Softly Spoken

Monday "Mouring"

2011-06-13T13:30:00.000-04:00

I know this is kind of a weird first post back, but I got such joy from this that I just had to share... sorry for the horrible picture quality, but... it is what it is.

Today is the second Monday of the month, and that means that Keith came this morning. While I gripe and complain about this frequently, I have to say that the man makes me smile. I just walked downstairs about half an hour ago, and actually giggled at what I saw.

Yeah, I know... it's terrible that I get such joy out of a spider hanging from the top of the porch. I did walk around the side and found these two lurking around, but they will soon be dead. :-D

On another note, Lilo likes me (today anyway)... It may have something to do with me keeping my window open (okay, I bribed her in here, but still- she's happily sleeping in here and not growling.)

Wheeliversary!

2011-02-23T09:20:00.001-05:00

It's our first wheeliversary! Last year, on the last day of my spinning classes, I brought Fiwyn home. We haven't done as much as I would have liked, but I've gotten WAY more done than I had with my spindles. We're talking finished skeins long enough to knit something with. I've got the day off, so I'm hoping to spend some time with her.

Never did I think when I began to knit, that I would wind up owning a spinning wheel. This year I am taking up dyeing, and I'm terribly excited about it! I'm off to spend some time with my fiber~

Carded Stuff

2011-02-16T13:13:00.001-05:00

Note to say sorry I changed the look again! I just get kind of ADD, and these sunny days are putting me in a really good mood, and this layout seems to fit it right now. That is all~
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Yeah, really catchy title, I know, but I couldn't think of anything else for the moment.

On a recent trip to Chattanooga, we stumbled upon a bookstore, but this wasn't just any bookstore. The lady, Polly, has the most incredible stash of books and fiber I have ever seen. She has (from what I saw) at least 7-9 wheels out in her store. We went in originally because... well it's a book store, you seriously can't pass that up, and some of our group was a little cold, and they wanted some hats and scarves, and as we passed the window, we saw some and felt hopeful. I will admit right now, I didn't look at a single book. We were in there for a good hour and a half, and while the rest of our crew was looking through books, I spoke with Polly about fiber, and she kindly took me through her store and showed me where she did her dying, spinning, and some weaving as well. She has a wealth of knowledge as well. Her family has made toys and puppets for years and she has some of her puppets on display at the Smithsonian in the Museum of Folklore History. She ended up selling that side of her business to her sister and got into books. I don't know how long she has been in the fiber business, but she apparently does very well. Anyway, she has had shoulder problems and has been looking into getting an electric drum carder to replace the hand-turned carder that she had. On this particular morning, I had been speaking to my mom about wanting a drum carder, but figured it would be a while before I could get one, so after Polly offered me a good price, I told Mom that I found my birthday present (she had been asking what I wanted, so we went in half together on it.) I'm soooo excited. I was kind of freaking out about having to hand card all of the alpaca that I've been washing, so this is going to cut down on it so much! Here is what it looks like.

This is Tip of the Iceberg which what really made me start wanting a drum carder because I was having trouble getting it to blend...
It was originally like this :

And now, it looks like this:

What it looked like on the carder:

And I'm also working on Trinity, but only have one batt done for now:

Both of these were created with wool roving that had some Merino, Lincoln Longwool, Ingeo, Mill Ends, Soy Silk, Firestar & Angelina, and I blended them with viscose, which is basically tree pulp chemically altered; it's really soft, like bamboo, so I'm hoping that these spin up nicely. Since the fiber had already been prepared, I only had to put these through the carder once, so it didn't cause a lot of blending, which is what I was aiming for. I did layer it so that the colors are not the same on every level though.

That's enough for now. I'm going to go knit for a while. I'd like to spin some today as well, but it's so nice I don't want to be crammed in the basement where I can't see any sunlight!

Laying Out a Fleece... No, Seriously...

2011-02-13T15:10:00.000-05:00

I had a recent ~~threat~~ request to update my blog from the lovely Ashlee, so I figured that I would go ahead and post this since it has been sitting in draft mode for a few weeks now...

Fiber-talk Advisory: This post contains fiber lingo which may confuse those who don't spin or process fiber. It's going to be kind of long and tedious, and I'm doing it more for me, so if you get bored or confused, I understand.

2:20 p.m.-- I'm washing some alpaca today (and just got the idea that it might be smart to take pics so you can see.) I'm incredibly scared that I'm going to felt it by accident, so I started out with a VERY small amount... I'll update as I go while I'm waiting for it....

Here it is during its first soak I've got 20 minutes for it to stay in there and then it goes in for another round with the suds. After that, it gets "rinsed" with vinegar water, and I may take soak it one more time with water and lavender essential oil. Lavender helps keep the moths away, and I don't want my alpaca smelling like vinegar:

The process of washing a fleece is called scouring, but it isn't what it sounds like. Its a very gentle process. You can't agitate the fleece or it will felt. You soak it in a grease-cutting soap like Dawn, or you can treat it like hair (since it pretty much is) and use shampoo, which is what I am doing today. Were I cleaning a fleece from a sheep, I would probably use Dawn, but since alpaca has no lanolin I'm using some shampoo.

2:53 p.m.-- :-S I just got it back in for its second scouring, and I'm terrified! I'll have no clue if I've felted this until the end I guess. I'm glad I did a very small amount, just to see how it goes. I'm seriously considering getting some rubber gloves for later because this hot water is about to kill my hands.

3:24 p.m.-- First rinse now in session. I'm not as scared since I watched some youtube videos. I'm thinking that handling the fleece carefully is being a little overdone by myself. They push it down into the water carefully, but not at the rate of a turtle stuck in superglue. You just push it down and walk away. I hope. I guess we will know in a little bit. I read where a person said that when they are doing small amounts of alpaca, they will use a blow dryer to get it done quicker, so I brought mine down since this is such a small amount and since I'm freaking out about it.

3:44 p.m.-- Last rinse! This fleece really isn't that dirty, so I think for the rest of it, I will only do one cleaning and two rinses, unless the water ends up being really dirty. After I spin this, I will wash it again anyway.

7:12 p.m.-- I've been done with the first round for a while now, and now a second larger batch is on the way.

10:10 p.m.-- The second batch is finished, and there is one more round to do.

Now it's February 13! I've washed some of the grey alpaca since I finished the white, and I'm not so scared anymore... my next challenge will be dying, but that will be a while. For those of you who don't know, I got my birthday present early, and I am so excited!!! I was going to be hand carding fiber, and it was going to take FOREVER, but on a recent trip (which I will share later) we stumbled upon a drum carder (that too will be explained in another post.) Anyway, enough for now, I will post some finished fleece pics later.

No Time Like Snow Time

2011-01-14T13:47:00.002-05:00

Yeah, yeah. I hear ya. The title is cheesy! But I'd like to share some of the snow adventures over the past couple of weeks. I'm getting cabin fever, so please forgive me.

First, I will share some more spinning that is winter inspired. I've named this one Tip of the Iceberg (thank you Owl City for the name inspiration.) This is just a sample because I wanted to make sure that I liked what I was doing with it. I'm using the Navajo ply method on this one too. I really like the way it looks. I need to figure out if this is what I want to do with the cream alpaca that I have for the baby blanket. I'd really like to 2-ply it though so that I can get more yardage. I'll figure that out later... On with the picture show:

I loved how the picture picked up some of the sparkle in the snow!

I took Lilo out with me while I was photographing this, and I don't think she really knew what to think. I took her out the other day, and she always looks kind of scared...

What's that sound?!

Mom, GET ME OUT OF HERE!

She's so cute!

Now she's ready to get off of the harness... too bad, Lil!

She decided to check out what is left of Heliotrope (my snow woman that I will show you later... that's what the new yarn was modeled on.)

I guess she decided she liked it since she marked it... now there's a dent in it. Ah well, it had to go sometime!

Here is what Helio looked like to begin with:

I used raisins for her eyes and a craisin for her mouth. The hair is two of my purple hair extensions. I said that she had a hoopskirt on. I think she's cute.

I figure that I should give an update on Keelee. Right now her arm is unbound and she's staying in her cage most of the time. She wants out sooooo bad! We do let her out some, but have to keep an eye on her. Dr. Q wants her to strengthen the lower part of her arm where she had been dragging it around for weeks. We still don't know if she will be able to keep it, but with or without the arm, she's gonna be a bullet. She is so funny. She attacks Lilo all of the time, and I know Lil is happy to have a friend with as much energy as she has. I find Lilo sitting next to Keelee's cage quite often when I go into my office to work. Keelee has been climbing her cage walls, but she's really doing well for being pinned up almost all of the time. Here are before and after pictures of her from when we first got her to recently (I think that this pic was taken about a week ago.):

She's gotten so big, and her fur looks so much better. Since being back in the cage all of the time, it looks a little more greasy, but that's what happens when you have to lie around. I don't know if you can tell, but the arm that she has out in front is the one that's broken, and it looks weaker than the other one. She gets really finicky when you try to touch it, but she walks on it pretty well, and she runs around on it too. It's really the bottom part that looks funny because it looks all rubbery when she's swinging it at Lilo. Mom and I wanted to see what she would do out in the snow last night, so we took her out on the back porch and put her down on the step and she ran back to the door and ran into it... poor thing! I think she thought we were going to leave her out there.

I've got some work I want to get done, but wanted to drop in for a bit.... Happy snow-melting day!

Leah, Just Sit Down and Zip it for a Bit!

2011-01-13T01:33:00.001-05:00

As most of you know, we had a "college" (most of us our out of college or in grad school by now, but there were some still in it, and saying college-twentyish-working-young people can get a bit long-winded) retreat this weekend. I have to selfishly admit that I really, really liked having a super-small group. I'm not necessarily the best person at being open, and I tend to have trouble getting my thoughts across in spoken word, but God knows what I'm thinking.

God frequently has to remind me of things that I already know, but one that He had to pound back into my head this weekend is that the Bible is about God. I mean, duh! But what Chris was saying this weekend is so true, everything we read in His Word, we take and immediately try to apply it to our own lives, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't apply His Word to our lives, but God wants us to see Him. God wants us to know Him. I have had some trouble with this concept over the past year (apparently) because I literally remember times that I've been sitting there reading the Bible and wondering, "What in the world is this telling me to do?!"

This brings up the other "duh moment" that God is exposing, and He brings this one up quite frequently... I've got to start listening to Him. I can talk, talk, talk all I want, but what good will it do unless I listen? It makes me think of when I was younger, and it was so much simpler to do this, and I had this image of us just being frantic. Here's the picture: Pacing back and forth, hair in a disarray, eyes all glazed over like there have been one too many cups of coffee, speaking like an inventor that just figured out the right formula... "God, what should I do? Do you think that this one is right? How about this one? Maybe if I just do this... okay I'll try that and if it doesn't work I'll come back and tell You about it (like I can tell Him about anything!), and then I'll think of something else and let you know what I think." and then we walk off and God's standing there with His mouth open ready to tell us, and we have walked off without even trying to listen. At least that's what I do a lot of the time anyway.

I give myself way too much credit for trying to do what He wants me to, but do I really know? I can do all kinds of good, but it doesn't mean that He wants ME to do that. First, I've got to stop running around with my ears stopped up and listen. Maybe I don't because I'm scared of what He will say, but it goes back to the first predicament in this post, I know God. He is a loving, just, and perfect God. He is my Savior and my Creator. He has told me that the path will not be easy all of the time, in fact, it will more than likely be very hard at times, but He has put me here because He wanted to, not because He needed to, and for that I think I need to hear Him out a lot more often than I do.

It's late here, so if something isn't clear, please feel free to comment on it :-)

Bohemia!

2011-01-11T15:23:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd add some spice to the snow day, and I decided to spin! (or finish some spinning anyway!) I came out with about 45 yards of Bohemia (I have no clue what I'm going to do with it either!) It is now soaking in the tub with this yarn (I know, it's about time that one was soaked!)

I used the Navajo ply method, and I have to admit that I wanted to ply this with a thread so that I could get more yardage, but I really needed to practice this plying method because I haven't used it in a long time, and I wanted to make sure that I hadn't forgotten it. I've been thinking about using it on Autumn Watercolors and wanted to get some practice in before I did it. I think I'm finally out of my spinning/kitting block. I really missed it, but every time I sat down to it, I'd just mess it up.

Well, I've got to go see if the yarn needs another rinse! Hopefully I will update again soon!

Knitting Woes

2010-12-09T11:59:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in forever because I've been busy, but I thought I would share a few of my interesting knitting moments.

This was on my Michaela shawl/scarf/stole thingy... this was as far as I got...

Here are my notes from Rav:

6/16/09-- On row six; wondering why black is my favorite color? Not only is it hard to see what stitches I am doing (unless I turn ALL of my lights on), but I own cats… enough said. Hopefully I am on the right row… I kinda forgot and took a stab in the dark. Didn’t cast on the same amount of stitches as it was in the pattern… Just the “multiple of 17+2.” So hopefully this will all work out! :-S Also, I am using aluminum needles… ouch! I miss my bamboo and rosewood! I can just see me breaking a size 3 bamboo needle though! Mmk… back to work!

6/20- Frogging--- gonna rip it out and try again with the stitch amount that it says to use… wish I’d seen that ahead of time, but at least now I can use my KnitPicks circulars…

7/21- A month later and I am just starting this back up… well, lets see how it goes… Why am I starting this at one in the morning? Someone tell me why I do this to myself?! At least I have my wooden KnitPicks this time! To continue I must tell myself “Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” Until one or the other… I’m out~

7/27- I’m really starting to wonder if this thing is meant to be… maybe it’s the color. Dummy that I am did not count the stitches after I finished casting on. I thought I had the right number, but you know how you can get all distracted. Well, anyway, long story short, I wound up with two extra stitches at the end of the second row and had to rip everything back out. Gurgles That is exactly what I get for casting on at 1 a.m. Shame… Perhaps next time I will count my stitches after I think I have them all on. Weeps bitterly into pillow “I hate casting on!”

9/08- Yeah, I just decided to forget this for right now. I think I will come back to it with another yarn later, but it was just getting way too stressful, and it seems that life does not want me to continue on this for now. So, instead of begrudging my time in this manner, I will work on something else!

My first DPN project (preemie hat)...

I can't get the pic for this one to come up right now, but trust me, it really didn't get that far... here's the story:

Oh self-taught knitter I am, I feel behind in the game. People who have been knitting for only a few months have been knitting in the round already, but I am just learning.To be fair, I have to say 1) I have only been knitting for 8-ish months, and 2) I did also teach myself to spin in the past 5 months, so in all actuality I have done/learned a lot. Okay, enough chit chat… time to work on the rounds some more!

This is my first project knitting in the round, so I am a bit nervous! I have pretty much no clue what I am doing so I am watching a bunch of vids and reading a lot of books!

12/25/09- Can we just say “FAIL” for this first attempt? It just doesn’t seem to be working right, and then when I decided that I would try and do something with it, I messed it up some how. But never fear, I will learn... later!

As for my knitting right now... Not much has been happening lately. I've just had too much to do, and by the time I have free-time, I'm ready to sleep! I am hoping to get back to it soon... and my spinning as well. Hopefully my hands will start working again... more on that some other time~

A Family Heirloom

2010-10-25T16:32:00.000-04:00

This is a rolling pin given to my mom from my great-great aunt Mary Ruth. I remember using it as a child in the kitchen with my mom. As I grew up I learned a little more about it. This was originally my great-great-great grandmother's rolling pin. There was a note to go along with it explaining the history, so I will post that photo as well, you can click on it to get a closer view.

You have to understand while reading this note that my Aunt Mary Ruth was quite the spitfire, and she was her entire life from what I have heard and what I remember. I remember times when my grandmother has talked about her grandmother, Sarah Mae, and how she remembered how great of a cook she was. She also mentioned that she made her sit in one place close to the door because she didn't want her house messed up. She was apparently a pretty strict lady. We also have a sifter from my great grandmother, and that is something I use weekly. I suppose once I start making more biscuits I'll use the rolling pin more often. To know that I am holding a piece of history used over 200 years ago is pretty amazing!

A Whole Week Off!

2010-10-17T16:15:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to write a blog... because I can... and because I miss everyone. I know, I know, I saw you all most of yesterday, and most of you I saw only a few hours ago, but you're incredible people, and I thank God that He has put you all in my life. You've taught me so much and made me family. I love you all!

I've got this next week off, and I'm really excited! I'm going to try my hand at making bread... I'm still not sure if I want to do sourdough or wheat, but I'll have the ingredients for both, so I guess I can figure it out when I get to it.

I'm hoping to clean out my closets this week (ugh!), and get my room in order. Just pray that I realize the things that I need to get rid of. I am always like... what if I need this for some reason?!?! I need someone to say... "Leah, you don't!" I think I'll do the whole, "Have you used it in the past 6 months?" thing. I should probably go through my clothes too.

I get to see my lovely cousins this week because of Fall Break. Yay! Rachel and I are going to have lunch at our grandparents tomorrow, and Beth comes home on Thursday or Friday... I think the three of us are going to have a girls-night on Friday. Then on Saturday, we are going to have dinner at my grandparents. I love my family :-D

Okay, I've got to work on knitting... and maybe a little spinning.

Lata~

Blueberry Muffins

2010-10-05T13:17:00.001-04:00

The cold (sort of) weather is upon us, and that means that my usual foodie-self goes into overdrive. I start wanting to make warm, tasty things, so this morning, I decided to make muffins. Blueberry cream cheese muffins to be exact.

I used some of the blueberries that we picked this past summer and froze, and their flavor is still great!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
3 c All-purpose flour
1 tbsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/8 tsp Salt
1/2 c Milk
1/2 c Sour cream
1/2 block (of an 8 oz) Cream cheese (softened)
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 c (1 stick) Butter (softened)
1 c Firmly packed light brown sugar
2 Large eggs
2 c Blueberries
Cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on the top

*Note: With the cream cheese and butter, before I put the rest of the ingredients into the bowl, I whip them with the mixer to make sure they are soft enough.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400* F. Line muffin pan with paper muffin cups... (or spray the pan... my muffins tend to break if I don't use cups.)

2. On a sheet of waxed paper (or into a bowl) sift together 2 3/4 c flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a small bowl, blend the milk, sour cream, cream cheese, and vanilla.

4. In a large bowl, with electric mixer on high speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy. On slow speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until well-blended.

5. In a small bowl, combine the blueberries with the remaining 1/4 c flour. Carefully fold the blueberries into the batter.

6. Divide the batter among the muffin cups, and sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.

7. Bake the muffins 18-20 min.

8. EAT!

I think I could have put a little more brown sugar in, but it doesn't really need it.

Happy Tuesday~

Autumn Watercolors

2010-09-30T10:06:00.000-04:00

In honor of the last day of September 2010, I chose to write a blog. If you think it's going to be something ingenious... it isn't. Just my usual, but with a hint of Autumn thrown into the mix. This is a colorway called Japanese Maple, and it is from Butterfly Girl Designs. It is made up of 70% Merino wool, 20% bamboo, and 10% nylon firestar. I'm spinning it into what I think will become a 2 ply lace weight, but it may end up being closer to baby or fingering weight, one day I will achieve lace!

I'm thinking of renaming it since it reminds me so much of Fall (okay, I just renamed it while I was writing this... it's now Autumn Watercolors). Here are just a few things it brings to my mind: a cornucopia, pumpkins, mums (they're so festive), there's a hint of red that I suppose would be considered almost amaranth (this is according to wikipedias color scale of reds); anyway, it reminds me of candy apples (which I've actually never had but would like to try, as long as I don't break my teeth.) With the green in there, looking at the batt as a whole, it reminds me of some of the beautiful Fall's that we have had in the past. I wish that we could have one this year, but we already have leaves falling off of our trees.

Off on one of my wild ADD tangents, fall puts me into the mood to watch Charlie Brown. That's my favorite comic... Garfield comes next. I guess fall just brings back all of the childhood memories. A time for reflection. A time when you do things indoors (of course, I do things indoors all of the time, I only wish I was a nature buff.) It's such a delightful season.

Sorry, I had to take that last pic with a flash. Boo for flashes!

So, what's your favorite season?

Spinning Today

2010-09-18T16:43:00.001-04:00

I finished plying my black and gray alpaca, and all I have left to do is wash it and let it dry. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

It came out to about 143 yards and about 2 ounces. I haven't weighed it yet, but it might be a little different after I set the twist.

That's about all... unless you want to know that I got a humidifier for my room, but you don't really want to know that, do you? Whether you did or not, now you do. :-D Happy Saturday everyone!

Things I Like

2010-09-17T00:52:00.001-04:00

A little maintenance first: I will not tolerate hostile behavior. Any underhanded, pernicious remarks unrelated to my posts will be deleted, and no answer will be given. For this reason, I will be moderating all future comments. I do believe that our words can be more deadly weapons than those that we physically handle.

Thank you. Sorry for any snarkiness that may have come across. I hate to do it, but this will be reposted on my profile.

On with my post.

I was in the car the other day, and I was thinking about all of the things that I like about fall, and I decided that I wanted to make a list of the things I like. I'm ADD and I enjoy doing things like that, so I am going to share them with you.These are in no particular order, and you have to understand that these are things I like, not necessarily the things I love (though a few of them are.)

I like:

1. Fall- The scents, the colors, the activities. All of it is just wonderful!
2. Rain on a tin roof.
3. Spinning... Wool, silk, bamboo. I like trying anything, and I adore my wheel!
4. Laughing... actually, this one I love as well. I really enjoy those times that I can be with friends and I can laugh so hard at something that it's difficult to breathe. You have tears streaming down your face, and it's just great! My throat is always sore the next day, but it's so worth it.
5. My cat (I love her too.)
6. Watching a meteor shower. (Really, looking at stars in general, but the meteor shower is a perk.)
7. Singing.
8. Sitting outside next to a fire when it's cold.
9. Thunderstorms (Like the one we had tonight!)
10. Silence.
11. Evening sun on a grassy meadow.
12. Playing my guitars (one at a time of course!)
13. Spending time with people I love.
14. Food (the cooking and eating of it.)
15. Nighttime.
16. Getting dressed up for special occasions (and sometimes just because I can.)
17. Watching people (not in a stalkerish way!) I just find people fascinating. We all have our quirks.
18. Candles.
19. Reading.
20. Knitting.
21. Making and writing cards. ( I really need to get back into this)
22. Helping people.
23. My gun.
24. Learning.
25. Dancing (only the stuff that the Willi have taught me!)
26. Art museums
27. Naming inanimate objects (Nate, this one is for you!)
28. Trying new things (most of the time!)
29. Bollywood dancing (only as an exercise with no one else around!)
30. Mountains
31. Writing.
32. Winter clothes (they're more fancy... Kasie, we were just talking about this tonight!)
33. Seeing beautiful craftsmanship.
34. Walking along the beach (sometimes looking for sharks teeth.)
35. Looking at snow sparkling in the moonlight.
36. The scent of cinnamon (especially mixed with apple.)
37. High heels.
38. Coffee.
39. Listening to good music (I like pretty much anything except most Country.)
40. Pretending that I take good photographs.
41. Angora rabbits.
42. My job.
43. Where I live.
44. Victorian-Gothic style. (This would be clothing and architecture.)
45. Playing cards.
46. Peppermint gum.
47. Traveling. (But I really do like to be home.)
48. The scent of rain and snow.
49. Hiking to a waterfall (particularly Margarette Falls.)
50. This year... 2010 has been a pretty great year. Nothing extravagant has happened (though we do have a few months left), but I've enjoyed it!

Alright, better stop there because this thing has gotten really long. Night all~

Lite-Brite Goes Cowl

2010-09-14T14:40:00.000-04:00

Light-Brite decided to turn into a cowl. This is just one of the four batts. I don't know if I will need to spin another one up to complete this, but I think it's gonna be lovely. I wanted a stitch pattern simple enough that all it did was show off the yarn, but I didn't want it to be too knit one row, purl one row, so I am going to kill my wrists with a truffle stitch, also known as a double moss stitch. All I have to do is know what row I'm on and other than that I don't have to look at the pattern, you have two rows that are k1, p1 and two rows that are p1, k1. Easy!

Here it is so far:

It will be blocked when it is finished, so it won't be so small, and the way it stays around your neck on this one is not with buttons, but with a pretty silky ribbon, all laced up like a corset. Gee, wonder why I like it. ;-)

The other project I've really been working on in the past couple of weeks has been my Espresso Gauntlets, and all I have left to do on this one is bind it off and weave in the ends, then I can start on the second one. These things work up quickly. I really like knitting in the round. I need to learn magic loop, but I do like my DPNs. Anyway, here it is for those who haven't seen it:

I did do something a little wonky when I was knitting back and forth for the thumb hole, but I don't care... I made them for me, and they are warm.

Yep, I Was Lazy

2010-09-13T14:13:00.000-04:00

To continue from my last post... I got all caught up in life and didn't really get anything done in TdF. But here is what it looks like right now :-D

I'm very happy with how it has come out. Just so that you can see the black and gray/grey better, here is a closeup of the twist:

I also finished plying the rest of that bobbin of Juicy, but I don't have pics of it. I got another 106 yards of that, and I have about 2 ounces of roving left to spin.

I am hopefully going to be blogging more as the summer comes to a close. YAY! I love fall and winter. They're just so... tranquil. The air has that bite, there's a distinct scent of fall (which at times can make me stuffy, but I love it nonetheless), and everything goes into that resting state.

Here is one of my fall inspirations to close with; the color-blend is Burning Leaves:

Tribute/Gunny TDF (Day 2):

2010-07-05T14:43:00.000-04:00

Well, what I had hoped to accomplish on the first day isn't done yet. I do hope to finish this evening/afternoon. I do have to go pick up some work, but that takes all of half an hour; therefore, I should have no reason to not finish (except for laziness.) Here is Tribute/Gunny:

Sorry, the pic is a little blurry, but you get the idea. That is going to be plied with this beautiful black alpaca blend, I think it has merino in it because of some of the long hairs, but anyway this pic is blurry too, but ah well, it's the end photo that counts:

I did something eventful today... I (finally) washed my car! The inside still needs to be cleaned and vaccummed, but otherwise, it looks pretty good. There is still a bit of sap on it, but I'll be working on that randomly. I had to get online and try to figure out exactly how to get it off, and one of the suggestions was rubbing alchohol. It works like a dream. I just rubbed it on, and then after it was off, washed it with the detergent water, and rinsed.

I don't know what it's supposed to be like this week, but if it is nice tomorrow, I hope to clean the inside out. If not, perhaps tackle a closet? :-( Bleh.

Well, I have to go take a shower so that I'm not all gross when I go into work. Lata~

TdF (Day 1): Let the Games Begin

2010-07-03T15:34:00.002-04:00

Today marks the beginning of TdF (in my case, this would be Tour de Fleece). This is a sort of spinning "competition" and I have decided that the least I want to get done is get my black and grey alpaca plied, and spin up the cream/brown roving and ply it.

Then, if I get that done, I will either try my hand at the Falkland or Corriedale... which do you think? The Corriedale is the bright, fiery one, and the Falkland is the deeper, more relaxing colorway. If you can't decide their names are Dragon's Amber and Italian Countryside (because it reminded me of the drive to Pompeii.) So here they are:

I will not be able to start on this great feat until I finish cooking though. I'm making mashed potatoes and dessert for tonight. (No, that's not all we're eating!) My grandmother is making chicken legs AND burgers because she couldn't decide which to make. I think we know where I got my cooking overdrive. ;-)

Ya' know those cupcakes that I make with the filling? I decided to try making a cake out of it... let me say, this has not been easy! I think it will be good though. I made a sour cream frosting but it just wasn't standing up the way I wanted it to; therefore, I added 1.5 cups of whipping cream, which worked out quite well, because I thought that the icing was a little too sweet myself. Okay, I have to go finish the cake, and then I have the potatoes to make. :-D

Who Got Suckered? (The Spider Chronicles)

2010-06-26T01:53:00.003-04:00

I did.

Welcome to the new series... Where you can follow me in my incredible tales of horror and the demise of...(I can't think of a word because it's late, but insert something evil and scary here.)

Sorry, that was a bit dramatic...and anticlimactic at the same time. But after saying that I wanted to keep journal of my spider stories the other day, I decided to. So here she goes.

After killing that stupid spider in my car, I've had more run-ins with the mean things than I can count. Okay, so there have been four (killings in the car). It all began back in October 2009. I had been at a friend's house, and we were oddly talking about how sneaky spiders are. I left, as I often do, quite late, and as I was driving home there was not much traffic. As I was passing The Greeneville Commons, I had that creeping sensation that you get when you are being watched. Then I noticed it. Thing One was watching me from the windshield...

My brain works in an incredibly mysterious way. If I'm at home and a spider decides to show up, it takes me forever to kill it. I think of all of the possible scenarios that can occur. What if it falls on my head? What if it jumps on me? What if it lands in my bed? What if I hit it and don't kill it and it scurries off and I can't find it? I get all girly when I am at home I kind of run around my room in a half-dazed sort of way and let out little squeals because I just don't know what to do.

Alas, in the car, you have one of two choices (I guess technically you do in the room too, but anyway...) It's either going to stay there in your car and become your new BFF (Beastly Frightening Foe), or you can kill it immediately. My brain says to me "FREAK OUT, HURRY!" but in the next millisecond, Miss In Charge takes over and says, "You're driving. Stay calm, and wait for an opportune moment to destroy the pest." I chose to pull off in Walgreens... I have to sadly admit that the spider corpse is still there. My excuse is that it is there to warn other spiders to stay out or that it will happen to them too, but I don't really know how well that works.

Some people say, "Why kill it? What did it ever do to you?" It scared the living daylights out of me, that's what. I mean, who other than a stalker sits there and stares awkwardly at you? Some spiders lay up to 2000 eggs in their lifetime; trust me, they have plenty of means to replenish themselves. I understand spiders are good for the environment. They keep bug counts down. Good for them. Stay out of my room... and car. Just stay away from me please! Give me a snake any day!

~End of Rant One~

Bright Lights!

2010-06-23T12:35:00.000-04:00

I speak of the sun. And my yarn, of which I tried to capture it's brilliant sparkle in the evening rays. (Fail) I spent the better part of three hours plying yesterday, and as I was helping mom last night, I wondered why my arm was so sore... duh! I ended up plying with a deep red thread instead of purple, and I have to say, I like it. Not really sure what I am going to knit with a novelty yarn, but I think it will be fun. I still have to set the twist, so I'll wash it later this week. I have yet to set Juicy, so I'll do them the same day. I have about 108 yards, and I have 3 more batts to spin, so I could probably do a couple pairs of gauntlets or something like that. Too thick and thin to make socks, though I would have the yardage. Anyway, here are the attempted images of the newly plied yarn:

I really want to make some socks (for me), but sock yarn is expensive! So I'm thinking of getting some KP Bare and dyeing/hand painting it myself. For one pair of socks, you usually need about 350-400+ yards (depending on the size of the feet) This is fingering weight yarn, worsted weight, you could probably use about 300 yards (possibly a little less), but they would, of course, be more bulky. Anyway, to show off my sock... since I haven't finished the second one yet... here is the baby sock that I am learning on:

Summer is now upon us. It's so hot here, and I think I really need to take advantage of it. I have a pound of alpaca fleece that I still need to scour and process, and the sun would dry it out really fast. I should probably take pics. This is my first time processing, so we will see how it goes. Hopefully I won't felt anything! I guess I will start in small quantities. Stay cool out there~

Lite-Brite (part 2)

2010-06-21T15:06:00.001-04:00

Childhood is now growing up into a lovely blend of colors, and I thought I'd show it off. Instead of the silver thread, I have opted-out for something easier... I'm using purple. When I plied Juicy with that gold thread I wanted to rip my arms off... okay, so it sounds drastic, but I was the one working with it. You'd understand if you tried it. Anyway, all morbidity (it's a word; I looked it up to make sure) aside, I am liking the outcome of Lite-Brite. Without any further hesitation, here it is:

It is a mix of woolen and worsted, so it is going to be sort of lumpy. As I stated previously, it is an art batt, so it is going to have a mix of textures. Yes, my OCD is trying very hard to break through and make everything even, and that little spinning kid inside of me isn't letting it. Rar! No, I did not have coffee this morning... Perhaps I should have. Sorry, I'm in a quirky mood today. Out~

This One's for Kasie

2010-06-11T14:28:00.001-04:00

You have to understand....

They get dirty.

Therefore you ~~can~~ must:

Happy Friday everyone! ;-D

All Grown Up (Sorry, Lots of Pics)

2010-06-10T13:04:00.000-04:00

So this is a bit of a dual post. One part is about yarn... the other about my dear, sweet, lovable kitty :-)

Juicy has finally matured.
She went from being a baby:

To that terrible-twos' stage:

Then to the young adult stage of life; she began making better choices:

And finally, she has become a mature adult:

I'm so proud of her. I still have some more to spin, but that's going to have to wait until after TdF, because I have other things I need to work on before that.

Now for the kitty. I'm posting about Lilo because she is going to be turning 3-years-old at the end of July, and with all of these kittens floating around, I had to reminisce. So here are the Lilo Files:

This is a picture from the first night Lilo was home. She was so hungry and thirsty. She wasn't very active, and we weren't sure how long it had been since she had food. Little scrawny thing!

The next morning her true colors began to show... Rotten!

Liza came home and brought Syd. Lilo instantly fell in love with the hunky man. I was getting ready to move to Atlanta, so Lilo was happy to have a familiar face, but as time went on...

She began to get depressed about moving to Atlanta, and she slept all of the time.

Then we got there, and she figured it wasn't so bad because not only did she have Syd to play with...

She also had her big sister Ebidy to watch over her... as you can see, Ebidy wasn't too thrilled.

So Lilo turned to the one thing that she still adores to this day...TREATS!

Then one day... She became a young lady... still rotten, but I guess it comes with the territory of being the baby!

THE END

Bronze Frondescence

2010-05-25T18:30:00.000-04:00

Just thought I'd share a little oddity of mine at the moment.

Yep... I'm knitting with wire... why? Because it's something else to hurt my hands! :-O It will either be a bracelet... or... something jewelry-like... If it isn't comfortable it may become a very decorative bookmark! Seriously... I don't know when it will be done, but I like it because it's quirky... next on the list... Plastic bags. I think it will be interesting.

Lite-Brite

2010-05-22T09:46:00.000-04:00

I'm taking a little break from Juicy because the singles need to set for the day, and tomorrow I can begin some plying with the bronze thread. I do still have about half of the Juicy fiber left, and I will get it spun up soon; I just needed a change of scenery.

Just started spinning what is known as an art batt this morning. Mom got it for me for my birthday, and I am really excited to see how it turns out. So warm! Mixed fibers... Matirials say Multi, and there are a TON of different fibers in this. Here’s what it includes on the website: Corriedale, BFL, SW (superwash-- means it won't... or shouldn't felt, but since there are other non-SW fibers in here, you wouldn't want to do anything anyway.) BFL, SW Merino, Merino, Mill Ends, Firestar, Angelina, Mohair, Silk. I renamed KnittyandColor Wackidoo to Lite-Brite after a happy discussion I had with friends the other day. Oh the childhood memories. This is being spun with a mix of woolen and worsted technique, and I am going to ply this with silver thread when I am done with the singles.

Raindrops and Mud Puddles

2010-05-18T08:57:00.001-04:00

I thought this was appropriate for our rainy season. Most of you have seen this, but I'm documenting it anyway. This is pretty much a worsted weight yarn. Two ply with two singles. Part blue mystery wool (medium grade) and part brown alpaca/dyed merino:

And this is Alaskan Monkshood--Mystery wool (med grade) Worsted to bulky weight. (I need to get a WPI [wraps per inch] tool!) Navajo plied; it's a three ply using one strand. It sounds complicated, but really isn't. It's kind of like crocheting with your fingers... in one huge loop. Andean plying is more difficult (I think) even though it is a 2-ply with one strand... you have to take the time to wrap it around your hand, and then if it's too tight, that's just too bad... or you take it off and start all over again.

And for all to see... My First "Wheel-Spun" yarn... some sort of wool that had quite a bit of vm (vegetable matter) in it, but it spun nicely. It was a grabby sort of yarn, so it's good for someone just learning. Really smushy. I don't think I spun the singles tight enough, but since the yarn was so grabby anyway, it didn't really matter. This was a 2-ply yarn using two separate singles, came out to a mix of worsted and bulky weight.

Juicy, Yet Again

2010-05-17T14:48:00.000-04:00

So, I don't think any other fiber in my stash had had this much notoriety. I've finally begun spinning the rest of it on the wheel. Which actually is most of it. I guess I might have used less than half an ounce on my spindles. This is just going much faster on the wheel. I started spinning it a couple of months ago and got distracted, so I decided to jump back on the spinning bandwagon last week, and this should be done in a couple of weeks... if not sooner. A few good afternoons of spinning, and I could be done. I am still going to ply this with my bronze thread, so I will get to keep whatever yardage I have as singles... that I am very happy about, because I think that the amount of roving was a little over 4 ounces. When I have plied 2 ounces together I get about 150+ yards, so as you can see, it could be a nice little amount... and no, I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do with it!

And that's Juicy on Fiwyn Traten Norrevalsa :-D My lovely little Ashford Traditional!

The Dress...

2010-05-12T13:20:00.001-04:00

It's over! It's over!

Acceptance (of the finished dress) speech:

"I'd like to thank everyone who helped with this dress. This would include all of my friends who gave moral support.

The Willis family for letting me borrow your daughters/sisters. I know keeping them away from home wasn't fun, but they were an incredible blessing.

Angie and Kasie.... I can't say thank you enough... You are both amazing women of God, and you are such an encouragement to me. There would be no dress without you! There might not even be a me without you at this point! You are a wellspring of knowledge, and I am so glad that I can learn from you. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Kasie, I would also like to thank you for being our live model and for rouching above and beyond the call. ;-D Angie, thank you for figuring out exactly how the dress needed to be and for all of the time you spent looking at patterns and troubleshooting everything!

Mom, watching you work for those three straight days of embroidery hurt my fingers just looking at you, and you just pushed right on through the pain... Through meals, little sleep, and cats wanting to be in the middle of your lap. You did a beautiful job. I couldn't ask for a better mommy! You've always taught perseverance, and you certainly practice what you preach! I love you!

And as always, I have to thank God. Thank You for allowing us to make this dress, for giving us the opportunity to glorify You through pieces of fabric. I pray You alone would be seen."

Birthday Boys and (Some of) My Extended Family :-D

2010-05-12T12:42:00.000-04:00

I will just say this... if you see me with my camera... tell me to take pictures. I know everyone else is taking pics, but I need to too. Everyone is taking pictures of the same thing, but we all capture it differently. So there. Just make me :-D Thanks!
The only pics I took at Panther Creek:

This is gonna take a few posts... Just sayin' (FAILED attempt # 1)

2010-04-19T21:13:00.003-04:00

So, most of you know the things I've gotten myself into lately... Actually, I would say that if you read this, more than likely you know me (because I don't know of anyone reading my blog that I don't know!) So it might be a little redundant, but I need to blog about it so that I can come back later and read it again! I figure I should do one post at a time (per subject) until I am caught up... Since we all know how ADD I can be. Now what to start with...

I'm gonna start small and work my way up. This is not anything huge, just a fun little past time. Mom got me into cross stitching when I was about 7 or 8, and I think that's when I first realized how enjoyable it was to make something with your hands, even though it is a little time consuming sometimes. So here are a few projects that are related to needlework. I needed a little break from knitting, so this is what came about:...

I started this post on March 23, and I still haven't taken or posted pictures... It is now April 19th and I am declaring this post a dud... we shall try again soon... I think I need more inspiration. Maybe the dress...

I guess I can add a little exciting news... I did finally finish a book! :-S I don't know if this is an accomplishment or a tragedy.

I am Officially Nuts!

2010-01-31T18:22:00.000-05:00

Well, we're off again, sewing will be in full swing (while I am taking my spinning classes... which means hopefully someone will either bring me to my senses and say, "No, Leah! Stop right where you are!"... or help me!) I'm going to start on a day dress... probably this one because I have been drooling over it since I was making my evening dress. I kept thinking about the trimming on it, and how "Oh, it isn't necessary!" But it is! That's part of what makes the dress! It's beautiful, so here I go teaching myself about soutache and I'm trying to find everything I can about using it and just how hard it is. Here is a blog that I think will be very helpful in the long run... this is just beautiful! In her December 10th post, she has some lovely pictures of how it is turning out (you may have to click on a link to open the pics up).

This was the other dress that I saw and fell in love and the pattern is very similar to the one that I want to do:

The picture is from here.

The design on mine won't be so complicated, but I think it will be complicated enough. In the mean time, I'm thinking of making another bodice to go with my underskirt, since the day dress probably won't be done for a while... though if I made the basic outline of it and worked on the trim after the ball... okay... material first, plan it all out later! Now to figure out exactly what I want to do with a bodice...

So This is How It's Gonna Be

2010-01-12T18:24:00.000-05:00

So our roads were all iced over this morning and they told me not to come in. So I have had the day to "bum around" so to speak. I'm getting all ready and "training" for the Ravelympics and in some off time here's what I did...

Here was the first pic before all of the "writing"

Then there was too much writing to see when it is scaled down to 100 x 100 so this is the end product...

Now if you will excuse me, I must go clean up my floor...

Picture of the Day :-D Warm and Toasty

2010-01-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

There you have it. I was actually quite warm... until I stood up. But yes, I felt confident in the fact that I was laying right on top of rushing water :-S

Winter Warmers... (a.k.a. my excessive craft-overdrive) WARNING: A very long blog is ahead.

2010-01-10T18:09:00.002-05:00

I took this while laying on the river... yes, on the river. The ice is THICK! I will post a pic of that later This is where the moving water has frozen. What you see is the ice and the river underneath. That's one of my close-up shots.

Well like the title says... I've gone crazy with craftiness for the past week, and I feel that it is not going to get any better, but you will understand more in a minute. First, I must post the cutest picture.

These are preemie booties and caps. I had to use a guitar pick because I couldn't find a quarter for size-comparison. These whip-up fairly quick. The cap would take maybe 3 hours and the booties about 45 min a piece.

I will be making more of these and sending them off to Washington (state) before the end of February. They are for a woman who is trying to reach a goal of 300 hats before the end of February; this is for Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. They have a level III NICU, and she said that also she has a level II right down the street from that, and they are also in need of these. Her overall goal is to reach 1000 by the end of the year, but if that goal can be reached before half of the year is over, she is going to try to get 2010 done in 2010 (with help of course!) I’m going to be working on as many of these as I can, and they are a nice stash-buster (not to mention an almost instant satisfaction with a completed project!)

This leads me to telling you… I’M IN THE OLYMPICS! Well, not the real one, but the Ravelympics. You can’t cast-on until the torch is lit for the 2010 Olympics (unless you are going to enter in the WIP (work-in-progress) category, which I am.) I never do anything like this, so I really don’t know what has come over me, but I decided it might make me get some stuff done! I’m on team Hopelessly Overcommitted So my events will include: Stash Jump (using long neglected stash—also charity), WIPs-Dancing (wips and only wips; must be projects cast on at least a month before the games), Charity Curling (projects for charity—I’ll be working on the booties and caps, and probably some scarves.), Lace Luge (anything with lace—Also my WIPs), and possibly Scarf Super-G (also charity/WIPs). I would love to enter Speed Spinning, but let’s face it ladies and gents, I haven’t ever finished a skein, and I don’t think that the Ravelympics is the best place to start. I’ve done like a 3 yard skein, but that definitely wouldn’t go over… maybe if I plied everything that I have in singles together… okay wishful thinking (not to mention horrendous-looking). Anyway… wish me luck and cheers! I think the only reason I felt safe signing up is because it’s not really a competition, it’s more of a challenge to yourself than anything else, but if you finish the things that you want to get finished, you get an avatar, which is cute. Anyway…

I loved what Cheri blogged about a few days ago, so I decided to start my own “Thankfulness journal”. I decided which journal I was going to use, and I am finding that I am going to be crafting a lot in that as well. Here are some of the pics:

As you can see, it's a work-in-progress, but it gives me time to think whle I am working on it. Okay, for now, I must be off because Keith comes tomorrow, and I have to clean my room and work on... work. lata

Update on Juicy

2010-01-02T13:41:00.002-05:00

Well, I finally started plying her. She is going to be lovely, I do believe. It is going to take a while because 1) I have to finish spinning all of the rest of the roving (this was taken off of the first spindle because I didn’t like the way it was spinning and the cop was turning out all awry), and 2) I have to find a way to keep the metallic thread from kinking up on itself. I have to stop my spinning every foot and a half or so and straighten it out and wind it back on. It’s worth it thought, because I think this is going to be beautiful!

Well, as to the new year, I had a wonderful time ringing it in with my favorite date! Beth! I’m going to miss her on Valentine’s Day. But anyway, we watched movies with my parents and drank sparkling grape juice, said a slight “Happy New Year”, and then hung out a little longer until she went home. I then went upstairs and had the bright idea of learning something new (It is 25 minutes after the New Year, and I should start on that list!)… well, I’ve attempted it before, but this is a different style, so it’s technically new; knitting in the round with the “magic loop” method. It is done with one long circular. It should be at least a 32” but most people prefer 40” or more. My attempts failed on that cold, dark night, but I am going to succeed. I want to learn to knit in the round so that I can make hats, socks and fingerless gloves! I will do it if it kills me… okay, perhaps not that extreme, but this is something that I really want to learn this year, and I would prefer to learn the method of magic loop and on DPNs (which is the other way I have tried and failed- I get what they call “ladders” between my joins from one needle to the other because my yarn isn’t being tightened enough? I don’t know how I could tighten it anymore than I already do!) Anyway, that’s one thing, and the other is that I want to learn how to Navajo ply… there was something else, but I’ve forgotten it!

Last night was a lot of fun. We had our New Year’s barn dance! The barn was beautiful, and I was so excited to see everyone. I had to go 60s because of my hair, but instead of hippie, I went mod. I almost used eyelashes, but I couldn’t bear to rip them off again this soon! I think mom and dad took a pic, so I will have to post it later. For now, I am going to spin for a little while and then Beth and I are getting together for another movie night. (Rachel is sick so we are getting together here. Hope she feels better soon!) Mom’s making potato soup and we’re gonna pick up a couple of Subway sandwiches on the way back from getting movies. Love it when she’s home!

Looking Back

2009-12-28T10:49:00.006-05:00

This is a reflections post. Ya know the ones where we look over the past year and analyze every detail. I can't believe it is almost over! Mom and I were sitting on the couch this morning and they brought up the Winter Olympics and I almost fell off of the couch because it's just too soon! Why is it here already? I'm not ready to turn 22 yet! Make the year stop! As much as I may throw a tantrum, I can't stop time, so we must go on, and if next year is anything like this past one has been (or better) I am willing to admit that I am on the verge of excessive excitement! So, with that said, here is a list of (most) the things that I have done this year:

I've gotten to know some truely amazing people. These have been friendships like I've never had before, and I feel completely spoiled by you all!
I graduated with a certification in medical transcription.
I got a job with my certification! (Whew!)
I taught myself to knit.
I taught myself to spin.
I learned how to make soap.
I learned how to dance.
I learned how to sew.
I made a ball gown!
I went to a ball!
The day after I went to the ball I went to a tacky party... and was voted the tackiest female!
I cleaned my room out. (But you can't really tell it right now!)
I've learned a bit about gardening.
I've finished about 20 books... so this is a sad year for my reading! (Shame on you, Leah!)
I painted a picture.
I started a new song.

For now, that's all I can think of... but I know there is a ton more, those are just the highlights that stick out in my mind! It makes me happy to see that there have been some things accomplished in this past year... some of them I never expected to see, and they just snuck right up on me!

Well, I've got to work now, but I just had to post one more time before the year came to a close. You may get one more, but don't count on it!

Christmas Eve... and We're Still Going

2009-12-24T20:10:00.008-05:00

Yep, we're getting ready for company tomorrow, so we are all bustling around and cooking at random intervals. Just wanted to take a small break and say "Happy Christmas Eve" to everyone!

My all-time favorite painting is Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night". For some reason it always made me think of winter. I guess it is seeing the town all aglow, but anyway, this story does have a point! Today I got my drop spindle from Yorkieslave. Of course I had to play with it, so I used the beautiful batts that she sent with it. I am so excited about this because I've been wanting one of her spindles for a while, but they are all so lovely that I just couldn't choose. When I saw this one I knew this was the one I wanted. I'm also putting a pic of it next to a couple of my other spindles so you can see how large it is. It is light though, so it's not cumbersome.

I have yet to make my cake, but I will do that when we get back home. I think we are going to have our usual tradition of going to the Waffle House... I think I wrote about that last Christmas. Anyway, I've got plenty to do; just wanted to say hello!

I'm feeling a bottle of sparkling grape juice coming on any hour now...

Familie Zeit

2009-12-22T15:43:00.006-05:00

It's coming down to the wire for Christmas, and the family is starting to come in! We have our first get-together tonight at one of my sets of grandparents... well, okay, so we got together for lunch yesterday too... and we all saw each other at the Christmas party at the Woods, and Saturday, Beth, Rachel, and I all got together and watched movies for a while... But this is our first get-together. (Except for Liza who is coming home tomorrow :-()... that's a sad face... it just looks funny because of the closing parenthesis.

Now you see why this is entitled family time? We just love to be around each other! I'm really looking forward to this year because our whole family is coming over to our house like they did at Thanksgiving. We pack in, but it's loads of fun! I'm going to make my lovely Black Forrest Cake, but I am going to actually go by this recipe... or relatively close to it. So hopefully it will be good because I haven't made this one before... I may just end up using my usual cherry pie filling instead of pitting the cherries... I think it would take too long. I usually make a 4-layer BFC, but it tends to start tipping, so I'm not going to.

Tomorrow we will be having our home group party, and I am excited to see all of them as well (since they are considered my family too!) I missed making gingerbread houses yesterday, but I had so much work, it just wasn't going to happen. I'm still in the process of filling out my 1040 and Schedule C, and I have to go get my business license, but after that I should be set. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I always feel like a dunce when I have to fill out those tax forms. The W2 was bad enough (they said... mark a 0 or a 1... well how am I supposed to know which I want to do? I'm asking you!), but 1040 is ridiculous. I feel like I'm reading Czech! Why can they not word stuff in plain English? I mean, something as simple as... Write name here: (yes, you dimwit, here.) But really, I do have someone I can contact, and she said she would help me if I needed it... so I am going to take her up on it!

And in my last ADD part of this post, I am going to give you some exciting news... No, I'm not pregnant! Beth wants me to teach her to knit! YAY! We've known how to crochet since we were little... ya know the really long chains, and then a few years ago we finally taught ourselves how to stack the... rows? on top of each other. (I'm a knitter, I don't really know what you call crochet terms.) But anyway, after a year of her good-natured-ly "teasing" me about being "an old granny", she wants to learn... So I said okay!

Well, I'm off to get ready for tonight~

Two Large, Lovely Splinters of Glass

2009-12-07T18:28:00.013-05:00

“Among the many thousands of things that I have never been able to understand, one in particular stands out. That is the question of who was the first person who stood by a pile of sand and said, "You know, I bet if we took some of this and mixed it with a little potash and heated it, we could make a material that would be solid and yet transparent. We could call it glass." Call me obtuse, but you could stand me on a beach till the end of time and never would it occur to me to try to make it into windows.” Bill Bryson quotes (American Writer, b.1946)

I've been spinning with glass for a while now, but I am now knitting with it! I absolutely love these glass needles! I got them on Etsy, and they came quickly. I have had these for about 5 days, but I have been so busy that I just haven't had time to knit! Now that the ball is over, and the tacky party too, I will finally have time to sit back and knit and spin in peace! Just wanted to update. I'm just doing a garter stitch on this because the yarn is so fluffy. A pattern just wouldn't show up!

Though, it isn't technically winter, I consider anytime after snowing winter! So, I just wanted to post a couple of pics that I took the other day when it snowed!

I also wanted to throw on a couple of card pics for the festive season...

Meet Trinity

2009-11-27T19:25:00.005-05:00

Well, I am not going to finish my post from yesterday... not right now anyway, but I wanted to post. So, I am going to introduce Trinity to you. You might recognize the roving from this post.

You can't see it, but there is a slight powdery glitter inside. She spins beautifully! I've actually had this one for a couple of months now; I just hadn't gotten around to posting about it. It was discount from Dragoncraft because they said that the trinity knot stamp turned out mottled, but I think it gives it a bit of an antiquated look.

Well, today was some family-time day since Liza still has a couple of days here. We just hung out and enjoyed company and talking. Mom and I went a couple of places today... not for shopping purposes!!! (I am WAY too claustrophobic for that!) On the way back home, Mom decided on ribs from Stan's because we know that we will be eating turkey and ham for a few weeks! It was sooo good!

I'm going to go ahead and talk about my job, so that I won't have to when I finish the post from last time... if that ever actually happens! I am enjoying my job, and I really like the flexibility that I have. I like the people that I am working for/with, and I feel that there is a good working relationship. The doctor is about 3 days behind in his dictation right now, but that's okay, because with a doctor's office it is more lenient than if it were a hospital. He is a great "dictator." (Ha ha... I like saying that. It makes me laugh for some reason!) But seriously, he has a wonderful manner, and I enjoy working for him. Okay, back to knitting... possibly a little spinning tonight!

Thanksgiving with the Fam

2009-11-26T20:56:00.009-05:00

Well, I haven't blogged in forever, and I miss it, so I am going to try to get back into it... No promises though! I just tagged all of the things that I am going to cover in this blog, and I have to admit, that I will either be here for a couple of hours typing or I will type this over a couple of days! Just so that I don't get lost... I am doing alphabetical subtitles (some tie in with others), and anyone who wants to read the whole thing can do just that... I will be prodigiously surprised though!

I. Needlework, Sewing, Ball, Dancing, Friends, Hobbies, Knitting, & Learning.

Well, that took the load down tremendously! My dress is almost complete! A huge "Thank you!" to the many friends that have helped me! I am very excited about the way that has turned out, and I couldn't have done it without the encouragement of my companions! I love the colors because it makes me think of chocolate and caramel. Yes, I would like to eat my dress. I've learned so much about sewing, and I am still not quite sure how I have accomplished this huge mass of chocolaty-goodness. It's all a bit of a blur, really. If someone wanted me to do it again, I think I would have to ask the same questions, but at least I wouldn't be as timid.

Now for the dancing and friends... Well, I still don't know a lot of dances, but I find that they are fairly easy to pick up on, and I absolutely love it! (These comments could possibly be deterred by dancing in a hoop skirt and corset... That feat I have not even tried as of this moment.) Everyone is so exceedingly patient and good-natured in this learning curve that I am going through, and I know it is because they remember what it was like when they were going through it.

I love my friends because they bring out a whole new side of me that I've never really known. I have always enjoyed "different" things, and I have thought it would be amazing to live in another time and learn to do so much of what I have been able to learn this past year. My mom says that I was born in the wrong era, but I am glad that I can now have these pieces of the past to carry with me.

As for the modern times... I enjoyed a beautiful wedding that we went to last weekend! A wonderful ceremony and reception. I found it amusing to dance some Civil War dances to 70s/80s music! What a great crew! I know I haven't covered everything under this category, but it's the best I can do under the circumstances... Oh trash... I forgot to talk about the... Reformation Day party... Long story short... Food + Caramel/chocolate/toffee apples + a bunch of friends + a 5-ish-hour movie = Good times!

The ball is on the 5th... and I am kinda freaking out, but that's okay, because I know that everything will somehow be done by then, and I will be ready for it!

And before I completely leave this portion, I would like to introduce the knitting pattern (Shawl) that I will one day complete for the ball... You will have to click on it to get a better image and even that doesn't do it justice.

II. Holiday, Family, Thanksgiving, Cooking, Fall, Food, Herbs

Where to start... I guess I will start with what happened first... That would be the cooking... I guess technically that would be family... but still.

I had not made deviled eggs before, but I knew it wasn't hard, so I asked my grandmother if I could come over and she could teach me. She did so willingly, but forewarned me that shelling those suckers can be a nasty piece of business. Luckily, I have shelled eggs before and I realized exactly what I was getting myself into. We made it though! I am not a fan of sweet pickles, so I used dill relish instead, and I used half sour cream and half mayonnaise instead of just the mayo. I also used a tad of vinegar, dried dill, sea salt, and cracked pepper. Mom also asked me to make the herb cheeses that Cheri makes, so I emailed just to make sure I wasn't going to ruin a simple recipe by putting something crazy in. I did one that was basil and oregano, and the other one was just dill.

Now for today... We (as always) had more food than we needed. End of story.

Okay, so it's not the end, but those false endings are always so fun... You know, you are sitting there in the movie theater, and the screen goes black for a few seconds, so people start to get up... and then the movie comes back on! So everyone sits back down and settles in for more... then comes the black screen... this is it! No... wait, there's more... Everyone shifts, slightly and understandably disgruntled, back into their seats, and a nervous laugh moves throughout the auditorium. Then, then the movie comes to that touching scene, and you wonder... "How much longer is this thing?!" Suddenly everything plummets into darkness, and everyone holds their breath because they know. They know it can't be the end. It's happened twice now, and no one wants to be the one to stand up and feel like a fool, so they all stay seated. After what feels like an hour, but in reality it's only 30 seconds, the credits finally start flowing and everyone lets out a heartwarming sigh, and they begin to file out of the cinema.

Okay... sorry for the ADD detour there! I just realized how preposterously long this is going to be, and I have decided I am going to finish this tomorrow... or the next day... whichever comes first. Out~

I Made It!!!

2009-10-09T09:42:00.005-04:00

Me cuddling the chicken before I killed it... I had to add a little humor in. Thanks to Valerie for the picture taking! I will post more later, but I have to get ready to go to Atlanta.

Here Chicky, Chicky

2009-10-08T10:38:00.006-04:00

I'm off on another adventure today! I'm going to help slaughter chickens. Now, I better not hear anything from PETA because, well I like meat and I am going to eat it. Someone has to kill the food that we eat, and I figured I might as well learn how. Ya know, just in case I ever need the skill. I won't be over there until about one, so I will post after I get home on how it goes.

In other news, I am finally on my way to making a dress! I have my fabric, and I love it! We worked on dresses on Tuesday, and I will be working on it again next Tuesday. I also learned some dances, and I really like it!

Another hobby that I have just picked up is embroidering on cards. I've been making cards for years, but I have seen this a few times and wanted to try my hand at it. I made this one for my grandparents.I've still got to figure out how to set these up so that it is perfectly straight, but most of these don't have straight lines around them, so that would make a difference.

Okay, I've got to go take a shower, and then head out to learn this new sanguinary approach to living.

Getting to Know All About You... Err...It...

2009-09-29T17:53:00.004-04:00

This is "IT". As of this moment IT has no name...

Yes, I broke down and bought a sewing machine... as much as I loathed and despised it... okay, it was only the zipper part that I detested that much, but anyway, I went out and bought one.

Now, you all know how much names mean to me and that when something comes into my little gathering of eclectic interests it must be named. So, here is the story. The Singer company was founded in 1851 by Isaac Merritt Singer.He was the last born child of Adam Singer and his first wife, Ruth Benson. Isaac's father may have been a German immigrant from Saxony whose surname at birth was Reisinger. Anyway, the history is important to me because I like to name objects according to their origin or their creators origin, and since the company was founded in New York (but is currently located in La Vergne, TN- close to Nashville), I decided that the name should be founded on the founders German roots. Therefore, I am going to let you decide what the name should be because I am not quite sure which one of these I want to use. Keep in mind the last name will be Singer, and after I have the first name I will pick the middle.

My top picks are:

Emeline-- (Meaning) Industrious
Ida-- Hardworking
Medwin-- Powerful friend (this is a male name, but I thought it was cute... so- there!)
Pepin-- Perseverance
Sofia-- Wisdom

Names that didn't quite make the list, but I thought would be suitable (I didn't figure I would be thrilled to be engaging with a co-worker so viscious)

Bernadette-- Bold as a bear
Brunhilde-- Battle maid
Callan-- Chatter
Maria Liese-- Obstinency, rebelliousness
Serilda-- Armed maiden of war

Okay, cast your vote, and I will let you know what it is called!

The Irony of Manufacturers

2009-09-19T21:03:00.009-04:00

Sometimes I buy stuff just to try it out. As you all know, I am short, and I like to wear heels, so I thought I would try out this creepy little contraption called Pampered Toes.
I will admit, my feet feel good after using them so they were worth the buy, but I have to wonder how unintelligent these people think we are. I love to read warning labels on packages. Sometimes I wonder what moron could have tried whatever it is to begin with, therefore causing the company to make a warning label so that they don't get sued. I mean, state the obvious why don't you?! Example: "Do not place hairdryer in water" or "Don't use lint roller on head"; pretty self-explanatory right? But when I read this I laughed for 15 minutes. I even went downstairs and read it to Mom and Dad. It is definitely going up on my bulletin board. I have highlighted it in the picture because I think it is the funniest. The first five are funny, but by the time I got to the sixth, I almost fell off of my bed. Here they are as follows (with my interjected thoughts):

1. For intended use only (um.... yeah, I think that is a bit obvious; don't you?)

2. Do not put shoes on over Pampered Toes (PT). Injury may result. (*chuckles* I can just picture someone trying to shove their foot into a shoe with their toes all spread out. They're a gel material, but trust me, these suckers are definitely not even going to fit in a snow boot.)

3. Do not attempt walking or driving in PT. Injury may result. (Duh. "I'm sorry, officer, my Pampered Toes got in the way, and I couldn't hit the break in time!" Now I'm all for one in following directions, and I definitely wouldn't drive in these, but I will admit, my cat wanted out of my room and I didn't feel like taking the time to put them back on after I let her out. Needless to say, I walked across the room and let her out. It is not comfortable, and if you don't have good dexterity, you will fall over. I did not just for those who want to know.)

4. Avoid use on irritated, inflamed, or infected skin, or on open wounds. Irritation or infection may result. (You are kidding?! That's like saying, "Would you like me to rub this football over your carpet burn?")

5. Do not freeze or microwave PT. Frostbite or burns may result. (I guess this one and #4 are kind of understandable. If you are uncomfortable, perhaps the pampering will make you feel all better, and there are those eye masks that you can put in the freezer or microwave... so I get it, but still, I find it rather funny that you would not realize to the touch that something is going to be way too hot or too cold for your feet.)

And here's the whopper (there are more after this, but they actually make sense.)

6. Do not eat Pampered Toes- Choking or health problems may result. (... I don't even know how to reply to this. You've had these on your feet... Why? Why do you want to eat them? That's just...just... Really? It's silicone, you dope! Who tried to eat this?! Who succeeded so that we now know that it will cause health problems?I have nothing more to say on this matter, but laugh, laugh on!)

Just so that you can see it for yourself:

Cuteness Factor

2009-09-17T00:41:00.007-04:00

If I was all spontaneously great with my memory, I would save this post for spring, but I just find these too cute to wait and possibly forget. As you well know, I like fiber. Alpacas- Adorable. Angora rabbits... check them out:

I mean... honestly. If I had one of these, I would cuddle with them every hour of the day. God created real live ewoks. They're insanely cute! Though I guess you can't go too much off of what I think because I think bats are cute. Speaking of bats... this post is a little off, but it is almost 1 a.m. Goodni...morning~

And just for copyright notices... these pictures are not mine. There... no infringement.

Keith

2009-09-14T08:35:00.005-04:00

On a slightly off-kilter note, I am writing a heroes blog today... if you find it odd, so do I.

Keith... Keith is coming this morning, and for once in my life (okay, well not the only time) he is going to see my room clean... but he is most definitely not walking into Liza's! For those who don't know, Keith has been our beloved exterminator since before I was born. Needless to say, there is a slight loathing that comes with his visits, as he sees it quite fit to enter our lives in the most unholy hours of the day... The morning. I, by nature, am not a morning person, I am nice (unless you are my sister and jump on me), and can even be pleasant, but I am not a vivacious person to talk to in the morning. Needless to say, I attempt to hide or get out of the house if at all possible when his coming is at hand. I've contemplated shutting myself in a closet or barricading myself in the bathtub, but I would never hear the end of it, as I already hide from the UPS and FedEx men. To hide from one that I have technically known all of my life would be quite absurd to say the least.

While I get slightly disgruntled at his coming, I must say, he does something that I admire in a man... He kills bugs! So Keith, in spite of all of the early mornings and the panic attacks that ensue when I realize my room is not clean and you are coming the next day; I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this place a land of desolation for spiders and anything else with more than four legs. I take my hat off to you, kind sir.

Well...

2009-09-10T23:47:00.005-04:00

Edit: I just remembered I had something to post about... I made toothpaste today... well, technically toothsoap, but it's SLS & fluoride free! YAY! I will admit, it's gonna take some getting used to flavorwise, other than that, my mouth feels really clean. I also made lotion today. Next time I think I want to use some more essential oil, but it has a nice, very light scent. It supposedly has a shelf life of about a month, so I'm going to use it on face and body because, well, I just don't go through lotion that fast! Mmk. I think I'm done now.

Look What's Here!

2009-09-08T16:39:00.005-04:00

My second stained glass spindle from TouchOfAlaska. So excited to see how she spins! I'm going to spin up three ounces of my alpaca roving from North Star Alpacas. This is my brown & cream blend:

Super soft! I think I will make a scarf out of it...

In other (VERY) random news... I bought a vacuum cleaner today; that way I will have one to keep upstairs :-D I also bought a bunch of totes so that I can put a lot of the things that are in Liza's room into them and store it downstairs or in my back closet. But be happy! My room has stayed clean for an entire week! I'm dumbfound to find it this way! Could this be the end of the organizing rainbow? I guess only time will tell...

Edited to say: I'm not really sure why I entitled my last entry "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas", but I'm guessing it's either because of all of the holiday decorations going up in the stores, or because of all of the fun I am having lately. I'm learning a lot and spending some great time with friends. Love you all!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas... Oops, wrong song

2009-08-29T21:04:00.006-04:00

Well, I had my first soap making experience today, and it was great! There was a nice crew over at the Shelnutt's house for Cheri's first soap-making course. We made two different kinds today, and they are both splendid. Her house always smells amazing. Here is her website. I bought some of her soaps today, which I will admit I have been meaning to do for about 3 months, and silly me forgot to get some things while I was there. I have a tendency to get overwhelmed/overexcited when I am around fun stuff like that! I have learned so much from her herbal course that I took last year (I know she is having another one in September if anyone is interested!), and I continue to learn on my own (and with Valerie!)

I'm in the process of cleaning my room right now... and it's being completely demolished. I am hoping to throw out a TON of stuff. I just don't need all of the things that I have in here. It's rediculous the things that I tend to hold on to. I'm not a hoarder (unless it comes to "crafting" items), or a person with a sentimental mentality, I just don't know how to organize things, so I think I am going to start with getting some of those large plastic totes and putting certain things that I know I'm not using and place them in my back closet. These would be things that are actually passed on to our kids, or else I would get rid of it. Everything else is getting pitched or given away. I also may try to sell a couple of things on Amazon, but we will see. When this is all done, I can finally let people see my room and not ban them from the staircase. :-D

I have some new roving on the way. Remember that alpaca post? Well, I ordered a pound of that exact alpaca's (the one in the pic) wool. I won't be doing the cleaning and carding... I suppose I can try that later! I convoed(?) the lady on Etsy and asked if she had enough. and she said she did, so I am going to have my wool to make the heirloom baby blanket!!! She was a pleasure to work with and I will probably buy more from her. Here is her blog. It's been neat to see what she has posted.

I'm gonna go spin; I really haven't done that much in about a month. Sadness- hopefully with the cold weather coming in a couple of months, we will be able to settle down and get back into this! I'm off~

Rules for Teachers 1872...

2009-08-17T09:52:00.002-04:00

No one is really sure of the authenticity of these rules, but I do find it quite funny to read. My personal favorites are 4, 6, & 8. (Click on the pic to enlarge)

Take that Bob Ross!

2009-08-02T09:16:00.007-04:00

The sunrise was well worth the wait this morning...

After my recent infatuation with oil painting, I had to take a nice long look at the sky this morning. I woke up at 5 a.m. and took a shower b/c it was dark outside. So after I finished I took my time getting ready for the beach. By the time I got down stairs it was 5:55... it was still dark, so I looked at the window for a few more minutes and decided it was light enough to go out. This is what "light" means to me:
Down on the beach the shell piles were ready and waiting... but everything dark looks like a shark tooth when you can't see. So I just kept walking down the beach until it was bright enough to actually look at the ground without making myself blind. If you can see in the first pic, there was a nice thick cushion of clouds where the sun was rising, so it took FOREVER for the sun to finally appear! Luckily, as a hunter, I can bide my time looking at the ground. Take a look and see if you can find the two shark teeth in this pile:Here was my first shark tooth this year!!!
Funny thing about HHI, it isn't known for its great shells, so I am sure that people who don't think about shark teeth look at people like me and wonder... "Why is she looking at those tiny shells?" I'm quirky I will admit it. And you may ask yourself... Why does she look for sharks teeth, and how does one come to be a hunter? Well, I (apparently) have many hobbies... most of the time they end up costing some money... this one is free! (I also used to look for four leaf clovers in our yard and got fairly proficient at that as well.) I became a hunter when I was 14... all it takes is a mother who is a little OCD, me with that inherited trait... and an addictive personality. You find one and you're hooked... suddenly you must find another, and next thing you know, you're 5 miles down the beach, but it doesn't matter because you most certainly can't find all of the sharks teeth on the first run! (Hopefully you have put your sunscreen on.) The down side to looking for shark teeth for an entire week is that when you get home you start looking in the gravel and mulch... and you get disappointed when you can't find any... then suddenly you realize... there are no mulch/gravel sharks! Okay, I would regale you with more tales, but the sun's wasting away (and apparently we are supposed to have some good storms this week- which, for me, means the shark teeth will get stirred up!) Lata~

Alpaca!

2009-07-28T21:10:00.008-04:00

My new quirk of the week... Alpaca! I think I'm in love! The reason I am looking at alpaca... is this like moose... or can you actually say alpacas? I'm going to say alpacas because I really don't feel like looking it up, so if someone wants to correct me... go ahead, and I will correct it later (I just spent half an hour correcting some punctuation on previous posts!) Anyhow, the reason is because I want to start on this heirloom baby blanket and I wanted a nice, soft, fluffy fiber, so I thought, well lets go look at some yarn... lo and behold (wow, that is a rather old phrase {and I am super ADD tonight}) not many places on Etsy carry 1400-1500 yards of spun yarn. So I started thinking I could go commercial... what kind of fiber? Bamboo! Bamboo is super soft, but can be expensive... (not that animal fibers on Etsy are not... but for some reason I feel like if they are not commercially produced, and if I can help small businesses, I am more willing to pay the extra.) So I looked at some merino blends and didn't really see anything I liked. But then it dawned on me, "Leah, you spin yarn!" *hits self on the head*

I started looking for white roving, or fiber on Etsy, and I started looking at NorthStarAlpacas site (which is where I got that adorable pic) But anyway, so I ordered a 5 one oz. sample "set" so that I can try out their different colors (they had some grey, black, brown, brown/tan mix, and white), but I have also wanted to start learning how to prepare fiber, so I decided that if I like the way the white comes out, I will order fleece from them and clean and card the fiber myself. Yeah, another new experience! But this will truely be an heirloom baby blanket because I will be putting all of the effort (except for raising and sheering the alpaca) into this blanket! I know I have a LONG time before I will be needing it, but I figure with all of this learning it will be a long time before it is finished (though I might be surprised.) I don't think this blanket should be done in singles so I will have to learn to ply... and I don't know if I want to do all of this on a drop spindle either, so I may work on the cleaning and carding for a while until I get my spinning wheel, then I will learn to spin on that as well and, well you get the pic.

The things that made me decide on alpaca wool was the fact that it is not only stronger, easier to clean, and warmer than sheep wool, but it's also apparently very soft! That's why I decided to order the sampler, so that I could see what I liked (and if I didn't). Okay, enough with all of the dreaming, I'm going to get back to knitting for now! Just had to share the cute furbabies...

Blueberries & Cream

2009-07-28T00:24:00.004-04:00

In honor of our blueberry picking day, I have named my newly spun yarn Blueberries & Cream! I've gotten further than this picture shows, but I'm not completely finished yet. I'm contemplating if I should try to ply this with a silver thread. I also decided if I end up plying Juicy then I will ply it with a gold thread, but I will know more after I actually take it off of the spindle and finish spinning the rest of it. I also received two new batts today... simply exquisite. I would like to introduce Macabre and Blackbird As would be expected, I was like a little girl opening them up.... I still am as I wait in anticipation to spin them. I'm waiting a little longer to spin these up because I want to refine my skills a little bit more. (Plus the fact that I just don't know what I am going to make with these! I just like to spin for the fun of it!)

As for the blueberries, I have had a TON every day and can't get my fill of them. I had a wonderful time picking berries with friends, and mom and I might go back after vacation since the season isn't over yet. (So if anyone else wants to go, give us a yell!) BTW thanks to everyone for helping me finish my last gallon... I'm a meticulous picker, apparently!

Speaking of vacation... Just a few more days! I will be taking my comp along, so I will post pics of the beach! Oh, be still my heart! I love to get up at 5 every morning to catch the sunrise, and I spend about three hours looking for sharks teeth. I go out a little during the day but not too much for fear of burning myself to a crisp. (Delicate flower I am*psh*) Anyway, then I finish my day out on the beach too... prob. about another three hours. Just to spend time with the whole family is wonderful!

Beth is getting ready to leave for Indiana, so I am glad to have this time with her. *Sadness* I know she is going to be where she is supposed to, and I have wonderful friends, so I most certainly won't be feeling "lonely!" As it is, Beth and I have decided that we will start texting eachother more often... Our whole fam hates the phone (I mean that in a loathing sense.) We once said we would call eachother every week... that lasted for about two weeks, so perhaps this will be easier. Anyway, we're so close that even when we don't talk we pick up right where we left off.

Okay... I'm gonna try to settle down and get a little sleep tonight so that I can get a lot done tomorrow. Goodnight all... or in this case, since it is 1 a.m., I guess that would be morning~ Here's a little teaser pic for the beach:

Lilo, The Hoarder!

2009-07-23T10:16:00.010-04:00

This week has been "full" of firsts for me! (Well not too many WOW moments, but still...)

I woke up this morning and opened my window only to find that the mailman/woman had left a package in my car. What goodies could they bring to me today?! "It's here!" I cried. I dashed through the door, past the cat, and up the stairs to tear into the box. Here's what I found:

My beautiful glass spindle! It's here at last. It beckoned me to spin with it immediately, so I readily acceded. It spins "smooth as glass"... no kidding! It spins forever, and I love it! Lilo is in love with the wool that the lady from TouchofAlaska sent with the spindle.... (apparently!), so I let her wallow in it for a bit. Since this wool is white, I may try a little bit of dying with it... Okay, so that was today's first (the stained glass spindle)

Yesterday I was with my Beth for 14 hours! YAY! We had a massage appointment set for 10 a.m. at Healthy Effects, so she picked me up at 8:45, and we were off. We got there and had to fill out some paperwork, and the rest is history. Wonderful, just wonderful! I didn't realize the good benefits of massage until I had one at the beginning of the year, and it really does help with a lot of things! After that we went to Carino's and ate lunch; then to Oasis for tea/coffee and reading for about 5 hours. Then, here's where my first comes in, we went to Michael's, and I didn't buy any yarn!!! I did get some circular needles and DPNs... which will be another first for today because I am going to teach myself to knit in the round (finally!) Then we went to the Natural food store b/c I had to pick up a few things for tinctures, and astringents and other miscillaneous items. By that time, Rachel called and we were ready to go eat at Stir Fry Cafe. Another first... I ate sushi! I had Boston and Spider rolls (they had cooked crab and shrimp so none of that raw stuff!!!), but I did have some wasabi with it! Loved the burn! Anyway, I would eat it again, but it's not my favorite! I apparently have felt brave this week. I think it started with that oil painting that I did at Valerie's... After that we went to Marble Slab and then came home... so it was a simply glorious day!

Okay, I'm off to spin a bit more and then go and try to figure out DPNs! Lata~

Wonderful Weekend!

2009-07-20T23:15:00.006-04:00

Well, this weekend was just great! It started on Friday night (apparently) with our jam session. Just four of us, but what a great time of fellowship! Saturday, Valerie and I looked at a bunch of handmade items I can use as a knitter/spinner, so hopefully I will be able to make my own yarn swift, ball winder, and niddy noddy! I feel productive around Valerie! :-D Later we watched some Bob Ross... and I have now been lured into oil painting! (Scary, but fun!) So with Valerie's help, I was able to create my own nightscape (Yes, I had to go all elaborate on the first one, but it was even more so!) Later we watched a movie, and then I went home. After church on Sunday we went to Valerie & Evan's for our Sunday Summer Fellowship and had a potluck lunch and some great games and even better camaraderie

And now for the lemonade recipe (most easily accessible through http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000479perfect_lemonade.php)

I add only 3/4 of a cup of sugar and then add some more water, but the flavor is up to you! I don't know how much of a difference this makes, but I do use a Brita filter for my water... gets those minerals out but not the fluoride :-( Okay, just thought I should post! Hopefully I will post again (a few times) before we leave for the beach!

FLUFF spin the good stuff...

2009-07-07T14:49:00.003-04:00

Preparing for the Fourth

2009-07-04T00:51:00.003-04:00

Lovely sunflowers from Valerie! Thanks! I had never seen a black one before I think it is my fav! (Of course!)

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Mom always told me to put my eggs in two separate bowls... I've been very thankful for this a few times! It may cause another dish to be washed, but it is well worth it!
Lemon bars... I hope they are good! I didn't take a pic after I put the powdered sugar on... and dummy here had the oven on convect!!! I was like... gee, that's why it cooked a little faster!

Happy Independence Day! I took pics and wanted to get them up tonight before the big slew of pics tomorrow. I really have got to get better about taking pics! Anyway, so I got carried away as usual and decided that I was going to do a dessert as well as the Cheddar Bay Biscuits. So I decided to try something I never have before and I made lemon squares... if it's terrible I am sorry, but anyway, I also decided that I wanted to get rid of some blackberries that I had picked and I made a syrup and right now it is setting over night before I finish it so hopefully I will remember to take pics. I also am going to make lemonade tomorrow morning! YAY! I love to make fresh lemonade... my poor lemon tree... This was it's first year with me so I think it is only going to have one lemon. Poor kid. Okay, off to bed so I can get up bright and early and get everything ready!

It's Hot!

2009-07-01T15:07:00.005-04:00

I went running for the first time in almost a month today, and I must say, I don't feel too bad! Tomorrow might be a different story though! I already feel better just by having some "strenuous" activity. I still need to figure out a runner's diet though because I got kinda light-headed... plus, I stupidly went at 10 when it was already sweltering outside!

One of my girls is turning 19 this month so her party is going to be tonight, meaning I will miss Bible study tonight! I will miss everyone, but hopefully I will get to see everyone Sunday!

Well, I said I would post some of my roving pics so here they are... I did go back and add a couple pics of spinning projects yesterday, so I won't add those again~ As you can see, Lilo loves the scent of the wool... She stuck her head in the plastic bag and I thought she was going to suffocate! The spindle with the other roving is a murano foil glass top-whorl. I haven't used it yet, but I love the weight! There's one other spindle (and plenty more roving!) but I will post other pics later!

Blackberries!!!

2009-06-30T12:33:00.007-04:00

I went out this morning and picked some of our blackberries, and I must say they look quite lovely! I am trying to figure out what I want to make with them... probably a cobbler of some sort to begin with. Anyway, I decided it was time to overcome my spider fear because last summer, while I was picking the berries, I had a spider on my arm and kinda freaked out and dropped some berries, so this year I decided, I see a spider I will remain calm... Not that my skin didn't crawl, but there was a spider on one of the berries in my colander, so I picked the berry up and blew that spider off of it. YAY for overcoming phobias. Now I just have to do it again... hopefully this isn't just one of my brave days.

I had a wonderful day yesterday. I went to my grandparents for lunch and got to spend time with Beth :-D. Then I went over to Valerie's house and clipped all of her grapes off, learned how to use a food processor (ha ha), and then made some pickles (I've never canned before so I was scared!) I'm so glad I have someone to learn all of these new things with! We made a sort of sweet and sour pickle (mustard); I am not usually a fan of sweet pickle anything, but this isn't really sweet, so I am thinking I will like these. I haven't put them in the fridge yet, so I think I will do that when I fix lunch. Mmm... I love pickles!

I got some new roving that I will have to post next time. I love spinning; I find it quite relaxing, and I think I may work on some this afternoon. I just frogged two knitting projects and decided to start over or try something else. I missed my count and don't know where I messed up, so I figured, instead of getting through half of it and deciding that it just wasn't going to work, that I just needed to rip it out. So, now I am working on another blanket. This one is for a little girl who wants to help toddlers at her local hospitals. I loved the fact that a 4-year-old wanted to help people so much, so I just had to cast-on for it! I will post the finished product; it's just a simple sand stitch.

Okay, I am going to eat lunch and get busy on some spinning! I also have a movie date tonight with some ladies! (Some guys might come too, but I think it's a chick-flick/comedy.) Lata~

Edit: I just remembered that I had some pics of a couple of spinning projects, so I thought I would post them... hope no one minds! The blue is a top-whorl spindle with a merino/tencel blend in a lace-weight yarn, and the wood is a bottom-whorl with roving that came with the spindle. It feels like a wool mix, it is a little thicker than the merino. So fun!

Had to laugh!

2009-06-15T22:38:00.003-04:00

I was on Ravelry... of course, where else should I be found at this time of night?! I came across this post and just had to share it because I love to laugh! This is just great. Link found at: http://www.funonthenet.in/forums/index.php?topic=11650.0%3Bwap2

FragLimit:
A selection of amusing answers to GCSE exam questions

Andy:- Please note the GCSE's are public exams taken by 13 year olds in UK

This is an indication of the wonderful future that awaits the UK.... the level of answers in GCSE exams!

This is a compilation of actual student GCSE answers...

1. Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics.They lived in the Sarah Dessert and traveled by Camelot. The climate of the Sarah is such that the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.

2. The Bible is full of interesting caricatures. In the first book of the Bible,Guinessis, Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. One of their children,Cain, asked, "Am I my brother's son?"

3. Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He died before he ever reached Canada.

4. Solomom had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines.

5. The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn't have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a female moth.

6. Actually, Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name.

7. Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him. Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.

8. In the Olympic games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled the biscuits, and threw the java.

9. Eventually, the Romans conquered the Greeks. History calls people Romans because they never stayed in one place for very long.

10. Julius Caesar extinguished himself on the battlefields of Gaul. The Ides of March murdered him because they thought he was going to be made king. Dying, he gasped out: "Tee hee, Brutus."

11. Nero was a cruel tyranny who would torture his subjects by playing the fiddle to them.

12. Joan of Arc was burnt to a steak and was cannonized by Bernard Shaw. Finally Magna Carta provided that no man should be hanged twice for the same offense.

13. In midevil times most people were alliterate. The greatest writer of the futile ages was Chaucer, who wrote many poems and verses and also wrote literature.

14. Another story was William Tell, who shot an arrow through an apple while standing on his son's head.

15. Queen Elizabeth was the "Virgin Queen." As a queen she was a success. When she exposed herself before her troops they all shouted "hurrah."

16. It was an age of great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented removable type and the Bible. Another important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Walter Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarettes and started smoking. And Sir Francis Drake circumcised the world with a 100 foot clipper.

17. The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespeare. He was born in the year 1564, supposedly on his birthday. He never made much money and is famous only because of his plays. He wrote tragedies,comedies, and hysterectomies, all in Islamic pentameter. Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couplet. Romeo's last wish was to be laid by Juliet.

18. Writing at the same time as Shakespeare was Miguel Cervantes. He wrote Donkey Hote. The next great author was John Milton. Milton wrote Paradise Lost. Then his wife died and he wrote Paradise Regained.

19. During the Renaissance America began. Christopher Columbus was a great navigator who discovered America while cursing about the Atlantic. His ships were called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Fe.

20. Later, the Pilgrims crossed the ocean, and this was called Pilgrim's Progress. The winter of 1620 was a hard one for the settlers. Many people died and many babies were born. Captain John Smith was responsible for all this.

21. One of the causes of the Revolutionary War was the English put tacks in their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. Finally the colonists won the War and no longer had to pay for taxis. Delegates from the original 13 states formed the Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson, a Virgin, and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin discovered electricity by rubbing two cats backwards and declared, "A horse divided against itself cannot stand.". Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.

22. Soon the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Under the constitution the people enjoyed the right to keep bare arms.

23. Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest Precedent. Lincoln's mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves by signing the Emasculation Proclamation. On the night of April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to the theater and got shot in his seat by one of the actors in a moving picture show. The believed assinator was John Wilkes Booth, a supposedly insane actor. This ruined Booth's career.

24. Meanwhile in Europe, the enlightenment was a reasonable time. Voltaire invented electricity and also wrote a book called Candy.

25. Gravity was invented by Issac Walton. It is chiefly noticeable in the autumn when the apples are falling off the trees.

26. Johann Bach wrote a great many musical compositions and had a large number of children. In between he practiced on an old spinster which he kept up in his attic. Bach died from 1750 to the present. Bach was the most famous composer in the world and so was Handel. Handel was half German half Italian and half English. He was very large.

27. Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling for him. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died for this.

28. The French Revolution was accomplished before it happened and catapulted into Napoleon. Napoleon wanted an heir to inherit his power, but since Josephine was a baroness, she couldn't have any children.

29. The sun never set on the British Empire because the British Empire is In the East and the sun sets in the West.

30. Queen Victoria was the longest queen. She sat on a thorn for 63 years. She was a moral woman who practiced virtue. Her death was the final event which ended her reign.

31. The nineteenth century was a time of a great many thoughts and inventions. People stopped reproducing by hand and started reproducing by machine. The invention of the steamboat caused a network of river to spring up. Cyrus McCormick invented the McCormick raper, which did the work of a hundred men.

32. Louis Pasteur discovered a cure for rabbis. Charles Darwin was a naturalist who wrote the Organ of the Species. Madman Curie discovered radio. And Karl Marx became one of the Marx brothers.

33. The First World War, caused by the assignation of the Arch-Duck by an anahist, ushered in a new error in the anals of human history.

Missing a Sense

2009-06-15T11:33:00.001-04:00

I have just realized how sad it is when one of your senses is gone. I know that it will return shortly, but I can't smell anything right now. It has been raining for the better part of an hour… I love that sound! One of my favorite scents is rain, so I opened my window just a bit to let the fresh air in… and then I realized that I still couldn't smell anything. It's amazing how closely knit your senses are. The way that God created us to enjoy every facet of life… and even sometimes those senses are used to protect us. For instance, most of the time, when I straighten my hair, I can tell if I have left the straightening iron on just because I know the scent of it when it is heated. Right now I have to double-check some things, just so I can make sure that I don't burn the house down! I can usually hear the frequency of a TV on downstairs with my door closed. Right now I still can't hear that well. And going along with the sense of smell, the sense of taste has been diminished… it's always nice to know what you are eating! Right now it doesn't really make a big difference! All of this has been a huge eye opener to what it would be like to not have one of your senses (I mean in a permanent way.) I remember when I was in elementary school that was a question a teacher asked, and every time I am sick, I always think about that. It makes me so thankful to have all of them, and the realization of how quickly one of them could be taken is quite baffling.

Just wanted to blog while I was thinking about this… just another random post, but it's something I know I will look back on. I have way too many blogs/journals, but I guess at least I always return to them. Mmk, I think I am going to head to the fiber shop this morning so I can look at the spinning wheels that they have. Out~

Gesundheit

2009-06-09T15:13:00.003-04:00

I am apparently in the midst of an allergy/sinus attack. I have never sneezed this much in my entire life. I don't know what to do! I've tried everything herbal and not herbal. Used stinging nettle, chamomile, thyme, red clover tincture, colloidal silver, Zyrtec, Allegra-D, Tylenol Cough and Sore Throat Nighttime, Tylenol PM (which worked for all of 2 hours last night). I have irrigated (gross I know, but it usually works). I can't get this blasted stinging feeling out of my nose and I am terrified to leave the house for fear of ending up in a sneezing fit while I am driving or in a store! I just hope this ends soon. If anyone has any suggestions, PLEASE tell me! I am wondering if it is something in the house because when I go outside (where the pollen is) it doesn't seem as bad, but when I was at my grandparents yesterday I had a sneezing episode. I stuck my nose in Lilo's fur to make sure it wasn't the cats (super -smart idea, I know). I'm sure her fur/dander doesn't help any, but I am NOT kicking my cats out! As I type this, she is sitting here in my lap being my friend. Anyway, I did not end up sneezing, so it isn't her. I guess it could be the construction that Mom and Dad are doing to their bathroom, but does that dust carry all the way up to my room?! It could just be TN… I got sick the day I got back, so who knows?!

Anyway, sorry for the ranting, but I haven't talked to anyone since Dad left this morning, so I decided to talk to myself on here. :-D I'm looking to write some new music… but I can't unless I am inspired, so I will have to wait until it kicks me in the face. My creativity is wanting to go in 500 directions right now. I like to do way too many things. Why can't I be normal and have something I am really good at and be satisfied with it? I have two big purchases coming up and I don't know what to do with myself! I'm looking at a pistol… Px4 Storm (I really like this gun and unless there is something else that comes up, this will probably be what I go with), and on the completely opposite side of the spectrum, I am looking at spinning wheels. Yeah, I'm breaking down and doing it (I think). I also had every intention of applying for jobs this week at the local offices, but I really don't want to go in until I look/feel presentable. For a while I wanted to work online, but right now I am actually thinking about wanting to work locally. It may be something that I go in and pick up the tapes, but at least it will get me out of the house. Another nice thing about that is that I will be able to have 24 hr turn-around. Most online companies don't offer that. It's in and out, and you do get to choose your hours most of the time, but still… I will be happy with anything of course because I just adapt easily, but for once I sort of know what I would like. If all of this is coming out in some sort of disarray I am sorry. I'm completely inebriated with all of these herbs and non-herbs floating around in my bloodstream. I'm sure my liver is screaming at me and I will start being nicer to it soon. I'm usually very kind.

As for the past few weeks… Liza's birthday was wonderful, and all of her friends are just great! On Saturday night a group of us girls went out to eat at a very nice restaurant called the Pleasant Peasant. Then we walked through the park across the street, and off we went to Café Intermezzo. Sunday, after church, Liza wanted to do a brunch at the condo and then we went and played Frisbee. After showering, we went to 300 Atlanta for bowling and Wendy's for dinner. The rest of the week consisted of a little more Frisbee, guitars, Chicken Milano, Jim 'N Nicks, and a softball game! Wonderful week in Atlanta! I think before the summer is over, Beth and I are going to try to go down to Atl again. We shall see. After I got back, I went home, changed, and went for a run :-D… then I started getting sick L.

Friday, Whitney, Beth, and I went hiking at Margarette Falls, and boy did it ever rain! It was great! I love to play in the rain. Coming back down, I had rain pouring into my eyes… Beth told me to put my head down… I said, "It is." I think my head is shaped awkwardly. I'm sure this did not help my allergy-whatever-this-is thing. After we finished we went over to Whitney's family property and roasted hotdogs (still in the rain). Later we got Chinese and a movie and then got in our hot tub. Very nice end to the day!

Saturday was Mom's birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Mommy! She had to work until like 1 p.m., but at least she did get to come home earlier than the night before! We weren't really sure what we were going to do, but Mom really didn't want to go out to eat, so I made Caribbean Jerk Chicken, wild rice, Cheddar Bay Biscuits (I added bacon to the mix this time), and Mom requested my sugar snap peas… I put mushrooms, red onion, and bacon bits in, sauté those in butter and olive oil and then for about the last 2 minutes I put the sugar snaps in so they are still nice and crunchy (I do also add a couple of dashes of Season-All.) It wasn't a lot for her birthday, but I think we are doing something when Liza comes in this Friday/Saturday. *Gurgles* Speaking of, we have music this weekend so pray that I am better by that time… I have sung with a sore throat, but not while congested/sneezing!

Ok, I'm going to sign off I think a little knitting or spinning is in order… If anyone actually read all of that, I am truly, deeply sorry. Kudos to you!

Morning Rain

2009-05-15T06:29:00.002-04:00

I was supposed to go on a "run" this morning with my mom, but it is raining. Not that I would mind running in the rain, but I guess my legs are a little tired from yesterdays run so it all works out anyway. It feels like the days are kind of dragging, and I'm not really sure what to do with myself right now. I am going back to Atlanta soon, and I don't know when I should send out resumes… much less who to send them to! Were it not raining, I would have my run today and I would till my garden bed again. Alas, it will not be so. I think I will do yoga this morning and work on some stuff in the house. I have so much "stuff" in my room and I need to get it out! I just have to figure out what is good "stuff" and what is not. I was reading about cleaning personalities one day last week and I figured out I was a rebel! Go figure! Here's what it says:

"The bedroom can be the last refuge of a rebel clutter personality. While he or she may present a self-controlled face in the rest of the house, the riotous bedroom remains, strewn knee deep in rumpled clothing, etc.

If you're a rebel, remind yourself that you're a big kid now! Big kids have better things to do in their bedrooms than relive a childhood power struggle. Give yourself permission to pursue your adult side, and create an atmosphere of relaxation, not rebellion, in this most intimate of all rooms."

I had to laugh as I was reading it because it's so true. I don't really have the sentimental mentality; I just don't know what to do with all of the stuff… plus the fact that I have 21 years of my life crammed in here with me. Mmk… no more procrastination…. time to clean~

Still Awake…

2009-05-14T01:30:00.002-04:00

It feels like it is going to be one of those 3 a.m. mornings. I'm such an insomniac sometimes. I figured I would blog until I get tired…or run out of words (which will probably be the case.) I'm running on E right now in more ways than one. I am tired but can't sleep, I'm feeling a little odd (not really sure why), and I kinda forgot to eat today… except for a couple of pieces of white cheddar pop corn. Hopefully, I will get back on track tomorrow. Travel days are always crazy… I'm really considering a Tylenol PM right now but I'm scared that having not eaten today it won't be pretty. On to more important matters:

Our girl's summer Bible study is getting ready to start up and we are going to do Malachi!!! I'm so excited! I'm such an Old Testament junkie. I know I need to read both, but I LOVE the OT! And of course I am excited that I get to see my girls! They've been off to college for a year and I am excited to see how they have grown. I got to see Joy tonight, and she brought me the book. I think I am going to look over it tomorrow. Oh, yay! Ok… sleepiness just hit so I am going to give it a go and cut this short because I know if I wait I will get another spur of energy and be up forever. Night~

Graduation, Mother’s Day, and Other Wonders

2009-05-12T10:31:00.004-04:00

I am officially a graduate… I won't have my diploma for another little bit, but nevertheless, I am finished with school!!! Very happy about that!

Right now, I am in Atlanta in my sister's coffee shop. We came down for her graduation and are probably going to stay through tomorrow and leave on Wednesday. We had a full day today. First we started out with piercings… yes, piercings… It started out with Beth and Liza wanting to get their noses pierced and progressed to Rachel wanting to get another cartilage ring, and I got my third earlobe piercing (which now brings me to a grand total of 7.) Very cute, I must say! I would post pictures, but it would be too time-consuming right now considering that I just had some coffee… I'm more ADD than usual.

Graduation was wonderful even though I wasn't there for it, but I was here for my sisters! I was just glad to be with family. We went to the breakfast in the morning and then I went to the mall to wait until graduation. I got a couple of things but nothing magnanimous. After grad, we went to Bahama Breeze, and then all of us girls went grocery shopping for Mother's Day.

For MD we went to Trinity (love everything about the place!)Then we came back home and finished preparing our MD brunch! We had enough food for an army, but somehow we ended up eating quite a bit more than we should have! When does that not happen with family?! But really, to commemorate Mother's Day, I thought I would do my second "heroes" blog.

You might say that I have known my mom since I was very young :-D Ok, ok, that was bad; enough with the cheesiness. I consider myself a very blessed person because I grew up with my whole family living in the same small town. We all know each other well, and every time we get together, it's like we have never been apart. My mom has been a significant part of my life and walk with Christ because she doesn't mind telling you how it is. Sometimes it hurts, but I don't think there has ever been a time that she has said "no" and I didn't later appreciate it. She has always been the "cool mom" to our friends and a second mom to many. She has never strived to be the "cool mom" it just happens to be that children actually appreciate honesty and a little bit of discipline! Who knew?! Growing up I have always had a good relationship with her, but now that I am actually grown, I consider her one of my best friends. One of the few people I would go to for sound advice… and honestly sometimes I go to her because I know I need a kick in the pants. I appreciate my mom because she has always been a hard worker. She was a stay-at-home mom for most of our adolescent years; there were a few years that she worked as a teacher's aide, but when she felt that it was taking a toll on our family life, she decided to stay at home again. I always loved being able to come home and talk to my mom about my day without her having to be called out for some "business" something.

After a tough year in sixth grade, she actually made the move to home school me. Something I don't think anyone could completely appreciate unless you saw it from my point-of-view. It was something that was scary to her, and she didn't really want to do it at first, but being the godly woman that she is, she asked God, and He said to do it. Mom has been an amazing prayer-warrior since she came to know Christ, and I can attest to the fact that her praying is powerful. She has been a Moms-in-Touch mom for years, and to know that she takes time out of her week to pray for us is one of the most amazing factors that I have felt in my life. A loving gesture that has made me respect her from the depths of my heart. Another thing I love about my mom is that she has always known when someone is upset; especially me and Liza, and she will actually make you talk about it (which is something I need since I am not very good at expressing myself!)I can't really explain the love I have for my mom because it is so strong, but I do know that one day, if I have a family, I hope to be as wonderful of a mother as she has been to me.

Almost over

2009-04-27T16:15:00.003-04:00

I'm in the midst of school and decided to blog before April is gone. I have "technically" a week and a day until school is completely over, but in reality I have about three days. I also graduate in a week and five days… but I will be in Atlanta for my sister's graduation. I'm listening to Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis right now, and it brings back some memories of living in Atlanta and working in business… glad I'm not there anymore! I am excited to see where this summer takes me. I'm going to try to work a lot on my garden and spend as much time as I can with Beth… She's back! I've got to start sending out my resume some time during this, so hopefully someone will want to hire a "newbie" in the business.

I started a new knitting project on Saturday night (I know, I don't need any more projects!) but it's a baby blanket, so we will see how it comes out. It's a bit of a lace/shell pattern but I haven't learned any new stitches for this one. It's just some knits, purls, and some yarn-over stitches. I'll post pics along the way… Ok, back to school…

A Wonderful Day

2009-04-20T15:17:00.003-04:00

Today is the birth of my dad... well, it was 52 years ago anyway! A wonderful man, without whom I would literally be impossible! Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today marks another special event... Beth is coming home!!! My sweet, lovable Beth! Boy, have I missed her! Yet again, in the fall she is leaving me for Ball State! Who knew?!

It's been one of those wishy-washy cloudy/sunny days. I like it. It's so lovely! I've got some school to work on and a bit of housework. I think we are eating out tonight because I asked dad if he wanted me to fix anything special and he said we could just go out and eat. Beth doesn't know it yet, but Whitney and I are going to be at her house when she gets there! Of course, we won't stay long because she is going to be super tired I'm sure. We both just want to see her.

Ah, the downpour has begun! I love rain. I wish we had a tin roof. That is one of my favorite sounds. I would love to be able to open the window because I love the scent of rain, but it just so happens to be those huge baseball-sized raindrops that splatter everywhere when they hit. Sadness. Not 15 minutes ago I was outside putting some oak leaf lettuce seeds in the ground. I didn't water them in hopes that rain woul dcome down, and it has! Oh, here comes the sunshine again!

I really have wanted to blog more than I have the past few weeks, bur my practicum started a couple of weeks ago and can we say "stressed". I would love to turn it around and make dessert, but I did that on Friday and we can get too much of a good thing! I've barely made time to knit. Not that the time isn't there, I just want to sit here and stare off into space half of the time. Attempting to let my brain recover I guess. I hope this isn't how the "real transcription world" works. Any job takes a couple of weeks to adjust to, but this has been dreadful! Aside from missing knitting, I have not read a book in about 2 weeks... :-O... *I cry into my pillow* I also have not spun since about 2 months ago... I would say that most of my "skills" (whatever I had reached... probably excessively low in the spinning world) are gone!

I have been able to spend quite a bit of time with family and friends though, and I have loved every minute of it! I find myself craving the Friday night sessions and can't wait until the end of the week. I've never really had anything constant to look foward to like this. It's an odd feeling. I like it though!

Well, I'm going to take some down time before I hit the"books" (technically I use my computer for everything.) I'm out~

Winter/Spring?

2009-04-06T10:50:00.003-04:00

It's a dreary day (my kind of day) and it's pulchritudinous (yes, I use the thesaurus but only because I get tired of using the same words over and over!) I love spring. It's so green and lush. It makes me think of what I think Ireland would look like. Everything is in full swing… only to be blighted by frost and snow?!?! Yes, it was 75(ish) degrees yesterday and it is supposed to s

now tomorrow and possibly freeze tonight! Don’t get me wrong, I love snow, I adore it even, but the fact that it has been so warm and the fact that a lot of our plants might “kick the bucket” (for the season anyway) makes me sad. Hopefully the weatherman will be wrong as usual, bu t I am going to cover parts of my garden. Everything out right now can withstand light frost, but I really don’t want to take any chances. The last “huge” snow was in April, mind you that was about 16 years ago. Anyway, I think my gardening bug is what has made me so sad about the cold-front coming in. My mom finds it funny that when my plants started growing I freaked out. I really thought I would kill everything or that nothing would grow for me. Dad laughs because I talk to my plants… I found this o ut from my mom. I must admit, I am a bit quirky, I talk to myself and my cats, so why not the plants? Anyway, whether I am just a “good” garden mommy or because I talked to my plants, they grew! Now we will have to see if I can keep the garden growing through the summer! I got a lemon tree too, so I am keeping it in the sun room!

Too True...

2009-03-12T11:22:00.004-04:00

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

2009-03-10T11:15:00.005-04:00

It’s been almost a week since I planted my first plants… my lettuce is looking lovely!!! I’m so excited. My biggest fear going into this was that I wouldn’t be able to grow anything and then I would feel like a garden failure! We are attempting to keep Cleo (our dog) off of the beds in the back of our house; she loves to dig in them. I planted my strawberry plant and some more lettuce in one of the raised beds and somehow she got into it… It’s in an awkward position so I really don’t know how she got there; nevertheless, I am going to have to watch around my strawberry plant and pluck any lettuce that grows close to it! My peppers, peas, and basil haven’t sprouted yet, but they usually take 5-7 days so I still have some time. I’m waiting for my seeds to come in, but there was a 45-day notice that it wouldn’t ship because the place I ordered from is a family run business, and everyone is ordering seeds right now, so they are busy. I would love to plant corn, but we have way too many bandits around here. I’m going to have to try and find some way to keep the deer out of the garden too. I think this is going to be a wonderful learning experience!

We had a knitting get-together last night and I was able to teach some loom knitting. I finally finished the children’s chemo cap and was able to finish the skein of bouclé on my lime blue scarf… one skein left and it will be done! Beth Stone was working on her grey/gray cable sweater, and it is just beautiful! I was so glad just to get together with some people and have fellowship! Ok, I’m off to see my grandparents and my cousin Rachel… and my mom!!! YAY!

Edit: I just watered my plants and my peas are sprouting!!! I love to see success... now I will just have to see how successful I am at transplanting!

A Garden for Spring

2009-02-28T14:00:00.003-05:00

That's right! I'm going to start my garden this year. I just ordered my seeds this morning. I hope I don't get myself too bogged down, but I am super excited! I'm going to grow vegetables and herbs. Mom is going to let me use the space down at the barn and she said we could do some tomatoes and peppers up here at the house in some planters on the back porch. I am hoping to learn to do some canning, and I definitely want to make some salsas! I don't know that I will try pickling until next year… plus the fact that I didn't get pickling cucumbers, just regular, so I can't allow myself to get into something I don't have! I'm a bit nervous about this, but there is a rather large group of women from the church who I think will be doing gardens this year. I'm reading as much as I can, and we also have a few people who have gardens, so if I do end up running in to trouble, I can give them a call. Mom had a garden with our neighbor when we lived in town, but that's been about 16 years! I have been able to ask her about some stuff though and she gave me her books on gardening. I also bought my books on herb gardening after we had the class last fall, they've already been a huge help!

Ok… the start of my heroes:

I am beginning with my cousin Beth. Right now Beth is in Vietnam. She went to Vietnam last year and spent a lot of time working with the children in the village that she was staying. It made such an impact on her that she went back and is staying for 2 months. Beth is a year older than me, but she is probably my best friend. We grew up in Greeneville together and we have always been close. Other than my mom, Beth is really the only person I would talk to about pretty much anything. She's never been one to criticize, but she has been a constant encouragement to me, and for all of the times she has just listened, I cannot thank her enough. When she went off to college, I saw a change in her walk with Christ, which in turn led us to be closer together in Christ and go even deeper in our discussions. She has a beautiful, giving heart, and she seeks God's will with open arms. Over the past 2 months we have been able to spend a lot of time together because she graduated in December. She is getting ready for grad school and when she leaves in the fall I know I will miss her very much, but my prayer for her is that she would continue to seek God in all that she does. That God would bless her path and give her the wisdom and peace to decide where she needs to be. I pray that God would draw her closer to His own heart and that He would bring people into her life, wherever she may be, that can lift her up and encourage her in her walk.

21

2009-02-25T00:35:00.003-05:00

Well, here I am, 21! Never thought I'd make it… ok, so I did! Our family has never been the party family, so we just had a nice dinner together. I also got to see my grandparents yesterday and had lunch with them. I also got to see my cousin Beth before she left for Vietnam. I will get to that later though… First… the weekend! WOW!!!! I had an hour massage, and the lady who worked on me had training in reflexology and it was just great! I got food poisoning on Monday (last--- not my birthday, really, I am just waiting for the year that I am sick on my birthday!) My hips were killing me from that so she did a lot of work on my mid-lower back and it was wonderful! A bit painful at times, but you have to have a bit of pain to loosen the muscles! She also worked on my arms… we were talking about carpal tunnel syndrome and ways to relieve/prevent it… sad that I have to think about that at 21!

I've been thinking for a while, and I decided I want to write about my personal heroes. So, starting my next post, I will probably begin that series… it's quite endless and I will probably be working on it for a while.

I'm getting sleepy, not to mention scattered… and watching Meet Me in St. Louis (I got it for my birthday!!! I was so excited!) I'm off to bed! Goodnight!

Ravelry, I’m Blaming You

2009-02-13T16:47:00.005-05:00

Like I really need any more yarn right now! I just happened to pick up a drop spindle and some fiber at our local fiber and bead shop, viscose and merino wool… I would say I need to get a hobby but apparently I already have one! I have been thinking about this for a little while but this morning I just had to get up and watch some Youtube videos about it and decided I wanted to try my hand at it. I suppose I could be doing worse things. I love to work with my hands and I keep myself occupied so I am never "bored" (my mom's favorite word ;-D btw that's loaded with sarcasm.)Lilo adores the smell of the fiber though, so this should be fun to see how the spinning goes. She stuck her head in the bag and I thought she was going to suffocate herself.

I'm definitely ready for tomorrow! Beth and I are going to get Chinese for lunch and get some movies and make ice cream sundaes. We're gonna spend all day just hanging out in our singleness. Love cousins! They're great! Rachel was coming home and was going to stay tonight, I think, but her boyfriend told her he needed her to be back on Friday night (today), so Beth and I were like, wow! He's gone all out and planned from tonight through tomorrow night! I've only met him once but he's really sweet and he's been great for Rachel. Valentine's Day is what I consider to be a "Hallmark holiday" but I also find it to be a good thing if you look at it in the right way. You have to think about what love really means… I don't mean that gooshy butterfly feeling, but the true caring about someone. Thinking about that person before yourself… not what you can get out of the relationship but what you can put into it to make it great. Not getting all preachy, but loving each other as Christ loves us… and of course, I know there are different kinds of love! So this Valentine's Day, I am going to have a wonderful time with bestie Beth, the movies we are watching, and some great food that I am sure I will regret eating… but that's ok!

Ok, I'm going to go watch a couple of videos I found and try my hand at spinning :-S… I'm a bit scared!

Edit: So the other day when it rained I was a bit inspired, so Thursday after class I went to Sonic and got a cream pie shake... not to mention some mozzarella sticks… mmmm!

Rainy days…

2009-02-11T15:25:00.002-05:00

It just started raining and I had my window opened… love the smell of rain! I had to close my window, however, because it started getting wet and I didn't want my computer cord blowing up on me. I went over and breathed in the beautiful scent and to my delight there was something else in the air… don't ask me how it got there, but there was a scent of some sort of cream pie… odd I know, but delectable nonetheless… not to mention that I have been craving a Peggy Ann's chocolate-covered cream-filled doughnut for about a month now… It's taken everything in my power to stay away from that bakery! I'm in the middle of school work, but the stupid online location is down…rawer!

I'm completely addicted to Ravelry… it's terrible for my antisocial personality… I'm on there constantly. I was lucky not to be drawn in so much by the Facebook, Xanga, and Myspace bug, but Ravelry has done it… one thing I do have to say, I am talking on the forums, which is very unusual for me. We've got Bible study tonight since it didn't snow us out this week, so I am happy about that. My mom is going to Cedar Falls in Iowa today for some job training, and she will be gone until Saturday, so I will miss her. Speaking of Saturday, Beth and I are going to get together and have our own Valentine's Day… something. We figured some comedy and action movies, maybe some black and whites, and of course ice cream… we will probably eat dinner of some sort too… we usually do Chinese or a pizza when we get together… for us, any time we get together is a holiday (which means we eat)… at least this one really is!

I have some sort of allergic reaction behind both of my ears… I think it's from some earrings I got about a month ago… but they've been in for a month and I just broke out yesterday… it's quite itchy and it has spread around a little on my neck. I put some hydrocortisone on it yesterday, but this morning I put some healing salve on it… it has tea tree oil (antifungal) and lavender (anti-inflammatory) so hopefully this will go away soon.

Off to see if the web page will come up… Lata~

Ravelry and Winter Time in the Smokies

2009-02-02T18:57:00.011-05:00

I have finally joined Ravelry! I actually heard about it from a girl in Atlanta who's friend knits, after I got home I was like... "I have to find this!" I'm very excited and glad that I can now keep an eye on what is in my stash. I have already added all of my books (the ones I could add), hooks, and needles and I am getting ready to add some yarn... It's going to take me forever to add my yarn and projects. The pink, orange, and yellow is a baby blanket I am working on. The other two are scarves.

It's so pretty outside! It started snowing this afternoon about 2 and it's been off and on ever since. I got all ecstatic and decided I just had to take pictures. So I went down to the barn, and then I came back up and ran around our hillsides taking random pics. I know this post is loaded with pics but I just had to put them somewhere!

I've got to work on school tonight but it's all going pretty well. I am so ready to see where all of this work will take me, and of course I am wondering if I will be able to work online! Even if not I do hope that there is an opening close by for a doctor's office that needs dictation transcribed.

Ok, I'm going to go play with Ravelry a bit more and then get on my school work! Happy snowday! Oh yeah, and happy groundhog day too!

January’s End

2009-01-31T00:34:00.003-05:00

Here we are at the end of January… Christmas has come and gone, and Valentine's Day décor has been in the stores for over a month. It amazes me how fast the holidays roll in and out of commercialism. I've been back in school for 15 days now, and I like it… I know by the end of the semester I will probably be banging my head against the wall and praying for it all to be over. It's a mix of cloudy, sunny, snowiness today… quite lovely I might add, but I am still holding out for one of those snows we had in 1993. Yes, I know, 3 feet of snow is really not that much… though it is over half my height. I love snow, but I have a feeling none of this is going to lay and stay there, the wind gusts are too high. Sadness. I haven't started my practicum yet, but we should be starting in 2 weeks. I am ready to see how this will work out.

On a knitting note, I have started some more projects :-D and gotten a few more books. I started another baby blanket and two more scarves. I finished another scarf and a washcloth and maybe some other things….

Ohhhh!!!! The snow just picked up! I'm super ADD today if you can't tell. Actually I have been this way for a couple of weeks. I have this terrible thing that happens, especially if there are a lot of people around, but when I am talking to people and I know what I want to say before I start talking about it, but the moment I start talking I can't get it out. My cousin is going into otiology and she thinks it could be auditory processing disorder, which would make sense because it only adds to the ADD. I have this tendency to just kind of clam up when there are a lot of people around especially if it's noisy. I just space out and stare at the table or off somewhere and then when I do try to talk… well, the above happens, it's a big confused mess of words that don't really make sense. I remember one time back in the summer, after I first moved back home, I had trouble talking to people… it's like the sentence formed in my head but it just wouldn't come out of my mouth. I'm a bit frustrated by this, but I guess it's just going to be something else I will have to train myself through.

Enough about that, it's making me frustrated just thinking about it. Back to yarn… that makes me feel better. I've found some new charities that I want to donate to so that's the reason for the baby blanket. I loved what Newborns in Need was doing with their charity so I decided that would be one of my next places to send some things. I am still filling up that box for Threads of Compassion, a couple more scarves and it will be ready to send off. The next place I will send scarves will be Shearith Israel Night Shelter a women's shelter in Atlanta, GA.

Well, it's about 10 hours later and I am finishing this post. We went to JC tonight and I got to go to Michael's! I got some double-ended knitting needles, but I had to get the metal ones because they were all out of the wooden ones. L I also got a couple of the cable stitch needles and Knitting School because it had some interesting stuff in it. Ok, well, I'm gonna watch MASH and knit until I fall asleep. So… Lata~

Atlanta for the Weekend

2009-01-19T21:18:00.002-05:00

I was in Atlanta for the weekend at my sisters because I had to pick up a few things that I had left there. First and foremost being my wonderful massage chair! I also had to get my printer and my wonderful collection of classic books… Les Miserables, Dante's Devine Comedy, Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby, blah, blah, blah… anyway… my bookcase is getting fuller by the minute because I ordered some more books. :-O I know, I know… I'm a poor college student and need to be saving my money. Hopefully I will not have to worry too long about being unemployed after I "graduate" and I hold the term very lightly. None the less, this certification should make getting a job easier. However, if it does not I am going to throw myself at the mercy of some man and pray that he marries me… okay… so a tad extreme… in all actuality, I would just find another job not dealing with transcription… but hopefully I will not have to worry about that. I started classes the day before I left for Atlanta and I hope I am ready for the interminable semester. Wow… anyway, back to Atlanta-

We went down on Friday (we meaning Beth was with me) left about 7:30 a.m. and got there about 12:45 or so. Saturday night we went out to eat with a bunch of Liza's friends because it was one of their birthdays. I got lamb kabobs… soooo good! It was at Taverna Plaka, a Greek restaurant, we had 25+ people in the group and it was so much fun. They have belly dancers there and they really get the customers involved. Our birthday girl actually got up on the table and danced with one of them. :-D. A lively crew I must admit, but well worth the night. We were out for about 5 hours with them. I also found out that night that one of my friends and mentors is going to be having a baby!!! She's 6-8 weeks pregnant! (And we also found out this week that Todd and Barbara's baby is going to be a boy!) Sunday we went to church at the 11:30 service and I got to meet a few more of Liza's friends, then we went to Everybody's Pizza and got their Thai Pizza Salad (amazing), after that we walked around for a bit and then went to go paint our pottery! I painted a teacup and saucer… it's a bit darker than I would usually paint (then again, I do wear black on a consistent basis so technically it is not unusual.) I will take pictures and post them once I get the pottery (which will be in February when we go on our spa trip with our parents.) Today we had to drive back to Greeneville but we had to leave later so we would know the road conditions. It was just wet, but very pretty… in some parts the snow was laying on the trees and ground but not the road. After I got home it kept snowing so now we have about 3 inches and it is 30˚ so it may freeze the roads tonight. Anyway, tomorrow I have class online so it really doesn't matter. I'm gonna go ahead and get off so I can knit for a while before I go watch Momma's Boys with my mom. We just have to watch the really funny-looking reality romance shows… Joe Millionaire, Average Joe… and then there are the cooking shows… Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares- and my new favorite… Split Ends. Ok… off to knit*

Relaxation Techniques (and other remedies I tried)

2009-01-07T11:31:00.003-05:00

I have now had my first massage and I must say I loved it! We went last Thursday… or Friday? umm anyway, since then I have been a bit indisposed. I knew that I was getting a cold the day that we went… oh wait… it was the 2^nd so it was Friday. I wish I had felt better because I think I could have relaxed more. But I will be getting another massage in February, so I guess now that I know what it's like I can enjoy it more. I think I'm going to do the hot stone massage, but I may do the bindi oil massage… I'm also getting a facial and I think a mineral bath. We are going to the Mandala Wellness Retreat and Spa in Sautee-Nacoochee, GA. I am very ready to go! I have about a week left until I go back for my second half of school.:-S. Though I am ready to get back, I don't know that my stress is ready to get back. I can feel a headache coming on already!

Well, I have been doing crazy things this week. I've made ginger tea from crushing ginger. I put hot onion poultices on my ears… which I can still smell on my hands (rawer) next time I am going to use chamomile or hot salt. The book said to try the onions first, but if something says try this first and it doesn't work then try ___ it usually means the other will work better anyway. The onions and garlic have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties so that's why I used it. I took a ton of vitamin C… and I found out that you shouldn't have orange juice while you have a cold because it is acidic and causes you to produce more mucus. Instead, you should use fresh squeezed lemons and make hot lemonade because lemons contain as much vitamin C and are alkalizing. I made a strong pot of peppermint tea and stuck my head over it with a towel over my head and everything drained. My colds usually last about a week, but this one only lasted for 2 days. I will admit I used a nasal spray and I did switch from using my red clover tincture to using a cold medicine after the first day, but over all I think the herbs really sped everything up. Another thing I learned about colds is to stay active unless you have a fever. This helps everything drain (and it really does!) I felt so much better standing up moving around than I did sitting or lying down. Ok, well enough about my herbal travels for the week! I'm off to my grandparents!

Ringing in the New Year

2009-01-01T21:18:00.002-05:00

I figured I had to be all cliché and do a new year's blog. Happy New Year! Mmmk… now that that is over~ I started out the new year by eating chicken scratch, dog chow, or whatever you want to call it… Apparently my new year's resolution was not watching what I eat. Actually, I made a new year's resolution about 5 years ago or so that I wouldn't make any more resolutions and I haven't. Works just fine for me. If I decide to lose weight during the year then I do… If I decide to change my eating habits, I do. If I decide to get married… okay, well, that one isn't so easy. :-D just had to throw it in.

This past year I decided I wanted to make a bunch of "crafty stuff" which I did… and I learned to knit! I also moved back home from Atlanta and went back to school. This year I hope to finish school, get a job in what I was trained in, and send off some of the stuff that I have made. I believe after a few more scarves I can send some off to Threads of Compassion. I have 2 on looms and one that I just started on needles with the Homespun yarn… I decided it would be tighter and I am using a garter stitch. I finished my first washcloth and am working on 2 more. I am looking for some places with good prices on 100% cotton yarn… and I would love to find a place that has some good cotton chenille yarn and linen yarn for some hand towels. Oh! I got my circular knitting needles from knit picks… I got the harmony wood ones. Absolutely beautiful! I am really excited to use them… when I ordered then I also ordered one of the books that teaches you how to knit 2 socks at a time on circular needles, so hopefully I will be gifted enough. I bought some black yarn the other day in hopes of playing with some lace stitch patterns and using them as chokers or bracelets, so I will post them if they work out.

Well, today has been good, I just finished dinner with the family and they are all in the hot tub… I have this odd sense of hot and cold things at different times of the year. If I get close to warm things when it's cold outside I freeze, but I can stand outside in a tank top and drink ice water if it's like 20©. Sadly, I love summer for its beauty but when it comes down to the heat I just can't take it. We're not really sure why, but I can't sweat so I have to be really careful so that I don't get overheated and have a heat stroke. Anyway, if you can't tell, I am super ADD today! We went over to the Perry's today for brunch and spent most of the afternoon there. Last night I cooked my chicken Milano dish, and then we went to the Bailey's and stayed for about 3-4 hours just talking and having fun. Tonight we had pizza just for kicks. So now I am getting ready for our spa day tomorrow. I have this crazy foot fetish… I just can't stand for people to touch my feet, so I am giving myself my own pedicure and facial tonight, and then tomorrow I am having my first massage and a manicure. We decided last year that instead of getting each other gifts all of us girl cousins would just do a day out together. I wish Tara could join us, but they are back in Boston by now. I hope she feels better too. I think she got the 24 hour flu that is going around down here… it was the day before they left too! Boo! Beth just got back from a retreat today… she only got 4 hours of sleep last night so instead of spending the night here we are just going to meet… I'm still not sure whose house we are going to meet at, but wherever it is, we are going to meet at 6:30! :-S Our spa appointment is at 9 a.m. tomorrow and it is in Asheville and the map thingy on the computer said it took about an hour and forty-five minutes to get there, so we figured we should probably leave early. Anyway, I only do this once a year, so I figure I can do the whole spending thing… actually I am going to be doing it twice this year… possibly 3 times because in February we are going to Helen, GA… me and Liza are taking our parents and we're gonna take mom to the spa… and then at the end of May we're thinking about going to Cancun or Los Cabos so who knows what we will do there. Ok, enough confusion for the day! I'm gonna go and get this stuff done… then finish laundry! Lata~

Christmas in Greeneville Town

2008-12-26T14:24:00.003-05:00

Oh Christmas! It has come and gone once again. This year was a very odd year for Christmas. Everyone was sleepy. I was very happy to be with my family, but I was so tired. We were all yawning… though I guess me and Liza had a reason to- we were up until 2:30 Christmas Eve finishing our gift baskets! Well worth it though because everyone liked them. School made me tired but I must say that the past 3 days I have gotten in bed and felt completely worn out, but in that good way that you are happy with what you have accomplished sort-of tired. I'm super excited because I got my new 10" knitting board… it's for fine gauges so I can use the 4-ply on it without doubling the yarn. I also got some new crochet books so I will probably be picking my crochet needles back up soon. Mom and dad also got me an LCD 19" TV so that I can stop ruining my eyes watching my movies on my laptop. When I moved back from Atlanta I didn't have enough room in my car to bring my TV back so I just sit here on my computer and watch DVDs while I do needlework. Then my sister got used to sleeping in my room where I had been and now she is using that TV so mom just said they would get me a new one for Christmas. Anyway, I was very glad to see all of the family and spend time just talking… and eating… really, I never want to eat again! Dad made French toast for breakfast and we ate at about 10 a.m., then we had to be over at his parents by 12:30 and we ate there, about 5 we went to my mom's parents and she just made some finger foods because she pretty much knew that everyone was not going to be very hungry. I picked here and there, but I really wasn't wanting to eat a lot, so thank you Nana for not fixing another meal!!!

Back to the gift baskets… me and Liza (we look nothing alike do we?! She got all of the Cherokee, I got all of the Irish, English, and German!) worked on those baskets for 3 days straight! I made muffins and truffles. She made chi spice cookies… I put together a love soup in a jar… and she worked on a small recipe booklet. We had fun but we sure were tired! To top it all off we are leading praise and worship on Sunday so we were working on that and I asked Jeremy to play the drums so I went downstairs and recorded for about two and a half hours, so by the time I got back upstairs on Christmas Eve mom was just getting home and I had to go get ready. We went and saw Barbara in the hospital- hopefully she will get to go home in the next few days- then we went to eat. We've made this crazy tradition of going to the Waffle House on Christmas Eve. It started because when dad was working at the church he had to be there the whole time that they were having the evening service/communion so mom never knew when to expect him home, so we would go with him and hang out there for a while until he was done- then we ended up going to the Waffle House! By the time we got back home it was probably about 9-9:30 so Liz and I started back full force… first we went down and she recorded the last song that we had to work on, then we came back upstairs and she finished the recipe books while I was making my finishing touches on the Black Forest Cake. Then we started putting all of the baskets together. Then while she was putting the final touches on the baskets, I made the letter for mom and dad.

Liza won this spa treatment thing last year and she didn't want to go by herself, but every time we made plans something came up. So we turned it into a present. We are going to let them choose from some cabins we have looked at and mom is going to have spa time with us while dad gets to relax at the cabin and do a little shopping online. I think we will probably end up going sometime in February… perhaps the weekend of my birthday (which I would enjoy because I don't like having a big fuss all for my birthday- though last year was great! Liza arranged it so that some of my family came down to Atlanta to see me- it was really the only thing I wanted too! YAY!) Anyway… boy this is really ADD of me! I'm gonna cut this short but Christmas was really wonderful… simple and sweet. I was really tired when I got home, but I didn't go to sleep until 3 a.m. go figure… I'm out…

Family

2008-12-22T01:05:00.006-05:00

I love my family! Some people were talking today about how they didn't know if they were ready for Christmas because they had to spend time with their family and it was always hectic. I thank God that He has provided me with such a close family. A family that talks about everything and prays together. Will tell us as kids and grandkids the mistakes they made in the past and give us advice for things we aren't sure of. For letting us ask the hard questions and being completely honest. We talked about gifts that God had given us today… well, I guess it would be yesterday now, but that was the topic in the message at church. I have to say, just looking back over the years it has to be my family… and I don't mean that as in a cliché sort of way, but in the way that they are my best friends. The best gift my parents have given me has been their prayers. As I have gotten older I have realized so much more how important their prayers have been in the development of my life. Not that I am discrediting God by any means! Just to say that knowing that they have prayed for me for so many years and handed my life to Him… I've seen it. Prayer is a beautiful enigma just like the Creator that has reached His hand down and placed each of us in the very time He knew we needed to be here. So yes, my family is crazy and of course we have some hard times, but I am thankful for them every day of my life.

Still Here

2008-12-16T18:38:00.003-05:00

It's been an interesting few days. We got back from the visitation about 2 hours ago. The funeral is tomorrow at 11. I think my sister comes home on Thursday… though it could be Friday. We've got a ton of work to do for our Christmas presents. I'm getting together with my cousin Beth tomorrow after the funeral. I love that girl! I think Rachel has to work or she would probably join us too. Just looking at this font, I'm sadly thinking it looks a lot like my own writing… though mine is a bit loopier.

I can officially say that I am hooked on knitting. I really like it! I've been trying some new stitch patterns and they've come out right. I really want to learn how to do "round" things… especially socks… hats too. Oh and I ordered both of the Mason-Dixon knitting books from Amazon the other day. I am so excited about those, there was one of them that I looked at in the store the other day and it had this beautiful knitted nightgown. I will be happy when I am "experienced" enough to do that one. I did finish another scarf and I am working on two more and another square for Warm-up America. I'm gonna cut this short and go knit for a while… Out~

Leah

Edit: I'm in a bit of a fog and forgot to say that I made a B in my Medical Terminology class! I actually screamed when I saw it… luckily no one else was in the house! I am soooo relieved and I was thanking God all day. Now we just have one more semester… get ready for me to be stressed again starting January 15^th.

Timeless

2008-12-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

Ecclesiastes 3

Everything Has Its Time

1 To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.

The God-Given Task

9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
14 I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,
And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
15 That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;
And God requires an account of what is past.

One of my friend's mother passed away this evening. It wasn't something that anyone expected. I don't know yet how she died, but it was sudden. My mom came up about 15 minutes ago and told me and I was completely disconcerted. I'm still in a state of consternation. I've never lost anyone in my family, and I know that one day it will happen. I just don't know how I will handle it. I think that's what scares me most. People lose the ones they love every day, and yes, it's hard for them, but they've made it. I just wonder how I will attempt to deal with it.

I don't know why, but this is really bothering me... I don't really know what else to say right now.

Finally Finished with Finals

2008-12-09T18:27:00.001-05:00

They're over!!! I did well on my last two finals, and I am soooo happy to be out of school for a bit! I think I'm going to be working on a lot of needlework during the break (which I am super excited about!) and I will definitely be spending more time with the fam. YAY!!! Everyone is gonna be home! I got to see Todd and Tara today at my grandparents, Beth is graduating Saturday, and I think Rachel finishes finals this week. Liza won't get off until the Thursday after Beth's graduation, but after that she will be home for about 2 weeks. Todd & Tara won't be here for Christmas, but I'm glad they will be here for a while. We're hoping to kidnap Tara away so that she can go on our girls day with us. Instead of buying eachother presents, we have decided to go and get our nails done, see a movie, and eat out... this will be our 2nd annual girl cousins day.... of course, if Todd wanted to get his nails done, we would let him come too. Actually, that is the one time a year I get my nails done, because I do just as good of a job. I refuse to get a pedicure because I can't stand someone touching my feet. I am NOT a foot person! I am glad that God created feet so that we can stand on them, but I don't want anyone touching them except for me.

I pulled out some of my projects and took pictures (finally)... so here they are~

The first are a couple of washcloths
The second is a chemo cap (childrens)
The third (from top left to right) Scarf, blanket, square for Warm Up America, and another scarf.

Scarves for Threads of Compassion and four finished preemie caps... well one isn't off the loom yet. And below are a couple of cards I made... I wish I had taken pics of all of the cards I have made... these arent' as cute as most of them... ah well...

One down two to go…

2008-12-08T14:26:00.005-05:00

I stayed up last night to take my final… of course I made myself all nervous in the 15 minutes that I wasn't studying… then at 12:30 a.m. I clicked "Start Quiz" and wanted to have a panic attack. I got through it, and I think I will pull out with at least a C in the class. Like I said earlier, I know a lot of the stuff but I don't test well at all. As long as I get the C I can take my other classes next semester.

I have my keyboarding final tonight. I'm not really worried about it because it's not that hard and I have enjoyed the class. My final for medical transcription is tomorrow, and I've done well on all of my quizzes and tests in there, so I'm not freaking about that one either. I feel a lot better now, just having all of that off my shoulders. Now school is out until mid-January. I have some digital dictation I will be able to use over the break, so I won't lose it all!

In order to keep myself up for my final last night I drank some coffee… then I was up until 3:30… which doesn't bother me in the least. Even when I went to bed I wasn't sleepy. I did learn to do the seed stitch/moss stitch (whatever you want to call it) and I like it… at least I think what I am doing is right! I have a some knitting needles that are wooden but they aren't as smooth as I want them to be, so I am going to sand them down just a bit more and get some wood wax so they will be smoother. I've seen some really cute little knitting needles and I want to do something with mine. This is one of the links that I found… some beautiful custom knitting needles and crochet hooks. It's called autumn Hollow Farm. I did get myself two sets of bamboo knitting needles and a small pack of plastic so I can see if I like the feel. The sets I go are Clover Takumi Bamboo Knitting Needle set single point 13" to 14" and the 9" set. I have one of the size 8 needles from this brand and LOVE them. I have done a little work with the metal but it is quite slippery for a beginner. I am using a circular set of metal needles with some mercerized cotton that I am using to make a washcloth because it seems like it is harder to use on wood… it doesn't slide as well.

I'm at my grandparent's right now, and I guess I need to get home so that I can get ready for my final tonight. I am sooo ready to be on break… it is kind of strange… after two years of working I get a break for Christmas! Well, I must be off~

Leah

Finals

2008-12-07T18:36:00.004-05:00

I'm getting ready to work on that ridiculous seven page review for tomorrow's final. Yeah, I know, it's 6:30 and I should be working on it now and not blogging, but after all of the studying I have done over the past 3 weeks, I don't think that 10 minutes of blogging is going to make much of a difference. I did finally finish another scarf for Threads of Compassion. I am waiting until I get a box filled to send them off. I guess I need to take pictures and post them… Perhaps I will do that tomorrow, I need to charge my camera.

I'm dreading this test tomorrow. I mean I really want to take it because I want to know what I am going to get, but I am terrified that I am not going to make "at least a C." I've always been a good student and I have always been average or above average, but with this point system, I really don't know how to figure out what my grade is. I feel like I'm getting ready to be swallowed by a big pit. My parents have never pushed us on grades, because they know that grades are not what truly define a person. They also know that I don't test well and that I have been studying like crazy. As long as we have always done our best, they've never gotten upset with us. I can always take the class again, but not until the summer and if I don't pass this class I can't take any of the others for next semester so I will have to wait until the summer for Medical Terminology, pass it, and then wait until next January for Advanced Medical Transcription and my practicum. I have learned a ton, but I REALLY do not want to make below a C. I feel that I have done my best and from all that we had to learn a lot has been retained, but I am freaking out- and probably for no reason. Hopefully I will pull out with a good grade… I'm not expecting an A by any means… A "B" I would be thrilled with… as would I with a C! I know I have done well, but is it good enough… in school standards? I will just have to wait until the grades come out.. I think that's like… another week! :-O But yeah, I really will be ok… God's not grading me and he gave me this brain and I know how to use it for the most part. If anything, God has taught me more of time management and that I can go to school and do well overall. And yes, I love my classes, so it's good enough for me. Well, before I psych myself out for good, I'm gonna go study some more. If I do well I will probably write tomorrow… If not I may be freaking out for a few days… though if I don't write tomorrow I could just be celebrating and forget to write, so I will just write eventually. How about that? Lata-

Leah

Finals

2008-12-06T10:16:00.002-05:00

So yesterday I really wanted to blog... but I think it's only because I HAD to study (I really didn't have anything I wanted to type about). But I was good, I sat here with a blank screen for about 5 minutes, (God's way of telling me that I needed to be doing something else) and I finally started studying. I didn't get everything completed until about 9:30 last night…. everything was due by 11:59- so needless to say, I am very happy to be finished with that part. Now I just have 7 pages of review for my final on Monday, actually I have two Monday and one Tuesday, but it's the terminology that's gonna be a kicker. I was so spacey yesterday! That happens when I have something really important that I am stressing about… this only happens with school though, it's never happened on the job, so at least that's good. But yeah, I was trying to find anything to do to not study, but I knew I had to and it was well worth it because I ended up making an 83, 92, and two 100s on my quizzes and anatomy diagrams so I was happy. Oh, and I am finally done with those terrible educode lessons! They aren't hard; it's just monotonous.

Enough about school! I was talking to someone last week about blogging and journaling. I'm one of those people who has like 8,000 journals but there aren't any that are finished. I also have I think 8 "blogs." But here's the thing with me- I like to journal in all of them at some time or another and then I come back and read them and make another entry. I have one journal that I've had since I was 8 and I am still writing in it… I am getting close to the end, but I really don't want to finish it. I think I'm one of those people who has trouble with closure- Pirates of the Caribbean III- I had to make up a new ending after I watched the part after the credits--- The HP series… I am refusing to read the last book right now because I don't want to miss the characters. Does this happen to anyone else or is this just an OCD part of me? But back to the journals; I like to see the time lapses in between the entries and how far I have come or what has come out of certain situations. It amazes me how, when we are little, we tend to have these huge dreams… not that they go away, but our interests may change or it just hasn't happened yet. That's pretty much what it is with me… It's not like I can go kidnap some guy off the street and tell him we're getting married and having kids. That one I can't do anything about. I was actually having a conversation with God the other day… I was fairly upset, (I think it's because everybody and their mother has gotten married this past year- I've been to like 15 weddings if not more--- that's a literal, not one of Leah's crazy numbers) but I think it just hits me at random moments and I begin to wonder if anything will ever happen. I honestly think that I would be completely at peace with knowing there was no future of a family. I'm sure I would be sad about it for a while, but eventually I think I would get over it. It's the not knowing and having to wonder if I will be 35 and still wondering. I can tell you what I will NOT do though, I refuse to settle. I don't want just that random person (no I'm not a fairytale dreamer either) I just want the things that I know God wants out of a man. I would say, "Is that too much to ask?" but there is a shortage of men who are upright…. no I am NOT man bashing, and yes, there are amazing guys out there (I know some!) but… yeah, I've rambled too long and you get the point.

To make things brighter- I can start doing some needlework again! I made myself stop about 3 days ago because I knew I had to study, so last night I did knit a little, but I was so tired I couldn't stay awake… I made it through about 25 minutes of a movie and decided it was time to sleep… sadly that time was 11:30. I've noticed that college makes me very sleepy. I miss my 3:00 mornings and getting up at 8:30 or 9… well I still get up about that time 6-9 so it just depends what I have to do that day… but yes, after Tuesday I will be out of school until January 15. YAY! Some time in there I am going to go and see my sister in Atlanta. I think my cousin is going to come too. We decided we would do it after Christmas though, because we have oodles of stuff to do. Liza, Beth, and I are going to be doing praise and worship on the 28^th of December, which is the same day as another wedding… there's actually another friend of mine getting married next Saturday, but Beth's graduation is the same day, so I won't get to go.

Well, this is WAY too long, but I don't know that anyone reads it anyway, which I don't mind- it's just for me and I don't know of any friends that are on blogger… I have to go get ready because we are having the elders over for brunch… they're a great bunch of people! I absolutely love them! I think this afternoon we are going to Johnson City, so maybe I can stop by Michael's… that's one thing I will miss about school in Morristown- they have a Hobby Lobby and I absolutely love it! Ok. Gotta run~

Leah

Wound Up

2008-12-03T01:08:00.002-05:00

Boy oh boy.... I hate getting to the end of the semester... one reason could be because I procrastinate with some stuff so I have to get it all done at the last minute, but at the same time there are like a zillion quizzes and I don't test well. "Luckily" I have God here to keep me straight. He keeps reminding me that it's really ok (and I have family who keeps reminding me of that too). I've been stressing so much that I have a twitch in my eye again (it lasted for 3 weeks one time- what a pain!) It's nothing more than annoying, but it's still there so that makes me more on the side of stressed, but anyway, as I was studying tonight "You are My Hiding Place" by Selah came on my Ipod and I felt that it was time I did my Bible study (I like to do mine at night) and so I just stopped everything (I needed something calming) and I went to Psalm 21. God just keeps reminding me that He loves me and would do everything to bring me closer to Him. What a wonderful Savior!

I've talked a bit about my love for needlework and I am soooo excited. I got a new shipment of yarn from one of the discount places online... some beautiful skeins! I can't wait to see how they work-up. One yarn I am having trouble figuring out what to do with (how else would you format that sentence... there goes school again!) is the Homespun from Lion Brand... It's beautiful, but I'm not really sure how I want to use it.... blanket? scarf? crocheted or knitted? knitting board or actually knitting?! Well, I'm just glad that I know the basics of knitting with needles now... one stitch I haven't quite figured out is the seed stitch, but I will look around on the net... I haven't had time lately. Ok, well, it's almost 1:30 and I am wound-up so I think I need to take some time and chill... I don't think listening to music is helping any- I'm gonna have to throw a movie into my laptop.

Oh, and I never did say how Thanksgiving went.... it was great! I love having the fam around! Oh oh and on the very exited note.... it snowed yesterday!!!! It stayed around for the latter part of the afternoon and overnight and melted late this morning, but still, we got about 2 inches so I was VERY happy! I had class last night and ended up staying with my grandparents since they are only about 2 minutes from the college. I was a bit worried that the roads out here would freeze over and by the time I came out at 9 it was snowing again.... I like to walk around in the snow... I also like to lay in the snow and just stare at the sky as the snow is falling. Ok..... yeah, go to sleep, Leah...

My Children... Sorta

2008-12-01T11:28:00.000-05:00

Ibanez- Talman Inner City

Baby 1 (actually 2 because I got my first guitar in 6^th grade but it was an electric and at the time was too heavy so I never played it- in my heart my Ibanez will always be my first.

Japanese origin

Full name:

Amaya Takara Ibanez

Meaning:

Amaya- Night Rain

Takara- Treasured, Precious object

History:

I picked up Amaya in a pawn shop in the middle of my freshman year and we have been best friends ever since! She's got great sound and has been my favorite songwriting guitar. I like her because of her size (she's small like me!) and because she is so easy to play.

Two years later….

Taylor- 210 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar (I had a pickup put in at the Center)

Baby 2

French/English origin

Full name:

Kathryn Ishara (pronounced Ee-sha-rah) Taylor

Meaning:

Kathryn- Pure, full of life

Ishara- of Hindi origin, and its meaning is "rich".

History:

I picked Kathryn up at our Guitar Center in Knoxville, TN- this is actually where I found baby 4, but the Taylor won my heart- not to mention my dad's- I have to say she definitely lives up to her name! She is my favorite guitar to play on stage because her sound is so rich. The first few months of transition were a bit hard just because I am so small and had been used to a guitar that was just my size. I feel bad picking favorites, but she is my 1 pick!

Yet again… two years later…. I am now 18…. And two bouncing baby guitars pop their way into my life within a matter of 3 days of each other… *sheepishly grins* On with the story….

Epiphone- Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar

Baby 3

Greek origin

Full name:

Kalisto Matthias Epiphone

Meaning:

Kalisto- Most beautiful

Matthias- gift of God

History:

Well I had been looking at baby 4 online because ever since I got baby 2 I couldn't stop thinking about baby 4… but at the same time I was thinking about electric guitars and thought it was about time one made it into my life… but I just couldn't… until a week later Ben Wills came home for Christmas break and told my dad that he had won a guitar as a raffle prize, but he didn't play and wondered if dad knew anyone who would want one… then…. Dad found out what kind of guitar it was!!!! Needless to say I fell in love and knew I had to have it. So, thank you, Ben!

And then there were four…..

Gretsch G5030C Rancher Dreadnought Cutaway Acoustic-Electric Guitar

German origin

Full name:

Korbinian (Korbin) Enando Gretsch

Meaning:

Korbinian- Raven

Enando- Bold venture

History:

As mentioned previously, this guitar has been on my mind for some time! This guitar came to me because I remembered what it was… well actually I had gone to the Guitar Center and they didn't have it at the time (a week earlier or it would have been baby 3), so I did the obvious thing and ordered it. It is a bit brassy in its tone, but it is by far the easiest acoustic to play! It is large, but for some reason the way the strings are attached makes it easy to play difficult chords. I love the tobacco sunburst! The only thing that drives me crazy is that it has a bull on the pick guard and people always ask me why it's there… I am half tempted to color it in with a brown sharpie! But all in all it is great for playing folk music or when I need a different sound.

Well, perhaps I should keep this two year guitar spree up…. Hey! That means this year!!! Ok, ok, well, perhaps I should wait until I have more room to keep building this family… YAY for guitars!

2 days....

2008-11-25T17:20:00.003-05:00

Yes, definitely my family! I am soooo excited about Thanksgiving and getting to see everyone. Not that I don't get to see them more than most people do, but we've always been very close. Ever since we were little all of the grandkids would get together every Saturday and then the whole family would get together and have dinner.... oh the good old days! Now we are all officially "adults" although we don't really act like it.... I must admit that our family does break all of the rules by being "politically correct" we talk about politics, church, and other controversial subjects..... the conversation may get loud, but no one yells at eachother, so I guess we're ok. Actually, I have noticed that we have quite a few conversations with people who aren't family (about such issues) and I don't think anything has ever gone wrong... Perhaps people have become more understanding to the fact that everyone can have their own opinion and yelling at them about it isn't going to make your side look very good. Of course each side would think that they are right, but there's really no use in trying to change someone's mind unless they are wanting to. Ok, sorry for the odd rant.

Anyway, my sister is coming in tomorrow... sometime, and then we are having the Bible study group in for dinner; we never really know how many people are going to be there people just show up! Sometimes it's closer to 10 sometimes it's closer to 20.... we have fun!

All of this stuff happening tomorrow I have to finish up some loose ends on school work tonight, but I'm saving that for the dark hours.... for some reason I study best at night. I've always been that way. When I was in 7th and 8th grade I can remember taking my Algebra books into my bathroom and sitting in the floor to do my work until 2 in the morning because I thought my mom would be mad at me for being up late. I don't really remember how it came about that I told her this, but she didn't care as long as it was getting done. I started being homeschooled in 7th grade so everything was new to me; I guess I just thought that I still had a bedtime but wanted to do my work at night. I love to learn.... I like to teach myself new things.... and I think that when you have to learn something in school, for some reason, it makes things harder because you realize you have to learn it. It's like reading books, I LOVE to read, but there was a book about 300 pages long that I had to read for English one year- it took me a month to read it! Go figure! And in that time, I read at least 3 books twice as long and some others not as long.... what makes it so hard? Must be one of the trivial questions of life that can't be answered. Ah well, alas, I must go and try to find that old home ec. book. I'm out~

Weekend

2008-10-27T22:34:00.000-04:00

This weekend was great! We had a Ladies Night at the Wood's house on Saturday, and we watched The Sound of Music. It's funny seeing some of the things that I didn't when I was younger.

I started this post on October 27 and it's November 24! Shame on me! Anyway, That weekend was a blast!

I've got class tonight from 6-9- at least its a lab, so I don't have to listen to lectures. I'm feeling a bit stressed about my medical terminology class, but I am hoping that it will get better before the end of the semester... I am NOT looking forward to my final... rawer!

On another note, I am teaching myself to knit.... I can crochet, cross stitch, use my knitting boards and looms, and I finally decided to teach myself to knit... I think it works up faster than crocheting. I do want to learn how to make socks though... I'm just doing a bunch of flat panel stuff... and making hats with my round looms, but I haven't been industrious enough to try and figure out the directions for socks yet. I'm a sad soul! I'm working on 3 scarves, a chemo cap, a preemie hat, and two blankets, one regular and one baby. If you can't tell, I like having a variety of things to work on!

I have to say, needlecraft is my island away from school. That's my escape every night. I'm not terribly worried about not knowing the stuff, because I feel that I know quite a bit, but I think I'm feeling overwhelmed with all of the terms... like I've learned so much that I can't bring to surface the right concept at that very moment. I've taken it all in but it's jumbled instead of being in its own compartment. It's like in our medical transcription class, I never really had problems with affect and effect until after we talked about it and now when I look at them I get confused sometimes. I think it's just everything trying to find a place in my head.

Well, to look at the bright side of things, we are having thanksgiving in a few days. Everyone will be here except for my oldest cousin and his wife. It's going to be at our house again this year and everyone is going to bring loads of food.... actually for the past few years I haven't eaten as much as I used to... perhaps it's because as I have gotten older I have realized that there will still be food tomorrow, and that my stomach is smaller than my eyes. I love to cook... I won't be doing much, but I am going to make some chocolate chip cookies from a recipe that I did in home ec. when I was home schooled.... they are truly wonderful! I am also making my black bean salsa mixish stuff... I don't really know what you call it... it's got black beans (apparently), white corn, red onion, avocado, tomatoes, lime juice, and cilantro(if you like, my mom and sister don't like it so I am not puting it in ~sadness~ ). My mom also said that my sister is doing appetizers so we will probably do some together... actually, I just remembered I like to make truffles.... I might make some.... but yes, we are having family in, and the night before we are doing a thanksgiving dinner with our Bible study group. An AMAZING group of people... we have praise and worship... I love this family http://thewilli.com/ very talented and wise group of young adults. The girls sang and played music with me on Sunday.... I am so happy to be playing with people again, I really missed it.

Well, I gotta go get ready for class, but I will post more later ~God bless~

La Jeune Martyre

2008-10-17T12:56:00.002-04:00

I spotted this painting when we were at the Louvre in May and I fell in love with it! Stupid me forgot to find out what it was before we left and I didn't even take a picture! Duh! i finally found it today.... not that I was looking for it daily... But anyway, When we were there I didn't even notice the man standing in the background. I don't know what captivates me about this, but its almost like the woman is at peace with her death- there's a pure innocence on her face. I just had to blog about this because I was excited to find this again!

Well, back to school work for me!

Fall

2008-10-10T11:44:00.002-04:00

I love fall! For some reason all of the colors just make me happy (not to mention the cooler weather!) I was driving home yesterday and it was overcast but it didn't look like it because all of the colors are so vibrant! I'm so glad to be back around my mountains, I really missed them last year when I was in Atlanta.

Well, school is in full swing and I am loving it! I took my first big test today and did fairly well (considering how many books I have for one class!) I feel like all I have time for right now is school, but at least I enjoy what I am learning. I try to make as much time for family as I can, and this weekend I am at my grandparents with my lovely cousins!

Just wanted to take a quick study break and put something on this blog! More later~