I'm back...

Disney was a blast but I need way more energy than I have right now to blog about it. In the meantime here's some of this weekend's festivities. Avery's birthday was last weekend when we were at Disney, but we decided to give him a little party when we came back.

I made the cake but Rinaldo did the decorating:

I love the way it came out and so did Avery:


The party was small but that is a special kind of fun all it's own. It was low key, with two friends and a cousin. Plus Ian got a playmate for the day as well since cousin Cheyenne brought her baby sister Zeyda. The adults got to hang out on the deck while the kids hung out in the playroom downstairs. A very relaxing day all around.

I did manage to get some work done on my sock while I was in Disney. Yup, a whole inch done on the cuff. I am actually impressed that I got anything done at all. Today I picked up Geryd but it's still just boring stockinette so I won't bother showing it.

I always hate going back to work after vacation. There is so much work just waiting for me, particularly at this time of year. I managed to get through the day and so I was rewarded in the end. My One Skein Secret Pal came through:



I love the yarn, the stitch markers and the row counter. Thanks SP!

I promise some Disney shots next time. Happy Monday...

M is for Mickey Mouse



I'm outta here, see you in a week. I'll say hi to Mickey for you...

So your best friend comes over and hands you this:



You think to yourself, "OMG she loves me, she really loves me, what should I make, oh it's so luscious, I'm in love with it, all other projects are banished until I've finished with this yarn".

Then you realize she just wants you to do this for her:


...and your heart breaks just a little, sniff, sniff, she only loves me for my ballwinder.

Thankfully I still have friends in Long Island who love me. A few weeks back my good buddy Ann had a contest and I won. Now I knew damn well that if I said "fuck" in my entry I would win, 'cause Ann likes it "salty". Still I like my mantra too so I am very proud of winning. I got my prize yesterday:



Dudes, it's a Yarntainer! Of course yarn tamer may be a better name but I have tangled enough yarn in my day that this will definitely come in handy.

There was more:



Interestingly enough when I was visiting Katy back in March I fondled this exact color of Trekking XXL, yet I restrained myself from buying it (only because I was saving myself for Iceland) but today here it is in my hot little hands. Whoo hoo thanks Ann! There were some adorable beaded stitch markers also but somehow I forgot to take their picture. I love 'em though.

Am I knitting? Well sort of. Avery is in Soccer Day Camp at the moment and that involves two trains. That means I don't always get a seat so I've been reading more than knitting. I did get to the first decrease row on Gyrid but she's not much to look at yet:


I'll take her to Florida with me but I'm going to cast on for my second STR sock for the flight. I always prefer to take bamboo or plastic needles on planes, less drama at the security checkpoints.

Yeah it's Thursday! Only 25 hours until vacation...

I don't have much knitting going on so I thought I would show off some house stuff or more correctly yard stuff.

This was my yard last July:



To say it was overgrown is being kind. To be fair the contractors did remove the satellite dish and the shed that you might see all the way in the back on the right if you squint. It kind of listed to the right so we decided it should go before we moved in.

This is my yard today:

Nice right? We had landscapers come in and cut down everything so we could basically start from scratch. Rinaldo has been working on the grass since the Spring and it's finally coming along. We got the fence installed about a month ago, by the same guy who did the kitchen for me. He did a great job. Once it cools off we will paint it and the deck.

We have a little play area for Ian (a playhouse will be along shortly):

...and all the way in the back there is Rinaldo's rock garden:

It's not quite finished so I will take a better shot when it's done. We are re-doing the path as well. If you look at the top pictures you can see the stones we have chosen sitting on top of the path right in the front.

I've got some flowers growing in the garden too:

These were some cuttings from my good buddy Gary and his wife Virginia. They are doing beautifully.

These came with the garden:


Last year there was only 1, this year it has plenty of company. So much so that the butterflies the boys and I raised were very happy to get their flying papers:



I'm not always thrilled with having a house, but I always love my backyard.

Picked this up over at Bronxie's, since I got nothing new to say I thought I'd share:

Life's to do list - I've bolded those I've gotten around to:

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07.Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08.Said 'I love you' and meant it
09.Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11.Visited Paris
12.Watched a lightning storm at sea
13.Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14.Seen the Northern Lights
15.Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17.Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18.Touched an iceberg
19.Slept under the stars
20.Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22.Watched a meteor shower
23.Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25.Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26.Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30.Had a snowball fight
31.Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33.Seen a total eclipse
34.Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36.Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38.Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces
41.Taken care of someone who was drunk
42.Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44.Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47.Taken a road-trip
48.Gone rock climbing
49.Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51.Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53.In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56.Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59.Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61.Gone scuba diving
62.Kissed in the rain
63.Played in the mud
64.Played in the rain
65.Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67.Started a business
68.Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69.Toured ancient sites
70.Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72.Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74.Crashed a party
75.Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77.Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80.Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83.Got flowers for no reason
84.Performed on stage
85.Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90.Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92.Buried one of your parents
93.Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100.Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102.Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108.Piloted an airplane
109.Petted a stingray
110.Broken someone's heart
111.Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113.Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116.Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117.Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118.Ridden a horse
119.Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127.Eaten sushi
128.Had your picture in the newspaper
129.Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133.Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135.Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136.Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138.Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141.Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146:Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150:Saved someone's life

What do you think this is? A knitting blog?

Well actually yes, yes I do and I have knitting to show for it. Not much but some. First up I completed my sock:



It's actually a tad small but it's for me and frankly I don't care. It's pretty and I love it. Obviously I immediately cast on for the second one and have nearly completed it, right? Yeah...no. I've actually tossed about a bit for my next project. Do I do the second sock? Nah just did one. Maybe I should work on Charlotte? No, it's too hot to think that hard. Ok, then a simple lace scarf out of my Kidsilk Haze? Ooh yeah that didn't go well. I need to get some really sharp needles to work with that stuff all I got was a tangled mess with my blunt bamboo ones.

So this morning I cast on for this:



For me, me, me. So far so good. Of course I've only gone a couple of inches so far but I like optimism, it's a good thing.

Damn is it really only Tuesday?

Added later: Everyone is asking where the pattern comes from so here you go. It's in Elsebeth Lavold Designer's Choice Book One: The Viking Knits Collection picked up from Bron a few months back. I'm making it with the Silky Wool that is pictured on her blog. I apologize for being an inconsiderate blogger and not sharing the info earlier.

Birthday Stuff

I know you're all just dying to know how my birthday went, ok well not really but everything is blog fodder right?

Most of the day was devoted to Avery for his graduation, but my knitting group was meeting that night and Maribel made sure everybody was in a celebratory mood...

...she brought cupcakes! This was mine:

Nobody else got the big cupcake with the clown on it, poor things;), it was a birthday girl perk.

She brought my gifts as well. Rinaldo had left all but one of my gifts at work, so I had to wait until Wednesday to get them.

In the end I loved all my gifts:
No comments on Star, everyone needs a little trash in their lives and it is a roman a clef from an ex-wife of Motley Crue's drummer, therefore it is an excellent gift!

The Spenser movies, Motley Crue Videos and umbrella came from Maribel. The bag book, Nancy Drew parody, and Elizabethtown soundtrack Vol. 1 came from the husband (as well as a Wonder Woman t-shirt which failed to show up at the photoshoot, that diva!). The Egyptian mug came from my good friend Leslie (can you tell my friends know I love the Egyptian stuff at the Met) and the Elizabethtown DVD, volume 2 of the soundtrack and Star came from Tisha and the crew at work. I am so loved!

The day before my birthday I got a little something in the mail:

It's my One Skein Secret Pal giftie! A lovely skein of Rowan Denim. I've been wanting to get my hands on this yarn but I kept putting it off until I had a specific project in mind. When I first saw it I wasn't quite sure what to do with one skein of it but my pal was ready for that question. She suggested Topi as she used the exact same yarn for hers. I love that cap so I think we have a winner.

I've actually been knitting too. Amazing huh? Here is my progress on my Red Hot socks for me, using STR "Ruby Slippers":

It's a bit washed out in the shot but they are coming along famously. I am just about at the toe decreases which means I made a sock in a week. That is freakin' amazing for me. Let's see how long it takes to do the second one, ay there's the rub...

Have a great weekend all...

The last few days I've been wanting to blog but the heat has me feeling horribly lazy. Its too bloody hot to do anything. Then I remembered that I had started a post on Wednesday. A cheap, drive-by post but a post nonetheless (it does of course involve a camera phone, so my apologies).

Look I sent stuff to Dulaan:


This hat was my attempt at mimicking the hat I saw on Veronica Mars that did not work out very well. Still a nice hat otherwise.
Here is the completed sweater:


I ran out of yarn so the turtleneck became a mock neck. This thing took me far longer than I expected. I'm thinking, "hey it's garter stitch, bulky yarn, a nice small size this is going go nice and fast". How wrong could I be? Very, very wrong. Cassie mentioned to me at the Spin Out last week that she thinks garter stitch actually takes longer to show progress and after doing this project I totally agree. I did finish though and I got it there in time, so it's a success.

Have a great Independence Day and I promise a real post involving birthday gifts and the one skein knitalong next time.