Catching up... slowly!

I'm still playing catch up after vacation... very slowly, given that we haven't had much for down time since returning home. Today has been off to a lazy start...

Not the speediest of readers, I decided that I would finally start reading Friday Night Knitting Club this morning and am already having a hard time putting it down. I got my copy a long, long time ago and had it signed here, however usually find I'd rather knit than read, so... anyway, this was my breakfast of champions while reading this morning...

It was a pretty lazy morning all around the house today...

Sleepy eyed Teutul...

Lounging, lazy girls, Lola & Sophie...

The king of the sunspots, Zeus...

I have some knitting content, although I was a little bit lazy (sense a theme here?) with my vacation knitting. This is how far I got on the first of my "Trekking to Charlotte" sock..

Earlier this week, I cast on the camera sock for my new pink Kodak. It is a very quick knit, but did I mention I've been lazy? It'll be finished this week - after all, I need to have it done before the Knit In this weekend so the camera is protected in my bag!

Before we left for Charlotte, you might've picked up on the quick peak at the beautiful apple trees in full blossom in my backyard... I meant to post these photos before I left, but realize I didn't get around to it... see how pretty they were?

Before vacation.....

and after...

Ah well... enjoy it while you can, right? I also came home to a thousand and one friggin lilacs blooming ... which results in extremely dry eyes and sneezing. While we only have one small bush on the side of the house, right now it smells like a whole forest! I used to enjoy lilacs, but my allergies have gotten worse as I age...

I still need to download all the vacation pictures, including my wonderful visit (and purchases) to the lovely and homey Cottage Yarn in Mint Hill, as well as lots & lots of photos from the races. A good friend surprised us with pit passes, so we've got some excellent pictures (speaking of racing... Chan, you'll be pleased to know that I'm wearing an Elliott shirt today, although its a #38, but still a great shirt!). And of course, the pics with Killer! I broke the news to Zeus, Lola, Tut & Sophie... they were sad they didn't get to play with Killer, but didn't seem to mind so much when they noticed Mommy brought home their favorite treats from the Canine Cafe!

For those of you who I didn't get to email this week, I wanted to once again thank everyone for all of the well wishes for my Mom during her fight with colon cancer and let you know that she had a clear cat scan! Yeah!!! She will need to go in for a follow up in six months just to make sure everything is still clean. However, the happiness didn't last long, as my Dad went to the doctor with swollen glands in his neck and has now been diagnosed with cancer. We are in the very early stages of diagnosis and will know more later this week, however so far Mom is reporting that it is a form of head & neck cancer, in the very early stages and treatable. Please continue your good thoughts for my Dad...

I'll be back later... I'm off to get some stitch markers made now. I need to get some made for A Knitter's Garden, as Joanne will be vending at the Knit In on Saturday and requested some extras. I also need to update my Etsy store very soon!

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...