no excuses

So I have been in another land I guess. No real excuse for not updating in a few months- whoa, a few months? I resolve to get myself back here. I have gotten a hint here and there that I need to update, so here I am.

PeeWee had her second birthday and all went well with her latest cardiology checkup. We hit a bunch of milestones with her too, and she is all of a sudden talking up a storm and doing things well beyond what she had been doing even a few weeks ago! Yay! We love that here.


Big Brother is being, well, a big brother. Hanging out, being a good teenage boy. He's keeping me busy driving him all over the city to where he needs to be. And he is growing. He's going to be 6ft tall if I blink. Who knew a shorty like me had it in me? He got a bass guitar for Christmas and is actually pretty good playing it.

The hospital fundraiser was a huge hit, we made a bunch of money and replenished the fund that helps families who have to travel here for medical treatment for their children. We depended on that same type of fund in California so I was thrilled that is where the money went. Another hospital fundraiser I was working on raised money to purchase a robotic birth simulator to teach nurses, medical staff, residents and interns, medical students and doctors what to do in an emergency with mother and child. Very cool stuff. It was a satisfying way to spend a lot of my time this fall.

I also reconnected with several friends I had lost touch with over time. We all went to a 40th birthday party and that was great. Reminded me I very much need to get my lazy rear end back into my studio and really get to work. I need to get it from my brain to the page. I got a very nice camera from my parents for Christmas so hopefully I will have some more inspiration from playing with that.



And knitting? Yes, I have been doing lots of it. I started a complete failure of a vest for my father, I need to sneak in his closet and measure one he has and go from there. Now that I have the gorgeous light blue yarn for it. I have made a few pairs of socks, a sweater for PeeWee, finished Jadon's blue sweater (finally!!!) Boy did I lag on that one. Hmmm, sounds like nothing knit but I know there's more... OH! A very nifty hat- the color swirls right up it! I love that hat. For me to actually wear something I knit out in public and get asked about it! Very cool to me. I have been finishing up some stalled projects, too. Or ripping them out, knowing they will never see the light of day and winding up the yarn for another project in the future. I have been trying to use up my giant stash of Cascade 220. It felts so beautifully. I have made some pot holders out of it. I better come up with a better use though because it does not take nearly enough yarn to mae a pot holder. I started a blanket for friends of mine getting married in June, then realized I need to make them a blanket out of washable wool so all my work does not accidentally get shrunken up and become a floor mat or something like that.

I am trying to use up a lot of stash yarn. I made PeeWee a jacket from some Cashmere blend I had laying around. I had literally just enough to finish it with not yards left over. If we would just have more cold weather. We had great sweater weather for a few weeks but we are back in the 60's now. I am hoping we get another blast soon. Usually in February we get freezes. I hope so. (But please, no broken pipes. We had water in the house with a big rain and I kind of gave up. Then a major plumbing leak. And another one while trying to repair that one. More water than I need. Everytime it rains my heart races. Post traumatic stress?)

While working through the (entirely too large) stash, I came across some big old bulky acrylic yarn (who knows what I originally bought it for) I am making a hoodie out of for me. All my jackets were neatly put away in the downstairs front hall closet right before we evacuated for Katrina so I am seriously lacking jackets. I bought myself a nice coat but need some hanging around jackets- something to walk over to the coffee shop on chilly mornings. I made most of the hoodie, didn't like it and am ripping it out and doing a totally different one. Yep, I think I can be called a process knitter.



Everyone got socks for Christmas in this house. PeeWee got some pink knee socks and some pink and grey socks from leftover socks I made for myself. I love how the color bands change completely with socks in her size. Big Brother got some green socks I must have made back in March, but kept for his gigantaur feet. He wears a 13 1/2 now. I started him a pair of socks on tiny #1 needles, maybe I will finish the gigantic things in time for next Christmas. My One and Only, Mark, got green and blue socks. Yes, all these socks were stash yarn! Woo-hoo! Burning through some of that yarn I have piled up all over the house, stuck in nooks and crannies. I am determined to knit up a lot of it. Or give it away. I am hoping to knock out a few crocheted baby blankets. I know, crochet? Well, it is very quick and easy for those baby blankets, much faster than knitting and I can knit up a tiny matching hat to go with it.

So Happy New Year! I hope you can all bear with me and my sporatic postings.