Needle Tart

If I'm not knitting or sewing something, I must be cooking something!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Hi, there.

No, I haven't fallen off of the earth. I have five more days to work and then it's summer!! On the other hand, can you believe that I'm looking forward to September because it gets cooler and I can knit with wool and not feel like I'm dying from the heat (there's only one air conditioner in the house and it's in the very messy sewing room, which is also full of unfinished sewing projects - more on that later).
Updates:
1. We went to visit The Baby's girlfriend and meet her parents. Things went really well. She is so sweet! She called The Baby many times checking out the menu so we would be able to eat (we kept telling her, "We're not kosher, we just don't eat pork or shellfish."). Interesting house (from the 1700s, yes, that's right the SEVEN -teen hundreds) and her Mom is an art teacher. Cool.
2. FOs I finished the aloe vera yarn socks. The PPP is languishing until it cools down or there's something interesting on TV (Shhh, I know there are two DVDs from NetFlix on the library table).
3. School lets out next Friday and I am scheduled for the next five school days. It's hot enough that I don't sleep well at night and by the time I get home, I just want a nap. The nap then throws off the night's sleep and so forth. This is cutting into the knitting time.
4. Last week The Husband asked what time I came to bed. Answer: 3am. Reason: Solitare! I am weak. I thought I could play just two little games. Sigh! Back to cold turkey.
5. The pool is now only open during the school day, and I will have to wait until June 11 to go swimming again.

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Monday, May 21, 2007

Thirteen Days Left!

Yup, there are only thirteen days of school left! And I am scheduled for eleven of them. Part-time job? What part time job? Two posts ago I asked what I should do with the extra time I had. This was based on the idea that I would not work more than a half-day until I got my voice back. Great idea. That lasted two whole days. At any rate here are a few things I did on those days, gardening - not so much.

One of these cupboards is not like the other. Yup I did a bit of h-o-u-s-e-w-o-r-k. I cleaned one door of the cupboard over the stove. Yeah, just one. I had this bleach water and was about to clean the floor (for the third time in a week, Men!) and wondered if it would clean better than 409. Whoot! It worked and is cheaper. I see some clean cupboards in my future. (Note that I only did one door. Mostly, because I wanted to finish the floor before the men returned and I would have to start over.)

There has been knitting, too. I made two squares for the Virginia Tech afghans. Someday I will even get organized enough to mail them.
I tried to pick knitting patterns that had "V"s in them. Not too fancy in case they go to a man's afghan. The black is a nice superwash wool (I don't remember the brand) and the orange is a cashmere blend (clearenced from AC Moore) and nice and squeezable!!).
Today was a sub day (aren't they all lately?) and I was the monitor for the kids who lost the right to Field Day. I knit a good six inches on the leg of a sock for me. It's knit from that wonderful Austermann wool with Aloe Vera and Jojoba oil in it. It feels sooo nice on my hands. I fixed up a little bag I can tie into buttonholes or beltloops and walk around the room while knitting. The kids are impressed (and quiet!!) and I stay awake and still accomplish something. Note that I never knit while actively teaching, only when the kids are otherwise engaged, testing or working on packets.
One more thing before I sign off, if you do the pod-cast thing there's a group called "The Reduced Shakespeare" and they have a pod cast. Not quite as funny as Lime and Violet but if you've ever been even remotely invovled in theater (or travel, come to think of it) they're a hoot! Listen in and laugh.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Happy Mother's Day

Today I tried to kill Elder Son. It really wasn't my fault. We were driving back from the ice cream place (a tradition here at chez needletart) and The Baby said, "We're all crazy on this bus." So naturally I had to sing "The Wheels On The Bus". With Amy's verses. When I got to "the hooker on the bus goes up and down" Elder Son spit his ice cream out through his nose. Thanks, Amy.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Thanks to Chaos....

Let's see if I've got this straight, I list eight random facts or habits about myself and then I tag eight more bloggers and put their names at the end of this post. Here goes:
1. To get the randomly embarassing out of the way: I was a very insecure child. I sucked my thumb until I was, sigh, thirteen (but only in private after the age of five). Still insecure, but now I knit.
2. At one time or another I have played the clarinet (yuck!), the drums, the french horn, the recorder, the guitar, and the piano. In college I practiced as much as 6 hours every day. I could read music the way most people read books. I wasn't really good at perfoming in public (see above) but I like to play for my own amusement. Sadly those days are gone. I haven't even played the piano, let alone practice for the last few years.
3. I won the best actress in a small role at San Delgito Little Theater in 19...........too long ago. I haven't been involved in theatre for several years (see Number 1) and sort of miss it. Then again I substitute teach. Think of it as daily improv.
4. I always wanted to have six kids. Unfortunately, the body did not co-operate. I have two handsome boys and am glad to be here to see them.
5. I am the baby in my family. When I was born my mother let my brothers (then 12 and 13) name me. For years they have said that they named me "Bonnie" because my aunt had a cow with that name. And people wonder why I keep trying to change it. (No wonder I'm insecure)
6. In college my composition teacher said my mind must be about 45 degrees off true. She couldn't wait to see what peculiar opinion I came up with next.
7. I can use American Sign Lauguage. Sadly, I can't read it nearly as well when someone else is trying to sign to me. If only someone in the family could read it, it wouldn't be so bad when I lose my voice.
8. When I moved back to PA from California, my boss at the time traded in her flight miles so I could go first class (and you would not believe how long it took me to figure that out). I sat in front of Dustin Hoffman. Yes. He really is that short.

There you go. Eight random factiods. Now for who I tag......
Go ahead. Elect yourself.

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Thursday, May 10, 2007

Knock Once for Yes........

Hi! What fun! I have once again lost my voice. This cannot be from talking too much. I finished the fourteen day run of teaching with no problems, but after three days with the kindergarteners I cannot be heard more than two feet away. Bummer! It has to be some nice pathogen the little darlings are incubating just for me (though, come to think of it, I have been in for a kindergarten teacher who keeps losing her voice).
The only people I can "talk" to are you guys. Be sure to leave a note. Please??
On the up side, I really can't teach without a voice, so I've got a few days off. Whatever shall I do? House work? Gardening? Hmmmmmm........

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Ha! Knitting!!

Even though I have been working way too much, I have still been knitting. Here is the proof:

Youngest Niece asked me to knit a scarf for a friend of hers whose mother died from breast cancer. I knit this from an Interweave Knits pattern in a back issue. It is the good old feather and fan pattern mixed with Stahman's sailor's scarf. It looks so very nice due to Julie's instructions on blocking (and the fact that The Baby was still at school so I had his bed to block on). The yarn is Lisa Sousa's "Miss Violet's Pink Ribbon". It blocks out beautifully!!


Here's a Swamp Monster Hat for the NewBaby. He was supposed to get it for his birthday, but plans change. It is knit from some cheap fun yarn I found and some left over acrylic. The pattern is in NewKnits on the Block. I love the eyes!
Cute story to fill in the picture spaces: The Husband and I were shopping last Sunday and as we were checking out, a little old lady came in and asked the cashier to help her. Seems she couldn't get into her car. The clerk went out to help and The Husband and I finished up bagging our stuff. We went out and saw the two ladies standing by a car pushing the button on the key tab. Said the Cashier, "Is there any one you can call with another opener?" Said The Husband, "Um..can't you use the key to open the door?" It's not just another blonde joke.

More knitting: I have been working on these socks for Youngest Niece for some time. Note that one of these socks is not like the other. I knit them on the same needles, but as I was close to running out of yarn, I knit tighter, not faster. Now I have to rip out and re-knit. I even had to dig out the yarn I was saving for myself and use a couple of yards. Maybe next week, I will finish them. Tomorrow is Kindergarten and there is no knitting on those days.

Last week was our wedding anniversary and The Husband took me to a very nice place for dinner. As we were waiting for our entrees, I heard the ladies at the next table say, "...Elizabeth Zimmerman....". I grabbed The Husband's arm and said, "They're knitters!" Honest, he didn't bang his head on the table. Later as they were leaving, I asked them if they were knitters and they said they were on the way to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival....and they were from Toronto! On the topic of our anniversary, this is the card I found for The Husband.

Knitpicks came through!! On Thursday I got a box full of yarny goodness. Yippee!! The floggings may end.
Now I just need a few days to knit and catch up on the TV tapes. Not to mention the Netflix discs that are gathering dust on the library table (no, we don't have a separate library, the whole house is a library and we found the table at an estate sale). Sorry to be so disjointed but I can be witty, or I can add lots of pictures. Today you get pictures.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

The Floggings Will Continue Until Service Improves*

I just got off the phone with Knitpicks. Several months ago a good friend (a really good friend!) sent me a gift certificate for Knitpicks. Now when the certificate first came, it came to her house, in her name. Then after that was straightened out, they sent it to my address, but with the wrong zip code and an added compass direction to my street address. Still, I got it in the same month as my birthday (well, almost) and I did lots of shopping, emptying the "cart" and starting all over again. Ooooh! What to choose? After lots of dithering and some decision making, I sent in my order and started to wait for the "Yarny goodness" to land on my porch. And I waited. Then I waited some more.......
Today I checked my account to see if the order had even been shipped. There was a note telling me to call Knitpicks and talk to an operator. Please note, if I had not checked they would have just kept holding my shipment. It seems that there was a problem with the gift certificate. Who would ever have thought? My shipping address was not the same one as on the gift certificate. Now, I know my friend got it right, I know that I have ordered from KP before,I know that I mentioned it when I sent in the order, and I know that I will keep ordering from them (Options Needles? Fabulous!! Yarny Goodness? Right up there.) Do you think they could have, maybe, dropped me an e-mail telling me there was a problem??
Any way, the operator was gone about four minutes and when she came back on the line she said she had spoken to the shipping person who held up the shipment and the package would be going out "at a faster delivery rate".
Lessons Learned?
Number One: print out the order slip (I ordered on the lap top, and printing is just a hassle).
Number Two: Check on the order after a week.
Number Three: Someone must be listening because the operator seemed a bit put out that whoever had held up the shipment.
*The title of this post comes from Elder Son. This was his comment when he asked what I was doing on the lap-top and phone at the same time. Seems I am in the wrong generation to multi-task with electronics.
Next post: Knitting content, stop laughing, no, really.....