Santa brings each girl stuff in these BIG bags.
The gluttonous tree.
Continued.....
Continued......
Trouble and Munchkin looking at stuff from Santa.
The four of us after all the gifts were opened.
Happy Christmas!
Friday, December 28, 2007
This is what Christmas looks like at our house
Santa brings each girl stuff in these BIG bags. The gluttonous tree. Continued..... Continued...... Trouble and Munchkin looking at stuff from Santa. The four of us after all the gifts were opened. Happy Christmas!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas Knitting
Okay, so knitting for Christmas gifts did actually take place at my humble abode this year. I made a very special couple spa socks.
These are made from Rowan CashSoft. It is the palest green and is so scrumptious.
These are made from Rowan Cotton Glace and the color is almost the University of Texas Burnt Orange, but not quite.
The pattern is BMG's Footies by Julia P. Trice. You can get it here. Now, don't fret. The pattern is written for DPN's but if you prefer Circs, you can leave me a comment or email me and I'll send you the mods that I used to make them on Circs. They took me about four hours per sock using my lunch hours tow knit them. I love the heel the best I think.
The receivers loved them and have both worn them to bed since we have had a small bit of cold weather here.
These are made from Rowan CashSoft. It is the palest green and is so scrumptious.
These are made from Rowan Cotton Glace and the color is almost the University of Texas Burnt Orange, but not quite.
The pattern is BMG's Footies by Julia P. Trice. You can get it here. Now, don't fret. The pattern is written for DPN's but if you prefer Circs, you can leave me a comment or email me and I'll send you the mods that I used to make them on Circs. They took me about four hours per sock using my lunch hours tow knit them. I love the heel the best I think.
The receivers loved them and have both worn them to bed since we have had a small bit of cold weather here.
Friday, December 21, 2007
SITMT Contest
This is the latest contest from the SITMT swap: New Contest: Holiday memories and Holiday knitting. Contest starts today and will end on Friday, December 21st. All you have to do is write a blog post about the holidays. Include memories from when you were a child, Christmas knitting you are working on this year, and holiday traditions. 5 points for the post. If you include pictures, you will receive 1 point for each photo. Have fun!
My fondest memories are always from Christmas. My parents were married December 25, 1958, so we share their anniversary also. In my household, every box was a chance to make the receiver suffer. We reused every single box we could find.
My best memory is from one Christmas when my mother wanted a new sewing machine. She made alot of our clothes and her old machine was just dying. My father bought her the exact machine she wanted (I can't remember the model anymore). He took it out of the box and wrapped it in a box from some power tool he had gotten for his birthday. Inside the sewing machine box he laid newspapers and a brick. He had purchased a huge bar of Ivory soap and had carefully carved a box with a lid from it. Inside, he placed the most beautiful Ivory and Jade rose pin you have ever seen. He carefully assembled the soap box back together and sealed the package. He wrapped it in anniversary paper and placed it in the box with more newspapers and another brick. My mother opened it, saw the bar of soap and threw it at him with a response that went something like this, "Jimmy Pxxx, I can't believe that you gave me a bar of Ivory soap as an anniversary present. I know that we can't afford alot, but all I wanted was that pin for my blazer." She stormed into the kitchen in tears. It took my brother and I about two hours to come up with some reason for her to open the soap. When she did, the tears started again.
Wow, do you remember the Schwinn Fair Lady? I do. I still have mine. This was taken Christmas Morning 1969 in Memphis TN.
Dad, brother one, and baby sister - 1972 (Memphis)
Baby sister and Brother Two - 1972 (Memphis)
Brother one as an altar boy - 1972 (Memphis - St. John's Catholic Church)
Baby sister - 1977 (Charleston WV)
Brother two - 1977 (Charleston WV)
Knitting has been taking place at this place as well. I cannot post pictures of that until tomorrow, as I will be giving some of it tonight and I cannot risk being discovered. I can tell you that I have been using the BMG footies pattern. If you are on Ravelry, check out my projects. If not, I will link to it in the post with the pictures. I have used Rowan Cotton Glace and Rowan Cashsoft. If you have not made socks with either of these, you should try them. The Cashsoft is DIVINE!
BTW - Next year is my parents' 50th anniversary and the two brothers, the sister, and I have been plotting their party for two years. It will be fun and there will be alot of tears and pictures.
My fondest memories are always from Christmas. My parents were married December 25, 1958, so we share their anniversary also. In my household, every box was a chance to make the receiver suffer. We reused every single box we could find.
My best memory is from one Christmas when my mother wanted a new sewing machine. She made alot of our clothes and her old machine was just dying. My father bought her the exact machine she wanted (I can't remember the model anymore). He took it out of the box and wrapped it in a box from some power tool he had gotten for his birthday. Inside the sewing machine box he laid newspapers and a brick. He had purchased a huge bar of Ivory soap and had carefully carved a box with a lid from it. Inside, he placed the most beautiful Ivory and Jade rose pin you have ever seen. He carefully assembled the soap box back together and sealed the package. He wrapped it in anniversary paper and placed it in the box with more newspapers and another brick. My mother opened it, saw the bar of soap and threw it at him with a response that went something like this, "Jimmy Pxxx, I can't believe that you gave me a bar of Ivory soap as an anniversary present. I know that we can't afford alot, but all I wanted was that pin for my blazer." She stormed into the kitchen in tears. It took my brother and I about two hours to come up with some reason for her to open the soap. When she did, the tears started again.
Wow, do you remember the Schwinn Fair Lady? I do. I still have mine. This was taken Christmas Morning 1969 in Memphis TN.
Dad, brother one, and baby sister - 1972 (Memphis)
Baby sister and Brother Two - 1972 (Memphis)
Brother one as an altar boy - 1972 (Memphis - St. John's Catholic Church)
Baby sister - 1977 (Charleston WV)
Brother two - 1977 (Charleston WV)Knitting has been taking place at this place as well. I cannot post pictures of that until tomorrow, as I will be giving some of it tonight and I cannot risk being discovered. I can tell you that I have been using the BMG footies pattern. If you are on Ravelry, check out my projects. If not, I will link to it in the post with the pictures. I have used Rowan Cotton Glace and Rowan Cashsoft. If you have not made socks with either of these, you should try them. The Cashsoft is DIVINE!
BTW - Next year is my parents' 50th anniversary and the two brothers, the sister, and I have been plotting their party for two years. It will be fun and there will be alot of tears and pictures.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
No, I'm Not Lost
Sorry to disappear. I forgot Tuesday Temptations again this week, because I was scheduling the delivery of this:
It appears that our old washing machine was just too pooped to do anything else but flood the entire garage. Wifey and I spent a LOT of time drying out everything and putting it back two days later.
In the interim, we went to The Home Depot and purchased the Maytag Centennial Top Loading Washer. Yes, it is exactly like the picture above. It is white and is commercial grade so that the Munchkin and Trouble cannot kill it any time soon. It is not beautiful or attractive, but it is functional. It qualified for the no finance charge until January 2009, so we put the whole thing on the Home Depot credit card and moved on.
That should be the end of the story, right?! NO! The delivery was scheduled for noon today. Munchkin was all set to accept the delivery and inspect the new unit and gladly let them haul the old one away. All of this so that she could be the first to use the new machine. She just got home from college with all of her dirty laundry in tow. Imagine that.....
The delivery crew showed up and told her that the hose on the cold water valve was too corroded to remove and that they could not install the new one until we had a plumber out. To add insult to injury, they would not take the old unit away (which I paid for with the delivery fee) without all the parts, which happens to include the one hose that the plumber will have to remove.
So what did I do? I fixed their wagon. I had them leave the new unit. I called a plumber that will be out to the house after I get off work. When he is done, I'll have Purple Hearts or the Salvation Army/Goodwill come and get the unit for the tax deduction, and I still will get the delivery fee refunded from Home Depot. That way the sub-contractor (delivery crew) will not be able to sell my old unit for parts.
I'll keep you posted on how we like the new machine after I get to use it.
It appears that our old washing machine was just too pooped to do anything else but flood the entire garage. Wifey and I spent a LOT of time drying out everything and putting it back two days later.
In the interim, we went to The Home Depot and purchased the Maytag Centennial Top Loading Washer. Yes, it is exactly like the picture above. It is white and is commercial grade so that the Munchkin and Trouble cannot kill it any time soon. It is not beautiful or attractive, but it is functional. It qualified for the no finance charge until January 2009, so we put the whole thing on the Home Depot credit card and moved on.
That should be the end of the story, right?! NO! The delivery was scheduled for noon today. Munchkin was all set to accept the delivery and inspect the new unit and gladly let them haul the old one away. All of this so that she could be the first to use the new machine. She just got home from college with all of her dirty laundry in tow. Imagine that.....
The delivery crew showed up and told her that the hose on the cold water valve was too corroded to remove and that they could not install the new one until we had a plumber out. To add insult to injury, they would not take the old unit away (which I paid for with the delivery fee) without all the parts, which happens to include the one hose that the plumber will have to remove.
So what did I do? I fixed their wagon. I had them leave the new unit. I called a plumber that will be out to the house after I get off work. When he is done, I'll have Purple Hearts or the Salvation Army/Goodwill come and get the unit for the tax deduction, and I still will get the delivery fee refunded from Home Depot. That way the sub-contractor (delivery crew) will not be able to sell my old unit for parts.
I'll keep you posted on how we like the new machine after I get to use it.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Elfed
My sister sent me a wonderful email with this picture and this verbiage:
Life is all about BUTTS
you're either covering it,
laughing it off,
kicking it,
kissing it,
busting it,
trying to get a piece of it,
or behaving like one ......
That's right, you've been " elfed " . Pass this on to as many people
as possible, but you can't send it back to the person who sent it to
you. He who elfs last, elfs loudest!!!!
I have shared it and it is hysterical. In the email the elf is actually wiggling his butt. If you want the file, just email me and I'll send it to you.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Secret Gift Knitting
Sorry that I missed Temptation Tuesday. I was a bit under the weather with a sinus headache and went into work at 11:30 AM instead of my normal 8:30 AM time. You don't want all of the details. I am MUCH better today with medication.
I am sharing a picture of some gift knitting that I have been working on. I have been using Rowan Cotton Glace to make some footies for a friend for Christmas. She has fiber allergies and this was the best cotton that I thought would work to make footies for her to wear to sleep in. There are more details on Ravelry if you want specs, or let me know in the comments...
I am sharing a picture of some gift knitting that I have been working on. I have been using Rowan Cotton Glace to make some footies for a friend for Christmas. She has fiber allergies and this was the best cotton that I thought would work to make footies for her to wear to sleep in. There are more details on Ravelry if you want specs, or let me know in the comments...
Monday, December 10, 2007
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....
So, this weekend we spent a great deal of time getting the rest of the outdoor lights and decorations up and finishing the inside. Munchkin and Trouble will be home this weekend to start their extended stay with us. They both have holiday jobs slated, but it still disrupts out sedate schedule a bit. We love it but "Mom and Mom can hardly wait for school to start again....".
So, I present you with a few pictures from the decorating frenzy. The first three are pictures of the miniature village that we set up every year.Annually we add new things to the collection as well. This year was the addition of more residents. There is never a set pattern for how it gets set up. I just open the storage boxes and get a vision and it unfolds as I go along. I wish that you could see it in the dark with all the lights on.I have street lights, trees with lights, a miniature tree with lights, and a miniature deer with lights. The little white lines you see in the pictures are the power cords to the objects.
The next picture is our nativity. It is placed upon an antique sideboard that we usually display our antique amber glass. Simple and straight to the point as far as a nativity goes. The only thing that I will add is that it is the Avon collectible nativity set from the late 70's and early 80's. Troll around on eBay to see what I mean about it, because I know that my camera skills are a bit lacking.
The last picture that I will leave you with today is in our entry hall. What you see is my grandparents wrought iron radio stand. On top of the stand we have displayed all of out family photos from the last nine years. We add a new one every year, so number ten will be taken on Christmas day.
I hope that all of your plans are going along as hoped and that the weather has not put a damper on anything.
Have a great week!
So, I present you with a few pictures from the decorating frenzy. The first three are pictures of the miniature village that we set up every year.Annually we add new things to the collection as well. This year was the addition of more residents. There is never a set pattern for how it gets set up. I just open the storage boxes and get a vision and it unfolds as I go along. I wish that you could see it in the dark with all the lights on.I have street lights, trees with lights, a miniature tree with lights, and a miniature deer with lights. The little white lines you see in the pictures are the power cords to the objects.
The next picture is our nativity. It is placed upon an antique sideboard that we usually display our antique amber glass. Simple and straight to the point as far as a nativity goes. The only thing that I will add is that it is the Avon collectible nativity set from the late 70's and early 80's. Troll around on eBay to see what I mean about it, because I know that my camera skills are a bit lacking.
The last picture that I will leave you with today is in our entry hall. What you see is my grandparents wrought iron radio stand. On top of the stand we have displayed all of out family photos from the last nine years. We add a new one every year, so number ten will be taken on Christmas day.
I hope that all of your plans are going along as hoped and that the weather has not put a damper on anything.
Have a great week!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
How Much Do You Love Chocolate?
Well, I consider chocolate a vital food group. Imagine my delight when I found this swap. How much fun could this be? TONS! I need to thank Megan and Katie for posting about it on their blogs. I saw it later on CynicalKinttingGal's site too! Wander over to the blog and take a look see. You might just get pulled in like I did.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Tuesday Temptations
Today, instead of my normal post, I'm going to tempt you with this. Tonight, I will be joining Cindy and Purl for the first meeting of the Yarn Harlot Posse.
We will be meeting at the Corkscrew. If we are so inclined, we might head over to here for their wine tasting.
I will post more about the evening later this week, and yes, I did bring knitting. The Harlot would be proud!
We will be meeting at the Corkscrew. If we are so inclined, we might head over to here for their wine tasting.
I will post more about the evening later this week, and yes, I did bring knitting. The Harlot would be proud!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Tenth Anniversary Weekend
Okay, so I have been absent from Ravelry and the Blog Universe since Thursday. I will admit that I checked email last night (60 emails) and trolled around a bit at some favorite blogs, but I was too tired to post about the weekend.
Friday was our tenth anniversary. One of our traditions is that we trade off the responsibility of planning the Anniversary and the Valentine's Day celebrations. Who ever has the anniversary has the next Valentine's Day. Wifey has even year anniversaries and the subsequent odd year Valentine's Day. Having laid that out....this was Wifey's year to plan the Anniversary events.
We had already agreed to exchange rings back in May.
I normally only work from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM every Friday, so I was instructed to take that off so that for Anniversary events. We got up and I was taken out for a wonderful breakfast. We packed the Mommy Van and headed to the see out favorite jeweler to have our rings cleaned. From there, I was given the route instructions that I would be driving. I thought that I would be knitting but, alas, I had to drive so that Wifey could navigate. I get car sick if I read maps. I had no idea where we were headed. We took I-10 West out of Houston and headed past Katy, Brookshire, Weimer, Flatonia, Sealy, etc. I had no idea where I was being taken until we exited at Seguin and I began to have a tiny idea.
There is a wonderful place in Texas called Gruene. It is actually part of New Braunfels, but is recognized by most Texans as Gruene. It is pronounced as green. In a previous life (married with Children) I dreaded trips here because, just because. Let's leave it at that. I have always wanted to stay at The Gruene Mansion Inn. I had no idea that this would be the weekend that I would finally get that wish granted.
Wifey outdid herself! She made reservations for the River View. We stayed in Country Penthaus Number 14. These are my pictures of the room.
Looking back into the room from the porch.
Bed (two different times of the day)
The sink and tub
The view from the front door
We arrived in the late afternoon and it was very overcast. We had a bottle of Pinot Noir from Lamoreaux Landing. We use these glasses every year. Here is a picture of the glasses on the antique mirror above our sink in the room.
We ate dinner at the Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar for dinner Friday night. Troll around the menu link and the gallery link to see what it is like. I didn't have the camera with me at dinner...
We spent the weekend antique shopping and shopping at the Christmas Market that was there for the weekend. We bought some pottery and some Christmas presents.
I must admit that knitting went with me but never received any of my attention. We got home at 4:30 PM yesterday and by the time we unpacked and ate some dinner we were pooped. I'll write more about it later.
Friday was our tenth anniversary. One of our traditions is that we trade off the responsibility of planning the Anniversary and the Valentine's Day celebrations. Who ever has the anniversary has the next Valentine's Day. Wifey has even year anniversaries and the subsequent odd year Valentine's Day. Having laid that out....this was Wifey's year to plan the Anniversary events.
We had already agreed to exchange rings back in May.
I normally only work from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM every Friday, so I was instructed to take that off so that for Anniversary events. We got up and I was taken out for a wonderful breakfast. We packed the Mommy Van and headed to the see out favorite jeweler to have our rings cleaned. From there, I was given the route instructions that I would be driving. I thought that I would be knitting but, alas, I had to drive so that Wifey could navigate. I get car sick if I read maps. I had no idea where we were headed. We took I-10 West out of Houston and headed past Katy, Brookshire, Weimer, Flatonia, Sealy, etc. I had no idea where I was being taken until we exited at Seguin and I began to have a tiny idea.
There is a wonderful place in Texas called Gruene. It is actually part of New Braunfels, but is recognized by most Texans as Gruene. It is pronounced as green. In a previous life (married with Children) I dreaded trips here because, just because. Let's leave it at that. I have always wanted to stay at The Gruene Mansion Inn. I had no idea that this would be the weekend that I would finally get that wish granted.
Wifey outdid herself! She made reservations for the River View. We stayed in Country Penthaus Number 14. These are my pictures of the room.
Looking back into the room from the porch.
Bed (two different times of the day)
The sink and tub
The view from the front doorWe arrived in the late afternoon and it was very overcast. We had a bottle of Pinot Noir from Lamoreaux Landing. We use these glasses every year. Here is a picture of the glasses on the antique mirror above our sink in the room.
We ate dinner at the Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar for dinner Friday night. Troll around the menu link and the gallery link to see what it is like. I didn't have the camera with me at dinner...
We spent the weekend antique shopping and shopping at the Christmas Market that was there for the weekend. We bought some pottery and some Christmas presents.
I must admit that knitting went with me but never received any of my attention. We got home at 4:30 PM yesterday and by the time we unpacked and ate some dinner we were pooped. I'll write more about it later.
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