last post July '08!!!

Wow, 2 years since I posted? Not that anyone reads blogs anymore with facebook and twitter. I like a nice long blog, not a sentence "I'm drinking coffee on the patio". I get frustrated when people don't update enough... NEB? And then here I am the worst of them all! So much has happened over the past 2 years, births, deaths, cats! Yes! I found out last year I am no longer allergic so promptly went and got one. A rescue 4 yr old from the shelter. His name is Samuel and I love him down to his tootsie toes. Lets see if I remember how to add a pic. Well, there he is. Not where I wanted the pic but okay....

After I got him in Sept. My son Paul found kittens in his backyard. As a Christmas gift he caught (actually his wife caught, he transported) one that I particuarly liked. The other one was snatched away by people in the night. This is Matilda or Tilly. She will be a year very soon as far as we can tell. Still very skittish and hides in the basement when strangers are here. Yes, she isn't where I want her to be either. Sam is on the left, the orange tiger and Tilly is the beautiful black and white girl.

Oh well, I moved them a bit. Tilly is sitting on our kitchen "tiled" floor. Yes! Tile! which means the kitchen is finished! Alot of the house is finished except there are no pics. Why you ask? Because we were burgeld burgled? whatever. Robbed means we were at home which we were not. Thankfully. Also thankfully the burglers closed the door after them. No one was hurt and no animals escaped. Bad news is between depreciation and deductibles we only got one computer and a lesser tv. Jerry fixed the screen they cut himself. Also thankfully a good friend (Thanks Elaine!) let me have her netbook computer. I love this thing!!!! Too cute! So, basically all is well.

We are going on vacation this weekend too! Yipee! Sand Dune motel in wildwood Crest NJ. Hmmm I wonder if I can get an image from the internet.... let's try shall we? I'm feeling adventurous. Ok, that doesn't work at all. Probably illegal or immoral anyway. So to see where we will be google Sanddunemotel.com Cheap and nice and right across from the beach with a grassy park in between so there is no blockage of scenery.

So, time for the Duggars. I will be heading off now. At least this post is something. Will I continue? I hope so. Judy

last post July '08!!!

Write when you can

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe it has been so long since I have written here. Well, now that my friends Nate and Neb have left town I guess I have to be more consistant. I can't promise but I'll try.

Since I posted last our addition hasn't moved much. Not much you can do without money. Hah! But I have been doing grunt work around the yard which doesn't cost much.
I worked on the pond some more, this is a photo of it at the beginning.

I wanted to post pics that are on my camera of "what we did on Jerrys vacation" but as usual I can't find the camera cord to download them. I will try to do that later.

In fiberland I've been working on the Orkney Pi shawl knit along, and a friends very belated Christmas/birthday gift of pillows. In between I tried to get going on some socks but have had a hard time of it. I start and rip, start another and rip. Just can't get solidly into one.

Mostly I've been on a reading jag. Most recently I read "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch which was excellent! Right now I'm finishing The Shack by William P. Young, a vrey interesting look at our perceptions of God and our universe. How we see good vs. evil, what our purpose is, how to have a better relationship with God. I do think he's gone a bit far on the relationship and not having anything under obiedience which is biblical also. Some Deep Thoughts in there. I'm about to dive into Ted Dekkers Shadowland. I've been a fan of his a few months now and this is the next one I have in the line.

Health has been good. I still go for the checkups every couple months with the oncologist and once a month get an IV infusion of a calcium drug to help with the osteoporosis but that's about it. Then I had a root canal done this afternoon. Not bad. He's new to me and very high tech. Has a tv on the ceiling (not that I could hear it over the drill) and neato gadgets.

Boy it has been awhile cause now I can't figure out how to move the pics around. They all look to me as writing until I preview and then they come up. Before they appeared as pictures and I could mouse over them and move them. Now? Not so much. You'll have to make do with words I guess....

If I can figure the picture thing I'll post them but don't hold your breath! So this fascinating post must come to a close so I can finish some stuff and get to bed.

It's not working

OKay, my geeky computer friends (Nate). What am I doing wrong to not have that breast cancer button on the sidebar like everyone else? If I'm going to do a blog I at least want it to have some redeeming value.

In the meantime till I get an answer I will tell you of my exciting life. Monday there was a Big fire near my dads house. My son Paul and I were working on renovating the house and were about ready to leave when I smelled smoke. Being the nervous type I mentioned this to him. He found the source alright, but it was in a direct line to my house. As I was panicking and trying to dial home he found out via his Official Ambulance Walkie Talkie Radio that it was a commercial structure fire.

Well, off we went! Silly me thinking we're just going to drive to where it is and be looky loos. Nope, we use lights and siren to carreen (sp?})around cars and through lights to get to said fire. I was alternately scared we were going to roll over and die, embarrassed about making a spectacle of myself, and feeling that we were going to get arrested for doing such things. Mostly scared of dying.

We get to the fire which thankfully was an abandoned factory and I find, indeed the one whose diapers I changed is allowed to drive like that. Hmmm... It went downhill from there. The excitement of the fire gave way to standing around with the EMS crew (in the official neon orange vest)waiting for something to happen. After about an hour of this we did get a few firemen to give water and towels to, and check their blood pressure. Of course my knitting was back at the house, the one I might add that we ran from leaving doors open, lights on, radios playing, and my car with windows down and my purse sitting on the front seat. So, my son who was now in Official Command Mode and uniform gives me his truck keys to go back and get my car and lock up everything. End of excitement. I might add I had no lunch or dinner or even a drink since breakfast. To all this my son says, "don't say I never take you anywhere".

I hear yesterday there was another bigger fire in the apartment building my daughter used to live in. That was worse as there were people, and some pets were killed. I didn't attend that one.

So, boring old today I'm trying (quite successfully) to avoid steeking my new sweater. When I get the guts I will take a picture and post it. S, I bid all 2 of you adieu and hope to have the button moved soon.

Judy

It's a link! I think...

Sounds like Dr Suess I know. I'm attempting to put a link to the breast cancer site on the side of my blog. Bear with me here...

OKay, this just might work when I preview. Or not. I'd like it to sit next to the top of all my posts but I am computer illiterate. These things always sound so easy when someone describes them. I will leave and hopfully come back...

when good knitting goes bad

When good knitting goes bad, it just might not be the knittings fault. I love to put blame on others, even if the others are inanimate objects. Here be a picture of my almost finished Rogue sweater. This is the hood.






See the fancy cables? Yes, they are laying exactly as I wanted. They look continuous across the head even though they're not. They are carefully, with a 3 needle bind off grafted together. They are a thing of beauty.





See the dent on the back of the hood? Yes, you're seeing it right even if you're not a knitter. It goes straight across the cables and then dips down about 1.5" very quickly. Then it goes on at a new level for a couple inches. My head is not shaped like this. I'd venture to say no ones head is shaped like this. This is Very Wrong. This requires Hot Chocolate with Raspberry Syrup since I don't drink hard liquor. Though I could very well take it up. Imagine a sweater beating up on an adult human being! It boggles the mind, and yet, that's the situation.



Now, before all my knitterly friends jump in and tell me what I did wrong, I found out. See, one should fully read the directions before jumping willy nilly (I like the sound of that) into the way you think it should be. Now I'm stuck unknitting the stupid seam I put in. You see, the seam line shouldn't be going from front to back in the plain part. At that point (after the cables) the seam should go side to side picking up the edge left over after the cables went together. So now that's where I am and mighty unhappy about it. This sweater should be laying on a towel drying itself in the sun (never mind we had no sun today, only torrential downpours which flooded my basement, I am sooo sorry Adrienne) in preparation to getting its sleeves sewn on. It still needs a hem, and to be steeked and a zipper put in. Non knitters: To steek means to Cut The Knitting That You Spent Hours Of Your Life Knitting Together. Usually this activity is begun with a large drink of wine. One doesn't want to mess with this sort of thing having drunk whisky you see. That would be over the top. However, seeing as above, I do not partake of the Spirits and need now my Hot Chocolate with Raspberry Syrup, I will leave blogland and go forth to imbibe and knit in that order.



Judy (Remember, friends don't let friends knit drunk)

Happy Birthday to me!

Yes, I know I said I'd be back 6 days ago. I live in a time warp you see.. I decided I would repaint the chair a less interesting shade of purple, so here it is. Very dark grape. But it's really really comfy and will go up to the loft without creating a hernia.

So, yes its my birthday, 54 yrs on this planet and somedays I feel it, others not so much. Today is a good day. I got many shots this morning, one in the behind. Then went to lunch with a very dear friend who I cleaned for ummm about the last 23 or so years. I knew her before I knew my dearest hubby. So, we ate lunch in one of those cutsy old house now a shop and lunch place in a quaint little town. It was fun and we needed to catch up. Next I clean my church while waiting for my dearest daughter to get done with her choir practice. It seems like a good way to spend my time.

In fiberland: I'm making good progress finally on the Rogue sweater. I have no sticktoittiveness if that's a word. Lemme see if I can get a decent picture. Okay, at least it's there. The cables are coming along nicely now that it's almost done! I'm working on the hood now, for those of you who might not know the pattern. Sleeves are done, but need to be blocked before sewing up. After all that I'll steek it and add a zipper. Hopefully the thing will fit half decently.

So, this weekend I'll be with friends at a friends yarn shop in Adamstown Pa. We will be knitting and spinning as a demo to lure new customers in. Might actually sell some handspun but I'm not counting on it. Of course after weeks of beautiful sun, it's supposed to rain.

Well, that's my life at the moment. Pretty dull huh? For a more fun blog and baby pics go to NEB's blog. She's funny and has wonderful baby pics of her daughter Madeline. Did I spell that right? Well, she'll forgive her dottering old friend. Must get to choir practice! Knit on! Judy