A Moveable Feast

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

-Ernest Hemingway

This quote popped up in my mind today, as I watched my grandson Conner move the popcorn I gave him for a snack: from the measuring cups to the stock pot he had pulled out of my cabinets. From the stock pot to the floor. From the floor to his mouth (5 second rule be damned!) And back to the measuring cup which he held nonchalantly in one hand as he caroused about the downstairs looking for a suitable diversion.

A movable feast indeed, both in the literal sense and in the metaphorical. Conner takes his amusement with him wherever he goes. He explores his world and finds delight in every new experience (especially when Gramma turned her back for a second and we managed to open the china cabinet in the dining room and proceed to play with the china saucers therein - YIKES!)

I have been enjoying my job tremendously this week. I have the best job in the world.

I get to play with the yarn I already have; I get to shop for the yarn I don't. I get to make beautiful things with my hands. I get to bring joy to others.

And the people I deal with are the nicest people in the world. Late with a release due to family commitments? No problem. They'll wait. Knitters are very patient people. Need to take a few days off to take care of other things? Okey dokey...they will still be here when you get back. Knitters are understanding sorts.

The flexibility of my calling allows me to make time in my life for all my loves: my family, my friends, my God, my knitting, my writing.

My goodness! I AM blessed.

Life is good. Even when I have to put my knitting down (like today) and fill in as caretaker at the last moment for two working parents, my burden is light. Conner is the sweetest little guy imaginable. He is even tempered, cooperative, and full of laughter. All tasks should be so filled with joy.

I can't wait to get up in the morning. I am so engaged with my work right now. I fall into bed at the end of a long day, full of a feeling of accomplishment and deep gratitude.

Like Conner, I carry my source of amusement and fulfillment wherever the day takes me. I explore this wonderful world of knitting and find delight in every new experience. My life is a moveable feast.

I am Grandma; I am Mom; I am Susan; I am pandosu. I am a few stitches short of a full row.

And I wouldn't have it any other way...

STASH SALE TOMORROW
YARN & MORE BOOKS

Inventory

"A-tisket, a-tasket,
A green and yellow crowded knitting basket.
I wrote a letter to my love knit a design for my friends ,
But on the way I dropped stopped it.
I dropped stopped it, I dropped stopped it,
And, on the way I dropped stopped it.
A little boy picked it up And now it's time to pick it up,
And put it in his pocket move it up the docket."

- with apologies to Ella...

Creativity is a messy business!

Exhibit A:

Obviously, it was time to bring some order into play.


These are spring & summer projects that are going into hibernation until February, when I will begin thinking about spring again. They include four more zen collection patterns, two more free citrus patterns, Phoenicia, Catch a Wave. Trellis, & Night Music.


These are leftover bits of yarn from my Noro designs. They can really tangle and foul up your basket. So I am banishing them to their own basket.

And these are being moved back to the top of the basket. All of them are designs that are well underway and merely await my knitting enough of them to get a decent picture and a finished pattern.

I hereby proclaim this:

Census Week at the Sunflower Farm - TA-DAH!!!!

You're thrilled. I know. You just hide it well...

Just as our kids head back to school and spend the first weeks reviewing, I will take stock of where I am, in order to plan my next moves forward.

Tomorrow: Old friends come to visit again...

Takin' Care of Business

"People see you having fun
Just a-lying in the sun
Tell them that you like it this way
It's the work that we avoid
And we're all self-employed
We love to work at nothing all day"

"And we'll be...
Taking care of business every day
Taking care of business every way
I've been taking care of business, it's all mine
Taking care of business and working overtime
Work out!"
-Bachman Turner Overdrive

Just a little noodge...

A subtle hint...

Well, alright, if you insist upon truth in advertising...

A heinous self-serving sales pitch!

Happy now?

2008's Garden Variety Collection patterns will be retired on April 1st, to make way for the new kids on the block.

Crocus Pocus, Iris, Hydrangea and Zinnia patterns are only available until the end of the month.

So come and get em'...

while they're hot...

warm...

room temp...

before they grow moldy and have to be tossed out. Sigh...

And in honor of their imminent demise, I'm having a "last chance" sale. Four patterns plus one low price equals lots of happy knitters.

Evelyn over at Knitty Noddy is also running the sale.

Watch this space tomorrow for the announcement of the 2009 Garden Variety Collection, or as I like to call them, GVC II - the most DRAMATIC rose patterns ever!!!

(sorry...been watching too much Bachelor...clearly...)

Seriously, these patterns have been very good to me and I hope they have given much enjoyment to those who have purchased them.

Onward and upward...

*****

BTW, thanks to moiraeknittoo,

Mudra

has a new and much better name:

Mendhi

It looks like mendhi, doesn't it?

Besides, I must admit it bothered me just a bit to pin a name with "mud" in it to something so sinuous.

And since the color name is "tattoo", I just had to bow to the inevitable and change the name.

Hey! You don't mess with kismet...

Thanks so much for the new name, moiraeknittoo. I'll send you a free copy of the pattern when it comes out in April.

Growing Pains

"We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth. "
- Virginia Satir

My mailing list just exceeded one thousand entries.

I can't quite wrap my mind around that number.

Know how I know it exceeded 1000 entries?

Because of a little known "readthefineprintoryou'llgetanastysurprise" clause in my internet server contract.

It seems that if you send more than 1000 emails a day, the system deems you a virus, and shuts down your outgoing email for 24 hours.

At 4:00 yesterday afternoon...

As I toiled to send out a mailing about SnowDrift...

As I reached the "W"s on my mailing list...

I became a virus.

I am now tragically (woe is me!) without outgoing email until 4:00 this afternoon.

On a pattern release day.

I can watch the orders pile up, but I can't do anything about them.

Timing is everything...

Will send out patterns late this afternoon. Sorry about the delay!

I don't suppose, in this instance, hugs will help...

*****

Here's a couple of juicy tidbits to distract you while we wait.

Sock yarn went out to domestic buyers this morning. Think I'll take advantage of the email lull to knuckle down and figure out the Canadian mail system and customs forms so I can get the Canuck orders off the sunflower farm and into the hands paws of the dogsled teams for delivery to the great white north...

More sock yarn this Saturday.

I'll also be knitting away at another lover-ly aperitif (I got a million of 'em) This is Blue Gentian, another Canopy scarf pattern, due out in March.


And remember this?


Maria the wonder knitter, finished her test knit a week or so back, but I haven't completed enough of the model to get a decent picture. So Durum is calling me back to the joys of Mmmmalibrigo silky merino.

Then there is Sprout, and Beach Glass, and Evening Violet...

And Rouen (first in the cathedral collection)...

And two more Canopy Scarves: one in violet gray and one in deep sea blue...

And a new line of Rowan organic 4-ply cotton scarves for summer that I am calling the Zen collection.

And then there is Garden Variety 2009 to begin.

I have the rainforest seasilk for Trillium/Johnny Jump Up to play with. (April release)

And a design completed for Delphinium (summer 2009)

Not to mention two commisioned Handmaiden scarf projects: one in a new yarn called Cambyx for Evelyn at Knitty Noddy and one in Mulberry Tussah for Connie at Pick Up Sticks.

If I didn't know better, I'd think my sunflower farm was becoming an unruly overgrown weed patch.

The curse of a fertile imagination and too much time on my hands.

Growing pains...

Maybe I need FEWER hugs?

Nah...

Back Ups

"You must back up your ambition by your whole nature, by unbounded enthusiasm and a determination to win which knows no failure."
-Orison Swett Marden

So much has happened since I last posted. Where to start?

We have bad news and good news...

Bad news (VERY BAD!): On Thursday, my hard disc failed. Why me? Why me?

Maybe the fact that it hit the floor had something to do with it?

But I did NOT drop it. I just watched in horror as my new laptop slid (seemingly in agonizing slow-mo) from its here-to-fore thought safe perch atop my foot stool. I tried to catch it as it bounced off my magazine rack (now neatly re-purposed as a catchall for my stitch dictionaries, design journal, pattern hard copies, & paperwork - who has time to read?) and made its way to the hardwood floor.

Ouch! As Yoda would say, "Do or do not; there is no try."

I did not.

And just like that, all my patterns, my mailing list, my pictures...

All gone.

Had this happened a bare week and a half earlier, my business would have been toast. You see, ever since I got the new laptop in September, my DH has struggled to get it to back up correctly. It seemed the old machines in the house didn't like the newcomer and chose to express that disregard by ignoring the new laptop's weekly requests for back up. They weren't talking to each other.

In response to my desperate pleas (I think my asking for back ups for Xmas turned the tide) DH finally installed Windows Home Server on Baby Boy's old computer and set it up to back up every night while we and the stubborn machines slept. Sort of a stealth back up.

Hooray! I had back ups. What a relief!

All we had to do was buy a new hard drive ($60) install it in the laptop, and use the recovery discs that came with it to reboot the system.

Except my laptop didn't come with a recovery disc. We were supposed to make one ourselves.

OOPS!

No problem, DH said. We can restore it from the home server. Except the server kept crashing. Once. Twice. Third time's the charm...

It failed permanently on the fourth try.

Overnight.

Seems Baby Boy's old computer just wasn't up to the task of a full system restore.

Now what? DH called his office, told them he had an emergency at home and was going to work from home on Friday. Then he went back to the computer store to purchase a new server ($500 - double ouch!).

Made us really nervous when the new machine staged a little demonstration to remind us just who was in charge.

We told it to "restore system." It chose to "install system." The mere thought that all of my existing data might be wiped clean in favor of a fresh new start, sent me into conniption fits.

That is change we most certainly DON'T need.

I went to the yarn store, and calmed myself by breathing deeply of the restorative wool and silk fumes. You drown your sorrows your way; I'll drown them mine...

I returned home about 3:00, a full 24 hours after the initial incident. With considerable trepidation, I dragged my weary carcass up the stairs to my DH's study for the impending burial rites.

And he smiled.

He told me he had everything up to Wednesday night at midnight. I only lost four hours of work.

I kissed him hard and told him he was the best person I knew.

He still is.

My hero.

By Friday night, I had a fully operational system. And two recovery discs. And full back ups on a reliable (Hell! At that price, it better be infallible) non-crashing system server.

There is a God.

I am back in business; all is right in the world; and I can testify personally to the soothing effect of endless knitting in times of trouble.

I know these are small matters when compared with so many genuine tragedies. Still, I am reminded of my own myriad opportunities for failure and the supreme comfort and importance of having someone back me up.

Tomorrow, I'll share pics of a finished icicle scarf and two new projects for the month of February.

Today, I am thankful for my most reliable back up - my darling, darling husband, otherwise known around here as:

• the cavalry
• the miracle worker
• the High Supreme Pooh-bah of Data

All hail...

Vote!

"Suffrage is the pivotal right."
-Susan B. Anthony

We all know how important our votes are, right?

We've all been following the election campaigns closely, right?

Some of us are for this guy:









And some of us are for this guy:








And some of us wish this guy was running:


Sorry...too much West Wing watching while knitting. Could there be a more idealistic show about government? I wish I felt the same way about our actual government. Sigh...



And, of course, some of us are voting for Dolores:



However, I would like to ask your opinion on something much more immediate and fun.

And you don't have to go to your local polling place. (I recommend a visit to your LYS instead; a little farther drive for most of us, but a shorter line and more gratifying by half.)

Heck, you don't even have to get up from your knitting chair!

All I ask is that you take a little time from your busy day and cast your vote on the following question:

Which color of Mountain Color's yummy new Winter Lace yarn (new this fall) should I submit a design for?

Marias Falls





Red Tail Hawk





Sierra





Chinook





Crazy Lady





Mountain Twilight





Red Willow





Ruby River





Leave me a message and let me know your favorite. It's so hard to pick just one; I love them all...

Now here's an election we can all get excited about!

Return to Sender

Hello everybody!

For some unknown reason (at least unknown to me) my server is letting me receive email up here in the great North.

But it is NOT allowing me to send...

DIDDLEY SQUAT!!!

So...

I cannot send out pattern orders.

But...

I can watch them pile up in my in box.

I can read your plaintive missals asking where your patterns are.

I can grind my teeth.

I can feel your pain.

I just can't make it go away.

Not until Tuesday, when I return home.

Serves me right for taking some time off...

Sorry, y'all!!!

Really...

Truly...

Sorry.

My server and I are gonna have a "discussion" when I get home...

Grrr...

I Lied...

Big announcement on Tuesday Wednesday.

C'mon...

Y'all should know by now how often I run late...

My estimates are always optimistic.

Too tired to type that much this evening.

You guys will forgive me, right?

Right?

BTW: those that make note of such things, my email has changed. It is now:

susanpandorf@comcast.net

The big conglomerate ate up our little country cable provider.

G'nite. I'm off to rest up for the big (heh!) reveal tomorrow.

Go ahead. Call me a tease. You're allowed...

And for those who lose sleep over such things...

the cat still lives...

and smirks...

and appears totally unrepentent...

What the Hell?

Stat Counter has the hiccups (or something)

I am up to over 700 page loads this morning, from all over the country and they all come from a "click through link." Now I don't know what this is (but would you like to learn all about digital thermostats?) I suspect I'm being spammed.

I would be a lot more excited about these visits if they lasted longer than 0 seconds...

SIGH!

So, just in case the clicks turn into comments (NOOOOOOOO!!!!) I have installed a random letter checker thingie ( don't you love those technical terms?)

In the meantime, I knit on... and ignore the mayhem...that used to be realistic data.

This n' That

Thanks for all your comments on cold and warm. It has been great fun reading all the responses. You guys are true originals, each and every one!

And, if you haven't yet entered, scroll on down to the last post and join in the fun. I won't close out the contest until Wednesday.

Morocco continues to grow in length. No new pictures just yet. I know you're waiting. I know you're smitten. I'm knitting as fast as I can. It is wonderful the way so many of you have taken her to heart. I promise you all...

She will be worth the wait.

Consolation prize: pictures of a new scarf design for Woolen Rabbit in Kim's new Opulence yarn, a sportweight combination of silk and merino.


Without further ado, I present...



Berry Basket

(Color isn't true in this shot. For some reason it came out way more blue than the actual yarn.)



that's better...



Details:







grape arbor border














basketweave edging









berry stitch main body





And now, I'm off to visit #1 son's new digs for the first time, and mail off patterns to Knitty Noddy.

Here's one for the road...

for my brother David, who kindly sent me the hat...
(Thanks, Bro!)

and for all my other New York readers...

GO GIANTS!

All the News That's Fit to Print...

And some that isn't.

Not much to say tonight. Would love to stay and chat, but Morocco calls. Had a bit of a setback today. Thought I had only one more pattern repeat before reaching the center panel, however, have stretched, measured, compared with other shawls I have and have decided to do another 6 repeats to increase length.

Frustrating, but something this enthralling (thanks for the word, Lucia) deserves to be done right the first time.

So, back to the long haul. Hopefully I'll have something new to show you in a couple days.

SIGH!

As to that news?

I have dropped my prices in order to be competitive within the market. So Celestial is now $5 and Cherry Country is $8. And no, I'm not going out of business; you don't have to call within the next ten minutes; this is not a limited time offer; and I don't have to pay the tax man on everything in inventory at the end of the month...

I am talking with Evelyn at Knitty Noddy about carrying my patterns. As Martha would say, "It's a good thing." Evelyn is a delight and I have been ordering from her, seems like forever. She has a great selection of yarns and her service is unsurpassed. Cross your fingers and I'll let you know if it pans out.

I have spent some time researching alternative yarns to suggest for the four designs that are currently available. You will find those recommendations in the sidebar, under each pattern picture & info. I hope this will help all of you who might like to knit with something from your stash, or who simply need a little advice on making the pattern your very own.

Cheryl's Arabian Nights is coming along splendidly. She is enjoying the pattern (WHEW! THAT'S a relief...) and the stole is everything I envisioned. So exciting to watch someone else bring something new to the project. I will definitely be using test knitters from here on out. Her input has been invaluable!

Now though, it's time to go back to knitting...

SLAVE, SLAVE, SLAVE...THAT'S ALL I DO FOR YOU PEOPLE... (yeah, right! LOL)

What Kind of Yarn are You?

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so softhearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from your head to your toes. Take this quiz!

This Is Just a Test...

This is a test of the Emergency Knitter's System. The writer of this blog, in voluntary cooperation with the all powerful Oz independent yarn dyers, has developed this system to keep you informed in the event of:

• an emergency
• a grave crime against humanity
• an insult to knitters everywhere
• a regrettable mistake
• a small error
• a tiny boo boo
• a microscopic oops

Almost too small to mention...

If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed to proceed to your local yarn store and knit booties socks (C'mon! Get with the program! My grandmother knit booties...)

If this had been an actual emergency, you would have been instructed who to turn to in blogland for accurate directions and official information...

If this had been an actual emergency, the embarrassed squawking noise you just heard would have been followed by the sound of me hitting my head against the wall...

Well, I guess it had to happen sometime...

The bloom is off the rose cherry blossom. Cherry is NOT perfect and neither am I. I have been brutally initiated into the great sisterhood of the humble designer.

My first pattern errata.

You know, it is so easy when you are on the other side of the equation to throw stones cherry pits.

"How could they be so careless?"
"Why don't they double check these things?"
"Don't they know their knit, knit, pass from a hole in the ground?"

On the other hand, it has happened to us all and many of "us all" are more experienced than I.

When drawing up the legend for Cherry Country's charts, I omitted the symbols and instructions for a right and left twist, which are used in her diamond end borders.

Thirty lashes with a wet noodle dampened unblocked piece of lace.

WHOOPS!

My bad...

If you have purchased the pattern prior to this, please email me and I will send you a pdf file with the corrections.

I guess it had to happen sometime. **SIGH**

Three other significant firsts happened this week here at Sunflower Designs:

• I got pdf capabilities for FREE! That's F-R-E-E, free people. (I LOVE my husband!!!)
• I signed up my first test knitter, to work on the Arabian Nights version of my Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights shawl for Woolen Rabbit
  
• Pat K. posted the first project from one of my designs on Ravelry. A lovely sock-ret scarf. Someone other than me knits these things!
  

Kim doesn't have time to knit the alternate colorway and Cheryl has been bugging me for the release date, so she was a natural to ask. She should get yarn and pattern sometime next week. Hope you will all troop over to "Jung at Heart" and show her a little love.

Thanks Cheryl!

And thank you Pat for reaffirming my self-delusion worth.

If any of you are interested in test knitting, let me know and I'll call on you next time.

Other miscellaneous business: I now have seventy-five Bloglines Subscribers. It's amazing how many people come over if you offer them free food yarn.

Knitters are sort of like stray cats that way. They hang around the back door comment list, begging for kibbles cashmere, offering love and allegiance in return, or at least an occasional read-by-night...

And Lord love them for it! You keep on comin' round. I'll keep putting out a feast...

Or at least a snack...

One with possible errors in it...

But a lot of love.

*********************

Sunflower Designs Cherry Country Shawl pattern Errata – page 4

LEGEND

STITCH NOTES

Right twist: Insert the right hand needle
into the second stitch on left needle knitwise,
knit stitch, then WITHOUT
SLIPPING STITCH FROM LEFT
NEEDLE, knit first stitch. Now slip both
stitches off the left hand needle together.
This twists the stitches to the right.

Left twist: Insert the right hand needle
from behind the body of the work into
the back of the second stitch, knit stitch,
then WITHOUT SLIPPING STITCH
FROM LEFT NEEDLE, bring yarn
forward between needles and knit first
stitch through front as usual. Now slip
both stitches off the left hand needle
together. This twists the stitches to the
left.

Takin' Care of Business

Today's post is one of those mixed bag type of posts. I often find myself in a groove when holding forth on a particular topic and it feels like an intrusion of randomness would interrupt the flow. So I go days without imparting crucial irrelevant information to you - my adoring fans, enthusiastic followers, lukewarm audience, tolerant friends.

You have no idea how hard it was for the writer in me to add on the postscript to yesterday's thoughtfully considered and endlessly valuable post rant. It was like fingernails on a blackboard.

It was like tacking extra arms onto the Venus de Milo. It was like adding jalapeno peppers to a hot fudge sundae. It was like tacking a delicate lace border onto a beefy aran sweater.

In other words, it stuck out like a sore thumb (or a dropped stitch as the case may be.)

So, today you get...

leftovers.

Contain your excitement.

Miriam Felton, on her blog, poses the question, “If I knit fast enough, does it count as exercise?” The answer, apparently, according to Health magazine is YES!

There it is, right on pg. 117 of the September issue, under “No-Sweat Calorie Burners:”

“Do your nails or knit while watching your favorite hour-long TV show. BURN 102 CALORIES.”

Who knew?

Lucia corralled me into the Pay It Forward exchange that's been making the rounds. I get a little something sent to me, and in return I make this promise:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I don't do well with deadlines (see Structure post) but this one has a window so wide even the chronically organizationally challenged can squeeze through. I mean, a year! 365 big ones! Surely, even I can make that deadline (but don't bet on it! I wouldn't want to be responsible for you losing your shirt, your home, your kid's college tuition, or...

GASP!!

your yarn money (tragic!)

But when I come through, I really come through. Yesterday I mailed off Tiennie's prize package for winning the 25th subscriber contest. I don't know when I've had such fun! Since I promised 25 things and there are 25 days in December before D-day Christmas, I made her a knitter's advent calendar with something to open every day between now and the big Yule.

I know I'm late (did I mention I was disorganized?) but just think of the fun she'll have opening an entire week at once. Man, when I was a kid, that would have just thrilled the livin' bejeesus out of me. My brother and I fought over whose turn it was to open that little flap of cardboard!

Anyway, she knows about the advent calendar thingie, so I'm not revealing any state secrets here. What did she get? You'll just have to scamper on over to her blog come next week and find out... I had such a good time with this idea that I'm going to do it every year (the advent prize, not the Bloglines subscriber estimate.) Next year, I'll find a different contest angle. And I'll get the prize box off in November (maybe.)

Thanks for enduring my rant yesterday. Hope it wasn't off-putting to anybody. I'm not really a Scrooge. I just find so much more of the peaceful spirit of the holiday flowing through me when I am knitting or baking, anything but shopping. I don't deal well with crowds.

When I am knitting a present for someone, I envision that person, what makes them special, how much joy they have brought into my life, and love speeds my needles on...

You just don't get that feeling standing in line at WalMart.

Well, maybe YOU do, but I don't.

Have been busy entering projects onto Ravelry. Margene kindly suggested it would be a good way to get the word out about Sunflower Designs. It's a brave new world, people.

Speaking of Margene, she has a great post today on UFO's Go read. I'll wait...

And as to that grass I was dashing through yesterday?

It's yesterday's news.

Last night, when I went to bed, it looked like this:









This morning, when I got up, things had made significant progress...









It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...








Think I'll go warm myself by the welcoming fire that is my sun-baked Moroccan holiday.

















And Pippin will help...

The One That Got Away

"The night is bitter,
The stars have lost their glitter;
The winds grow colder
And suddenly you're older -
And all because of the man that got away."
-Judy Garland

Every day I play a little game with myself. After I post, I subscribe to my own feed at Bloglines and see how many subscribers I have. A month or so ago I hit 25, which seemed like a benchmark of sorts. (Hey, when you're still wet behind the ears like I am, you take what you can get!)

Since I had dilly dallied around too long, I couldn't run a contest for predicting the date I would hit 25. But I had grand plans for a post telling you 25 things you never wanted to know about sex me, but were afraid to ask. Somehow I never quite got around to it. Real life kept getting in the way.

Well, today I received my comeuppance. My readership went DOWN by one.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't know what I did to cause someone to drop me like a hot potato, toss me out with the dishwater, cast me aside like yesterday's news, but I feel like a sock without a mate.

So, I get a second chance for a meaningless contest! Yay me!!! (Raise the roof)

Leave me a comment and let me know the day and hour upon which I will discover I have reached twenty-five again and I will send you a goodie box with twenty-five "somethings."

AHA! It's a MYSTERY prize.

25 knitting needles
25 skeins of sock yarn (you may think this is beyond the realm of reality but then, you haven't seen my stash!)
25 stitch markers
25 mateless socks (with the yarn to finish them)
25 rutabagas
25 cents
25 dollars
25 THOUSAND dollars (dream on...)

You get the drill.

And no fair signing up twice, if you already subscribe. That's cheating (or fudging finessing the stitch count, if you will.)

And I promise to stop obsessing about where we went wrong...

SIGH!

Are you lonesome tonight?
Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a bright sunny day
When [you read me] and called [me] sweetheart?
Do the [posts] in your [in-box] seem empty and bare?
Do you gaze at your [laptop] and picture me there?
Is your heart filled with pain, shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?
-with apologies to Elvis

Twenty Questions

(minus eighteen)

!

Random digression (or revelation by typo, take your pick):
If you shift when trying to type the number one, you get an exclamation point. How appropriate. If I was number one, I'd be excited too!

Let's try this again...

1. Do you find my current text color hard to read? I don't have any problems with it, but I got an email from someone who does. Is this easier?

2. What should I submit to Yarnival next month? Unsolicited advice or snarky humor?

3. What does faith want to be when it grows up?

Oops! That's twenty minus seventeen. Disregard.

And now, for those Halloween pooh-pooh-ers that doubt such scary things exist...

Incontrovertible proof that crop circles are real.












Okay, incontrovertible proof that crop rectangles are real.

Picky, picky, picky!!!!

Hubby is reseeding the lawn. This summer's drought killed off too much green. Hopefully, by next spring when we finally get the house on the market, the crop rectangles will be a distant memory.

And the ultimate scare?????

Incontrovertible proof that there are only 77 shopping knitting days until Christmas











One DAY's worth of catalog mail!!! One day, people!

Who will buy? (Not me. I knit for a living giving.)

Now stop reading me, and go over to Sweet Sue's to check out this month's Yarnival (Way to go, Amy! WOOT! WOOT!)

Go on...

I'm not going anywhere...

Not even Michigan...

I'll still be here when you get back...

I promise.

New Addition to the Family

This one's for Amy.

We have an add on to the front of the house this year.









Let's take a closer look, shall we?









I think it really adds something to the curb appeal, don't you?

GO COLTS! WOOT! WOOT! WOOT!

Seuss Redux

I want to write post,
But there's no time to play.
No time to surf.
At least not today.

I need to write workbook.
Not any fun.
Would rather write you guys,
But work must be done...

Takin' Care of Bizness

Well, flickr appears to be having brain farts, so instead of spending hours (well ok, minutes...but it SEEMS like hours!) waiting for all of your lovely pictures to upload on your blog post, I guess I'll take care of some business:

First up is the Sock-it-to-me Sock Swap questionnaire. Now I realize this is fascinating stuff, especially to those of you who are not participating, but it is a secret swap. I am instructed to answer said questionnaire on my web page, so as not to ruin the surprise. Those of you who can think of better ways to spend your time, please DON'T quit on me. There is more post to follow. Feel free to skip down, although I did my best to make it entertaining reading.

1.What are your foot measurements? (Please give shoe size, length and circumference.)

Clodhopper (You want specifics?) Size ten, (Yeah baby!) 9 1/2 in. from tip of big toe (who am I kidding? They're all big.) to heel, 9 1/2 in. around at widest point.

2.How long have you been knitting? How would you rate your experience? (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.)

I have been knitting since I was twelve, with time off for good behavior. Guess that qualifies me for advanced status.

3.What is your favorite color? Your least favorite color?

Favorite colors are God- made, found in nature. Least favorite? Anything that screams, "MAN-MADE" like day-glo colors.

4.Do you have a favorite fiber? What type?

I like merino and tencel best, but believe in equal opportunity for all fibers.

5.Do you have any allergies to certain fibers?

No. The only thing I am allergic to is housework.

6.Do you have an Amazon, or other type of, wishlist? (If so, provide the link.)

The things I wish for can't be purchased in a store: love, hope, faith, peace, gentleness, & charity. I don't have a link, but if you do, please share.

7.What techniques, if any, would you like to learn?

I've always wanted to play the piano. Oh! I'm sorry! You wanted knitting related techniques? Hmmm... the only thing I can think of is more design experience.

8.Do you have a sweet tooth? What are your favorite snacks?

Coffee, not tea. Wine, not beer. Mayonnaise, not Miracle Whip. Diet Coke, not Pepsi. Dark chocolate, not milk. Homemade cookies, not Oreos. Goat cheese, not Velveeta. Sourdough, not Wonder bread. Natural, not processed.

9.What is your family situation? (Children, Husband, Pets...etc.)

My family IS a situation. Oh fine! One (and only) husband (for 28 years) two children (one grown & gone, one grown, but not gone - yet- any takers?) two furballs cats.

10.Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Metal, plastic or wood?

For socks: Crystal Palace bamboo dpns. Cheap and easy to replace when I pull too hard and break one. Everything else, Addi Turbo circulars all the way.

11.Besides socks, what are your favorite items to knit?

Currently on a lace binge, but I knit everything I can get my hands on. Are you going to eat that spaghetti?

12.Is there a pattern, (sock or otherwise), that you are dying to try?

Personally, I try to knit a pattern before it gets into mortality issues. Beats the alternative. Big time.

13.Do you like to read? What are you reading currently?

Love to. It's summer, so I am in "beach read" mode right now - detective novels all the way. Proust doesn't like to get sand in between his toes.

14.Do you collect music? (On an iPod or MP3 player.)

I wouldn't call it collecting, but I do have an 8g. Ipod with sufficient entertainment value to keep me toe tapping. Or tush swaying, if you prefer.

15.What kind of music do you listen to?

Classical, plus a mix of jazz, folk, country, and pop with an emphasis on female singer songwriters. Hey! I'm a writer. It's all about the lyrics.

16.Is there anything you collect?

Besides yarn? I like books a lot and my husband would probably open our closet and point out the Imelda Marcus commemorative shoe collection.

17.What are your hobbies, aside from knitting?

Picking up stray men in bars. Not what you were looking for? OK. I spend most of my time doing three things - knitting, reading, and writing. But as, writing is my profession, I'm not sure it qualifies.

18.Are you participating in any other swaps or knit alongs?

Affirmative on that one. First swap victim participant. KALs: Knitting Nature KAL , Inspired by Nature KAL (if I can ever figure the blamed thing out. Posted yesterday, or thought I did. I submitted for review and promptly lost the whole post into the ethernet) Sock a Month KAL, Posh Knitters, and Briar Rose Fibers KAL.

19.Do you have a favorite scent?

Cedar, sea breezes, fresh, crisp linen hanging on the line, that spot on the side of a baby's neck...

20.When is your birthday? (You don't have to add the year if you don't want to, LOL.)

September 26, 1956. Born on my father's birthday. As my blog states, fifty years young.

**********************
Okay! Now that that's out of the way, check these out:



Clean bookshelf - check.










Clean knitting basket and book rack - check.







Clean table - check

Wait a minute. It's not that clean? Tough euroflax, people. This is as good as it gets.

Clean is a relative term.





Clean desk - check.








What? You don't see anything?

My point exactly...








Clean counter tops - check.


And in case there was any doubt as to the serious nature of my intentions...





That's real dirt on that cloth, folks!

I love the smell of Murphy's in the morning...

This one's for all of us...

But especially for my Mom, who loved this song so much, she campaigned for its adoption as our national anthem. It was the first hymn sung at her memorial service.

O beautiful for spacious skies,






For amber waves of grain,











For purple mountain majesties











Above the fruited plain!






America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea









to shining sea!