Mac dyed, so did Sam and Hannah

I have been dying yarn lately. It is a quick and inexpensive way to get more squares for my blanket. It is loads of fun. The kids have listened to me go on about how much fun it is, so they wanted to try. Below, find, Mac's submission, it is called Fire. It knits up beautifully, and if I hadn't over cooked it, would have look professional!




Sam's yarn was called, Sam Lost a Tooth. It is very colorful. All his work is with all the colors. He does not seem to like doing just a few.



Hannah called hers pony, and I don't have a picture to show you, but once I do I will!

The Recession is Over

This was the headline in the business section today. It is over? GREAT, but it doesn't feel over. Sure the Dow is over 9,000. Sure housing prices seem to have leveled off. Sure auto dealers are reporting more traffic. Does this mean the recession is over?

It is very interesting to me to watch the news media spin bad news into good news. Just 6 months ago they were spinning not so bad news into doomsday reports. This fall the world was ending, people were wondering if we would survive as a nation.

As for housing prices, what I see playing out in my neighborhood, is that people WON'T sell their homes for less. They are telling people to f-off if the offer is too low. They would rather wait and get what they think is a fair price for their home. This said, your house is worth what someone will pay for it.

Another word on housing sales, they are still at levels below last year. I would like to remind everyone what a banner year for housing sales last year was. When the news media talks about sales they do month over month change. DUH it is better, it is summer, which is the high volume period for housing sales.

I imagine the media is correct the recession is almost over. Of course employment usually lags the "end" of the recession. So all this "good" news probably won't help us much. The "good" news I like is that we got a call from a company with a job, that recruiters are saying things seem to be picking up, that there seems to be more job postings to apply for.... that is some good news I can get my hands around. Maybe our recession will end soon?

Random thoughts on a Wednesday

1. The recycling truck FINALLY came.. yippee

2. Ok, so I am not so ok with landscaping activities happening at 8:00 am on a weekday...

3. At least it is understandable.

4. The people behind us were not much happier about the 7:30 lawn mowing on Saturday, they retaliated.

5. Need to remember that the people behind us are vindictive.

6. Fire, Tooth, Pony, Blizzard, Rocks, Pinky Pie

7. Rocks is really Sammy Rocks... You are so vain you probably think this post is about you...

8. We have a splash pad in the backyard.

9. One hose, one playscape, three kids, mix and suddenly there is a water slide in the yard.

10. The bricks in front of the water slide were only hit 3 times... and only with lower extremity body parts.

11. Lower extremity body parts = not anyone's head

12. It is not totally out of the question that I will get more yarn today.

13. I need to set up a meeting of the charity knitters.

14. Knitting makes everything better

A knitters dozen of thoughts.

Gifts

Yesterday was a big day in the Gift department.

I was on the phone with a friend and walked outside to put some mail in the box, and what was on my doorstep? A really pretty pink bag with green paper. Sticking out was a wooden stick with a blue bow. I wish I had photographed it, so you could see how pretty it was! Inside was a cookie decorated to look like teddy bear in a tux.



Isn't he cute? I thought so! I began to wonder where it had come from. I have gotten so many small tokens lately, it never occurred to me it was not ACTUALLY intended for me. I cut the cookie up and shared it with everyone. It was ok, as these things generally are not fabulous. I began to ponder who did this.

I know, I shouldn't eat something unless I know where it is from. I took a longer look at the bag. There was a sticker it said to: Tracy from: (undecipherable writing). I thought, oh, it must have come from Tracey. She has done some much nice stuff for me, this is a bit excessive. But something didn't make sense... this was delivered in the middle of the day, and she is at work, and her name is spelled wrong. hmmm... think, think, think, think.

Finally, Bob decided that it must have been for the old owner of our house, Tracy, spelled that way or our next door neighbor, also Tracy, not sure on how to spell her name. Mystery solved. Now the old owners have not lived here for 3 years, this begs the question, should we tell them or not? The cookie is long gone. We decided, you couldn't have been a real good friend if after 3 years you don't know where the new fabulous, custom build manse is so, we are silent!

Another trip to the mail box netted me a huge envelope of yarn:


I was overwhelmed by the amount of yarn sent to me by this lovely lady in Canada. It was so generous. I am sharing with my other blanket making friends! One friend is doing 2 and there is enough for her to do 2 squares! I was so excited. Anyway, it was a banner day in the gift department! Thanks, we needed a lift.

We wait...

Things are moving along, we are getting ready for school. The kids want to play with their new supplies, but they have to wait.

Bob is networking like a maniac, but you have to wait for the person who says they will make an introduction for you to get back to you, to make the introduction. You have to wait.

We wait for people to get back to us about questions we have, will they or won't they?

We wait in line at the store.

We wait for the mailman, it stands to good reason that there will be yarn in the mail any day now.

Sometimes I think we miss out on something while we are waiting. When ever I think about Bob's situation and I ask G-d to bring us a job soon, now, I hear this voice remind me about patience. Perhaps we are supposed to learn that while we are waiting there is something else to do. Enjoy the space you are in while you wait.

I suppose we are doing that while waiting for a new job. Most people I talk to are very much "it is so horrible since XXX lost his job." But, in my situation, it is so much better. We are all reconnecting as a family and it is so nice to have Bob back.

For now, though, we wait.

Dishrag Tag

I am pretty excited, Dishrag tag is about to start. There is only room for 220 people, so I must sign up asap. Saturday, I will be stalking the computer and yelling at Bob to get off so I can sign up at noon. I know, I am a freaky knitter.

BUT... so many of these things are super expensive to participate in... this one only costs the shipping amount, $5.00 and the cost of yarn and a small treat. I got a small treat at Aldi for a buck (I am sending 4 candy bars! Great deal, if you have an Aldi near you, something to keep in mind!) The yarn is 1.25, so for under 8 bucks, I get to play! YIPPY!!

Anyway, I will keep everyone posted on the progress...

As for dying yarn, the kids all dyed some, and once I get the pictures off the camera I will share that. They named their colorways, Fire, Sam lost a Tooth and Pony.

Mow the Lawn Yourself

Ok, I will start by saying the husband and I are DIY type of people. We are cheap, to some extent and to another, we like to do things right. To that end, we have never had a lawn service. Bob mowed lawns as a kid, and still isn't ready to give that up, so I doubt we will ever have a lawn service.

Everyone else in our neighborhood has a lawn service. The thing I don't understand is why it is a good idea to have the lawn service come at 7:30 AM on a Saturday. Maybe I could reconcile a week-day with that time... marginally, but a Saturday????? I don't freakin' think so.

This is a new lawn service our neighbors are using, they parked under MY window, tramped through MY yard, and generally disturbed MY household. The really need to not start by mowing MY grass!

Now, we like our neighbors, and would like to maintain a friendly relationship with them. Their kids like our kids, and vice versa, so, I don't think I will say anything but it is so annoying. I wonder why they do it so early in the morning? What is wrong with 9:00?? Heck 3:30 is a lovely time too.

Sam lost a tooth and other things

Sam lost his 2nd tooth yesterday. I was so happy, as his adult teeth had already grown in behind the baby teeth. A condition called shark teeth, in case you are interested. When I discussed it with the dentist, I was told that the baby teeth would need to be pulled. I was putting off doing it until Bob had a job, but the came out!! I think Sam bit something hard and sort of pushed one tooth out, but once one was out it opened the door for the other one to come out... sure I helped a bit.

I also dyed more yarn. I used the same 6 colors, so the yarns are all sort of similar. Next time I may try mixing colors together to get some variation. But I wanted to see how it went with wilton colors. I don't know that I like them. I think that I might like regular food coloring better. I think that it might also be cheaper.

Some people think that because I am playing with dying yarn that I am going to sell it. I think that is so funny, my attempts, while making me exceedingly happy, are pretty amateurish, and I frankly couldn't imagine anyone purchasing it. I still get white parts where I have tied the yarn, the pink I used was pretty neon, etc. I call this batch of yarn, learning curve colorways. I microwaved the yarn, something to keep in mind is that mini skeins need less time in the cooker than a bigger skein. See, Learning Curve! Anyway, I will post pictures as soon as I can. Don't even ask me to buy it, it is for my blanket and it ain't for sale! There might not even be enough to share, which I realized to my horror this morning.

Random Thoughts on a Thursday

1. I know it isn't Wednesday, but I didn't have any random thoughts yesterday. I was too tired.

2. Sam lost a tooth and asked for Pokemon cards. I still don't get it.

3. Kids like Looney Toons.

4. Sometimes people do stuff I couldn't or wouldn't but perhaps their motivation is different than mine and if in that situation I might.

5. Perhaps having the kids be zombies is a good idea, perhaps not.

6. Ethics belong to the person, and it is not mine to sit in judgment.

7. Judgmental people suck.

8. 1 more

9. My sheep are all in a row, is that like ducks in a row?

10. I need to go to the grocery store. How is it that my husband thinks we don't need bread when there isn't any?

11. Free Cheez-Its.

12. My yarn might come today.

13. I haven't knit in 6 days. I might be ill.

14. Knitting makes everything better.

A knitters dozen of thoughts.

HOME SWEET HOME

We arrived at home in one piece today. It was super fun, super tiring, and most likely will be repeated next summer. A re-cap:

3 houses
2 hotels
1 mini van
3 kids
1 adult
7 states (forgot one the first time)
1 feverish kid
1 stomach bug (different kid)
3000 miles all the way

It is good to be home.

Odyssey day 14

Well, tomorrow we head home. Hannah is sick, 102 fever... great! Thoose friends with the sick kids.. It will be interesting to see how it goes with a sick kid in the car all day. The tylenol seems to be lowering her fever and making her feel MUCH better, she actually ate something. So, I am guardedly optimistic.

The odyssey - days 3 - 13

I could do a day by day blow of what we did. We spent a lot of time in the car. This gives a person a lot of time to think about what ever pops into their head. I listened to a couple of books on tape. One was fair. The one I am still listening to is about a child that is kidnapped and discovers this 28 years later. It is interesting to think about what the mother/child relationship means. The daughter was taken by her father because her mother is an achoholic. I never knew my mother, she gave me up after I was born. I imagine that she named me, but I don't know that name. The character in the story ponders what her mother thought about for the 28 years she was missing, why the mother never tried to find her. I often wonder what my mother thinks about. I know she has not tried the traditional channels to find me, because I am registered with all of them. I am not overly emotional about this fact, just curious.

It was great to see my friends. The kids loved seeing their friends. Everyone played really well together. The kids had a blast doing the stuff we used to do in CT. We went to the lake, the sprinkler park and the playground. We shopped a few deals and we went to a party. We also went to Quassy, an amusement park. The kids had never been there before, but loved it. Everyone had a blast, and we are hoping to go back again next year! A new tradition.

I was sad to say good bye to my friends. They sent me off with a van full of clothes, food and toys for the kids. Talk of next summer ringing in everyone's ears.

We are at my in-laws now. Waiting for my FIL to return from the Dr. He took a pretty bad spill in a parking lot. We will find out how he is doing when they return.

The Odyssey .. day 2

Captians log; July 10, 9 hundred 20 hours, stardate 2

So we went to the farm. We went to the circus. We played outside in the water. The kids went to bed late.

The farm was interesting, we saw sheep and you know that makes me happy. I thought I might sheer them, card and clean the wool, spin it, dye it and make socks. I would like to add that any ideas about utilizing the wool from the afore mentioned sheep would be for my own personal use and entertainment. (I crack myself up.) Seriously, I liked petting the babies!

We saw my niece perform in the circus. It was pretty cool, and Hannah really wants to join the circus now! She was mezmorized by the kids performing the stunts. I am not sure how I would feel about my kid 10 feet in the air hanging by their foot upside down... but at least she is currently too small and we don't live in Columbus!

We Rode -- the unofficial diary of the odyssey

Day 1: We drove. The DVD players didn't work. We had to go home to get the spares. We are down to 2 for 3 kids. Mac played DS and listened to an audio book, so we were good. So far. We arrived.

Random Thoughts on a Wednesday, only it is Tuesday

1. It is Tuesday, but I won't be here on Wednesday.

2. The pokemon cards are still occupying my kids.

3. Chase promised me that I would have my card in 3-5 b-days, not that they would mail it in 3-5 b-days.... swine

4. 3 kids, 3 houses, 2 hotels, 2000 miles, 6 states, 1 minivan, 1 mom, 0 dad...

5. What do you take on the above adventure?

6. Wine

7. Mikes Hard Lemonade

8. Really, is there enough alcohol in the world?

9. My husband told me there was a LYS going out of business.

10. I was super excited, and was hunting around in the couch for money. I have a spare 20 hidden somewhere.

11. My friends were super excited.

12. He was wrong.

13. He is still alive.

14. Knitting makes everything better.

A knitters dozen of thoughts.

Vacation..

This is my last post for a while... going to be on vacation, and definitely NOT going to be able to post with any regularity! So much going through my mind right now, bullet points I think.

• So, can you be fired from a volunteer position. I made a really big error with MOMs Club. It isn't like I did it on purpose, I didn't read the email. Was it one of those random emails lost in the yahoo vortex? Did I just miss it? I don't know what happened, but I do know that the consequences of me not doing that are big and I hate the silence on the other end. Oh well, I think I will be happy to be removed from office!

• The price is the price is the price. I hate it when people change the price. grrr

• Oso... what to say about that... it would seem he isn't so unique anymore.

• Small frog went driving. Give the keys to the frog and look what happens.

• I hate people who respond to Bob's job loss like my husband has terminal cancer. I am sooo sorry, they say. How are you holding up? Like I should be crumbling. Sure I have some feelings about the whole situation, duh, but we are in a better place than we were 2 months ago. Then there is the other end of the spectrum, when folks ask me to do stuff that there is no way I can afford, my husband is unemployed right now. Money is tight. It is so hard to blow off fun stuff like trips to the yarn store or where ever, but we can not do that right now. I guess I appreciate the gesture. What I really appreciate is the friends that are coming up with free stuff for us to do, figuring out ways to coupon something down to almost nothing. Those folks are trying to help us still have fun, with out spending a boat load. I guess it is like a death, no one really knows what to do or say.
  

• 3 days in the car with the kids one way, 3 days in the car with the kids the other way.....

Ok, enough bullet points.

Sock Blanket Saturday

It is rainy and yucky here. A depressing 4th of July. We aren't going to fireworks, because it is so wet and gross out. So I had a ton of time to work on my blanket. Some stats:

Width: 12 squares (needs to be 16)
Length: 2 rows complete, 3rd row 1/2 way done.
Squares completed: 30
Approx. # of squares left to complete: 768 - 30 = 738

Yeah, I know it is crazy. Below a picture of the blanket.



I also dyed some yarn today. It is drying, I don't know how it will look knitted up, but it was pretty fun to do. I used food coloring that we had in the house. It is bad to leave me to my own devices on a rainy day.... My new plan is to buy some bare yarn and dye mini-skeins for my blanket. I think the colors would probably be better if I had more to choose from!

What is on the needles?

So, I am certain most of you were completely concerned about the fact that I had nothing on the needles. Worry not my fair reader, a small search through the various knitting bags through out the house surfaced some more unfinished objects. So, I had a finishing party, of sorts.

I completed my charity scarf. Our group has made about 6 scarves and hats for Jewish Family Services. I am pretty happy about that. Granted I wish it was more, but hey, it is better than nothing. I am thinking about teaching knitting as a hoog (Mac had to tell me how to spell it, so if it is spelled wrong it is his fault), have the kids make one scarf for them and one for charity. Anyway, my scarf and hat set:



Miss T, you have heard about her before, loves frogs. We decided that she needed a frog. I did not have any worsted weight yarn in green, but did have it in a sock weight. So, small frog was born. Small frog is smaller than my cell phone! Miss T liked small frog, or at least she said she did.


Small frog propped against cell phone, so you can see, he is a small frog...

Lies

Well, I finally have an answer to the question that has bothered me since the whole thing with Bob. How could these people do this to us and still get up everyday and not feel bad about it.

The answer: (wait for it) ..... The lies that are the loudest are the ones we tell ourselves.

DUH. Of course, it didn't really occur to me that they lie to themselves. Didn't think about that. That is why everyone HATES Lynn, and she thinks she is so wonderful. She lies to herself. That is why everyone despises Leon and he thinks that he is a well loved boss. He lies to himself. That is why Joel thinks he is different than his in-laws, better than them. He lies to himself.

I feel so much better about it. I just wish I could be there when someone puts the mirror up and asks them to really look at their behavior. They are deluded. I guess we were a little deluded too, we thought Bob could handle the situation, and have a positive impact. Oh, and we believed their lies too... for a little while.

Random Thoughts on a Wednesday

1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sam!!!

2. Overheard: Mac: "Sam, you are so lucky." Sam: "Yeah, don't you want to be me?"

3. The above quote was in reference to the Pokemon cards that Sam got from Mac.

4. The boys have been playing Pokemon for an hour without fighting.

5. I may not get Pokemon, I may think it is the stupidest thing in the entire world, but I love that the boys can play for an hour without fighting. All hail Pokemon.

6. Special Agent Oso, the unique stuffed bear.... enough said.

7. When it is too hot, I complain, when it is too cold I complain. I guess I won't complain about the weather anymore.

8. Today is going to be the coldest day in 75 years.

9. What do you make with size 17 needles??

10. What weight yarn do you use with size 17 needles? Something like bulky held 4xs???

11. Why does the Garmin send you to a destination one way and home another? Can't it just turn around?

12. Free cheese is the best thing ever.

13. I want to go on a date with this hugely cute guy. He is 6 feet tall, slightly balding, with brown eyes, and a nice laugh.

14. Knitting makes everything better.

A knitters dozen of thoughts.