Simple Woman - March 30, 2009

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
—Mahatma Gandhi

FOR TODAY
Outside my Window... it is rainy and cooler than it has been for a couple of weeks. I still wore my spring coat.
I am thinking... I am a terrible mother . . . I have to think about this and will do another post later. Sigh.
I am thankful for... my husband who is patient and kind and loving . . . even when I am not.
From the kitchen... really tough pork chops. I fell asleep yesterday afternoon and didn't bake them for the usual three hours.
I am creating... a shawl, for my niece's wedding. I am beading the ends only.
I am going... to the doctor today for my PAP test. I hate it.
I am wearing... black slacks, red sweater, dark gray jacket/sweater
I am reading... Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards
I am hoping... do well at my weigh in tomorrow . . . it isn't just hoping . . . I have been very careful about what I have been eating/drinking and have been actually exercising! Will wonders never cease.
I am hearing... the radio and traffic.
Around the house... Lindsey is pouting (again/still), Zachariah think its funny, Dave doesn't say anything and I feel badly. Sigh.
One of my favorite things... fresh pineapple and cottage cheese
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... doctor's appointment this afternoon, meeting this evening at Lindsey's school, WW @ work tomorrow, knitting KAL on Wednesday, doctor's appointment Thursday afternoon, swimming Thursday evening, going to Kentucky for Mary's birthday on Saturday.

Friday Fill In - March 27, 2009

1. "In a hole in the ground there lived a mole, who waited patiently for me to walk across the lawn in order to scare me."

2. "Today is Friday, but that ain't no matter, because the weekend will fly by."

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, and I snuggled deeper into the covers, reading this wonderful mystery . . . until I heard it . . . ."

4. "The smell of mold and mildew and the anquish of those who had been held there came forth from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness, and I held on tight."

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, who blithely walk on as though they haven't any cares in the world."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to fish, tomorrow my plans include water aerobics, library, lunch with Janet at Heck's, laundry, 4:30 Mass, dinner with candles and Sunday, I want to sleep in!

Another contest - ball swift and winder

Now, if you are not a knitter, you wouldn't know what a ball swift and winder might be.

If you are married to a knitter, you will know that they would appreciate receiving a ball swift and winder. And, you, as their spouse/loved one would greatly appreciate their receiving a ball swift and winder. Therefore, when I win this contest, you spouses/loved ones of knitter should also go to Webs and get the knitter that you love, a ball swift and winder.

So, you want to know about the contest . . . . Well, go here and find out all about it. Just remember, I'm going to win.

Stuff and such, revisited

I have finished my piece of the travelling baby blanket and along with another little something. Great fun and would have finished sooner if I hadn't decided, along with the input of HRH Lindsey, that the original pattern I picked was blah. My piece was is the green. The blanket has one more piece to go and will be donated. It is a fun project and I love to see the other's pattern choices. This is so soft and lovely and made me feel really good to work on. It is going on its merry way today.

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A meme I stole from Jane

Where is your cell phone? charging

Spouse? work

Your hair? brown

Your mother? Heaven

Your favorite thing? knitting

Your favorite drink? tea

Your dream/goal? lose

What room are you in? office

Where do you want to be in 6 years? alive

Something that you aren't? young

Muffins? Cinnamon

Wish list item? yarn

Where you grew up? Parma

Last thing you did? blogs

What are you wearing? usual

TV? No

Your pets? Twiligh

Friends? solid

life? good

Your mood? tired

Your car? minivan

Something you're not wearing? shoes

Your favorite store? Birds

When is the last time you laughed? hours

Last time you cried? Monday

Where do you go to over and over? work

Favorite place to eat? Dashin

Favorite place you'd like to be at right now? home

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I had my first appointment for the TOGA study. It is a non-invasive bariatric procedure. If all goes well, I will have the procedure done by June 1. My neighbor also went. She is in the process of being approved for lapband. It will be good to have someone with me on this journey.

Things I have done . . . not 100 but a lot

Things I’ve Done (Bolded)
This is a list I’ve ripped off another blog. It’s going around the net though so I imagine I’d get it eventually. I’m amazed at how much stuff I’ve done.
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea - lightening was at sea . . . I was on the shore.
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child -- actually three of them
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - between Florida and Virginia.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when I wasn't ill
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (when I was substantially thinner).
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run (does it count on Wii?)
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person (several times).
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (it is a real stinker . . . really).
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (both as a kid and as the "Cookie Chair" for my daughter's troop).
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. donated blood and platelets
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check . . . not my fault . . . my purse was stolen and the bank closed my checking account. All the checks that were outstanding bounced. What a nightmare.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Save a favorite childhood toy (a rocker my Dad made for me . . . I am in the process of refinishing it).
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcyle (my sister's fiancee . . . what a rush).
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (camped on both the north and south rims . . . north rim is better).
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (I was 13)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person (it is a lot smaller than you would think)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Friday Fill In - March 20, 2009

1. Why do we have to grow up?
2. Waking early and getting moving quickly are now habits.
3. I have a horrible cole.
4. I had never heard the phrase "burble" and it fits my 15 year old to a tee! (BURBLE: to talk meaningless gibberish).
5. I continue doing the same things over and over again, the way I always do.
6. How was I to know that I would become my Mother.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include swimming, water aerobics and spending time with a group of friends and Sunday, I want to go to church, go to Leanne's Confirmation meeting, go to be early!

Simple Woman - March 16, 2009

"It's never too late to become the person you might have been."

- George Elliot

FOR TODAY
Outside my Window... The sky is blue, the sun is shining and the tulips are beginning to break the surface . . . spring is on its way.
I am thinking... It is past mid-March, already.
I am thankful for... my husband. He is so good, kind, generous, patient and really, really funny.
From the kitchen... tonight I am making corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.
I am creating... I received the baby afghan for Whoduknit and need to add my rows to it.
I am going... to make an appointment for Lindsey to get her braces off. She is very excited. She is also torn because she has perfect attendance and just doesn't want to take time off to have it done, but soooooo wants to get them off.
I am wearing... navy blue slacks, white t-shirt, red jacket
I am reading... Winter Study by Nevada Barr -- having tough time getting into it. I read Rodantha on the plan. I wish Nicholas Sparks would write a book with a happy ending.
I am hoping... to find a satisfactory pattern and yarn for the baby afghan. The colors are incredible
I am hearing... traffic, the radio and people arriving at work
Around the house... I cleaned before I left for Denver last Wednesday, including cleaning the area next to the chair where I dump all my knitting stuff.
One of my favorite things... sleeping in my own bed.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... the kids are coming downtown for the St. Patrick's Day Parade tomorrow. Lindsey has violin on Wednesday. Zachariah and I have swimming on Saturday and my sisters are getting together for a Girls Night on Saturday at my house.

A contest, a contest, Shelly is having a contest

You just have to check this out! Shelly is having a contest and the more people that enter the better the prize pot there is, so go on over and enter at her blog.

Friday Fill Ins - Friday, March 13

1. When I look to the left, I see a wall, in a hotel room, until tomorrow morning.

2. My family room/dining room are the room(s) -- each has a sliding door out onto the porch, overlooking the back yard -- that has the best view in my home.

3. Let it work its way out, if you keep digging, you will end up with an infection.

4. If you have it done dirt cheap, you will probably end up paying more in the long run!

5. Voting is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

6. If you have any really good knitting patterns feel free to share.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner with a colleague, tomorrow my plans include flying home to Cleveland and Sunday, I want to sleep in (our meetings have started at 7:30 a.m. every day), going out for Lindsey's birthday and getting yarn for the baby afghan!

Another contest - Knit Witch and Knit Purl Girl

You all just have to check this out!!

Knit purl girl and Knit Witch have teamed up to do a grand contest. Even if you don't want to enter the contest (which is fine by me since it will give me less competition to win . . . LOL), you do need to go check out both of these blogs. Great fun. Seriously.

Phat Fiber and Fox Hop -- a Giveaway

You absolutely have to check out Phat Fiber for today. She talks about Fox Hop and her incredible stuff. Then go on over to Fox Hop (there is a link on Phat Fiber's page) and check out all the goodness she has going on over there!! Serious stuff people!! For whatever reason, my linking isn't working well, so you will have to cut and paste.

http://phatfiber.blogspot.com/2009/03/fox-hop-and-giveaway.html

Simple Woman's Daybook - 3/2/09

"Enthusiasm is the greatest asset in the world.

It beats money and power and influence.

It is no more or lessthan faith in action."

- Henry Chester

FOR TODAY
Outside my Window... the sun is shining . . . it is 7 degrees. again.
I am thinking... someday my toes will be warm
I am thankful for... spring.
From the kitchen... baked (and breaded pork chops), meatloaf, augratin potatoes (with only half the sauce . . . actually quite good)
I am creating... working on a grey lace shawl to wear to Amy and Ron's wedding (Amy is my niece - first marriage - she is 37)
I am going... to frog everything I did on the shawl yesterday
I am wearing... black slacks, grey shirt, black and grey jacket
I am reading... Winter Study (left it at the office over the weekend)
I am hoping... it gets better
I am hearing... music (Harry Chapin)
Around the house... I cleaned the kitchen on Saturday, it looked loverly, trashed it yesterday with the cooking for the week. I have decided I hate clutter. My kids would be very upset if I threw all their stuff away.
One of my favorite things... relaxing at home
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... work, meeting on Wednesday, Winter Sports Banquet on Wednesday, Lindsey has her physical on Friday, clean my closet (I have, somewhere, Lindsey's birthday presents . . . hopefully in the closet)
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... my kitchen, without the clutter. My husband yesterday, thought he would store some stuff up above the cupboards. I told him to get it down or I would start calling him Mike (my brother-in-law "tucks" stuff above their cupboards . . . he is 6'3" and my sister is 5'. The only way she can reach it is if she stands on a stool on the countertop).

Friday Fill In - 2/27/2009

1. I'm really sleepy, I'm incredibly bored, I think I will clean my office.
2. Why do I have an overwhelming urge to keep junk and not just purge purge purge!
3. How does this shreder work, anyway?
4. Every morning, I put lipstick on my lips, except on weekends.
5. I consider myself lucky because I have a wonderful husband.
6. One day we’ll see our kids be happy at what they want to do which is really a measure of success and not just money or fame.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching Nims Island with Zachariah, tomorrow my plans include water aerobics, library and visit with Donna and Stan and Sunday, I want to go to 8:30 mass at St. Stan's, work on Lindsey's dress and figure out if I can do the shawl for Sarah!

I am so tired, I just don't care

We set our dining room table for dinner.
~
We use cloth napkins, a table cloth, the good dishes and the nicer stainless (I do have good set but it has to hand washed). There are candles on the table and also a mirrored three piece thing in the middle. And this week, fresh flowers (tulips . . . in a desperate attempt to evade winter I bought them for myself). My table with only one leaf in it is 94 inches long. Long enough that the kids cannot, hopefully, touch or kick each other.
~
I change the table linens based on the season. In the ever hope-springs-eternal category, literally, I pulled out the spring linens. Therefore, on Sunday, we put away the darker stuff (which is weird when you think about it) and put out the pale green table cloth.
~
Would it be too friggin hard to make it through one meal without someone spilling something on it. Please!?! Slop there, slip there, plip, plop, bleck. But Monday, probably takes the cake.
~
We had spaghetti. Now without saying anything more, you probably know where this is going . . .
~
We plate the spaghetti on the kitchen counter. Zachariah's gets his cut up and he doesn't want a meat ball. Sarah and Lindsey both enjoy about the same amount. I don't like spaghetti so being that I am spoiled rotten by my DH, he makes penne pasta or some other pasta. Dave gets a huge amount of spaghetti. I get home on Monday and I can hear Dave yelling (a rare occasion). Lindsey is running down the steps saying that she isn't that hungry and he is telling her that he called her five minutes ago and she didn't come down so she is stuck with what she's got . . .
~
Welcome home!
~
I dish out the meatballs and sauce. We do each have our own jobs. Zachariah takes his plate to his seat and for some really bizarre reason, my eldest decides to take her and Lindsey's plates to the table . . .
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slip
~
slap
~
slop
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almost the entire plate of spaghetti goes sliding off the plate, directly onto the table cloth, missing the placemat, hitting the chair and splattering down the legs to the floor.
~
My DH took a deep breath and I started laughing . . . . I mean seriously, it was pretty funny.

One meal. We made it through one meal.

And yet another contest . . . but you have to hurry

It ends tomorrow . . . so go on over to Robynn's Ravings and check it out.

There are a multitude of ways to enter. Follow, blog about it and send your friends! Oh, and if you go on over there and enter her contest . . . tell her I sent you!

The prize is an Amazon Gift Card. Two winners each will received a $50 gift card. How sweet is that! Do you have any idea how much knitting stuff I can buy with a $50 gift card!!!

A contest . . . Darcy's Knotty Knitter - Yarn Dots

If you haven't seen them, you just have to check out yarn dots.

Even better though is that you should go to Darcy's Knotty Knitter and check out her contest. She is having a giveaway for the yarn dots. And she offers several ways to get entries:

1) Subscribe to Darcy's blog.

2) Blog about the giveaway linking back to her post (see the link above), leaving a link to your blog post.

3) If you leave a comment saying that you came from my blog you get another entry.

4) If you grab her button (also in the sidebar!), you get an additional entry.

How easy is that!!! And the Yarn Dots are soooo cute.

from Secret Pal 13 - Kimber

I received the most awesome package from Kimber, my SP 13 Pal!

(it arrived yesterday, February 24 . . . which was perfect because I spent my day going from one meeting to another! It was such a great break from a hectic kind of day.)

There is an incredible skein (and pattern) of cashmere. I don't know whether to knit with it or just keep it on my desk so I can pet it! It is Hand Maiden, 50 g 4 ply cashmere in greens and gray.

I also received a clever "knit" mug. It is cables and came with cocoa mixes and hot apple. Plus there was a satchel of chocolate hearts and a box of sweet heart candies.

And, wait, there is more. A bottle of scent free (thank you so very much) soap and two hand knit cloths.

Thank you so much Kimber. I look forward to getting to know you.

Ash Wednesday

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
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Ash Wednesday
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The Wednesday after Quinquagesima Sunday, which is the first day of the Lenten fast.
The name dies cinerum (day of ashes) which it bears in the Roman Missal is found in the earliest existing copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary and probably dates from at least the eighth century. On this day all the faithful according to ancient custom are exhorted to approach the altar before the beginning of Mass, and there the priest, dipping his thumb into ashes previously blessed, marks the forehead -- or in case of clerics upon the place of the tonsure -- of each the sign of the cross, saying the words: "Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." The ashes used in this ceremony are made by burning the remains of the palms blessed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. In the blessing of the ashes four prayers are used, all of them ancient. The ashes are sprinkled with holy water and fumigated with incense. The celebrant himself, be he bishop or cardinal, receives, either standing or seated, the ashes from some other priest, usually the highest in dignity of those present. In earlier ages a penitential procession often followed the rite of the distribution of the ashes, but this is not now prescribed.

~
There can be no doubt that the custom of distributing the ashes to all the faithful arose from a devotional imitation of the practice observed in the case of public penitents. But this devotional usage, the reception of a sacramental which is full of the symbolism of penance (cf. the cor contritum quasi cinis of the "Dies Irae") is of earlier date than was formerly supposed. It is mentioned as of general observance for both clerics and faithful in the Synod of Beneventum, 1091 (Mansi, XX, 739), but nearly a hundred years earlier than this the Anglo-Saxon homilist Ælfric assumes that it applies to all classes of men. "We read", he says,
~
"in the books both in the Old Law and in the New that the men who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes and clothed their bodies with sackcloth. Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast."
~
And then he enforces this recommendation by the terrible example of a man who refused to go to church for the ashes on Ash Wednesday and who a few days after was accidentally killed in a boar hunt (Ælfric, Lives of Saints, ed. Skeat, I, 262-266). It is possible that the notion of penance which was suggested by the rite of Ash Wednesday was was reinforced by the figurative exclusion from the sacred mysteries symbolized by the hanging of the Lenten veil before the sanctuary. But on this and the practice of beginning the fast on Ash Wednesday see LENT.
~
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01775b.htm

Simple Woman's Daybook - 2/23/09

Anything simple always interests me.
— David Hockney



FOR TODAY
Outside my Window... the sun is shining and the sky is blue
I am thinking... even though the sun is shining it is still 20 degrees outside and cold
I am thankful for... being inside
From the kitchen... really good chicken . . . made it Saturday with Oriental Spices and Sunday with Italian spices
I am creating... gray shawl
I am going... to frog the gray shawl. LOL.
I am wearing... navy blue slacks, grey t-shirt, blue/black/gray paisley jacket
I am reading... Netherland
I am hoping... to clean my office today
I am hearing... the radio and people arriving for work
Around the house... yesterday was a lazy day, spent knitting and reading and watching movies
One of my favorite things... spending time with my family, even when we are doing nothing but relaxing together.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... WW tomorrow; department meeting in the afternoon; meet the teacher with Lindsey (against her better judgment) on Thursday
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... Yesterday would have been my Dad's 92nd birthday.
He was one of the good guys.
Gentle, kind, quiet, hardworking.
This picture was sketched by a guy with USO when my Dad was in the hospital during World War II.
And, yes, he was this good looking!

Lindsey's Scarf

Lindsey's Scarf
Originally uploaded by mlj1954ohio

it is finished, well, except for it to be finished drying after it is blocked.

I really like the way this turned out and the pictures just don't do it justice!

I told Lindsey that the first time I find it on the floor, it is mine.