Ravelympics

Okay, so explain to me why sometimes my pics load without blinking and other times they don't. I have been trying to upload this pic for two weeks.

Anyway, for Ravelympics, I finished two projects. One for the Felted Freestyle (the felted bowl in Knitpicks Memories) and for the Bag-n-Tote Backstroke, I finished the Clutch You Won't Give up in Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in deep red.

Of course, now I can't get the pic of the bowl uploaded . . . bah humbug. Anyway, the Ravelympics was great fun. It forced me to really focus and finish two projects that I wanted to get done. I think both of them would be great projects to make for Christmas presents as they are quick knits, look great and, since I love all things felted, would lend themselves well to hiding my errors . . . oops, I mean, well, you know.

The other thing is that it would be a great way to tuck gift cards or candies or treats in either one. I do think, if I would make the clutch for me, I would have to figure out how to include a pocket on the inside without having to line the bag.

Friday Fill In - 8/29/2008

To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever.
— Henry Drummond

1. When I'm sick I'm usually in denial until I end up having to go to the doctor.

2. When I take a walk, I think about how much farther I have to go.

3. Money can't buy happiness but it can make things easier.

4. Cotton makes me think of ironing and leather makes me think of purses (okay, I'm sick).

5. The strangest person/character I've had lewd thoughts about was Jack Nicholson (he just fascinates me . . . I think he's odd but just love his voice and smirk).

6. My favorite color these days is green because our grass is brown since we haven't had any significant, consistent rain since the beginning of July.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to planning for Sunday, tomorrow my plans include cooking for Sunday and Sunday, I want to have a house full of friends . . . our annual get together!

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As I mentioned earlier this week, our friend Bill died last Friday. His funeral was Wednesday. He was 53. He and his wife had absolutely no plans in place. Linda didn't know whether he wanted to be cremated or buried, did he want a funeral service or religious celebration. She isn't even sure about how much insurance he had or whether or not they had mortgage insurance.

In talking to Bill's brother, he said that after spending the weekend with Linda and dealing with all these issues, he and his wife spent Monday evening, talking about what they wanted, how they needed to increase their insurance, how either would manage.

As Ed said, "the thing about death is that it isn't an 'if,' its a 'when'." He said that because of poor planning on the part of his brother, Linda probably spent more than she should have on his funeral. She was influenced by her mother and mother-in-law who kept adding to what they thought she should include. He is convinced that she spent money that Bill would have preferred that she spend on her living and not his death.

When my Mom died, I remember that her priest was so totally impressed that she had planned everything, including picking out songs and readings and paying for her funeral. He was so impressed that he mentioned it at her funeral. "What a gift," he said, "that this woman so loved her children that she removed that burden from their shoulders during this time of sorrow."

I have to say that, following my Mom's example, Dave and I have very specific plans in place. We have our funeral plots and headstones. We want to be cremated. We know what kind of funerals each of us wants and who to contact. Our insurance policies are up-to-date and would cover the cost of our mortgage plus whatever else we need to continue living the way we have been.

So, anyone who may read this, have you made plans for your "when"? Please do so. Provide your family with the gift that the decisions they have to make are not decisions but just following up on your wishes.

And, please keep Bill and Linda and their family in your prayers.

Reading

A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.
-- Jerry Seinfeld

NOTE: I apologize, for whatever reason, Blogger has decided that it doesn't like my paragraph breaks. I can put in five spaces between paragraphs and it still jams everything together. So I have included ~~ between paragraphs to give a break and assist the reader.

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I don't know about anyone else but I love bookstores and libraries. When I was a child, during the summer, we would ride our bikes to the library at least once a week, more often than not, twice a week. During the winter, we always went to the library on Saturdays.

~~

I can still remember being in 8th grade and having to do my first "big" report and having the librarian take me back to "the stacks." Phew. It was so incredible to realize that what I had been experiencing every week for years was just a micro-organism of what was really there.

~~

The kids know that I go into either one of them, we could be done for the day. LOL. In fact, if we are returning items to the library, and they don't want to spend hours there, they will volunteer to run in and drop things off! On the other hand, if they want to spend time in a library or bookstore, they know it is better to go with me rather with their Dad. He will spend a lot of time in bookstores and libraries too, but not as much as I do.

~~

Most of my siblings all loved reading. I remember growing up when my Mom thought we were ready, she would expose us to different books and authors, Gone with the Wind and Mrs. Mike are two examples.

~~

In 11th grade, our English class was literature. We had poetry and had to read some classics, including Red Badge of Courage, Tell Tale Heart, the works of O Henry (my English teacher was a great fan), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Women, Exodus. I remember the first day of English when she was going over what we were going to be reading that year and I sat there going down the list and checking off all the books I had already read. I think the only one that I hadn't read was Exodus. Leon Uris led me to James Mitchner.

~~

So, the question is, do you still read?

What is on your list now?

Do you ever go back and read those books that you read when you were younger?

Are they as good as you remember?

~~

Our Whoduknit group for September is taking a step back. As you can imagine with the name Whoduknit, we focus on mysteries. So for September, we are taking a step back into childhood and reading any Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery we want. I am looking forward to it.

Right now, I am reading Plains Crazy. I just finished The Last Templar (very good) and Keys to Midnight. Besides the Nancy Drew book, on the table next to my chair, I have the Memoirs of Jane Austen. A friend and my daughter highly recommend it.

For Today - Monday, May 25, 2008

FOR TODAY ~ Monday, August 25, 2008 . . . the last Monday of August, 2008!

Outside my Window... you know it is getting closer to Fall as the day is darker longer in the morning and there is more of a briskness in the air.
I am thinking... that this is going to be an exhausting week . . . physically, emotionally . . . read more down below . . .
I am thankful for... my husband. He is kind and generous. He works hard and listens so well. This week will be hard for him too.
From the kitchen...fresh vegetables from the garden makes the things from the kitchen delicious . . . tomato, peppers and zuchini tossed together with some parmesan cheese and italian seasoning, baked for 20 minutes . . . even the kids will eat it.
I am creating... I didn't get the third thing done that I wanted to for the Ravelympics. I did get the bowl and bag done but am really having problems getting pictures pulled from my computer to my blog and flickr.
I am going... relax tonight to prepare for the week
I am wearing... the usual, white t-shirt, black slacks, red jacket, red and blue necklace, red earrings.
I am reading... Plains Crazy . . . thanks Jane!!!
I am hoping... to do better with my diet this week . . . I only went down .2 this past week.
I am hearing... people arriving in the department.
Around the house... I cleaned off my desk this week, reformated the computer (it didn't help with the picture issue BUT everything does process quicker)
One of my favorite things... sitting out by the pool and relaxing.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... and this is where it gets exhausting . . .

One of Dave's childhood friends is Bill. Dave has known Bill since he was 13 and Bill was 10. Dave, Bill and Ed (Bill's younger brother) were the 3 Muskateers, getting in trouble together, playing ball, volleyball, bowling, etc. We danced at each other's weddings, held Bill while he mourned the death of his first marriage and celebrated when he found the love of his life.

About six years ago, Bill brought some new friends to our home for our annual Labor Day picnic. Since we have an inground pool, Dave's steadfast rule is that if a kid wants to go into the deep-end, they have to pass his swimming test - swimming across the pool and back. Bill's new neighbor's daughter wanted to go in the deep-end but couldn't pass the test. She pouted and complained and her parents told her that she could go in the deep-end. Dave told her that she had to stay in the shallow end or get out of the pool. Anyway, Bill was embarrassed and has not been back to our house since then. We have seen him at his brother's and at his parent's home. Dave and Ed said that this is how Bill is. We always sent he and his wife invitations and Christmas cards. They never came or responded.

Bill died on Friday. His funeral is Wednesday. He was 53. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I wish that we had tried harder.

I have often wondered how long and how hard you should try to seek forgiveness, even when you know that you were not the one who did anything wrong. The answer is forever. I know that we can be comforted in the fact that we kept trying and kept including Bill and his family in our lives and plans. But too often, I miss opportunities to do so with others, especially with my family.

Luke 6:37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

I know that we tried . . . and yet, it still hurts . . .

felted bowl

tooth of time 004
Originally uploaded by mlj1954ohio

So, if you want to see what the finish bowl looks like, look at this and you will know.

Felted Memories bowl

I am watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. And have been trying to post a picture of the felted bowl. For whatever reason, I cannot get it loaded. However, the unfelted version is loaded and you get the sense of the colorway.

P8240002
Originally uploaded by mlj1954ohio

now I got this photo loaded but . . . but . . . but I couldn't get the felted photo of the bowl loaded. Very strange. I will try to get another pic of what it looks like felted when I did it in a differnt colorway.

This was for Ravelympics.

Friday Fill In - 8/22/2008

Zoo: An excellent place to study the habits of human beings.
-- Evan Esar, Esar's Comic Dictionary

1. Dancing to the Rod Stewart's America Songbook albums while making dinner makes me (and my kids) laugh.

2. The last time I went boating I nearly died (or thought I was) from seasickness.

3. When I drive I sing, out loud and loud.

4. I saw glimpses of the kinds of women my girls will be when they were standing and talking to an elderly friend.

5. Give me pizza, give me beer, give me a weight gain.

6. Next week I am looking forward to getting bunches of stuff done before the long weekend.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to picking the kids up early from school and getting the laundry done, tomorrow my plans include my mammogram (it was cancelled the last time I went), blood work, weighing in (not really), 4:30 mass and Sunday, I want to sleep in which is another good reason to go to 4:30 mass!

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For whatever reason, I am unable to post pics from my desktop to anything on the internet which means I am going to have to download the photos from the computer to a thumb drive and load them on my laptop. Very strange.

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.

so sad

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.
— Jawaharlal Nehru

In the past two weeks, Northeast Ohio residents have been devastated by the loss of two incredible women.

Fannie Lewis was a Cleveland City Council representative. She was feisty and incredible. She ran for City Council and won 29 years ago at the age of 54. The reason she ran was because she was tired of seeing her community being destroyed. These were some of the things that she believed and drove her to do her job:

• "You must plan your battles. Not everything is worth a fight, but if it is, fight hard. But don't let anybody pull you into a fight you don't want to fight"
• "If good things aren't coming in, it means you aren't giving any out."
• "Nothing supplied by Satan will ever last. Nothing supplied by God will ever fade away"
• "Never run away from a problem. Problems can run faster than any of us, and they'll always be there to greet us when we get to the next stop."
• "Negativity is like static on a telephone line. It interferes with your success and doesn't accomplish anything"
• "You can't stop someone from disliking you. They're allowed. But that doesn't mean you have to dislike them"
• "You're not going to lose unless you become negative."

When Fannie first came to Cleveland she had a deep-seeded hatred for white people. She saw things in Memphis and heard stories that made her hatred consume her. But due to the unlikely help of reputed gangster, Mickey Rini, she learned that her prejudice was unfounded.

When she was assigned to work for the Democratic Party at the Alta House in Little Italy, Mickey introduced her to his friends in Murray Hill as his friend and she has never forgotten his kindness.

She learned "The foot on the neck keeping a person down is the problem - not the color of the foot" She now believes there is no reason to discriminate and has created many strong friendships with white people and works side by side with whoever is willing to help her. "If help comes in a brown paper bag in a dog's mouth - you take it."

She was instrumental in getting the Ohio voucher program up and rolling. It took her 17 years but she succeeded. For her efforts, many Cleveland City students are able to go to the school of their choice. If you are interested, here is a great article about her.

Mrs. Lewis died on August 11, 2008.

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And yesterday, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, an Ohio congresswoman, passed away at the age of 58. Stephanie was such an incredible force. She was a black woman who stood up with Hillary Clinton even when many of the other black politicians were pushing her to back Barack Obama. She stood her ground and wouldn't switch her loyalty until Hillary dropped out of the race. She had been a prosecutor and a judge who refused to allow herself to be manipulated. An article about Stephanie can be found here.

While I not always agreed with everything she said and did, I had to admire the fact that she, like Fannie, were so strong and positive in their beliefs. Both of them came from poor backgrounds and succeeded due to their own determination and strength of character.

The cost to the community of the loss of these two women is incalculable.

Wednesday's musings

In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.
— Janos Arany

Sarah and her boyfriend have decided to wait until she finishes school before wedding . . . good plan. Especially since it forced her to focus on what it is that she wants to do. So, she finally sat down with a counselor and really pulled all her stuff together and figured out that she needs about 18 months more of school. She is grossly disappointed but thoroughly committed to get it done, so much so that she is taking classes all day on Tuesday and Thursdays, Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings, leaving her with an opportunity also work. I told her that:

• the time will go incredibly fast
• in 18 months, she will only be 24
• if she doesn't finish now, she will regret it (learn from me . . . I got married and then finally finished school 27 years later)
• if he isn't willing to wait (which he hasn't said it is just something she is afraid of), he isn't worth it
• he wants to be in a stable job (the company he is working for is moving the work to Mexico . . . he has been there 14 years)
• save money . . . she needs to learn how to save money

What I was thinking, was now I will have time to:

• make a beautiful shawl/stole for her (and maybe me?)
• lose weight (18 x 4 = 72 weeks . . . I COULD lose a pound a week, really I can)
• save money . . . I know how to, but choose not to . . . LOL

And, as the quote above says, "in dreams and in love there are no impossibilities."

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Today is Zachariah's first day of third grade. He is very excited. Very, very excited. His teacher is wonderful (almost as good as his first grade teacher . . . for those of you who do not know, Dave was his first grade teacher). His teacher is in her second year of teaching. She came from Poland about six years ago. She is probably about 40 years old. She came to Cleveland, went to college and loves teaching. Dave and I have been at several social events where she and her husband have also been in attendance. They are wonderful people. I just know that this will be a great year.

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Lindsey is also excited about school starting. She is taking AP U.S. History, Honors Chemistry, Honors Algebra II, Spanish III, Orchestra/HandBells (very cool), Theology, Honors English. Her school does block schedule (80 minutes classes, four classes a semester, except for AP U.S. History which is an all year class). So, for this first semester, she has History, Spanish, Theology and Orchestra/HandBells.

The biggest issue she has is that NONE of her friends are in ANY of her classes. Poor thing. I did point out to her that when she started at the Academy last year, she didn't know anyone.

She is also going to be on the Swim team and is toying with track. She had thought about cross-country but decided that she is more into short work than long work.

and Tuesday is here

There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity.
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

So, I have decided that I need to stop WATCHING the Olympics. It is the only chance I have of getting any knitting done.

I thought the women's hurdle semi-final was fantastic. Goodness, they are all legs and incredibly graceful AND fast. And then the men's hurdle finals and the U.S. swept the race. WOW. And I loved the guy that wore the sunglasses in the race. How cool. They made it look so easy. And, they are so nice to each other. Very cool.

And can someone please explain these results:

Results: Women's Uneven Bars - Finals - Aug 18 6:46am ET
1. Kexin He 16.725 Gold
2. Nastia Liukin 16.725 Silver
3. Yilin Yang 16.650 Bronze

If you watched it, you will know that He and Liukin tied. He took a step on the landing. Liukin nailed it. The way the tiebreaking works is that they keep dropping scores until it is no longer even. DUH. It would be better if they told both girls to go at it again!

And in the Women's pole vault, Yelena Isinbayeva won the gold medal. I love the fact that the stadium is called the Bird's Nest because this woman looked like she could fly. She broke her world record and was so incredibly excited.

Jenn Stuczynski of the US won the silver medal with a vault of 4.80m, and Svetlana Feofanova of Russia claimed the bronze with 4.75m. Frankly, Jenn needs to dump the jerk of a coach who, for whatever reason, they decided to "wire" so that everyone could hear his stupid comments to her. You could just watch her shoulders slump. What a jerk he is. She has only been competing in this event for four years and is also awesome.

Ah well.

Simple Woman's Daybook~18

FOR TODAY - Monday, August 18, 2008

Outside my Window... it is darker in the morning as the end of summer is getting closer
I am thinking...it is good that the kids (and Dave) are going back to school this week. Very necessary!!
I am thankful for...my family and friends . . . we spents lots of time with both this weekend. It was a great weekend.
From the kitchen...fresh vegetables in all their glory, raw and cooked and dipped and sauteed.
I am creating...bags, felted bags
I am going...to take deep breaths this week instead of speaking without thinking
I am wearing...black slacks, pink shirt, white and black polka-dot jacket, comfy shoes
I am reading...The Last Templar, At Knit's End
I am hoping...to finish all of my Ravelympics projects . . . maybe
I am hearing...soft music and the beginning buzz of arriving co-workers
Around the house...Sarah needs to clean her room as Janet is staying at our home this week, Lindsey needs to figure out what it is that she is doing with her room and paint the garage door, I re-formatted the desktop computer and haven't heard any cries of anguish yet.
One of my favorite things...sitting on the back porch with Dave and relaxing
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...Janet comes tomorrow for two days, Zachariah starts school on Wednesday, Lindsey starts school on Friday, Sarah starts next Monday. I don't have to be so overly quiet in the mornings.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... the trees outside my office window . . . can't see them . . . that's because blogger isn't being nice.

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Men who never get carried away should be.
-- Malcolm Forbes

Secret Pal 12 - Questions of the Week #10

Question of the Week #10

Here's an odd sort of question...What Olympic event would best describe you knitting/knitting style?

Any kind of sprint or short race (on land or in the water). I like short and sweet projects. Give me something long and it just bores me to tears and ends up slipping further and further down my "to do" list. Plus, races give you an end in sight.

You know summer is over when

It is dangerous for a national candidate to say things that people might remember.
-- Eugene McCarthy

Your 14 year old daughter goes to bed early so that she can practice before school starts . . . she is just too funny.

You go into WalMart and it has floor to ceiling school supplies.

Summer reading list . . . what did I do with that summer reading list?

Meetings . . . teacher meetings, seminars, sponges and cleaners disappear to the school . . . one of the (dis)advantages of having a husband that is a teacher.

Reformatting computer (I reformat our desktop computer at the beginning of every school year) . . . out with the old, in with the new.

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I love the beginning of school year. All summer I get up early (4:45a) and quietly get dressed and leave while they all snore away. All this week, Dave has gotten up with me because he has meetings to attend.

Lindsey has a meeting at her school today. She is an Academy Ambassador and actually is helping with the training of this coming year's Ambassadors. A real coup for her, as she is just a Sophomore. On the other hand, the woman that moderates the Ambassadors called me last year after open house and told me that in the five years she has run the program, she had never had anyone call to comment on what a great job an Ambassador did in their tour of the school. She had received a call about what a great job Lindsey did. When she was looking for someone to assist her with the training, she called and asked if it would be okay to have her "star" Ambassador help. Very cool.

Plus there are all the things that they all wanted to get done during the summer. HA! The only things that did get accomplished was that the garage and closets got cleaned. Dave did the garage during the week. But, of course, the closets were cleaned on weekends . . . when I was home.

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Totally separate item: I don't care what anyone says or what their passports say, the Chinese "women" gymnasts are not "women." They are girls . . . and probably no older than 12 or 13. Just my opinion, but seriously . . .

Yard Sale Swap, Wedding plans, Breathing Room

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.
-- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, in Irving Good, The Scientist Speculates (1962)

FINALLY, blogger and the internet finally let me add the package from Shelly that I received as part of Whoduknit's summer yard sale swap. This is a great package and the picture doesn't show the tea I received. The Last Templar starts off fast and is continuing that way. I highly recommend it. At Knit's End (Meditations for Women who Knit too Much) -- perfect, more about it later and the Cradle Will Fall . . . all designed to keep me away from my knitting. And many small skeins of things that will work well for my favorite one skein projects. Ha!

Thanks Shelly.

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After the initial rush of "let's get married" my daughter and her boyfriend have begun making plans, including the fact that they decided that my husband is an idiot . . . well, they didn't say that . . . what they decided is that she is supposed to be finished with school within a year. Also, his employer is closing and his job is disappearing. So, they have decided to wait at least until she finishes school (YEAH!). He is looking at his various options. His family owns a 250 acre farm and his extended family owns, as an incorporated entity, a 2800 acre farm. Kyle is actually looking at truck driving as a career. The biggest problem he has is that farming takes up much of his time. His family's farm is not big enough to make it a full time job, but enough to keep him relatively busy. His "paying" job provided lots of options, including insurance (health and life), 401k and pension. He also worked either evenings or nights which allowed him time during the day to help on the farm. He also took vacation time in the spring and fall for planting and harvest. It is such a different lifestyle than anyone else I know. Anyway, right now, the wedding is on hold for probably a year. A good thing. I think. The plus side is that Sarah has an appointment to discuss what classes she needs to take to be done. Nothing like postponing something you want to really get you to focus on an interim goal.

Anyway, this is breathing room. A shawl. A dress. Who knows.

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Getting back to At Knit's End, I was looking through it and came across this, on page 76:

"SWIFT: A twirling reel used to hold a skein of yarn as it is wound into a ball . . . To save time, sanity and my marriage, I will consider purchasing the right tools for the job."

Did I mention that my skein of yarn for MS4 is 1460 yards! So, yesterday, I ordered a swift and ball winder. Finally. I figured it was time AND my husband obviously never got the hint!

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I finished one of the purses for the Ravelympics (The Clutch You Won't Give Up). I felted it last evening. I really forgot how fast that it would knit up. Seriously, if only I would do it right the first time!!! It is now drying and needs some embellishments (buttons or a pin or something). The bowl is coming along nicely (I work on it on the bus). It seems shallower than the last one I made but the thing with felted stuff is that as you knit, often it is difficult to visualize what it will be like, cause it is just too big and floppy.

Computer issues, knitting overload, yard sale swap

Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again.
-- Rick Polito, Marin Independent Journal's TV listing for "The Wizard of Oz"
p.s. I love Wizard of Oz, just never thought of it as a murder/mystery

So yesterday I had problems getting photos loaded onto blogger. I did manage to add the Simple Woman pic but not the pic I wanted to share and today, again, I cannot load any pictures.

So, you might wonder what I want to load today. I received my yard sale swap package from Shelly (and if I can get it on Flickr, I'll put a link here . . . if not, the link won't work . . . LOL).

Anyway, the package was great, containing several balls of really nice yarn in colors that I don't have and will feed my one skein project drawer (yes, I have a drawer with one skeins in it AND it also has the One Skein book too). The package also included four packages of TAZO tea (Joy, African Red Bush, Passion and Zen), three books (The Last Templar -- I've started it and it has me from the very beginning, The Cradle Will Fall - by Mary Higgins Clark, and At Knit's End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee), and a wonderful wool grey turtleneck sweater. Very cool stuff.

Also in yesterday's mail, I received my yarn from Yarn Country. Three skeins of Cascade 220 in two different shades of green for a Lucy Bag that I am making for a friend and also as part of Ravelympics and a skein white Baruffa Cashwool for the Mystery Stole 4 (yeah, and that's 1,460 yards of laceweight yarn).

Oh, and the Mystery Stole 4 will also double as a shawl for my daughter cause she did indeed happen to mention yesterday that she was getting married, next year. Uhhh, yep and she wants me to make her dress. Uhhh, yep, I told her we would go look at dresses and find something she likes and go from there. I did inherit another skill from my Mom. I can look at dresses, combine patterns and make it. In many respects, it is an illness. If she does find something that she really loves and price is reasonable (my niece found her perfect wedding dress on sale at David's Bridal for substantially less than what it would have cost to make), we may buy the dress. It all depends. The advantage to making it is that Sarah is all of 4'10". She has a curvy body and has a terrible time finding dresses that fit right in the boobs, waist and hips.

Of course, last night while my husband and I were talking about it (she wasn't home), he, in his infinite wisdom, told me that he had told her, "why wait?" Is he just out of his friggin mind???? Why wait? How about the fact that I have a shawl and a wedding dress to make. How about that, Dave???? Hmmmmm????

Simple Woman's Daybook~17

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

FOR TODAY
Outside my Window... it looks like Fall. A storm came through Saturday evening, dropping the temperature about 20 degrees. The sky is dark cloudy . . . not summer clouds filled with rain . . . but dark cloudy. But there is blue coming up from the West.
I am thinking...Fall is just around the corner. The cooling evenings is proof.
I am thankful for...living in an area of the country where we enjoy four seasons. It makes me appreciate each in its own way . . . the good and the bad of each.
From the kitchen... since it was cooler, we had barbequed pork for dinner last evening, along with a veggie casserole, you know the kind where you open the fridge and everything that is a veggie goes into the casserole (tossed with a little olive oil, italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and topped with mozzarella). Yum.
I am creating...two felted bags, one bowl and working on a purse that Lindsey designed and I am sewing
I am going...to spend my week in meetings... seriously, I am cancelling some meetings so I can go to other meetings.
I am wearing...navy blue slacks, white t-shirt, red racket, red/blue necklace
I am reading...Mobility . . . a magzine for my job.
I am hoping...that my internet connection will allow me to upload photos soon. Right now, it won't, hence no photos on this post
I am hearing...traffic and wind through the trees
Around the house... we are getting ready for the start of school. Uniforms? CHECK. Shoes? CHECK. Folders? CHECK? Ready? not a chance.
One of my favorite things... riding bicycles. It was cool enough yesterday to do so in the middle of the day.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...meetings, helping Lindsey cut out her sundress, sewing up her bag, spending time with Janet, my bestest friend (next to my hubby) who is coming up from Dallas, taking off from work on Friday to spend time with Janet, Zachariah and Rosemarie (a retired co-worker)
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... nothing . . . my internet connection will not allow it. Maybe later this week.

Friday Fill In - 8/8/8

The greatest homage to truth is to use it.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

1. You know you're old when you look down and see your mother's hands working on your knitting (of course, the fact that I wear her wedding ring adds to the whole thing).

2. My heart is divided between chocolate and coffee. HA!

3. Coffee is what I need RIGHT NOW! (I guess it won!)

4. I have felt the joy of success, I have known the depths of falling flat on my face in front of a bunch of people.

5. Gah, won't these people get off their cell phones.

6. Hug your family as soon as you can!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include going to the eye doctor, a wedding (just the ceremony) and working with Lindsey on her bag and Sunday, I want to do nothing!

and another thing

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.

-Erich Fromm

In case you missed it from Lime & Violet:

"Heads Up: Big Mitten Give
The good folks over at STC Craft are giving away the pattern for Alternating Current mittens. The pattern appears in Knitting New Mittens & Gloves by Robin Melanson. The mittens are worked in a bulky yarn, so they are a quick knit. The pattern lists instructions for a fingerless as well as a traditional mitten. The only thing STC Craft asks for in return for this pattern is that you knit a pair of mittens for someone in need. If we all did that, there would be a lot of warm hands this winter."

So, the challenge will be to make mittens. They make great Christmas presents (and from what I read about this pattern) are a relatively quick knit. I know in my area, many organizations would gladly take the mittens and I am sure most of you know organizations that would do the same in your communities.

SP 12 Question #9

Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair? Would you ever consider it?

I have not entered my knitting in our local county fair (were you reading my blog from yesterday?). I have entered apple pie and pound cake (won blue ribbons for both). My husband did the ultimate sacrifice and ate lots of apple pie and lots of pound cake.

I would consider entering my knitting or sewing. Our local county fair is relatively big (going on right now) and every time I go to see the exhibits, I am surprised at the amount of stuff submitted, some of which is just bad. Often, I am surprised at what wins also and have often regretted that I didn't submit something.