I Failed Miserably

Oh, the shame...I failed to finish all the #$% samurai hats by the deadline. I had until 5pm on Sunday. I was this close to being hysterical when I realized at 3pm that there was no way on God's green earth I was going to have them done.

So I did what any self respecting knitter would do. Rather than save my honor and finish them(better late than never), I cast on for the next project. I'm now working on the Husband's aran.

There has been considerable work on the aran so far. Not knitting work, mind you, but planning and much math.

I can't use published patterns for the Husband's sweaters. I've yet to find a designer that has designed a decent looking sweater for a man that is larger than an XL. The Husband has a 55" chest. The largest published pattern that I have come across is for a finished chest of 54". As unselfconscious as the Husband is about his body, I don't think he wants to look like a 'sweater girl' of the 40's.

I wanted to make sure that the Husband was going to wear this sweater, so he was very involved in the planning stages, whether he wanted to be or not. First I picked his brain on what type of sweater he wanted. Which meant that I had to drag out many books and magazines. We consulted Tara Manning's "Men in Knits" and Debra Mountford's book. We even consulted a handknit aran sweater that I've had for close to 15 years that I purchased(yes, purchased) on a trip to Bath, England.

The Husband decided that he liked a twisty Celtic knot looking pattern for the center panel and a diamond shaped cable with seed stitch centers for the side panels. I decided to add a simple 6 stitch cable to separate the different patterns.

The next step was to chart each individual panel, because the only patterns I could find for them were written out. I've never worked from a chart before, but I figured that this would be the best way to go. I knew that I would be consulting my notes a lot, and it would be easier to keep track of where I was.

After charting the Celtic knot and diamond pattern, it was time to swatch.

Will our heroine faithfully swatch? Will she get the Husband to Lambikins to pick out the yarn? Will she be able to figure out how many stitches to cast on?

Stay tuned.

The List

The following post has nothing what so ever to do with knitting. You've been warned.

Last evening the Husband and I had an unexpected treat. We went to his parent's house for Easter dinner and the Ga-Ga(this is what the oldest grandchild started calling Grandma and it stuck- or sometimes she is known as the Gaggs - the Husband's family is big on nicknames) offered to let the Kidlets spend the night(I use nicknames in order to protect one's privacy). (I promise from here on out to limit the use of paranthesis.)

The Husband needed to go into the police academy to finish up some copying that had to be done by this morning so I went along to help. While on the drive there we started discussing "The List".

The list is a list(obviously)(Damn!-there they are again) of people, that given the opportunity, we would allow our spouse to have a fling with. It is also an unwritten rule that the names on this list must be someone with who(or is it whom? - Dadgummit!)that we have no chance in Hell of ever having a chance meeting.

We are each allowed five names. My List(in no particular order-AARRGGGH!):

1. Colin Farrell
2. Sam Elliott
3. Kiefer Sutherland
4. Jackie Chan
5. still working on this one - maybe Brendan Fraiser, or LL Cool J, George Clooney, or Johnny Depp

Now, I named my list off rather quickly, and not because I have put a lot of thought into it. I have always liked Sam Elliott. There's just something about the rugged good looks combined with that voice. The same goes for the rest of my list, I've just always liked them.

So, we began to work on the Husband's list. The first name was very easy - Salma Hayak. The husband likes them curvy with a bit of intelligence, which rules out Pam Anderson(The Husband greatly admires Condeleeza Rice because of her intelligence and piano playing ability, but he'd rather just sit and discuss politics and world events with her - I've given in to the power of this form of punctuation). But we were having a hard time coming up with others. It took close to two hours to come up with the next two, Viveca A. Fox and Tia Carrere.

The Husband then pointed out that I had a rather well rounded list of ages and nationalities. Whereas his had so far a good mix, he needed a woman of Anglo-Saxon descent to round it out. We had a very hard time coming up with this name. We finally decided it was because women of Anglo-Saxon, blonde persuasion value skinniness to the point of looking boyish of frame, i.e. Nicole Kidman, Rene Zellweger, Kiera Knightly(not blonde, but very skinny).

Remember when "Bridget Jones' Diary" came out and everyone was making a big deal about Rene Zellweger gaining - gasp!- 20 pounds? The Husband and I thought she looked fantastic with the 'extra' pounds, especially the Vicars and Tarts party scene when she shows up in the bunny costume.

I know that none of these skinny young starlets read this blog, but I have a favor to ask of all of you. If in your travels you come across any of them, please hold them down and force feed them a sandwich. You'll be doing all of us a favor. Those of us that look like Renaissance women will be in vogue, and the Husband will be able to finish his list.

This is Spring?


I spoke too soon in the last post. Today the kidlets are supposed to go to an Easter egg hunt, and there is snow on the ground. Now if we lived in Canada or Maine this wouldn't be a big deal, but this is southern Ohio, for the love of Pete(Rose). This past Monday was the Cincinnati Red's Opening Day which is a rite of spring in these parts and the day was beautiful and warm. Today, not so much.



The brace is off the thumb, it still feels a little stiff but thank goodness it wasn't as bad as Kate's. I've got one week to finish the #$%^ samurai hats and they will be out of my life forever! I can't wait to cast on the Husband's aran. Since even the XL size in most patterns don't accomodate the Husband's chest, I had to come up with a pattern on my own. The Husband was very much involved in the designing of this sweater. I don't want to be 3/4 done with this sweater and have to rip it like I did the Malabrigo that was supposed to be for him.

I checked out all kinds of books from the library, pulled all of the patterns for aran sweaters that I had in my personal library and had him look at all of them to tell me elements that he liked. Then I combined the cable patterns and went from there.

Once I cast on I'll post on the details. I really have to steel my resolve and finish the #$%^ samurai hats.

The Big Smackdown


Several weeks ago, the yarn shop that I frequent was having their spring sale to clear out the bulky winter yarns to make room for the summer weight yarns. I felt obligated to do my part.

So, I thought that since I was almost done with the Girl's hoodie I would pick up some yarn(Plymouth Dreambaby D.K. - very soft and machine washable) for Thing 1's SpongeBob sweater(of my own design). Although I have a pile of yarn waiting to be worked into the Husband's aran, I would now have a project waiting in the wings for those times I became disgusted with all of the mistakes I knew I would make on the aran and toss it aside for a few days.

Naturally the stuff I picked out wasn't on sale. While there I also picked up some yarn for baby booties. A co-worker of the Husband's just had their very own Thing 1 and Thing 2, and some friends of ours just had not only Things 1 and 2, but a 3!

As an added bonus during the sale, with every purchase you got to reach into the 'box of surprises' and grab a gift. Some were for discounts on future purchases, but I grabbed a $25 gift card! Woo-who!

To add to this elation, I finished the Girl's pink hoodie, and she loves it so much that she has worn it to the bus stop every morning, and I have not been able to get a picture of it.

(Finally got a picture since it's 70 degrees this morning, and she didn't need it).

Our weather has finally turned the corner to 'Springsteet'! A sweater is all the Girl needs in the morning. And just yesterday I saw as I was driving the first haze of green on a roadside bush, and a slight shade of yellow on a forsythia! I have crocus blooming in the front yard, and my Bradford pear trees are about to pop open their blooms. I love this time of year, in spite of my allergies.

Just when my heart was so full of silly joy that I felt like I might burst into song like Shirley Jones in "The Music Man" came the big smackdown. Tendonitis in my right thumb. I have a brace on my thumb, an anti-inflamatory prescription in the cabinet, and doctor's orders - no knitting for at least two weeks. Why don't you just tell me not to breathe, doc?


I also found out that D-Day for the #$%^& samurai hats is April 15. I have the knitting done, I just have to assemble. Doc didn't say anything about not assembling for two weeks.

Ready to Go

I've been waiting close to a month for this. The dishwasher was tired. Even though it was only 7 years old I figure in appliance years it was probably 15-20 years old. Here's how I see it: Dishwashers are designed to do one load a day, but our family of 6 ran the dishwasher with a full load at least twice, sometimes 3, times a day, hence tired.

Unfortunately, it decided to start leaking at the same time as the 13 year old fridge and the upstairs bathroom shower. Plus we were having highs of 10F when the Husband said he needed a new winter coat, because the old one just wasn't doing it for him anymore.

So the bathroom leak, coat(a gorgeous black leather number), and fridge repair came first, while I washed dishes by hand. By hand, people! For 6 people that must get a clean glass every time they want a sip of water.

So I sit here waiting for the handsome men(I know they are handsome, because any man that delivers a dishwasher after a month of hand washing is handsome). I'm so excited I could piddle on the floor like the bladder control issue, old spaniel.

I was about to hand wash those dishes in the sink, but then I realized that I need some dirty dishes to test out the new love of my dish cleaning life.

I think I'll make a cake, some cookies and brownies, and roast some big hunk of meat just so I can have more dirty dishes! I'm feeling giddy. I'd better have a lie down so I can get myself under control before they show up, if I don't I may not be able to contain myself.

I've been remiss

I've been remiss in thanking the Husband for the virtual flowers. I think he was a little hurt that the post immediately following the Valentine's post was not a post thanking him. John, I am sorry.

The flowers are beautiful, and the best part...much cheaper than the $60 you would have paid for real ones on Valentine's Day.

John is a fantastic husband that works hard for the family and has made many sacrifices and often gone sleep deprived for us. He is also a terrific father and best of all he gets to be the 'fun' parent.

Thanks, hon. I'll have your aran sweater done by this fall. I promise.

License Revoked

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I should have my knitting license revoked.

I spent this past Saturday sitting on an incredibly hard bleacher for 6 hours at a state karate tournament and didn't once get out the knitting. Please believe me when I tell you that I feel deep shame.

I took the girl's pink hoodie that I had set aside last fall in favor of working on the gazillion samurai hats(that still aren't finished). I only have 3/4 of a sleeve and the hood to go. She could still get some late winter/early spring wear out of it, if I'd only finish the dang thing. It's being knit in the round so I don't even have to stare at it for weeks until I resign myself to sew up the seams.

I'm sure the Blogging Police will probably revoke my blogging license next for not posting pictures.

"But, officer, I have a good excuse. The batteries in my digital camera died, and I don't have anymore here at the house. I'm so scatterbrained anymore that I forget to pick up a pack while I'm standing there staring at the battery display looking for just the right size watch battery for all of the kidlet's Tamogotchis!"

"Tell it to the judge, lady."

The girl and boy #1 did well at the tournament. The girl came home with a silver in kata and a gold in kumite. The boy didn't medal, but he was in a much more difficult division. Although he is a brown belt, he was in a division with black belts. I'm very proud of him, he held his own and did his best. That's all we can ask.

I sneaked onto my wife's blog because I have been sick the last couple of days and did not have an opportunity to get her anything for Valentine's Day. She's a great gal who is always there for me and (almost) never complains - even when I forget Valentine's Day.

So Karen, please accept this dozen roses as temporary until I recover from this virus so I can go out and get you something more tangible for Valentine's Day.

Love - John

Holy Crap, it's cold!!


February has never been my favorite month. It's right about this time of year that I get so sick of winter that I just want to hibernate. Even though February is the shortest month, it seems to drag on. It's like sitting through Lawrence of Arabia again, or The English Patient, two movies that are supposed to be great, but make me want to poke my eyeballs out with size 1 double points.


On to knitting news...

I'm still working on the Color on Color scarf from Scarf Style. But that's not the exciting part, this is...(the picture is dark because it's just too bloody cold to take the knitting outside for a good shot)

See that Fair Isle section? The one with the dog hair on it? I did it two handed. That's right, I carried one color in one hand, and the other color in the other hand. It may be no big deal to those of you that knit Continental, but I had never been able to master the Continental style of knitting. It felt awkward and I was never sure of which way to pick up the yarn. The best part about this, I taught myself.

I'd better stop congratulating myself, because I know the big smackdown is coming. It always does.

Random Thoughts

1. I've been stuck in the house, except for a trip to the grocery, for about 6 days. First the Girl was sick with the classic flu. Right about the time she started feeling better, Thing 1 and Thing 2 started with the symptoms. It's their turn to stay home from school. I suppose it's only a matter of time before the Boy gets it. I usually do my running during school hours. Those of you that are parents understand. Consequently, my nails look like this. I didn't blur the photo on purpose. Have you ever tried to take a photo with your left hand while the camera controls are on the right?



It looks like it will be a few more days before I can get them done. It's the one little luxury I allow myself, well, that and the yarn...and the chocolate...and the occassional glass of wine.

2. I ripped the drunken scarf swatch, and started in earnest on the pattern. This is the first thing that I have knit using the exact yarn in the exact colors recommended, and it's still fun. There aren't any tricky techniques or stitches, but it is managing to keep my interest. I'm sure it's because of all of the color changes and constantly turning it this way and that to pick up stitches. This pattern is not for those of you with a 'weaving aversion'.


There's the other hand with the horrid manicure.

3. The other day I was at the Husband's work place(the police academy), and saw a flyer advertising for instructors in various subjects(cardio kick boxing, woodworking, painting, etc). It is for the "adult enrichment" division of the school. I jokingly said, "What, no knitting?" He promptly jumped up, ran into his supervisor's office and told her that I would teach a knitting class! I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut around that man.

Friends don't let Friends Knit Drunk



There it is. Proof that drinking until you are legally drunk(.08) and knitting don't mix.

I was so excited that the Paternayan yarn that I had scored on eBay arrived the afternoon that I was to drink for the good of the community(see previous post). Now I wouldn't have to work on a warshrag(no offense meant Ann and Kay). I could now work on something for me - something that only I would use.

So the Paternayan yarn arrived for the Color on Color scarf from the Scarf Style book, I ran out to get some Addi's in the size needed, (I really need to order the Options set from Knitpicks) and loaded all the needed accessories in the tote bag. I was ready.

So, I arrived at the school, took the base line breathalizer, got my 6oz. of wine(Turning Leaf Sauvignon Blanc, I really wanted the Australian but couldn't justify the higher price - the Husband was expensing this), and started to knit. I decided that even though this was going to be a scarf and size doesn't really matter, I should knit a swatch.

Well, the Paternayan comes in 3 strands and you only need to use 2 for the pattern. So I started off with a tangled mess. Once I got that under control, I began to knit.

This whole time our alcohol intake was being closely monitored by instructors, all of whom are local deputies. We were under a time crunch, because we had to be drunk by a certain time in order for the cadets to 'test' us. So this wasn't a leisurely evening sipping wine like I prefer to do. At one point I was told that if I could still knit, I wasn't drunk enough!

This burly macho deputy obviously knew nothing about knitting! Sure I was knitting, but very badly. See the little dip in the middle? I have no idea what I did. Thank goodness it was only the swatch, and that's where I quit. Even though I was there for 5 hours, only 1 1/2 hours was used for drinking/detangling/knitting.

The remainder of the time I was put through the paces. They divided the class into groups and each group was given a drunk. We, hereafter to be known as "the drunks", were deposited in chairs in a line up- I guess they were afraid we might fall- and each group was told to come up and "grab a drunk"!

We were rotated throughout several groups, because we were all at different levels of drunkeness. I was told by several groups that I was the hardest to determine whether I was drunk, because I found out later that I was just a tad under the legal limit! I try to help whenever I can..

Anyway, after having to do the "follow the pen" routine, walk a straight line for heel to toe for 9 steps-turn around and come back, and hold your foot 6" off the ground for 30 seconds while pointing your toe and counting for the 18th time, I got to go home.

I survived the next morning with only a slight headache, but my legs and toes hurt from trying like hell to keep my balance. I also did something to my right wrist while flapping my arms around trying not to fall that still hurts. But it hasn't stopped me from starting all over on the scarf! I am macho woman! I can knit through the pain, but a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc stopped me dead. I now know my knitting limits, and I have helped in the training of our next crop of wo/men in blue. It was a win/win for all.

An Experiment

Tonight I will be performing an experiment. I will attempt to answer the question: Is it safe to drink and knit?

The husband is the commander of a local police academy and tonight is the unit on field sobriety tests and use of the breathalizer. I selflessly volunteered to help. That means I will be getting a good buzz going so the students can test their skills on a live subject. It's my way of being a good citizen.

So I've rounded up family members to watch the kidlets this evening while I get drunk in order to further the education of these fine young men and women. Yes, there are women in the class. You go, girl!

I will be there for about 5 hours with nothing to do except knit, oh yeah, and drink wine(they provide the wine - I requested a nice Sauvignon Blanc or a Merlot. You can do that when you are married to the commander). Just imagine, five hours of knitting and drinking. I've been thinking about what sort of project I should take with me. Obviously I don't want to take anything too fussy, so the samurai hat is out. Besides, I'm at the finishing point. It wouldn't be practical to block all of the pieces for 3 hats at the academy.

The only other project that I have going at this point is the Daughter's sweater. So, I think I'll take that and some Peaches and Cream that I have on hand and whip out a few dishcloths. Although, this could be a good excuse to go yarn shopping(as if any of us need an excuse!). I have several ideas percolating.

It will be fun to see if there is any difference between my 'sober knitting' and my 'drunk knitting'. I'll let you know as soon as the headache I'm sure to have goes away.

Something I've Never Done Before


I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions. In fact, I've always resolved not make resolutions. Maybe that's my problem.

I'm happy with my looks and weight. Sure I could stand to lose some weight, but I'm just not motivated enough. My extra 20 pounds isn't affecting my health and I don't have to shop for plus sizes, and I'm o.k. with that. I do have some grey hair and that can be easily taken care of. Plus the sweet husband says I'm getting 'hotter' as I get older now that I'm past the frumpy-I-have-very-young-children-or-I'm-pregnant-so-I'm-always-tired-stage.

So this leaves me with personal characteristics. My list will not be as amusing as Franklin's, and these aren't really resolutions they are more like guide lines.

1. I must fight the tendency to be lazy - if I can do this the house will be clean and organized. If the house is clean and organized, I will have time to tackle home improvement projects such as laying down new flooring in the living room, stairs and upstairs hall. Every room will get a new coat of paint and drapes. I will also get the buffet from my great-grandmother cleaned up and looking purty. Which leads me to all of the craft projects that are percolating in my mind...

2. A fisherman's sweater for the husband - I was almost finished with a very large Malabrigo sweater for him(60" chest) when he decided he didn't like the color. Thank goodness I hadn't finished the other sleeve and neckband! So rather than have the thing lay in a drawer never to be worn after months of on and off work, I ripped it.

3. A SpongeBob sweater of my own design for Thing 1 - yellow sweater with Bob's face on the front

4. A Patrick sweater of my own design for Thing 2 - Patrick is as some of you may be cursed to know is a pink starfish. The husband has a strong opinion about boys wearing pink, so it will have to be a smallish Patrick motif on some 'manly' background

5. Knit a runner for the front entry

6. Baby blanket for new family member to be born in February - I'd better get a move on. I don't even have the yarn for this one.

7. A quilt made from old jeans cut into squares

8. Finish the #$%^&#%%& samurai hats!

9. Finally, I need to challenge myself so this is the year I would like to attempt a lace shawl for me. Do you see the above list? Not a dang thing on there for me!

Gotta run, I've got carpet to rip up, laundry to fold, a nap to take! Scratch that last.

It's Been a Good Day

The presents have been opened(everyone was nice this year), the breakfast cassarole consumed, the kidlets are playing well together, the husband's napping in the La-Z-Boy, and I'm not upset about the mess on the floor.

I wish you a year filled with good days.

There really hasn't been much exciting knitting going these past weeks. I haven't started a lace stole, my 100th pair of socks, a sweater for me, scarves for teachers, or even a lonely little dishcloth.

I'm still working on this.


That is Samurai Hat Earflap Ni, and Samurai Earflap San. The little black box? It's 'Mommy's little helper'. My new MP3 player. I've been wanting one for a long time so I could 'tune out' the kidlets and their noises. You can only listen to Spongebob(on the t.v. or in dramatic recreation in the family room) for so long before you want to squeeze every last bit of moisture out of his square, pourous annoying yellow body, but only after you've used him to scrub the toilet in the kidlets bathroom that constantly smells like a gas station restroom.

The kid has a sense of humor!

My house is the habitat of 6 people, 4 of whom are 10 and under, two dogs, and a cat. Five of the six people and all of the animals are complete slobs. Only one person in this house gives a damn about the living conditions. I'll let you guess which one. It's pretty obvious.

A few mornings ago, the oldest male kidlet was eating breakfast at the kitchen table of all places(this is not their usual feeding ground) when I decided that I'd had enough of the silver poptart wrappers, the detritus of a craft project, and a box that someone had torn to pieces for reasons unknown. So I grabbed a garbage bag and started picking up.

I tend to rant as I tidy up, and this day was no exception.

"I've just figured out my purpose in life! My purpose in life is to pick up after y'all!"

Silence from the kitchen table.

"The good Lord put me on this earth to pick up after y'all. Y'all have known this all along! I'm so lucky that God has blessed me with four kind, considerate children that show me how much they love me everyday by leaving bits about the house for me to pick up, thus fulfilling my purpose. I should drop down on my knees this instant and praise the Lord! Halleluiah!"

Silence from the kitchen table.

By this time I had filled the bag, and plopped it down so I could tie it up.

"Hey, Kidlet #1, do you know what this is?"

"A bag of garbage?"

"No, it's a Bag o' Love!"

"It's a Bag of Guilt, you mean."

Hello?


Is anyone out there? Or have y'all gone shopping?

I have declared today "jammie day" at our house. I have never seen the appeal of fighting crowds at the crack of dawn for a supposedly good price on something that if I just waited a few more weeks would be an even better price.

So, jammie day involves staying in the aforementioned attire, eating junk, and lounging in front of the t.v., computer, or playstation. This year it will also include dragging out the Christmakwanzakkuh decorations.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 have been bugging me since freakin' Halloween to put up the decorations. I woke up this morning to stockings hanging with care. They decided to get an early start!

I am also going to spend the day cleaning and preparing for Thanksgiving number 3. Yes, number 3. We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with a Canadian friend in October. Yesterday we drove to Indiana and had Thanksgiving with the husband's extended family.

Saturday we will be having our own immediate family Thanksgiving. Someone suggested yesterday that I was nuts to be 'doing' a big meal again, but it's only once a year. I think I can manage. Besides, it's sort of become a tradition.

Years ago, when my brothers started getting married, they would celebrate Thanksgiving with their in laws on the day of. So, rather than make them go to two dinners in one day, my mother would have her dinner on another night. My mother passed away, Thanksgiving dinner became my responsibility(being the only girl), wives have changed, but the custom has stuck.

This year though, the Connecticut residing sister-in-law couldn't get a long weekend from work, so they won't be here, and the other brother couldn't fit it into his schedule with kid's visitation and kid's play rehearsals.

So, I've got rolls to make(yes, from scratch), pies to bake, and cranberries to relish. The husband is frying the turkey as he does every year.

Don't bother me on Sunday, I'll be in a coma.

Not So Hot Dog



This is Phoebe. She's 11 years old, and cranky, just like some 90 year olds I've known. Yes, I woke her from her endless nap. She's also a cocker spaniel, which means she usually has beautiful, long fur. But I have been a bad pet owner. It's been months(I'm ashamed to say how many) since she has been to the groomer. The spark that finally lit a fire under my arse was a case of dog abuse that made the evening news.

The local animal shelter rescued a cocker spaniel that had 8 pounds of fur that needed to be cut off of her. Eight pounds! Phoebe only weighs 20 pounds, and that's with a reasonable amount of fur(maybe a few ounces). The fur was so matted that it had fused together between her legs, and the poor rescued dog couldn't walk. So, I thought before I was turned in for abuse I had better get Phoebe to the groomer. She had some matting(she was able to walk into the groomers under her own power - I don't want any zealot do-gooder to turn me in!), so the poor thing had to be shaved.

It's getting colder and she needs a sweater. Have you every seen those little white haired ladies walking down the street in August wearing a sweater? I liken Phoebe to one of those dears. She's old, opinionated, and does what she damn well pleases. I figure if she has a nice warm, pretty sweater, she might be coaxed to go outside rather than do her business on the kitchen floor.

I dug into the stash and found some Debbie Bliss merino aran in a pretty lavender, just the thing for an old dear. I think cables ought to do the trick. The only problem is that her bladder tends to let go when she's excited. She'll probably pee on it when I try to put it on her.

And now for something completely different...I read with dismay on Annie Modesitt's blog that she had evidently offended some students in a class she taught here at my LYS last spring. She had stated that the most recent group of students that she taught had picked up the technique quicker than they had when she taught it at my LYS. She also went on to say that it was because the teacher(Annie) hadn't done as good a job the first time.

Because of this brouhaha, Annie says she's going to go on a blogging hiatus for a while. This is too bad for us. I love reading Annie's blog, and love seeing her designs. Incidently, did everyone see her new design in IK? It's not something I would personally wear, but I think it is an innovative and bold design that would look beautiful with a formal skirt(can you wear something like that to a PTA meeting?). Annie, please don't stop what you are doing just because you've stepped on a few toes. Like you said yourself, you can't cry over spilt milk...Nuff said.

Samurai hat crown number 3 done!

Since everyone else is...

I'm still just working on the samurai hats, so I don't really have any interesting knitting to blog about, I thought that I would do this...

1. FIRST NAME? Karen

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Maybe. My mother claims that my father had a girlfriend named Karen.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Can't remember.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Ham.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so, but only if I knit!?

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Nope.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? What, are you nuts!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? It depends on what's on sale and if I have a coupon!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I usually have clogs or slippers on, so, no.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? When I have to be.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Greater's mint chocolate chip. Fortunately for my waist the closest Graeter's is a 15 minute drive away.

14. SHOE SIZE? Used to be 5 1/2. Once I was done pushing out babies, it became a 6.

5. RED OR PINK? Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Physically - the leftover baby pudge. Characteristically - the organization has gone out the window. I blame that on the kidlets also.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom. Passed away 9 years ago from breast cancer. Are you doing your monthly self exam? October is breast cancer awareness month after all.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Good heavens, no.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?Permantly stained blue jeans, green long sleeve shirt, green sweater, black socks, and Clarks clogs. I'll be putting on my slippers in a moment since I'm back in the house for the day after running errands this morning.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Twix "fun size" candy bar. I needed chocolate.

<>21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The fish tank water filter, the dog chewing on something she probably shouldn't be, and the twin kidlets watching something Disney in the other room.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Yellow.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? freshly mown grass, baking bread and cookies, the top of the kidlet's heads

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? The husband.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their sense of humor.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I saw this on several blogs and thought, "why not"? I stole this from Natalie, and we've never met.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Earl Grey tea and coke. Not together.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? I do like to watch the Bengals. Who-Dey!

29. EYE COLOR? Green

30. HAT SIZE? Beats me.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yep. Right now I have my glasses on. I need new contacts and haven't gotten around to ordering them yet. It's that disorganization thing..

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Anything I didn't have to cook or clean up.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Now isn't this ironic? I love summer, because I hate to be cold. Yet I love to make and wear sweaters!

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs, especially from the kidlets.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? I've never met a dessert I didn't like.

38 & 39 Eliminated Due to Blog Context

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, out loud to the older kidlets.

41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? It's one of those generic ones that come from the computer manufacturer.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? I didn't watch t.v. last night. By the time I got the kids home from karate, had dinner, did homework, and read some Harry Potter, it was time for bed. I was just too tired to watch t.v. I know it sounds crazy, but there you have it.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Silence, the kidlets giggling, and the kidlets snoring in their beds.

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Both.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Which is further, England or France?

46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Other than knitting? I can curl my tongue.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Covington, Ky

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it.

I'm Disconnected

I'm having one of those disconnected days. You know what they are like. Your usual Saturday morning routine is disrupted because you went to an elegant wedding last night that children were not wanted for fear of disrupting the ceremony(don't get me started), except for the screaming baby that was the nephew of the bride's(while everyone else was shooting the mother nasty looks - you were smiling and thinking that if you were close to the baby, you'd pinch it and make it scream louder because after all weddings are family affairs and you made sure to invite children to your wedding);and you dutifully found an aunt willing to keep your four kidlets overnight, so you don't have them waking you at daybreak playing the PS2 that's in the room directly under your bedroom. And you just don't know what to do with yourself...

You also feel disconnected, because you're using the Husband's work laptop, because your desktop computer, which could probably be sold under the "antique" heading on eBay, for some reason known only to itself keeps shutting down because you've performed some illegal operation(so arrest me!).

Disconnect Item number 1: I'd like to download pictures of the other 3 samurai hats that I'm working on just to give you something to look at, but I know that the computer police will give me another citation while in the middle of downloading. So, you'll have to settle on the telling of the really boring story. I decided to work the rest of the hats in bits rather than work one hat to completion before working the next hat to completion. This way I can do all of the fiddly dragons in one fell swoop without the dread of knowing that I still have more dragons to do. I'm at a standstill on the hats right now because I ran out of yarn and I'm waiting for the package from Knitpicks to arrive.

Disconnect Item number 2: I received a phone call from a high school friend that I had not talked to in years. She said that she was helping out our class president by calling old friends to let them know about a "get together" for our class at a football game at our alma mater. She said she was getting ready to call some of our gang, so I suggested that she collect email addresses while she had them on the phone. Deb then told me that she was very low tech at her house. She doesn't have internet or a cell phone, in fact she said, "I'm so low tech that I knit!"

After several "no ways" from each of us, it turns out that she learned to knit about 10 years ago while living in Minnesota. Her exact words were, "Everyone there knits." How fun is that to reconnect with an old friend that happens to knit also?!

I'll connect with y'all later.