I'm Not Dead Yet

Yes it is true. I am still alive! Shocking but true.
The Girl had meningitis last weekend and had to be hospitalized. She had the viral kind NOT the bacterial kind so she will be okay. But they had to treat it like the bacterial kind until some cultures came back. On the plus side, they dosed her up with some powerful antibiotics and she is able to eat again. She has not been able to eat since her stomach issues months ago and she has lost way too much weight.
The Baby is doing well. She is talking up a storm and can do a maniacal laugh. It is really cute!
Here is a hat I finished for the shop.

I think it is pretty good. However, I think the yellow/brown color in the brim area should be a little lighter.
I am planning on knitting some stuff for The Baby and generally for my own personal pleasure. I have been knitting tons of stuff for the shop and I am sick of it. I only have one more project that is due for someone else and then I am done knitting for others.

I am going to try to blog more, but I can not make any promises since I have to create a website for the shop and other misc crap I need to get done.

Yet another month

Time has flown by since I last blogged. Not a whole lot has happened per se. There have been some changes at the shop where I work, which of course will affect me. It may be time to bite the bullet and realize that I probably have to go back to the mind-numbing world of corporate America. The idea revolts me, but I see little choice in the matter. I have not made any decisions yet, so we will see.

The Girl has been sick, again, this time with severe stomach pains. Today she went in for an ultrasound on her stomach and the doctor prescribed her ulcer medicine. And her car has broken down, Again. I hate cars and house and money and everything connected to them.

In knitting news: I am working on a scarf for The Hub. The one he has is an embarrassment to me as a knitter. This one I am working on is just a 2x2 rib, but it is nice yarn and looks nicer than the monstrosity he has been wearing.

I finished a pair of socks I started in 2007. However, the cast off on both of them is too tight and I cannot get them over my heels. So I have do decided if I want to rip them back and fix them or just say screw it and count it as done. I am sort of leaning towards calling them done.

Well, that is all I have… sorry for the depressing post, just not up to being light and perky today. 

Happy New Year

Hello, I hope you all had a good holiday season. Ours was pretty good. I know I should have written sooner, but I have just been too lazy to do it. Here is a picture of this year’s Christmas tree. It is lovely. The Girl decorated it. I think she did a really nice job. 

Look what we found when we were deconstructing the tree!

The cats find the tree fascinating. I do not know why. 

Here is the hat I knit for The Girl for her present. She likes it, so that is always a plus.

Here is The Baby with Iris the monster, which I made her for Christmas. She loves Iris and sleeps AND eats breakfast with her. It is very cute.

  

Resolutions:

1^st a review of last year’s resolutions:

1. I want to knit a 10K this year. I am not going to have the same restriction of not buying more yarn, but since I am not really working, I do not have much money for it anyway. – I did not accomplish this. I knit about 5K, just like last year. I think that might be my limit.

2. I want to learn how to do double knitting. This is 2-sided knitting, it is double thickness and both sides are right sides. It can be reversible. – I did learn to do double knitting, but did not do any projects with it. Still, I now know how to do it.

3. I want to knit 2 adult sweaters and probably a couple of kid sweaters too. – This was a complete fail. I did I knit two kid’s sweaters, one of which won 2^nd place at the State Fair. Did I mention that???

4. I am going to work on Christmas presents early!! I plan on knitting advent & Christmas ornaments. – HA HA HA. I started Christmas presents later than ever, not until November!

Ah Well. It’s a new year, so lets start over. Resolutions for 2011

1)    I am going to finish some of my old projects or rip them out and use the yarn for something else.

2)    I want to learn how to do entrelac. Mainly because I want to make the sheep in Norwegian Handknits.

3)    I am going to make a sweater for my mom. I also want to make several garments for The Baby.

4)    I am going to make Christmas ornaments. Really this year I am going to do it. Really!

I think that is enough for one year. I also am going to finish some of the needlepoint canvases I have since they are starting to pile up. I want to make a pillow for the in-laws for Christmas next year, but we will see… 

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

We got a little snow last weekend here in the big MN. We received about 16” at my house. The Baby went out today to play it today.

She is getting big and she is really cute.

I finished all the knitting for the In-laws X-mas presents. They are in the mail and should get there before Saturday. However, I do not have the rest of the gifts on my list done. I should have The Girl’s hat done (I am not worried about that), but I do not have The Hub’s present bought and I will not get anything done by Saturday. So tomorrow I will have to go shopping and see what I can find. The Girl’s Boyfriend wanted a scarf and I doubt I will be able to knit that by X-mas either. Not sure what to do about that problem. The Girl was fighting with him last week and I sort of hoped that they would breakup so I would not have to worry about it, but that did not happen. I guess that is a good thing since I do sort of like him.

I have been watching crappy holiday movies. I have always wondered why they appeal to people since they are really predictable and shallow. But I think perhaps it is because they all seem to have some stranger show up and solve the main characters problems. Who wouldn’t want someone come in and make life perfect? Look, your kids are suddenly perfect, you meet your soul mate, you get a lovely home etc and you don’t have to do ANYTHING, just believe in miracles. Really, for life to change, you have to DO something to make it change. I think that is the reason I love The Christmas Carol. Scrooge actually has to do the work himself. The Sprits show him what is happening around him, but it is up to him to decide if he is going to change.

Well, I really should be knitting on The Girl’s present instead of blogging… 

Where have you been? Where are you going?

Look what I found on line, a place to chart where you have been. I have been to more than 1/2 of the states in the USA...

visited 29 states (58%)
Create your own visited map of The United States
I will say, that it looks weird to have been to all those states in the West and not Nevada or Utah. I have been at the airport in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, but I am not counting airports, only if I have actually entered the state. So I counting places I have driven through, mainly because I have to stop and pee on a regular basis and figure I had to get out in most of them. I honestly could not remember if I had ever been to Michgan... the rest I am confident about having been there or not.

But I have not been really anywhere else.

visited 7 states (3.11%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Other news
Things have been pretty crappy here. The Girl was sick and then her car brokedown and the holidays are upon us and I have no money. If you are interested in buying some of my yarn, I am selling some on Ravelry. I am trying to raise enough to buy a Christmas present for The Hub and some of my co-workers. I am almost there, I just need a few more sales.

I have been knitting some presents and have my MIL & FIL gifts done.

Here are some bed socks for my MIL. It is the same pattern as last year, just different yarn. It is what she wanted.

Here are some fingerless gloves for my FIL. He did not say what he wanted, but I figured he could use these and they would match the hat I knit him last year. 

Crazy Daze

So… Things have been crazy, in the sort of depressing way.


November has been unseasonably warm, which is always a bummer. However, it is supposed to start snowing tonight and continue on and off until Wednesday. I hope this is true; a little snow sure would cheer me up.

The Girl has been sick (actual disease sick) with various things the last couple of weeks. The latest was a kidney infection. She had to go in several times until she finally found an antibiotic that worked. She is feeling better and is actually getting up (willingly!) and going to school. Apparently, going to school is better than feeling like you are dying!

Knitting has been slow because I have been feeling down and tired. I have 2 fingers to do on my FIL gloves and they will be done. I need to get it done this weekend so I can move on to my MILs socks. The Hub lost his fingerless at Ikea. It makes me sad because if really liked them and I don’t know if I have it in me to make another pair.

I am really not looking forward to Xmas this year. Normally, it is my favorite time of year, but this year, I have no money and I don’t know if I can knit something for everyone…

The Baby is doing well. She said her first full length sentence last week… “I’m not tired.” She was responding to grandpa’s inquiry as to why she was not napping. And the other night she was mooching food off of me and said, “Nother bite of pizza.” She does love to eat, particularly cheese and cheese related foods. And green beans… she loves green beans.

No photos today, but if I can figure out how to embed video, I might put up some video of The Baby. She is too damn cute. (She can also say “Come on down”. She loves the Price is Right, what can I say?)

What’s New With You?

Not much is new here. The camera did show up, but The Girl had crushed it in her backpack. So the screen is broken, so you can take pictures, but you cannot see what they are before you download them. This is not that big of deal, but you cannot adjust any of the settings on the camera since they all show up on the screen. 

However, I do have a photo to show. I knit this tam for a co-workers friend. I think it turned out quite nice.

I have knit several hats in the last month and now I am starting on X-mas presents. I am currently knitting some fingerless gloves for my FIL. He has never actually shown any interest in fingerless gloves; in fact, I don’t think I have ever seen him wear gloves at all. But he does a lot of stuff for the church (outside) and I thought it would be nice for him to have something that he could use his fingers and still keep his hands warm. We will see how it goes.

My MIL wants another pair of bed socks, so I will make those next. They are easy since they are made with bigger yarn.

The Hub and I have been looking at beds. It is one of those things that really suck to shop for because all the salespeople are extra clingy. It is not like I am going to carry the damn mattress out of the store in my pocket. Go away and let me lie on them and see which ones I like for Pete’s sake! Sheesh… Anyway, we were going to upgrade to a queen bed, but we would have to buy a new frame and quite honestly, the thought of paying $75 for something to just set the bed on was more than I could bear. So we are going with another full bed. We found one we liked and it will be delivered on Friday. It will be so nice to sleep on something that does not make springy noise and is soft.

I will let you know how it goes.

Other than that, not much going on here. I have been working. The Girl has been sick. The Baby can count to 10 and knows what noises several animals (including a monkey and a javelina) make. She is very smart! She is going to be a monkey for Halloween. I promise to post a picture of her here.