MORE SNOW!

here's the latest pic of our back yard. We got around 6" last night and there's more to come. We may NEVER get out!!! Send yarn!!!

New FO!

Is this the cutest sweater ever?! I just finished it in record time. It's for Michael who will love a sweater with a growling dog on it. It's called "Carlos" and it's from a new Berroco book #274 "Comfort DK" The yarn is very soft and should be great for kids' sweaters.

Cara Cara!

I think I'm getting a little bit batty what with being snowed in...I found these oranges at the store the other day when P and I made our foray thru the snow. And of course I thought of MY Cara and had to take a pic. P thinks I am cwazy with the camera, but this is what happens when you have a solid week of snow.

Visitors

The boys braved the hideous roads and came for a sleepover. Or two, cuz it's absolutely awful out there today. They haven't had school for a whole week (Liam is convinced school is out for the year), and I think they were going a little stir crazy at home. So we have been battling ninjas over here (that's Liam with a piece of artillery).

Our Favorite Store

LOL, The Dinette Set strikes again! The boys worship shopping at the Dollar Store, and of course could spend hours browsing.

If you're not ready for the Real Deal...

Try this temporary tattoo from Twist! Perfect for the knitter who fears the needle (tattoo needle that is)!

The Great Escape

Snowday #2 and we're getting a little stir crazy (not to mention there isn't anything good to eat here and by that I mean no junk food). So the three of us decided to walk up to Alby's.

Of course, Steve, being a man, decided he could drive the car up there, despite the fact that there's a foot and a half of snow in the street. We did get out of the driveway, I'll give him that. Then immediately got stuck. So Pia and I ended up walking. Of course I fell down on the way back, cuz what is a walk in the snow without someone ending up on their ass? Soft landing, no damage done.

Why oh why didn't I stay in Cali with Katie when I had the chance.

TEAM FIERCE!

Grammy Susan says:

Tater was doing her "Project Runway" hard strut (notice the purple runway mat) - yikes! pam said she also put the outfit together specifically for her "challenge"

Rescue this Fug Yard!

Lis and Kip need our help! They are entering a yard makeover contest and need something snappy (in 40 words or less) to win the contest and save Maddie from a blighted childhood playing in this backyard (either they win, or that poor girl is going to have to wear a helmet whenever she's out back to avoid brain damage when she bonks into the concrete wall).

Here's what I came up with:

Here in Seatac
the grass is totally whack.
Our lawn is so fug,
An astroturf rug
Is our desperate plan of attack.

Plastic ends our woe
But gives us a case of turftoe.
Help us out,
make something sprout
We need some green to grow.

It's got possibilities, but needs some fine tuning and it's 5 words too long. Help!!!

Super Brave!

Tatum is so brave, going across the balance beam! Who cares that it's only a foot off the ground, you still couldn't pay ME to do it. And I love her little peanut body in her red suit! SOOO cute!

Snow Day!

With a record snowfall of over 13", the school district FINALLY gave in and made today a snow day! As we are stuck in our driveway till the plows come through, it was going to be one for us anyway, but this way the boys get to stay home with their mom and play. They were VERY happy to get the day off!

Our yard is pretty much buried, and we're all a little sore from having to shovel this white crap. It's a great day to work on my knitting though! And that's exactly what I plan to do. Hopefully, I can wrestle the remote away from Pia so I don't have to watch any more movies of the caliber of her choice this morning: Benchwarmers. I could feel the brain cells imploding and I don't really have any extras to waste.

ACK!

We woke up to at least a foot of snow this morning! HIDEOUS. Even the White Rose couldn't get out of the driveway today. We risked 'old people shoveling deep snow' heart attacks shoveling the driveway and now we are preparing for a nice day indoors. I suggested that Pia put on her skis to get up to 'Bucks, just in case we run outta joe...

Saturday Fun

I went over to spend the afternoon with my godson Alex, while mom and the other big boys went skiing. Alex is a very sensible, and wanted nothing to do with spending a day out in the freezing cold weather.

We had a great time, especially when I found the instructions for making the 'fortune teller' on the interweb! Remember this great game from grade school? It's still just as fun! Of course, I tried to put a few nice things in the 'fortunes', but Al loved the 'mean' stuff I wrote under the flaps, like 'you are stinky', 'you will become a house-elf when you grow up', 'you will get a Barbie doll for your next birthday'. We played with this little toy for at least an hour. Guaranteed laugh riot for little kids!

It's snowing like MAD here, we are supposed to get quite a bit. UGH.

Love It!

Love this group on Ravelry I just Joined:

"A Christmas Story’, one of the best holiday movies ever made, features so many outstanding handknits that it really deserves its own group. From Randy’s mile-long scarf to Frankie’s mittens-on-a-string to Scut Farkus’ moth-eaten sweater to Mother’s lovely beret and scarf combo to Schwartz’ stocking cap. There’s something for every knitter in this film.
Talk about what you love best about the film or take a screen shot of an item you want to knit, and tell the group where to find a similar pattern. Or design your own! Now if only someone could come up with a knitted Easter Bunny costume or a leg lamp…

I'll probably never make anything, but how great is it to say "I belong to the knitting group 'The Scut Farkus Affair'"!?

That's What I'm Talking About!

Love this 'ravatar' on Ravelry! Wish I was this clever (and that this wasn't somewhat true about me lol)

Oh. My. Gawd.

This is the "Yarngina" by Knitterooney. It's up for an award on Ravelry as "Most Unusual Knitted Object" of the year. Um, yeah, it's def. THAT.

Sad...And Creepy

How sad is it that Heath Ledger died? Such a talented young guy, and with a baby girl left behind.

AND how creepy is it that his last photo is of him in a creepy %$#*ing CLOWN costume!? Cuz you all know how I feel about clowns...

Baby It's Cold Outside

When I went out to the car this morning at 6:30, it was a nipply 3 degrees!!! Yikes, that is WAY too cold! Katie, I need to come visit LA stat!

Pia's NYC Adventure!

Peeps is visiting New York City this weekend courtesy of the Smithsonian! Lucky girl got a free weekend to 'train' for her upcoming Honor Society group trip to DC over Spring Break.

She's seeing all the sites, of course. Her group saw "Legally Blonde" last night and she said it was really good.

She also had a 'celebrity siting' down by the World Trade Center! She spotted:

This is Russell Simmons for those of us who aren't completely celebrity-savvy. Not quite on a par with standing thisclose to Helen Mirren, but still...

We Miss You!

Gosh, we sure miss Katie! I'm sure her LA adventure is going great, but it's too quiet around here without her. I need to figure out when I can go for a visit! Since I have NEVER been to Disneyland, this seems like the perfect opportunity to resolve that.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Lorraine's birthday (you'll have to ask HER which one...) and Steve & I went over for dinner. The boys say it is NOT a party without some guests, so we were the lucky invitees. Not only did we get a scrumptious dinner, but Baskin & Robbins ice cream cake, yum! We all had a swell time.

A REAL Time Waster!

Knitters (and crocheters) of the world, be sure to check out Ravelry! It's been described as "Facebook for knitters", and you can spend hours and hours playing around on this site. Ask me, I have been browsing here all week...

You can organize your stash, your pattern library, your books, your needles, keep a record of your WIPs and your FOs, and best of all, check out what others have done with their yarn, patterns and more. I've been adding so many cool patterns to my 'favorites' list that I'm pretty sure I will need to live about a thousand years to get around to all of them.

There are also tons of special interest groups (I Knit with The Office, Nordic Knitters, Aran Knitters, Eastern Washington Knitters, Seattle Knitters and many many more) and also very active forums.

I'm lavs on Ravelry if you want to add me to your 'friends' list.

A Quick Gift!

Today is Lorraine's birthday, and I needed to make a quick little gift (I'm trying not to add anything more to her house until she finishes remodeling!) I found this cute heart sachet which takes less than a skein of Koigu merino yarn, and I just happened to have a skein in the stash. I didn't have any lavender to fill it, so used roving. She can hang it in the window or use it as a pin cushion. It was fun and fast to knit!

Is There Anything Cuter...

Than a 2nd grader with a missing front tooth?! RJ finally lost upper front tooth #2. He's waiting for the Tooth Fairy to visit tonight, hopefully she will not forget!

Library Fun!

The boys and I took a field trip to the library yesterday and learned a little bit about China. They had a story time, then made Chinese Dragons. Alex suggested that all the kids parade with their dragons around the library, which they did to everyone's enjoyment.

Liam pauses during Craft Time to give us a smile.

Riveria displaying excellent coloring skills. No 'outside the lines' for this guy!

Alex holds up his completed dragon. Very fierce!

Of course, Mikey was not about to be left out. He is a very good colorer! Of course, he prefers permanent markers, but settles for Crayolas...

Would You Carry This?

I don't know about you, but I'm 'thinking' that a purse that is also a brain might be rather handy. At least one of you would remember where you parked the car at the mall...

Megs & Hads, is this you guys?

Megan and baby Hadley are running fools, I suspect this may be them...

The Little Mermaid

Tatum looks positively sultry as she models the Mermaid outfit her mama and grammy knit for her (from "New Knits on the Block" by Vicky Howell). She is FIERCE in that wig!

However, if her parents are not careful, she could end up like this:



(JK Pam and Josh! It'll never get this bad!)

Knitted Sleeves from Peterson's Magazine

Here's another vintage knitting pattern from the 1876 Peterson's Magazine. Right-click on the picture/pattern to print it.

 About this book Read this bookPeterson's Magazine

A Vintage Pattern to Knit

Here's a nifty pattern for a "Washing Glove" from an 1876 issue of Peterson's Magazine, a popular 'ladies' magazine of the 19th century. Right-click on the picture/pattern to print it.



About this book Read this bookPeterson's Magazine

I LOVE my Panini Maker!

Thanks kids, for this fab Xmas gift! I have been a Panini-makin' fool (well, I've used it like 4 times, which is a load of cooking for me). I had the need for a tuna melt today, so slapped together tuna fish, cheese and bread and popped it in the 'nini maker. YUM.

And that's the high point of my day so far, which gives you an idea of our level of excitement here at Fluther Central.

Quiet Saturday!

Mostly involved napping...ahhhh.

On the knitting front, I'm struggling to finish the sample sweater I started a while ago. May I say it's probably the MOST BORING project ever. And it's taking forever too! My designer seemed to think I'd have 4 of these (on size 2 needles mind you) finished by the end of the month. NOT. I'll be lucky to get this one finished. Fortunately, he's found other knitters for the remaining samples so I'm only on the hook for this one (since I cashed his check ;-) I am reminded why I hate knitting on a deadline. I want to enjoy the work, not suffer! So no more contract knitting, back to fun stuff for my babies!

I did manage to catch a couple of completely trashy TV shows:

This HBO 'documentary' included JFK, OJ Simpson and more! super trashy!

Plus "Beatles' Wives" a real trip down memory lane. How I wanted to be married to George! Well, after seeing this show, maybe I was better off without the 'quiet Beatle' lol.

Steve's office is having a party tonight, bowling with a gang of 20 somethings plus us old farts. Since it's from 9:30-11:30, I think we'll pass. Here's a clue as to how old I am, when Steve told me what time the party was, I said, "AT NIGHT???!!!"

Sharkboy

Mikey is modeling the Shark Mittens I knit for the boys. Very fierce!

BS-ing Week One

Gramma Laurie has made it through the first week of babysitting, and we all agree it's going great! Liam says he has earned 3 happy faces every day from his teacher (though I did see her before school this morning, and she looked like she was getting ready to make a break for the nearest bar...) and Alex has earned many, many points for good behavior--even when they had a sub yesterday! RJ is just his normal sweet self, and Mikey goes with the 'gang'.

We visited the library yesterday to check out some books to read at home. Alex got three books about snakes (we're still a tiny bit obsessed with them after the summer rattlesnake encounter), Liam got a book about elephants, a book about Dizzy Gillespie (he found the music section first, and made a grab), and his third book I forget. Riveria chose a tape set of a Harry Potter book that we can listen to in the car, and two 'chapter books', which will be too hard for him, but I didn't have the heart to say no the very first time at the lib. Librarian (former) Lowdie picked three easy readers so the boys could practice their skills. Mikey was too busy doing the puzzles and hiding under the chairs to select any books this time. I hope to make the library a weekly stop.

We are busy each day checking off items on our 'chore chart'. Easiest: eating breakfast. Hardest: no fighting. But we're working on getting everything accomplished on our lists, which earns a hot lunch the next day.

I'm trying to be conscious of all the rules (and the boys are excellent at telling me all the rules, even if they don't exactly follow them all the time) and to be perhaps a little bit stricter. But our mornings always begin with smiles and a good cuddle in the rocking chair, and end (usually) with a back rub, a 'mouse' story that I have to make up for each boy and a hug and kiss goodnight. It's a happy job!

Shopping Fun!

I had to start 2008 with some cool new knitting stuff!

Just arrived in the mail: My Basspro "Extreme" bag, which I'm going to use to tame my ginormous collection of knitting needles. No more searching through a huge messy pile of needles to find the right one (I hope). This nifty bag comes with lots of plastic sheets that I can use to store my circular needles in by size. It was fairly inexpensive (about $18.00 I think) compared with some of the bags I have seen that are specifically designed for needles, and the word is that it does the job just as well. You can purchase at BassPro

Can't show a picture but I just ordered the cutest mitten kit from Morehouse Farm: Gator Mittens! So cute for the little guys, who love animals dearly and will really like these ones with claws on them! Liam gave me the Shark mittens back today, as they need a seam stitched. So it's repair time!

LOTS of snow here in Spokane today! We were all hoping for a snow day off of school, but no such luck. District 81 is too efficient darn it. The weather guy this morning threw his hands up in the air and said "We're Doomed!" He was just kidding, but it was a good one, as the Spokane news people are always giving these breathless breaking news stories about the 1" of snow that is predicted.

Adventures in Babysitting

6:00 am came mighty early, but I was up and at 'em for my first day as 'nanny' to my 4 little guys. They were VERY happy to have Gramma Laurie on the job (Mon-Thurs) and were super good, doing all their chores and earning points for hot lunch (why do little kids love buying hot lunch so much? It must be the thrill of standing in line with a tray cuz it sure can't be the food) Alex and Liam both had excellent days at school too, with Allie earning '29 points' for behavior and Liam getting '3 happy faces' for his good behavior in class. RJ was his normal sweet self and Mikey was def. part of the boys' club.

Home Sweet Home

My flight finally arrived in Spokane an hour and a half late (nice job Southwest). It's good to be home, though to be frank, I miss LA. I really liked it in So Cal, which surprises me! I promised Katie I'd visit soon, so am already trying to figure out when I'll have a few days to visit.

The flight was uneventful, but jeezus the line at LAX was unbelievable. It took over an hour to make it through check in, baggage drop off and security. I loved it when a bearded fat guy snuck in line in front of me, and the two guys behind me ratted him out. He pretended not to know he had jumped the ginormous line. We weren't buying it.Spotted no celebs at the air-

port, but then again, any celeb worth his/her salt would NOT have been caught dead standing in that line.

It's cold and a little snowy here, I'm going to have to accustom myself to real winter weather again. It doesn't appear that Steve and Rotch moved a single thing while I was gone (including the Xmas tree or various piles of crap) See what happens when Mama leaves town ;-)

I had a great time with Katie, we actually ventured to the beach at Venice this morning and had a nice lunch. She was such a good sport, even took me to 5 thrift stores this morning (lucky for her 4 of them were closed) I miss my little Katie Cat soooo much, but I know she is going to enjoy her LA adventure.

We Heart LA!

We are here in beautiful Marina del Rey, and Katie's apt. is all set up. I have some photos, but they'll have to wait till I'm home to download them. Meantime, the highlights:

Her apartment is very nice, a one bedroom very close to the beach (allegedly all you gotta do is cut between the Ralphs and the building next to it and you are there), and just up the road from Venice. Hopefully, the weather will be a bit nicer tomorrow so we can walk there before I have to go.

Woot Woot, she's right across the street from a Starbucks, and within walking distance of Costco!

Driving to work may be a bit of a nightmare for poor KT, rumor has it the freeway over to Cedars Sinai is really awful. But she's already whizzing thru LA traffic like a native, so it should be no prob.

She has a tiny little balcony which looks out toward the beach (not that you can SEE the beach or anything). She'll have to get a little plastic chair so she can enjoy the great outdoors.

That's about all for now, we've gotten everything unpacked and we're going to cook her first dinner in her new digs (if we can figure out how to cook without using the stove, since it doesn't seem to be working.)

Road Trip!

Sorry no pix but here's the Spokane to LA Road Trip 08 update:

DAY 1:

TEAM PLACK:

• Knitting Project? Check
• Backup Knitting Project? Check
• Every possible knitting gadget I might need? Check
• List of every thrift store and yarn shop en route? Check
• Starbucks grande brewed coffee w cream? Check

Team Plack is ready to roll!

Team Meowfoy:

• Ipod? Check
• 2500 tunes uploaded to Ipod? check
• All 28 podcasts from the Ricky Gervais Show? Check
• Lots of cute, coordinated outfits and shoes? Check
• Starbucks grande nonfat caramel frappuchino, no whipped cream, or some drink I couldn't possibly order because it's too complicated? Check

Team Meowfoy is ready to roll!

And we're off! With the immortal thoughts of Karl Pilkington as our companion, we hit the road Wednesday morning, bound for the City of Angels. Somehow Lavs has driven all the legs with really crap weather (pouring rain in Oregon, heavy snow and high winds around Mount Shasta), but "Cherry" the Trail Blazer handles it all with no prob, and looks good too.

Tonight we made it to Sacramento, and Katie was able to obtain her Cali. nursing license before the office closed. So now she's legal for duty come Monday morning. We're tucked up in our Holiday Inn Express beds (with GOOD pillows, unlike the ones they normally use in caskets that were offered at the Travelodge in Grants Pass last night).

We treated ourselves to a movie since we've managed to stay on schedule thus far. "Atonement" which was excellent, if not exactly a feel good story...

We also made a stop this morning in Ashland to visit the Websters, a faboo yarn store. Katie bought some super cuddly kid mohair to make her stole, and I got a pair of Addi lace knitting needles for my hideous sweater project. They were well worth the $16.00, the sharp points make lace knitting so much easier and faster.

We plan to hit the big city tomorrow afternoon, and can get into Katie's apt. on Saturday. Will report on whether Marina del Rey is as ritzy as it sounds...

The 2007 Tally

I managed to finish around 30 projects in 2007, not too bad. Of course, I have at least double that number sitting in the storage room waiting to be started. But that's another story.

One of my favorites was these Bear Paw mittens (from Morehouse Merino). I also made a pair of Shark Mittens, which are super cute too. The Bear Paws got separated on the Centennial Trail, but amazingly, 2 weeks later, the missing mitten was found sitting along the trail. Whew!

And We're Off!

Katie and I start our drive down to LA today! We were planning to leave about 9 am, but since she's still in bed and I'm sitting here blogging, I don't think that's happening. I will keep you all posted as to our adventures as Team Fluther/Meowfoy heads south!