Air Guitar

We were watching the Eagles Farewell Tour I on Sunday night and when Joe Walsh did his song, Life’s Been Good to Me, everyone in my family was playing air guitar!



Even the little Prince tried to get in on the action.


Of course, Dad was leading the pack.


Hubby & I saw the Eagles a couple of years ago and it was a good show. Expensive tickets but a good show. I have to say, one of my all time favorites is still Prince! Awesome show and you gotta love a man that can walk in 4 inch, light up heels, wear a good amount of make up and still look pretty sexy.

Kids & Computers

Yesterday when my daughter had a friend come over yesterday to play.  The little Prince was upset because they would not play with him!

Horrors of Horrors!

To help him ease his pain, I turned on the computer and sat down with him to do some Playhouse Disney surfing and to show him how to use the mouse.

Apparently I did a good job because after I turned off the computer, he was back in there with the computer on and he had CLICKED ON HIS OWN PROFILE!!!!!!!!!  (Note to self, set up password protect on your account NOW!)

The kid is 3 years old!

This morning he did the same thing but also got onto the internet!  Holy Cow!

I found this amusing because I had two calls yesterday for “tech support”.

One was from a colleague (around age 50) who was having problems with his new Adobe Acrobat program.  He pulled up a pdf but it would not let him edit it.  Hmmm…could it be because it was not an editable page?  I have talked this same colleague through some basics of Quickbooks too.  You’d think he’d send some business my way.

The second call was from someone (age 40) who will remain unmentioned.  

Urgent call because they got a new computer and can’t get into their email.  Ok.  Is there some steps you can go through with an alternate email to reset your password????

Caller:      Yes, but it is telling me to paste the link into a new browser.  What’s a                browser?

Me:     Um, Internet Explorer.  

C:     But I use Outlook for email.

Me:     You need to open a new window so you can paste the address into it.

C:      How?  Where is that Window?

Me:     Go to Start and then click on the big E.  

C:      Oh, internet explorer.

Me:     Yes, that’s it.

C:      I don’t know what to do.

Me:     Send me the email.  Ok, we have to reset your password.

C:     I want to use *%#$(*$(.

Me:      It says that is what you used last time and you need to pick a new one.

C:     I don’t want to. I use the same one for everything!  

Me:     You have to change it.  Pick something easy and WRITE IT DOWN!

So, after about 5 minutes, I had the email up and running on the old and new computer.  I’ll send her my bill.  

Wow!!!!

To say I am really surprised is an UNDERSTATEMENT!

I have had a lot of fun finding little bits and pieces for my secret pal, Sauniell.

Anyway, I picked up the mail today and found a little package from the nice lady I have been "spoiling" as part of the Secret Pal gift exchange.

Look what she made especially for me!!! Personalized photo stitch markers of family photos from my blog!

They came in the cutest little green zippered bag. We all know how much I LOVE green, any shade!

How cool is that??????



It is hard to get non-blurry photos of these markers but they are just SO COOL!

The added bonus, is that they are not very heavy. Believe me, they will be getting put on the Lost Points Shawl that is languishing in a knitting bag!!!!!!! Maybe it will be an incentive to work on it some more and finish it again!

Could I use a couple more exclamation marks in this post?

Thank you Sauniell.

I am very overwhelmed at your thoughtfulness and also taking the time to make these markers for me. I will smile every time I get to a one as I knit.

I got nothin' for you....

It has been a very quiet knitting week at Chez HB .

I have been stressed with work but who wants to hear about that???????

Hannah got her first real report card, mid-quarter, and is doing great.

Simon is typically 3 and getting a new bump on his forehead every week! The kid has a variety of green on his head!

Here is a photo of Sophie....that cat is so secure that she was sleeping all stretched out like that, tummy up!

I am nearing the end of my shawl. The rows are around 400ish stitches on size 8 needles so they take a good amount of time for each row so progress is not quick. And...due to the work stress and commitments, it has really chewed into my normal knitting time! Damn work stress!

Hopefully I will finish over the weekend and then block it along with the two scarves this weekend.

That would be in between the zillions of loads of laundry I seem to have this weekend!!! Ugh....I need a laundry fairy!!!!!!

Tues. & Wednesday

AfriKelli...... and a felted cosmetic bag


Pam & her baby pink shawl. Heather & her Charlotte's web shawl.






Heather's hubby, Brain, trying to escape planet hormone at their house!










Mary & Mary.
Leah without Eva....cuz again, her photo was horrible. Sorry Eva, I had to cut you out to save your dignity.

















And, free size 8 and 10.5 needles! I got them for trying out a pattern book from the people that publish Creative Knitting!

Nice!

And I am obsessing at the moment......too much in town client stress!

Monday.....

Simon has a little bike he got from one of the neighbors that he is trying to ride. He just can't seem to get the whole idea of a lot of pedalling. He goes 1/2 and gets bored. Oh well, at least he has his other bike from his birthday that he can pedal.



My knit picks order came yesterday. Here is the yarn for the bag I was talking about for my sister in law. Chocolate, pumpkin and maple syrup. I think they will look really good together in an earth tone kind of way.

And the other part of my order. Yes, those are addi turbos you see along with the magnetic chart doo-dad and a row counter that hangs on my needles for circular knitting.

The Addi's are currently helping me finish the last 25 rows of my shawl. Apparently, although I ordered the only size 8's they had they came in a 47 inch length!!!! I have to say I like the cord and one of the joins on the Addi's. However, the other join is catching my yarn which is not a good thing considering my cheap needles weren't doing that before I changed them to the Addi's.

I suspect these are going back, at least for a pair with a smooth join and a shorter cord.


And finally, what is it about kids. You buy them all kinds of toys but when it comes down to it, they are just as happy with a couple of boxes that you were going to recycle and some markers to decorate them????

The kids were wearting them like "skirts" around the house. Go figure?!?!?

Beauty & The Beast

Hannah & I went to see Beauty & The Beast at the Herberger Theater in downtown Phoenix. We had a nice girl's day out.

Hannah had her "Flower Girl" dress on at about 7:30 am this morning and wanted to know when we were leaving. The show didn't start until 2:00 pm! She also wanted her hair done like "Belle's" so she would be all ready with her Belle dress we bought at Disneyland.

Here we are on our way to Phoenix after a quick trip to the bank.

We went to lunch at Mi Amigo's at the Arizona Center.

And here is our Princess as Belle on the steps of the Herberger! She really loved being all dressed up.





There were quite a few other little girl's dressed up as Belle or in some kind of Princess ensemble!

Amazing that we bought the 7 year old sized dress and although it is big around, it is already pretty short on Hannah. I guess she is just tall for her age.

The show was fantastic!!! The scenery and backgrounds were great. It is amazing what they can do with stage sets these days!

My only negative about the show was the length of the production. It was nearly 3 hours with a 20 minute intermission!!!

Hannah was great but there were a lot of younger kids that were really antsy or fell asleep.

Knitting Notes

After our Saturday night, Sunday was pretty quiet. That is if you block out the constant fighting of the kids. Hannah seems to think that because she is older, she needs to "lecture" (also known as a dissertation) her brother on the greatness of all her ideas! I can't tell you how many times I have to tell her that she is not the MOM!

We talked to David's sister in England who is a faithful blog reader. Hi Ann!!!! She was commenting on how she loved the bags that I make (ok, hinting for one herself!) so I ordered some yarn in browns to amake this bag using the pattern from knit picks.

I also ordered some Addi Turbos, just to see what all the fuss is about. I was so close to getting free shipping it made the Addi's almost cheap, yeah, ALMOST.



I ripped out my "Beginner's Luck" shawl. I was BORED TO TEARS with the pattern and I wasn't even 1/2 done. It is now in its original form, seen in the ball of yarn.

David saw me unwinding it this morning and asked what I was doing. I said I really could not see finishing it so....it will become something else in the future.




I also finished the diamond scarf and the Branching Out scarf last night. I wove in all the ends and now just have to block them both.

You know what that means, I can start on my Cascading Hearts shawl this afternoon or in the morning.

I also ordered a magnetic chart holder and a row counter that hangs on your needle like a stitch marker. Don't worry, there will be photos when I get all the new gear. I am being forced to use the chart on the new shawl. I don't like charts but it is only for the middle gore and edges so I am sure I will survive.

I am also working on the Lost Points Shawl for my Dad's lovely wife, Linda. It is all knitting, forever, so it is not going really quickly due to the boredom factor. However, it is a good project for when I am tired or just don't feel like thinking. It is at the absolutely mindless part!

Small Town Saturday Night......

David & I headed off for an evening sans kids. One of his co-worker's was having his comedy debut in Carefree, AZ before the Hiroshima concert (the band was great). David saw them back in Los Angeles at Madame Wong's in the early 1980's??? Yes, you read that right, it says the early 1980's when I was just a BABY!

So, we leave the house about 5:30 pm and head our way to Carefree which is about 50 miles from our house. We take the scenic SR51 route because the North 101 was closed. It didn't take too long and I was able to show David just how far I used to drive after teaching at PVCC in the evening after my "regular" job.

We turned off of the 101 onto Scottsdale Road and headed north. OMG, what the hell happened? The place is all built up! I mean, Rawhide is only about 3 miles off of the 101. I remember when I moved to Phoenix in 1995 from Fargo, ND (yes, Fargo) and that place was in the middle of nowhere. The reason I know this? My alternator died at Cave Creek & Pinnacle Peak road at about 10 pm one night and there was nothing there but a mobile home park.

Driving up to Carefree was a trip down memory lane. My first boss in Phoenix lived in the Carriage Trails neighborhood and I could not find the place in the dark for love or money one night. I was staying with them (yeah, no pressure living with the boss) after I moved here until I found a place to live. We also stopped by an old co-worker's place in Carefree. Wow, I remember when Carefree seemed the end of the earth in Phoenix! Even with all the building, their zoning laws have kept even Target signs from being big and bright. Instead, it is desert colored and low to the ground.

We got to the venue and decided to have dinner at the hotel nearby. Hmmm...the manager tells us the restaurant is full even though the tables are maybe 1/2 full so we headed back into town and ended up eating at Saba's Mediterranean Restaurant. Oh my goodness did we smell like GARLIC CLOVES this morning. I think it was the Hummus. We had yummy hummus, David had a lamb shank in a yummy red wine sauce and I had baked prawns in a tomato feta sauce. We both had salad's with the house dressing which was a mustard vinegar type with fennel. Mighty tasty.

Here we are at dinner.


Did you know there was a yarn shop in Carefree???? Neither did I. David was mighty happy the place was closed. Typical summer Carefree hours, 10-4 Tuesday through Saturday.




















Here is our friend, Jim Girodo, doing his comedy sketch. Yes, that is a photo of him and "Big Pussy" from the Soprano's television show.

The photo below is a group of guys that came around for Jim's debut and to see the band. Jim was really good! I could just see all the stuff he talked about in my head! I hope this is the start of a budding career. Rodney Dangerfield didn't get going until in his late 50's so there is loads of time for Jim.

Left to Right:

Steve (a friend of Jim's), Kerry Dunn who was part of the group that brought the Super Bowl to Arizona, is very connected in the music business and an all around empresario (he also put David back in touch with David Cassidy about 5 years ago), Jim Girodo (new Comedian and great media guy), Al Molina of Molina Fine Jewelry,his son Austin and Reed Glick (a partner of Kerry Dunn, overall empresario, Celebrity Theater and Rage in the Cage).

Al Molina, who we run into at a lot of charity black tie do's, is always after David to come help him raise his profits over at the store. Al was telling me that diamond's are an investment. I looked at him and said, "I love jewelry, a lot, but I come from a working class upbringing and I refuse to go into debt for a diamond!" Al countered that there are many people that just budget for such expenses, just like a retirement plan. OK....he apparently runs with a higher tax bracket crowd than we do! He spends the summers at his villa in Italy!

New Yarn....Yes, I do need MORE!

But first, Arizona Idol at Arizona Mills Mall.

This is the view from the front of the food court. Just a mass of people.


And the back side of Simon, Hubby & Hannah watching one of the contestants. The mall was not quite as busy as I thought it would be due to the Idol tryouts.

So, we go to see Dad and of course, end up spending money on the kids. Some dresses, tights ($0.30 each!!!) for Hannah. The tights were a steal, even though a couple of them ended up being about $1.50 each, because those microfiber tights don't last more than 1-3 wearings. The get holes or snagged or something so I bought a bunch in her current size and some in the next size!



Simon was obsessed with the crocodile at the Rain Forest Cafe and we had to check out the tree frog.

The kids are now napping, which gives me time for blogging. The Prince whined his litte heart out that he wasn't tired but he is out like a light.

The Princess also needs at least one nap during the weekend or she gets all tuckered out early in the following week. She swears she doesn't need a nap but it really does help her disposition!

Speaking of which, she just got up because she can't stop thinking about something fun she wants to do...ok, nap tomorrow!

I feel incredibly lucky that hubby & I have the opportunity to have one parent home a majority of the time with our little ones.

I was offered a full time job, working out of my house, recently and I turned it down. The only thing that making more money and working longer would change is that, I work more and our quality of life would go down....the money really wasn't that much when you factor in additional daycare and all of that stuff. You can't put a price on quality of life.

I told them that I would work more consulting time (I love creative working situations and I was willing to do what it took to make it work but on my own terms) for them but that I could not put a price on flexibility and time with my little ones. Case in point, being able to pick up the Prince at 11:30 am on Thursday and take off Friday with very little guilt!

Funny, when I told my contact at the company that they could not pay me enough for the flexibility, he said when he told the CEO my reason for not taking the job, the CEO said, "that's not a good reason!". Of course, they also knew what my answer would be before they asked but it never hurts to ask and I was flattered they asked.

All you Mom's out there know it is a good reason! Like I said, we are fortunate that I can still work part time (while paying off my student loans), out of my house and be available for sick days, to chaperone school field trips go to school recitals or events during the day and anything else that comes up. Plus, I get to drop my daughter off at school, finish my work day at 1:45 pm every day so I can pick her up.

Ok, Ok, I am off my soapbox about how great my life is....yeah, just ask Heather what was going on when I talked to her this morning....sounded like my kids were KILLING each other. Yeah, my life is perfect (utter chaos)!!!!!! OH YEAH...in what dream world do I live? Fantasy land but with LOTS of yarn.

Now for the yarn porn. I will let Heather show you hers all by herself!

This is hand dyed merino fingering weight wool from Mystical Creation Yarns in New Mexico. They have great prices on this type of yarn. It was about $22, including shipping & insurance (because I split it with Heather), for 8 oz which is approximately 1300 yards!

I am going to make this shawl with my yarn.

I bought the shawl pattern from the Knitting Zone. It was a downloadable pattern which is great because there is no additional shipping cost! I LOVE NO SHIPPING FEES FOR A PIECE OF PAPER!

Mary (at the Knitting Zone) said they would have more Heart Strings Fiber Arts patterns available by download next week since she just got about 30 more via email.

My kids are obsessed with my swift and ball winder! They love winding yarn. The problem with this yarn is that they don't always have good tension when winding and they end up getting the yarn all mucked up in the winder....hence two balls instead of one!

I do love having a swift and ball winder! I have been knitting for almost 20 years and only thought I needed one this past year. I love it! I don't think I would have had the patience to wind the ~1300 yards of yarn by hand using hubby's hands or the back of the chair as a swift!

I really want to start my new project but I have to finish the scarf before I start!

And to all of you worried about the little Prince yesterday, he is better today. He wasn't too bad yesterday but clingy and a mild fever so he spent a nice day with me on the couch. I have to admit, it was nice to have my little boy home by himself. That doesn't seem to happen much and it sure was nice to just have my baby....since he too will grow up all too fast!

Good god, shoot me now.......I am all nostalgic! Damn, that parenting makes you get all weepy. I swear it wasn't in the handbook. Oh yeah, there was no handbook, they make you wing this whole parenting thing! Can you believe it?

Thursday

Weird Phone Call Update:
The lady is out of jail. No additional info other than she and hubby have been trading voicemails.


Knitting News:

I started another Christmas gift. I knew I wanted to make another scarf, and a lacy one at that, but just could not find the right pattern. I kept looking through the books I have and the few magazines that I have and finally, in the last one, I ran across this again.

I remember looking at it when I got the magazine (Creative Knitting) and thinking that would be a fun pattern and here it is......

I have two college friends that I exchange homemade/inexpensive gifts with each Christmas. They are each getting a scarf since they live where it is cold (Minnesota & Missouri).




















Another day, another baby hat. This one is also Magic Stripes yarn. One of hubby's colleagues is expecting a little girl in September. They have some guts, I tell you, since they also have twin boys that are only about 18 months!!!

And finally, I am not sure if my son's asthma was just bad or if he has a bug but after I got to ASU this morning to do some library research, I get a call from daycare that my son is throwing up!

When his asthma is bad, he does that sometimes but it appeared as if it was something more when I picked him up.

However, after a nap, he had something to eat and a little dinner and off to an early bed. I may get a good amount of knitting done if the little winky stays home with me tomorrow. The darned scarf might be done!

How to get your 3 year old to eat veggies....

Hubby is out late doing a work thing so the kids and I are home doing dinner on our own.

Recently, Hannah decided she LOVES corndogs. That works out great because I love them too. We picked some up at Target this weekend and this seemed a perfect time to have them since Hubby hates corn meal, ergo corndogs, ergo cornbread, all of which I love!!!!

I pop the suckers in the toaster oven and off I go to check email. Hmmm..is that something burning? I know it can't be the corndogs because I set the timer and it hasn't gone off....oh wait, I set the toaster oven on BROIL!!! They were done and only one side was burnt so I cut it off.

As the kids and I are eating the dogs, I also have a big bag of veggies (cauliflower, broccoli and baby carrots) from Sam's Club. I get some 1 calorie Italian dressing to dip my veggies and and Simon wants some dip. I have got to tell you that this kids eats the weirdest things for a 3 year old. Anyway, he goes on to eat about 10 or so baby carrots just to get the dip. I had to cut him off otherwise there is no telling what we would be changing in the diaper department tomorrow.

Moral of the story, give the kid low fat dip and he will eat a pound of carrots in one sitting.

Hannah, give the kid a box of baby tomotoes and she will inhale them in two sittings!

Gotta love veggies at our house!

Weekend In Review

I made 2 baby hats this weekend from the infamous discontinued magic stripes colors from Tuesday Morning. They are for a set of twin boys. Quick and easy!

Otherwise, we had a quiet weekend. I tried to find jeans that fit my body! As if!!!!

I tried the new curvy style at Gap which was a no go. I guess my waist is still too small compared to my bum! Story of my life!

Pam brought these nice little bottles of Port for me last week. Hmmm....is she trying to liquor up the boss?

Thank God for Tech Support!

Well, I have been having router problems with the computer network at home so, I decided I needed a new router for the office and home computer so they can share the internet connection.

Ok, so...I get the new router and the darned thing doesn't work. Call tech support and the guy has me do all kinds of things I have already done (like unplug the cable modem to reset it, etc., etc.) and I can hardly understand him because I know he is in India and it's the middle of the night there.I don't know, maybe it was my phone but it was tough to understand and hear and I live with a guy with a foreign accent!

So, I go and return the first one and buy the second one...still nothing.
Call tech support and all they tell me is, well, you have to hook up to the internet and then it will do everything for you.

I CAN'T GET AN INTERNET CONNECTION WHEN THE ROUTER IS PLUGGED INTO THE COMPUTER!!!!!

I ask if it could be related to the fact that I had a router and it died and could I maybe need to uninstall something?

Response? Just connect to the internet and it will configure everything.

Ok, that's great, but I can't connect to the internet!!!!

I hang up and fix it myself. Thank GOD for tech help!

Yeah, right.

A Recycled Silk PSA

Well, in my infinite wisdom (Lord knows I got a bunch of that) I thought I would was the unbiased hobo bag BEFORE I took it apart so when I reknit it using the Sunburst Sling Bag pattern, it wouldn't wear a hole in my tension finger.

Unfortunately, what seemed like a good idea was a REALLY REALLY BAD IDEA!

Why you ask? Well, it appears that although washing sure did soften up that yarn, it also kind of felted it together and I could not, for the life of me, unwind that yarn even after I cut the pieces apart. I spent about 2-3 hours on it and NOTHING but a few strings and a whole lotta cuss words.

So, this is what it looked like right before its trip to the trash. A whole lotta little fuzzy pieces of silk with no real strand to be seen!

In future, if you use recycled silk yarn, don't wash it until AFTER you are sure that you love the item because otherwise, all you will have is one big knot.

Ok, off my soapbox........

Tuesday SnB

The kids playing out front on Monday night waiting for the ice cream truck that never came.


Alison and Michelle. This will be Alison's last Tuesday night get together as she is off to Georgia this week! Bye Alison...we will keep up with you on your blog!!!


Pam, feverishly working on her sister's tank top because she was informed that her sister wanted to get it while it is still warm on the East Coast and Michelle.


Nancy...who is now living about a mile from me in Chandler.


Kelli and Eva. Kelli made some really cute bags for the knitting contributors to her African trip. Of course, I forgot to get a photo. I also forgot to get a photo of her big travelling project that was finished! Kelli, show us a photo on your blog or send one to me and I will post it!!!


Heather, working on what is now a Sophie Bag.



Kirsten, Oneida (please forgive me if I spelled your name wrong!) and Peggy. Congratulations to Oneida as she is expecting baby #2 in March. Peggy was working on an Annie Blatt sweater as a commission. A lot of cool yarn!


And Melanie working on some cute little felted dog slipper!!!


Stephanie came but had to go early. Illanna was hiding from the camera, again!!! Steve, Kiki, Lily and Lucy were there too but left before the camera came out! Too bad. Lily & Lucy were working on some great projects and Kiki was swatching, aka making a baby hat.

Finally, for the grand finale of this post.....Knitting picture frames out of dog hair for your dog's photo. What the heck?????? This was in my knitting pattern a day calendar and I just don't see spending that much time on a frame. Of course, when it gets wet you would always be reminded of the wet dog smell your little puppy left you. I don't think so!

Wow, that was quick!

I ordered my pattern for the Sunburst sling bag on Friday and got it TODAY!

I know it went out the same day but wow! That is great service from Just One More Row.
The unbiased bag is in the washer as we speak, getting a good spa treatment.

I gotta tell you, when I opened the washer it smelled like wet dog in there but the yarn will be clean for frogging and reknitting into the new bag pattern!

SnB and Project Report

The bag after felting. You can kind of see the subtle self stripes. I like it.

The bag before felting. I used 2 strands worsted weight black wool from Knitpicks and 1 strand of the self striping Karaoke from SWTC that I got when I knit the bag that became a box.


This is the Branching Out scarf from Knitty in the Oasis I got from SWTC. That is really nice yarn. Very soft and light.



Pam, Heather, Melanie and Eva met at Coffee Rush for a little Sunday afternoon knitting.

Pam finally finished the tofu sweater.
Here she is with it actually on her body!



And me with my biggest baby! She wanted to come along but got bored after an hour. And this is a suprise???