Some New Finished Items!

With all this snow and my refusal to stick my nose out the door till it's gone, I've had plenty of knitting time. I've been cozied up in my recliner, toasty warm under my Xmas blanky from Cara & Tony, and watching old movies. Bliss. And don't send hate messages about the foggy pix, I KNOW.

Here's Advent Tree Tangerine ornament. I didn't manage to finish all 25 by Xmas, but trying for New Year's day when I have to pack it all up till next year.

This little guy is Advent Tree (Keebler) Elf. He's pretty cute, esp. his big green elf boots.

This is the beret I knit for myself as I don't seem to have any hats. Not that I need a hat bc I refuse to go outside. But just in case. Anyway, it's a pretty lace pattern in a very soft hand-dyed wool yarn in purples. Love it!

Super Fabulous Poetry Contest Prizes!

our two winners (Zaide and Katie, hey another rhyme!) should be breathlessly anticipating their prizes! I promised knit ornaments and I have found two PERFECT patterns for you two! So be excited!!! As they are still in the 'top secret' phase, I can't post pictures yet. But you will love them I promise!

Stealing Christmas

Since I can't track down my camera (and I've been told infinity x googol that I can't take good pix anyways), I stole some from Lootie of the adorable babies Tate and Logan on Christmas. AND my gifts for the boys that were guaranteed!!!! to arrive before Xmas did NOT, so there was nothing good to take pictures of anyway. Unless you wanted to see a bunch of little kid butts as they played with their wii from Santa. That is the only view I got of them Christmas day.

Ah, the total bliss of having a buttload of packages from Santy. These girls must have been *very* good, cuz I don't see any lumps of coal...

Look at that big dimple! Loggie loves dollies!

OOPS! I think Tatum reclaimed dolly from baby sister.

Disaster in Browne's Addition!

Poor K & P! Their rides are crunched! 'Cherry' evidently took less of a pounding than the Rotchmobile, which has a ginormous chunk of the carport sitting on it. Oh dear. Well the good news is that you can get a hell of a deal on a new car right now P...

Oops He Did It Again

Actually, he hasn't done it before...Steve fell on the ICY STEPS (that I TOLD HIM TO CLEAR) last week and landed on the old elbow. He's been moaning and groaning ever since, with scant sympathy from me (in fact, I suspected him of "Munchausen-ing" the whole thing to get some attention, which he never gets poor thing).

He finally took himself to the doc today, and came home in a sling, with a possibility of a broken elbow. Yikes.

Keep those icy steps and paths clean, folks!!!!

For Katie

For my own little Princess Unicorn!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Here's the winning Haiku:

Lavs tries to cheat us
By calling BZ winner
It was no Haiku

Yes, Katie, your whinging paid off! Choose an ornament for your prize.

And Zaide, I'm still awarding you for "Joseph" because it just fills my heart with love. So let me know which ornament you want.

And as for the rest of you, sorry. Will run another contest sooner or later, because you have all revealed the poets within.

Best Gift EVER

head right over to Little Miss Hadley to see my very special Christmas gift from B & Meg. I have coffee snorting out of my nose as I type.

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all are having a lovely day with family and friends! Steve and I are puttering around this morning (knocking snow off the dish so we can watch tv and whatnot), and the girls are coming over for waffles and gifts later this morning. They'll head out to the lake to visit Grandma & Gramps, and we'll go enjoy dinner and mayhem with the boys.

I miss all of my sibs, nieces/nephews and babies, and Mimi over in Seattle, and of course Fred and Irene in VA (get home for the umpteenth time you idiots!) Wish we could all be together!

You Won't Believe It

But I FINALLY made Cara's T-shirt quilt after at least 6 years of promising it for Christmas! It was def. a labor of love, as my sewing skills are pretty minimal. She must promise never to show it to anyone who quilts, as there's not a straight line in the whole thing. But she called first thing this morning, very happy with it. Hopefully she will send me a pic of her all wrapped up in her new blankie. And if you check the Mechanic Masters square, there's an authentic grease spot. Plus a few drops of my blood on the Boonie square.

A Fave Picture

It's an oldie but still my favorite of our little HJP. Those super fat cheeks! The finger point! The polka dot PJs! The bare fuzz of hair! That nose! The tight smile! Yep, she's adorable, and we know this is how she's gonna look in about 75 years.

That Evil Genius, Lois

Lola is well known for her idiot savant abilities (that's her with the glamorous fluffy coat on the right; Walt is keepin' it real on the left). Cara called today to report that Lois had pulled off the ultimate dog-trick today!

Seems Pia sent a package to the 'Nottis containing treats (for the humans), including a package of the coveted Red Vines. They put the box waaaaay in the back of the tree thinking it would be safe there. But not from EGL (that's Evil Genius Lois). When Patty came home at lunch, she found three perfectly intact gift packages sitting on Lois' bed. Not even a tooth mark or trail of dog slobber to test for doggy DNA. Naturally, P. was a teeny bit suspicious, so making like a CSI operative, she checked the back yard, where the Lo-dog takes everything. And there is where Lois made her fatal mistake: a half-eaten bag of Red Vines.

Lois, you can expect lumps of coal in your stocking this year.

Complaints Already!

gawd. I can't call an end to the Haiku contest evidently. Because complaints re the validity of Zaide's poem are rolling in (well Katie is bitching, mostly because she had planned to spend the day at work composing haiku).

So I will award another prize to an actual HAIKU. Remember as Megan points out, it must be in proper haiku form (5 syllables/7 syllables/5 syllables). And no arty stuff. I want/need humor here. Here's what is in the running thus far:

Pia:

Snow burying car

Perfect excuse to stay home

Wrapped cozy in WUBs (World's Ugliest Blanket)

Susna:

just botched my sweater

is there nothing to behold?

all is for naught

Katie:

It's really cold out

I've shoveled thrice already

Enough effing snow

Being a nurse means

I use words like 'phalange'

And I clean up puke

Walter and Lola

Crazy ass fat little dogs

Need to come home too

Megan:

Knitters are weird folk

Talking 'bout blocking and such

Calloused phalanges

Allison, whip yours into 'haiku form', so you can be in the running! Will accept entries till Dec. 25.

We Have A Winner

No, it's not haiku, but I must award the prize to Zaide for her truly dramatic childhood poem, "Joseph" (and I would be snorting liquids if I had any at hand). Megan PLEASE get a video of your mother reciting this, bc it is a wonder to hear her doing the pause before saying ....Joseph. I believe this poem was written during the B's brief period when she planned to become a nun.

And here it is:

Joseph, you helped Mary in the cold,

You helped her in the wind so bold,

You found a place that wasn't the best,

But at least a person could sit and rest

(dramatic pause) Joseph.

You stood by her side from day to night,

You told her about the moon so bright,

You weren't a farmer, miller or clown,You worked as a carpenter til the sun went down.

Joseph.

Let me know which Advent Tree ornament you'd like, wait till I get them all done tho!

We 'Mis' You Too!

One of Tony's early works of art. Why a Missing Poster for Heathcliff? No idea. And why is Heathcliff saying 'mow'? Still, love the picture (even if I suspect you did a little tracing...)

Happy Birthday, Baby!

It's 'Little Tony's' birthday today! My baby is 26 (I had to use the calculator to figure that out). How time flies.
Let's take a little trip in the Wayback Machine, and "listen to the story of a man (nick)named Fred":

Here's our little "Snitzy" age about 3 months. Yeah, he kind of looks like Bob Evans (or maybe even Sam Evans) but we still loved him.

School picture, posing with his trademark 'shirt buttoned all the way to the top'. Even on the hottest day of the summer, Tonsy believed in keeping it all buttoned up. Safety Sam! BTW, does he not look a LOT like Uncle Chuck in this pic?

Tony turned out for baseball every summer, just to please his mama. Poor guy was on a new team EVERY year, generally not a great one either. Our fave team was the Waffles Plus Warriors, did they even win a game? Maybe not, but there was always the possibility that coach would treat everyone to waffles! Note the other signature of a T. photo: Squinty Squinterson.

Here's Tony doing what he loved best: playing soccer. Can't tell you how many hours we spent on the sidelines cheering on our boy. Remember the incident when I nearly got beaten up by the crazy soccer mom from Seattle? Just bc I said her kid 'flopped', god.

And basketball was another love. Starting in first grade, when he endlessly hucked up granny shots during timeouts in the Mettersdome, Tonsy was seldom seen without a basketball in his hand. My favorite moment? Middle School, big game in the Knights of Columbus League, Tony grabbing the ball, falling out of bounds, and dramatically calling a time out as he went down. A Sports Center Moment! The Crowd Went Wild!

And here's Mr. Saint George's Soccer, happily smiling after a winning season (and state championship). That was a super fun time, esp. when our Tonsy kicked the winning goal in the state championship game. Dad and Mom immediately burst into tears, we were so happy for you.

Did you know that Tone is also a musical star? Here he is in the school production of "Oklahoma!" I forget who he played, some random cowboy. I think he had a couple of lines. His biggest starring role was in Middle School when he played Kenickie in "Grease". Who can forget Pooh riding in on the chopper?

All Grown Up. And so handsome! I love this pic of Tone, he def. rocks the suspenders. I think he got his first pair when he was just a toddler, and loved to wear them -- again with the Safety Sam.

And here he is with his cousins and sibs. God we miss you, Fred! Come home soon!

Loving the Haiku!

The FlutherHaiku Contest is going full swing and we have some fabulous entries. Just remember, there is a handknit ornament of some type at stake here, so enter often! Here's one more just to keep your creative juices flowing:

Munchy the Penguin
Giant orange beak aglow
My heart loves Munchy

Ornament #17

Here's Mr. P (olar) Bear with his big ole scarf. I love him! And I'm afraid I won't get all 25 done before Xmas but am still working away.

The Fluther Haiku Contest

Okay all you haters of my 'Knitting Poem', I am throwing down the poetry gauntlet! I challenge you to write your own haiku! Winner will get a specially knit Christmas ornament from yours truly, so be creative!

Here are a couple of my own haiku (and be forewarned, I am a haiku master. I was the 5th grade accelerated reading haiku shogun!)

Snow falling gently
Burying my golden Kia
Where are my tire chains?

Tiny knitted pieces
Fall from my needles quickly
Now lost under chair

Christmas in three days
How did it come so quickly
Elves please wrap for me

Ornament #16

I'm behind again! Got sidetracked with some top-secret Xmas projects I HAD to finish. Now that they are done, I can get back to the Advent Tree. Here's the Swedish Straw Goat. Katie begged me to only give the poor little guy three legs or a stump. But I felt he was bockety enough w/o any extra mutations.

Bring Em Home Week 10?

Will NOTHING move the two East Coasters back home???? I swear, I have tried every tactic I can think of to get their sorry asses back here. So now all I've got left in the bag o' tricks is Alex and Liam singing "Happy Song/Sad Song". I am sure they are singing the blues because Cara and Tony are SO far away and they no longer remember who they are. (JK they talk about you all the time, but mostly we all agree you two are way too far away and we might end up forgetting all about you. JK again, but I'm not above using emotional blackmail to get y'all back home).

You are missing all the shows the boys put on (like every day)!! Their show biz careers may depend on having a bigger audience than Gramma Laurie. GET HOME.

RJ's Christmas Stocking

Since Riveria's Christmas stocking got nibbled on by the resident mouse (no longer with us, thank goodness), I knit him this cute Bear Stocking from a pattern by Annie's Woolens. It's very cute, I think!

Now to get back to my Advent tree ornaments!

A Knitting Poem

Because I'm stuck inside on a snowy day:

Time by Minnie Gertz

Time -- such a precious
Gift is it
To work, to read, and
Yes, to knit.
Time to listen to the
Birds sing;
To watch flowers
Appear in spring.
Time to dream of
Good future days
While our peaceful
Living stays.

Yikes!!!

Man, do we have SNOW! Steve measured the snow in our yard at 20" this morning. Needless to say, school and pretty much everything else is closed today. I plan to stay cozy and work on those Xmas gifts I haven't quite finished.

Snow for REALS!

You wimps over in Seattle have nothing to complain about. We are getting our first real snowstorm of the year. I am praying school is

cancelled tomorrow so I can stay home and knit!

Mr & Mrs S. Claus

Mr. and Mrs. Claus are so cute in an ugly way! I bought them years ago at a Christmas show (in fact, I am pretty sure I was pregs with someone and had to waddle around this huge fair, while the B insisted on 'looking' the first time around, then going back and buying on the 2nd and third and...you get the idea. NEVER holiday shop with that woman ;-)

We Heart Jon More Than Ever

because he taught the boys his signature move, "The Limpy", which involves rapping someone on the head with a knuckle, but there is definitely a technique. They've been practicing hard to perfect it. I'll see if I can get a video. God life is going to be SO dull when the kitchen is done!

We Visit the Elves!

Liam, Steve and I went to the "Santa Express" the other day. It's a benefit for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, and kids get to shop for presents (they are donated by area businesses and priced from .50 to 7.00) with an 'elf', then wrap everything. Liam was a great shopper, and was very excited to get to buy things for his brothers and his mom. In fact, he made Mama open her package that night, he couldn't wait (it was beautiful jewelry).

Afterwards, we stopped by to see Santa. Liam asked for a violin (which he's been asking for for at least 2 years), which gave Santa a moment's pause; Santa said no one had ever asked for that. The next little kid totally stunned Santa when he asked for a dress! His mom said he 'liked to play dress up'. LOL it was hilarious, poor Santy didn't quite know what to say. He just handed out candy canes. And if you've got em, smoke em:

Piggy and Munchy

Here are ornaments #14 and #15:

Piggy the Pink Piglet

and Munchy the Penguin.

One More Reason We Heart Jon

He has given the boys all 'code handles' in case they have to go out on secret missions and need to covertly contact base. Riveria is "Romeo One", the twins are "Rolling Thunder One" and Rolling Thunder Two", Mikey is "Wild Turkey" and Lorraine is "Mrs. Butterworth". I insisted on a handle too, so I am "LoLo" in case you need to contact me...

Caught Up!

Whew, I'm back on track with the ornaments. Here are #12 and #13:

The Holly Bauble (with the Bells lurking behind)

Jingle Bells

I'm Never Knitting This Either

The "Hobbit Foot" Slippers. Now, I love Lord of the Rings, read it at least once every few years, but I am not going to be making hairy hobbit feet slipppers. Every.

Santa #2

I don't remember where I got this Santa, but I like him. He is on a wooden stand, and is a little dour looking. I guess I prefer the crabby Santa. Matches my mood most Christmases.

Ornament #11

I'm falling behind! Today I will finish two ornaments so I can keep pace.

This is #11, Toadstools.

Christmas Stockings

Our Stockings Are Hung By the Chimney with Care:

I knit these several years ago in an Xmas stocking frenzy. They are my two favorites!

And I found the "Sock Hook", wooden stocking hangers which I think are genious! You can get them from Annie's Woolens.

Hi Miss Priscilla!

I have a new 'follower', the boys' former nanny, Miss Priscilla! We miss you, hope Cali is treating you well!

I loved how the boys always called you MISS Priscilla, so cute! Of course, I don't get no respect, it is Laurie (or sometimes "I wish you weren't my babysitter" lol) with no Miss attached.

You would not believe how big the guys are getting, Miss. P! Mikey is quite the little man, the brothers cannot do anything without him.

Santa #1

Since I don't have a lot of news to blog about, I'm going to put up pictures of my Santa collection.

This crabby Santa is probably my favorite. I think he is from Rosaia Bros. and was made right after World War II. You can open him up and put candy in his round bottom. Maybe he is cranky because no one has fed him sweets in 50+ years. I'd be cranky too.

It's Snowing!

First BIG snowfall of the year! Thank goodness it's on a Friday and I don't have to drive anywhere. I'm always a total wuss the first time it snows.

Ornament #10

Is the Sugar Plum. Lots of fruit on this tree!

My Yearly Reminder

This is my all time favorite Christmas book! It's hard to find but well worth the search. Kids love the pictures (no words), esp. the one of F.C. sitting on the loo. And adults love them too.

If you can't track down this one, Raymond Briggs' "The Snowman" is also a great addition to your library.