Dang it's been hot today. I knit about 5 rows today, and then realized that it just too sticky to be anywhere near wool!

I did manage to completely pick up the girlies room, paying attention to what she has and doesn't even look at anymore. Next week I'm taking a day off from work when she's in school (day care). I am going to go on a sweep in there and donate a huge amount of un-played with toys to Good Will! And she has so many things that have little pieces, and those are scattered all over the place! Unfortunately, she doesn't have the best examples in Tony & I (who have so much *stuff*!), but we could be more organized about it than we are. I'm feeling a major b*tching session coming on, because guess who will be doing the bulk of the major cleaning. Again.

ok, deep breath...he cooks and does laundry...he is very happy to be Daddy when he's home...he puts up with ME! At least he'll take the short one out of the way when I go on my cleaning spree...

Ask and you shall receive: Kokopelli Chart

Enjoy!

All I did yesterday was knit and sleep! I took a three hour nap! Oh, Glory, Glory, Glory!

Even better, I finished the front of the Kokopelli sweater for Irina!

click me!
Pardon my toes...

I've cast on for the back, and am in the process of graphing a turtle to put on it. I'm thinking of purple and green blocks on the arms, to match the small border along the bottom edge. Teeheehee! I'm having fun with this!

The front of the Kokopelli sweater is about one quarter done. I find it easier to work on something that has colors or cables. I'm always pushing to do a few more rows to see where the design is going. Back to work. I hope there's something good on tv to knit to tonight!

Charted out a Kokopelli design for a sweater for Irina yesterday, and started knitting it up. Will I actually finish this project? (Or, more accurately: Will I finish this project before I start jonesing to begin yet another one?) Fortunately kids' sweaters work up so fast that it shouldn't be a problem. Heck, I have to finish this one! Irina's already running around singing her "Kokopelli on my belly" song!

Stupid cat is driving me crazy! I've already dumped water on him twice today since we got home to stop him from doing something he shouldn't. Of course, this is a cat that actually *likes* water. Weirdo.

Oooh...I'm trying a new (to me, at any rate) javascript for my menu. Fingers crossed that this'll work right! Now I just need to re-update my links!!!

I've had to pull a Mommy Trump Card today. Irina is going on a field trip tomorrow with her daycare to the zoo, riding on a school bus and everything. She has been informed that if she does not mind me today, she's not going! (Those of you who are parents understand. Those who don't understand: She will go tomorrow regardless of what happens today; but if it means I can have a relatively peaceful and frictionless day I will hold it over her head! Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.)

After some beautiful, beautiful rain last night the heat broke and it stayed in the 70's today! Huzzah! Decent knitting weather, and we should get a few days worth. Happy, happy, happy.

I seem to remember someone in the recent past mentioning something about a site that will configure graph paper to print that will match the stitch gague. Does this ring any bells with anyone? Any clues? Bueller? Any help in finding it would be great! (Never mind! Found it! Actual Size Graph Paper)

The girlie and I got our hair cut today by a girlfriend of mine, and then we stayed for a long time so our kids could play. So funny to me, the difference between kids. Is it the difference between boys and girls, or just the way we raise our kids? A combination of the two? Anyhow, I got to play with the littlest member of Tracie's family, who is just 2 1/2 months old. What a sweet little guy! And, no, it didn't raise all of those "Gotta have another baby" crazies in me! As much fun as he was, I was perfectly happy to hand him back to his Mommy when he started crying!

It was a brutally hot day here today! I am one of the happy few at work who sit in the air conditioned office area, right inside the door to the sales floor in fact, and it was there that I found my humor today. Because everyone, and I mean everyone, who walked through that door today made some kind of sound! Be it a moan, sigh, cheer, or sob, everyone had some sort of reaction to suddenly being in the nice, cool air conditioning! I did it too, after going and sitting with my friends outside at lunchtime. As I was incredibly aware of it, I tried not to; but there was no way around it! I think part of it was actually being able to breath again after trying to suck in that thick sludge that tried to pass as air today.

And where else can one work where the owner, after paging an employee with a festive holiday name (Noelle), will start singing Christmas Carols over the intercom system? On one of the hottest days of the year? My job just cracks me up sometimes!

Which flock do you follow?

this quiz was made by alanna

WooHoo!

Theresa and Kate are cool, and I'm just a hanger-on-wannabe, but now I have a picture in the mirror project too!

And speaking of Theresa, where is she???

Did I mention that I was allowed to sleep until 10:00 this morning!!! WooHoo!!! I miss being able to do that on a regular basis...

Knit a swatch from my Vermont wool last night (it was cool enough to actually do it). Topper~His Majesty The Cat~who usually has no interest in my yarn was in love with it. He was acting like he had an industrial sized dose of catnip! Crazy Kitty!

Goal for today: Get some under the bed storage containers and try to get a handle on my fabric stash! (Ha!) Which includes weeding out the ugly stuff that I bought when I was obviously not in my right mind.

Because I haven't made you look at my beautiful girl lately (AKA: Freakish Mama Moment)

Well, I finally figured out what *I* was doing wrong. Sometimes you've just got to walk away from it for a little while. Now maybe I can do something fun for a while, instead of agonizing over what's going wrong here. (like finding a cool drop-down menu~I really am such a computer geek in my own way)

Or, it could just be that *my* server, now that it's back, is being horribly slow about showing my posts. I *know* it's slow. I am such a dork!

OK, the lack of comments may not be "my" fault, or maybe everyone else can see them but me? If you can, don't bother leaving me a comment, because at this point I won't see it! (as Kim goes slowly out of her mind...)

Trying to install new comments. Grrr......

Just when I figure out what I've done wrong, my server goes down! *sigh*. So I'm writing this knowing that I can't read it once it's posted (if it posts), and I can't check to see if I did straighten out my template after all. *sigh*

Sushi for dinner tonight! It's a good thing.

OK, I couldn't post for a while because I screwed up the blogger code, but I got that figured out. Now I need to figure out why my images are way the heck down the middle of the page! Hmmm...

Too funny! This the reply that I got from my husband when I told him that I was going to change my template!

Well, you know those great Blogger goddesses, when they decide they want you to do something, there's no half measures. The signs and portents just become more and more insistant until finally the appear in person and slap you around with a rubber chicken until you do it. Be glad you read the omens correctly before that happened.

Honestly, I don't know where that come from.

I just can not figure out what is going on with my javascript! Maybe this is the great Blogging Goddesses way of telling me that it's time to change my template? Hmmm...

Damn...And now I have some Javascript error on the page and my links have gone "poof"! Well, I can't find it (I'm sure it's just a missed comma somewhere or something dumb like that) Tomorrow. I'll deal with it tomorrow!

Finally!!!

I got all of my links updated! Someone kick my butt and remind me not to wait until I have 30 new links to add next time! (Gee, I hope that I got them all...)

She may be whining like crazy today, but my girlie let me take a two hour nap this afternoon! She actually hung out on the bed with me, looking at books and dozing herself (at least she was leaning on my legs every time I surfaced). From the big, dark circles under her eyes, I think that she should have taken a nap today. Can't win 'em all! I can only hope that she'll go to bed early tonight!

Finally made it to the new Walmart up the street this morning. Not too impressed, I must admit. Eh, it's a store, another giant munga store like the three other giant munga stores that have opened around here in the past year.

The kid is in full whine mode today. Driving me out of my mind!

Dang! Sweater design idea jumped into my head last night...it's still there this morning...But I don't neeeeeeeeeed another project!!!

Not much knitting going on around here right now! It's just a little too sticky to hold yarn. So I'm doing some quilting (hand applique), recovering from my reading bindge, and just trying to stay cool. Ah, well. More later as needs warrent...

Would you believe that I am almost done, yes about 125 pages left to go, with Drums of Autumn! When I finish I will have read over 3,000 pages of book in the past week and a half. Phew! I have not been on such a monster reading binge in a long time. Must go finish book!

Finished Voyager at 11:30 last night. Yes, I read a 1,000+ page book in less than 48 hours. If only I could knit as fast...

Look what I got! Look what I got!

I have been green with envy ever since I had seen it on the fab Miss Bonnie Marie's site! And now it's mine! Mine! All MINE! Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!

...I'm OK now...

Yes, it was my birthday yesterday, and a grand one it was! My girlie was sweet all day (!!!), my husband got me a nummy chocolate cake (!!!) and I got to sit around and read all day (576 pages of Voyager down, 483 to go! ~Tony picked up Drums of Autumn too, so I wouldn't have to ask him to!)

I'm sorry that people are having trouble getting here! I think it may have to do with the service that I have hosting my site, I have trouble getting here too, sometimes! (Mom, is it still looking funky to you? You can leave me a message in the "comments" you know, instead of just thinking that you need to tell me later *grin*) Sometimes I can't get here through aol, but when I open IE it works fine. I just don't know what to make of it.

I'm sleepy today...ah, well, back to Clair and Jamie I go...

That's enough excitement for one day. I'm crawling back into bed and pulling the covers over my head. (150 pages of Voyager down, 900 left to go...)

Well, I've got my first pieces cut for my applique quilt. Irina hovered over me, waching very intently, while I traced the templates and cut & placed pieces. She told me that it was going to be "Beautiful" and that she wanted to make one when she was a "big growed-up person". Kids are amazing, when they're not driving you insane!

Unfortunately, I'm paying the price of letting her take a two hour nap this afternoon! She's been out of her room wanting something three times since I tucked her into bed! I should know better than to let her sleep that long during the day. But it was soooooo quiet!!! (prepetual Mommy whine!)

OK, I finished Dragonfly in Amber. Tony has instructions to pick up the next book for me while he's at work tonight. Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow!

Things are feeling lighter now (Thanks Mom).

After being a royal pita all morning my girlie informed me that I "Need to take a nap" with her. So we lay down on our bed, had major snuggles, and both of us drifted off to sleep. I woke up after about half an hour with a sweaty kid stuck to my arm. She's still sleeping, and I'm watching John Edward. I had wanted to go and check out the new Walmart that opened up the street, but if the small one thinks sleep is more important I'm certainly not going to argue about it!

I've started making the templates for an applique pattern that I picked up in Vermont. I'm looking forward to doing it. At the same time it is unlike anything that I've done before, so I've got a small case of nerves (hoping I do it right). But what the heck? If I make a mistake, I'll be the only one who knows!

I know my Mom visits here, I think my MIL does, I don't know if what follows is a surprise to anyone in my family. It's my life and my blog. Oh, I am in a "mood" today.

(as an aside: depression sucks. i had really bad post-partum depression after irina was born, and i've never really snapped out of it. i mean, i think i've always had it to some degree or another, but i did a lot of "self medicating" as a younger adult and it wasn't until i was straight that i could look at what i deal with and realize that yes, i have an illness. and until recently i delt with it on my own.~delt with it? delt with it? who am i trying to kid, i didn't deal with it~some days are harder then others. this feels like it's going to be a hard one)

The sky, even the air here, is an odd gray color. There are wild fires up in Canada, and the smoke is down here making everything bland and colorless...Except for the sun. The sun is a bright orange/red ball hanging in a slate sky. It's such an odd bright spot of color that looking at it actually hurts. When the breeze blows the right way the burning smell wafts inside.

I'm starting to get myself organized and put up pictures of my trip. What I have so far is Images of Hope, Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont. Eventually the thumbnails will pop-up into larger images with descriptions, but I need to play with some code to see how it works. (Suggestions, anyone?)

Just made my way most of the way 'round the knitblog ring for the first time in a week! How amazing is it that there are almost 80 of us? Too wild! *grin*

I'm working hard on trying to get a few pages up from my trip! I've got my pictures from my digital camera somewhat organized (umm..."somewhat oragnized" is a looser term for me that for others, I'm afeered), and I have a couple of rolls of film ready to pick up. I've got a total knitting slow down going on right now, but I see that I'm not the only one. I think I'm just getting my creative rocks off doing some web design.

I have washed some fabric that came with an applique kit that I bought at the quilt show. And did I mention that I picked up some really wonderful hand dyed, hand spun wool at an awesome price? I should have enough for a sweater for myself, or Tony if he likes the colors. My yarn stash now completely overfloweth my hiding place...

Much too late now. At least we should be able to sleep in tomorrow!

It has been so hot here the past few days it's been practically unbearable. No knitting, very little time spent on the computer, just hanging out in my daughter's room in the air conditioning. I looked forward to going to work today just because of the air conditioning, being one of the privledged few who work in the offices. I really did pity those who were stuck outside watering over the past few days-and it was a constant job! Fortunately the heat broke here today. (Tho' I fear it's only going to be a brief reprieve)

I think I've got a nasty case of "startitis" right now. I have 801 things that I could actually try to get around to finishing, but nnnoooo, I want to start something new. Go figure.

Well, aren't I outrageously boring today?

This is going to take forever to load, but until I get myself sorted and organized and a few web pages up on my site, I am afraid that a slow loading blog is the only option!
After a five hour drive (we took our time and avoided all the really nasty major highways), this is the the view that met our sight. The red building in the front is a horse barn on the property. The white house just above and to the left is the Inn that we stayed at!


We took a left at this sign



And this is the porch where we spent a considerable amount of our time



Looking at this view!!!



All I can say is, if you are ever looking for a wonderfully relaxing place to go, with awesome food, and a view to die for, go there!!!

And now we've returned and it's blazingly hot here! Knitting is so completely not an option at this point!

I'm back. BooHooHoo!!!!!!!

What an absolutely amazing time we had! The Inn was astonishing, the quilts were astonishing, I managed to pick up some hand spun, hand dyed wool (of course!), and I have 7 rolls of film and almost 300 pictures in my digital camera to sort through...

I miss my girlie! Time to go pick her up!