We're Back!

We're back from our vacation where our swaggy hotel cost more than Mom & Dad's!

Mom says she's swamped with work but plans to start downloading vacation photos and posting on the blog soon... we even heard that she cheated on us and hung out with Dale Earnhardt Jr's dog Killer while she was away! Hmm... what's up with that??!! We want to hang out with Killer too... (Mom didn't take this picture... but its the only one we could find online of Killer)

Mom says she'll be back to the land of blogging really soon.... and she promises to post more pictures of us too!

Lots of kisses & high-fives,

Zeus, Lola, Teutul & Sophie

Packing & Procrastinating

Yes, I should be packing... but once again, I'm procrastinating. But hey, I'm more than half way finished, so a girl can waste more time tool around Ravelry looking for a cute little cell phone cozy pattern, right? After all, I need something to protect my new toy...

We have an awesome Kodak Easy Share 10x zoom camera that Matt got... and it takes awesome shots at the race track (hence the 10x zoom!), but since I've dropped it in a cooler once already and its a little bulky with the zoom lense, I got to thinking about picking up a tiny little camera. Something that I could easily slip in to my purse, knitting bag or even my pocket... something to sneak in to concerts always have on hand for quick shots and to be able to take on all my fiber ventures without fear of dropping it (in a cooler or otherwise). So... thanks to the IRS stimulus checks (no, I did not blow mine on yarn!), I am now the proud owner of a cute little Kodak M863... in pink! Its tiny and cute, plus it goes along with the rest of our Easy Share components. I think after I get back from vacation, she will get one of these, unless anyone has a better suggestion?

Besides my fun new toy, I also have another FO! I went searching for baby/toddler slipper patterns for donations at The Granite State Knit-In next month (because, after all, I'm a procrastinator and there's no way I'll get adult sizes finished in time), as slippers are the contest and donation item this year. Behold... the Magic Slippers!

Aren't they just the cutest things ever? Now I know what I'm doing with my leftover sock yarn... and for all new babies! I'm planning to get a few more pairs made for the knit in... they whip up pretty fast and no seaming! I'm going to try heavier yarn and bigger needles in hopes of producing toddler sizes (these are truly infant size as is)...

I hope everyone has a safe & happy Memorial Day... I'm off to Charlotte!!!!

Spoiled from the Land Down Under!

I received my ISE6 swap package yesterday and was totally blown away! Christine from Austalia (make sure you check out her cool etsy shop!) was my amazing spoiler and has become a great new friend! She kept in touch with me all throughout the swap and after she mailed off the package, started dropping clues here and there, which made it quite fun. Christine also really paid attention to my blog and learned a lot about me, which is evident in the goodies she sent.

Matt came home from the post office yesterday and immediately said "Honey... why is someone in another country sending you yarn??" LOL, silly men... I tore in to the box right away and found this "Save a Life" tote inside the box, filled with all these beautifully wrapped goodies...

The tote is from Little Lizzy Lou and is a blue ribbon girl, showing awareness for Colon Cancer (quick Mom update... she just finished up her last round of the chemo pill and is going in for a cat scan, then to meet with her doctor this week!)!!! I just love Little Lizzy and was so touched when I found out the story behind the bag!

When I tore in to all the pretty packages, I just kept finding more and more meaningful things...

Christine sent not one, but two beautious scarves, a skein of Silk Merino 8ply from The Knittery (what to make, what to make??!!), a cute doggy tape measure, a pet towel from the RSPCA (which, in its compressed form, Sophie thinks is a cool new toy), 2 wonderful buttons/pins (Shut Down Puppy Mills & Adopt Shelter Pets - love them!), a sock blocker keychain with yarn from The Unique Sheep, chocolate coated espresso beans from Zentveld's Coffee (Christine says the beans are grown not far from her house) and the coolest handmade doggy theme notecards ever! I absolutely love everything and it means so much to me that Christine took the time to find dog & rescue related items, as well as colon cancer. Thank you Christine - I love it all! I had so much fun with this swap and can't wait for ISE7!

Now on to some more pics... first up, the gorgeous Silk Merino yarn....

Beautious #1 (I still can't believe I got two!).... the Wavy scarf in a gorgeous, vibrant red! I almost can't wait for fall to wear this...

The second is Christine's own take on the Midwest Moonlight scarf and it is absolutely stunning! She used another of The Knittery's yarns, the Merino Chubby Sock (I just might have to order me some of this yarn soon... shhh, don't tell Matt!) in a colorway that is just so me, called Purple Night... this scarf is so stunning I'm actually sitting here with it drapped around my neck now!


My kids were being nosey helped with the photo shoot today...



After the scarf pics were taken, I took the opportunity to work on that elusive good shot of all 4 kids and managed a few that I do love (for those of you who always ask how - well, 1) have treats in your hand and 2) use a digital camera as it will require several hundred shots to narrow it down to a few good ones)...


These evil things were also watching... but I made sure to keep my distance and will be even more sure to send Matt out there with some hornet spray tonight... ick!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend... I need to get back to procrastinating packing...

FO Friday!

Its been a long time since I've had a FO Friday! I finished up my ISE6 pal's scarf last night and sent it North this morning with some extra treats.

Pattern: Cross Stich Scarf from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders

Yarn: Patons SWS, Natural Earth Colorway, 2 skeins

Needles: Size 10 1/2, Clover bamboo

Details: I heart this pattern & scarf! It is a quick knit, although as most of you know, I'm the queen of multi-tasking so instead of taking me just a few nights, it took a few weeks because I kept setting it aside for other things. I will make more of these for gifts (family & friends, that's your cue to put in your birthday & holiday requests... its so much easier when I know what you want). I adore the way the SWS knit up and used 2 full skeins, which resulted in a scarf just over 75" long (unstretched!)... making for a great wrapping/stylish scarf! I sure hope my ISE pal likes it half as much as I do!

Enjoy the rest of your TGIF! With the weekend (and hopefully some extra time) upon us, why don't you hop on over and check out Vickie Howell's CRL2 podcast... well, actually you're going to have to wait until Thursday, May 22 for the launch, but you can bookmark it now!

No Mommy, I Did Not Poop in Your Flowers

Happy Dogs on Thursday! This will be a quick post today... for those of you who only visit on doggy days, please scroll back a couple posts for a report on the NH Sheep & Wool festival!

The kids have been enjoying the nice weather lately...

Teutul {as always, more pics when you click linked names} caught trying to poop in Mommy's unweeded flowers stopping to smell the tulips, then doing his best "No, No... please don't drag me inside..."

Zeus zipping around outside and then all pooped out inside. You might notice the XXL size dog bed and how he's using it like a pillow as opposed to putting his whole body on the bed... that's my goofball!

Sophie stopping to smell everything... and on the hunt for anything to chase (birds, moths, ants, flies, squirrels...)...

For some reason Lola must've been a little camera shy this week, but here she is posing hanging with Mommy and a repost of her Royal Highness after her bath a couple weeks ago...

Purple Passion Voodoo

As mentioned yesterday, I received my Spring Coffee Swap package from the wonderful Criquette - check it out!

These lovely wrapped packages...

Turned in to all this...

It is always cool to have someone you know spoil you (but don't get me wrong, making new friends is cool too) and Katie definitely shows how well she knows me... she put together this vibrant "Purple Passion" themed package after all! Inside the box I found goodies, goodies and... more goodies!

There were yummy treats ~ Voodoo Blend coffee (love the name - can't wait to try!), a Starbucks mocha dark chocolate bar and Starbucks caffee mocha truffles. mmmm

There were even yum-yums for my kids from one of their most favorite places, Three Dog Bakery ~ Lick 'n Crunch cookies and their most favorite Beagle Bagles! Teutul and Zeus were quite excited that the nice lady thought of them... as were my girls, but they were inside drooling through the door during the photo shoot.

There were cute accessories ~ coffee theme napkins, the cutest "My Name is No-No, Bad Dog... What's Yours?" post-it notes and 2 unique mix CDs that Katie made for the drive to work (so cool!)....

There was yarn.... not one, not two, but three skiens.... Dream in Color Classy (oooh... how I heart this squishy, yummy yarn), Cotton Classic and Four Seasons Cotton.

There was the handmade part of the swap... Kate had stalked me on Ravelry looked into my Ravelry queue and saw that I had Calorimetry listed... then, on & off her needles - in a most gorgeous handpainted yarn - it went! I absolutely adore it, however if you read my post yesterday, you know that I'm sad to report that it is too big (I'll spare you from my ranting about a pattern revision again). humpf I will experiment with it and see if I can use it for a neckscarf or maybe fold it somehow (right now it fits my entire head - I can even button it under my chin and do my best grandma impression). Any suggestions?

Isn't it gorgeous? And as I said, Katie knows me well... check out the awesome button (I had trouble getting the camera to focus but its a shiny silver with a rhinestone in the middle and oh so awesome!)...

Thank you Katie aka Criquette! The package was truly awesome and I adore the "purple passion" theme!

When I was photoing last night, I noticed some more purple passion...

Now hold on to your ooohhs and aaahhhs and pretty tulips.... remember how I told you that I DO. NOT. WEED.? Here's the un-zoomed in proof...

Sheep and Yarn and Alpaca and SNOW?

I spent Mother's Day at the NH Sheep & Wool fesitval with Joanne and a couple of blogless girls, Cheryl & Marlene. What an excellent day for fiber frolicing - the weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold!

While none of us were looking for spinning related items, we did happen upon some beautiful wheels, including this beauty (click for a 2nd view)...

Look at that wood work... and the matching chair too boot! The pictures hardly do it justice.

Of course there was a lot of other stuff to buy... including yarn! I had gone with the attitude that if it wasn't something I really loved or unusual, I wasn't going to buy it... I'm at the point where my credit card company could see a $1000 yarn store purchase in Hong Kong and never question if the charge was legit or not in my stash where I don't need to just buy yarn for the sake of buying yarn. So I ended up walking away with just 3 skeins...

From left to right, that is a 3.5 ounce skein of hand painted alapca from Sallie's Fen Alpacas... a skein of Seacoast Handpainted Llama/Wool in the colorway Colorado and... a skein of Seacoast Handpainted Mohair/Wool in the colorway Pink Patch. Both of the Seacoast yarns were marked down to a steal and the alpaca was just one of those that I couldn't leave behind! I'm not totally sure what they are destined for just yet... possibly mitts for me, maybe a baby something with the pink patch... maybe a Calorimetry, although I just received my Spring Coffee Swap package and my awesome pal Criquette made one for me .... its gorgeous, but after a quick try on in the office bathroom, sadly its too large... BUT, that got me to searching on Ravelry for input on the sizing (seems its too wide for most everyone - you'd think by now they'd have publised a revision!) and it looks like less stitches, less repeats and maybe even smaller needles are the way to go...

My only other purchases for the day were a delicious buffalo cheese steak and some apple crisp... and this sweater pattern...

Both Joanne & I were ooohing and ahhing over the sample and then realized the vendor was wearing another version. Its gorgeous... and the only sewing in the entire thing are the buttons!

Now I'll leave you with a montage of cutesy animal photos because you know there were plenty...

This is the sheep impression of my Lola & Sophie...

There were lots of cute sheep...

There were sleeping sheep... and smiling sheep...

There were fluffy alpaca...

And alpaca with cute hair cuts...

Curious alpaca...

and the cutest little angora goats!

There was even this...

Yes, you non-New Englanders... that is left over snow!!!!!!!!

Oh and as for the coffee swap package, I picked it up on my way to work and did bring it inside for fear of meltable goodies inside (I was right!) and snapped a quick camera phone pick before tearing in to the beautifully wrapped goodies... I'll post more about the package & real pics tomorrow!

I Scream, You Scream...

... we all scream for ice cream!

While we had some unseasonably warm, summer-like temps last week (until the rain & cold came), I decided to treat the kids to some doggy ice cream. Sophie {more new pics if you click their linked names} enjoyed her first taste. And no, she shouldn't have it on the couch, but well...

Lola did one of her best "can I have a treat please?" poses for Mommy...

Zeus found the coveted sun spot in the living room... then later decided that the "baby size" (Sophie's) Double Action chew bone was much more fun to chomp on then his jumbo size...

Teutul was waiting for his treat before Mommy abandons him for the day to go to that wretched place leaves for work...

Yappy Doggy Thursday... with not much to say, I left the photos do the talking today...

Spring Flingin ~ Week 6

Well, would you look at that... I just noticed that I won the Week 3-4 prize for the Spring Fling Coffee Swap, which was one of Mary's awesome rice pack! Woo hoo! I just might even let my honey use one (he's only had 1 practice race day so far and he's already been whining complaining about a sore neck), since I just got a cute doggy set from Mary... hmmm, I'll have to think more about that. Its a little ironic that I won Mary's prize, as guess who I had the pleasure of spoiling in this swap?!?! If you guessed Mary, you're right! Visit her blog to see just how much fun I had spoiling her! I had a great time putting together her package, especially given the circumstances with pets in her life lately (I think I was meant to spoil her in this swap for that very reason alone)... and I just had to make sure to pack the handpainted mug extra, extra well given that she had a mug-mishap with her last coffee swap package...

Okay, I've containted my excitement (no, I'm not jumping up and down in my office screaming "I won, I won..." but I might've squealed a little and got some strange looks) and now on to this week's topic...

We'll go free form this week - Post about your WIPs, post about your package, post about the weather where you are - just be sure to include that the post is for the Spring Fling Weekly Topic somewhere inside it when you tell us it's there! I'd love to hear how folks are enjoying the goodies they received, if they have, or how much fun you had shopping for your pal!

Since I posted about some WIP's yesterday and I just mentioned the package I sent to Mary above, why don't I show you what arrived in my mailbox today? Its the latest book from Vickie Howell, cutely titled Knit Aid... and its autographed! Yup, I preordered mine thru Vickie direct and it came signed "Happy Knitting on the go! xo, Vickie" I haven't had a chance to really poke through it yet, but I can tell you its the perfect size to toss in your knitting bag and it is spiral bound, making for easy usage. In flipping thru quickly, I see lots of great illustrations. Find yourself out knitting somewhere thinking "man, how exactly do I do that duplicate stitch?" ... this would be the book to have in your bag!

As for the weather, its been a much nicer start to the week than our cold and rainy weekend. High 70's and sunny yesterday & today... rain coming in for Friday, but they say our weekend will be nice... it better be, as I'm heading off to the NH Sheep & Wool with Joanne, blogless Cheryl and blogless Marlene!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Once again, congratulations to all of my contest winners! Prizes went out this morning and I hope you will enjoy them!

It was a cold & rainy weekend around New England. I spent Saturday night at Fenway (first time back to a game in about 4 years now) and it felt more like fall football weather! (excuse the "little people" photos... I didn't bring the camera due to the weather, these are cell phone pics)

I soon remembered why I'm much more of an action packed sports girl (translation: NASCAR, football and hockey)... baseball is pretty slow & boring to me! Don't get me wrong, this Boston girl will always root for her Red Sox (and I do enjoy catching a game in person every now and then), but if given the choice (especially with the need to sell your first born to get a ticket enormous ticket prices), I'd rather quinch my need for speed, see some good checks (fight, fight, fight!) or see the Brady bunch....

I don't want to get too much in to the weekend tragedy,and I don't know much about horses, but I do know that no animal should be run so hard they break both of their front ankles!!!! I've heard several takes on the story and understand Eight Belles was just 2 years old. Apparently, horses should not be raced until at least 4 years of age. There's also been lots of genetic crapola going on to produce the "fastest and strongest" horses... all in the name of greed for the all mighty dollar - ugh!!! Personally, I think if you want to run a race, then use your own 2 feet or an inanimate object, such as a car, boat or motorcycle. Rest in Peace Eight Belles...

On that note, did you know that it is Be Kind to Animals Week? Please click on over and learn what you can do, including teaching children....

Reminder... sign ups are now open for the Multitasking 9-5 group swap over on Ravlery!

Now I even have some actual knitting content to leave you with today! I'm working away on the Criss-Cross scarf for my ISE6 pal. I'm loving the way the Patons SWS is working up in this pattern...

After realizing that there was no way the pokey, always wanting to cast on something new, 'ole me I'd ever finish the Oriel Lace scarf for my pal in time for the deadline, I switched to this pattern and am glad I did. My pal loves winter colors and she lives in a cold winter climate, so I'm hoping this will be a perfect fit for her. I'm starting to think these scarves will also be in a few Christmas presents this year as well...

I'm still Clapping away, but am thisclosetobeingfinished!!! No updated pics, but it will be done in time to wear to the NH Sheep and Wool festival this weekend (so long as weather is appropriate for wearing) and I will get finished photos then! I spent yesterday working on the decrease rounds...

I'm about half way done with my first teddy bear sweater for the Granite State Knit-In donations. They collect "dressed" stuffed aniamls of all sorts, which are then donated to the NH State Troopers for their program (all troopers have a couple in their trunks to provide as needed to children). I plan to get at least a couple made...

Well, that's all folks... enjoy the rest of your Cinco de Mayo!

And The Doggy Goes To...

Thank you to everyone who entered my contest in honor of ASPCA and for all the wonderful things you did to help animals in need and to spread the awareness! Thank you also to my wonderful crafty circle of friends who donated some fantastic prizes to the cause as well! Please be sure to click through to their Etsy shops where you'll find some wonderful products!

The bag of entries looked like this (great use of a knitting bag without current project!)...

And the winners were drawn..., so now... the moment you've all been waiting for! Please note these prize groupings are in no particular order and I was able to put together 8 different prize groupings. Included with each prize pack is an orange ASPCA wrist band.

Neck Rice Roll & Ice Pack from Blume's Accessories
goes to blogless Marlene!

Handknit Paw Print Scarf by Chan &

Purple Paw Awareness Pin goes to Mary!

Go Green Shopper Tote from Seacost Baby &
Stitch Marker Holder from Blume's Accessories
goes to Dianne!

Oversided Wallet (notions bag) from

Seacoast Baby & Doggy Tape Measure

from Yarndemon Designs goes to Paula!

Doggy Sock It Bag from Gypsy Knits, Doggy
Bandana from Seacoast Baby & Trekking
Sock Yarn from Criquette (not pictured) goes to Natalie!

Oversided Wallet (notions bag) from

Seacoast Baby, ASPCA t-shirt & Animal

Rescue Candle goes to Jessi!

Oversided Wallet (notions bag) & Doggy
Bandana from Seacoast Baby goes to Kenyetta!

Oversided Wallet (notions bag) from

Seacoast Baby & Kitchener Dog Tag goes to Anita!

Congratulations to all of the winners! I really hope everyone enjoys their prizes!

5 Years Ago Today...

... a dream came to an abrupt and unexpected end... a friend fought for his live.... lives were forever changed.

Former NASCAR driver's painful recovery
Five years after a harrowing crash at Richmond International Raceway, former NASCAR driver Jerry Nadeau is still trying to pick up the pieces.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Pictures, posters and other keepsakes adorn a wall in Jerry Nadeau's office. Helmets, diecast cars and T-shirts sit on shelves, untouched except by dust.

Among this montage of memories, two framed items stand out. One is a photo of Nadeau's car beside runner-up Dale Earnhardt's black No. 3 moments after Nadeau had won the 2000 season finale at Atlanta. Earnhardt's left hand juts out of his car, his index finger saluting Nadeau on his first and only NASCAR Winston Cup victory.

"That is the ultimate picture," Nadeau says with a widening grin.

Below that photo is a newspaper clipping from the race. A large picture captures him in Victory Lane, cheeks rosy and bulging smile toothy.

His right hand and that of teammate Jeff Gordon are clasped in celebration.
The headline proclaims: "Happily ever after."

If only it was true.

A head injury suffered five years ago today in a crash at Richmond International Raceway turned Nadeau's ultra-focused life into tumult.

Racing defined Nadeau, and even today, he still struggles to accept that he'll never compete in NASCAR's top series again.

To continue on, you can find the full article here.

Some people know that I was a huge supporter of Jerry and I ran the "Get Jerry Noticed" program and then later, Team Nadeau. I've met a couple of my bestest friends because of the Jerry work I did....

I usually get to see him about once a year now and hope to be able to catch up with him later this month. Here's the only photo I can find at the moment (or rather, the only one I remembered to upload to Flickr)...

One thing the above article failed to note was Jerry has a beautiful 5 year old daughter... she was born in February, just a few months before her Dad's accident.

Jerry is a constant reminder to me that Life is Too Short... never put off tomorrow what you can do today! And to Jerry... I know you'll find that spark and get motivated again.

2 legs or 4?

Can you believe its May already? Where is the time flying off to these days? Its also doggy Thursday again...

I will be announcing the winners of my contest within the next day or two... I hope to do the drawing tonight, then I need to photo and post the prizes! Thank you to everyone who entered! My ASPCA fundraising banner will remain at the top of my blog, as I'm still inching along towards my $1,000 goal. Please feel free to click thru it and donate (or renew your membership) to the ASPCA at any time.

Foster Doggy update! I hear the black beauty Shelby (formerly Lilah) is really blossoming in to a sweet girl. Oh how I miss those stubby little legs and big 'ole paws of hers! Here she is watching her sisters wrestle... don't you just love their matching pink collars?

Family update! We have a new 2 legged addition ... introducing my newest nephew Samuel! Baby Sammy makes 6 for my brother, the 4 little ones and 2 grown ones (see Mom, aren't you glad there's only grandoggies on our end??). I've yet to meet Sam in person, but can't wait to pinch those cheeks...

Now on to the 4 legged doggy pics... its been a lounging kinda week around our house for the kiddos...

Zeus ~ "I love Mommy's squishy pillow thingy & the blankie my Grammy made for me..."

Sophie ~ "What?? Ladies don't sit like this?"

Teutul ~ "Let's get this straight now. I am still the baby... I don't care if she's younger than me!"

Lola ~ "Me loves my sista... even if she is always on my back!"