So many hobbies, so little time!

New Projects with Old Yarn

2010-03-26T18:35:00.000-07:00

The Ravelympics have come and gone, and while I must say I was glad I participated, I didn't get as much done as I thought I would. Right now I am knitting more than I did during the Ravelympics. Below are a few of my latest projects. They were all knit with yarn from my stash (my husband is so proud!). I've linked the pattern where I can:

Cuff Bootees by Debbie Bliss, from the book Simply Baby. I was able to shape these nicely for the photograph, but these have to be one of the strangest looking booties I've ever seen. One of the ladies on Ravelry described these as a bootee for Frankenstein's child, and I have to agree!

Waffle Knit Dishcloth by Deb (Homespun Living Blog). This is a quick and easy pattern but with nice texture to it. I've used this dishcloth and love it.

Spiral Eyelet Socks by Sandi Rosner. I just finished these socks this afternoon, and love, love, love this pattern. The yarn was some given to me by my cousin, so I'm not exactly sure of the kind it is, but I think it is a bamboo blend. It seems a little stretchy, so even for my thick feet and ankles the socks are a little loose.

Easy Knitted Booties by Bundles of Love. If you're looking for a quick project to knit for a baby shower or new baby gift, this is it! I used the knit 2, purl 2 ribbing; next time I'll opt for the knit 1, purl 1 ribbing.

Valentines

2010-02-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

Seems all my time right now is spent on knitting for Ravelympic projects, but I did make a few Valentines. Filled the boxes up with chocolates and gave some to Sydnee to give to friends. The rest I kept with the best intentions to give them away to church teachers, but - surprise - I forgot them at home this Sunday. I did give a couple of them away.

Ravelympics, Here I come!

2010-01-25T00:03:00.001-08:00

So I heard about the Ravelympics from Sydnee (see her blog here). I had no clue what they were until I looked them up on Ravelry. Something I've been missing in the land of fiber, it seems. Sydnee and I are both going to join. It appears you have to join under a group, then post under that group which "events" you are entering. Events are things like Cable cross country (making things with cables), charity curling (making things for charity), sock hockey (making socks) - you get the picture. The Ravelympics start when the 2010 Winter Olympics start and end when they end. I'll be posting what I'm going to make once I've decided and posted my entry on Ravelry. I've decided to join under the Over 40 Team. That decides that Syd and I can't be on the same team. Wanna join? C'mon over to Ravelry!

Catching Up

2010-01-16T15:39:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! Ok, so January is already half over, but hey, I am known to be a procrastinator!

I am on a crochet kick right now. Don't ask me why. Wait, I know. I was given a trash bag - and I mean those big dark green leaf trash bags - full of yarn. My mom went to visit my aunt and she was getting rid of it. I'm very sentimental about things - too sentimental - and I have a hard time getting rid of anything that was given to me by someone I know. That is why I had to go to Target and buy a few big plastic bins to put all this yarn in. After all, it looks so much better in a plastic bin that it does in a garbage bag. So good in fact, that I don't feel so guilty about hoarding my stash of yarn, even if it is acrylic!

These projects are all from free patterns on Ravelry. You can view them and the patterns on my Ravelry profile, stitchnscrap.

This is a scarf I'm making for my daughter. It is double-knit so that there isn't a purl side. It's the first time I've tried double knitting, and although it is time-consuming I love the end result.

A baby blanket I'm crocheting. Very easy pattern. Great use of stash yarn.

Quick and easy crocheted purse.

These three hats are all made using the same pattern.

Not quite done with this one. Am planning on making an edge in a different color and not adding the ear flaps.

2009-07-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

So, I want to blog about my favorite scrapbook store. Since I'm a visual kind of person, I check my pictures to see if I have any of the store. Nothing there. That's ok, I think, I'm a Little computer savvy (with a Capital L), I'll just surf the web for a picture. Hmmmm, nothing there, either. Looks like today there is just the written word for this post. However, if you're reading this, you have probably either been to Treasured Memories, or at least heard about it.

I went there today and let me tell 'ya, there is a SALE going on! I found items for .10, lots for .25 and even more for $1. They are selling products at sidewalk sale prices to make room for the new products soon to be coming in. My reason for telling you this has two purposes: One, this kind of sale doesn't happen very often, and I'm all for sharing the love - and discounts! Two, I WANT TO SEE THE

NEW PRODUCTS!

I'll admit I'm a big sucker for new stuff, and I am chomping at the bit to see it, touch it, feel it. So, go on, get yourself to Treasured Memories, 1510 S. Wells Ave., Reno. You can find their website here.

Comment on this post, let me know what you think and/or what great deals you got. I'm going on my scrapbook retreat next week, and when I return I will pick a random winner from the comments and they will win a fun goodie bag, full of wonderful scrapbook or card making items. So comment away!

First There Were Three

2009-06-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

It really started out at Cropapalooza last October. I had heard of Stickles, kinda knew what they were, but never really played with them. Then one of the croppers embellished a card with them and I was wowed. Ok, so it's just a glitter glue, but I fell in love. I bought three - Burgundy, Copper and Platinum. These three colors went on my Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas projects. Then...

More was added to my collection. What to do with them? Cards, page layouts, you get the picture. Shortly thereafter...

even more was added to my collection. Luckily, these bottles are small and don't take up much room. I spent a weekend just making cards and adding Stickles to some to make them sparkle. Love them!

A simple card with Stickles added over the patterned paper.

Thank you cards made using Fiskars border punches.

Stickles around the flowers of the card on the right.

I went Stickle crazy on these Fall cards.

I love using up scraps to make cards.

Yep, my dining room table really is under all that.

We've graduated from Cake Decorating 101

2009-05-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

Erin and I finished our basic cake decorating course. Still don't think I've got the knack for decorating, but Erin does. We decorated a cake together. I love making the roses but I really need to practice.

Erin signed up for another cake decorating class. This one is going to be learning about fondant.

See those confetti-looking squiggles? Yep, that's caused by a hole in the bag of frosting.

2009-04-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

Erin and I are taking a cake decorating class at Michael's. What fun, I thought. I'm a kinda creative person, I should take to cake decorating like I've taken to other crafts, right? Oh, noooooooo. After three classes I have decided that I am definitely not a cake decorator. I didn't even take pictures of the first cake I made. Looks like I'll just have to stick to scrapbooking. And knitting. And card making. And crocheting. And...

I made two cakes - one for each of us. We had to frost them before the second class. Our first class the teacher gave us a lot of information and went over what we would be doing.

I landed up having to make four batches of frosting - that's 16 cups of powdered sugar! My kitchen was a disaster and I never could get the frosting smooth.

Class #3's results. I now have a lot more respect for cake decorators. This takes a strong, steady hand, and other things which I obviously don't have.

2009-03-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

Still on a card kick for some reason. I signed up for a crop on April 4. I'm excited about that since these days I don't seem to get a lot of scrapbooking done unless I'm at a crop. Here are a few of the cards I made. Simple cards, trying to use up some of my stash.

Gotta Love The Cricut

2009-03-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

Paper crafting.

Gotta love it.

And the Cricut makes it even better!

I got to play with some cartridges borrowed

from a friend (thank you Kazie!) and made

just a few things.

The two cards below are made from the Wild Cards cartridge

Can't remember which cartridges this one is from...

This Dumpling Bag is just too cute!!

2009-03-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

I've had this pattern for quite a while, so,

why haven't I started it until now?

I was asking myself that same question when I was knitting up

this too cute bag.

It's knit on size 13 circulars so it is a very quick knit.

Every bag I've knit from

She-knits

has been a quick knit, which is one of the reasons I love them.

I used yarn (Brown Sheep Bulky) I had left over from other bags.

While I love the way this yarn felts,

I'm not super happy about the shedding afterward.

Do all wool yarns shed this way?

This bag only took a

couple of days to make.

Now that's my kind of

bag.

The Dumpling Bag by She-Knits.

You can find this pattern and more here.

Cool Hat

2009-03-10T23:34:00.000-07:00

I love this hat, and to make things even better, it was really easy to knit up. I had it finished in just a couple of days. The pattern is found in the book, Knitting for Peace, by Betty Christiansen.

Also finished up a scarf I had been working on since December. A version of my favorite color, purple!

Beads, Beads and More Beads

2009-02-16T21:48:00.000-08:00

I have an addictive personality, and it really shows through in my crafts. I start doing something, decide I enjoy it, and many times about go overboard doing it. Thus, the beaded bracelets. I made bracelets until my eyes were seeing beads even when they were closed. And what, you ask, am I going to do with all of them? Why, stuff them in my drawer with the rest of my loose jewelry, of course! Here are my newest creations.

I love the green round beads, even though I can't think of a thing to wear them with!

Doesn't the middle one remind you of Oreo cookies?

2009-02-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

This morning I went to a class to learn about jewelry making, gardening, and freezer meals. Crafts, food and menu planning. Three of my favorite subjects! This was one of a series of classes put on through my church on subjects similar to these. For the jewelry section we made bracelets. The one I made was green and orange, in honor of the Fiskateers group I'm in. I love the colors. This is my daughter modeling it.

The freezer meals we sampled were breakfast burritos, egg and muffin sandwiches, chicken quesadillas, Avocado Dip, and chocolate chip cookies. All of the food was yummy! I really like the idea of making food ahead of time and freezing it. It really cuts down on the prep time, especially for us at dinnertime. If you'd like any of these recipes, just comment or email me and I'll get them to you.
*
The gardening section was so informative. Who knew I should be preparing my soil right now? I am not much of a gardener but have always wanted to learn more. I can't wait to try all these new ideas on my vegetable garden this year. Now, if I could only get my peach tree to thrive in this Northern Nevada climate. . .

2009-02-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

I'm typing this from my new laptop I received for christmas. This is actuallly my first blog post with pictures that I opened and saved on the laptop. A big deal for me because I am so computer challenged. And the blog post wasn't even planned! Here's what my thought process is doing inside my brain these days: Today the whole family cleaned house (you can read more about the why the need to clean the house from top to bottom here) I needed a little break so I went outside and started to clean out my car. I found my sock project bag in the car with these socks. The socks reminded me that I needed to take a picture of them to put on my Ravelry account. I got out the camera, snapped a couple of pictures of the socks, 'cuz I'm loving them so much, then remembered that I needed to take an "after" picture of my craft room - after it's been cleaned up. I have such a short attention span! Needless to say, after the camera was in my hand I got practially Nothing done in the way of cleaning.

I loved knitting these socks - one of them only took me 3 days to finish! You can find the pattern here

The yarn I used was Dancing by Knit Picks. Yarn from my stash.

A close-up of the pattern work. Tilt your head to the left and you can see the hearts made with yarn-overs.

A much cleaner craft room!

2009-01-12T21:31:00.001-08:00

We are deep cleaning the craft room. We're rearranging furniture, adding a tv in the hopes that will motivate us to use the treadmill, and I am throwing away A LOT of stuff.

Don't these two pictures look like I have a neat, orderly craft room?

Ok, now see below for the REAL picture. A lot of the stuff in the middle of the floor came from five bookcases/shelves, which we are downsizing to just three.

We've done the rearranging, and the room looks much better than this. I will post "after" pictures when we're finished. I've even cleared a space on my craft desk, and made some cards tonight:

Fiskars Ultra ShapeXpress

2009-01-05T22:46:00.001-08:00

I got my Fiskars Ultra ShapeXpress out the other day to use for a layout, and found another use for it. I love rub-ons but like to keep them together in one sheet, which makes it a little difficult to try to cut one rub-on out that is in the middle. I used the Ultra ShapeXpress to cut out the saying in the middle, without having to cut out any other rub-ons, which would give me a great chance to lose all those little pieces I would have had to cut out. I love the way it cuts - very sharp blade, so keep away from little children. You can see this and other Fiskars products here.

Take a Knitting Survey

2009-01-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

This one had me thinking back some years. Feel free to cut and paste to your own blog. After all, that's what I did.

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-upKnitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting: knitting items on, or to be left on the street
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Household items: dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...
knitting socks- or other small tubular items- on two circulars
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

2008-12-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

I have been knitting, I just haven't posted pictures until now. Of the four projects, one was a gift I completed, two were gifts I have yet to complete, and one I started to match a new outfit I bought for myself. I really should make it a point to finish these by Christmas, because by the time Christmas morning arrives, I feel as if all the adrenaline that has kept me going until then has left the night before with Santa's sleigh and eight tiny reindeer. As of now I really have no ambition whatsoever to finish these projects. In fact, two of the projects I've been carrying around in my purse and the only thing they've been good for is the needles to stab me once in a while because they poke out so much. You can tell they've been well-traveled by the nasty almost-knot the yarn for the slippers have. Where I can, I've linked the pattern with the picture.

Twilight Socks by chickenbetty (Ravelry)

One Row Handspun Scarf by Stephanie Pearl McPhee

Drink cozy from the book Knitting With Balls

Aunt Maggie's Slippers by Bev A. Qualheim

Donny wished me a Happy Birthday!

2008-12-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's more like I received an email from Donny and "all of us at Donny.com" but it's his voice and I can pretend, can't I?

2008-12-21T00:20:00.001-08:00

Not too much in the way of crafting right now. Too busy getting ready for the 25th. I am attempting to make some socks as a Christmas gift, but it works with three different colors and I am just not a three-color-sock person. I do have all of my cards sent out. Here is a version of one of our Christmas cards.

That's it for now. Once this Christmas rush is over I'll be ready to scrapbook those holiday pix!

Big Box Stores? Your choice, but really.....

2008-12-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

This is my real job. I can't call it a nine-to-five job, or my forty-hours-a-week job. This is my part time job. It's one I've had for eleven years. It's a paint store. It is a locally, family owned paint store. In fact, it is my family. We are not Home Depot, nor would we ever, ever strive to be. Our philosophy is simple: We care. We don't have fancy decorations, top of the line sales equipment, no orange aprons for us, but if you've been in the store more than once or twice, we can usually remember you. More than likely I will remember what you painted and what color of paint you got. We've color matched everything from a weed to a pair of underwear.

As more and more big box stores move in, we feel the crunch. In these hard times with the economy being what it is, we feel it even harder. People complain about the bad service they receive at these big box stores, yet they continue to go there. Why? Our prices are competetive, our salespeople are knowledgeable. I have seen so many small stores close recently. At what price? Remember pharmacies that actually remembered you? Remember the butcher at the grocery store who was a real man (or woman) that gave you a piece of bologna when you were a kid? If this trend of the big stores monopolizing the market continues, soon our only option will be the big box stores. We will become just a number to them. You can choose. Take a stand and choose to shop small - at small stores, that is. This holiday season remember the little guys. The locally owned shops are going to get my business this year. Take a stand. Or take a number.

I've learned to never just pick out a color and mixing up the paint without that customer seeing it first. A customer came in this week asking me to help him pick out a "tan" color. I was thinking of something like these:

He landed up picking this as his tan:

Quite a difference!

Christmas Time's a'coming!

2008-11-30T19:46:00.000-08:00

I've got more pictures to post, but wanted to update my blog with this picture. I've been busy making Christmas cards, and these are the latest. I'll post then when they are all done, but need to get our family pictures taken first - that happens on Tuesday.

2008-11-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

Today my daughter showed me these shoes she made. I love them! It's these kinds of things that make me glad that although my mind may be cluttered and chaotic, there is just enough creativity in it that I can pass on to my children. Of course, having a craft room full of fun things like ribbon and glitter never hurts either!

Reno Cropapalooza 2008

2008-10-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

What an awesome time we had at the Cropapalooza! It was held last weekend at Lawlor Events Center in Reno. I arrived around 8:30 on Saturday morning to help set up a little. Then classes kept me busy until later in the afternoon. For some reason I wasn't planning on being so busy that day, but I loved it. I took classes from Technique Tuesday, Fiskars, and Bazzill. In the Technique Tuesday class we worked with the Tile Toppers, made a 12x12 page and a card. In the Fiskars class we made a 12x12 page layout using the Ultra ShapeXpress. We got to use Bazzill's In Stitch'z products in their class, making a 12x12 page and a card. Now I know what to do with that prepunched Bazzill paper. These teachers did such a wonderful job. That's the thing I really love about classes - getting to sample all of these products and try out new ideas. Good for them, of course I want one of everything!
Just the classes would have been good enough for me, but they also offered make and takes. In addition to make and takes being offered by these three companies, Crate Paper also had a make and take for us to do.

All good things must come to an end, so Sunday I packed up my stuff and came back down to real life. I hadn't seen my family much all weekend so it was good to spend the afternoon/evening with them.

I left Cropapalooza with an armful of projects and free goodies. I saw old friends, met new friends and realized that for me, scrapbooking is therapy. Unfortunately, it doesn't cure the common cold, which is what I now have.

I'll leave you with pictures of the most fun I've had in a while. Enjoy!

Showing off our pages that Mary from Technique Tuesday taught us

Amy and I with Joey from Bazzill paper

Showing off Bazzill's make and take

Angela Daniels from Fiskars (Fiskateer #9!)

Two-sided photo frame (a covered canvas board - cute idea!) from the Fiskars class

Another Fiskars project - we used the Ultra Shape Xpress 5ool 5o cut the waves

Tami, you rock! - Shut the front door!

I love making these buttons. Too bad I jammed up the machine.

Pieces of Flair

Heidi, I mean Angela Witch. She made this costume, isn't it too cute?!

Goodies from Fiskars

Making my recipe swap pages. I almost have them finished. I used the idea from the Bazzill make and take project

Table B - my table

Kathy and Crissy - a HUGE part of Cropapalooza. We love you two!

Amy and Lisa showing off their "What Would Tonna Do" button. Don't even ask me.

Ok, after scrapbooking for two days, you get a little loopy

2008-10-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

The tenth already, where does the time go? Today was a scrapbook club get-together. We played with Diamond Glaze. These are two of the projects we worked on. The punches leaves are filled with Diamond Glaze, let dry, then put in the freezer for about five minutes or so. Then when they are taken out and still cold, crack them to give them an aged look, or in this case, to give the leaves veins. Very cool, and looks even better on a larger leaf.

2008-09-20T08:20:00.001-07:00

My favorite time of the year is fast approaching. I even played Christmas music yesterday, much to the chagrin of my family. At least I kept it limited to the craft room and not the whole house. A little secret: If your family hates Christmas music when it's not December, play it and see how fast they scatter. A great way to get some crafting done! Made a couple of cards yesterday using the Missy B Designs sets. Love these stamps. They come on a sheet of rubber ready to mount, and I finally got around to mounting on the cushiony stuff.

Shake Your Booty!

2008-09-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

We figured we'd have a good time at this concert, but you just never know how it's going to be until you are there. Lee Ann and I had gone to will call to get our tickets earlier, and then when we headed back to go into the concert room, I saw a friend I had met through scrapbooking. She does something with the sales of the tickets, and I'm sure I'm not giving her job enough credit here in the description. Anyways, she looks at the tickets we have, does some magic work on the keyboard, and voila! - we now have Section D, which is the center row, 6th row! Aren't we special! Thank you so much, Bev!!!!

Lee Ann and I next to the stage

So now we're in our seats waiting for the show to start, and I am wondering why there are so many "old" people here. We certainly haven't aged, why do all these old people want to see KC and the Sunshine Band?? I don't know about other people, but I think it's so funny that I get so excited over seeing a band now that I used to like decades of years ago. Trying to capture our youth, I suppose. Whatever it was, it was fun! KC had a cold, we felt so sorry for him. Poor guy was coughing, and just didn't look too well. But we still loved the show. Lots of booty shaking going on up there on stage. There were people at the front of the stage shaking his hand as he was singing, but I'm thinking, ummmm, I really don't think I want to go up there to shake a sick person's hand, entertainer or no. He did joke about being sick, had thrown a towel out to the audience and told them to please "wash it in hot water" before using it, or selling it on Ebay. Yep, pretty good time.

The Band

KC and the Sunshine Band, at the Silver Legacy, Reno

September 12, 2008

One of many costume changes

The guy still boogies, just a little slower these days (aren't we all!)

I'm going!

2008-09-12T17:15:00.001-07:00

Last night I talked to my friend whom I hadn't talked to in a while, and she mentioned that KC and the Sunshine Band was going to be performing tonight. Spur of the moment we decided to get tickets. So in about an hour and a half I will be driving to her house and we'll be on our way to the Silver Legacy to see KC and the Sunshine Band!!! I'm off to shake my booty.....

2008-09-10T23:05:00.000-07:00

A couple of projects I'm working on or have finished. I am working on making a sweater, and it's actually for me. I usually only make socks or scarves for myself. I've told myself not to buy any more yarn until at least the sweater is finished. I've got to finish these UFO's up!

My cousin gave this to me to see if I could duplicate it. So far I've cast on the top and have knit the white cuff.

My "Wicked" sweater. Only have a few more inches of the body left, and then to finish the sleeves.

Dishcloth for a friend of ours who is on a mission. A Christmas present is done!

Socks being knit with our hand-dyed with koolaid yarn.

TVP - What is it?

2008-09-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

TVP stands for textured vegetable protein. Here is the Definition: Texture vegetable protein, TVP for short, is a high-fiber, high-protein meat substitute made from soy flour and available in a variety of flavored and unflavored varieties, as well as different sizes, from large chunks to small flakes. Because it is a dehydrated product, TVP needs to be reconstituted in hot water for about ten minutes or in the cooking process before eaten.

I had never heard of TVP until a few years ago when I took cooking classes through my church. I got excited about it, because it could replace ground beef/turkey/chicken in some recipes, but I never really played or cooked with it except in soups. I went grocery shopping yesterday and found TVP in the bulk section of the store and bought some, and used it for last night's dinner. Here is the recipe I used:

SPICY BEEF WITH NOODLES

2 lb. ground beef (I used half ground turkey and 1 cup tvp)

2 T salad oil (I used 1 T)

1 c. chopped onion (I omitted)

1/2 c. minced green pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. canned tomatoes, drained (I used one)

1 c. whole kernel corn, drained

1/4 c. tomato paste
2 tsp. sald (I used about 1/2 tsp.)

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. allspice (this gives it a unique flavor)

3/4 c. grated cheddar cheese

1/2 c. pitted black olives, sliced

1 lb. pkg. noodles

Put oil in heavy skillet and saute onion, green pepper and garlic until tender. Add beef and brown slowly (I added the TVP after the ground turkey was cooked). Add tomatoes, corn, and tomato paste to mixture. Season with sale, pepper, oregano and allspice. Simmer about 2 minutes. Stir in olives and cheddar cheese. Cook noodles according to pkg. directions. Place noodles on large heated platter and spoon mixture over all. 6-8 servings.

I used one cup of the TVP and had quite a big left over. My kids didn't even ask what I cooked - they just assumed it was hamburger! And at 1.68 per pound of this stuff, I'm thinking I'll be adding more to my recipes and keep my food budget down.

Do you have any good tvp recipes? If so, comment away and share!

Something New

2008-08-23T18:59:00.001-07:00

While at the Fair last Wednesday I found a local Spinners and Weavers Guild. On a whim I purchased a drop spindle. I was rushed last Wednesday (with a seven year old wanting to go on the rides, who isn't), but the lady I spoke to when I bought the spindle said I could come back and someone would teach me how to use it. I was back at the Fair today for the Make It With Wool competition that Syd was in and there was a wonderful lady who took the time to teach me to spin the wool with this spindle. This could be a good thing, or this could be a not so good thing. A good thing because I just LOVED doing this, but a not so good thing because I see myself falling in love with another hobby. My craft room is bulging at the seams as it is with craftiness. But it was soooo fun! Stay tuned...

And you wonder why you don't see more of my pictures!

My first attempt at spinning. I'm hooked!

And The Ribbon Goes To......

2008-08-20T23:32:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I stayed up late tonight waiting for my daughter to come home from the Fair. She went tonight to see how her socks did that she entered. She received a blue ribbon, as well as receiving the overall champion ribbon. I'm so proud of her!! Yes, very proud, but really, how did I do, I ask. Well, as usual I received a participant ribbon for my photograph. There are so many photos I really think I am done entering those. But, for my knitted pair of socks I received Second Place!!! And, my scrapbook page layout received Second Place as well!! Ok, that deserves a picture. Or Two. Yep, I have a smile on my face.

2008-08-19T16:46:00.001-07:00

I attended a crop last Saturday at my LSS, Treasured Memories. What a great bunch of ladies. We had a lot of fun, quite a few laughs, and I even managed to make some cards. Here is a sampling of a few of the cards I made:

The State Fair is coming

2008-08-18T12:18:00.001-07:00

The State Fair opens Wednesday. Once again, I entered a photograph, and for the first time, entered a scrapbook layout and a pair of socks. I'm hoping with three projects entered I'll have a better chance of receiving a ribbon. I'm not holding my breath, though. I've entered photos in the past and they haven't placed. I don't really care for judged events, so why am I entering? Beats me. Guess I'm still striving for a ribbon - recognition of a job well done. I'll post photos of the projects after the fair.

2008-08-13T13:06:00.001-07:00

Got back from the scrapbook retreat on Sunday. Two friends of mine and I went to Tahoe on Tuesday and stayed until Sunday. Every year we go I have big plans to get all caught up on my scrapbooks. I did manage to make 26 pages, make some cards, plus finished knitting a pair of socks, and worked on a sweater I'm making, but what I did for the most part was just relax and visit with good friends. We spoil ourselves while we're there, and we wait all year for this event. I will say that there were no bear break-ins this year! I made sure to clean out my Suburban and vacuum it well before we left. Here are some pictures of where we were, and some cards I made:

The deck - where we ate breakfast and dinner!

Our scrapbook area for five days

2008-08-01T11:27:00.001-07:00

Finished the sweater! Actually, I've had it finished for a while, but just put the buttons on it today. Same pattern as the purple sweater, only I used two colors. I rarely stray from the exact pattern instructions, so I'm feeling a little proud of myself for making even this easy change to a pattern!

Blog Candy

2008-07-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

Found this sight while up late at night surfing. Blog candy - what a great idea! I may have to try it myself. In celebration of hitting 25,000 hits on her blog, Frances is offering blog candy, and lots of it. See her blog for more info.

July Sketch Challenge

2008-07-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

I love working with sketches. A little help for my brain. This is July's sketch for our PAWS group and I wanted to share. Found this one out in cyberspace somewhere - maybe sketches by suzy?

2008-07-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

My daughter made these boxes to put the gifts (purple sweater and hat, see below) for the baby shower in. Start out with a square piece of paper, then make some folds and you've got a sweet-looking box!

2008-07-11T00:06:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am going to a baby shower for a friend of mine. She has four boys, and is finally getting her girl! I am sure I will be seeing a lot of pink at this shower. I am so excited for her. I am pretty sure she doesn't read this blog, so I am posting pictures of what I've made for her.

That clone trooper is courtesy of my little guy. I love this pattern - by 2 Knit Whits, The Baby Matinee, purchased by Jimmy Beans Wool.

A matching hat. I used Rowan All Seasons Cotton to make both the sweater and hat. It is so soft. The pattern I got from Ravelry. I've got a link to it in my notebook. Look me up - I'm stitchnscrap there.

I liked this pattern so much I am making another one. The sweater is actually more of a brownish color than the green my camera picked up.

I've been crafting - really!

2008-06-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yep, I really have been busy, just haven't blogged about it! Made one pair of socks for a dear teacher for the end of the year, and even hand dyed our own yarn with Koolaid. This was fun, and we are planning to order more yarn to make more colors. It's a hard decision, with the big stash I already have!

Diamante socks are finally finished!

Zigzag socks knit for a First Grade Teacher

Hand dyeing yarn with Koolaid

Sitting in the dye after heating in microwave

A few times in the microwave and the dye is completely soaked in to the socks.

Liked the green and orange, but it needed purple in the middle. I added that later.

The finished product! We decided to call the color "Mystery Machine."

May's PAWS sketch

2008-05-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here's the sketch our PAWS group is doing this month. I know I got it on the internet somewhere, but am not coming up with which website right now...

Scrapaganza 2008

2008-05-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day. Our local scrapbook store, TMI holds a BIG scrapbooking event every year, held the first weekend in May. On Saturday there were 126 women that attended (no men this year). I went and met them on Friday evening to help set up, then arrived early Saturday to help get ready for everyone. It's days like these that I really miss working with these great women. At 10:00 am the scrapbooking began. I had so much fun! By the time the evening ended (1:00 am Sunday) it felt like our whole room had been friends forever. In the morning breakfast was served - muffins and fruit, lunch was brought in from Pinocchio's - lasagne and salad - and for dinner we were on our own, so we went over to a nearby bar and grill. Really, I have not laughed so hard and so much in a long time. Seeing a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time was great fun, too. Getting together at times like this makes me realize that for me at least, scrapbooking is not just about creatively arranging my photos in a book; it's about friendship and the bonds we build with others who share this same passion for a craft we love. It's about creating memories to last us a lifetime. Each of us will take memories home with us that will last forever.
The perfect way to start the day - Alex O'Loughlin as Mick St. John in Moonlight

Look at all of our stuff!

Already I can't remember why I took this picture...anyone remember?

Twelve of us from our PAWS group attended Scrapaganza this year.

Yay, I'm a winner!! I won a big crop bag (I'm the one on the left).

This was taken around midnight.

2008-04-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy month! Lots of things going on, mostly family stuff that you can read about here. I did get to attend an all day crop with friends. Finished 20 pages! Sometimes I wish for the "good ole' days" of cropping a picture, maybe matting it, and slapping it on white paper, journaling, and then you were done. Seems like I spend so much time on the planning of a page by the time I get to the journaling I am just so done with that layout and want to move on. So many of my pages need journaling. I've been talking about having a get-together for just journaling for years now; maybe now is the time to really do it.

I have found something new to knit! Adam's teacher let me borrow this pattern and the size 0000 needles to make the bag. Mine is the red one with gold beads, and hers is the cream and green one. I followed the directions exactly for this bag, as it was my first one. Next time I want to make a smaller version, like the cream/green one is, and put a flap on it. This was my first attempt at knitting with beads, and I really like it. Adam's teacher is just wonderful. I am going to be so sad when he goes up a grade this summer. I will miss our weekly visits in the classroom. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher for him.

The big crop is coming up this weekend! Treasured Memories puts on this event, and as usual, Saturday's crop is sold out. My friends and I are going to the Saturday crop. We look forward to it every year. Maybe, just maybe, I'll crank out some great layouts and be able to post them here. I usually pre-plan my layouts and have them all ready to put together at the crop, but this time I haven't even ordered my pictures yet! The crop is from 10:00am - 1:00 am. LOTS of hours!

2008-04-02T21:38:00.000-07:00

Here it is, only two days into April, and I completed an April challenge from my yahoo group! The challenge was to handcut a title, and dangle something from the title. I used the Terminator Two font that came with my computer, changed it to outline, printed it and cut it out, then used a jump ring to connect the small trumpet charm that is on the last "S" in BRASS. The charm is pewter, so I spray painted it gold to match. Great band, great concert. Definitely worth scrapping a couple pages.

2008-03-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

Whew! Finished a page for the PAWS March challenge. This was a photo challenge - take a picture using a reflection. This picture is a reflection of myself. It bugged me that the word Canon on my camera was backward, so I flipped it in Photoshop. I also used a filter to make it not quite so clear. As I've said earlier, I really don't like pictures of myself. This one makes me laugh, because it's really how a lot of people, including my family, see me much of the time. I always have the camera with me taking pictures.

2008-03-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

Finished a pair of socks! Made these on a sz 2 circular. The pattern is Vog On, found on Ravelry, posted on Knitty. The yarn was a skein I bought at the Nestucca Bay Yarn in Lincoln City, Oregon. The colorway is Sunset. I really loved this yarn - no knots, nice and even. I love this pattern, too. Quick and fairly easy.

My daughter came home from school today and said she just found out that someone in her class has sheep. Sheep = wool = Mom, can you talk to his mom and see if we can get the wool from them so we can make our own yarn? Oh, I was dreading this moment. I saw it coming, and knew sooner or later we would want to try spinning our own wool. I just have no clue where to start. Maybe some of you can direct me. I just can't see spending the money to buy a spinning wheel (I'm thinking Sleeping Beauty here) much less where I'm going to put the thing. On the other hand, Syd will be moving out of the house in a year and a half.....

We're getting ready to start putting things up for sale on Etsy! I'll post the website when we have something up there. Took picture of my stitch markers this afternoon, along with those socks (foot model is mahvelous, don't you think? - it's my daughter. She obviously has small feet than me!).

2008-03-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

This is a challenge on Two Peas in a Bucket by Sophie. I took it from another blog. Here's a list of the AFI's Top 100 Films of all Time. The meme is to highlight the ones of the 100 you've seen and then add three more to the list at the bottom that you would include, then pass it on. I'm doing it here and saying to help yourself to try it on your own blog.
1. CITIZEN KANE(1942)
2. CASABLANCA (1941)
3. THE GODFATHER (1972)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
15. STAR WARS (1977)
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
18. PSYCHO (1960)
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
43. KING KONG (1933)
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48. JAWS (1975)
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
58. FANTASIA (1940)
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61. VERTIGO (1958)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
66. NETWORK (1976)
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)
68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
69. SHANE (1953)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
78. ROCKY (1976)
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
83. PLATOON (1986)
84. FARGO (1996)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
89. PATTON (1970)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
95. PULP FICTION (1994)
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
I've seen 16 of them. Some on this list I really want to see and others I don't know how they made it on the list. Three more I would add:

Mary Poppins
Miracle on 34th Street (the original)
Ladyhawke (just a personal favorite of mine)

Easter Card Swap cards

2008-03-16T23:52:00.001-07:00

I really don't think I sit down to make cards anymore unless it is for a swap. That is why I join, I think, to make me do it. Not that I'm "made" to make cards, it just forces me to sit down and take the time to do them. Then when I'm done, I'm glad I did it, and wonder why I don't make cards more often. I forget what a mess I make when making cards. Printed out a picture of the eggs from the internet. One would think that would be an easy process. It normally would be, that is if you had ink in your printer. I had them ready to go, tried printing and they came out horrible. I had two extra ink cartridges laying within inches of my printer, so silly me tried using both of them. Apparently someone had changed the ink cartridge and never bothered to throw those two away! I landed up saving them on my camera card, then printing them on my portable photo printer. These cards are nicer IRL. Didn't photograph too well. Used self adhesive cardstock for behind the egg photos - if you ever use this stuff make sure you don't forget it is self adhesive and run it through your Xyron (guess who did that - yours truly). Hey, it's late and I just got home from vacation yesterday. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

2008-03-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

I'm still on vacation and loving it! Today we went to a knitting group at a yarn store in Lincoln City, Nestucca Bay Yarn. I have never been to a knitting group/circle before. This was so much fun, and the ladies all made us feel welcome. My daughter and I only stayed an hour because we planned to meet the rest of the family to go out to dinner, but we could have stayed the other hour so easily!

This was a glass float I made at a local glass blowing shop. So fun!

Vacation!

2008-03-13T22:47:00.001-07:00

We're on vacation in "sunny" Oregon! Actually we haven't seen much sun, but we expect that at the coast. Have visited a couple of yarn stores here at the coast, and got invited to come to one of the stores knitting groups this Friday night. We're going to try to make it, but we leave early Saturday so we may not have the time. I bought this yarn at Nestucca Bay yarns in Lincoln City. I think it's made by one of the owners. Very nice yarn. Love the colorway (sunset) and it knits up well.

We may try to go to another yarn store on the way home, but we'll see how we're doing on time.

Not much else going on in the way of craftiness; we've been busy on vacationing. I've been posting daily updates on my other blog. I'm off to go play "Spy" with the kids!

Sharing the Love

2008-03-07T14:16:00.002-08:00

This past Monday I went to a gathering of fellow Fiskateers (a paper crafting community) organized by May Flaum. It was great meeting May (she is so sweet!) and meeting local Fiskateers, even seeing people I know but hadn't seen in so long. We chatted, planned to meet again, possibly for a crop, and got some great goodies - what Fiskateer love!
Tuesday my 13yo had a zone band concert held at the high school. This time she played the tuba.

Wednesday we went to see the Dallas Brass perform. The Dallas Brass consists of 6 players - trombone, tuba, french horn, two trumpet players and one percussionist. I am not a really big fan of the big band sound, so I didn't have big expectations going in to watch this. My daughter received a free ticket from her band teacher, so my mom and I decided to go with her to watch them perform. I am so glad I did. They are such a talented group. They not only played fantastically (is that a word?), but they also talked about the history of music and some of the pieces they played. Did you know Benjamin Franklin played the guitar and harp? I walked away wanting to learn how to play a brass instrument. They truly seemed to enjoy what they were doing, and had such a love for playing musical instruments, and passing that love to the kids.
Thursday I went to the high school with my 13yo to register for high school. Oh joy. This is sometimes such a difficult age. Gotta remember - share the love, share the love.
Tonight I am going to a paper recycling plant with my 6yo for a Cub Scout field trip. Tomorrow my 13yo has another drumline competition that I will be going to. Sunday we leave for vacation. Right now what really sounds good when we go on vacation is sleeping in. We'll be going up the Oregon coast. Should have lots of pictures when we return.

My "other" blog - and new challenges to scrapbook

2008-03-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

I've started a different blog. Trying to keep craftiness and personal life separate, although with me, I don't think I can separate the two. Knitting and scrapbooking ARE my personal life!

We've got a new scrapbook sketch for the month of March. It's only one page, and I didn't make another page because this one is quite busy. I'll leave the other page layout up to you.

Last night my mom, daughter and I went to a concert to see the Dallas Brass. All I can say is WOW. If you ever get the chance to see them, you need to. I'll post more about it on my other blog. But you can be sure that I am going to scrapbook this event! I plan on using this sketch to make a layout of it.

Thanks for your comments and emails - I appreciate them!

February Sketch Challenge

2008-02-24T23:42:00.000-08:00

A little late, I know, but here is the sketch my group is working on for February. My layout is half done - I'll post it when I finish.

Saturday craziness/ I'm knitting!

2008-02-24T23:07:00.000-08:00

It's after 11:00 pm, everyone has gone to bed, and I really should be headed there. I need to get to work early tomorrow, instead of my usual 8:30-8:45. The wind is whistling its warning of another storm to come. I love storms, if I don't have to drive in the snow.

Yesterday was the busiest Saturday we've had in a long time. Each of my kids had a big function on that day. Why does it usually happen like that? My oldest went to the JA formal, which was an all day event. It started out at 9:00 am getting her nails done. That same time I dropped off my 2nd oldest at her drumline practice. Then I had a class to go to at 11:00. At least I thought I did. I called ahead of time to make sure it was still on, they tried calling the instructor, didn't hear anything. I drive to the store anyway, but no instructor. I'm thinking the instructor thought someone else called me to tell me it was cancelled since I was the only one signed up for it, but no one did. So, I made envelopes instead. Then at 2:30 my oldest goes in for her appointment to get her hair done. Luckily she drives herself. At 3:00 I show up at the middle school to pick up my 13yo, and I get a call from her. Oops, there is a performance that she didn't know about. When is this performance? It's for the parents, and guess what? It's happening RIGHT NOW. I go in to the school to watch the performance, call my dh, pleeeeease pick up the cake for the dinner tonight. After the performance we hurry home to get ready for the dance. It is now 4:10 pm and the boy/young man to pick up my daughter is supposed to be there at 4:20. They get there, daughter and date drive to meet the others, while the boy's mom and I drive there to take pictures. Then it's a rush to get back to get the rest of the family to drive to my ds's Blue and Gold Scout dinner (with a Chinese New Year theme) That lasted until 8:30 and believe me, I was ready to go home. My oldest got home at 2:30 from the dance/dinner and a late night visit to Denny's with the group. Her date's dad picked them up and drove them home because we had a major snowstorm that evening. All went well.

I really was hoping to get to sleep in on Sunday morning, but knew I wouldn't. Around 12:30 pm I thought I'd just take a quick little rest on the bed. that little rest turned into 3 hours!!! Thought I was coming down with a cold, but don't feel too bad now.

I have been knitting! It is a baby blanket. It's a very easy pattern (i.e. boring), but it's mindless knitting which is sometimes nice to do. I am trying to use up some of the yarn I have stashed around here to make room for the yarn I've ordered from Jimmy Beans Wool. They had a sale going on some of their Lorna's Laces and of course I had to buy some. Loooooove Lorna's Laces. I also bought the Toothpick Optional pattern from Sharon (www.sheknitsforknitters.com). She has a podcast I love to listen to - sheknitspodcast.blogspot.com. I enjoy hers and Marly's podcasts - www.yarnthing.blogspot.com. They are both fun.

The Good Life (with Teenagers)

2008-02-15T22:38:00.000-08:00

Today I had a house full of teenagers. My daughter called from school asking if she could have a few friends over. I picked my daughter and four of her friends up from school to take to our house and play Guitar Hero. Then my other daughter came over after school with a classmate to make a movie for a school project. Yes, a house full, but it was great to hear them all laughing and having fun. Tonight my daughter had a Honor Band recital. The kids have worked so hard, and it paid off. They sounded wonderful. After the recital we went out to a late dinner. Got home around 10:15 and my 6yo was still awake, waiting for us.

I've got a February sketch picked out for my PAWS group. Thought I'd share. It's a Becky Higgins sketch.

If you make a layout with this sketch, let me know. Post a comment or email me with a link to your page.

We found Nestle!

2008-02-12T09:43:00.000-08:00

We found our puppy dog! Someone had found her on Saturday and taken her in. They even took her to their vet yesterday. Apparently they had called Animal Control, but when we went yesterday to Animal Control, there wasn't anything about her being found, or even on their website until last night. Lesson: ALWAYS check, double check, triple check, and keep checking for your lost pet. This is a reminder that there still are nice people in the world. Thank you, thank you! As soon as I let Nestle in the house this morning, the chaos with the three dogs started. Ahhh, back to normal.

Monday, Monday

2008-02-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

Just finished up my son's valentine's. He told me a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to give everyone a chocolate bar for Valentine's Day. We bought the chocolate bars, I covered 17 bars with patterned paper, made tags, and wrapped each one with a ribbon, only to have him say to me tonight that he would rather have had "Bionicles Valentine's from the store. Mom, homemade just isn't cool." Grrrrrrr. I told him everyone will love the chocolate.

Still haven't found our Nestle. I thought for sure we'd find her at Animal Control today, and when we didn't, I started to worry a little. I've been thinking positive, and still am, but I'm a little more worried than I was. Fortunately it hasn't been too cold at night, and it hasn't snowed. We still want her home.

I've Been Bitten - By The Motivation Bug

2008-02-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

Do you know how good it feels to feel creative again? Seems like I'm always thinking of things to do in my head, but to actually get some of it done requires motivation and a thought process I don't always have. Well, lately I have really been motivated to work on my projects, and I must admit, most of those projects involve scrapbooking. I've been making cards, page layouts, even organizing my craft area.

I admit that I need serious motivation when I am in a slump. I have found my motivation in an online group that was formed by my local scrapbook store. It's called PAWS - a page-a-week-society. At the beginning of the month four challenges are given out, including product, life, photography and a sketch challenge (see below). I have become one of the moderators for this group, and knowing I am responsible for getting these challenges out to everyone by the first of the month has been very positive for me. I have personally met some of these ladies, and others I have gotten to know online. I know this sounds crazy, but when I make up a sketch, then see how these women use that sketch and make wonderful page layouts, well it just gives me goose bumps - the good kind! This is a local group (Reno, NV), but if you are interested, go to http://www.treasuredmemoriesreno.com/ to learn more about this group. I love it!

Yesterday I took the kids and dogs out geocaching. The weather was gorgeous - finally a sunny day on a weekend without snow - but the ground was very muddy. We must have looked a sight - there I am driving my family Suburban on dirt roads, letting the dogs out to run. My 6yo is screaming for me to let the dogs back in; he is thinking for some strange reason that I am going to leave the dogs. My two older kids did not want to go on this "family" outing, so are sulking in their seats. We finally stop at the first place, after slipping and sliding on the mud, and putting my Suburban in to 4-wheel-drive, and I realize that it's not the right coordinates. Back we all load in to the Subby, dirt and all, and driving to another location. This time it is the right place, and once the cache was found, my kids admit that they really did enjoy it - kindof. The view was awesome there. I need to go more often.

Later that afternoon I took my DD to the scrapbook store to get some cards from a swap I participated in. Then we went home, got the rest of the family and went out to dinner. Then it's back home for a quick bathroom trip, pile the kids back in the Subby, and head to the local high school to watch the play, "Peter Pan." We got back home around 9:00 and my dh asks if I've seen one of our dogs while we were out. Apparently she played a Houdini and escaped out of the back yard. She did this by chewing through the wood on the gate and squeezing, really squeezing her way out. As of tonight we have not found her, but we are hoping Animal Services picked her up. They are closed on Sundays, but we'll be visiting them tomorrow morning. This is the second night she's been gone, and even though we have two other dogs, it seems so quiet without her here. We're thinking positive thoughts!

Valentine Card Weekend Challenge

2008-01-26T14:59:00.000-08:00

I have definitely been using my scrapbooking supplies much more than I have my knitting needles lately. There was a challenge on a message board I'm on about making Valentine's Day cards. I made some for a swap I'm in, and wanted to enter this challenge, too. Great incentive to get my cards done by this weekend, even though the swap due date isn't until February 9. Here they are:

A day of Scrapbooking

2008-01-20T20:38:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was an all day crop at a LSS. I got there about 10:30 am, and left around 9:45 pm. I am proud to say that I finished 20 pages. I had been looking forward to this crop for a while, as I had not been able to go to the last couple of crops. I really missed these friends, some of whom I don't see except for these get-togethers. I love to visit with them, but I also really like to get some serious scrapping done. This time I was able to do a little of both. These pages weren't anything super fancy, but I was glad I was able to get the pictures in the scrapbook. Now to set aside some time for journaling.

The girls went with their dad to Sacramento today. Our oldest has a feis she is competing in. She's been Irish dancing for about 8 years now, and really likes these feises. I couldn't go because of work, so I stayed home with our little guy. Last week he was telling us that he had a three day weekend, and it was because of someone's birthday who lived a really, really, really long time ago. He thinks for a moment, then says "King Arthur, King Arthur's birthday, that's who it was," meaning, of course, Martin Luther King, Jr. At least he got the King right, and it's good to have him tell us what he learned in school.

I am a part of a group of scrapbookers who are trying to get or keep caught up with their albums. Each month there is a sketch as one of the challenges. If you're interested, here's the sketch:

Not much happening in the way of knitting, but I sure am having fun using my Marly bag!

A Finished Bag

2008-01-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

I finished the Marly bag! I really like the way the bag turned out. I loved the different colors of this bag and the patterns in it, but it looked a little beyond my knitting capabilities. I went ahead and ordered the pattern, and am so glad I did! My poor husband - every ten rows or so I would be calling him to come look at the progress. Even my kids were rolling their eyes by the time I finished. Now there's another pattern of Sharon's I REALLY want - Toothpick Optional. To see the pattern's, go to Sharon's website: sheknitsforknitters.com

The house is starting to get back to normal. Most of the holiday decorations are down. Yup, still have a few to put away. The kids are back in school, a little more routine in our lives, which is what we need.

The Holiday KAL-CAL is over. I didn't win anything (pout, pout), but it was fun. I'll have to make sure to join next year.

Can you believe I don't have anything on my needles? I did get out my scrapbooking this week. I'm going to an all day crop next Saturday and want to get ready for that. I haven't ordered pictures in months, so now I'm playing catchup in ordering all the months worth of pictures I have to crop.

We got lots of snow this past weekend. Loved it. It was a wet snow, and that made great snowballs and snowmen. The kids played for quite a while out in the snow. Even the dogs liked it.

I allowed myself just a little bit of time to update my blog, and the clock is ticking. I think I am getting addicted to blogs and Ravelry, so I have to set my timer to get other things around the house done!

Busy December

2007-12-31T17:43:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday was my good friend's 50th surprise birthday party. After all the months of planning and keeping this a secret, all that hard work paid off. I really thought she was going to find out - how could she not? - but it was a total surprise to her. It was so good to see friends and family come together to celebrate with a special person. What a great feeling.

It's funny, isn't it, how sometimes you seem so busy, but when you look back it doesn't seem like there's much that's worthy of posting on a blog. Some could argue that there really isn't much of anything worthy of posting on a blog. But if it gives a little satisfaction to the writer and possibly the reader, then it's worth it, right? Add pictures into these stories, however mundane, and it spices up the story. I love pictures - most of the time. I love taking pictures, I love downloading my pictures onto my computer, I love ordering and receiving my pictures. I love to scrapbook my pictures and make them my little works of art. I do NOT love having my picture taken. Photoshop has eliminated much of my fear of seeing my own image on a print. I love to use that "Bandaid" button, and the distort button has become a close acquaintance. This is most useful for a body that has seen better days. That is why you will rarely see my picture here, unless it has been taken in the right light, the right angle, and run through Photoshop a few times!

Now on to the fun stuff. In December my husband and I took a trip to Mexico. We went with two other couples, and another friend whose wife had finals and couldn't make the trip. My husband and his brother make this trip yearly with the guys, but wanted to take the wives this year. The place we stayed is mainly a fishing resort, and is beautiful. The guys went fishing three days, I went on one of those days. I am happy to report that I did not get seasick. Alas, I caught absolutely no fish. Apparently it wasn't a good day to fish. That doesn't give much satisfaction against the fact that we prepared almost all year to go down to Mexico and go deep sea fishing, and then I catch nothing. Oh well. I did get lots of knitting done. I knit on the plane - took size 8 circular bamboo needles on the plane with no problem - I knit by the beach, I knit in my room. We went with special friends, and that is what will make the memories.

I was able to get some projects finished for Christmas. I knit the skull scarf for my daughter, and finished the vest for my son. These were fairly easy projects that knit up quickly.

Tonight we are having a little get together for New Year's Eve. A few friends and family are coming over for Bagna Calda. My cousin is in town from California and has never had it before, so we decided to make it this year for her. Tomorrow I plan on just kicking back and relaxing! We plan to go to my mom's house and knit for a while.

Have a Safe and Happy New Year!

LYS's - Naughty or Nice?

2007-11-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone? I can't believe Thanksgiving is over, and we're heading for Christmas at full speed. Two months ago I had envisioned myself at this time completely done with my holiday shopping, nearly done with all my knitting projects, even a few presents wrapped up. What a joke. I can't even seem to update my own blog on a regular basis!~

We did have a very nice Thanksgiving. But I didn't get up early to go shopping. My daughter and I went out shopping in the morning, but there just wasn't a lot on sale that we wanted.

Then it was on to our LYS to indulge ourselves in buying some yarn. Ok, before you get any further, I want to let you know that I am venting a little on this, so proceed with caution! What a surprise to find that all of their yarn was 35% off. Now, we have been going there for almost a year. We aren't there really often, but enough to where I think the owner recognizes me - and my daughter. At least she pretends to. My mom also has been going there for at least six months, even going in to work on her projects about once a week for the last month or so. Not once had we been told about this sale. If I would have known about it, I would have prepared a little better. I would have looked up projects, written down what I needed and made my shopping frenzy at least a little organized. I didn't even see it posted on their windows. One of the reasons my daughter wanted to go there was to drop off some hats she had made for charity. She likes to make them, plus it helps out her community hours she needs for Honor Society. When she gave the owner the piece of paper to sign verifying that she had dropped them off, the owner looked at her like she had never heard about it. We both got the feeling that she didn't want to take the time to sign it. I certainly didn't get the warm fuzzy feeling that I want to get when I leave a store spending money on something I don't REALLY have to have. (naughty!)

Fast forward to the next day, (today). My son had a birthday party to go to at Chuck E. Cheese, so my daughter and I decided to walk over to Jimmy Beans Wool, which was just a few stores down. Imagine our surprise when we were actually greeted with a friendly smile, and not one, but two employees actually asked us how we were doing and if we needed help. Samples galore in this store, and they even had the pattern I wanted. Ok, so I plunked down even more money than I had planned on spending, but I walked out of there with that warm fuzzy feeling I've been looking for. Don't know if this happens every day in there, but I'm willing to go back to test it out. It's quite a bit further than the other store, but way worth it. Just goes to show you how much customer service can take you. (Nice!)

I did add to my yarn stash - bought some Lorna's Lace sock yarn for making baby socks for Christmas presents, more sock yarn, and some Lorna's Lace worsted for a vest for my son. This will be my first time making a vest. I'll post pictures soon on Ravelry (look me up - stitchnscrap), and get pictures of projects on work here shortly.

Thought for now: It pays to pay it forward. If you've never done this, try it!

I really have been knitting! Felted skull scarf for daughter's Christmas gift.

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

We're home now, after a fun night of trick-or-treating. Took my youngest out with his cousins. My oldest went to a friend's house to watch movies and my middle stayed home to pass out candy. By the time my kids have kids I wonder if anyone will trick-or-treat anymore. It has changed so much from the time I was young. Used to be we were dropped off and a bunch of us went out without any parents. Now I wouldn't dream of letting them go alone at the age I went. I love seeing all the fall/Halloween decorations out, and I especially love the people who answer their door and make a big to-do over the kids' costumes. I will remember that, and I think my son will, too. Tonight he said he got so much candy because of his costume, so I'm sure he was thinking of the people who mentioned who he was dressed up as - Jengo Fett from Star Wars. Tonight I will go to bed thinking of the memories that have been made with each of my children. I always want to be with all of them on holidays, but as they grow up I know I can't. I miss that. Maybe that's why I take so many pictures, to try to capture those memories on film. When all my children have grown and left, I will still have the photos to remember these times by. I can wait for that day.

Life is Good

2007-10-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like getting Boo'd to get you into the Halloween spirit. On Monday night we found a bag of goodies left on our doorstep with a note that said "You've been Boo'd." It was so much fun to go through the goodies, and it's so nice to know that someone thought of you to deliver the goodies to. Tonight - hopefully - we are going to drop off two BOO bags to friends and neighbors. My kids have a great time with this - the only time other than Christmas that I give them the go ahead to doorbell ditch.

I have really been in a crafty mood this month! This is a good thing, but also a not so good thing. It's a good thing because I get things done. It's a not so good thing because I usually want to try out NEW crafts to do, which means I spend money at the craft stores. My newest venture is making stitch markers. I'm the kind of person who sees something cute and thinks, I can make this myself. Sure, I can make this myself, but at what price? Let me tell ya, I have certainly spent more money on supplies making these stitch markers than I would have had I just bought some on etsy. But I had fun making them, and I think they turned out ok. The larger markers fit on my size 13 needles for the bags I've been knitting from she-knits. What do you think?

On my needles I have a scarf I am making for E as a Christmas present. It's the skull scarf from knitty.com. It is knit in two parts and is felted. I have one part made, and about halfway through the other part. Yes, another Christmas present almost done!

As the weather turns cooler and the days get longer, one of my favorite things to do is get up early when everyone else is sleeping, fix myself something warm to drink, and browse through my Christmas craft books. I have a collection that I started buying back before I was even married. Some crafts/recipes I have tried, more others I have not. The books are older, but they always bring back memories for me. I am posting a recipe for a spiced tea. You can make it as is, or omit the tea for a hot drink that is still great. You can even grate a little fresh nutmet or sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. Enjoy!

Spiced Tea

2 c. Tang

2 c. sugar

1/2-1 c. instant tea

1 large pkg. powdered lemonade

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

Combine all ingredients and store in airtight container. When ready to use, put 2 tsp. or more to 1 c. boiling water.

2007-10-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today is my wedding anniversary. 20 years! When I was younger I always thought that people who were married 20 years were sooooo old. Now I am one of those "old" people! We celebrated our anniversary last weekend by taking a little out of town trip. We drove to Sacramento for the weekend. We didn't really do much in the way of going places, but it was so nice to relax and spend time just the two of us. I don't think we do that often enough,

I did get to go to a yarn shop. Filati Yarns, in Rocklin. Here locally I've only been to one store that is on the small side, which made the yarn store in Rocklin seem oh so huge to me. I kept my purchases to a minimum, but I want to come back soon, this time with my daughter who also knits. I stayed away from sock yarn because I have enough now to make several pairs of socks. They carry Koigu and Lorna's Laces, both of which I want, want, want! I bought some yarn to make another purse, and a scarf for my daughter.
I finally finished one of the Diamante socks. I had such a hard time with this pattern that I'm afraid my friend will only receive one socks for Christmas. I don't know what it was because the pattern is not that difficult, but I had a heck of a time with it. I was never so glad to finish a sock. I really want to start another sock in another pattern, but I need to force myself to finish the second one. Maybe I'll put both on hold and go on to making my next purse. I love those purses, they knit up in such a short time. Instant gratification, that's what it's all about. She-knits had a good podcast recently. It was about knitting only what you love. I guess I can apply it to my housework, too. Must be why I am on the computer right now instead of working on the ginormous pile of laundry I have. Hey, I'm doing what I enjoy, right?!
Speaking of enjoying, I LOVE Ravelry. If you're on Ravelry, look me up - I'm stitchnscrap. Like I said before, I could easily spend way too much time on the computer.
Until next time . . .knit on!

Ravelry - I'm In! - And how do you Felt?

2007-09-29T23:07:00.001-07:00

Well, after waiting since July, I have officially joined Ravelry. Now I am starting to see what all the talk has been about. The only downside I can see is spending too much time on the computer. This is going to be so much fun!

I finished my felted bag (the Pipes and Braid bag from http://www.she-knits.com/) . Now looking at it, I wonder if I should have felted it a little more. I think it will be okay though. When I ran it though the washing machine I forgot to see how long I set the cycle for. I think I went on automatic pilot and set it for how long I usually wash clothes for. I used a regular pillow case and just knotted the top, and used a hot wash, cold rinse cycle. I will say I loved this pattern. The directions were easy to understand, and it knit up so quickly.

When my daughter made pot holders last week we didn't want to put such a small amount in the washer, so I tried felting them by hand. I am not a patient person, so when it didn't work after a few minutes, I put some hot water in my Kitchen Aid bowl, stuck the potholders in it, then felted them with the Kitchen Aid, using the dough hook attachment. What can I say, it worked.

The cooler weather here is really getting me in the mood to knit. Last night it actually snowed! If that's not a sure sign to get those needles out for me, I don't know what is!

Ravelry.com - I'm almost there!

2007-09-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

When I put my name on the waiting list to get on ravelry.com, there were something like 18,000 people in front of me. Yesterday I checked to see where I was on the waiting list to get on, and there were 900+ people in front of me. This morning I checked and 445 people were in front of me. Tonight I checked and only 45 people are ahead of me. Maybe I will get invited tomorrow!!!!

Holiday KAL-CAL

2007-09-20T22:14:00.000-07:00

I have joined my first KAL. Who knew the internet could be this much fun? Anyway, I wanted to post the link to this KAL-CAL. It's put on by Marly (yarnthing) and Sharon (She-knits), both of whom have podcasts that I listen to (see their links to the right). The KAL-CAL officially starts on September 22, so if you need a little motivation to getting your holiday projects finished, sign up! Here's the link: www.holidaykalcal.blogspot.com

Musings from a parent of teenagers

2007-09-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

Somehow I seem to always be behind. I'm never caught up on my laundry, I'm forever rushing to get the kids to school, I never seem to get to bed on time to get enough sleep, and I am rarely, rarely on time to work. With life as crazy as it is, any little extra activity can really throw me off. This week was one of those "off" weeks.

It started out on Tuesday. I was taking my younger daughter to the library. As we were walking in, the wind caught her hair and I noticed something glittering on her ear. This should come as no shock to me, but she has pierced her own ear (with the help of a friend, as I find out the next day) - the upper part of her ear. I think what really gets me is she didn't tell me about it. At the point I am speechless, and all I asked her was if she sterilized the needle before she did it. We get done at the library, start to drive away and we see my dh driving toward us. He tells us that our oldest has cut her lip during her color guard practice and may need stitches. I race home - pierced ear all but forgotten - to meet dd. I am envisioning her being driven home, with a huge gash on her lip and blood gushing from the wound. But no, she drives herself home, gets out of the car with what appears to be a little cut on her lower lip. The bleeding has stopped, and I think this is great, she's going to be just fine with a little ice. then I look closer. And closer. No, this is not going to be fine with just ice. The cut is deep, we need to go to emergency.

A quick - quick, ha! - trip to the emergency room. Before rushing out the door I grab my Don't Leave Home Without It items - camera and knitting. While we waited I was able to get quite a bit done on my sock, and I got some great pictures of our trip to ER. I even got to take home tweezers and scissors home as souvenirs. Did you know they are disposable? The nurse asked if I wanted them, since they just throw them away. And to think what they are going to charge me for them. . .

The mate to this sock is what I am currently working on, and what went with me to the ER. It's a striping yarn, using a very simple sock pattern. I love this kind of pattern, since I don't have to think too much when I knit. I am knitting them as a Christmas gift for a friend who loves the Harry Potter books - Gryffindor's colors.

This started my week, but there's more. This story is going to need a post all its own.

2007-09-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

I opted for a change of pace this weekend and put my knitting down to work on this page layout. I started on Friday and finished it up this morning. Lots of inking required - much more than I usually do on a page. I was having a major scrapbook block for a while, but this page got me back on track. The patterned paper and diecut embellishments are from Bo-Bunny.

My List

2007-08-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow. It is after 10:00 pm here and the house is so quiet. All the kids are in bed and - I think - asleep. Starting tomorrow I will officially have all three kids in all day school. The last time our two oldest were in all day school I got pregnant with our youngest. It's a joke around here that I tell about our kids being in school and NO! I am not pregnant! Although if I knew I was going to have three children and was younger, I might have gone for a fourth. Five in a family is just an odd number. Think about it. Lots of rides at amusement parks are for two people. You can't pair up evenly with five. Four people fit much easier in a smaller car than five (thus the SUV we bought a few years ago). That's ok though, I love having a family of five, too.

Some of my mom's family are in town. We had a big barbeque at my mom's house last night. Two of her sisters are here and her niece. We had more family over last night, too. It was fun, but I arrived a little late because I worked at the scrapbook store yesterday. As soon as I got there it was time for dinner, and then it seemed that everyone left shortly after that. We've decided that we need to have these get-togethers on a regular basis. I've thought of having theme dinners when we get together. Any ideas out there? I'd love to hear them. This would be new to me, so I'd love any help I can get.

Before any kind of get together, though, I NEED to get my craft room organized! The craft room is now called the crap room, because it seems to be the room where all the stuff you don't know what to do with gets stuck. Yes, a lot of it is mine, so I need to get working on that. That is high on my list of things to do when the kids are at school and I have a day off. I think I'm going to work on it, and then reward myself when I'm done by spending a day at the scrapbook store and cropping all day with no interruptions.

I've started a new pair of socks - again. I'm working with a striping sock yarn by Cascade Yarns in a superwash. The colors are similar to Gryffindor's colors from the Harry Potter books/movies. I got it at my lys. I also recently bought some yarn through Etsy. It is yarn from Fearless Fibers, superwash Merino colorway Midnight Passion, which is shades of purple. I love the yarn. I I have an idea for this, but I'm not going to mention what it is because it is for Christmas and you just never know if that person might happen to lurk here! You can check out her Etsy shop at: http://www.fearlessfibers.etsy.com/ She has some delicious looking yarn. I never thought I'd say this, but I think I am getting a little sock crazy. After this pair is done I want/need to go on to something different. Something easy, something quick. Any suggestions?

On my list of things to do this week are. . . First, you should know about my list. It is a big white erase board on which the left side I write down things that need to be done around the house - basically chores. On the right side of the list I write down the things I'd like to do once the list on the left is finished. As I am finished with that chore/project, I erase it. Rarely does the whole left side get totally erased, and even more rare is the total erasure of the right side. This week on the left side of my list I will have to add working on my craft room and go through the paperwork on my computer desk (it is pushed next to my hard drive, and is slowly taking over and becoming bigger than the tower!). On the right side of the list I need to add: work on my current socks, and make at least one, and clean the scrapbook junk off of the treadmill. Even though this has the five letter word "Clean" in it, I am still putting it on the right side of my list, because believe it or not I do enjoy cleaning my scrapbook stuff. I just spend more time making it a mess than I do cleaning it. Once the treadmill is cleared, I will have to add "Exercise" to the....left side of the board.

Enjoy the last week of August!

Pictures of socks!

2007-08-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm attempting to add these pictures without the help of my kids. If all goes well the first picture is the "Spiderman" sock I'm knitting up for my 6yo. The second picture is the finished pair of jigsaw socks.

podcasts and projects

2007-08-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

What a busy week it's been! Here's a quick summary of what we've done this week: DD's oral surgery to extract wisdom teeth, picking squash, high school registration, first Cub Scout meeting, First Grade homework, picking squash and beans, 911 call for my mom (she's fine, had a heavy nosebleed), band practice, picking squash and cucumber, son learning to ride a two wheel bike. . . and did I mention we have squash?

In between that I did manage to finish my jigsaw socks! I love this yarn, the color and the way it feels. I'll take a picture and post it hopefully tomorrow. I found a pattern on the internet (www.craftown.com) for a child's sock. They are for my son and we are calling them his Spiderman socks. He picked out the yarn for this and it reminded him of Spiderman. It's a striping yarn that has black and red, yellow, green and blue stripes. It's Regia yarn 75% wool, 25% polyamide, whatever that is. It does feel rougher then what I have been working on, but once it's knit up, it's not bad.

I haven't really done much scrapbooking this week. I have been attempting to organize my craft desk a little at a time, and I do mean a little at a time. I did manage to put away most of the supplies I had taken with me to Tahoe.

Something fun I've been doing is looking up podcasts and listening to them, usually when I am knitting. I really should be listening to them while I am on the treadmill, but apparently the treadmill hasn't been calling my name loud enough to hear over the noise of our household of five. Here are a few I have been listening to: socks in the city (www.socksinthecitypodcast.blogspot.com) - Carrie talks about different yarns for knitting socks, and lots of other things pertaining to sock knitting. She also has an Etsy shop (www.etsy.com), and her store is under dharmafey. lime & violet (these gals are crazy-fun), she-knits podcast (www.she-knits.com) - seriously, she has 7 kids and finds time to knit! and sticks & string podcast (www.sticksandstring.com.au) - this is one I started listening to. I just really like the sound of his accent! Plus a guy who knits, how awesome is that!

Well, I don't have much in the way of a list on what I want to do this week. I'd love to finish those Spiderman socks. I'm working at the scrapbook store this Saturday so I may get to see what, if anything is new in the scrapbook world! I've been thinking about Christmas - you know it's only about 19 weeks away. Start making your list.

Furry Adventures in Tahoe

2007-08-06T23:17:00.000-07:00

I am back from my scrapbook retreat. We've always called it a scrapbook retreat, although it's really more like a mini vacation with friends. This year two friends and I spent five days at Lake Tahoe. It was a friend of a friend's house they let us stay in. We were close enough to the lake that we could hear the boats, and close enough that we could walk to if we wanted to, but we stayed at the house almost the whole time. This time away is just that for us. We get away from our every day schedules. We set our scrapbook stations up in the living room and leave it there until it's time to leave. We watch movies when we want to without having to worry about whether it's ok for the kids to watch. We wake up in the morning knowing that we can sleep in a little if we want to. We go to bed at night and read with the lamp on. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. We have so much fun and look forward to it every year.

This year we did have some excitement while we were there. One evening I heard what sounded like a plastic cup drop on the driveway. I looked out and the door to my SUV was wide open. I yelled and out comes what looked to me like a big blur (it was dark and I was looking through the screen door). I screamed to my friends that someone is breaking into my vehicle. Well, there we are, the three of us all wondering what to do. We should call the cops, should we go down to look at it? Hurry, lock the door! We eventually go outside on the deck and yell across to the neighbors who are outside and ask if they've seen anything. It was a bear, they tell us. I'm thinking they've had a little too much to drink, but we go along with it. When we finally venture downstairs to the driveway we look inside my Suburban. Inside we find that the console has been opened and two sets of headphones have been pulled out of it. There were two cups from Starbucks left inside and one of them is laying on the driveway, the lid is smashed on the floor of my Suburban. Later I find a bottle of Tums in the back and it's been partly chewed. There is also a sandwich bag on the ground. I remember that my kids must have left it there, conveniently eating the sandwich, but leaving the crust of it in the bag. Must've been that the bear smelled! Luckily there were only a couple of light scratches on the outside of my Suburban that I can have buffed out. Once we found out that it was a bear, we actually had a good laugh. What a night!

I did bring my socks to knit, too. I finished one sock and am close to the heel on the second. My daughter is getting them, as they fit her perfectly. I wanted to finished the 6th Harry Potter book so I can start on the 7th, but I am still reading a Patricia McKillip book that I want to finish before I start another. And, of course, I got lots of scrapbooking done. Got almost caught up with my oldest's book, and almost finished my youngest's DW album. Plus I organized my paper.

It was nice to get home to see my family. I think they even missed me a little. Now it's back to the real world. My daughter gets her wisdom teeth pulled out this Friday, so I won't be working at the scrapbook store this Saturday. Just a nice relaxing Saturday (which equals running around playing catch up on the housework in our house). I plan to get the other jigsaw sock finished this week. Next will be knitting "Spiderman" socks for my son. He picked out the color of yarn (red, dark blue, yellow, thus Spiderman), now I need to figure out how to change my sock pattern for adults, or find one. I'm fairly new to knitting socks, so it takes me a while to figure it out. I'm looking forward to knitting those.

Just a reminder, only 141 days until Christmas! That works out to about 20 weeks. It's never to early to think about that, especially if you want to make something for gifts. This year my daughter has already started a list of who she wants to make socks for. Takes after her mother, I say!

G'Night!

My Excuse For the Day

2007-07-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

It's just too hot outside. That has been my excuse all day, actually all month. My family is tired of hearing me complain about it. It is 99 degrees outside right now, and tomorrow's forecast is 102. I have not even gone outside today. It's just too hot outside.

With being indoors, I have been able to work on some knitting. I have been working on the dishcloth KAL every day. Tomorrow is the last day. I can figure out what the design is, and I just love this idea. Knitting dishcloths with only knitting and purling is so relaxing for me. It's quick so you get to see the results in a short amount of time, and it's easy so there's no frustration.

The jigsaw socks are coming along well, too. The pattern it's making is so cool, and I love this color of yarn. I've even learned how to post pictures on the blogs. Hey, guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. I am officially a member of the jigsaw sock KAL. Carrie (socksinthecity.blogspot.com) sent me a very nice email. I still am amazed at the technology these days (makes me sound so old, doesn't it). I really enjoy listening to her podcasts, and looking at her blogs. She just seems like someone I'd like as soon as I met her.

Anyway, onto the scrapbooking side of my life. I am leaving for my retreat to Tahoe in four days!!! Am I ready? Of course not. Last night I worked the midnight madness crop (6:00pm - 1:00am) at my LSS. When I scrapbook I like to prepare power layouts so everything is ready when I actually sit down to crop. Last night I brought some pages to start the power layouts. I actually got them done, but that's all. If I don't get it done today, that's ok, I'll just stay up really late the night before I leave. If nothing else in my life, I have become a pro at procrastination. That's when I do my best work - last minute.

Tomorrow we are driving to Tahoe to take our DD13 to band camp. She'll be gone until Saturday. She's really looking forward to it. Of course, as a mom, I will worry about her. Quite a few of her friends are going, so I know she'll have fun

I think I'll venture out into the hot desert, otherwise known as my back yard. Those zucchini that need to be picked are calling out my name.

Update on the knitting. . .

2007-07-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

I really love this jigsaw sock pattern. This pattern says it's a size small, and since I can't remember the last time I wore small anything, I've decided to give them to my daughter. She has been begging for them since she got home from camp on Saturday. Maybe I'll just tuck them away and make her wait for them until Christmas. The yarn I'm using - Panda Cotton, in the color Sable - is beautiful with this pattern. The only drawback with this yarn I've found is that the strands of the yarn can separate so you have to be careful they don't get separated as you are knitting - especially those knit two together stitches. I'll post pictures once I get my kids to help me figure that out.

I also started a knitalong - my first one. It's a mystery KAL. All we know is that it is going to be a dishcloth. I got the pattern for the first 9 rows today. At lunch I bought the yarn (a bright yellow), cast on (50) and knit one row (K1, P1).

It's funny, isn't it, how knitting - or any hobby - can be therapeutic as well as fun. Today my youngest started first grade. Even though I've gone through this twice before with the girls, it still gets to me. I was doing fine until he was lined up, ready to go into his classroom. The teacher had them put their lunches away, and I realized he could do this all by himself. He didn't need his Mommy's help. He was going to be gone all day long. No more Mother and son time before the girls got home from school. I certainly won't get goodbye kisses anymore from him at school, and I'll be lucky to get him to hold my hand these days. My baby is growing up. I so wanted to go home and curl up on the couch with my knitting (and Kleenex). But today is a work day, so off to work I went. I did go to the yarn store and scrapbook store today, so I got in some shopping therapy.

I'm getting ready for my scrapbook retreat coming up in a couple of weeks. This year we are going to Tahoe. I can't wait. We look forward to this every year. My friend has some friends who have a house in Tahoe and they are letting us use the house for our retreat. In the past we have stayed at condos, so this will be roomier than previous places. I cannot wait, even though I am not even ready. I still need to plan my layouts, order pictures and pack.

This week I plan to work on my socks and dishcloth, pack for the retreat and order/organize photos. This weekend we will be driving to Tahoe to drop our daughter off at band camp. I also want to buy the new Harry Potter book, but I still need to finish Book 6. Our Crickhollow book meeting is scheduled for this Friday, of which I haven't even started to read the book yet. This month's book is by Patricia McKillip - Moon Solstice, or something like that. I have the book on hold at the library. Until later !

Addicted, Obsessive Compulsive - oh my!

2007-07-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

I've recently taken up a new hobby: knitting socks. Who knew socks could be so much fun? Who knew socks could take up so much of my time?! Well, with the way I am obsessed with scrapbooking, to those who know me it should come as no surprise that this new hobby has taken over. I find myself waking up and thinking about knitting. I bring my socks to knit at work. I knit whenever I have waiting time - like at my son's dentist yesterday. I was actually happy that it took over an hour for his appointment, because that meant more knitting time for me. I bring my yarn everywhere. Heck, I even tried knitting while waiting for the light to turn green - in the driver's seat. I know - bad, bad.

This week my two oldest are at camp, and that leaves just one home. I finished a sock and actually cast on another last night. I have started listening to podcasts, and there is a really good one I like to listen to, socksinthecitypodcast.blogspot.com, and she is having a knitalong. I have emailed her to join because it sounds like fun. I have never participated in a knitalong, but the pattern for this one is more than just knitting up. There is an actual pattern to it that will challenge me. I am hoping I can keep up, and not get frustrated. Right now I am thinking that because I'm new to sock knitting I'm not ready for this pattern, but I'm gonna go for it.

Today at lunch my fortune cookie read "Don't underestimate yourself." Just what I needed today! I think I'll go work on those socks...