Purls and Pugs

I HATE Yard Work

Most people have never seen $350 sitting in their driveway quite the way I did this weekend. We had 9 yards of mulch delivered on Saturday. We were so eager to get it down that no pictures were taken. Just imagine a red mountain in a driveway. It was taller than I am (5'4") and filled the entire 2 car driveway. When I say to someone 9 yards, it is very difficult to picture the neverending pile of wood. But let me tell you, it's a lot. A lot more than any human being should try to attempt in one day.

Some highlights:
Our back yard is on a hill. A pretty steep hill. We were using a new two wheel wheelbarrow (similar to this one). Jeremy would push up the hill and down the other side to get to the back of an island. As you can probably imagine, we had an incident. Have you ever seen a grown man, a wheelbarrow and a lot of mulch go flying through the air? I have. He's lucky he didn't break something, but it sure was funny.

At one point I was sitting in an island breaking up dirt chuncks at the bottom of the hill (different from the one Jeremy took a flying leap). I heard the phone ring on the porch, so I ran full speed (up-hill) to get it. Keep in mind this was about 8 hours into this hell. Of course the phone stopped ringing as soon as I got there-typical. According to my caller-id, it was my mother. So I called her back to find out what she wanted. When I told her what I had to do to get to the phone, she said, "Don't run for me." Um, yeah because I used my superhuman, telepathic phone reading powers to determine that it was you.  But to my mother's credit, her and my dad came back (they had visited earlier) to help us out. They felt sorry for us. I did, too.

It all was put down on Saturday. It only took 12 hours. Let's just say that walking, or even standing up at that point was very painful. The next house will have concrete yards...

Me, Myself, and my Boring Life

Yup, that's been it--nothing, nada, zip! And guess what, I am loving it! I've been a little uninspired to knit, but I should jump out of that one during my 4 day weekend. I get tomorrow off since I work too much!

So Alias was pretty wild last night. Kind of reminded me of the Resident Evil video games and Shaun of the Dead. Gotta love the walking dead. See Kate's blog for a little more Alias discussion. It was really good. Too bad it can't be that good every week. Ever since Sidney brought down SD-6 it's been kind of boring...Ah, those were the days--the first season.

Hope everyone has a great longer weekend!

Holy House!

That is what I have, Batman. Thursday was a really bad storm day for most of Illinois, but I think poor Plainfield got the brunt of the storm.

After working a 12 hour day and having to sit in the restroom at work because the tornado bells were activated, I came home to a holy house. From what I gathered from my neighbors, the hail was the size of golfballs and there was a lot of it. The north side of our house has holes in the siding. They even dented the wood of our screened in porch! We had damage, but nearly as bad as some other houses I've seen. Think machine gun to the side of the house--several clips. I need to make an appointment with the insurance company to check it out. When did I grow up?!

Needless to say, knitting was not very high on my list of things to do...

Baby got back

  The back is done of the Tennis Sweater. I cast on for the front and hope to get it done a little more quickly than the back. I should have more time now that I am on summer vacation. Don't worry, I have been working on Sitcom Chic as well. In fact, Sitcom Chic is the one I bring to work to knit at lunch time. Stockinette is always a little quicker than cables when you only have 30 minutes to eat and knit.

Last night Yoda and I ate dinner with my sister and parents. Yoda was able to run around in the yard. Since we don't have a fence, she really isn't off the leash that much outside. We took her to a dog park once, but that was short lived. She seemed to be the target of all the male dog's affections....
So, she was given a treat that she didn't eat until she came home. She carried it around in her mouth like this for about 15 minutes. I guess the time had to be right.

Little Bits of Everything

I'm still plugging away on my projects. I was almost done with the neck shaping of the back of the Vogue Tennis Sweater, but I decided it looked awful, so I ripped it and started again. One side down, one to go. I also have about 2 inches done on Sitcom Chic. It's nice to have time!

While I get some really cute pictures of Yoda, I miss a whole lot, too. Last night she was sleeping while laying in my arms on her back like a little baby. It was so cute, but if I were to move, she would have jumped up ready for action. So, instead you only get this bashful picture.

I'd also like to send a 'shout-out' to Lori and Lisa. These are two new knitters who I found out have been lurking around my blog. Feel free to leave comments, girls!!

You didn't really think that I would work on one project at a time did you? The Cotton-Ease has been eyeballing me. It was sitting there whispering sweet nothings to me. So I did it. I cast on for the Sitcom Chic. You would think that I am addicted to pink...

More pink?

Wonky Ribbing

I have also been working on the Vogue Tennis Sweater, don't you worry. I am to the neck shaping on the back. I just need to figure out how I am going to work the two sides of the neck...guess I'll have to pull out the other set of Denise Needles.

Doing the neck shaping.

Hello, Hourlgass!

This weekend was a catch-up for me. Jeremy and I vowed to do just about nothing. Well, nothing that we didn't want to do. I didn't have to get up Saturday and take an online quiz. I did get up early to take Yoda out, but that's a different story. I did however knit. And the fruits of my labor were rewarded. Please say hello to the Hourglass Sweater

Looking good...

Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Chuckanaut Bay wool in Purple
Needles: Denise Circulars size 8
Notes: I am not a fan of the way the neck is attached to the sweater. I was also really worried that the neck was too big. It seemed to be a problem that quite a few people were having. So how did I fix it? Elastic. I bought some black elastic, threaded it on a tapestry needle and pushed it through the neck's 'channel'. I think it workec out pretty well. This is one of my best fitting sweaters to date.

Yoda also was very lazy this weekend and wasn't really up for an early morning photo-shoot, but I got her anyway.

Back to bed, Mommy....

Houston, we have arms

Last night I wanted to sit on the couch. Even though my house is a mess, I didn't want to do too much since I was beat--still am. Knitting wise, I didn't want to have to look at my work too much, so I finished the second sleeve on the Hourglass sweater. They are now attached and raglan decreasing has commenced.

looking good

P.S. I am thinking I need a mannequin. That way you won't be able to see my mess on the floor...

Tennis Anyone?

I promised a progress picture of the Tennis Sweater, so here you go:

Swingy Cables

I am getting closer to the neck shaping and then on to the front. I have found that I like the rows where I have a lot to do. I mean, I like the rows that I am decreasing and doing the cable twist and having to keep track of tons of stuff. That's the fun part--rather than the anticipation that I am going to do something.

Whew!

One semester down. Tons more to go. But at least I can enjoy the summer. Well, if it ever stops raining.

The past week I haven't been knitting. Had to finish those finals. But I am very close to getting the back done on the Tennis Sweater and the second sleeve on the hourglass. I might actaully finish something here soon. I will try to post pictures later today.

There is just so much to catch-up on...

Yarn Diet?!

Well, the date for my YNBA has passed. I didn't do too bad. Anything I did buy was paid for with gift money. My family tends to give moola instead of actual gifts for things like birthdays, Easter, Arbor Day (just Kidding!). So I figure that since the money was gifted I can buy anything I want with it. Including yarn and knitting supplies.

To be honest, this little hiatus from spending on yarn has made me less impulsive. Really. I'm one of those anally organized people that likes to make lists. So of course I have a list of projects I want to make. I've been chipping away at the list with yarn purchased especially for the project. Though I sometimes think that having a mini yarn store in my house would be fun....

Monica and Lynette said the YNBA was a sham. I don't think so. I think that if I was good and stuck to my diet because I thought someone else was doing it too, it wasn't a shame.

Sorry to everyone for my 'parent meltdown'. I thought I would get nasty comments, but everyone was very understanding. I guess the problem is larger than I thought. An epidemic really. Maybe the President should be briefed. Maybe we should shift focus of Social Security to Parenting. Maybe not. It was a thought.

I'll stop rambling now. I promise.

A little Rant

Sorry, but I must rant/vent today. If you are not into reading about my frustrations, please feel free to click away and come back when there is way more interesting content.

I must get this off my chest. It happens every time I visit my in-laws for a family function. Yesterday being Mother's Day prompted a function at my mother-in-law's home. While my nieces and nephews are cute, I have no qualms about wanting to strangle them. Now I know that the problems are not the kid’s fault, but those of the parents. This is where the rant/vent begins.

People, if you don't want to watch your children, spend money on them, and do general parenting things, DO NOT HAVE THEM!!!! Ok, ok, I realize that I don't have kids, yet, and that advice from someone without them is probably not taken seriously, but hear me out.

Luckily yesterday I only actually had to deal with one child, a 2 1/2 year old girl. She is cute, but very undisciplined. Jeremy had this wonderful idea to bring Yoda over to his mom's. We didn't want her to be in the kennel all day, so this way we could have her out and not feel guilty. Yesterday I learned that I have a good dog.

It started out ok. We had the little girl petting Yoda very softly and slowly. We explained to her that the fast movements scare Yoda. "She might think you are playing and get rough. We don't want Yoda to hurt you." Everything was going well. Then the screaming and running began.

Yoda really was scared and was trying to get away from the terror from Hell. Where were her mom and dad? Sitting in some room watching TV.

Now, I don't know about you, but if I were sitting in the next room and heard someone yelling at my kid, I would go investigate. Oh, and I wasn't nice when I was yelling, either. I told her to get away from the dog and go by her mother. She pouted and gave me this "I'm going to try to be cute and sad at the same time look." I hate to break it to you kid, but it doesn't work with me. Somehow we finally got the kid to go by her mother and Yoda just sat in the kitchen while we cleaned up. Did I mention that my dog is soooo good?

Then the kid kept coming in and chasing the dog. I kept yelling at her while trying to protect Yoda. At one point her mother told Jeremy to spank her. Um, no. It's your kid; you hit her--not us. I don't want them hitting my kid, well, if I ever have them after this fun. When I picked Yoda up to get her ready to go home, she clung to me. I mean, she grabbed on to be and dug in with her nails so that I couldn't put her down where the kid could get to her. Poor baby!

Now, I understand that kids like dogs- especially little ones that look like puppies. But this is more about the parents. We watched our "kid" the entire time--why couldn't they watch theirs?

There are of course other problems I have noticed with this particular set of parents--not buying the kid Christmas gifts (but instead buying themselves $1000 cameras), not getting clothes that fit the kid (even if you are watching your money, you can find well fitting clothes at resale shops. Not everything needs to be super big on the kid), not making the kid eat nutritious food (but gives her all the candy and cookies she wants)...I could go on and on. Like I said, I don't have kids, so take this as you will.

But I see it more and more--parents not wanting the responsibility of the kids. Then DON'T HAVE THEM and especially DON'T HAVE MORE! I know there are still good parents out there and it is the few that are really pissing me off. So those of you who are great parents, please don't take this the wrong way. It is just so frustrating to me the people that want kids and can't have them for some reason. Then some of those who can don't seem to care about the ones they have. Every time I come in contact with bad kids because of non-existing parenting, I just don't want to even think about having kids. Sad but true.

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Ok, I'm stepping off my soapbox. I hope no one took this the wrong way. Like I said there are really great parents out there, it is just the few that ruin it for everyone else. Did I mention that at brunch a bunch of unattended little kids were calling 911 and hanging up at the pay phone? It was just a grueling day.

So knitting content? Yes, I have made progress. But I haven't had time to snap some pics. And I'll be studying tonight and Tuesday for the final on Wednesday. So, you may not see anything new until Thursday. Until then, have a good one--I'm off to read about some Maryland adventures!

Almost there

I am almost done with classes for this semester. I had my last class before the final last night. Thank goodness! What was I thinking taking 4 classes in one semester?! That was about the dumbest thing I ever did! I guess I can look at it as that I knocked out four classes that I won't have to take in the future...but then I can't complain. And believe me, I am tired and cranky. I want to complain.

I am just getting to the increases on sleeve two of the hourglass sweater. I am getting close to completing that sweater. Then what?! I still have the Vogue Tennis Sweater, but who can work on one thing monogamously? Not me. I need variety! Maybe I'll look into some smaller projects for instant gratification. Who doesn't love that?

I've also been busy sewing. Check out Jillz blog to see the latest in totes. I sewed that baby up pretty quickly. And I think I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. I have been getting much better in my sewing skills. Maybe I'll try a garment soon. Ok, after the Yoda beds I promised that little pug.

It's a good day!

You know it's a good day when you come into work and see that the new chair you have been waiting for has finally arived and made it to your desk. No more one armed chair for me!! It's the little things in life that make the difference.

Gone are the days of picking the arm off the ground and stategically placing it on my chair so that both arms feel loved. Gone are the days of hoping that the arm does not hit someone in the head as it is projected through the air. Gone is the weird black stuff that somehow gets on my jackets and pants.

Hello good posture! Welcome sitting at the correct height for the computer! Welcome clean clothes!!

I love it!

Blah!!

Wow!! What a weird day. My Mondays are getting stranger and stranger. I felt like I got nothing done, again, at work. But when I look back at it, I really did accomplish some things. I am in the middle of a web clean-up and I was able to turn off a couple little apps. That is big time since no one want to part with anything around here....

I also tried to use the grill last night. After I finally got it lit without taking off my eyebrows, I put on the turkey breasts. I set the timer so I could go flip them. When I went back out, they were charcoal. Nice and krispy on the outside and pink on the inside. Maybe I need to attend the BBQ University. This was only my second time using a grill of any sort, so I was happy there were no casualties....well, aside from the turkey.

I'd like to wish my sister happy National Teacher Day. Our teachers really are underappreciated. Who else will wipe your kid's nose, tie his shoes, and teach him to read? Not most parents today.

Knitting, you ask? I am still working on the back of the Tennis Sweater and I am working on the second sleeve of the hourglass. Nothing exciting, just longer than before.