sherriknits

I was really looking forward to a 4-day weekend, but it ended up to be kind of a bust.

Hubby got a bad cold and coughed his head off for days.  I had a sleepless night and was worth nothing for a whole day.  We were just kind of bummed out that we didn’t do anything fun…but then, I guess there wasn’t much we could do about it.

We did have a fun 4th….the little imp for the first time in his life actually enjoyed the fireworks.  We went over to big sis’s house and played Wii for awhile.  They actually got me to drive race cars with them.  I used to be really good at video games but no more.  I came in last every time, but I had fun.

He’s actually pretty good!  He plays against the good competition and holds his own. 

They’ve been getting the baby room ready, I just love it.

And look what I saw on the changing table.

We actually could see the neighborhood fireworks better than the city ones because a hill is in the way, but we didn’t feel like going closer and getting caught in traffic, especially if the little imp can’t stand it, been there, done that.

The parents-to-be have a great deack overlooking everything so  we stood outside watching the whole city go nuts.

This picture cracks me up.  He’s talking to his brother-in-law….he drags his name waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy out when he talks to him and I caught him in the middle of it.

Even though he did better with the fireworks than he’s ever done, there came a point where he was DONE…so his BIL got him some headphones.

Have I said lately how great my son-in-law is?

I did get knitting done during the day of doing nothing but sitting on a chair after watching the sun come up once again.  I think I better not have any more of those Starbucks doubleshots even in late afternoon! 

Anyway, this is not for me.  I was going to make it all one color until I decided to do it for a gift. 

Today the new bride, the imp and I decided to go to the beach.  I wanted to play tourist like a friend of mine did.  I forgot to take any pictures but we had fun.  The little imp hates shopping but I got him a little present so he was a little happier.  I could just choke sometimes, though.  He showed me the “claw” and I told him if he’d be good, we could get it.  Well, he suddenly turned and ran away.  I chased after him and asked him where he was going because the deal was to stick with us.  “My phone, Mom!” he answers.  He’d left it laying on the display.  ugh.

We had ice cream before we drove home and then made a quick trip down onto the beach.

I’m not sure if they were feeding these seagulls or what, but they were flying in place when we drove by

I was excited when I got home that the flowers on my new rosebush had finally started to open, there are LOTS of them to come

it is exactly what I hoped it would be!

And now we know it is summer because the ice cream truck was driving around our neighborhood today!  Amazingly, it was not that obnoxious music it has been in years past.

Back to watching the Mariner’s, we’re actually on the board in the 2nd inning!  Things seem to be turning around for us.  I’m watching the game until hubby gets home and fixes the computer for me.  I had to bring my work computer home (from my real job) because our home computer quit…and now this one must not be hooked up right.  I discovered today that I must have overwritten some files and I am missing a week’s worth of bookkeeping.  Tonight I get to do it all over before I get the data to our programmer.  bummer.

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I am almost feeling like I must be breaking my own record with posting so often.  I guess I’m not getting my words out these days so I have to finish up here to get them finished.

To start the day, I got a call from the new bride, she wanted to go for a walk.  It was pleasant…but she’s in better shape than I am.  I don’t think I held her back too much, though.

Hubby and I went to the funeral today.  I am most impressed with the legacy this lady left…she has a fine family following her and she was much loved and seemed to have great influence for the good on her family.  We got some of the fruit of that with our wonderful son-in-law.

On the way back to the shop, I had to make a little stop.

This could be called “I am bored at the stoplight that seems to be taking forever.”

People have asked how big this bag really is.  Instead of measuring, I’ll give you a visual.

It’s trying to hang off both ends.

That’s the last time you’ll see this bag here.

I had a great dinner date tonight.

We had his favorite, french toast.  He was good company, too.

Then flat loopy had to join us.

For those of you who don’t know about him, he came from Loopy Ewe and they want to see his summer ventures.  I really want to get one of the woolpet kits made exclusively for them.

I had a good friend stop over tonight with something fun.

Isn’t that cute?  The is the gift bag from Last Minute Gifts.  She figures it took about 6 hours to make by the time it was finished.  I love it!  I’ll take it to the shop for a sample, that’s why she did it.

And now that I have finished this post, hubby decides to go for a walk.  I’ve been talking to him and typing….now I am done, he is gone.  lol 

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The byob market bag is coming along very quickly…but when it came to the handle, I got the first one finished and held up the bag and it’s way out of place.  I don’t know how I didn’t notice it, but now it all has to come out.  I need to take a little break from it so I won’t start screaming.  I was so happy when I put in all the markers and there were the right number of stitches (always a nice feeling!) but I must have started from the wrong one.

It’s a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be but that’s nice when you consider it’s supposed to hold groceries.  I like the handles and I like the method the designer uses to attach them..it’s all short rows.

I’m, already considering what colors to do next.  My only complaint with the yarn is that every skein has had knots.  Some of them have fallen in good places, but some will be a pain to weave in.

Yesterday we had 2 events to attend…the chili feed fundraiser for the youth mission trip.  Son-in-law did a great job making the chili and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Then we had a graduation party to attend.  We knew the kiddo before he was born so it was fun to see all his accomplishments…he’s a great kid from a great family.

Today I had an early birthday party.  A friend takes another friend and I to lunch every year for our birthdays, which are 5 days apart.  I think my birthday is still about a week and a half away but Mondays are the only day we could do it and next week I have therapy for little imp.

We went to an Italian restaurant that started serving lunches today.  It was really good!  I had a chicken salad with raspberry vinegarette, my favorite.  The garlic bread with it was one of the best I’ve ever had, super garlicky.  We also had strawberry, key lime, and raspberry tortes.  Yum!

Our waitress was a young girl I’ve known for a long time and she was great.  I think they got a lot of their first-day bugs worked out on us.

We got really fun gifts.

It was really hard to photograph it, but it’s a little stand with a cute plate on it. She thought cookies would be cute on it..but the waitress brought out a torte and put it on it and that was really cool.  The plate is easily lifted off for serving.  I thought it would look really, really cool with little yarn cakes stacked on it…they laughed when I said it.

I have work to do tonight, I wish I’d been doing it instead of the handles on my bag…maybe I wouldn’t have made the mistake. 

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I got my little girlie football helmet hat done last night.  I want to re-do the football, but it came out cute.  Papa-to-be seemed to like both the pink and the blue.  Of course I forgot to take his picture with them.

I know that Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day, has it’s challenges for many people.  I am one of them.  It is a painful time for me in many ways, but the part that gets to me is the fact that I am so grateful to be married to a man who loves his kids and has been there for them.  We’re in a new era with 3 of our 4 kids and it’s really different for us.  Even though they have become adults and our childraising years are finished with them, we don’t quit being their parents.  We are so blessed and we know it.  They are great kids and to say we are proud is an understatement.

We have gone to one service at church for the summer and I think it is a good thing.  We had a great service today, but I think both the fellow who did the sermon (father of 2 young girls) and my hubby. who sang a song, were grateful they only had to do it once.

One daddy is still in the early years with his adorable little girls.  He is one who takes the job seriously and he had some great things to share today.  He asked hubby to sing a song, as I said yesterday.  I want to post the words to the song.

Cinderella 

by Steven Curtis Chapman 

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I’m sittin’ here wearin’ the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It’s been a long day and there’s still work to do,
She’s pulling at me saying “Dad I need you!
There’s a ball at the castle and I’ve been invited and I need to practice my dancin’”
“Oh please, daddy, please!” 

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says “Dad, the prom is just one week away,
And I need to practice my dancin’”
“Oh please, daddy, please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone
She will be gone.

Well, she came home today
With a ring on her hand
Just glowin’ and tellin’ us all they had planned
She says “Dad, the wedding’s still six months away
but I need to practice my dancin’”
“Oh please, daddy please!”

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t wanna miss even one song,
(even one song)
Cuz all to soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

It is a beautiful song.  I sat next to mama-to-be.  She is not a terribly sentimental girl (unlike me) but the song had barely started and she leaned into me and when I turned, she was just sobbing.  Of course, I was, too and we had one heck of a time getting through it.  Hubby had assured me that if he sang it 100 times, he wouldn’t get emotional when he sang it.  He did well and I think he avoided looking at us as much as he could because he knew I would be crying.  I am not kidding, I was fighting loud sobs.  I wasn’t alone, I saw dads all over the room literally losing it, moms, too.  He has the perfect voice for ballads like this and those who know him well know it wasn’t just a song.  He did well until he got to the part about “she came home today with a ring on her hand…” and he choked.  He has been a professional musician and he was able to just speak the words until he could sing again but if anyone wasn’t crying yet, they sure were at that point.  Dan, the speaker, told anyone who didn’t know that we have married off 2 of our daughters in the past year and that song had fresh meaning.  My dear daughter cried for about half an hour and I could barely handle seeing her hugging her daddy after.  The newlyweds were on the worship team today and when they came down after the service was over, the bride was in tears, too.  They love their dad and they know he loves them.  Now, we aren’t forgetting our boys………they’re the best.

Ok, moving on.  We had a pie auction after church and how I’d love to post the little video I took today of our son’s girlfriend as auctioneer.  I don’t think she’d like me to share it but she was adorable.  She’s shorter than I am (I’m 5 ft) and she stood on a chair with the mic….and our son stood behind her and she was only a little taller than him.  Cute.  They’re going on a mission trip to Mexico and this was a fundraiser that we do every year for that.  I didn’t end up with any pies but I did help drive the price up so that has to count for something.

We had a great barbecue this afternoon…we’ve started buying Western Sizzler Steaks, they go far and they are cheaper at the meat market.  The meat market is attached to a fruit stand so we got some great salad and fruit from there.  Hubby barbecued and we sat outside as long as it took us to eat before we came inside because the wind was so cold.  BUT…the sun was out!  Our son and girlfriend and the parents-to-be were here for several hours.  They all left and the newlyweds showed up.  By then, I was fighting to stay awake, but we had a nice visit with them, too.

Tomorrow is my day off!  Since I went to therapy last week, I get to stay home tomorrow.  Hopefully it is a fruitful day.

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Today was jam-packed.

We started the day with knitting in public to celebrate World-wide Knit in Public Day.  It was twice as fun as last year and that is because Shanda stepped in and organized it … she had prizes, drawings, buttons and did a great job of keeping it all moving along.  We met new people and even had one knitter born! 

It was pretty cold outside…this was before Bunni and I ran to the shop and got her pi shawl and a blanket to wrap her in.

Some people stayed inside, smart.

Pallas brought her naturally dyed yarns on a color wheel and they are to die for.  (tee hee)…truly, they are so beautiful.  It was great fun.

Then I had to leave this fun early because I had Bunni’s pinning to go to…she has completed the nursing program and is qualified to take the test now to be an RN.  I am so proud of her!

Here comes her hubby to pin her.

Pinned.

Happy it’s over, I think.

And get this.  The little imp actually wore his tux jacket with his jeans, it looks really cute…but we asked him to put his socks on in the car. It was not until we were seated that we noticed he must have gotten distracted.

Well, he’s always good for some kind of entertainment.

We went to a barbecue in Bunni’s honor and when we got home, I was dead tired.  I still have to put the finishing touches on a Father’s Day gift for the papa-to-be….I hope I remember to take a picture before I give it to him.

Hubby is going to sing a song at church tomorrow…probably everyone knows about it but me, but it is called Cinderella, about making sure you dance the dances with them while they are still little because one day they will go off with their Prince Charming.  Having married off 2 daughters in 10 months, I’m not sure how he can sing it without crying.  He assured me that if he sang it through enough times, he will be able to do it.  I heard it once and cried.  Father’s Day is always overly emotional for me.  I am so, so grateful that my children have the father they do….

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What a day!  The little imp and I got to go with the new mama for her midwife appointment…and we got to hear the little sweet pea’s heartbeat!  (yes, I got tears)

We got up early and were on our way by 8:15 after our first stop, Starbucks.  :)  The little imp likes ice water so that’s what he got.  There is a funny thing about him.  He will not tell you when something is amiss, it’s been a  strange thing we’ve always dealt with (i.e.:  I’m hungry, I have to use the bathroom, etc) 

Our first stop was Michael’s to get some wedding things.  They were taking so much time getting out of the car that I told them I’d just run in and start looking for what we needed.  Wellllllllllll,  when they came in and found me, the little imp was walking soooo funny.  He had spilled his water all over himself and never said a word.  He was soaking and you know what it looked like!  So, the sis took him out to the car.  He took his pants off on his own and we had to get him back into them so we could run into Target and buy him new jeans before we went to the midwife appointment.  I won’t even go into the details of that trip, but let’s just say it was interesting.

We did make it on time to the appointment.

We love to ask him what he’s going to be when the baby comes. He always gets this huge grin, looks at the floor and whispers “Uncle”.

I haven’t been able to capture the best of the smile, but this is the closest I’ve gotten.  It really makes me want to cry it’s so sweet.

The room was very pleasant and the little mama, the teacher, showed him posters of a developing baby and made the most of the opportunity.  He hangs on every word.

He also likes to copy.

And here is the big moment!

I want to be sensitive to the mama and the midwife, but here is the little imp enjoying hearing that heartbeat!

He started playing  imaginary drums because that’s what it sounded like to him.

After all that excitement, we stopped at the new Carl’s Jr for a very nutritious lunch and raced home.  I was only an hour late getting to the shop.

REMINDER: 

Don’t forget to sign up for the blogiversary drawing, it runs through April 6 and on the 7th I will have the little imp draw the winner’s name!  All you have to do is comment to earn an entry!

Technorati Tags: Blogiversary, Event, Baby

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Ok, I know I have already been here today, but I just finished watching the Mariners game (woo hoo…go Mariners!!!)…yep, we’re undefeated.  Haha I have to say that because you never know what these guys are gonna do, but I’m not a fair weather fan. 

I was thinking about Mary this afternoon because I knew she got to go to the Yankees game today….but boo hoo, they got rained out.  I was sad for Mary.

We didn’t get rained out, but we did get snow, rain, hail and then sunshine.  Crazy.  They closed the roof, though, so only the people in the bleacher section got snowed, rained, hailed on.

A few years ago, the little imp was asked to throw the first pitch at the Tacoma Rainier game.  They are the farm team for the Mariners.  It happened to be J.J. Putz day and when I saw him closing the game today, I thought about that day and wanted to share an imp story. J.J. was called up to the Mariners a few days after our big game.

The little imp got therapy at no charge in our home from the Elks Club for 11 1/2 years.  We loved our therapist, she was like one of the family (well, still is).  She asked us if we thought he would like to do it.  He actually has a pretty good throwing arm and we had a friend of ours “coach” him.  He called her Coach for a long time afterwards.  So, therapy days were all about baseball and so was almost every day for maybe 2 months. 

On the big day, some friends of ours offered to drive their RV and a bunch of us piled in it to go to Big Game.  We also had family come from all over…we had 32 people in the stands to root for him. 

Unfortunately, all of my very poor quality digital pictures are on floppy disks and I don’t even have a computer with a floppy drive here at home so I can’t get them off, but I did take a picture of the little one I have hanging on my wall.

A few days before the game, Coach and I drove up to Cheney Stadium to see about getting him a jersey to wear for the game.  The lady who ran the gift shop told us that they were trying to get kids jerseys made but were having trouble with them.  We decided to buy him a t-shirt on game day if they didn’t get the jerseys done.  She said he’d get a free cap and some other fun things the day of the game too.  Turned out they had all kinds of trouble with the jerseys and they *gave* him the prototype jersey for free!

You wouldn’t believe all the rules we were given before walking out onto the field.  The big one: DON’T STEP ON THE GRASS!  The grandpa of the other little girl from the Elks Therapy program did and wow, did he get told!

When they called us all out there, (and yes, we did walk on the grass to get out to homeplate…go figure), they explained about the program.  When they introduced the little imp….it sounded just like they do when the major league players.  His name rang through the stadium and our friends were cheering…and that little baseball star stepped forward with both hands raised in fists and turned this way and that.  His big moment!  It was the sweetest thing ever.

Then he threw that ball and yes, it actually made it to homeplate! (well, it rolled the last little bit of the way) All that practicing paid off in a big way. 

Of course, he actually thought he was pitching for the whole game and his therapist had to snare him up and run off the field with him. 

When we got back to our seats, I can’t tell you the tears flowing up there because everyone was so proud of him.   What a day and what an experience.

So, if you are a baseball fan and you see J.J. Putz closing for the Mariners , you think of our little imp.

Technorati Tags: Event, Imp

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I am working hard at keeping focused and not getting overwhelmed.  There is so much going on and time feels like it is flying.  Today we are going to do a major craft project for the wedding and somehow I have to fit 2 weeks worth of bookkeeping in for my real job.

The last weekend was nuts and it didn’t help that we didn’t get our date.  It was for a good reason, but when life feels crushing we both feel we desperately need that down time away from everything else.

Friday night was a party for the happy couple held at his apartment (soon to be hers, too)

Then yesterday we had a big family reunion.  It started out to be rather simple…we have a cousin visiting from Minnesota and he wanted to meet up with those of us who live here.  From there it started growing and we actually had people fly in from California, too.  I didn’t get a count and I didn’t get too many pictures, never even thought to take pictures in the garage where all the food was and lots of people congregating there, too.  We have had snow this week and even though it didn’t stick it’s been cold and we were really concerned how my sister’s house was going to hold all of us.

The little imp cannot handle a lot of people crowded into a house so he spent as much time as he could outside between rain showers. 

And now I had better get busy.

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Ok, got the camera battery charged and I have to show you my new favorite sheep!

Can you tell?  It’s cauliflower with a mushroom face?  I LOVE it!  He joins a growing flock of sheep, but he’s the most unique!  Thanks, Pam and Sarah!

Today I got another Etsy purchase.  Look how cute the packaging is.

This is sitting on the envelope it came in…shiny purple!

This cute little box was made out of paper!

And … ta da!!

This is actually a cell phone charm, but I’m not thinking it would las all that long banging around in my purse so he may just hang out here and there.  Cute, eh?

No knitting today other than a few rows on the BSJ.  I’m trying to figure out how in the world this thing goes together as I figure out the striping.

And then I rushed to the shower.

It was very sweet…each person introduced themselves and told how they are related.  This shower was for the groom’s family.  It was touching to hear the words of welcome to the family.  Wonderful family.

Isn’t this table just beautiful?

And look how the mommy-to-be is looking these days!

And now, I am just trying to get the energy to get ready for Easter!

I do hope you all have a wonderful Resurrection Day full of fun, good food and fellowship with family and friends!

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I am exhausted and heading to bed but just wanted to pop in and say hi.

I found out some really great news the other day.  My FIL was given a huge honor and I am so proud of him.  He is a volunteer fire fighter in a small country station.  I can’t remember for how long, but we’ve been married for 33 years and he’d been doing it for a long time then.  Well, they re-named their firestation from the community name to his name! 

That’s not his name, I distorted it…but how cool is that????

Now here’s the funny story about that picture.  I asked him to run to the station and take a picture and then I’d help him get it to his computer and sent to me so I could see.  (Isn’t that a funny place that they put the sign?)

Well, he called me when they left home and said to stand by.  I said to take one with his phone, too…just in case.  Well, he called me back and it took exactly 1 hr 28 min. to help him get the picture from his camera to his computer to his email!  Then I resized it and sent it back to him so he could forward it on to whoever he wanted to.  I also helped him get it onto his messenger display picture.  I could be a tech support person after that call!  lol   We had a good time with it, though…and I have to give him credit, he does pretty well at explaining what he’s looking at so I can help.

But back to the fire station.. isn’t that cool?  He said the upper-ups said they don’t name stations after living people when his own station contacted the powers that be.  They realized, though, that these guys were going to do it anyway…so they let them do it.  (I asked if they’d have to kill him now! . . . heaven forbid!)

On the knitting front, I finished knitting the bride’s shrug, it is blocking right now.  Hopefully pictures to come soon.  She likes it!!!!

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