To finding a job closer to home, doing work I want to do.

To Shenandoah Sheep and Fiber Festival.

To Halloween with Spider Girl and the Vampire Queen (I found my camera, pictures will be procured and posted).

To getting rid of lots of clutter and getting a craft room for me.

To trying to eat right, once again, or just giving in and doing the gastric bypass.

To wrapping up the year on a positive note.

Michelle had her baby! Yay!

I got a package, but since I still haven’t found the digital camera, there won’t be any pics until I do. Little bit of everything in this package.

Inside, I found:

• 2 rolls of Lifesaver ButterRums – yum. The trick is to make them last.
• 1 ball Patons Bumble Bee in lime green – cotton dk weight, but machine washable
• 1 ball Bernat Miami in sky blue – looks like tube cotton, and it may go well with the stuff from Stitches
• 1 ball Berroco Candy FX in pink/white mix – this is a knit along, so while I like the looks on the ball, I gotta find something to use this with
• 1 ball Berroco Plush in Pink – very, very soft. I almost like this in the ball too much to make something.
• 1 supersize ball Sugar n Creme in Over the Rainbow (mix of fuschia, yellow, lime, orange, white) – Not my usual color mix, but I like the way these go together. I never would have bought this myself, but I think I’ll enjoy making something with this.
• 2 balls Bernat Handicrafter cotton, same color name and scheme – I just finished making a dishcloth with one of the previous Bernat balls she sent me, so all three of these may make a nice set to give to someone. The texture difference between the two brands is slight, but there.
• 2 balls Cascade Pearls (in another bright mix (fuschia, aqua, lavender) – I’ve recently been acquainted with Cascade Yarns, so this is good quality. This is a boucle type yarn.
• 2 balls Schaechenmayr nomotto Rainbow in lavender – this is a worsted cotton yarn, wrapped with a variegated single strand of rainbow cotton. Interesting. This will definitely be an interesting knit.
• 2 balls Wendy Shimmer, in purple – girls loved this one the best. It’s a feathery novelty yarn. It looks good next to the Candy FX, since they’re both metallic. This will prolly become a doll blanket or something for the girls.

My design juices are flowing, and my fingers are itching, but I need to finish Ellen’s sweater, and Cailin’s green sweater first before I tackle any other time intensive project. Now, to add all these into Ravelry, and see what others have done with them – the biggest feature of Ravelry, IMHO.

So, yesterday, I parked the littel monst– girls, and waved at the husband, and took off to Baltimore to Stitches East. Just for one day, to check out the vendors.

Takeaway – knitters need big wallets. Seriously. Yes, it was all nice, and custom dyed, and fantastic quality, and almost nothing machine washable (other than superwash wool, which we all know I can’t touch). So, I saw some knitting gurus – I spotted Lily Chin there, and I bought a book from the Cabin Fever ladies, but other than that, I had to shop real hard to justify any other purchase.

I did buy 10 balls of Lucci tube cotton – 4 bucks a ball. This was a low price booth – the manufacturer/distributor booth. White and mint green, 5 each. Prolly a layette set for the boss, or a spring time thing for a monst– girl.

And I had to pay 9 bucks just for the priviledge of entering the market, and 20 bucks to park. And 5 bucks for a pretzel and a 20 oz bottle of diet soda.

Takeaway – I’d rather spend my money on machine-washable, affordable yarn, than the good stuff. I’d prefer my stuff to get used, not put away. But hey, that’s just me. I’ll just stick to Lion Brand, and whatever’s on sale, thanks (except Vanna’s Choice. Don’t like the feel or the colors).

Michelle’s water broke. My prayers are with her and her hubs and babetko.

4yr old got three shots at yesterday’s checkup - the umbilical cord has retracted somewhat. With this one, it was never quite cut. I have my own personal Clingon.  So, this will be a frustrating weekend.

I still haven’t located the camera, so maybe today.

That was what I asked myself when my favorite blogger went off line for nearly two weeks. I mean, even to post something saying she was taking some time off?

Of course, over the last two weeks, I’ve had the same difficulty posting – not necessarily due to lack of something to say, but finding the time to say it right – with pictures and everything.

So, I’ve decided to stop being the hypocrite, and stop being the perfectionist and just post – even if I don’t have the pretty pictures downloaded from the camera and ready to go.

Here goes:

The in-laws just left after a week’s visit. They’re great. I love them, but it’s nice to have my home back to myself (so to speak). Really, they’re wonderful. They both clean (I’m not quite the world’s worst housekeeper, but they may think so), she cooks, and they both dote on the little monst–, uhm, girls.

Of course, I get a head cold last week, that this week is trying to migrate into my chest. And I don’t have Columbus day off, with this new job, so I’ll be dropping you know who off at my mother’s.

I’ve made progress on Ellen’s Surprise, and Holly’s Custom Sweater (Light blue with up and down white stripes). I’ve started and ripped and started Cara’s Matrix Thing.

I’ve watched all my shows from last week – Bones, NCIS, Bionic Woman, CSI, Numbers, and Cold Case. I started Munich – about 45 minutes. I finished Highlander: the Source. Ugh. I was never a fan of Duncan McCloud.

Next time, I promise to have pictures. Gotta go wake 5.5 yr old, and dress us all, and head out.

Well, I had a vested interest in this update, since I grew up with the originals. In fact, COL Steve Austin was my first intended fiance. So I Tivo’d, then I watched as soon as I could.

The characters have been updated to reflect today’s American culture, and have their own conflicts. Jamie has to take care of a younger teenage sister, obviously not without some conflicts. And there’s this guy, a genius professor.

Then the car accident, and “THE CHANGE”. And yes, I jumped at the car accident. Hollywood’s getting good at these surprise things. It was scary.

The bad guys are a mix of stereotypes and updates. I liked Mark Sheppard as the bad father (and inventor of the technology) of the genius professor. But then, I’ve liked Mark since SOF.

They set up Jamie as a reluctant operative, which is interesting, and similar to the original, either dropping or replacing the memory loss story line all together.

Pilot Pronouncement – it will go on the TIVO list.

What a week it’s been. We had an intense time at the beach, then came back to the week not quite from heck, but from somewhere pretty close. So now I’m finally mentally and physically ready to resume blogging. Unfortunately, I haven’t any pictures for you, yet, but I’ll get back into that soon.

Below is a list of all the stuff I have in the works in various stages more solid than dreaming about.

Knitting Projects Currently On The Needles:

• Green Sweater for 5.5 yr old (needs one sleeve, and body)
• Christmas Sweater (not those colors) for 18 yr old
• Kittyville hat for Youngest Sister (by request)
• Not a Kelly for Me
• Various Dishrag / swatching

Knitting Projects Soon To Be Cast On

• Tank/Tee for Middle Sister
• Sweater for 4 yr old
• Sweater for Cousin 4 yr old (by request)

Knitting Projects Being Planned

• Layette for BOSS (due Jan 1 – Baby’s Due Jan 15, gender unknown)
• Layette for Youngest Sister (due Feb 1 – Baby’s Due Feb 14, male)

Website Projects In the Pipeline

• Updates to this site
• Writeaholic resurrection
• Codemom deployment

Writing Projects In my Head

• Divine Right to Rule (exploring a physical manifestation of this belief)
• Magic Tigers
• Warriors

Okay, it’s a Kia Sedona, but still….

We’re headed to Ocean City MD right after work tomorrow, but I’ve packed the knitting and the digital camera. We’ll be back Sunday evening, so I should post either then or first thing Monday.

Have a good weekend!

My second layette – well, at least the sweater and blankie – have been completed.

The frills remind me of Sigmund and the Seamonsters, but my mother gushed, so I guess they’re cute enough.

I personalized the blankie, but this time with duplicate stitch.

It’s more of a throw, or a breastfeeding cover, but this yarn – Bernat Baby Coordinates (mill end equivalent) – got heavy. I used a double strand on the blankie, and it started stretching too much from the weight of the yarn. I have tons of this stuff. I’m real quick doing some booties in white, with frills, then it will be ready to send to my sister’s friend.