sherriknits

I have been enjoying my new stitch markers so much.  When I went to leave feedback awhile back, they had a new version … kissing sheep!  I missed ordering before they were sold out so I left a message (the shop is Jelby on Etsy…tell her I sent you!)  She got right back to me and said she’d make me some.  Then when I went to purchase those, I saw the marker holders so of course had to have some of those, too.  I told her I’d wait until she had time to make them, no rush.  It wasn’t long and I was the proud owner of marker holders, too.

We had the greatest thing happen yesterday.  The insurance called so they could close the claim on our fallen tree from the December storm.  The reality was, it was not their responsibility to pay for our neighbor’s fence.  The problem is that the house is in probate and the family lives out of state.  We have not ever been able to get in contact with them and it has been incredibly stressful to me to see that mangled fence every day.  We are trying to do a wedding so the fence is not a huge priority, especially if their insurance would cover it.

When our insurance called, they said they had finally made contact with the family and they were getting estimates , from afar.  Hubby’s concern is that they will get ripped off because it’s amazing how people come out of the woodwork to “help”.  Funny how all these new “companies” have sprung up.  The owners live out of the area and they want to do estimates that seem to far exceed the local companies’ rates.  So he expressed concern to the insurance company about that. 

Anyway, our insurance company said they could actually offer a “Good Neighbor” settlement of $500 towards the repair of the fence.  I can’t tell you how happy that made us.  It just seems so weird that our tree could cause that kind of damage and we are not responsible to fix it.  I don’t mind if their insurance can cover it, but to just say “your problem” really bothered me.  So, sounds like we’ll be able to help out after all and I’m happy.

And how I hope and pray we never see this again.  It has been amazing to us the past 2 weeks how much logging is going on in the area to rid homes and property of leaning or broken trees.  the weather gets nice and the clean up goes on.

Tonight we attempt to put hubby’s office back together after he painted and then hopefully home very early to relax.  I actually SLEPT last night and hope I have many more nights ahead of the same!

Technorati Tags: Knitting, Storm

got my new phone today.  I can’t get it to upload my contact list, but hey…it’s a phone and I’m happy.  I’ll take it to Verizon Friday or call tomorrow to get the numbers back in it, but it’s nice to back in communication again…..funny how really lost you feel without them!

Oh, I’m so sad, I forgot to take pictures today of my new Etsy purchase.  I’ll do that tomorrow in the daylight….fun, fun, fun.

I did get started today on a shrug for the bride.

It’s a simple pattern and isn’t as loose as it appears.  I think it will work and should be a fast project.

I visited the health food store today and got some 5HTP and Gaba for my sleep.  I took some tonight before dinner and am feeling that nice normal sleepiness approaching.  My problem seems to be that my adrenalin gets “stuck on” and hopefully taking these things will help me start shutting down normally.  Be thankful if you never have this problem.

time for American Idol.  Will have a cute picture to show tomorrow!

Technorati Tags: Knitting

I have been having some pretty major sleep problems the last month or so.  It’s making me do some pretty careless things.

Saturday, I discovered my cell phone was missing.  Wouldn’t you know that the battery died so my usual calling it doesn’t work.  We have looked and looked.  I know it is somewhere close at hand, no one has been using it.  I finally called Verizon today and had to suspend service and then called the insurance and will have a new one tomorrow. I still have 7 days to find my old phone and could return the new one in that time.  It’s awful not having a phone.  I had to borrow the imp’s phone several times today (ewwwwwwwww……it is grossly sticky) and the bride had several calls for me while we were out of town. 

This afternoon, I discovered that my debit card is missing.  I know when I used it.  I bought lunch with it for several people on Saturday while at the shop rather than take all of their money and try to sort it out in the drive-thru.  Well, when I got back to the shop, I dumped a whole soda on the floor of my car and who knows where my card ended up during that time.  I am more than frustrated at myself.  I guess I will visit the bank tomorrow if I can’t unearth it tonight.

Ahhh, well…such is life.

Today was a rat race from the moment my feet hit the floor.  I had to call my voicemail to confirm what time our therapy appointment for the little imp was.  Me thinks she had it wrong because the same day we scheduled his next appointment, we went to the dressmaker and had a fitting and scheduled the second fitting around the therapy appointment but when the therapist called my missing cell phone to remind me, she had the same time as the dressmaker appointment so we got that changed.  She did call us on the bride’s phone during lunch and said we could come at either of the times.  We ate lunch early and headed to Target for a 20 minute timekiller and that did not go over well with one little imp.  When we realized we were going to be a few minutes late, sis dragged him through the store as he kept repeating….”bye, Target, I’ll be back!”

The therapy appointment was not one of the most fun.  We start with him making copies of the handwriting book.  She needs him to turn to page 36-37.  He is turning one page at a time and taking so long to read each page number so I suggest he turn several pages at once.  “What!?!???!” he says in the funniest voice?  It only slowed him down.  From that point on, he was totally contrary.  Thankfully, the therapist just ‘gets it’ and says we’ll just work with what we’ve got today.  There is really no sense in fighting it, not for a 1 hour therapy session.  He did have fun on the swing using the claw to pick things up so we ended on a decent note. 

Then we raced to the dressmaker.  We have to go in a little room and I was thrilled to see that when she dressed, the little imp put his hood over his head on his own.  lol, he has learned well.  I was going to ask him to stand out in the hall, but wasn’t sure how the dressmaker would feel about it since he’d likely put his fingers on her walls and the bride definitely needs help getting into the dress. 

Here’s a funny pic of him through the mirror.

Something struck him funny as he sits surrounded by all that wedding fru-fru.

I am so tickled.  The bride is going to wear my pearls with her dress.  She wore them today so we could try them with the dress and they look beautiful.  My grandma gave me my pearls when I was a little older than the bride is now.  They have long been one of my best treasures and get more beautiful with age.  I need to check into seeing if they need to be restrung, but how special to have her wear them on her most special day. 

On the knitting front, I am making progress on LU.  What an easy pattern.  I have to lay it aside for a bit while I work on something for the bride, but am confident this will be finished before long.

It’s knit in the Turkish stitch which is repetitious and easy.

Every night lately we’ve been having the most beautiful sunsets.  Five minutes before this, the sky was gray…and 2 minutes after I took this, it was even brighter but I couldn’t get back outside in time to snap another picture.  Five minutes later, it was dark.

The soon-to-be married couple has vacated the premises tonight so it’s just hubby and the imp and I home.  I hope to be in bed early tonight because tomorrow is another busy day.

Technorati Tags: Event, Imp, Knitting, Wedding

while I work, they play

lol

Technorati Tags: Imp

I have dreaded this day but there wasn’t a need.

Four years ago, we got orthotics for the little imp.   You cannot even imagine the fun that was.  He hated them.  I started to get so apprehensive every morning when I had to force his feet into the shoes after I had strapped him into the orthotics.  It wasn’t long before he was hiding them and over time, we forgot about using them.

Well, the feet continued to get worse.  This is fairly common in our little friends with DS.  Our new therapist began to worry about those dear feet and we made an appointment to go to the foot clinic held every few months for these special little kids.  Well, the appointment was early December and when the time came, we were digging out of storm damage and Centralia where we had to go was under water the week before.  The clinic was bumped forward a week, but emotionally we just couldn’t do it….life was hard and I was up for jury duty as well as the fact that after all the fallen trees, I didn’t feel up to seeing floodwater damage there (some parts of town were literally under 10 feet of water!).  So, we asked to be re-scheduled for the next clinic…which fell to today. 

The morning was awful.  I got up not feeling well and then I couldn’t find his medical coupon since we know our insurance will reject the claim.  We finally just left without it.  What is that time warp that happens when you need to get out the door?  We ended up late and getting behind a sllllooooowww truck.  We did make it to the clinic right on the minute, but a bit stressed.

You know what?  The physical therapist who does this casting was beyond wonderful.  She is used to working with other little imps and said we just need to figure out something he will buy into so he will cooperate with us.  Obviously we are defeating a purpose if he won’t wear them.  I forgot my camera  but hubby snapped a few with his phone.  Sad to say we didn’t get the cast foot….

The good news is that the therapist will meet us at a shoe store that specializes in shoes just for this purpose but they *look* like regular shoes.  They will make him a customized insert that will not have toe straps.  She said it looked very possible to treat the foot in a way that shouldn’t cause him a lot of grief and his feet may feel better enough that he may ask for his shoes to be worn (although I feel skeptical about that at this point). 

I was so grateful.  We do not let this boy get away with all of his whims, but this one just got too much.  Many professionals only see their little area of expertise when looking at these kids and can’t understand why you fall apart, but she really *got it* when I said it wasnt’ the only thing we were trying to deal with, as his therapist at the time had to remind me of over and over.  He is one mess of things all rolled in to one sweet body. 

So, whew…that one is over and I came back to town and actually knit a bit this afternoon in total enjoyment with good friends.  (and the imp spent the afternoon with his favorite person in the world….Dad!)  And then I got Dad for a date tonight.  On our way out of town, we found out he does not have to go away for a conference next week and I am oh so happy. 

And now, my bed calls.

Technorati Tags: Event, Imp, Knitting

I’ve actually been forcing myself to go to bed early and go to sleep, but sleep doesn’t come or stay.  So weird.  I’m deciding to take better care and drink more water.  Why is this so hard?

I did find a new old-time radio show to listen to…”A Date With Judy”.  It’s just a cute 40’s radio show…

A Date with Judy was an American radio program during the 1940s. It was a teenage comedy that began as a summer replacement for Bob Hope’s show, sponsored by Pepsodent and airing on NBC from June 24 to September 16, 1941, with 14-year-old Ann Gillis in the title role.  

(from Wikipedia)

Hubby was gone for 2 nights.  I’m glad he got to go but I’m more glad he is home.  I was at the shop today and was called up front to the family business and I looked out the window and saw him drive up and my heart just jumped and I was gone to greet him, much to the amusement of everyone else.  Well, I am happy to say that after 33 years, I still want to run and see him even if he hasn’t been gone.  I’m grateful.

Been knitting, trying to make something for the bride and feel it is going to happen but we have to do some experimenting first because she is so tiny.  It’s just an easy knit and won’t put any pressure on me since I’m doing it now.

I have no idea why I’m here tonight….I really don’t have much to say but I was missin’ my blog so I thought I’d stick my head in and say howdy.

Oh, the cutest thing I found out tonight.  The new mama is doing a photo blog of her baby bump.  That’s my little sweet pea growing and growing.  I was going to show it, but decided not to…trust me, it’s pretty exciting.  I did make a new little bootie, maybe I’ll go snap a picture and show you that.  hang on.

There’s only 1 but wow was this a quick knit.  I love this yarn (Fly*dyed).  I bought it for the shop when I went up to Madrona.  She’ll never repeat it and laughed when I liked it so much.  That’s the magic bootie, I think is the name of the pattern.  I saw it at Madrona, too.  The new mama liked it so much and was afraid I was going to forget it at Grandma’s.  I knit this in my sleepless stupor on the way to Oregon.

I found some other photos on my camera when I loaded these on to my computer.

This first one was so silly.  We sent hubby to Starbucks in the morning at Grandma’s.  No one wanted Folger’s coffee.  We even bought Grandma a mocha, she’d never had one…and she liked it!

I just had to show it because how silly does that picture look?  I guess I just got intrigued with all the cups and grabbed my camera before everyone started grabbing their coffee.  Some were already gone.

As we were leaving Grandma and Grandpa’s house, the sunset was just beautiful.

Isn’t that peaceful?

I think I need to clean off my camera lens again.  How in the world does it get so dirty when it lives inside?

I really enjoy my time when we visit there…it’s so pretty.  I wish I’d taken more pictures but I forgot.

And now I am racing up the stairs because in the last minute everyone else headed off to bed and i was going to be the first one!

Technorati Tags: Baby, FO!, Knitting, Memories

Ok, I did exaggerate a bit last night, I only had 3 loads of laundry to do.  They were big, though.

Last night was a nightmare for me, I did not sleep one wink all night.  I thought I’d sleep in the car today but it didn’t really happen.  Needles s to say, I’m a bit tired tonight but the house is full of people, everyone is doing something different and I think we’re sleeping in the living room on our blowup mattress so can’t go to bed yet.

It was kind of an emotional drive.  I hadn’t been this way since the big storm in December.  Oh my gosh.  The fallen trees were incredibly sickening.  So much old growth just gone.  Huge, huge trees uprooted  There were many, many places where they had been cut away because they laid across the road.  Some places you wonder if they are going to come down on the road still because the ground is so soggy.  There are some sections that you can’t tell a thing and then other places where it is just devastating.  I thought a lot about the victims of Katrina and Rita.  I wonder how long it takes to get used to the changed landscape.  The cleanup continues up and down the coast.  The trees are being logged behind our church.  If I understand right, they were the retirement safety net for the owners and a very huge share of them snapped off halfway up the tree.  Now we have a clear view of the highway.  I’ve heard of people who have had to put up fences after being used to totally secluded yards and now the highway is in clear view and so are they.  It’s just weird.  I don’t think we try to dwell on it, it’s just a fact of life, our area has permanently changed and it’s strange.

I did try to get pictures but me in a moving car and a camera that would never be ready when I saw something interesting just got too frustrating.  I did take pictures of the bridge going in to Astoria,though.  It’s 4 miles long and I used to be scared to death of it.

Heading on to the bridge:

If you look closely you can see the end of the bridge far far in the distance…it’s kind of foggy.

The end is in sight.

At the end of the bridge, we go way up high, this is where the ships pass under.

I really tried to get the houses as we curved around but it just didn’t work.  I love the houses close to the bridge.  It’s a Finnish town and that’s my heritage so it’s kind of fun for me to drive through Astoria.  I love seeing the old fashioned saunas but I’m not sure if they are open any more.  We had one of our own but it burned down.

We stopped in Cannon Beach at Coastal Yarns.  It was funny.  Hubby let me off, the town was a madhouse.  As I was running up the steps, I discovered I had an Addi Turbo tangled on my purse strap and I was trying to unhook it as I went through the front door and I heard, “I was just talking about you the other day!” and was thrilled to see the owner there, she is only there occasionally.  We had a nice visit.  I didn’t get to buy anything today but I think I’ll drive down some Sunday and visit with her.

I did weave in the ends of the dish cloths for my MIL and knit one magic bootie, but didn’t take a picture of it yet.  Love the yarn, though.

We met up with some of the kids part way down and then drove through Starbucks and made the last part of the trek down the coast.  I was glad to get here but I am really ready for bed.

Hope you all have a fun holiday weekend!  We have to head home tomorrow but that gives us a day at home and we need it.

Technorati Tags: Knitting, RoadTrip

Yesterday morning, the bride and I got up at 6:30 am and headed up to Tacoma to see the market at Madrona Fiberarts Winter Retreat.  Wow!

The hotel is huge and amazingly, when we walked in the door, there was a friend of ours standing there at the registration area.  I’m so glad, the place was so big and overwhelming.  She walked through the market with us and it was great fun, overwhelming to the senses!  We only had about 2 hours because I had to be to the shop by 12.  I did a lot of damage to my bank account in that time. 

It was so cool to see these incredibly wonderful knitters everywhere.  We walked in behind Nancy Bush.  Stephanie Perl McPhee came strolling through and right towards the Blue Moon booth.  What’s so cool is the realization that they are just people like you and me.    I saw a lot of friends from other shops or reps that I work with. 

We did peek in two rooms where classes were being held…it was so intriguing.  Both rooms had women with their spinning wheels set up and everyone was busy, busy, busy. I had a friend in each class.  Oh how I hope I can go next year.

And the fiber!  Oh my gosh.  I was overwhelmed and really think it might have been a good thing that I had to get back home soon or I’d still be wandering around in a stupor, admiring all that gorgeous fiber.

Here’s what I came home with:

for the bride.

for the little sweet pea who is now into the 2nd trimester.

Kauni!  For a sweater sometime in the far off future….we have to get through a wedding and a baby first.

for moi….hopefully sometime soon but I’m already stuck on the easy pattern.  No big deal, I have too much going on these days.  Notice the beautiful pin.  I actually saw the same one in Simply Knitting magazine tonight!

Just to defend myself, I would never normally be able to buy so much beautiful yarn at one time but I do own a yarn shop and I really should try these things out, don’t ya think?  I decided since I never get a paycheck so to speak, I should occasionally treat myself, right?

Tomorrow I am taking a trek down the Oregon coast and I just might need to stop at 2 yarn stores that I just love and can’t seem to drive by.  I am on a mission, though, so I’ll only be tempted by what I really need.

Tonight we raced up to Olympia to exchange a new router that we bought yesterday, Staples didn’t have any more and we’d have had to wait until next Wednesday for them to get another one for us.  It came without a power cord and cd to load it on our computer.  We accidentally ended up getting a little better one than the one we bought yesterday but hubby decided he was going to spring for it.  And ANYTHING would be better than the one we’ve been using.  We can only hold a connection for short periods of time.  I just hope and pray it is the router and not some other weird thing.  We have continued to have trouble every time the Jeep comes home. 

And here’s my new weird thing.  I took my laptop to work this morning on the chance I’d have time to merge some files.  Never got to it and when I got in my car to come home, I saw that I had left half the power cord in the car.  When I got home, I distinctly remember grabbing it to come in the house.  When we got home from Olympia, I found everything I carried in but the cord.  #1 son and I went down to the shop to see if my old one was there, no.  We all searched the car and the ground in the dark.  It’s no where to be found.  My laptop is useless without it because I have killed the battery.  Thankfully #1 son loaned me his half of the cord from his Sony PSP charger  which fits into the laptop power cord.  Totally irritating that I have lost it and plan to look better when it is daylight.  grrrrr

We got to have a little visit with the mommy-to-be and son-in-law at Barnes and Noble.  Evidentally they were standing on the other side of the wall from where we were sitting trying to find us.  We were eating dinner in the cafe.   We had to get home early because I have 35 loads of laundry to do before we leave tomorrow…and we really don’t need much, just a little behind.  We’re headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s and one little imp is excited.  This time is funny, we’re going in 4 cars and no one is coming and going at the same time.   Makes it nice for the poor dog who gets left home, he won’t be lonely for any stretch of time.

And now I am off to get another load in and out of the washer and dryer and go to bed to dream about my fun projects to come. 

Technorati Tags: Event, Knitting, Fiber

Well, it is kind of nice to be able to actually start something and get it off the needles.  I know my mother-in-law will be thrilled to get some new dischloths and with the little time I’ve had to knit these days, it’s great to have a fun, mindless project.

Can you guess the color of her kitchen?

Lemons and limes.

I forgot how fun these are to knit and I wonder why I don’t have more in my drawer.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Madrona Fiberarts retreat.  I know several people who were lucky enough to get in and are going.  I feel like I’m going to be lonely for the rest of the week thinking of them.  In fact, 2 years ago was when I started my first blog when they were at the retreat and I was stuck at home.  It was the beginning of the Knitting Olympics and my friends were all with the Yarn Harlot on the first day. 

I’m thinking next year I really will try to get to Madrona.  I did try this year but by the time I finally got into the registration area to sign up, it was full.  Turns out they had a crash on their website and I could have had a chance later in the day, but I really think it wasn’t meant to be this year.  After all, I am trying to plan a wedding.  Next year, other than the fact that it will maybe fall over Valentine’s day, I won’t have to worry about it being the daughter’s birthday because she will have a hubby to worry about her.

Ramble, ramble, ramble.

I’ll say goodnight so I can watch American Idol and not stumble all over my words like I’m sure I have.   lol

Technorati Tags: Knitting

Don’t even ask me why I am showing up here tonight….I’m running on next to no sleep.  Not sure what the problem was, but at 4:15 this morning, i finally moved to the couch after I’d been up and down half the night.  I ran the battery out of my almost fully charged iPod listening to previously listened to playlists.  I am headed to bed in a minute and hope tonight is more successful.

At 3:30 this morning I remembered that I forgot to send out an email reminder for knit night and at 9 am I was incapable of figuring out how to word it and wondered if I’d even be there myself.  I had a 9 a.m. appointment for a haircut and after that, I came home and tried to rest until about 2:30 this afternoon when the happy couple was done with their first premarital counseling appointment.  (pretty cool that they scored 100% on communication and spiritual).  our first bride says the counseling is the best she has ever heard of, very helpful in targeting areas that need looking at and then dealing with them in a positive way.

Ok…gotta hurry here.  Yesterday we went for the fitting of the wedding dress.

Thankfully it pretty much just needs shortening and making the bustle.  Just a teaser of a picture for you.

We had a full day and raced home for hubby and the little imp and I to go to dinner at one of our pastor’s house.  They invited us so the little imp could play bowling on the Wii with them.  He WON every game but 2 and lost one of them by just 1 point.  No one tried to let him win.  Impressive.

I gave my mom her cuffs today and she wore them, not sure if they will help to keep her warm but worth a try.

I was really not capable of any ability to think tonight, so I made my mother-in-law a dishcloth. 

We’re headed to see her this week and after 9 people descend on their house, it might be nice to bring her an offering.  We ordered a chocolate peanut butter pie, too, to take with us.  I think she’ll be happy.

I was really, really hoping to get to go up to Madrona Fiber Arts retreat at least to check out the market, but I’m not at all sure how to fit it in.  I guess I’ll just dream about it instead.

And now, I am going to crawl up the stairs and do my best to fall asleep as tomorrow brings much, much to do. 

Technorati Tags: Event, Imp, Knitting