Ok, So a Bunch More Pics

Today Beverly wanted her hair put up. Rare indeed. And she left it that way long enough for me to take a picture.

I had a monumental fail today, and the kids made me take a pic. See I am in the habit, if somebody drops food in the car, of rolling down the passenger window and PITCHING it quickly out at the vegetation on the side of the road. This is a triple benefit: it is completely biodegradable (so therefore not pollution), the local fauna (raccoons, opossums, and skunks) LOVE finding little sticky bits of banana or hot Doritos, and it completely unnerves the person in the passenger seat, for sudden bits of something to go whizzing past them out the window.

So when I dropped a chunk of Dorito down into my quart-size insulated mug of Mtn. Dew today, I hit the window button, FLUNG it toward the grass, MISSED the window by a good 6" and splattered Spicy Nacho Chip ala Mountain Dew all over the dashboard. FAIL!

Alright, I also enjoyed a modicum of success today. I got my CCW (Carry/Conceal Weapon) permit in the mail today. I am officially Legally Armed, until 2013. And don't THINK I wouldn't be serious to give an attacker a choice which nut to keep. I really AM a good shot.


I took pics of our chicks today, just because they are cute.


We lost 3 of them. It happens; they succumb to the Marek's vaccine if they were weak to begin with, and from past experience, we probably expect to lose about 1 chick per dozen. You can see they are beginning to get their wing feathers already. In 2 weeks they will be SO ugly, as the stems of their hackle (neck) feathers will start to come in, making them look something like porcupines. In a month, they will be feathered, little miniature chickens.

Alright, as promised, here are pics of Diantha's project that I got from UFO Administration. This was called Cuff Too Small. Someone had started, I think, a pair of socks. ONE sock. All they did was the cuff. First thing, Diantha claimed the yarn. Secondly, we divided it into 2 equal balls, for making a real pair of socks. Then she decided to make this tam. The pattern called for almost the whole lot of yarn (320 yards out of 400), but for some reason she got the entire tam out of one ball.

It was the first time Diantha ever followed a pattern of any kind, and it does have a few mistakes. But she likes it, and wants to make another one out of the other ball of yarn. Bravo, Diantha!

Here are flat pics (these are really NOT boobs, as one of my kids suggested):
I also got Etsy orders mailed today, from THREE shops (yippee!), got the kitchen cleaned, my room vacuumed (again), some laundry done and some folded, and a batt carded for Diantha's shop. She is feeling puny. I am going to card another batt like it, and hopefully in a day or two she will feel well enough to spin that one and sell the yarn ready-made. This will be White Wedding, for the Etsy Knitter's Street Team June challenge, "I Do 2009." We will list it in the morning, as soon as we can get some natural-light pictures.

Mostly Pics

Today I received the link to pictures taken 10 days ago at the Knoxville Creative Hands Street Team Spring Show and Sale. Stop by and browse through! There were many talented artists featured, with beautiful items offered up for sale. The gorgeous, focal-point pictures were provided by Almphoto.com. Many thanks for the beautiful pictorial!

Tonight we took a road trip out to Des' house while the older kids were at their year-end bashes at youth group. On the way, Veronica took pictures in the car. On the left is one of her, enjoying the ride.




And on the right, a picture of 2-yr.-old Beverly, enjoying the same ride. Gotta love the youthful enthusiasm.


When we got to Des' house, it wasn't raining. The rain had stopped there, and there was a rainbow off her balcony. Always love to see God's promise, that He will never again destroy the earth by water. With the storms we have had lately, gotta wonder at that one. But no, the sun always comes out. Thank the LORD!

The hospital sent home a CD with pics of Artemas' xrays on it (which I am sure was NOT free), which does not work in our state-of-the-art brand-new Dell. But I found a pic online like his broken clavicle. Not his but just like. The xray techs didn't even notice it; they were looking for spinal or rib fractures. I told them, and they had to go back through the slides to find it. DUH! Maybe I should tell the hospital to bill the diagnostic fee for that one to ME. ROFLOL, now I *AM* funny!

One last pic. A progress report on the items I got from the UFO Administration. I am not quite half done with the Fuzzy Yellow Thing. The 2nd half will be identical , but with the addition of a panel of matching smooth yarn in the center, then kitchener stitched to the first half. Keep in mind, it isn't blocked or anything in this photo. I would have made better progress if I had not been sick for nearly 10 days now with the flu. I also got a Cuff Too Small project in sock yarn, which I will post pics of tomorrow. I promise.

Meanwhile, Go get a free Knitting Heroes comic book!

Sad Tree Day, and Mom, You're So WEIRD

This morning about 8 AM we started to have a lightning storm. For the first little while, maybe half an hour, it was "dry" lightning. It wasn't raining, but the lightning was fierce and very close, as there was no delay to the thunderclap, and you could hear the thunder echoing through the hills and valleys around here.

Then the rains came. I grew up just 22 miles from Xenia, Ohio, and stayed 2 days in the basement when the tornadoes went through that leveled that town (in what, 1972?). Then lived 22 years in FL, just above Tampa, the lightning capital of the country. So I have lived through some storms! But this was seriously the worst wind I have ever heard. When it was over, I started to leave the house... and this sight greeted me from the front porch.

Our front yard has (had) three large Bradford Pear trees. They don't bear fruit, but are gorgeous in Spring, totally covered in white blossoms... great shade in summer, and fiery red in Fall. The center tree (in front of the porch), is ailing... the crown is spreading and we are probably going to have to take that tree out. The one nearest the driveway (pictured) was our favorite. We sit under that tree often. We park motorcycles and cars under its shade to work on them. And the storm killed it.

Three little bright spots: one, I can make a LOT of pearwood, handmade, chunky, double-pointed knitting needles like these in my My7kids Recycled Yarn Shop if I cut and peel the branches while they are still wick. The second is, the tree missed our 450 Suzuki that was parked under it, by like 3 feet. And the last is, the kids didn't know what to get me for Mother's day, and I have been wanting an apple or peach tree. So today we went out, found one of each cheap, and they got them for me.
Oh and a Basil plant for my garden.

Still, it is a shame such a beautiful tree bit the dust. I have been a little sad about that. It isn't a big sadness thing like the loss of a spouse, marriage, child, or house. But sad still. And, those new little trees won't give good shade for quite a few years! ~~ sigh ~~

OK! A couple more pics! One is Veronica's feet, happily nestled in her mom-knit sox. Now that the cuff is fixed, she likes them. In fact, she had to have new sneakers to wear them with. (Just kidding, she was overdue for new sneakers. LOL)

Here is a little sneak peek at the Fuzzy Yellow Thing that I got from UFO Project Administration Service. This is the re-make that people voted for on my blog last week. I had a few people say they didn't think the lace pattern would show in that fuzzy yellow yarn, but it looks so far, so good. Yes, my carpet is purple.

Today Des said she thinks I might be on the cutting-edge of weird. What in the world might prompt a good daughter to say something like that to her mother?

Last night I was counting stitches in a knitting project that Diantha is doing. I needed a marker in the middle of a dpn, and instead of slipping the stitches off the needle to the marker point, I took out my left earring (a handmade sterling and garnet with a hook on the back for the wire) and slipped it on the needle and hooked it. I might add that I have my left ear pierced twice, and in the extra hole I had a long, turquoise and sterling earring that I lost the mate of last week.

Later on, Veronica was sweeping the floor in the kitchen and found my other turquoise earring. Without thinking, I stuck it in the only empty hole.

I promptly forgot about it and went out today, looking like this:

Des said, "You know, Mom, most people would have switched that top turquoise earring to the other side, so they had a pair and an extra." So I told her I never much cared for doing things the way Most People do them. LOL!

I got a special order yarn done after our errands today, and made homemade pizzas for dinner. But I did NOT get more knitting done, or the carding done that I needed to do, or folding laundry. On the other hand, I am not asleep yet!