Whats!

I think I will choose one day a week to decide WHAT is going on . . . SO....

What I’m reading: Sock patterns, and collecting books for the recuperation. Got any to recommend.
What I’m cooking: Roasted new potatoes, brussels spouts roasted in balsamic and meat loaf, I know most do not like meat loaf, but the maid I had when we lived in the Phillipines made a tasty one. I always do 2 and freeze one., That will be a meal for the family while I am recuperating, That’s 5 in the freezer!
What I’m knitting: lady bug hats, did one for a charity hat and now I have requests! And Easter eggs for a basket for my SP
What I’m wearing: nothing I have knitted because I have not knitted for myself. My LYS has a class on March 31 on WHAT NOT TO WEAR and we will learn how to find, measure and adjust patterns for ourselves. WHEE
What I’m watching: I confess to an addiction for some BBC shows. I am hooked and I see John and myself in “As Time Goes By”. I struggle not to be Judi Dench at times. I like the BBC newscast esp. Nice to see what the rest of the world is doing while we watch Anna Niclole.
What I’m looking forward to: I look forward to being able to walk around the block again. I can’t believe I ever took that for granted. I will be getting the new woman’s knee. I’m told it fits better and recovery is better.
What I’m thankful for: Daffodils, this is the month of my birth and they always bloom for ME! At least, that is what I like to believe. I ordered yarn from CIDER MOON and I received a birthday wish from Lufah. Cider Moon has the lovliest daffodils and daffodil colored yarn on their site. SO yummy. They did it just for me, didn’t they?

Happy Birth Day Celebrating

Today, March 27, I celebrate the day I was born 66 years ago. I hear people groaning and complaining about growing OLD. I have never been bothered with the years and instead have marveled at the changes time has brought with each stage of life. Except for the knees I like where I am and who I am. I am the sum total of all I have done and seen. It has been a great ride and there are many more curves to peer around in the road ahead. I think the following says it all...

Life can't be counted in candles
or measured in number of years,
it's counted in small joys
and good times and laugh lines,
as well as in heartaches and tears.

Life can't be counted in candles,
but in things done with effort and pride
with dreams followed boldly
and hopes kept alive- -
in times when we've failed - -but tried.

Life can't be counted in candles
or measured in years that have flown- -
it's counted in kindnesses
close friends, and loved ones,
and in all the sweet blessings we've known.

Tickled over Secret Pal Stuff

Why is it that when you are pleased with something, you have an OVERWHELMING urge to share it even if it is a secret?
Of course, someone else's secret is theirs and theirs alone to share but this one is my own. I have a project for my SP and I think it is so cute that I am bubbling over. This is worse than Christmas and hurry hurry open your present. I always want to see the faces. My children say I am much worse than they ever could have been with anticipation. I have had to get three months worth of gifting ready since April 20 is knee replacement day and I won't be albe to get out and shop. Everything I have ordered from the internet has been perfect. That was a very pleasing surprise as even the colors were true!. My LYS had a class that fit right into my project and oh have I had fun with that!. ANother LYS is changing owners and I have had fun with yarn purchases from them.
I want to put in a plug for Cider Moon (http://www.cidermoon.com/). They are one of the online shops I used. Ordered saturday at 10:30 AM and it arrived Monday at 3:30PM. They are also very cordial.
SO, my SP has yet to receive anything other than e-mail but my couch is full of things, Anyone know if a BIG box?

Oh, the photo is one basket in a collection of baskets I inherited from my parents.Tthe basket is quite small, so small that we had to use an Easter garland instead of Easter Eggs to fill it.

INTROSPECTION or WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

For 3 weeks we have been too ill to do much of anything including knitting which really hurt. It gave me time to reflect on this blog and my knitting future. Both started with a willy-nilly pell-mell approach. Dive right in,damn the topedoes and see what happens. Probably a result of all that had been dammed up before I retired. When the flood gates opened I had no direction. I have journaled in private for years but no one read my wonderings. Now out in the public domain I need to decide what I want others to read. Definitely things I would like to read! Lots of photos are a must. I am not a writer in the published sense. But I enjoy the act of writing. To find this direction I have decided to finish all the projects I have unfinished or move them on to another owner.
3 quilts tops, pieced but unquilted
1 floral needlepoint, 3/4ths done
1 rottweiler needlepoint canvas, not started
1 croatan needlepoint canvas, not started
1 fruits/vegtables needlepoint not yet boxed into a pillow
2 xstitch santa dolls, complete with miniature toys and baskets
1 Bilbao Scarf knit from Morehouse Farms, 1/10th done
1 childs hat in Tahki cotton, 7/8ths done
pair of socks with only toes to finish
scarf in chenille and eyelash, 1/2 half done
pair infant booties, 9/10ths done
Do you see the lack of direction? So I am going to dig down, finish and discover what I really want to do. I have gathered all crafting supplies, including scrapbooking, stamping, papers, calligraphy, etc and cleaned house of what I did not want. Now only the fabric arts remain. Heady stuff but mind clearing, Photos to follow.
I have also signed on for a new class at my lys entitled "What Not To Wear" . I am a big woman and this class will teach us how to measure, adjust patterns to fit and what patterns to use for our shapes. Finally I can knit for me. 2 previous attempts had all but convinced me not to ever knit for me.

Thank you SP10 ... answering your questions and listing 100 THINGS were very good for clearing my cobwebs.

Sssssh! It's a secret.

I received a tantalizing e-mail from my Secret Pal in SP10 saying Hi. SHe said she was looking forward to spoiling me.
Now I ask you . . could anything stir you up and get you more intrigued than that mesage. This is my first time in something like this and I am excited. I have a name also and have begun the secret preparations. Let the fun begin!

100 things about me

This was very hard. I found out I don't often thinkabout me, my likes and dislikes. I found out a lot about me.

1. I cannot crochet to gauge
2.I am allergic to dust and cleaning sprays,
3. Shalimar perfume reminds me of summer
4. I started knitting 47 years ago
5.I love to do needlepoint
6. I have varied taste in music, from Sting, to Miriam Makeeba to grand opera and a lot in between. Current likes - Andrea Bocceli, Barenaked Ladies, Chris Isaacs, Cecelia Bartoli
7.I like to sew odd little projects
8.I have a rottweiler, our second, named EIN LIEBCHEN
9.we plan to buy a pop up hard side camper in May-June and visit all those people who keep asking us to come. We’re coming
10.I like most yarns except mohair (itchy)
11.I love wood and circular needles, hate plastic
12. I have friends who call me “The Knitting Hot Line”. They think I am great, and I think anyone who can successfully understand directions over the phone is fantastic.
13. Dh spoils me rotten with coffee at 6 a.m. every morning, He makes his own mixture of 2 blends and cinnamon.Yummy!
14. Love to sing but I cannot carry a tune
15.the older I get the less time I have to get upset over trivia
16. I miss my sister-in law. I need a tea drinking, knitting buddy
17. My hubby and I fell in love at first sight 45 years ago
18. I get joked up when I hear “Fascination”
19. I love Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
20. I love coffee, I love tea, I love my sugar and my sugar loves me
21. We will be married 45 years on Dec. 29, 2007
22. I have a letter my father/his pet monkey wrote me from the south Pacific in WWII, heavily censored of course, with his monkey’s paw print. I was 2 and the monkey was writing to me
23. I always wanted to live near water so I have a backyard pool and I love to watch the waves in the pool when it storms
24.I was born in Key West, Florida
25. I wear socks. Sometimes 2 layers all winter long, so I took up sock knitting
26. I love to read, mysteries, romance, biographies, autobiographies, travel
27, I miss reading to children
28. When we were stationed in the Philippines, I read to Filipino schoolchildren. Trying to explain snow was challenging
29, Math was my favorite subject
30. Now history would be my favorite
31.My DH and I fell in love at first sight, true!
32. My DH says every time he hears “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific he thinks of me
33I have to have my knees replaced
34.I love to garden but can’t kneel…….yet
35.My favorite flowers are daylilies, pick them in the evening and new blooms appear the next day
36. I also like the tiny Japanese iris, freesias, flowering almond, spirea,
37. I always wanted a pen pal
38. I have a bog that hardly anyone reads but me
39. Is that because no one knows it is there?
40.or is it boring
41.I have no friends my age
42.but all my daughters’ friends call me instead of their mothers
43.I want to be a master knitter, to be splendidly perfect
44.I am an Episcopalian who is confused with her church right now
45.I’d like to get out of debt, I was until we bought the car and did house repairs.
46.I have a fabric stash for quilting
47.I have a fabric stash for crazy quilt Christmas stockings
48. I have a yarn stash
49.I have a scrapbook stash
50.I have too many projects for my lifetime
51.My DH is 9 years older than me; my father was 9 years older than my mother
52.I do not like rap music
53.It’ s more important to be kind than right
54. I spend an hour (or more) each day reading blogs, I am an addict
55.I have 3 quilt tops hand pieced
56. I love green, esp. celadon green\
57. Actually I like all colors, except muddy colors
58. I’d rather go barefoot than wear shoes
59.Since my ankle was fused I cannot wear anything with a heel
60.I love Bjorn shoes
61. I love to sit and watch snow fall…especially listen to the sound
62.I have a seat in my shower
63.I f I could afford the water I’d take 30 minute showers
64.Romelda is Teutonic for “glorious battle maiden”
65.I have a temper that I fight to keep under control
66.I am an Aries and DH is a Taurus, life is fun when we make decisions
67.I am a massage addict, love it!
68.I like to decorate gingerbread houses
69.I was born in a Marine Hospital later converted to military housing, once I had dinner with friends living there and found their dining room was the labor room I was born in
70.I was a radio disc jockey for 2 years
71,Many generations ago my husband and I had family in the same town in Ireland
72.I will have a knee replaced April 20, 2007
73. I cannot decide if I am excited or afraid
74.I read Harry Potter books and really like them
75/I lived in Caracas, Venezuela for a year
76.I lived in the Philippines for 3 years
77.My son was born there
78.I can get very sad at Thanksgiving because I lost my father then.
79.I am the oldest member of my family and my DH is the oldest member of his
80.Both my mother and my brother died in their sleep. I check on my husband during the night
81.I cry too easily
82.I love that moment in live theater just before the curtain goes up as everyone begins to hush and the expectation rises
83.I love opera now that our opera house has subtitles
84.I love berries, black, blue, red but cherries are the best
85.I like to share a beer with DH because I only like beer when it is COLD, icy cold
86.I had rheumatic fever when I was 7 and spent an entire year in bed; I had to learn to walk again.
87. I have a ribbon stash.
88.I like to wrap presents and decorate the packages
89. I just took down the Christmas tree

WHO AM I, PART 2

After I found out that like Elinor Dashwood, I am practical, circumspect, discreet, tremendously sensible and allow my head to rule, I found I have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Get Your Sexy Name

WOW, who knew!

Who Am I?

I don't know why I do but I have so much fun with these little quizes. My dd and I took this one together and were entranced by how differently we viewed each other on some answers. We both like these novels very much. Now I must read "Sense and Sensibility" again and pay attention to Elinor.

Take the Quiz here!

We have all been very sick for over a week with what started as a cold. Drat these viruses. This was vicious and was as bad as any flu bug I ever had. Today is the first day I have picked up my knitting. Socks, hats and plans are nipping at my fingers.

A SPECIAL POST FOR MY SECRET PAL

I read the posts of other sock knitters and noticed the happiness with which they noted they had "turned the heel". With glee I have turned the heel of both socks and finished the gussets. Oh joy, it's on to the toes! Now I understandt the Joy of Sox.
On the needles I also have 80% of a pair of booties, a child's hat, a hat for charity, a scarf, and my socks. There are so many things I want to knit I just keep adding projects. Happiness for me has been discovering that while I was working, knitting and yarn grew into a whole new world and I am now just dabbling my toe in an ocean of new pleasures. There is so much to read, to knit and to see. How can someone not knit?

I joined SP10 and am anxiously awaiting my secret pal to spoil! Here are my answers to the questionairre.

1. I've been knitting off and on for 35 years but only in worsted and baby yarn from the local craft store. I see there are so many new exciting yarns, I can't wait to experiment with them all. I buy yarn at my LYS just to hold and feel it!!
2. My circulars are in zip-loc bags and the others are in a 12" tall round vase.
3. I taught myself when I was pregnant with my first child; ripple afghans, baby hats, a romper set. I knitted for friends children but never for me. Now I'm looking forward to knitting for me. I consider myself a very enthusiastic intermediate with ambitions!
I have signed up for a class in designing for myself.
4.I do have an Amazon wish list but I would read anything on knitting. Can a knitting library be too big?
5.Mostly florals but no rose. I also like citrus but no WHITE LINEN. I love garden flowers, fresias, lavender, geraniums, carnations,
6. I never met a chocolate I did not like, or a toffee.
7.I quilt, sew, do needlepoint, dabble in stamping, etc for home made cards, and I've made Japanese ornaments
8. I've very eclectic tastes, from folk music to the classics. I own original Leadbelly, Weavers, Miriam Makeba and have Sting, Chris Isaak, a little Bohemian Rhapsody, Andrea Bocelli, Yo-Yo Ma, etc. To get my children to listen to our music I had to listen to theirs and it continues to today, I recently watched ROck STar Supernova and was entranced. Good music is good music whatever the genre.
9. I love greens, Shabby Chic Pastels, pewter grey, stark black, lots of colors, happy colors, colors to try,
10.I've been married 44 years and 2 months. I was a service brat and a military wife, 2 children, daughter 41 who is an interior designer of high end residential, and commercial, and a son 39 who can make a computer do somersaults. We have a rottweiler, and all are active in fund raising for Cancer research as we have lost 2 dear pets to cancer and many family members.
11. I love hats, scarf, mittens, I want to knit a fingerless pair, but no ponchos. I am a heavier woman and ponchos look like tents!
12. It seems I like to knit anything I see that I like. I love pattern and color
13. see the above post, I also am committed to a hat a week for charity as my Lenten gift. In giving to charity I have had to give up time for other fun things so I feel it is acceptable
14.Yes, isn't it nice that someone would want to make something for you!
15. Most of what I have is old plastic, or metal. I have used the bamboo circulars and like them. I understand new needles in aluminum have very sharp points and I would like to try them.
16. No
17.My oldest UFO is a sweater over 10 years old for son who informed me sweaters are too hot. I am frogging it to make it into a scarf for him now.
18.Christmas is always a favorite and we do celebrate 12th night with a gift to remember the Gifts of the Magi. But I lived in Venezuela and in the Philippines and I love the Fourth of July. We had birthday parties and the children sang Happy Birthday to AMerica. Also my BIL was born on July 3rd and I lost my mother on July 3rd. SO we always have a do!
19. I inherited a house full of antiques from my parents, lots of fish plates and a vast collection of salt dishes. I'll post pictures.
20.I do not have any subscriptions. DO you recommend one?
21. I just want to be the best I can be and learn to knit beauuftiful garments for myself.
22.My first pair of socks is done thru the gusset, I'll have them on this week and I'll let you know about size,
23.I am a happy soon to be 66 year old, born March 27, an Aries woman married to a Taurus man. Lots of lively banter and stubborness in this house.

I am looking forward to this...I am very easy to please and I think very young at heart.