Please Keep Me In Your Thoughts ...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with friends and family. My prayer for you is to also have a safe New Year.

Just wanted to check in since it's been so long. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I hope to be back to posting more regularly soon!

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CONGRATULATIONS!

First of all, I'd just like to thank all of you for taking the time to visit my blog and sharing your thoughts/feelings. I really appreciate your time.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Unfortunately (fortunately?) I didn't eat too much this Thanksgiving. I hadn't been feeling well for a few days before, so I just couldn't enjoy things like I normally would have. (It sure sounds good now, though ...)

As for the contest: I'm sorry I'm posting late. I just didn't feel up to posting this weekend. We do have a winner though.

And the winner is ....

... ALL OF YOU!

I will be working on e-mailing each of you today, but if you read this before I get you e-mailed, please get me your mailing address. I'm not sure what all the prizes will be still (and, mind you, they're nothing spectacular), but I hope to get all packages in the mail this week.

I hope you had all fun with this idea. I hope to have another contest soon.

As for knitting, I'm still working on my Cascading Leaves socks from the Townsend Sock Knitalong (see button on left). I'm on the cuff of the second sock, and hope to have it finished this week. I'm also still working on the pair of camo socks for my son.

It's amazing how much I didn't feel like knitting this weekend. And sad, too. Since now I'm back at work and WISH I was home knitting. Go figure!

Let Us Give Thanks!

Wow! It's been almost two weeks since my last post.

I definitely need to thank Kimberly for drawing my name in her recent contest for the new S&B Nation book. Love it! Thanks so much.

Also, I'm afraid that I never thanked Ann for the wonderful RAOK I received some time back. It included a knitting journal, ball of Sockotta, a package of hot chocolate and a card. Very sweet! It definitely made my day.

Lately, I've been in a little slump again. A little depressed at times. Wondering what I should be doing. For this reason, I've decided to make an effort to concentrate even more on the positive things in my life. I have so MUCH to be thankful for. My home, my kids, my family, my job .... Every morning that I wake up, every bird I hear singing, every laugh, every smile ....

Anyhow, I've decided to hold a contest. I'm not sure what the prize will be yet. And it will probably be a surprise until the recipient receives, but here's the deal:

If you would like to enter, please leave a comment telling me three things you are thankful for. Do a little soul-searching. What I'm hoping is that every one of you will benefit from this. I know there are many situations in life that can get in the way of our "happiness." But if we can all try to concentrate on the positive aspects, however small they may seem, just imagine how that can change our lives!

I will be taking "entries" until Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 25, 2004), and will announce the winner sometime on Friday.

I hope you all have a blessed day!

In the Knit of Things

To some it may seem a little scary, but I bet I'm thinking about knitting or knitting-related subjects at least 75% of the time. WOW! There are much worse addictions, don't you agree?

Okay. So I took a vacation from the socks I was re-knitting. Instead, I'm working on the Cascading Leaves pattern by Jeanie Townsend. WONDERFUL lady! If you are into knitting socks at all, you just HAVE to check out this group: Townsend Socks Knit Along.

I'm using a yarn that I received in a bottle swap a while back. It's working up great. My daughter had picked out the yarn for socks for her, and I think she will be very happy with the final product.

I had an Avon booth at a craft show this weekend. I think things went very well. If you've ever thought about selling Avon, or if you just love to use their products yourself, click on my link to the left for more information.

One Nation, Under God ...

I've read many blogs over the last couple of days where the author's thoughts on the election have been shared. Here is mine:

I voted for Bush. I believe he is a man of God. I believe he's made the best decisions that could have been made in the situations that have come up during the last four years. I believe that he is the right person to lead our country right now.

I must also say that, regardless of who was elected president, God is the one who is always in control. That's where I put my faith. Not in one man, one country ... but in God ...

Blah!

That's what I feel about my blog. I really need to go out to mom's and use her digital camera.

This weekend I ended up splurging again. I decided, "What the heck! I already know how to knit socks on two circs, why not try the Magic Loop?" So I bought a 32" addi turbo size 2 and the Magic Loop book. And I also picked up the book Bags: A Knitters' Dozen.

My LYS had just gotten it in, and I just happened to see it as I was getting ready to check out.

Well, as soon as I got home, I just HAD to start on one of the bags. (I can't remember the name right now, though ... Will have to post that info later.) This summer I had picked up some yarn at Aurora Yarn Supply that I knew I wanted to knit into a bag. Yarn + perfect pattern = bag.

It's been a slow start to re-knitting the sock I frogged last week. It's been pretty stressful at home, so I just haven't had much relaxing knitting time. That and the fact that I've had a sinus infection since Saturday that's just been kicking my butt.

If anyone has any good ideas for rewards/punishments for a 12-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy, I would definitely appreciate all comments. There has been a lot of change in our family over the last year or so, and its been hard on us all. But I am having a heck of a time getting my kids to obey me, and most mornings and evenings as of late have left much to be desired in the way of "there's no place like home ..."

Happy Halloween!

No. I'm not totally crazy. With Halloween falling on a Sunday this year, the annual downtown trick-or-treat thing is scheduled for this afternoon. So this morning I was gathering up the vampire cape, teeth, face paint, fake blood to send off to school with Noah. The daycare he goes to is AWESOME about taking the kids to do extra things. And since the trick-or-treating starts at 3:30 p.m., this works out really well for me. Beings that I'll still be at work.

As for the appointment for my dad the other day .... The news was actually great! The testing they did showed there are NO neurological problems (before they had possibly thought dementia or the brain aging faster than normal). What he's dealing with is an extremely severe case of depression. But he has been doing better some days. He's even smiled a couple of times.

I really miss the way my dad was, but I'll always love him - no matter what.

I ended up frogging the whole sock I was working on the other day. I just could not pick the stitches up correctly. Stress + two fighting kids + an awful headache = totally frogged sock + sadness. I'm going to try to start the sock again tonight. Maybe even try to do two at a time. We'll see how that goes.

My fingerless gloves have had no progress. I still have one glove without a thumb.

If there is anyone out there interested in a possible holiday get-together for knitters in Colorado, I'd be glad to hear from you. I think this could be a lot of fun. Maybe do a little gift exchange. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm Ready For Some Good News ...

Well, Dad has another doctor's appointment today. I'm going to go with mom and dad to this appointment, too. Hopefully, we should be getting the results back from more of the tests that he had taken in Cheyenne about a month ago.

If we can eliminate some possible causes for his depression, etc., that would be great! And if we can target causes, even better. It's just been so hard on mom and dad. And everyone else. Especially when you don't know what's causing the problems.

Anyhow, on the way to the appointment, I will be working (frogging) on a pair of socks for my mom. I turned the heel yesterday and did all the decreases ... Then realized I'd forgetten to work one row knit in between each decrease row! AAAGGGHHH! Guess I'll be in the pond for a while. Ribbit!

Still didn't get pictures up. Mom's in the process of putting a new computer up. Since she has the pictures I want, it'll be a few more days still, I'm sure.

Noah's eye's much better, but it's got that sickly greenish-yellowish color of fading bruises. At least it doesn't seem to be too sore.

Monday, Monday

Well, the weekend definitely was not long enough.

I took the day off from work on Friday. My son had his first grade field trip to the Denver Zoo. And I rode the bus with him. To the zoo and back.

The day was cold, and it started to mist/sleet for the last hour or so we were there. Then, I forgot to bring along any cash, and all the other kids were getting cotton candy, ice cream cones, stuffed animals, etc.

BUT, it could have been a lot worse. (And I did get a little knitting done on the ride up.) I was still really, really glad to get home that evening, though.

The picture I posted yesterday is of my son. He's perched on a statue of a gorilla (though that's hard to make out in this photo). Whenever we go to the zoo, we always joke about going to visit my kids' cousins ... the monkeys!

Monkey-ing Around

Look At Me Now!

The new me:


You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I had never quite thought about myself like this before ... but I like it! :)

I Love Fall!

I really do love Fall. I love the cool temperatures, the sometimes cloudy and overcast days (like today), and I like to see if get dark earlier. Call we weird. It takes all sorts, though, huh?

Last night I meant to get some pictures up of my mitten in progress and my weekend purchases from Lambspun. However, Time did not allow that to happen. Imagaine that! My goal is to have something uploaded at least by this weekend.

Haven't really had much knitting time the last couple of days. Too much going on with the kids. HOWEVER .... on Friday I will be traveling to the Denver Zoo with my son for his field trip. AND ... I will be riding the bus. SO ... (if I don't go insane!) I plan on getting a bit of knitting done during travel time. Hopefully ...

Rather Be Knitting ...

I think this could very easily be the title of my entry almost every day!

The trip to Lambspun was great. It was fun to meet Lisa, and she had a HUGE surprise for me! I had told her I'd been wanting to buy a ball winder, and had planned on getting one this weekend. When I was getting ready to pay, she grabbed the ball winder from the counter and told me I couldn't get that. WHAT???!!! That was one of the things I'd definitely been wanting to get. She then preceded to tell me she'd already gotten me one. I 'bout fell over.

That is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me, and I would not have expected it in the least. Thank you sooooo much, Lisa!

The other purchases I made at Lambspun included two skeins of Brown Sheep Wildfoote in Symphony (yummy!), a darning egg for kitchenering my socks and a pattern for felted fish. This pattern was actually designed by the owner of my LYS in Sterling, Fiberspace. My son decided I just had to get that pattern on Saturday, though.

After paying for everything, the four of us (Lisa and her daughter, and me and my son) went to Wendy's for a quick lunch.

It was so nice to actually get together with someone close to my age who has some of the some hobbies as I do! Lisa, hope we can do it again sometime!

I also made a quick stop in Greeley at Wild 'N' Wooly. I'd never been to this shop before, never knew it was there. Cute place! And it has quilting stuff, too. So next time we're in Greeley, my mother and I can both be happy with stopping in there.

Today is also my dad's 56th birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!

(Im)Patiently Awaiting Tomorrow ...

Lambspun here we come! I've only visited there once ... and can't wait to go back tomorrow morning. With any luck, we'll find a couple other little yarn/knit shops around Fort Collins to check out, too.

On my "must-have" list, I already have a ball winder, a darning egg (or something of the sort, to help when kitchenering my socks) and a few more row counters. If I would stick to having only 2-3 projects going at a time, I wouldn't need more counters ... but, just in case ...

My son loves to take road trips. My daughter doesn't. Therefore, he will be my traveling companion, and she will probably be spending most of the day with Grandma & Grandpa.

For those of you who are willing, please keep my parents in your prayers. My dad has had a rough past year. He's been dealing a lot with depression, and his whole life has changed. It's really hard on my mom, too. Maybe I'll elaborate on the situation some time, but it makes me very sad, too.

Anyhow, back to happy thoughts ... It's Friday ... gonna knit tonight ... then go spend more money to buy more things to knit tomorrow. What could be better than that? :)

Happy Day!

Well, it is. I'm making new friends. Ditched work for a little bit this morning (to go to the yarn store!).

Have a trip planned this weekend to go to Lambspun (Fort Collins, CO) with Lisa, my new knitting buddy who I've met through the RAOK and I Knit A Mile High web rings.

And I've learned how to get the link to another site into my posts. (See "Lisa" above.)

Now ... how cool is all that?

I HAD to buy some more circs to work my mittens on. I'd been using 16-inch addis for them and a pair of socks for my son ... but my hands hurt! The tips are just too short, and they rub my hands wrong. It's just not as as enjoyable to work on your project like that .... "Knit, purl, ouch! Knit, purl, ouch!"

This is me - Golden!

What Color Is Your Brain?

And it has started out to be a good morning. Even for a Monday.
I was RAOKed for the first time this morning! Thanks to Lisa Y for a $5 online gift certificate to Adagio Teas. Very cool. Also, got a couple of e-cards. This is going to be so much fun.

Started my mittens for the I'm in Glove KAL. Using Opal Mosaic in the purple pattern. These are my first pair of mittens, so I'm very excited about them.

Any help on creating my very own button would be much appreciated. Haven't had a lot of time to look around for instructions, yet.

Good day to all RAOKers!

Oh yeah! I'm in, and I feel honored. Can't wait to start getting to know other members of this ring.

I've been in a bit of a slump this last week or so. Need to keep myself busy. Try to update and enhance my blog more. (Doggone digital camera ...)

Today I've been working on the camo socks for my son. Going to put a short row heel in instead of following the pattern exactly. Hope this will work well for him.

Also, I'll probably start my Shawa mittens today. Just need to find the right yarn to use for them. Depends a lot on who will be the recipient of these mittens. They will be my first pair, so I think maybe they'd be most comfortable in my jacket pockets .... :)

Got It!

Yes! Thanks to Libby and jofrog, I now have a clearly visible "I Knit A Mile High" webring button. Now if I can just squeeze in time to add more things to my blog. And see if I can get my digital camera working ... Or at least find the connection for my scanner ...

And I think I've found a pattern that I want to use to make my first pair of mittens. It's a pattern from the Pattern-A-Day Knitting Calendar 2005. (Like I was really going to wait until 2005 to open it.) The pattern is called Shawa Mitten, and it's done on two circs.

Trial & Error

I finally got a Knit a Mile High button on my site, but I don't think the image shows up. The "help" section on this site leaves much to be desired in helping me! :(

Last night, I started a pair of socks in camo Bernat Hot Sox for my son. He's six and is really into either soldier or cowboy stuff right now. The pattern I'm using is just the Bernat socks leaflet that I picked up somewhere.

Still waiting for my next SOTM package to arrive. It's so exciting! Like Christmas every month, all year long.

Where to go from here ....

I love small town living. Don't get me wrong. But I would LOVE to be closer to a LYS and groups of knitters! I feel a great emptiness without this!

I'm trying to read some blogs and get ideas. (Sneeking into the sites when my boss is locked away in her office ... :) Any comments would be greatly appreciated! I've never done this before (blogging) and need all the help I can get!

Right now, I have several projects going. Almost finished with one SOTM sock in Opal from Fiber Nooks & Crannys. Just need to Kitchener the toe. Don't know if I'll start the next one right away, though. I've happily anticipating several other sock kits. Better wait to see which one needs my attention the most! :)

Also, I've been wanting to try my hand at some Fair Isle knitting. Hoping to start some gloves/mittens soon. Just need to find the right pattern and yarns.
I do my sock knitting on two circs, and would like to do my mittens/gloves the same. Any advice here would also be appreciated.

Well, off to read a few more blogs before boss catches me! :)

Today is the first day of the rest of my blog ....

Well, here I am. Though I've thought about it for some time, I am now actively pursuing a blogging lifestyle.