Help Me Santa!

Santa, if you are a Fluther reader, you will drop a gardening kneeler down my chimney this year. Because my poor out of shape knees/legs/hips are so sore after 3 days of shelving books! No wonder this job is normally filled by limber 16 year olds. What were those crazy librarians thinking when they hired this fat old lady with arthritic knees for the job!!!

Book Chat

I'm home from day #2 of my new library job. Man, there is a lot of stooping and kneeling involved in shelving books, hope my poor knees are up to it. ;-)

Today, I was allowed to shelve non-fiction! woot woot! In case you didn't know, that is a picture of Melville Dewey, who created the Dewey Decimal System.

Tomorrow, who knows...maybe I will get to shelve children's books. The book world is my oyster!

Tis The Season...

...to find good holiday reads at the thrift store! I'm always looking for good books for the boys, and the thrift stores have so many choices, most in great condition (though we don't mind a few crayon scribbles).

My latest finds:

"The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg. A classic that should be in every child's (little and big) library! Van Allsburg's illustrations are gorgeous and the story is wonderful. If you have a little bell to ring at the end, that makes a perfect finale!

"Santa Calls" by William Joyce. Cool illustrations and a swashbuckling adventure, plus Santa. You can't go wrong!

"The Travels of Babar" by Jean de Brunhoff. I've loved Babar since I was a kid, and he's still a fave. Charming illustrations and I'm starting to relate to the Old Lady more and more...

"Father Christmas" by Raymond Briggs. He also wrote and illustrated "The Snowman", which is a lovely story. This one is a lot of fun, showing what REALLY goes on behind the scenes at Christmas! And kids love the picture of Santa on the potty.

Knitting for Round Ladies

Which would be me...I realized I need something I could wear to the library that would be a little more flattering than my usual t-shirt. I pulled out "Folk Vests" and found several vests that I think will be both fun to knit and help cover up some of my tummy flab. Guess I should start doing crunches huh!

I am also planning to walk to and from work (it's only a few blocks, but hey, every bit helps), so I need to get a little bag I can use to knit as I walk. Luckily, Knit Picks has just the thing: The Port-A-Pocket. I'm ordering it today, and I can knit a row or two on the way to and from work!

Day One a Success!

OK, being a library page is NOT rocket science, lol. However, I have duties to perform in my new job, including shelving books, picking up paper scraps, locking doors and turning off the lights at the end of the day.

My library is about a hundredth of the size of the library pictured at the left. But it's still a good little library, and I noticed several books I will have to check out when I get a chance. And with my staff lib. card, no fines! woot woot!

We Miss You Already!

Katie was here for a few days, she left just in time to miss all the snow (rumor has it people were XC skiing in downtown Spocompton last night). We had a fine time visiting with our Katie-Cat, and she even got me out of the house once or twice (well once).

She's still pondering where to go for her next nursing assignment. LA is the top (only!) contender right now, so look for her to be on all the gossip blogs, spilling all the deets about what it's REALLY like to administer care to Britters, Lohan, P. Hilton and the rest of the Hollywood tartlets.

Sorry I had to use your 'two hours sleep' picture, KT. But this WAS pretty much how you looked for the first day or so.

Our Dream Guy

Katie and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Karl Pilkington! For those readers who are not as hip as the two of us, Karl is 'the funniest man in Britain' (no lie! he is!) and is featured on The Ricky Gervais Show, which Katie downloaded to her IPod. Listening to Karl was the only thing that kept us going on our road trip across the USA.

The Princess and The Pea...nut

These girls are getting SO big! And Hadley is starting to race past Logan in the 'who's going to be the biggest cousin' contest. But we know that Loggity will rule with her mind, not her muscles. And she has 4 teeth now, so there's always biting if necessary.

Winter Wonderland!

Our first big snowfall of the season, which means it's time for Spokane drivers to relearn how they are supposed to drive in the snow (difficult skills like slowing down, leaving room between cars, etc...we always forget over the summer lol)

And today is my first day at the library! I'm a little nervous I'm going to forget the Dewey Decimal system at a critical moment, but we'll see how it all goes.

I Heart Phyllis

She's my favorite character on "The Office" and she knits! Yeah Phyllis! Her best line this year was during the meeting of 'The Finer Things' Club, when she said she couldn't microwave her popcorn in the other microwave because it smelled like...popcorn.

Halftime Report

Bwa ha ha! The Cougs are up 21-20 at halftime! I may have to start knitting my Cougar socks (yarn from Fancy Image Yarn) to keep the WAZZU spirits going strong (and to help insure that we don't Coug It). If you must, Myra also has Husky color yarn.

It's Officially Christmas!

Cuz the girls and I went shopping today, and I actually bought a gift! One down, many many to go...

It wasn't anything pictured here but I DID buy it at Restoration Hardware!

When Your Husband/Father Shaves his Moustache

here's the hat for him! No more having to look at that thin upper lip!

We need to figure out how to knit these for the cabin!

A Good Day!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving feast with our friend Lorraine and her boys, plus guests. And Lorraine outdid herself with the cooking (and not a bit of curry or coconut was used, whew!) I don't think I can look at food for at least another day (kidding!) Now we are waiting for Katie to roll in from Seattle, where maybe we can talk her into making Spokane hq for her next nursing assignment....

On the knitting front, I am just about done with Scandinavian cardi #2. I just need to block and add some buttons.

Liam's Performance

Here's Liam with a Liam P. original tune. And Alex was jiggling the camera, so not my fault this time!

Hey Gang, Let's Put on a Show!

Alex and Liam entertained us with original songs accompanied by some mean guitar licks. As usual, the cinematography is pretty bad.

Happy Turkey (& Pie) Day!

Here at Fluther Central, Liam and I are busy baking pies. We are baking pumpkin, pecan and one berry tart. Each boy will have his own little pie, so there's plenty for the grownups too. We'll be heading over to the boys' house for our turkey dinner, then rolling into the new hot tub to finish our feast.

Deep Thoughts from Liam

"People like animals. Laurie likes animals, Vera likes animals. Alex likes animals, and Mikey likes the monkeys the BEST.

If you’re going hunting for turkeys, bring a gun with you. And the grownups have to handle that.

I am thankful for turkeys and watermelon. You have to have your manners at the table, that is important. Before you eat, say your prayers to God.

What happens on Thanksgiving: you eat dinner. You have turkey and marshmallows for dessert. Cook the turkey in the oven for 45 seconds or something."

Holiday Visitors

Alex and Liam are visiting overnight. Mom is running in the Turkey Trot at Manito Park tomorrow morning, and these two want nothing to do with THAT.

We are planning to bake pies, and of course make crafts. The twins are off to a good start with post office boxes, tape and yarn.

Little Pixie

Logan is finally big enough to wear the little coat I knit for her ages ago. She's such a cute little pixie! And almost 1 year old! The pattern was a Dale of Norway, but was cables and LOTS of seed stitch rather than their usual colorwork. I had to change the pattern to stockinette stitch for the arms and hood, otherwise I'd still be knitting miles of seed stitch.

Cute girl, Loggity!

A Future Knitter

Hadley checks out one of the tools of the trade. Keep hanging out at Auntie Susna's house, Hads! You'll become a knitter, even if it's not in your genetic makeup! (we've seen your mama try to knit)

Now it's the Girls' Turn

more Pia photos, these from our recent trip to Seattle. Lots of cute girls (little and big) over on the other side of the mountains!

Some Cute Pix

Pia took these pictures of Alex and Michael a few weeks ago (but just now got her act together and gave them to me)

Scandinavian Cardigan #2

Almost done with Mikey's cardigan--2 down, 2 to go before Christmas!

I 've owned this sewing machine for at least 5 years, and have never been able to figure out how to do zigzag stitch. Well, what do you know, I pulled out the user's manual and there were the instructions. And by golly, it zigzags like a champ!

This is the cardigan right after it was machine stitched and cut down the center front. All it needs is the ribbing for the front and the neck ribbing, stitch up the underarms and block and it is dunzo!

We Heart School Pictures!

Is there anything cuter than little kids getting their school pictures taken? Here are the boys with this year's pictures:

Liam doing his very best 'hard smile'

Alex looks a little sleepy but happy here.Riveria giving his best second grade smile.

And Michael gets his pic taken too! Cara and I bought this coat (one for each of the twins) on our London trip, and I think it's still the most adorable coat. And it brings back a lot of happy memories of a fun trip.

The Wicking Nightie Report

Two thumbs up for the menopausal wear! I wore the wicking nightgown last night and can report I am dry and comfy this morning. And I KNOW I was sweating cuz I had a bad dream, and those always make me super-sweaty. Don't remember the deets, but it may have had something to do with Chinese babies and a pom-chihuahua mix dog...

If You Girls Don't Start Having Grandchildren...

I may be forced to adopt THIS.

Rex, the Wonder Dog, part pom/part chihuahua, is 7 months old and needs a new home. For some crazy reason, Rotch thinks we should be that home.

I guess he is appealing in that so ugly he kind of grows on you way. And at least he would be small. But I'd still rather have a Chinese granddaughter...

I'm a Finishing Fool!

I've been churning out the knitting projects like nobody's business! Here are two things fresh off the needles:

"Scandinavian Cardigan" #1 (of 4 I need to make before Xmas! yikes) This is a size 6, knit in Lamb's Pride Worsted. Turned out pretty cute I think.

And these are my very own "Say WA" socks (in honor of the state dept. of tourism, which thought THAT phrase was going to bring hordes of tourists our way...) I knit these from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn, colorway #504 "Lakeview". I was aiming for a texture pattern that would evoke the wonderful lakes and rivers of Eastern Washington, along with the Sound and the ocean on the west side of the state.

This pattern (once I get it written up) is going to be published in an upcoming sock book. Will let you know when it is available!

My Library Dream Comes True!

Yeah! I am going to start working as a 'page' (aka the schlumpy person who you see putting books on the shelves) at the local library! It's only 13 hours a week, so your faithful blogger can continue to keep 'Fluther' going as well as Vintage Knits.

You can visit me at the lib. (Moran Prairie branch) on Tuesday evenings, Thurs/Fri afternoons and Saturday mornings starting on the 27th!

Yeah for Sisters!

One of the great things about having sisters is that you get their cast-off clothing (if you happen to be in town at the same time they happen to be cleaning their closets). Susan gave me THREE trash bags full of clothes, which made me very happy, as my wardrobe was pretty much reduced to old t-shirts and some really heinous flannel pj bottoms. Must be 15 pairs of khaki pants in the pile (she's nothing if not predictable in her slack purchases lol).

One thing she put in there that I didn't even know existed was a "hot flash" wicking nightgown. Great idea for us sweaty menopausal types! B, you need one of these!

Special Event!

Here's Tatum and her BFF Sadie, all dolled up to attend "Disney Princesses on Ice" with their Mamas. Pam tried to talk Tate into wearing her Snow White outfit, but the girl was having none of that. She looks very glam in her party dress and fancy coat though!

I'm betting there wasn't a single male in attendance, other than some dads who would have rather been anywhere else. Josh didn't seem too broken-hearted about staying home with Logan, I gotta say. ;-)

THE Place to do your Christmas Shopping!

That would be Ostrom's Drugs in Kenmore WA (did you know that Ostie's rates a mention in Wikipedia? OK it's the Kenmore entry, but still...)

My multi-tasking sister B-Z is the gift buyer at Ostie's. The store held their annual Holiday Open House last Sunday, which we attended. Tons of great gifts!! If you are looking for angels, snowmen, Snowbabies, adorable items for infants and oh so much more, you gotta go there.

Shameless plug, but I'm serious, this store has so many cool holiday things! Santa shops here, I'm pretty sure (or I hope MY Santa does.)

A Fun Trip

We had a great time on our trip to Seattle! Pia got to hold Hadley to her heart's content (in fact, some may say she was kind of a pig about it). We have pix, will post them when P. gives me her camera.

Great nieces Tatum and Logan are getting SO big. Tate showed us her ballet (twirl and 1st & 2nd positions) and her gymnastics (tumbling on the hardwood floor, then on the rug which was a little more comfy) moves, she is ready for Dancing With the Stars. Loggity is super crawler, and has lots of new teeth. I can't believe she is going to be ONE next month! I found a cute birthday present for her, which will prolly annoy her parents no end (you've been warned lol)

We wrapped up our visit with a trip to the yarn store (natch). Hilltop East in Bellevue. Man, that place was slammed with customers, and on a Sunday afternoon no less. Katie persevered through the lines to get a pattern and yarn to knit a scarf and try her hand at knitting cables on the matching hat. Go KT! You can do it! Of course, the sample sweater they had on display, which was the one pattern I really wanted, was not in stock. Poop Sandwich.

Scandinavian Cardigan is Dunzo!

I finished the Scandinavian Cardigan for my little buddy Alex, and it is being blocked as I type. I need to find some nice pewter buttons...think I have a bag of them around here somewhere. I'll take a pic. when it's got the buttons, so you all can see how cute it is! I used Lamb's Pride worsted weight yarn, and I think it is soft enough for my boy, who is very sensitive to texture and only likes 'soft' things.

Very nice pattern, so nice that I am scrambling to knit 3 MORE of them for the brothers. They will be perfect for Christmas photos. Of course, I didn't escape unscathed by the mistake fairy. I misread the color work chart when I was knitting the yoke pattern, and one stitch was off. I noticed right away, and went back and looked at the chart and misread it again. So finished the sweater, and as I was weaving in ends decided to look at that chart one more time. Sure enough, I had done it wrong. I managed to fix the error by duplicate stitching over the mistakes, but could have saved myself a LOT of time if I had only trusted my eyes and re-knit it correctly.

And one more note: generally I don't wash my sweaters when blocking them. I usually either use my steam iron and block them on the ironing board, or I just get them wet and then lay them out to dry. But I decided to throw some mild detergent in and let this sweater soak in the sink for about 20 minutes. I was amazed at how dirty the rinse water was! Either this yarn has been sitting on a shelf gathering dust for a while, or I dragged this project through the mud. I think I'll be washing all my sweaters when blocking from now on!

How Bout Them Cougs!

Just finished watching the Cougs beat Stanford. Woot woot! Anytime the team doesn't coug it is reason for celebration!

A Visit to Miss Hadley Jane

We stopped by to visit with Hads and her mama (and big brother Rudy) after our pedis today (which were AWESOME. My heels may no longer tear holes in the sheets). That little girl is absolutely precious. 16 pounds of pure joy. And obvs. her Mom is the center of her universe, you should see her little (round) face absolutely light up with delight whenever Mama talks to her. I just loved seeing the two of them interact, I've known Megan since she was born of course, and it's lovely seeing what a wonderful mom she is and how much she and her little girl love each other.

A Great Day!

Seattle is a thrifter's mecca! I spent the day armed with a little cash and a full gas tank, and shopped the thrift stores to my heart's content. Even better, none of my children were with me, so I didn't have to hear any exclamations of horror about being dragged into said thrift stores.

Tomorrow, we are hanging out with various family members, not doing much of anything, if I understand the program correctly. I'll be knitting away on my current project, the 'Scandinavian Cardigan' from Cottage Creations. I'm knitting this in Lamb's Pride worsted weight in Aran, plus dark red, blue and purple (or green not sure which yet) for the colorwork. A gift for my little godson!