What Happened to Courtesy while Driving?

With the Christmas Holiday, I have been driving 50+ miles one way for family related things (delivering Christmas gifts, spending Christmas with family, spending time with my little niece in from Maryland). As I would drive, I would try to change lanes and have to drive faster to get over because the people in that lane were not willing to let me in their lane. I watched as a truck was forced to use a wrong exit because people in the lane he was in would not let him over.

I have been living in a country area for six years now and I really like not having to get on the interstate. I really like not having to fight my way through the traffic. I watch on the morning news as they tell about accidents that involve many vehicles (or just one that ran off the road).

Are we in such a hurry to get somewhere that we can't slow down (even just a little) and show some common courtesy to other drivers. Let them over into the lane we are in or even speeding up a little so they can slide in behind us (if they are sort of behind us to begin with). It won't shave any time off our commute if we have an accident and it helps us to be better drivers if we show each other just a little courtesy while we are driving.

I hope everyone is able to get to their destinations safely and have happy travels.

I am Weak

Well, maybe not as weak as I think I am, but I bought yarn today. Mostly, I bought more cotton yarn for dishcloths. There are many people who like them so much that they ask for them regularly as gifts (birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas). So I bought yarn. I also bought yarn for my DD's to have new hats and scarves. They like to pick out their own yarn for their hats and scarves and they love to wear these hats and scarves, but today at 11:30 a.m. I bought yarn and I had to reset the clock on my blog to show that I am starting over. Since this is the only yarn that I seem to be using faster than fast, I bought more.

Have a good night and if you are on Ravelry, you can check to see what I bought because at some point I will post the purchases (besides it was on sale!).

Merry Christmas, Everyone

Happpy Birthday, Jesus. I think it is important to say that also. It is His birthday and yet we are the recipients of gifts. My family and friends and I played Santa to many people in our area this year. I am lucky I can participate in this activity. We bought gift cards, made gifts, bought gifts, bought food and shared with as many people as we could over such a short period. It is amazing how many people are in need and how few are able to help. But this year we were able to help and I am grateful (Thank you God) for being able to help. My family (husband and I) like to help as many as we can to make sure that others get the help they need.

My family and I attended church at St. Luke Lutheran church in Cold Spring, KY. Last night. It was wonderful. It has been ages since we were there! More due to distance in miles than not wanting to attend church. We had our neice and had to return her to her father, so we took her to church with us. She said, "Church is boring." My youngest said, "Not our church. It is fun!" I think this is a tribute to Pastor Harry and Sharey Biles. So my neice asked if she could attend church with us and we took her. She really seemed to like it. Then we took her to Grandma and Grandpa's house. The girls ran some more. They have so much fun together!

This morning the girls woke up so very early and they were so happy with their gifts. They received what they wanted from Santa (sort of). Esther got a large stuffed dog and a small one that jumps. Hannah got a "Toothless" flying dragon toy, Magic Tree House books, Nicole got a large fire truck and a semi with color changing cars in it. That made it worth all the fighting they have been doing. They are so happy to get clothes. Board games (Parcheesi, Yahtzi, Monopoly Jr, Memory, etc).

Have a Merry Christmas all and Happy Birthday, Jesus!

If you can do something nice for someone who needs it, please do so. It could be as small as buying some canned goods to take to a food pantry.

Owned by Cats

I recently commented on my Facebook, that you know that you are owned by a cat when you turn on your heating pad and your cat gets on it and you don't move him/her/them. I have arthritis from breaking so many bones and sometimes after shoveling snow (or waiting for it to fall), I will ache and so I turn on the heating pad and then I have to get up and I leave it on because I know that I will come right back to that spot. My cats have discovered that the heating pad is warm and that it helps them feel better also (one cat has arthritis also). My husband thinks it is very funny that I have lost my heating pad to the cats. The cats even wait turns for it. It is so funny to see one cat curled on the pad and then when he gets off to go get a drink, something to eat or use the litter box and there is a cat waiting nearby to get on.

These cats have been such nice company for me when my husband worked third (when we were newly married) and then when he would be sent to other plants in other states, owned by the company (had two babies and a third on the way) and now that he is back on third shift with the new company. The cats sleep on his side of the bed. He also really loves these cats... He laughs that if I am sitting and available the cats are fighting for space on or beside me, but when I am not available, he becomes their next choice.

We have had a lot of snow and my children have been outside as much as they possibly can, sliding down the hill... They have these little dogs, called Eddie dogs. You can find them at Eddie Bauer outlets. They keep taking the dogs outside to "exercise" them. The girls are too funny, taking to stuffed dogs outside.

The weather people are saying more snow on the way. I pray that it isn't much so the girls can have their three days of school before the winter break (please note not Christmas, but winter).

I have finished another dishcloth, 2 scarves (one very long) and I have started one for a teacher. It should be finished quickly since I am not getting fancy with it.

This is the very long scarf, that I made for my friend, it uses alpaca yarn that her sister found.
This is the dishcloth that I made for my mother-in-law. She really likes these dishcloths.
This is a scarf that I made for a friend's daughter.

Count Down to Christmas: 6 more knitting/crochet days and counting....Merry Christmas

No School - Snow Day #2

We got about 4 1/2 inches of snow here in Lebanon, OH. It is cold and the snow is light and not good for packing (not a wet snow). I turned on the tv and turned on Scooby Doo Movies (that I taped years ago for the girls from television). They watch a little go out and play, come in get warm, watch some more and then go back out to play some more. My laundry just quadrupled and I won't tell them not to go out and play. We had some older teen boys come by wanting to snow blow our driveway, but that is my exercise!! So I told them no thank you and sent them on their way. They did get to snow blow the neighbors' drives. I finished another dishcloth (so many people like them and they can be worked on anywhere and require no thought). I am trying to finish another scarf. I am closer than I think but I have to keep stopping to work on something else and then go back to work on it. Then when I get that finished I have to make a scarf for my DD1's teacher and one for my DD3's teacher. Then I can work on my youngest niece's (DN3) penguin and clown. I need to finish so many things for Christmas, I think I am going to be knitting and crocheting on Christmas Eve! I hope not (at least not under pressure). So time to get back to the needles! Have a good and safe day.

No School-Snow Day #1

In Ohio, we are only allowed to have (I think this year) 3 snow days. After that we have to make up at the end of the year. So today is the first snow day. I knew yesterday that they would cancel, but they had to wait until 5 a.m. to call everyone and let them know that they would officially cancel school. My girls were up and ready to go at 7:30 a.m. It is a long day when that happens. I made coffee and they are presently each settle with a cup of coffee (we use it when DD2's asthma is at it's worst). They are enjoying their mixture of flavored and decaf coffee and that is all they will get.

I let them out to play and they were back in after about an hour, nice rosy cheeks (from the cold) and wet (from the snow stuck to the clothing). They changed out of the wet and into dry and wrapped themselves in blankets and are watching the original "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with Boris Korloff. Then we'll put in something else for them to watch.

After they came in from playing the neighbor's kids (and yes they have two (2) a boy and a girl-who looks to be the same age as one of ours) came out to sled ride also. They didn't stay out long. I don't think they are used to the weather. But no dogs so far. If they take good care of their dog, I will lovingly accept the dog.

Tomorrow, DD2 gets her cast off her arm! She'll get another x-ray and we will go from there. If she is out of the cast we are signing her (and her sisters) up for karate! Maybe we can try to keep her from breaking any more bones. My DN1 (darling niece) broke her finger and did some serious damage to it, playing basketball....vicious sport!

I finished a few more scarves. (I may have mentioned my friend and I played Santa to a little girl and I made a scarf for her and to hide that, I made many extra scarves for other children). Now to make the scarves for the teachers. One teacher won't be getting a scarf because I want to make her something special (she is a good friend).

Have a good day and stay safe!!

Snow, Snow, Snow

It is not safe to be on roads with all those people rushing to get their Christmas gifts. On Thursday, I drove down to Kentucky to get my car worked on. It had a vacuum leak that needed to be fixed. I took it to the shop I went to when I was in college. I trust the men who work there and when I called to find out what the codes meant and what symptoms the car would exhibit, they were truthful and helpful. I don't trust a lot of the mechanics I run into. They try to scare people into getting the work done and I just don't like that. On my way back down (I borrowed my mother's car so I could transport my children) on Friday, I had to get off the expressway because of an accident where the cars were creeping along (I spent a half hour sitting). On the way back home, another accident where the road became a parking lot. I got off the expressway and it still took me over 2 hours to get home! That is a long time to be travelling and I had to call and wake up my husband so that he could go get my daughter from school. I knew that I was just not going to make it home.

Yesterday, we took the girls and went Christmas shopping for my brothers-in-law, my brother, my nephew and sister-in-law. We also bought the girls some clothes (my older two need clothes) and shoes. #1 DD shoes were ripping out (they were only a month old) #2 DD outgrew her shoes and #3 DD still had good shoes that were only a month old and she wanted a new pair also! She melted. I reminded her that she was going to get a new dress for Christmas. She could choose...new shoes or new dress...she chose the dress.

Overnight the rain changed into snow. It just isn't safe to drive with all those people in a hurry to get their gifts. I just don't want my stone to read, "She died for Christmas gifts." So the girls and I stayed home. I let them play in the backyard (no dogs, I don't have to be right here when they are out there!!!! (I sang my new song...Ding dong the dogs are gone, the evil dogs are gone!) I am betting that with all this lovely snow there will be a school cancellation due to snow. I hope not. I have too much to do and I would like to get finished, but I will deal with whatever happens.

So if you are anywhere where there is snow, Enjoy! If not, but are waiting for it, Stay Dry. Have a good Sunday!

They are GONE!!!

On previous posts I have told about my evil dog owning neighbors. These are the people who own 4 dogs that come into my yard terrorizing my children and biting one of them! I have taught my children (and other people's children) what to do should those dogs come into my yard while the children are out there. I have kept shovels (heavy duty) close to my door so that should I have to go out after the dog to protect my children (or other children) in my yard, I could. I have prayed that they move and God answered my prayers. They moved (I feel for their neighbors in GA). Recently, I thought I would search the woman's facebook and found that she told her friends that I am an evil cop-calling-dog-hater! So very funny to me that I am to blame for all her troubles with her dogs. Dogs that she had to have! Dogs that she didn't train! Dogs that she didn't exercise! I think the last is most important to note. She even told the police that it was my fault that her dogs would get out of her yard, run into mine, bite or corner my children. It was my fault because I have children and cats!

They put their house on the market in September, had an offer on the house in October and moved out in November!!!! In this housing market it was a prayer answered. I have still not met the new neighbors, but that is okay, I know that I will eventually.

As for dog-hating....I love dogs. I would take care of previous neighbors dogs. One neighbor's dog, would leave their yard and come onto my back porch. I would open the door, he would come into my house and play with the kids. I would yell over to the owners and let them know that I had their dog. They would bring over his leash and say to bring him home when he was finished playing. They were a great couple and I was sad to see them leave. But they needed a smaller place (he had bad knees and couldn't take the stairs).

The next neighbor had a dog. This dog was so sweet. She would bark at my husband because she didn't trust men, but she loved the girls and I took care of her. She would come over to my yard with her owner on a regular basis. Her husband was transferred to CO soon after buying and moving into this house.

I also could control another neighbor's Rottweilers. Both dogs were female and the most loving, sweet dogs (although one would corner my husband and I would have to go rescue him). They would always come to my house for me to love on them (they were two doors away).

I would take care of my parent's dogs. I grew up with Chihuahuas, shepherds, dobermans and a collie. My neighbor growing up had dobermans and greyhounds that I took care of when she went out of town. I stayed at her place over weekends while in college to care for her dogs. I walked all these dogs and loved all of them. So I find that dog-hater label funny. I only hated her dogs because of the fear they created in my children. My one daughter is still afraid of dogs, especially if they get excited and make noises. My other daughter backs away from dogs when they get too rambunctious. As for the cop-calling, sorry but if you can't take care of your dogs, then I need to involve police so that you understand your job! They had to go to court over the attacks on my children. I think they only got the idea that I didn't like them when I called the police on them and the dog warden.

By the way, the woman claims that she is going to be a veterinarian...seriously. I don't think that will be a good thing. I hope that they bought a place with lots of land.

On the crafting front. I have made several dishcloths (with two on needles in my bag) and 3 scarves (with one on needles). I am also making this really cool hat/scarf combo called an Athena Smoke Ring that is on needles. It looks really nice when it is finished.

My middle daughter is still healing but has been falling down a lot (sometimes with help from a boy pushing her from behind). She is not supposed to be running (yeah right), she is not to be playing contact sports (does tag count), she is not to be participating in PE (there wasn't any running or contact sports involved), she is to be wrapped in a blanket to go outside for recess (seriously what idiot thought of that one-a nurse). She is not to climb on the play equipment (like that would happen). I get some interesting phone calls from the school about her.

Well time to go to bed....have a good evening all.

So Much Going On

On the 2nd of November, I took my gorgeous DDs with me and went to the polling place and voted. I took a picture for Ravelry where Crochet Queen asked all her forum people to post photos of them with their stickers. It is not me, but my daughters, but we are outside the polls with our stickers.

Then I drove them to Frankfort, KY. The state capitol of Kentucky. I discovered some sad things. 1. Marshall's Restaurant is closed and replaced with something else. 2. The Old Capitol Buildings that used to be a museum are closed on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, with limited hours on the other days. One building is converted into offices for some state agency and God forbid you enter the building through an open door looking for restrooms for your children (who are young). Once the lady realized that I hadn't broken in and that I was looking for restrooms for my young children (one that started to cry) she took us to the restrooms and then took us out and discovered that the door was in fact open (the wind opened it). The place that was opened to replace the Old Capitol for a museum space, was also closed on the above mentioned days. 3. All the homes that used to be opened for tours, are closed. 4. The old Arsenal that was a Military History Museum is closed for renovations, but everyone believes it to be opened already, but in point of fact it is closed. 4. To get into the New Capitol building you need to walk through a metal detector that is so sensitive that my camera set it off and we had to provide identification and be signed in.

The good things: 1. Poor Richard's Book Store is still open and the women running it are still so very nice. We found some Magic Tree House books, some Junie B. Jones and a cat book and a Grimm Sisters Novel. 2. The New Capitol was open and we were able to wonder around inside and take some photos still. The officer realized that we didn't have anything dangerous on us and when the metal detector went off he still let us in. 3. We met a nice man in the Law Library of the 2nd floor that allowed the girls to look along the stacks. 4. We were able to go into the KY Supreme Court Room, The Senate Room and House Room. 5. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial for KY was still in place and just and awesome as it was over 15 years ago.

That night there was an explosion close to our home. 11 families were displaced by this explosion and fire. 2 are still in the hospital (they were severely burned and air lifted out). The fire was still being fought when my husband came home from work and that was aroudn 4 a.m. Yes, my husband is on night shift now and the girls and I are adjusting.

Thursday evening my daughters tore my room to shreds, sheets and blankets off the bed, clothing everywhere and the drawers open and my medicine was moved (I take medication daily and I keep it in the same place so I don't forget it). I screamed at them while I cleaned up the mess and then sent them to bed. Around 11:30 p.m. (everyone was asleep) my middle DD got up and took a walk that ended with her falling down the 13 stairs. She broke her arm. I stabilized her arm, called my husband at work and told him he needed to come home to help me. I took her to the ER and they said it was broken and it needed to be "reduced" and needed to see ortho surgeon. We got home from the hospital at 5 a.m. When I asked for a note to keep her home on Friday, they balked....She can go to school. You don't need to keep her home. I pointed out the time and said by the time we get home and go to sleep, we'll have to wake up 2 hours later....then go to school for a whole day! Then they wrote the note. I had to ask for a note to keep her out of P.E. (otherwise she has to go). Every request was met by an argument. I feel that common sense has left people. To think that she can go to school on no sleep after breaking her arm and staying all night in the ER. To think that she should be allowed to go to P.E. and do all the games.

After I saw the Ortho with Esther she got her new cast. It is purple with rainbow sparkles and she loves it. I asked the Ortho for permission for the nurse to give meds at school. They asked what she was taking for pain and I gave them the list. They said we can't do that it is a narcotic, I asked for Regular Strength (Adult-she is a big girl) Tylenol. They wrote it the way the ER wrote it and then signed off on it. I took it to the school nurse and she called to verify the strength of Tylenol and a nurse named Gert at the Ortho's without verifying the child's size, said that the amount was too much. On the note to keep her inside on cold days...Put a blanket around her and send her outside, but she is not to run (she ran everyday last week on the playground), she is not to play contact sports (try this one on for size, she played tag and "Star Wars") and she is not to play in P.E. Seriously, what kind of people are they hiring that the woman doesn't even pull the chart first, she makes an executive decision, she puts all these weird rules in place about how she is to go outside and sit on a bench (as if).

But I did finish 3 dish cloths this weekend and I saw my oldest neice playing soccer. She played a good game, but the boys need to learn to share the ball with their teammates and not be ball hogs. Her team lost 5-2. Oh well. Lessons learned.
Have a good week. I have to go make my bed and put away some clothes.

It's November

I can hardly believe it is here! November! We have had some cold days and very little rain. We are under advisement to not light fires of any kind as a stray ash could start a major fire.

There are 54 days to Christmas, so it is time to buckle down and get the Christmas gifts finished. I have so much to work on. There are 21 days to my daughter's birthday! Hard to believe that 6 years ago I was on bed rest to try and prevent her early arrival. There are 23 days to my birthday. This is a year where reversing my age won't be any fun. It is a year where the number is the same. I have a lot of fun telling people my age is the reverse of what it truly is. When I turned 39 I told people I was 93! When I turned 40, I said that I was 4...I didn't have to go to work or school or nothin'.

Tomorrow we get to vote. I have been encouraging my friends to get out and vote. I don't care what their views are or who they vote for, that is not the point. The point is to get out and vote.

My husband loves his new job. He is so very happy at his new job and is excited about getting more training. He started a new job on October 4th. He was so excited to get this new job and then to be working somewhere different. The girls and I are getting used to his new schedule and then it will change again. But he said that there are so many people from his old job there that he doesn't feel like an outsider. A friend of ours (who was at the old place also) just started and said that he has been helping her so much.

I am working on a new throw rug for my bathroom, but I neglected to keep track of what I was doing and so this will definitely be a one of a kind rug.

Well Happy November all. Make your voice count and vote!

Photos from my husband's birthday

As promised here are some photos from my husband's birthday. We went to the Columbus Zoo for his day. This is my husband with his girls. They love that he chose going to the zoo for his day.
These are the girls. Every sculpture at the zoo was a photo op.
My youngest DD, looking at the turtles in the tank in the reptile house.
My middle DD with her elephant ear headband. She is very tired from all the walking and she is also very hungry.
This is my oldest DD, she is adding to her snake collection!

We had a great day at the zoo and had lots of fun, wandering through. But now it is official my older DDs are too tall to play on the playgrounds! Not much fun for them.

Today....

Today is my husband's birthday. We spent the morning with basketball evaluations. Then we went up to the Columbus Zoo. It was a gorgeous day. We spent about 5 hours at the zoo today and still have not seen all there is to see. But we have learned that our poor older girls (at 55") are too tall for the play areas at the zoo. They did get to ride a horse (the youngest got to ride a miniature horse). They got to go on a train ride (nice little ride). We had a great day. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his day (even if we had to do basketball before we could do what he wanted to do). For now, I am going to finish laundry and then I am going to bed! Have a good weekend all. I'll post some photos from our day after I download them to my computer and sort through all of them (the girls were allowed to take photos also, so I have to review them first).

The Nicole Alexandra Hat

I was bound and determined to knit a hat for my neice and DD3. They are both about the same age (my neice is 6 weeks older than my daughter). So I am lucky that they wear the same sizes. So I called this hat the Nicole Alexandra Hat for the girls. This hat will fit a child with a head circumference of 21".

Nicole Alexandra Hat

Needle:
US 5 dpn and circular (16 in) - I started with circular and moved to the dpns on row 73.

Yarn:
Pink Sport Yarn 220 yds. You may or may not need all of it. Color is the favorite of the child.

Gauge:
4” = 24 sts
4” = 32 rows

Measurements:
Circumference of Head = 21”

Cast on 126
Join and place stitch marker
Row 1 - 70: K3, P3 (rib) continue to end of Row 70 (you can stop anywhere from 60 to 70 depending on the child).
Row 71: K1, K2tog, P1, P2tog to end of row (84 sts)
Row 72: Knit to end of row
Row 73: K2tog, P2tog to end of row (42 sts)
Row 74: Knit to end of row
Row 75: K2tog, repeat to end of row (21 sts)
Row 76: Knit to end of row
Row 77: K2tog until 6 stitches remain.
Close by cutting long end and then drawing through remaining stitches and weaving ends to finish.


Give this a try and let me know how they turn out. I like the ribs on this hat and they hold well to the child's head. My DD likes a shorter hat and my neice likes the longer hat. Have fun with this hat. Change colors, add stripes. Make this your own.

Some more finished projects

I finished a few things. A hat for my DD3. It is pink (her favorite color) and it is shorter because she doesn't like it being folded, so it is long enough to fold but short enough that it won't stick up that much should she decide not to fold it over.

I finished another hat for my friend's baby. But it didn't fit. It was too small. That is okay. I have never knitted for a baby before. I have crocheted, I have made counted cross stitch, never knitted, so I am still learning.


I finished a crochet border felt blanket for my neice. I made one for her about a year ago and I was told that she liked the blanket. With the divorce of her parents it is missing. I decided that I needed to make her a new one.

I made a short scarf for a friend of mine. I put a slit in the scarf to allow her to slip the scarf through and she wouldn't have to have so much scarf to cover her neck (given that she is kind of on the short side). Another scarf that I will give to a friend's daughter. She likes browns. It will be easy to wash, especially given that she likes to ride horses and is in college.

I am working on another hat for my neice (to look like the one I made my daughter, just longer). I am working on a few dishcloths. I hope that I can get some more items finished so that I can post pictures soon. But for now I am dealing with pink eye and a broken washing machine. It conked out on Monday, the repairman comes resets it. Shows me how to reset it and then leaves. It works for 4 days and then today of all days it stops during a wash cycle. The towels are drenched. I have to haul all the clothes and wet towels to the laundromat and run them there. I bring them home and am drying them now so that I can put them away. Good things about the laundromat: 1. The people are nice. 2. The wash is completed quickly. 3. I can get some knitting finished. Bad things about the laundromat: 1. It cost $8 to wash two loads of laundry. I had to haul it out and home. 3. I had to wait for my husband to come from the YMCA with the girls because my vehicle is the only completely enclosed and has enough room for three girls (he bought a truck with an open back and can only hold 1 girl comfortably).

Have a good evening.

More of the Same

Last Thursday, my oldest daughter complained of a sore throat and a fever. I took her to her doctor and was told it was not strep and she could go back to school the next day. The next morning came and her fever was higher. I sent a message to the secretary asking if the note I have would work for two days or if I would need a new one for the Friday. No response. I have noticed this a lot with the school district. They want more money and they aren't willing to show parents that they care enough to respond. Why would I vote more money for this school district when they aren't showing the care. So fine, I think the note will work.

Saturday comes along, and my daughter is worse! Her fever is very high and she is miserable and refusing to drink. I call the doctor and get the doctor on call who doesn't give her an antibiotic, just tells me to get the fever down. I was already working on that. Three days of fever is something serious.

Sunday, more fever, lower than the day before, but still high. Go to Kroger's and find out that Tylenol Jr tabs is not available due to a recall (wasn't that back in January?). I can't get any more Tylenol. Now what to do. I buy Ibuprofen and move along.

Monday, the fever is definitely going the right direction. I am thinking, she is going to school on Tuesday.

Nope, she doesn't get to go to school on Tuesday, but I take her to school to turn in her work and then take her to doctor. She has morphed into something else and the fever is gone (at doctor's office). She has medicine finally.

I take the girls to the bus stop in the van today. Our bus stop is 1/4 mile away and today I am very ill. I feel horrible. I drove them so I can get more rest. My youngest daughter's bus driver (a wonderful woman) is off and we have a substitute, who blew past her stop without even stopping!!!! I call the bus barn after I get my other daughters onto their bus and the bus driver lies....
Lie 1: The signs are all knocked down and I couldn't find H. Drive.
Lie 2: The child wasn't even at the stop. (If he couldn't find H. Drive how does he know she wasn't at the stop?).

I made them come back for her. Sorry, your job, paid by my taxes says you are picking her up at the bus stop (that I take her to). You don't want to do this job, get another job!!!

Sorry, I feel very frustrated that they actually allowed this man to tell these lies while I was listening and then make it look like I didn't do my job. I really think I need to vote against the taxes that they want us to pay.

Mistake Rib Hat

I finally, finally finished my DD2's hat. I am calling the mistake rib, because instead of 3x3 ribbing (like it was at one point) I ended up with some k3, p3, k4,p2, k2, p4. It really is messed up. But considering that the first time I cast on this hat it was going along nicely until a cat got tangled in the yarn and the stitches came off. I wasn't able to rescue the stitches (I made this using alpaca yarn and it just wasn't easy to find the stitches to rescue).

The next time I cast on, I used a set of bamboo circs with a loose cable. I didn't realize how loose the cable was until DD2 wanting to try on her hat, put the unfinished hat to her head and stretched the cable pulling all the stitches off when the cable pulled out of the needle.

I cast on again. I had it to the crown shaping. I was so excited. I put it down where I thought it would be safe. Silly me. I had my cousin and her family and my nephew over for a Harry Potter night. We drank Sangrias. (Wow, I really liked those). We played cards, while the kids played and watched the movies. Unknown to me, my nephew (aged 21) and my cousin's son (age 4) got hold of the hat and tore stitches off! I cried. I rewound the ball and started again.

I cast on the hat for the 4th or 5th time (I lost count). I started it late one night and worked on it during church. Somehow, I made a mistake on the rib. The only thing I can say, is that at least I was consistent. Wherever I had 4x2 I stayed at 4x2, 3x3 stayed 3x3. It is not easy to see that I messed up.

I continued to work on the hat. I finally got it to the length that made my DD happy. I made the crown (I kept the hat in lock down). I cast off. She came home from school and I tried it on her. It is too loose.

I remember reading that Stephanie (aka Yarn Harlot) wrote there are just some things that aren't meant to be made with certain yarn. I should have listened better to this yarn. I know in my heart of hearts, she won't wear it to school. It is too loose and she doesn't like that.

Oh well. It is finished and I am tired of that yarn and that hat. I think I will finish a scarf, a clown and a penguin. I am on the other hand liking the hat I am making for my neice. It is turing out quite nice.

My Child was Missing

Yesterday, was the first day of school for my older DDs. They got to school, they had lunch went to library and played with their friends. They ate their lunch and brought home more papers for me. Then it was time for them to come home. My middle DD did not come home on the bus. She was missing. No one knew where she was. I called the school and was told she was on a bus and definitely not at school. The buses were being searched for her.

Happiness: She was found. She got on the wrong bus. She went for a ride on the bus. My baby was missing for over an hour. I paced and paced and paced.

I made a missing child picture using the first day of school photo on the off chance it was needed. It showed her from her head to her toes.

Today, she is to be placed beside her sister who has been given instructions to hold her hand and make sure she gets on the right bus. They don't have to sit next to each other, but she has to stand beside her, she has to hold her hand and she has to go where she goes. I don't want a repeat of today.

We keep reminding her that she needs to get on Bus 36 and that I will be waiting for her to come home. I had to promise to make my oldest DD something so that she is compensated for her trouble and embarassment for having to watch over her younger sister. Next year, I am sure that I will have to have Esther watched by her younger sister (my youngest DD).

Here is the poster I made and have been teasing her with:

Horse Back Riding Photos

As promised here are the photos of my DDs riding on a horse. They loved every moment of it. The loved taking care of the horse and saddling the horse and most of all riding the horse.
Also, this week, I took my daughters to a park that we haven't visited in awhile and to Kings Island (each girl got to choose a ride and then we came home). Today, I took my youngest to the Optical store to have her glasses examined and a new lens ordered for her glasses. My youngest had to get glasses this summer and the glasses have been left lying around the house. Fortunately for us, they are insured. But we have to pay a small price. Since the glasses cost over $200 the first time, the replacement lens was only 1/10 of the price we paid first time ($25). It seems the cause of the damage to her glasses is that a cat has been chewing on the frames and the lens. Who would have thought that one of my cats would eat a pair of glasses. When I was in college one of my parents dogs chewed up my glasses, but never my cats! We just aren't sure which cat it is. So we have to find a new place to keep her glasses so that the cats don't chew on them. Oh well. Have a good weekend.

Difficult to write, knit or read...

Right now I have a child on my lap and I keep adjusting her so that I can read blogs that I like to follow. I keep trying to adjust her so that I can type (write this blog) and get pictures off my camera, but she is in a mood (actually all my DDs are in a mood). My DDs do not like to stay home for one day of rest. They like to go continually, although one is sleeping on the sofa and complaining of headaches (she doesn't like to stay hydrated) and one has to work on her homework for her hearing impairment (she doesn't like to do that) and the other won't keep her glasses on. It is very frustrating.

Monday, I took the girls to a park so that they could play. We were there for over an hour and it wasn't until we were ready to leave that someone showed up. It was a nice day and it wasn't really humid (like it had been for a long time) and there weren't any people at the park.

Tuesday, I took the girls to the pool so they could play in the water for awhile. Then in the afternoon, we went down to my friend's house and over to the farm behind her and the girls got another lesson on how to care for and ride horses. I took some photos, but as I said it is very difficult to do much with a child on my lap.

Hopefully, later I will be able to get the photos off the camera onto the computer and then I can post some of the photos from yesterday's lessons.

Have a good day.

More Finished projects

I have finished three projects and started working on a pattern for my DD3 and DN3 (neice). They are both about the same size and I make my girls new hats and scarves yearly and I will be including my neice in this as well.

But for now I have finished a scarf for a friend, a dishcloth for a bil and a hat for a friend's baby. I would like to thank RaAnn Clegg and Henya for their wonderful patterns and sharing them.

I made a Navy Eagle Dishcloth. My husband and brothers-in-law all served in the Navy and served on submarines. I truly appreciate your skill in making this pattern.

I would also like to thank Henya of Chicken Stitches for her wonderful Got Milk Hat pattern. I have a friend who has a very tiny baby (just 3 months old and smaller than my babies at 3 months) and so I made this pattern. It is fun and not frilly. Both of which my friend requested. I hope that she sends me a picture of her baby wearing the hat.

I also finished a scarf using yarn given to me by a lady from church. Her husband got a job in another area and they have to move. She didn't want to move all her yarn and so I received her yarn and have been using it frequently to make scarves.

I am continuing to work on an 3 afghans, 2 hats and 2 scarves. I really need to finish a few things quickly. Thank God, school starts soon!!! I will be able to work on more then and I need to finish my neice's hat soon because I want it in time for her birthday.

Good Weekend All!

Something Else Finished

I finished DD2's scarf. Her new one for winter. She chose the yarn from the enhanced stash and I worked on it. I had to restart her hat because I didn't like the way it was looking and the scarf that I started while waiting for my surgery had to be torn out (something to do with dropped stitches and stitches that I picked up from another row while trying to rescue it).

Yes, I had surgery. Minor procedure for exploratory purposes. I have been having a problem with something for awhile and so before making decisions, I have to have tests to see if there is something else going on first. I will see doctor again in two weeks and we get to make the decision. But for today, I will be resting some and then taking a walk with my family, It is a nice day outside.

Have a good weekend.

Value City Funiture Continued

Okay, so I purchased some really cheap furniture to store clothing for my daughters. I brought it home on Tuesday and two of the pieces broke....they were stapled together. I called the store and told them my sad tale of woe and they reordered the broken pieces and my husband goes to get them. Now here is the funny part: It is Proudly Made in the USA. I don't think I would want to advertise that information!!! Seriously you are proud of this work!!! We get the pieces up the stairs and take the boxes (ha, ha) off the pieces and start putting the knobs on them. My daughters are excited and then....the drawers break on all THREE pieces!!! Seriously, I sat there with pieces of chest in my hands looking at the staples that were meant to hold them together!!! Again, this was PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA. I remember a time where people were proud of the work they did and now here we have this junk!!! Pieces of furniture that fall apart when moved!!! Now I took photos and I will download these later and post here and on Facebook. I really think people need to be warned you do not want to buy furniture made by the company (Harden Manufacturing) and Value City (since they sell this junk). Seriously, if they are proud of this work something is seriously wrong with them.

In one way we are fortunate...I have a hammer (and I know how to use it) and I have nails (again I know how to use them) and I have a husband (to lend the extra hands) and we used wood glue and we reattached the pieces of drawer (can you say I really did not want to call them again and reorder the parts, sitting waiting with 3 broken chests waiting for new ones that would fall apart also.

So be warned do not purchase Harden Manufacturing furniture from anywhere, especially Value City Furniture.

Value City Furniture is Terrible

I bought three chests to use as dressers for my children. I went and picked them up from Value City today and brought them into the house. I lifted them gently and did not drop them, but one broke at the bottom and when I took it out of the box (ha, ha) it was coming apart at the bottom. I called and they ordered another to replace the broken one.

I opened the other two and when my husband and I were lifting the one to carry it up the stairs, I got a nail in my hand and then when we went to flip the chest to carry up the stairs, we discovered why I got a nail in my hand. The bottom of this one was coming apart. The whole bottom is coming apart.

I think I would like the kind where I build it and then I can use wood glue to help hold them together and they wouldn't be coming apart at the bottom. It's not like they are heavy and it is not like I dropped them. I lift 50 lb bags of cat litter all the time. I lift 40 lbs bags of water softener salt all the time. So lifting these were not difficult. Not entirely easy, but I didn't drop them and I didn't need to drag them.

It is frustrating to get something new and have to return it to the store and have new ordered. Seriously, I would think we could at least get a few years from them before they fall apart.

I wish I could buy better furniture, but that is low on priority list considering how my children have broken the other chests in the past. I really don't want to spend great quantities of cash on something that could potentially be used as a stepping stool by a child.

Oh Well, life goes on. Have a good week.
Remember Value City Furniture is poor quality.

So much going on....

Let's see, we bought a new vehicle. My husband killed the Toyota one day on the way home from work. So we started the search. He found a Ford Truck and he is in heaven. He can't take all the girls with him, but he is happy. He can haul stuff again. So on Saturday he got to do just that. My friend found someone selling a Trampoline (full size and good shape and best of all a really good price). So I went and looked at it and bought it. Then he had to go pick it up and bring it home.

I went to the store today and bought three new chests (for use as dressers) for my daughters. They are very, very hard on their furniture and as a result we went from 3 to 2 and now we are at one broken dresser. So I searched online and found a store selling what I wanted for a price that I would be willing to pay. Went to the store today and purchased them. Now I have to wait for them to come to the store, so that I can return and pick them up and drag them home. Supposedly they come assembled. I will be shocked if they do. I have always had to build the dressers and that is what I am prepared to do.

Tonight, my husband and I built the trampoline for the girls. I told him that I think it would be best if we take it down before it snows so that we can keep it in good shape. Rebuild it every year. Also, it might keep idiot children from the neighborhood using it whenever they feel like it.

Today is Sunday and I am grateful that we had this day. Went to church this morning and the pastor had a very good sermon. The music was wonderful, but the children could not sit still through the whole service. It went even longer than it has in the past.

I made a friend through ancestry.com. He is a member of my husband's family, a very distant relative. He and I have been sharing photos and other things. My husband knows about the friendship and thinks it is funny that his family is reaching out to me and I only married into the family. I told him, it is because I have taken an interest in the family tree. I hope that we can get more photos together. It is good to have them. I printed one that he sent me, so I can give it to my mother-in-law. I know that she will like that.

I am still trying to finish things, but I work on it haphazardly. Since I cannot drive and knit at the same time, it is difficult. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I think the girls will not want to go anywhere except to the backyard to jump on the trampoline. They love this item and are excited about it. Have a good week. I will try to finish a few items and then get them up here and on ravelry.com.

The Best Laid Plans

I have been working on my projects in hopes to finish something, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere. Today, we were going to go to Kentucky to see a Horse Show that my friend's daughter was performing in, but DD2 woke up in a foul mood. She had one melt down over another. DD3 has been having a melt downs over silly things. DD1 is sneaking large scoops of sugar into already sweetened (not sweet just sweetened) tea.

I do have good friends because one friend and her mother saw a trampoline for sale at a yard sale and we were able to buy it!!! Yeah, we now have a trampoline. We don't have to get permission from the HOA to put up this backyard equipment and we can install it today and order the missing pieces (a mesh fence to go around the edges to keep the girls from falling through).

I found at the same yard sale a computer desk that I could bring home for use in the family room so that I can now have two girls on computer at one time. I just wish I didn't have to threaten them to get them off the computer (if I have to bodily remove you from computer you will not get any more time today).

I hope the girls crash tonight and get some good sleep because I will be alone with them tomorrow and I have altar care and do not want to deal with their bad attitudes. I guess we will see what happens tomorrow.

Have a good weekend. Maybe I can get some projects finished or closer to finished.

Finished and working on

I thought I would just show and update in photos for the things that I have finished and am working on. I did finish 2 scarves in the past two days (it helps when you have 1 hour in a doctor's office to work on things).

1. Dishcloth (for brother-in-law in Maryland). I am using a pattern for a Navy Eagle designed by RaAnn Clegg. I really do enjoy her patterns.

2. Hat (restarted for DD2). I am using Alpaca yarn for this hat and originally was working in a 3x3 rib. But since I restarted, I am using a pattern from a book called Hat's On! I know that she will like it when it is finished. The cast on was different than I am used to and I was very glad to get it cast on.

3. Scarf for DD3. I finished this in the doctor's office while waiting an hour for the appointment. DD3 really likes this scarf, she was willing to model it and then put it away.

4. Scarf for Neice (in MD), she told me she likes pink. Everyone else tells me her favorite color is purple. When I asked her what color hat and scarf she would like she requested pink. DD3 did not want to pose for this one. She and the neice are the same size (given they are 6 weeks apart in age).

5. Afghan for brother-in-law (MD). I started this last year for him last year and I have been working on it peicemeal with help from the girls. They have been wanting to help with it.

6. Afghan for sister's live in boyfriend. I have the last panel on needles. When that is finished I am going to stitch it together. It has just enough pink in it to make a point, but not a lot. A few years ago, I made an afghan for my sister and she complained about the quantity of pink in it.

7. Afghan for couple leaving our church to move to WV. The lady in this couple gave me the latest stash aquisition that caused me to cast on so many scarves and afghans.

8. Clown for Neice (MD). I have been working on this off and on for awhile, but I want it finished in time for Christmas.

9. Penguin for Neice (MD). The penguin is started but buried under all the other things. I just didn't want to move too much stuff.

10. Scarf for DD2. She went stash diving in the new yarn and chose some that she wants me to use to create her new scarf. (All my girls get new hats and scarves yearly. We keep the old if it fits, but they get new also for each school year). I just started it this afternoon.

11. Socks for DD1. The socks are also buried under so much other stuff.
12. Socks for DD2
13. Socks for DD3

14. Hat for friend's baby. Friend's of ours had a baby in May, who is very tiny. I am making a hat using a pattern that I found on Henya's (Chicken Stitches) blog. It is so cute, but I am using different colors. She used black and white.

15. Afghan for friend's daughter (Tori). Her mother was going to make her an afghan before she was born, but did not get around to it, so she gave me the yarn and told me this. I think she should have her afghan, so I am using the yarn to create a small afghan for her daughter. I have a nice start on it. I have been working on it when I have been on the computer and it is running slow.

Oh well, I am just glad to know I am making progress. Have a good week.