Thursday, August 30, 2007
RIP II
I have decided to sign up for this RIP II challenge. I will be doing the Sunday Short Story Peril. Thanks Paula for having this on your blog!
Monday, August 27, 2007
State Fair Revue
We had a fabulous time at the State Fair on Friday. We got there a little before 7:00 am and got really good parking. We eat a fantastic breakfast at the Blue Moon Drive in Diner. Where we watched Laurel and Hardy’s “Sons of the Desert” while sitting on old car seats and eating a delicious meal. Then it was time to head over to the Creative Activities building to help set up the Minnesota Knitters Guild booth. We accomplished that in time for them to open the building. So my DH and I wandered around the building looking at all the beautiful hand crafts. I am going to get my stuff together so I can enter something in the Fair next year. I don’t expect to win, but it would be fun to try. Susan Rainey won the sweepstakes ribbon for a drop dead gorgeous sweater. You can check it out on theraineysisters.com. She has a bunch of stuff she won ribbons for on the site. She is a really awesome knitter. There were a lot of really beautiful works there. I also looked over the canning. I think I will can some salsa to enter for next year. I make excellent salsa. At least according to DH, because I myself to do not eat it.
After the Creative Activities building we hit the Education building and picked free stuff: bags, pencils, pens etc. I impressed a lady with my knowledge of Israel and got two mints instead of just one.
Then we wandered around for a while. Stopped by the Pet Center to look at dogs. Always a must. We wandered into the 4H building and discovered a new sport: Rabbit Agility. It was too much fun. The rabbits were jumping various jumps and going up and down an A-frame. It was a riot. There was a Flemish Giant participating. It was like a rabbit from “Night of the Lepus”. We had a malt at the Kiwanis booth. They sell malts that taste just like the ones my dad used to make, nice and malty. We stopped and bought a wild rice burger, which was very good. We stopped in the Agriculture building and checked out the Crop Art. We then wandered down by the Empire Commons so DH could stop by Al Franken’s booth. We went into the Empire Commons and I looked at some very nice yarn they had there and of course we looked at the butter sculptures. For those unfamiliar with this tradition, every year the Dairy Princess, Kay of the Milky Way, and her court are sculpted out of a 60 pound block of butter. The poor girls have to sit in a refrigerated glass booth while the sculptor creates a bust out of butter. Apparently, in the olden days they used to hand out crackers with the butter which was removed from the block, but at some point it was decided that this was a health issue.
We sat and rested for a bit and then went to the sheep & poultry barn and looked at sheep and rabbits. Which are in the same building, although I do not consider them either sheep or poultry. Then we stopped by the buffalo and the alpaca booths.
We had a couple of brats and of course a deep fat fried candy bar on a stick and headed home. We got home at about 4. So it was a long day.
There were quite a lot of things we did not hit: the cow barn, the biggest pig, the art building, the world bazaar, the all you can drink milk booth and a ton of other stuff. We were taking it easy. But it was a perfect day to be at the Fair, it was 75 and sunny with a little breeze. Maybe we will have to try to get over there again before it ends. Of course, there is always next year.
After the Creative Activities building we hit the Education building and picked free stuff: bags, pencils, pens etc. I impressed a lady with my knowledge of Israel and got two mints instead of just one.
Then we wandered around for a while. Stopped by the Pet Center to look at dogs. Always a must. We wandered into the 4H building and discovered a new sport: Rabbit Agility. It was too much fun. The rabbits were jumping various jumps and going up and down an A-frame. It was a riot. There was a Flemish Giant participating. It was like a rabbit from “Night of the Lepus”. We had a malt at the Kiwanis booth. They sell malts that taste just like the ones my dad used to make, nice and malty. We stopped and bought a wild rice burger, which was very good. We stopped in the Agriculture building and checked out the Crop Art. We then wandered down by the Empire Commons so DH could stop by Al Franken’s booth. We went into the Empire Commons and I looked at some very nice yarn they had there and of course we looked at the butter sculptures. For those unfamiliar with this tradition, every year the Dairy Princess, Kay of the Milky Way, and her court are sculpted out of a 60 pound block of butter. The poor girls have to sit in a refrigerated glass booth while the sculptor creates a bust out of butter. Apparently, in the olden days they used to hand out crackers with the butter which was removed from the block, but at some point it was decided that this was a health issue.
We sat and rested for a bit and then went to the sheep & poultry barn and looked at sheep and rabbits. Which are in the same building, although I do not consider them either sheep or poultry. Then we stopped by the buffalo and the alpaca booths.
We had a couple of brats and of course a deep fat fried candy bar on a stick and headed home. We got home at about 4. So it was a long day.
There were quite a lot of things we did not hit: the cow barn, the biggest pig, the art building, the world bazaar, the all you can drink milk booth and a ton of other stuff. We were taking it easy. But it was a perfect day to be at the Fair, it was 75 and sunny with a little breeze. Maybe we will have to try to get over there again before it ends. Of course, there is always next year.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Rain… rain… rain…
Rain… rain… rain…rain… nothing but rain. It has been raining for about a week. I am so sick of rain. I finished one of my toe up socks. I will get a picture of it up soon. I promise. I am not very good about the whole picture thing just because I do not have a good digital camera. I have one that we bought at a garage sale for $15. It works, but it is kind of hinky.
Tomorrow I will be attending our State Fair. Yeah!!! I love the Fair. The Minnesota Knitter’s Guild is having a booth tomorrow and I volunteered to help set up. So I will get there early and have all the fun I can stand and leave before the huge hoards of people show up after work. Last year at the Fair there was an incredible and very bizarre sock monkey dress. One couple were looking at it and the woman said “Where would you wear that?” and the man responded with awe in his voice “ Where wouldn’t you wear it?” That is what makes the Fair so great. The diversity. I will give a little update after the Fair as to what I saw. Maybe over the weekend.
Tomorrow I will be attending our State Fair. Yeah!!! I love the Fair. The Minnesota Knitter’s Guild is having a booth tomorrow and I volunteered to help set up. So I will get there early and have all the fun I can stand and leave before the huge hoards of people show up after work. Last year at the Fair there was an incredible and very bizarre sock monkey dress. One couple were looking at it and the woman said “Where would you wear that?” and the man responded with awe in his voice “ Where wouldn’t you wear it?” That is what makes the Fair so great. The diversity. I will give a little update after the Fair as to what I saw. Maybe over the weekend.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Movie reviews and other news
Sorry about the downer post last time. I was not in a good place. It has been raining here for days and I am sick of it. I did go see two movies over the weekend. On Friday, the DH and I went to see Superbad. Very funny, but very, very vulgar. On Saturday, The Girl, her beau, DH and I went to see Stardust. I highly recommend it. It is a sweet and funny movie. Not overly sappy. Overall, good for the family. I would not take little kids, because the witches are kind of scary and they have very bad intentions for the star. Plus, there is an awesome shawl towards the beginning of the movie. It is the scene in the grocery store. You will know when it comes up. Please go see it and let me know if you think it is as awesome as I do. I tried to find a picture of it, but no luck.
I have some photos I need to pick up and then I will post some FOs. I am currently working on my toe up sock. I am past the heel. It is going really well.
I found out today that one of the yarn shops that I frequent is going out of business. It has been for sale for some time, but apparently no one was interested. It is too bad, just because this LYS is very close to my house.
I have some photos I need to pick up and then I will post some FOs. I am currently working on my toe up sock. I am past the heel. It is going really well.
I found out today that one of the yarn shops that I frequent is going out of business. It has been for sale for some time, but apparently no one was interested. It is too bad, just because this LYS is very close to my house.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Reality sucks
***One time I had told a co-worker that I did not want children because as bad as my dog (I only had one at the time) might be at 10:00 at night, I knew where she was. I knew she was not out knocking over liquor stores. My co-worker had asked why I thought my child would be out knocking over liquor stores. I had replied how did she know they wouldn’t.***
Last night I had to leave work early because The Girl got picked up for shoplifting at the mall. Hubby and I spent the evening trying to decide on a suitable punishment.
I know that kids do not come with a guarantee that they will become doctors or even successful, but I feel like I am a complete failure at this parenting thing. I really do not know what I did wrong.
I do think she realizes how much trouble she is in, not that she would admit that, but last night she cleaned her room. When she is really stressed out she cleans. She is going to lose her cell phone privileges until she can show us that she is taking life a little more seriously. We do not yet know what the judge will decide as far as the charges go. We will get a letter. I have already told my husband that if they want to charge a fine, I am going to request community service. I am not going to pay the fine and I know she doesn’t have any money and she doesn’t have a job. I think community service will be a bigger punishment than a fine. She doesn’t really understand the consequences of spending money. She was also banned from the mall for 6 months. This totally sucks because this particular mall is the one we normally go see movies at because it is the best theater in our area.
I did not do any real knitting last night. I definitely want to get some done tonight. I think I really need to get out some of this stress. I really just wanted to vent.
Last night I had to leave work early because The Girl got picked up for shoplifting at the mall. Hubby and I spent the evening trying to decide on a suitable punishment.
I know that kids do not come with a guarantee that they will become doctors or even successful, but I feel like I am a complete failure at this parenting thing. I really do not know what I did wrong.
I do think she realizes how much trouble she is in, not that she would admit that, but last night she cleaned her room. When she is really stressed out she cleans. She is going to lose her cell phone privileges until she can show us that she is taking life a little more seriously. We do not yet know what the judge will decide as far as the charges go. We will get a letter. I have already told my husband that if they want to charge a fine, I am going to request community service. I am not going to pay the fine and I know she doesn’t have any money and she doesn’t have a job. I think community service will be a bigger punishment than a fine. She doesn’t really understand the consequences of spending money. She was also banned from the mall for 6 months. This totally sucks because this particular mall is the one we normally go see movies at because it is the best theater in our area.
I did not do any real knitting last night. I definitely want to get some done tonight. I think I really need to get out some of this stress. I really just wanted to vent.
Monday, August 06, 2007
I am still alive
Hello everyone. I have not abandon ship… I have been on vacation. I spent last week in beautiful sunny San Diego. The Girl and I were learning to surf. I really am not in any shape to do such strenuous activities. It was a good time, but exhausting. I never stood on the board, but I did come in on my knees a few times. The Girl was a natural, of course, all those years of skateboarding. I had thought I would have time to work on the mystery stole, but alas, I was far too tired to knit anything as complex as lace. I worked on dish cloths. I am still on clue 1 on the mystery stole …sigh. However, in my defense, this is the 1st project which I have tackled that uses actual lace weight yarn and it is far more complex than any other lace I have tried. Also, I did not knit on it while my hubby was reading Harry Potter to me. So it has been several weeks since I worked on it. In the mean time, I have made a pair of socks, low cut anklets made from Tofutsie. They only took me a week! I knit them while listening to the Deathly Hallows. They had short row heels and I loved making them. Next time, I will make the ribbing longer and have just regular length anklets. I might also make the top tighter. I am now working on the toe up socks that were in IK Summer ’07 magazine. We will see how those go.
I would like to make a couple of comments about the Tofutsie. On the upside, it is extremely soft and feels great against the feet. It is silky so you need to use wooden needles. On the downside, I found it a little splity, which I did not like. Also, the ribbing was kind of loose. I think it might be because the yarn is so slippery. I am not sure though. Also, I think it was supposed to stripe, but it didn’t. It was just sort of splotchy. I thought they were very pretty anyway, but The Girl wanted to know why I couldn’t wear normal socks when we got on the plane.
I am hoping to get caught up on some of my knitting. I will try to post some pictures of my new socks and the dishcloths I have been working on. I just wanted to post so people did not think I had left the country.
There have been a couple questions about the little critters I had posted a few weeks ago. They are knit, I only know how to knit. I can crochet a single crochet, but only as trim on my knitting etc. The bunny is a free pattern on Heartstring Fibers website. Here is the link: http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/bunny.shtm. I did not measure carefully and the head was a little smaller than the pattern so he looked really chubby. I still thought he was awful cute.
The lobster I bought on Esty from Crafty Alien: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=43812. She has a ton of other patterns too. I bought the Backyard Critters Vol I & III as well, but I have only managed to get the lobster done.
I would like to make a couple of comments about the Tofutsie. On the upside, it is extremely soft and feels great against the feet. It is silky so you need to use wooden needles. On the downside, I found it a little splity, which I did not like. Also, the ribbing was kind of loose. I think it might be because the yarn is so slippery. I am not sure though. Also, I think it was supposed to stripe, but it didn’t. It was just sort of splotchy. I thought they were very pretty anyway, but The Girl wanted to know why I couldn’t wear normal socks when we got on the plane.
I am hoping to get caught up on some of my knitting. I will try to post some pictures of my new socks and the dishcloths I have been working on. I just wanted to post so people did not think I had left the country.
There have been a couple questions about the little critters I had posted a few weeks ago. They are knit, I only know how to knit. I can crochet a single crochet, but only as trim on my knitting etc. The bunny is a free pattern on Heartstring Fibers website. Here is the link: http://www.heartstringsfiberarts.com/bunny.shtm. I did not measure carefully and the head was a little smaller than the pattern so he looked really chubby. I still thought he was awful cute.
The lobster I bought on Esty from Crafty Alien: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=43812. She has a ton of other patterns too. I bought the Backyard Critters Vol I & III as well, but I have only managed to get the lobster done.
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