Leah is a GENIUS!

Ok, well maybe not a genius but a smart cat.
Why you ask?? Well, she peed on the bed TWICE this weekend while I was still in it. The first time I thought it was because she didn't have any water.

Day two, tried to push her off before she did it but was not successful. I checked that she had water & food, she did, so I thought maybe she was trying to tell me something so I took her to the vet on Monday. (David thought I was crazy to read something into Leah's behavior but you know, she just doesn't do that kind of stuff.)

She needed shots anyway but I had them test for a UTI or something going on with her bladder/kidney's. Turns out she has Struvite Crystals and so we are hoping with a fancy diet change, this won't be a problem.

Simon is Riding His Bike....

with no training wheels.
It is a toddler bike, so low to the ground but he has such good balance on his scooter that he took to it right away.

He just has to work on getting started...he thinks he can just put both feet on the pedals and go without falling over.
I bought a kitty bed at Sam's. Open, it can be a cave and you can put catnip in it.
Closed, it is a nice looking bed. Pretty good for the money.
I am cleaning my office and arranging my stash. This EZ Surprise Baby sweater is back to being balls of yarn.
The Wings of the Moth shawl...well, I figured out I was 50ish or so stitches off and on size 3 or 4 needles with lace weight yarn, um.....
It is now back in its original state. It will be another shawl, or maybe the same one but it is currently in time out!

Hannah's First Running Club Race

They had a race with 4-5 other schools in the area. Here are the 2nd grade girls with Hannah.
Taking off from the race.
Near the end!
After the race having a "cool" treat.
She did a great job and did her best...which is all you can ask for in the first race.

Knitter in Training!

Both kids wore their sweaters today. Hannah wore hers yesterday too (and probably tomorrow).

However, she was upset because no one commented on her new, hand knit sweater.

I told her that unless someone knits, they would probably not recognize that her sweater was hand knit.

Kids...

The FURminator

I know it sounds crazy but, let me tell you, that thing works!!!See, we have this cat that someone really, really wanted but gave no thought to the upkeep of a cat with the kind of hair.
I gave the brush a whirl on Obie and let me tell you, it took off so much hair I don't think I'll have to get him professionally groomed again!

Mohair

Don't ask me why, but I have been drooling over this scarf, from the Jan. 1, 2007 Knitting Pattern A Day Calendar since I opened the calendar on Christmas Eve.

Well, I read the Destash blog (and have sold items on the blog) and saw a post that included white, pink & red mohair. Why I did I need it??? I did not have enough mohair in the stash to make this scarf.

I have enough to make two more. I know they are fancy but, they will most likely go to the Dulann Project or the Pine Ridge Reservation. We have to be warm but it doesn't have to be boring!!! A wee bit girly for Red Scarf.

Also saw two movies this weekend at home.

1. Cars: Cute and when you read the voices, even better. Since David is a HUGE FORMULA 1 fan, the fact that Michael Schumacher actually voiced the Michael Schumacher Ferrari, was quite fun.

2. The Family Stone: I liked it a lot!

Two Meme's

Meme 1: from Kate

You've been tagged! The Page 123 Meme
1. Grab the book closest to you.
Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR)

You know THIS is going to be exciting! Not!!

2. Open to page 123, look down to the 5th sentence.
Sewage Systems and Drainfields

3. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog.
Dishwashing water
Domestic and commercial nonpotable water
Lakes, ponds, impound water

Meme 2: From Yarn Botanika & Keri
6 Weird Things About You

1. I am 38 years old and my hair is 75-80% Gray. No one else in my family is this gray at my age or older.

2. I come from a family with 9 children.

3. I almost flunked biology in high school but majored in it in college and make my living in the biological sciences.

4. I love the frothy coffee they sell at Circle K (a convenience store), $1.50 for a 24 oz cup.

5. I rarely cook the same things over and over again. We eat a lot of "new" meals.

6. I have only been to 2 movies in a movie theatre in 9 years. (All Disney Movies: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron & Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)

New Purchase

I bought this at Sam's Club the other day.....Why??? I am not going on vacation nor is it warm enough to swim in our pool.
Well, Sam's is an interesting place. You have to buy things when you see them, not wait until the weather warms us and you need a swimming suit BECAUSE once it is warm enough to swim, or people are thinking about swimming, there will only be suits left in size 8 or under.

I know this because I have made the same mistake for 3 years running and you just can't beat a Speedo tankini for $22.

Another Day, Another Hat

I finished this hat on Sunday but Hannah decided she wanted it to wear around the house....
I like it...we'll see how long she wears it.
The kids also modeled a new sweater pattern by Wendy Bernard aka Knit & Tonic that will be for sale shortly at One Planet Yarn & Fiber.

A fun hoodie with a front pocket. The yarn is Lanas Puras Worsted Weight in Hibiscus and I am not sure the color of Simon's,
Kinda makes me want to knit for the kids! If only they would not lose interest in them as soon as I finished the item! :)

Hairy Hats

I finished 2 chemo caps yesterday and I started a 3rd this morning with the leftover yarn from the black hat.
If you didn't hair, this could be a fun cap...especially if you are 10.

The brown one...that could almost pass for hair and the color is pretty close to true.
And yes, I bought fun fur at Joann's yesterday. I thought I had TONS in my stash, and I had the black & pink ones..and some mismatched green & hot pink. Although, the last two might become a striped hat.

TGIF

Why should I put laundry away? If I did, where would the cat sleep during the day?
And, my baby is sick...up all night throwing up. I see laundry in my future today!

Thursday

What is this??? Well, it will soon be a Head Hugger 'No-Hair-Day' Hairy Chemo Cap for the Boston Children's Hospital Cancer Center. I am blaming Susan for knitting with fun fur! Actually, the one below is the free sample of Bernat Disco that Bernat sent out last year. Everyone I know that got a sample got this brown color. Well, it will soon be a chemo cap.

And, I just got a Joann's ad in the paper today and I see that their fun fur is $1 a ball starting tomorrow. I am just wondering if I can find a "masculine" color of fun fur.

Kate is having a contest and collecting the caps. There are lots of prizes...even a spindle/large project bag from Knitted Bits.
On Saturday we took the kids to visit Grandma Linda & Grandpa and met them at the Mesa Swapmart. It was chilly but boy, you could buy everything you need for your house, except food, at the swap meet.

After that, we had lunch at the Fishing Hole on Main & Sossaman. Apparently, the building used to be a country bar or something because the bar stools in the back are still saddles. The kids had a good time riding in their saddles.
The food was good! They even had deep fried scalloped corn. Linda convinced us it was worth trying and it was....we were just trying to figure out how they deep fried the scalloped corn.

Start-itis & FO (Failed Objects)

I have started a lot of things in 2006 that I can't seem to motivate back to finishing. Some will eventually be finished or restarted but there are some that will never see the light of day because I already ripped them out.

First, this is Birdsong's version of the Ice Cream Hat (She also inspired me to take a look at some failed knitting objects from 2006). I started it and realized that there would be a huge number of ends and I had to pick up a lot of stitches. Somehow, I couldn't motivate myself to continue on so it was frogged. Too much work for a little bitty hat.
I also started a shrug, twice. Um, it took me a long time to realize that being big busted is not a good body type to wear a shrug that effectively works as a neon sign saying "Look at Me". Yep, that one went to the frog pond.
I have a couple of pi shawls that I need to tink back on and finish for charity. They are so close but I realized I HATE knitting pi shawls. So, in an effort to avoid that problem, I tried to make the shawl below a 1/2 pi shawl. Well, that didn't work so well once I got to row 50.....you see, with only 1/2 the stitches, it stops mid-repeat. This will be frogged this week.
I started a few things too....can't seem to motivate to do any knitting. My Dad needs slippers so I tried these. I don't like the way they look and I think he needs something sturdier with a sole and everything. So, I think LL Bean will be getting an order.
I started this scarf with leftover Misti Alpaca laceweight. For some reason, It wasn't working for me but I think I will try again on this in a couple of weeks. Easy, only 15 rows. I may do a provisional cast on since I have to pick up 92 stitches at some point with this scarf.
My Mom tried to take the fingerless gloves I made for my sister away from her at Christmas, even though they were green and my Mom loves purple. Since I had the Misti Alpaca leftover from the shawl I made her for Christmas, and the yarn matched her winter coat, I tried starting these last night on two short circulars but I think I will try them again on dpn's. If it works, I won't have to buy more yarn to make Mom a pair.I think maybe I just need a break and need to work on garter stitch scarves for awhile and leave the lace knitting for later, when my head is back into it.

Nothing....

So, I'll show you photos of the kids from Christmas. Hannah got a new pair of boots that were sealed to her feet. Um, and then, 3 days later, she ripped a big hole in the toe of one of them by dragging them on the pavement so she didn't break her neck riding her bike.
I think it I can sew it back up so it is ok for her to wear to school and running around but probably not riding her bike!
Simon had a Pirate Christmas. He got pirate movies and a pirate ship. Boy, he has had a lot of fun with that ship and its cannon that SHOOTS cannon balls!

I have not knit much at all this week. I did maybe one repeat on a shawl I started in February of last year but that is it!

Hope everyone is enjoying 2007!

Holiday Break Round Up

David's friend, Colin, came for a visit on his way back to Oklahoma from visiting family in California. David & Colin and Colin's 2 brother's all knew each other back in England before they all moved to the United States.
Colin was playing his guitar and we were singing God Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts.

I have been knitting. This is the start of a 1/2 Janet Lace Shawl from Knitpicks. The yarn in Knitpicks Shimmer in Turquoise Splendor. It is going fast since it is on size 11 needles. I realized that I get really sick of knitting full circle shawls so....I decided to do this one using 1/2 the stitches. We'll see how it turns out.
I also knit Bejeweled over the break. The yarn is SWTC Karaoke. It is either going to Dulaan or Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
Here is wishing everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!