Some times life in general just sucks. Sometimes between work and life at home is more than you want to need to bear at that time. I wish could write my true feelings about a few things but as usual it would only get me into trouble because for whatever reason I don't have that right to express what I truly feel. So most of the time I keep it bottled up and just don't say much at all. I have never in my life had to do this but now I don't have much of a choice. No matter what I say it comes out wrong or is taken wrong and I wind up into trouble. At this point in time I can not loose my job, matter of fact I'm in the process of looking for a second job so I can pay some debt down I can not express how sick I am of not having even enough money to buy food but we make almost 70,000 a year. Its stupid but we did it to ourselves and now I'm going to take the bull by the horns so to speak and do something about it. There is no choice.

OK onto some knitting, I'm working on a vest for my mother but I stopped to make my son a beanie hat and a balaclava for the guys airsoft games this weekend, aka the testostrone events.



I like how it turned out except the next part is not long enough so I think the next one I make its going to be about two inches longer this time. And I haven't figured out what I did to the sides I guess I didn't decrease enough I will know next time.

I gave the hats that I had made for our friends girls to them over the weekend. The hats were suppose to be for Christmas but they were at the house for Cody's birthday and it was chilly outside so I went on and gave the hats to them. Here is a picture of them:



Work calls, more later.

I finished the Irish Hiking Scarf yesterday. It really turned out beautiful. And I really enjoyed working on this scarf. So much I started another out of the cashmere I have.

The kids and I had the opportunity to attend a Ole Miss game this past weekend in Oxford, MS. We had the best time watching the game and all the fun stuff that goes on at a college football game. The band was awsome, Shelby really like watching them. He liked watching the cheerleaders too but thats another story in itself. The sun was on us the whole game so I ended up sunburnt on my head and arms. I should have been smart and brought along some sunscreen but noooo didn't think that far ahead, was way to excited about going to the game.

After one of the many touchdowns.

The band.

The players.

The pictures are not good because I took them with my phone, I once again forgot my digital.

I knitted these up over the weekend for two little girls we know. Aren't they cute!!! I just love the pigtails on top. They are just going to love them. This is a pattern out of One Skein Wonders lots of great one skein patterns in this book. I have ordered another one skein book and hopefully it will be here this week sometime. I am going to make them a set of mittens each also to go with their pigtail hats and a hat and maybe a sweater for their little brother as well.

As promised here is the finished illuision scarf. Cody wore it to school on Monday for the first time and the other kids had a fit over it.


Gotta go to work!!

Saturday I started a Booga Bag for my friends daughter's birthday and finished it yesterday evening. I think it turned out rather cute. I did learn something in the process of making this one.

1) When doing fairisle don't work the stitches to tight where the yarn is being carried over.

2) When felting do not wash a darker color item with a white towel. Left some white fuzzy stuff.

Unfelted

Felted and finished bag.

Garter Stitch Bath Mat

I made this Garter Stitch Bath Mat and thought if anyone was interested in how I made it I would post the way I did it.

Garter Stitch Bath Mat

1. I used 3 Skeins of Wool Ease Thick and Quick (318 yards total)
2. Size 13 Needles
3. Size N Crochet Hook

• CO as many stitches as you wish for as long as you wish.
• Knit every row till it is as big as you want.
• Cast off, Leave a long enough tail to create a loop for crochet hook
• Pick up your crochet hook and with the tail create your loop
• Starting in the corner sc in each stitch around entire rug. Once.
• Sc 5 times in corner and sc in each stitch around with 5 sc in each corner all the way around.
• Cut yarn and fasten off. Tuck in all ends.

You can either buy a backing to sew on to the back or there is a brush on backing that you can buy also.

My family loves the one I make, it is absorbant and durable. I can throw it in the washer and dryer and it comes out looking good as new.

This past weekend my son and I went to my friends from work, daughters wedding. I had gone to get my hair cut, thats another topic all together, and had asked my husband to help Shelby get dressed for the wedding. I was thinking a pair of slacks and a nice shirt but when I came in the door this is what I saw:

Gary had dressed him in his suit, Gary's not Shelby's and it fit him. It's a bit to big thru the chest area but other than that he looked great. We drove what seemed like forever to Carahills, was a nice drive but looonnnggg. Anyway, Shelby was a perfect gentleman, no elbows on the table and he even asked my friend, the mother of the bride, to dance with him. He took her around the waist and began to dance with her. He didn't even step on her toes. The photographer saw him dancing with her and ran over to get a shot. After that dance was up, he went and asked another girl more close to his age. She tried to lead and he kept bringing her back for his lead. Where does he get this stuff? And where did he learn how to do that? I was impressed to say the least.

Illusion Scarf

I have been working on this Illusion Scarf forever it seems.

And I'm about sick of this scarf!! It is going to be really cool looking when I'm done but for now its driving me nuts. I'm working on the last leg of it now and should be finished within the week, I hope!! I still have a sock to finish and the cable scarf I'm working on. I so much want to work on some baby sweaters

I finally was able to take a picture of London that shows how she is with my husband. I tried to get a better one than this where she is laying on his chest. But this one shows how she is. Usually she does this when she wants a bone. She is bone addicted, I mean she is really addicted to these bones. I have to be a good doggy mommy and not give in everytime she wants one because I don't want her to get fat and she would too. I mean really, she walks around woo wooing all the time demanding one of us gets up and gives her what she wants. So when that doesn't work she resorts to this,

This is not a very good picture but you get the point. I didn't have time to get up and get my good camera so I used the cell phone camera to take it. I wish I had been just a minute sooner, she had her head thrown back looking at him upside down and batting her eyes at him but she moved as soon as I tried to take the picture. She's such a suck up.

Here is a picture of my oldest son Cody. He will be 17 this year and is a junior in high school. He plays football for his school and is a great kid.

He had shown up at my work one day after football practice to see me. It is so hard to believe that he is already 17 years old it seems like yesterday he was just a baby. I would very much appreciate you guys that read my blog to keep him in your prayers, thoughts or what ever you do. He is having severe migranes and the doctor is sending him to a neurologist to check him out. I try not to worry but he has enough problems to deal with. Cody is ADHD, he has learned to deal with it to some extent but he is going thru a lot more than that. Most kids do not like him because he is different than they are. Hes not that good ole boy mentality that is very prevelant around here, he is just Cody. Cody is highly intellegent and is more comfortable with adults than around kids. Since he was small he has been able to carry on more adult conversations than those with people his own age. Most adults love him because his honest, trusting, and very hard working. It breaks my heart when he comes home and tells me of what cruel things the other kids say to him. Don't get me wrong he is not perfect but he is a good kid and I will do anything to keep him that way.

One the knitting front, this is what I'm working on for my son. He loves Harry Potter and saw this scarf and begged me to make it for him. I am trying very hard to get it done in the next couple of weeks so he will have it for Halloween.

Ok, I'm back to work it's trial day and its moving so very slow today.

Cables, I learned cables

I have learned to cable. I can't beleive it, I have really learned to cable. I am making an Irish Hiking scarf (http://www.helloyarn.com/irishhikingscarf.htm ) and it is beautiful!!




I'm using Cascade Pastaza to knit this scarf and its so soft. I'm thinking of knitting another one using a bulkier yarn thats 100% Cashmere.








I also just finished this one about a week ago. It's a bath mat. I had this Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick on hand but didn't have anything to do with it. So I decided to do a simple bath mat.





If anyone is interested heres what I did. I don't know how many I cast on but cast on for as long as you want it. Knit every row for the length you want. Once I had it as long as I wanted I then cast off and picked up a crochet hook and started sc all the way around. I did 2 rows of sc then fasten off. Thats it. Pretty easy. Washable, durable, absorbant and soft. Who could ask for more. I'm going to buy some non skid backing to either sew on or will buy the brush on kind to have a backing on it.

The Flex

Cody flexing for the camera. It's pretty weird that he would even consider flexing for the camera because most times when we try to take his picture he ducks and runs for cover. Don't know why, he just does.

I got up this morning thinking that this was going to be a good day. It looked like rain outside, for those of you who now think I'm crazy we have not had a good rain in months we are in a drought so rain is very appealing to me right now. I got good sleep last night, thanks to the @Estroven that I'm taking, I have had it with the damn night sweats, if I wanted to wake up wet I would sleep in the pool. The kids were all in decent moods and better than all my husband has a job interview with a new company today that might actually pan out. So I thought it might be a good day, UNTIL..... After I got up this morning I went to let the dogs out, thinking that I might want to go and check the fence to see if my smart son actually fixed the fence back, its gerryrigged, so the dog wouldn't get out, so the female escape artist that we have wouldn't get out and we wouldn't be chasing her all over the neighborhood. Lo and behold even after the speech last night about please go and make sure the fence is fixed and everyone in the house saying its OK the fence was not fixed and she was heading for it. So, I go outside in my underwear, not that you wanted to know that, to fix the fence. One of the items that we use to block the fence till someone will fix said fence is my wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow is full of something, I'm thinking grass clippings and bark from a tree (I don't know the answer to that one) and as I went to move it back into its prime place of blocking the fence it dropped on my foot. My foot hurts so bad!! There I stand out in the back yard at 6:30am, in my underwear, cussing at the fact that the boy didn't listen and my husband didn't go check and that we have to even block the damn fence because she will get out and get hurt. See that would be a perfectly good reason for me to stay home. Dropping a wheelbarrow on your foot at 6:30am should be a reason. And I really want to stay home, I would work from home if I could make what I'm making now and the bills would get paid but right now I have to go to work, I hate it!!!

My oldest son has the opportunity to go to Europe over spring break. I just don't know how the hell I can afford it for him. We can not come up with 2500.00 by November there is no way. They want us to come up with 100.00 this week then another 150.00 more in the next two weeks then 450.00 a month till November. No freaking way. I wish there was a way. I have looked into every possible way and I can't find it. Gary and I really hate it, we would really like to see him go what a great experience it would be for him. He would be going to England, Paris and then take the night train over to Italy. I so wish he could go.

I am loving Raverly what a place. I have already been trading yarn and making new friends, found old friends, I'm having a ball!!! I have been working on a pattern out of Wonder One Skein, the pattern in Bamboo Baby. I have had all kinds of problems with this one, well I found a girl that had made the same one and she had thought far enough ahead to take pictures as she went and the different pieces once they were finished. What a help she was to me!!
I'm telling ya Raverly rocks!!!

My Wittle Fireman

Gary has joined the Walls fire department isn't he cute in his fire outfit. He is really enjoying it and sounds like a little kid when he is talking about all the stuff he is learning. I'm glad that he has found something that he likes to do. I never thought he would want to be a fireman but he is. It is on a voluntary basis but he will start certification training in January.

My Best Friend is a Grandmother

My very best friend in the whole world has become a grandmother for the very first time. This is her new grandbaby!! She is one proud granny or MiMi as she is going to be called. Congrats Angie, I love you girl!!

Gary and Airsoft

Gary in all his airsoft glory!!! This was taken last summer when they were out playing airsoft.

Creation of socks

I don't know how to flip them other wise you wouldn't have to hold your head funny to look at my socks.

The Day Before the 4Th

Tomorrow is a holiday, not just any holiday but the birth date ( or what we celebrate as being) of America's freedom from the British. A day of barbecue, fireworks, watermelon and just plain fun. I'm sure down here in the south its going to be sweltering with temps as high as the humidity. We will all be melting like a Popsicle laying on a sidewalk in 100 degree heat as we hang our heads over our grills charring the meat that the families will be consuming. My family will probably stay in the house to avoid the heat. Gary might throw something on the grill don't know yet what is going to happen. Frankly I would be happy just hanging in the house playing video games and or knitting. I might even play Everquest all dang day to annoy the heck out of my oldest son, or rather he will annoy me telling me that I don't know how to play the game correctly. And I have a sock that needs completing. Oh I know the chores, that I can't stand to let go for not even one day, will have to be accomplished but there will be time left. I'm sure that the neighborhood kids will be in the pool either at my house or down at the other neighbors house that has a pool as well. So that means tons of towels to launder and puddles of water of feet prints running from the back door thru the laundry room out the door to the garage but hey its all in the name of fun. I just wonder what our fore-fathers, what they would think about all the carryings on of today. I'm actually looking forward to having a day off and not having to feel guilty taking it either, even with the kids home. I tell you this, I'm looking somewhat forward to the kids going back to school. On one hand, I love it because they are home, they do the chores but they give me headache arguing with each other, they make sure the dogs get outside to take care of business, but they argue with each other. School at least gives them something to do to keep them busy but then I wind up spending a bunch of time going to the office because the youngest can't stay out of trouble (I'm thinking this new year he will do better, he is getting older). I am going to take off a day after they go back to school just to regroup. Ahh there's the ticket, regroup. I do need to do that and get some priorities back in perspective.Ok back to the grind of work, hope all ya'll are having a great day and I wish you all a very Happy Fourth!!!

Life's A Bitch and Then You Die

That about sums up the way I feel this month. I swear I really do not think I can handle another damn thing to go wrong. It seems that everything that I have touched or came near has screwed up. Lets see the run down for the month is this (if I can remember all of it) First the bull with my lovely daughter, then hmm lets see, my window on my car just rolled down on its on the motor had gone out and had to be replaced ( I will say that we were blessed and it wound up costing a lot less than first assesed). Ok, then the computers hard drive crashed and had to be replaced (Dell fixed it for free because I had been smart when I bought the computer and bought the extended warranty), work and all its wonderful pleasures ***NOT***, getting sick twice this month actually I didn't get "sick" I have a hiatal hernia and because of said haital hernia I experiance GERD which causes my throat to become raw and burned and my stomach to be upset adn then the glorious onset of the trips back and forth to the bathroom. Due to all the stress it aggravated the problem and I missed two days of work, both on a Monday and both for the same reason which led to me being accused of "abusing sick time". Ok so on top of all the other stress that I am dealing with I was hit with that one too. And the cherry on top of all the BS I, yes I, and only I, screwed up the bank account that left a serious void in the bank account as well as putting some of the bills behind and no money for anything else. It was my screw up I will have to fix it just like I have to fix everything else. I'm sick of crying over all of it but dang it has to end at some point, hopefully that end is coming soon.

Back to work

I couldn't think of anything inspiring or interesting to title this post today. It's not that nothing is going on but instead my brain is not functioning well at all along with my body. I say back to work because I called in sick yesterday not because I wanted to stay home and knit or play around let alone clean the house or do laundry but because I am not well. I'm not going into the gross details or bore you with all that is wrong but I will say this, I have done it to myself. Most of the problems that I have would mostly go away (I say mostly because I know that I wouldn't suffer near as much as I do now) if I would only get this weight off my body. I have tried everything short of radical surgery or Jenny Craig (which one I won't do and the other I can not afford) and nothing seems to get my attention enough to stick to, so I continue to suffer with the problems that I have caused for myself. The stupid thing to all of it is that I know what the problem is but don't do anything about it. The absolute definition of insanity: Doing the same thing expecting different results. I finally finished the hat for the little boy that I have been writing about. I think I made it to big but it is cute. I still screwed up the decreases but my husband said that it looked great and he wanted one and Shelby said he wanted one too. I also have news about Will, he had his surgery last Friday and they were able to get to the tumor that was the size of a tangerine and were able to remove it and the mass around it as well as the tenticles that had branched out. I was told that the next afternoon he was sitting up in the bed talking to his mother. I haven't heard anything since Saturday but I was doing some thanking God for His mercy and love!! I told you miracles were possible.

The Curse of the Knitted Hat....

I have been cursed, I think. I was asked by my mother to make a hat for a friend of her's youngest child who has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and is undergoing chemo and radiation treatment. So I started to work on this hat. The first time around I royally screwed it up and had to frog the thing. I started again on Sunday and yesterday when I took the kids to the dentist I started the decreasing on it but I screwed up again so back to the dang frog pond I went. About the time I had decided there was nothing I could do to save the hat my computer decided to give up the ghost and fry itself. Ok normally I would have gotten upset but after the last 2 weeks of crap happening to me I have about had it. Last week it was the mess with my daughter, then the window on my car rolled down on its own and come to find out the motor and the regulator and that was going to cost us about 210.00 to get it fixed. I'm telling you it has been a hoot. It got so bad last week I drank and entire bottle of wine by myself on a weeknight. Now, those that don't know me, I do not drink that often. I may drink a glass of wine with dinner, or a beer while watching the Titans play but as far as drinking its not my thing. I had, had enough that day and my mind could not take anymore from anyone. It was better if I were buzzed. However, sometimes if you just sit back and say a prayer or just hand it over to God things have a way of working out. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't do any of that but apparently God loves me and He wants to help me and I'm proud to say that I did say thank you. I may be a lot of things but one thing I most definatly am is a grateful person. Without Gods eternal love and care I promise you I would not be where I am right now. It may not be where I want to be but its where I have been placed at this time. The car was fixed not for the 210.00 but for 90.00. The computer will be fixed this week and it was under warranty and they are coming out to my house to fix it, I have lost a lot but I didn't loose a lot. See about 2 months ago on a whim I decided to buy 250 gig external hard drive and move all my stuff that I wanted to keep like pictures or files, over to that hard drive so most of my stuff was already backed up. Now I did loose all my games and such but thats a matter of loading all the software back onto the computer. My daughter will be ok its the age but the lying has to stop I can not stand the lying. My son is home and safe and the youngest is about to figure some of it out I think. And as for the hat, I guess I need to pray a little more thru the stitches for the healthy and the well being of this child and his family as well as for my own maybe I didn't pray hard enough. All in all God is good ALL the time even when you and I can't see it and think you can't feel it.