Mother West Wind

And the wind blows…

Somehow, the cold, bitter wind seems appropriate right now.  I’m hoping something warm and sunny will be on its heels.  My dear aunt had to send her lovely old man across the Rainbow Bridge this morning, and when she sent the email confirming that it was done, the second paragraph noted that her cousin, a favorite of mine, has had a massive stroke.  Coupled with his dementia…

Anyway, I never got around to my Thankful Thursday post yesterday.  I received the cutest handmade thank you from the friend’s daughter who sold us our Girl Scout Cookies.   It really is the little things that make me smile, but this also gives me hope…  It’s wonderful that there are parents who not only nudge their children to say thank you but teach “an attitude of gratitude” and encourage crafting, all at the same time!

Don’t mind the dog hair.  They’re thankful too.  They like having new things to sniff come into the house.

I had more I was going to babble about, but it’s already after lunch and there’s an end of the month deposit to do.  There is an update on Sis’s health on her blog.  We’re looking forward to a very quiet, relaxing weekend.  How ’bout you?

Surveying the Kingdom

Happy Dogs on Thursday! 

Sis is a very involved crowned princess.  In fact, she trusts no one else to stand watch over the kingdom.  PLEASE note that instead of standing on the lovely, flat lid of the storage bench, she’s on her tippytoes, on the edging, giving her another two inches or so of lift.

And THIS is the look I get when I inform her that she must return to a more secure position.   Anyone with kids recognize that face?

Happy little friday.  I’ll be back later with my Thankful Thursday post.

Stashing the Stash

My fellow Rav-stalkers out there have already figured out that I’m organizing my stash on Ravelry as part of my Ravelympics competitions.  I apologize for flooding your “friends activity” tab with my stash photos, but another run of them is coming today, I hope.

As you can see, the fur-girls are very helpful while I snap photos of my yarn.  You can also see that my yarn lives in clear, plastic bins.  Some of it does live in a basket here or there, but the vast bulk of it lives in the bins.   Currently, most of my fiber/roving stash lives in a series of plastic bags, sitting on a very pretty bench in the guest room.  The plan is for the fiber to move into the cedar chest in the same room…

Where does your stash live?  Do you have any sort of inventory?   Is it sorted or stored in categories of any sort?  For instance, my “dish cloth cotton” lives in one not-clear bin, and my “utility” wool, another.  (Those yarns won’t be entered into Ravelry’s stash inventory.) 

And can I tell you how much I love those freckled feet?!

This might possibly be the longest week of my life.  I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday.  Staying up way past my bedtime to watch the Olympics doesn’t help, but I can’t seem to stop myself.    I keep telling myself that I can sleep next week…

Having over 500 stitches (540, to be exact) on the needles for Citron‘s ruffle doesn’t help.   The end is in sight, but it’s like the interstate in Indiana…  You can see into Illinois, but it’s still several hours away.  (And immediately, I’m 22, road tripping with my BFF, on the way to or from the first wedding of college friends, screaming along to “Life is a Highway“…the original version.)

And we have another “dusting” of snow coming.

How goes your week?

Black Cloud

It’s so hard when friends and family are hurting and you can only offer words of comfort from a distance.   Darcy also just lost a dear friend too soon to cancer, and the Dog Woods pack is trying to recover from the shock of losing Trixie so unexpectedly.  I could keep going down my list, but we all know there’s plenty of sad and unfair stuff going on in all of our lives.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted post, pop over to Sissy’s blog.  She’d love to celebrate National Dog Biscuit Day with you.

Oh What a Night!

What?  You want photos?  Well, you’ll have to wait.  I was so jazzed up to get to the gala that I skipped out of the house without my phone or my camera.  There was an event photographer, and there is one of those fun photo booth cards with four photos of me with some friends, but “we” have to wait patiently until those are scanned so I can share them. 

There’s a shot of the fabulous venue.  The Boar’s Head is proud of their new Pavilion, as well they should be.  Please click on the photo above for more information, photos, etc. 

That’s the closest photo I can find to my dress.   It’s already at the cleaner’s, but when I get it back, I’ll see about getting you a photo.  It’s my new favorite LBD, and I’m so glad several of you pushed me to try sleeveless.  Pity you can’t see the back…  It’s a slight cowl of the delicate sheer fabric at the neck. 

Heck, I had fun just watching the fashion show.  Out of over 150 women (my guess-timate?), no two dresses were the same, even though I bet more than 100 of them were the standard LBD – little black dress.   The men were dapper too.  More than a dozen guys donned tuxes and looked so handsome, not that the Knight and the other suited dudes were shabby!

They don’t read my blog (that I know of), but I have to shout out to our awesome fundraising co-chairs and their committee, and my fellow board members.   All of the blood, sweat and tears were worth it.  It was a wonderful event, especially since it was our first casino night.   The Knight and I are already looking forward to next year’s!

So, how was your weekend?

Ravelympics Week 1

My team "uniform" mostly designed by Jessi

I promised some knitting content today.  It’s a stretch, but I’ll manage to keep my word.   I am wrapping up Citron, which is NOT a Ravelympic entry, and next on the needles will be Multnomah.   (I’ve included the free pattern links here because I do have a lot of non-knitter, non-Ravelry readers.  Both are shawls, if you’re not really curious.)

Citron is being done in the most luscious alpaca lace, custom-dyed by NH Knitting Mama early in her dyeing career.   Ironically, this yarn is “old enough” that it was a competitor in the summer Ravelympics two years ago too!   I’ve struggled to find the right pattern for this yarn, but it found its soulmate in Citron, and I look forward to sharing an FO report soon.

Multnomah is a mouthful.  Barbara and I are having our own little KAL for two with Gypsyknits yarns on this shawlette.  As if knitting “with” a friend, using another friend’s yarn isn’t special enough, the colorway is called Victorian Tea.  Gmarie also owns a hank of it.   Because of all of the details, I call this project V is for… 

I also expect it to earn me my first Ravelympics medal.

Isn’t Bob (the Ravelry owners/founders’ Boston Terrier) dapper?  

I do have other projects in other events, but we’ll need something to talk about another day, right?

What’s up for your weekend?  We’re rather giddy about the sunshine and warm weather, even though melting snow and already saturated ground makes mud.

It’s also Vintage Vegas time!   I promise a photo of my attire.  I ended up purchasing a total of five dresses in the last week, although only two were with this gala in mind.   As a result, I have a lovely, lacy spare that I vow to get altered in the next few weeks so I have it when I need another party frock, but as of this morning, I’m going with the LBD (little black dress) I bought and a nearly pink wrap Ruth gave me when she and Jim were here, in memory of my friend. 

Have a great weekend, whatever you do!

Pink Parade

Anita once said that she loves Sissy so dearly because what Sissy wants to do, she does.   Indeed.  And Sissy wasn’t interested in waiting for me to sort out if I wanted the Pink Parade to be a contest or what, so Sis rolled out the parade on HER blog. 

Sweet, rule-liker Gretchen outlined everything for us too, so see THEIR post on SISSY’S blog, and have at it.

(Did anyone doubt who was really running the show in Haddon Wood?)

The girls are strutting their pinks, so join in.   Cat, dog, horse, human, fish, rabbit…  whatever.   If you’ll wear pink and post a photo, that’s all we’re asking.  For me, breast cancer has very literally taken one life too many.   I love Ford’s Warriors in Pink campaign.   It’s chocked full of well thought out symbolism.

Don’t forget to link back to this blog or Sissy’s so we can see your pink parade entry too!

Chef Sissy

I think girlfriend wants to learn to grill.   This was taken Monday during our little snow squall, which got me out of jail  work early so I could go home and have fun with the fur-girls.

Of course she knows better.  Of course I firmly said “Off!” immediately after I clicked a few incriminating photos.

Meanwhile, bitty Gretchen (yes, she’s under all that green, warm and dry) merely inspected the steps, because she manages to avoid trouble, generally speaking.  She’s also the stereo-typical little sister tattletale. 

Now, a rather abrupt turn from Dogs on Thursday to Thankful Thursday. 

That’s Grace’s Comforting Embrace.  Click on the photo to go directly to her post, but she’s ever so kindly donating the proceeds from the sale of her pretty pattern to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, in memory of my friend.  There simply aren’t words to convey my gratitude.

That gratitude extends to each of you.  I know I’m going to leave someone out, but a bloggless, local friend offered to send food – even though we know she’s a hit or miss cook – while Marjie is wearing pink for the rest of the week, and Sunny joined Gretchen’s Pink Parade yesterday…  (Nothing formal, just slap a warm body in pink on your blog if you’re so inclined.)

Sissy, rockin' the pink

I thank you for your kind words, good vibes, prayers and all of the support you’ve offered me, yesterday, today and throughout my blogging history.  If I appear strong, it is only because I truly am blessed and always have plenty of wind beneath my wings.

Pink it up

No peppy, silly post today.   A precious woman lost her battle with that dreaded disease last night, so please take a moment to do whatever you do to send comforting thoughts out into the universe.  A whole town is grieving, or at least, nearly everyone in my corner of the world.

Ironically, I ignored the urge yesterday to post about the fun pink game the Lady Cavaliers had the night before.  (Photo stolen from the link tied to it.)  So wear some pink, or if you really want to honor my friend and her loved ones, wear something tie-dyed that has pink in it too.

Live, laugh, love.  Spread joy.  And if someone has touched your life, make sure she knows it.  

It doesn’t hurt to have a great smile either.   I’m going to smile and wear pink every chance I get to honor a life well-loved and lived.

Mojo Thief Identified

This is going to shock a few of you, but we’re going to talk about knitting.  Heck no, I don’t have anything to show you, no finished object report, but I have figured out why my mojo went south for the winter.  (At least it still has snow if it went to Alabama…)

An unflattering self-portrait of me in my only 2010 FO

You see, I have several secrets on the needles right now.  All but one are gifts to some of you, so obviously, I can’t talk too much about them here.  The other is a big ol’ secret sample knit, and that’s more than I should say according to the terms of the “contract.”

Gmarie and I were thinking that simply knitting for hire was hijacking my mojo.   While chatting with Alison last night about something almost unrelated, I had a little epiphany.   My mojo runs away when I can’t share my knitting with y’all.  I have no knitting group, and generally, I’d say my social interaction needs are far, far below average, but it clicked last night… 

So, no more secrets, once I get past this pile.  And some of those I’m going to share, and just not say who gets it in the end.  That does mean no more secret sample knitting.  I do enjoy TEST knitting for friends when the project suits me, so feel free to ask about that, as long as you have no secret demands.

What drives your mojo into hiding?