Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Holiday Open House

I've been so busy knitting up a storm for the Holiday Shopping Open House at Jenn's (who remains blogless at this time) in Rockport, I haven't had much time to blog... and appologize for that. To tide you over, here is another little fun "quiz" for today (of course you know how TRUE mine is!).
For those of you in the Rockport area (or who don't mind a short road trip to do some amazing one-of-a-kind holiday gift shopping at a lovely Seacoast home), email me if you'd like information on the Open House featuring local crafters and artisans this Saturday, Dec. 2nd from 10:00 - 4:00 in Rockport, MA.

Your Ideal Pet is a Big Dog

You're both energetic, affectionate, and a bit goofy.
And neither of you seem to mind very slobbery kisses!

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Mashed Potatoes...

Found this on Heather's blog... a little post-Turkey Day fun. Hope everyone had a great one!
You Are Mashed Potatoes

Oridnary, comforting, and more than a little predictable
You're the glue that holds everyone together.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Hump Day In New England...

Woo hoo, its hump day! Its been a rainy week thusfar, though warm ... unseasonably warm actually. Yes, its Nov. 15th and the temperature read 59 degrees on my way to work this morning at just 8:15 am. I've actually only had to turn my heat on at home two or three days so far and boy do we New England-ers with friggin' stupid, overpriced electric heat love that! The sun started to peak out this morning... for about 10 minutes and then the rain came back. They say it'll be sunny later on ... New England weather for ya!

So anyway, I'm glad its hump day and the work week is that much closer to being over, but I must admit I was a bit sluggish to get moving this morning. Rainy, dreary days ... but much to my surprise, I bumped in to Bambi (otherwise known as a deer) on the way to work... just as I pulled out of the driveway and down the side street, there was the adorable little guy standing on the side of the road. So sweet ... he gave a glimpse back at me (I swear he winked!) and took off before I could snatch out my camera phone. A short distance further down I had to stop for Mr. Squirrely to cross (yea, so maybe I DID slam on the brakes a little... but at least there was no one behind me!). Then, as I was about to get on the highway (thankfully I only have to go 1 exit on the highway which is quite nice, my drive is mostly back roads), I spotted this out my window (excuse the bad quality pics - we're talking the measly little camera in my cell phone)...

Unfortunately you can't see the gorgeous, vibrant colors of this hot air balloon, but still... what a nice little surprise on my way to work... on a rainy morning (I'm guessing the passengers heard that same forecast about the sun coming out today ... hope they enjoyed their 10 minutes of sunshine in between drizzles... yes, we do love the friggin' ever changing New England weather - but I wouldn't give up New England for too many other places to live!). I usually see the balloons on my way home from work or on weekends in the summer, but hadn't seen this one before. Zeus loves to watch for them to go by the house while he's lounging outside in the summer ... yes, my dog actually stares up in the sky and watches for hot air balloons (say "where's the balloon?" or "where's the birdie?" - he looks up and starts jumping all around looking ... say "where's the snakey?" and he goes hunting, nose down to the grass looking -- don't ask!).

Speaking of the children, remember the photo of Miss Lola and her big stick from a couple posts ago (if not, scroll down!)... well, apparently those lovely big sticks outside aren't to her liking so much. She prefers a size 4 DPN... and yes, I made the trek down to AC Moore with my weekly coupon to pick up another set yesterday.... as I reminded myself "just breath" (at least what I was working on that night only required 4, not the full set of 5).

So, then the radio DJ starts talking about Turkey Day being a week away and what do I do? Pop this in to my CD changer...

barenaked.bmp

Yup, I've dug out my first holiday CD of the season and popped it in! Actually, I didn't have to do much digging, since I just got it a couple weeks ago... have to admit, I've always liked most of the BNL hit songs on the radio, but never really got in to them too much (or even realized half those songs were theirs!).... until we saw them live twice in two months! They did a free pre-race show while we were in Richmond in September and then we wound up with free tickets to their show at the Verizon last month. I have to say, despite a lot of really mellow tunes, they are a lot of fun live - very entertaining. I figured their holiday CD wouldn't disappoint in the entertainment / funny department and after only having listened to the first 1 1/2 tracks, I think I'm right!

So... now time to go home and dig out my other favorite holiday tunes... Trans-Siberian Orchestra being one (we're going to see live them next week too - should be amazing!) and Christina Aguliera's being another one of my favorites...

So the season is upon us ... and boy did it sneak up, eh? Well, back to friggin' holiday knitting... trying really hard to get enough stuff done up for the Holiday Open House at Jenn's on December 2nd (Heather is also doing this one) and realizing why people work on their stock for holiday fairs all year long and not a month prior ... oopsie! Live and learn for next year - that's for sure!

So happy hump day from a currently rainy New England... at least its knitting guild night!

I wanted to end with this mention of the Animals Matter To Me campaign and ask you to please take 2 minutes to visit this ASPCA link and sign your name to this petition (for those of you who aren't blog savy, simply click on the word on petition to link to the ASPCA site and info). Thank you in advance to anyone who is kind hearted enough to do so!

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Riverslea Trip... a few days late, a computer short!

I'm a few days late with posting more pics from the Riverslea trip, but that's because ... get this (remember, "if its not one thing, its another!") ... our friggin' useless hunk of junk computer died... for the friggin' 100th time again! But not to dread on that, instead let's get to the good stuff!

When we arrived, Liz and Jeff were out trying to round up a runaway sheep, so we had time to peruse the wonderful gift shop before our tour (and of course we spent plenty of time perusing and shopping after!).

Liz gave us an amazing - and very informative - tour! She started with telling us about the raw fleece process, here's a bag that had just recently been shaven out on the table.

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From there, it was on to the animals... look at all these adorable guys (and gals)!

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Now don't these guys just look like they are smiling at you? I swear they really are ... just like our dogs do!

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You may ask how the farm deals with security and keeping the coyote and other predators at bay? Meet the guard llama, who was an absolute doll (and really seemed to want to snuggle up - maybe a bit too much)!

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Here's Joanne introducing herself to Mr. Handsome (forgive me for not remembering his name).

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Now for what I'm sure most of you are waiting for ... fibers and yarns galore!

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Isn't it just a fabulous candy store?!?!?!

Here's Liz showing us the amazing sign she uses when she exhibits, which is all hand felted lettering and sheep on a large felted square.

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Miss Joanne found a gorgeous teal-blue piece of felt that matched her shop colors and of course we wouldn't let her leave without it! It will soon become the "A Knitter's Garden at By The Brook Farm" sign - yes, that's right, Joanne has now officially named their farm - congrats!

After we shopped, Liz invited us inside her home to make felted beads - we had a blast! Thank you again to both Liz and Jeff (and Lilly too!) for such hospitality - I'm sure we'll all be back again soon (did someone say felted elves??)!

Wondering what I snagged? Here's my wonderful loot - 2 balls of gorgeous roving (the brownish one has gorgeous pinks, yellows and other colorings going thru it and is an alpaca blend which I will save for when I get a little better at this whole spinning thing), 2 skeins of a handspun, handdyed green yarn and 1 skein of a natural color handspun wool for a winter hat for myself.

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I bought a little more loot that night back at Joanne's too ... some white roving that she recommend I start my spinning career with and a gorgeous skein of a verigated pink handspun, handdyed wool (thinking another winter item - maybe mittens or another hat).

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Also pictured above is my spindle bag, made by the amazing Heather and the spindle that I got off eBay.

To close today, feast your eyes on my absolutely wonderful 3 Doggy Yarn dyed by Heather, inspired by non other than my 3 children...


3 Doggy Yarn

See any resemblance?

Lola_Yarn Zeus_Yarn

Tut_Yarn

Til next time... get your holiday knit on kids, after all we have less than 2 months!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

TGI-almost-F!

TGI-almost friggin'-F! Will this week ever end?!?!?

At least I have some fun news to report from yesterday's knitting guild trip to
Riverslea Farm ... however I'm going to toy with your brain save those pictures for tomorrow, as I don't have too much time to post today. We had a great time - we got to see the animals, tour of the farm, get a little lesson on the fleece process, see and touch some gorgeous fibers and even make some water felted beads! Liz & Jeff were just amazing (if you're reading, thank you again - and we can't wait to come back!)!

In honor of
Gina's FO Friday (get your head out of the gutter kids... its Finished Object Friday!), I'm a day early with a couple of my most recent fo's! I did manage to finish my first pair of socks before Socktoberfest was over...

finished socks2finished socks

I posted a picture of Nathaniel's finished hat last week, but here's Jenn's little guy himself modeling it ... don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

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Speaking of cuties, check out these adorable crime fighters... (aka 2 nephews & a niece)

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Of course I can't not post these cute fall shots of my own adorable children... including a super cuddly Zeus with Mommy, aren't we cute? (Note, he's getting that fourth or fifth puppy hood going quite well now that his new knee is really settling in ... I wonder how much more bouncing he's going to be doing once the 2nd one is done... ay, yi, yi!)

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Zeus the Moose!

Zeus Man

Miss Lola and her stick!

Miss Lola

Nervous Teutul (did someone say "boo?")...

King Tut

Wait until you see their very own "3 Doggy Yarn" designed by the real wonder-woman herself, Miss Heather - photos to come shortly! She did an amazing job with the colorings and I can't wait to knit it up (still not sure what yet ... probably socks and maybe gauntlets or gloves ... feel free to share your ideas, as I have 2 skeins). She also took the time to show me how to spin on my new drop spindle last night, for which I thank her greatly! Of course if I get hooked, I will blame her greatly too, lol - though I think I am already hooked and will be in the hunt for a spinning wheel at some point when my budget can afford it... which could be next to never, so if any family or friends out there who might have a wheel collecting dust or know someone who does and wants to share, you know my number! Here's my lovely teacher (hopefully she doesn't mind me posting - I know she's got the blackmail pic to get me back though!)...

Heather

Make sure you hop on over to Heather's blog and meet the newest addition to her family!

Speaking of the 4 legged, furry children, I thought it was time for the pint sized Angus (who's Mommy needs to start a blog!) to have some time to shine in the spotlight ...

Angus

Angus belongs to the wonderful Joanne who owns A Knitter's Garden in Chester (for which I can not link you to because she has yet to create a website or that blog ... hint hint). I think he was really loving all those nifty smells that we brought back from Riverslea (as were my own children once I got home...)!

We also met the adorable Lilly yesterday, who lives at Riverslea Farm with Liz & Jeff. She's 6 months old and so FULL of puppy energy. Here she is sneaking a peak in to the feeding pen when we were touring.

Lilly

And, as a final teazer for my next post, meet this 1 day old most adorable baby...

1 day Old

Until next time, dream of all those wonderful fibers and animal photos I will be sharing... :)

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