindsey and Zachariah.  Of course, the first question out of everyone's mouth was "what's for dinner."  Sigh.  So, we had left overs.  We had crackers and cheese, potstickers, kielbasi.  I went to bed by 9:30 (the last one to hit the sack) and woke up at 2:00 in pain.  Turns out I had to have my gall bladder removed but because I had sooooo many gall stones and a couple had blocked my pancreas, I was also suffering from pancreatitis and was severely dyhydrated.  I ended up not having surgery until that Thursday.  I go back to work this coming Tuesday. 

So, I knit and frogged and reknit and organized my knitting patterns and some yarn.  The one thing that I did finish was baby booties for Erich and Caity's baby. 

These were made with Bernat's Baby Jacquard.  I had already finished the sweater and cap but didn't get a picture of the cap.  The baby shower was the Saturday after my surgery and while I had plans on going, I decided that I just couldn't which meant that I had time to make the slippers. 

Since we were celebrating Zachariah's 9th birthday today, I had until today (or actually last night) to get the booties done.  The pattern I used came from Megan Mills. 

And here are some pictures from Zachariah's birthday . . .  except for the pictures of Zachariah, Zachariah took the pictures. 

He is into music so we had a musical cake.

Adn we also got the drums to go with the Wii and Lindsey and Andrew put them together:

And Zachariah had to blow the candles:

Caity and Erich have another little girl, Ava, who just turned two.   She is very cute and funny and got very, very tired.

And this is my youngest sister, who is Erich's Mom and Ava's grandmother.  She would love to knit except that she goes nuts with the patterns that are K, P, K2T, PSSO . . . so she either crochets or rewrites patterns so that everything is all spelled out.  We laugh.  This picture doesn't do Jeanne justice.  She is incredibly pretty. 

And this is my other younger sister . . . she also knits but does more crocheting because she does lots of afghans and such.

Over Jacquie's left shoulder is one of my older sisters.  She is a knitting, spinning, plying, dyeing fiend.  She sat and almost finished a sock during the party.  She is a show-off. 

And here is Mary (Jacquie's youngest daughter . . . her kids are 29, 27, 25 and 7 . . . and you thought I was nuts with kids that are 23, 15 and 9), and MacKenzie (who is 4-1/2 and Hayden, who just turned 3).  MacKenzie and Hayden are Jacquie's grandchildren. 

First Day of School 2009 - 2010 school year

Yes, today is the first day of school . . . specifically, it is Zachariah's first day in 4th grade. He announced last evening that he did not want to go to 4th grade. He doesn't like writing in cursive or using pens. His solution is that he just won't go.


The students are allowed to wear their gym clothes to school until Labor Day. At that time, they have to switch to their uniforms (yellow or light grey polo shirts (ughhhhh . . . the principal obviously doesn't have a young son), navy blue or black dress pants, black/brown dress shoes).

Zachariah doesn't know it yet, but they might be splitting his class into two classes. Currently, there are 33 students enrolled in 4th grade. If they split his class, he will have Sister Marietta. Woo hoo. Here's hoping. They are going to wait to decide to split until all the students show up. Lame. If anything, they will end up with MORE than 33 students not less than 33 students.

More Zachariah and Thunder

Simple Woman's Daybook - 12/15/08

FOR TODAY ~ Monday, December 15, 2008

The very first law in advertising is to avoid the concrete promise and cultivate the delightfully vague. - Bill Cosby

Outside my Window... it is 54 degrees and raining. The temperature is supposed to drop all day long, bottoming out at 30 degrees.
I am thinking... I am glad that I wore my winter coat
I am thankful for... getting our Christmas tree up and decorated
From the kitchen... t-bone steak, baked potatoes, carmelized onions and mushrooms, sliced apples
I am creating... mittens for Lindz to match the hat she got at Target.
I am going... to buy a new camera for me.
I am wearing... black jacket, purple shell, black slacks and shoes
I am reading... nothing. too much to do
I am hoping... to get my Christmas cards done this week . . . well maybe by next Monday.
I am hearing... the cars in the rain
Around the house... tree is up, break-front is cleaned, upstairs hall looks like a disaster
One of my favorite things... cleaning the break-front. It has glass shelves and looks so nice and neat.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... meeting tonight at Lindz' school, taking her to swim practice in mornings.
Here is a picture thought I would share with you... Dave decided that the pool needed a pool. Zachariah had so much fun in the pool's pool. I decided that given the yucky weather, I would share something from the beautiful summer!

Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 10/06/08

FOR TODAY ~

People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
-- Dan Quayle

Outside my Window... it is raining. It wasn't supposed to rain. My umbrellas is in my living room, at home and I am at work.
I am thinking... I am going to get wet going home unless it stops raining.
I am thankful for... being able to feel the rain and hoping that this will be the most difficult or tiresome thing I have to deal with all day . . . . LOL . . . that is so funny!
From the kitchen... nothing . . . we went out last night
I am creating... finished Zachariah's ELF hat. Started Mary's. Frogged Mary's. She has such a tiny little head. I think I may have to drop another ten stitches.
I am going... to journal all my food this week. I have been doing rather well in this whole lifestyle change thingee
I am wearing... black slacks, purple shell, black sweater . . . woo hoo, two weeks in a road that I didn't wear red on a Monday!
I am reading... Dead until Dark (the October read for Whoduknit)
I am hoping... to get Mary's hat done soon so I can start Janet's bag. I frogged the MS4 again, sending beads and yarn flying. I cannot do it when people bother me.
I am hearing... birds . . . there are birds in the trees outside my window
Around the house... Dave is home today (Polish Festival at school). Therefore, dinner will be ready, all the sheets will be washed and he will probably vacuum. He is so good.
One of my favorite things... DAVE (see above)
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Dave's birthday is tomorrow (57). My birthday on Thursday (54). That's it.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Dave made an appointment to close the pool next week. This is a pic of one of the first times Zachariah was ever in the pool. He loves the water and spending time in it. He takes swimming lessons on Saturday mornings. It is great fun. He was seven months old in this pic.

Zachariah and Mary

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.
-Henry David Thoreau

Zachariah and Mary
Originally uploaded by mlj1954ohio

Zachariah and Mary. . . .

They are 15 months apart in age and are siblings. Dave and I adopted Zachariah. My sister, Jacquie and her husband, Mike, adopted Mary.

They are also half-siblings to our daughter Lindsey.
And they do have a great time together . . . most of the time. LOL.

Dresses and fish

Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.
-- W. H. Auden

Not the best pictures but . . . Sarah needed a dress for a wedding. She found one but wouldn't model it for me. We also found these two dresses for Lindsey for homecoming and winter formal. The black one actually has ruffles that run up and down the dress. She already has jewelry and shoes to go with it.














The cream dress is actually very pretty. It has a "balloon" bottom, which I generally don't like nor does Lindsey. However, she put this on and all three of us decided that when you wear a size 1, a balloon dress is okay! LOL.















A good friend of my family moved from Cleveland to Texas this past January.

Yesterday, we received a box from Frontgate which contained two of these fish. They are battery operated "blow fish." Even though it was soon to be Zachariah's bedtime, we added the batteries and went back out to the pool. He had a blast.

These are pretty awesome things and he just had such a great time.

By the way, he has actually gained weight this summer. Lots of sunshine and he has been eating like a horse . . . well maybe a very small horse, but substantially more than he usually does. He had been to the endocronologist earlier this summer and weighed 38 pounds (no weight gain for three years) but grew 2 inches (the first time in two years) up to 45 inches. Yesterday, he weighed 41.5 pounds and is 46 inches. Woo hoo . . . and he doesn't look like a war orphan any more either!

Photos and other stuff

This is, of course, Zachariah. We had been shopping and he picked out the shirt and then dug out the jeans. He is Mr. Cool and, I actually think, he is getting bigger. His hands and feet seem to be getting larger but he is still weighing in at 38 pounds. Wishful thinking on my part but what the heck. He will be 7 in January and the jeans are a size 5 slim.

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The weather in Cleveland this fall has been incredibly weird. It has been unseasonably warm with minimal rain . . . clearly reminescent of the summer months. But then sometimes, the Lake Erie cloud machine kicks in and we get very strange looking skies. This pic doesn't do the sky or the lake justice. It was Wednesday morning. The waves were not breaking over the the breakwall at all, which is strange when the clouds look like those overhead. In the distance however, you could see where the clouds ended and there was a very clear band of sunshine. The very strange funny looking building on the top left is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is actually very awesome and a great place to visit, but don't expect to be able to see all in one trip. Right next door to it is the Great Lakes Science Center and next to that is the Cleveland Browns Stadium.
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The train station in Cleveland is at the "top" of 9th street, or actually, the north end of 9th Street. Actually, the trains run directly next to our building. The Quicken Arena is south on 9th street.

Anyway, every year when the circus comes to town the elephants and horses get loaded off the train, come up a ramp and around a corner onto 9th Street and walk right passed our building. Seriously, right passed the building. It is so totally fun and we all act like little kids with our faces pressed against the window or, better yet, going down to street level so that we are RIGHT THERE. When I move my office, I am going to be on the first floor (which is not AT street level but one floor up).

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On Friday, I received my WhoduKnit Trick or Treat package from Mary Aman! It is a great package and this photo doesn't do it justice.

The book is The Segwick Curse by Shawna Delacorte
Two skeins of Lion Brand, Fancy Fur in brilliant blue
A pattern for a fuzzy neck gaiter
A candle and candle holder
Hand soaps
Grapefruit foot massage cream
and, finally, a magnetic notepad.

Thanks Mary. It is a great package.

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Yesterday, I spent the morning in training to be a Board of Elections "judge." Ohio and Cuyahoga County in particular are not known for their election stability. While the trainer and assistant were great, the whole set up was stupid. There were about 15 of us, several of us had been told different times and different locations. And then there were people asking really stupid questions. The State of Ohio requires proof of identification. It is clearly spelled out what is accepted and that if the people that come do not have the proper identification, they cannot vote electronically. They can vote provisionally (paper ballot) but will have to show their identification with 10 days. "Ummm, if someone comes and let's say that they have moved and ummm, they don't have anything with their current address on it, they aren't allowed to vote, right?" DUHHHHH. EVERYONE is allowed to vote. The proof of identification can be a utility bill or bank statement. This is not that difficult. Seriously not that difficult. It should be interesting.

refreshing and refinishing

Zachariah is 6. He also only weighs 36 pounds and is 45" tall. He has been using a booster seat FOREVER. While on vacation, we didn't bring his seat. It is very portable but we decided not to schlep it around. Well, one of the advantages is that he keeps his elbows off the table.

About six months ago, Dave and I were in Joann's. He puts fake trees and plants in his classroom and Joann's had a huge sale plus a 20% discount on the entire purchase, including sales items. We found upholstery fabric that we thought would be perfect for our dining room set. As it turns out, the pattern is almost identical to the fabric on the chair in our family room, except that the family room chair is a white background and the new stuff is a beige background. The fabric was expensive but with the discount it was semi-reasonable. The goal being that after Zachariah is not using the booster seat, we would redo the dining room chairs.

We bought the dining room set at an antique store 25 years ago. The original seats (when we got the set), had white on white satin seats. When Sarah was three, she drew pictures in ballpoint blue pen on some of the seats. I was a lot calmer then and surprisingly enough did not blow up. We recovered those seats with a very sturdy upholstery fabric. It had small flowers on it and was more or less like a tapestry fabric.

Anyway, we spent Sunday, which was hideously rainy, reupholstering our dining room chairs. Because we didn't know when we were going to do them, we hadn't bought any of the foam or batting. I sent Dave to Joann's yesterday morning to get the foam. The advantage of sending him is that I would have bought cheaper foam. He will always go for the higher end stuff on most things because he thinks that is what I would want. Cute guy. He bought the high-density foam. He also bought new coasters for the bottoms of all the chairs. We started on the chairs around 11:00 a.m. and finished the last one just before 5:00.

The girls were out for the day. Zachariah helped lots. He is a stern task master. He and I took the seats apart . . . I loosened the nails, he pulled them out. He then would clean the frame, while I cut batting and such to wrap around the foam. Dave tooks the chairs apart, cut the foam and also, tightened screws, added glue, replaced some bolts, etc., and then after the seat was covered, he put them back together. Phew.

The chairs look lovely. I'm not sure how long this fabric will hold up. We shall see. It is surely not as sturdy as the tapestry. I forgot to take a picture but will post one eventually.