What did I want for Christmas??  A NEW BATHROOM!  Before:

After:  the room was completely gutted. We left all the plumbing the same...tried to save some money that way.  I designed it myself..colors, tiles, etc.  I am rather pleased with the results.
Before:  (I must tell you that it is embarrassing looking at these photos and realizing how long we lived with the bathroom looking like this....yuck!)
After:  do you think that in 30 years someone will look at this and go: "what were they thinking?!"
Christmas was wonderful.  I got an Iphone!!  Thank goodness my daughter is home from college so that she can show me how to use it.  I also have a new mac book which is very user friendly and much better and quicker than my old laptop.  I hope you all are wonderful and are enjoying these slower paced post-Christmas days!

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled blog for some home repair.  Ok, so two important things have happened recently:  our upstairs bathroom is FINALLY being re-done and my purse was stolen from my kitchen countertop early yesterday morning...yep...thief cut right through the screen...took it.  Of course it had everything in it...my wallet, my cell phone, my ipod, my palm pilot....everything! I called the police and they came but they really didn't help at all....other than taking the report and giving me the phone number to call the local pawn shops.  So today is busy with the business of re-loading everything...trip to MVA, trip to the Social security admin., bank, etc.  UGH....

I will post some pictures of the before and after bathroom...soon, I promise. 

Question of the day:

If a blogger doesn't post for a few weeks, is it still a blog?

That's your meditation for the day. Think on it, and it will give me time to come up with a good enough excuse as to why I have not been posting for awhile. Anyway, I finally was invited to join Ravelry. It is wonderful but it really is a black hole where you get sucked into for hours and a typical day goes from "I am going to sit here with my coffee and check out what others are doing with this Cascade 220" to "dinner!?, what dinner?!..fend for yourself....I'm on a roll here".
You get it. The creators of this website have done something extraordinary...its a huge cyber-knitting circle. You can share your WIP's, your finished projects...questions...they have groups set up so you can find other knitters in your area...and so on and so on. Be patient when you sign up as it took a couple of months for me to get my invite to officially join.

I have been knitting...alot. I have finished two additional pairs of socks. A ski hat for a friend of my daughter's, other Christmas gifts which I cannot mention as I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Is it me, or have the Christmas ads started even earlier this year. Wow, I couldn't believe it....but I have to be honest...I LOVE Christmas....I love the music, the shopping, the baking, the stupid Christmas romantic movies...I love it all. So, looking on the bright side, I get to spend more time doing stuff that I enjoy...baking, etc.

Also, I have decided that my new favorite show on tv (and trust me, I watch ALOT of tv--what did I do without DVR), is Paula Deen on HD. My husband and family love it as well and we typically watch it together deciding which of her dishes we want to make. I just found out that she will be in DC later this month....wouldn't it be fun to meet her.

Ok...I will post pictures as asap. Kisses everyone.

Ok, so I just finished re-reading my own post, and I cannot tell you how distressed I am about the number of spelling errors. Its bad, I tell ya. Sr. Eileen would be very upset with me....she always told me to watch out for those "typewriter gremlins". So, please forgive me, and know that I am much smarter than that post would have you realize. Peace.

Again, I apologize for the delay in posting....but much has been happenning.
First things first....I finished the POMATOMUS socks!! Here they are in all their glory.....Like another blogger friend, they are not exactly the same size...but nothing that a little blocking can't fix.









They really are quite beautiful and will look great peeking out from under my jeans. I did the first sock entirely with two circs, but I did the second sock with my Lantern Moon sox stixs--something about not having all that dangling stuff...just felt better.



Went to New York City with my sisters. Here we are at Tavern on the Green having brunch. That place is gorgeous. We were all a little tired, after staying up VERY late the past two nights. (and I mean seriously late...try 4:30am)...yep.



Dinner at the Tribeca Grill on Saturday. I have to say that I think I order the best dinner...lamb chops..they were perfect. Didn't see Bobby DeNiro, but did sot Jon Stewart walking down the street earlier in the day....didn't get a pic though...we were trying to be cool man. Also, didn't go to any yarn shops while we were there...even though Erin and I both would have liked to. Other than where we had reservations, we pretty much "flew by the seat of our pants" the monkey socks...knit with Lorna's Laces
Rain Forest..a special dye lot that was created for Jimmy Beans Wools. Only 50 skeins were produced. I am using the Lantern Moon Ebony sox stix in a size two. I love this needles..even though they are outrageously expensive. Check out the Jimmy Beans Wool website. They are awesome and their customer service is incredible. They are doing gift bags for the celebs at the Emmys...oh to be a star.
We have another teenager in the house....yep, Delia turned 13! That makes three of them. They are all wonderful though...most of the time...We ate crabs, crabs, crabs. Mary and Craig must of sat there for hours as evidenced by the pile of detritus in front of them...which was probably the second pile as we had an intermission of sorts to clean up prior to the "second shift'. It was a beautiful day...





Which brings me to the Gryffindor hat. This is the "Oh My" yarn which is incredibly soft. I was in my LYS and happened to notice these two colors which quite frankly you don't see often. I quickly grabbed both skeins (one of red, the other of mustard) and knit this hat very quickly one day. She was so excited despite the fact that she says she really is more Ravenclaw than Gryffindor (sorry all you non-HP people out there...if this is boring you). She cannot wait to wear it...but the downside to that is there is about 100 midshipmen who now want a hat........better get started.



Ok, more to come. I hope all is well. To my knitting group...miss you all...Jane are in your house yet??

I cannot believe that is has been almost a month since I posted. I am very sorry to you all. I wish I could say that I have been busy...and probably I have been, but really its just the kids, the house, you name it. We went on vacation...a beautiful beach vacation and I had all my babies with me--finally! I think Mary has crossed over into official "adultdom" as she would rather sit on the beach reading, than playing in the water or going out to the boardwalk. In the meantime, my sons don't really like the beach and therefore played about hundred rounds of mini putt-putt. Delia was sort of in between---she just turned thirteen and is so much fun to be around (most of the time). So, until next June, I now have THREE teenagers! Yikes.

I have been helping my sister with her knitting. She is really into it....and the funny thing is, she never sticks to a pattern. She calls me and says "I like the pattern in this book, but can we change the collar" or "I like this purse, but I don't want to do the cable" or my personal favorite, "I love this pattern, and I bought this yarn for it...I know its not what they recommended, but can you make it work?" And then she hands me a DK weight yarn for a super bulky pattern. AHHHH. I admire her bravery--I would have never been altering patterns as a novice knitter. But she just plows on through. She had her last chemo yesterday--YEE HAW. And we are going to NYC in a couple of weeks to celebrate. It will be just the 6 sisters...and we are pretty excited about it.

I was also going to put in some pictures, but I am at a different computer and I forgot to bring my camera thingy (that's a technical term for the thing you use to attach the camera to the computer). Anyway I have some wonderful photos of the beach, and of some new projects. Not the least of which is Ravenclaw socks for my 19 yr old Harry Potter fan, as well as a Gryffindor hat made with that fabulous Oh MY yarn. I am almost done those freaking pomatomus socks and when I do, you will hear the shouts of joy echoing down the Chesapeake Bay.

So, photos soon.

Can anyone tell me what the heck "Ravalry" is?

WOW,
Has it really been a month since I posted. I am so sorry. I hate to say that I have been busy...but there you have it. I have been busy. I direct a summer camp for the performing arts in addition to work, etc. AND, to top it off, we are going to the beach! Here are three generations in my family...me, my mom and my daughter, who just got back from a cruise with the NAVY to Sydney, Australia to Guam to Okinawa, Japan. She had some beautiful pictures and is slowly getting over her jet lag....because, like I said before, we are off to the beach...I love, love, love the beach. Its such a great vacation...reading, sunning...drinking...and let's not forget, KNITTING.
So, here is a bit of what I have been working on:

RED SOCKS!! For my boy!

A die-hard Boston Fan.

Dishcloths.....mindless, quick and oh so fun! The yarn is $1.49 a skein--seriously, and you can make about one and a half with one skein...hence the color variation in the blue...ran out of one variegated and so just started with another...love em.
A v-neck sweater for my beautiful baby nephew....just have to finish it off...got a wicked case of finishitis on this one.
Yep, I did buy MORE yarn...for baby booties and hats for the newest member of the extended family, due in December. You should feel this stuff--I touched it and went "oh my"--and laughed out loud when I saw the label! Better yet, it was on sale!

And my most exciting news: we have a NEW KNITTER! Here is my sister with her first completed project--a knitted bag to hold her knitting. She is an awesome knitter...check it out...

And also, a designer...since she pretty much followed a pattern and then completely changed it...like for example, putting it horizontally instead of vertically....using i-cord for handles...I mean it took me years to attempt to DESIGN anything or go outside the pattern...but she has no fear and is addicted....seriously....her are more photos of the bag-
I helped her line it....and added some pockets as well.
Her stitching is great....very even....

So there you have it...not much....but some. I promise to upload more frequently and to post pictures of our vacation. In the meantime...I hope all of you are enjoying the weather, the warmth, friendships and of course, great yarn!

Just some quick pics---am alive and well and very busy....nephew's baptism... birthday parties..
cocktails with my friends....

birthday dinners with friends........... and yes, knitting....almost finished a few projects...will update soon. Hope all is well with you my friends.

SEA TRIALS 2007 A 13 hour day that tests the midshipman's strength and endurance....emphasizing team work and fortitude. There is my beautiful daughter rolling around in the muddy water...this was the "damage control" portion of the day. Each company went to approximately 12 "stations" which each lasted about an hour. Their day started at 0330 am and ended at around 1800pm (that's 6pm for all you non-military folk out there...trust me I still don't get it and find myself always adding...huumm 12 + 6 equals 18..oh ok.)
The pipes had water being pumped through them, which the mids had to patch quickly. She was pretty tired at this point...so there did not seem to be much urgency in her body language.
Here she is transitioning to another station. Check out that smile. I guess it could not have been all that bad, if she still had the energy to muster up a beautiful smile. I truly admire her fortitude. This was an incredibly hard day...and needless to say, I probably would not have gotten through 5 minutes of it.

The start of the infamous Tug of war!

It started with a few (probably 50) situps and then quick....they had to stand...and start.....

PULLING......pull, pull, pull.....I am happy to say that her side won both times...I am sure because of her excellent upper body strength and nothing to do with the triathlete at the "anchor" end.
The Log PT....first you pick it up,
Then you drop down and do a few crunches..

then some sit-ups,

then you pick it up,

Then you lift it high into the air....all the time trying to smile as your classmate snaps your photo for your eager mom sitting on the hill!Then its off to another station........


until, finally, completely exhausted, yet extremely proud of what you've accomplished, you drag yourself, (with your little sister in tow) over to the stands to enjoy a much deserved cheeseburger, fried chicken, chips and several ice cream bars. What a day.

You even have enough energy to muster for one more photo with a very proud mom, dad and sister.

Oh, and knitting........why yes, I did that all throughout the day as I waited for her to arrive at all the different stations. I got many comments such as..."what a good idea" or "aren't you smart bringing that" and "ohhh, will you teach me?" All in all, a wonderful, wonderful day!

You gotta check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZjMWLqJvM

Its really cool.............

Yeah, so I have two of the same picture...what can I tell you? Not sure how to get rid of it...anyway, this is my beautiful gardenia "tree" that was a gift from a friend....
enjoy these pictures because it will be DEAD in about another month or so....I have NEVER been able to keep one of these things alive...don't know why. I love them, they are incredible and the smell is wonderful...either they are too finicky or I am just a bad plant owner.
The thing has several blowns all over....but some of the leaves are already starting to turn yellow, and I haven't even had it a whole week! I should mist it right...

So, news on the knitting front: I knit a thong!!!!!!!!! Ok, so I had some minor surgery last week (am ok---just some female issues) and I am not sure if it was the percoset or what...but I thought, hey...I'll make a thong out of this beautiful Noro silk/cotton yarn. The pattern is from Interweave press....not even sure if I'll ever wear it....but it helped me pass the time and it is kinda pretty...what do you think?

Spring is here! Here's my youngest on a sunny Sunday afternoon just trying to carve out his little piece of the capitalism pie! We live on a pretty quiet street and except for our wonderful neighbors, it was a bit slow going. I, of course, had my fill of lemonade. Interestingly enough, I also provided "change" for him as well as inventoried the lemonade and the cups....do you think he is ready for that?

And, last but not least, proving that the Easter Egg Hunt is something for kids of every age...here is my college aged daughter at the family's annual hunt. She stretched, she did a preliminary scan of the yard and then she pounced.....it was great fun to watch and I secretly revelled in the fact that underneath all her new maturity, is that beautiful little girl who always loved a chance to win!

So sorry it has been two weeks since I posted. Alot has been happening...so (deep breath), here goes:

Last week, I lost a dear friend...her name was Mary Lee but we all called her Sissy. She was 4 ft, 9 inches, all muscle, I called her Tigger..."the wonderful thing about tiggers, is tiggers are wonderful things...." because she always seemed like she had springs in her feet. She was an incredible athlete, and excelled in every sport she ever tried, including..and yes I am serious, basketball. She was funny, irreverent, sarcastic and generous and I miss her so much that it hurts. I see her face and hear her laugh all the time. She was young, and beautiful and leaves behind so many loving friends that it is hard to imagine that she is actually gone....there is a saying in the Book of Common Prayer that says "in the midst of life we are surrounded by death". I understand that now...and also understand that pain and grief have moved into my "house" for awhile and maybe even forever. But I will learn to live with them....and accept them and maybe even learn from them. So, treasure your loved ones even more...don't settle for mediocrity. Sissy lived her life 110% and I owe it to her to return the favor.

God take her soul and bring her to You!

St. Mary's Theater 2007--Senior Brunch!
We ate, drank, laughed, played piano, sang....it was wonderful. Truth is, now that show is over, we are all so sad and depressed that we don't know quite what to do. It is hard saying goodbye to a show, especially one like "Songs for a New World".

Some Easter eggs we did last year. We blew them out and then painted them....not sure if we will do more this year.
A beautiful array of spring bulbs, compliments of my theater students. The daffodils are blooming all over and it is wonderful!
My Easter bunny "family". Done by a local artist here in town: Natalie Silitch. AJ likes to rattle off names for all of them...

Went to the Baldwin Hall craft fair and came home with these cuties. They are boiled wool. I have five of them in different shades....again, I love getting unique items like this that were done by a local artisan.

I wish you all a blessed Easter!