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!

SO WHAT'S NEW:

SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD!
St. Mary's Theater in Annapolis-opened last night, directed by yours truly and featuring some of the best singing, dancing and acting in the area! (have been spending many, many hours there, so pardon the delay in posting)

There were some technical glitches however that will need to be ironed out...but the students were awesome. They really commited to everything they were doing and it showed! I am trying to figure out how to post video--and when I do, I am going to put it here....tomorrow, pictures from the show.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Ok, so it was this past Saturday...and yes, its been a couple of weeks since I posted. So sorry about that. Things around here are pretty busy. Dane's leg is healing but S L O W L Y....we spent one night in the Emergency Room, or as Dane likes to refer to it as "the seventh circle of hell" yep--it was bad. I mean BAD. We actually left prior to being seen by the doctor. According to all in the know, this is a big no no, but after 7.5 hours, I just couldn't make him stay anymore. He was in excruciating pain....so, to give credit where credit is due...our primary care doc was very concerned about the leg when we told him what happened. He called us while we were in the ER to tell us to come to his office instead (at 11pm on a Friday night). Unfortunately we did not hear the phone ring. He did get us on Saturday morning, and told us to meet him at his office--so we did and he spent a while with us trying to ascertain the nature of Dane's ailments. He was so thorough and detailed and let's face it, when was the last time a Doctor OPENED his office to accommodate a patient like this?! I mean, we LOVE this man...he is awesome. He diagnosed Dane with celluitis and immediately put him on antibiotics in addition to setting him up to run several other diagnostic tests. Yep--getting old sucks. Dane has spent the last two and half weeks resting the leg..a huge change for a man hell bent on NEVER being sick. So, hopefully we are on the road to recovery...Here is my mom: raising her glass to the family at our St. Patty's day celebration. We had a wonderful time with friends and family and were hanging out when this suddenly appeared:
A BAGPIPER! Apparently Mom had "ordered" this lovely musical interlude....what people forget about the bagpipes is that they are LOUD! Every child in the house (there were about 10) immediately starting screaming and crying...but it was great and a wonderful surprise. I have to admit I love them, despite the fact that most of the songs sound kinda the same. Still, it was a great party so thanks MOM!

Three Irish beauties: daughter Mary, niece Nora and daughter Delia.

On the knitting front: finished the NAVY hat for Mary's friend. Here is Mary modeling it for me. Notice the tough girl face...

which was quickly replaced by: look at that face! We had a wonderful visit with her during her spring break. We surely did not want to see her go...nor, I think, did she want to go herself. But only a few more weeks then Plebe year is officially over! I apologize once again for not posting in a few weeks. Am finishing up the Pomatomus socks, and various other projects. Happy Spring!

RUPTURED BAKER'S CYST, INTARSIA IN THE ROUND AND A FINISHED PROJECT! OH MY! Here is my husband lying on the floor trying to get the swelling in his leg to go down. He ruptured a Baker's cyst and the whole leg is filled....you cannot believe the swelling or how tight the skin feels. In addition to this, he has a torn meniscus which is going to require surgery to repair. But they cannot do the surgery until after the swelling goes down. He's taking the pain medication religiously and is trying his best to get better...check out the Sam's Club frozen veggies he is using....sure glad I got those.
The finished cabled chemo hat... this is unbelievably soft and pretty. Just a great shade of blue and will match the recipient's eyes beautifully.

And, finally, intarsia in the round....I did not say GOOD intarsia in the round. I did massive amounts of research on the internet (what did we do without it) and found several methods for doing this. The easiest seems to be the slip stitch/backward knit option. I have to say that it needs concentration however and trying to do this while sitting at the Barnes and Noble talking with other knitters is probably not the best idea.
But it looks pretty good nonetheless. Its a hat for a classmate of my daughter's at USNA...yep, that will be a "N" in the middle---the wool is a beautiful wool that is pretty soft actually. On the other hats that I made similar to this one, I sewed a fleece lining inside. Not sure if I am going to have to do that with this one, since it is not all that itchy feeling.

I hope you all are well. My daughter has spring break next week--other than daylight savings being two weeks early, it sure doesn't feel like spring around here.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES!!

Yep, they are back at school....and back outside playing where they belong! It was pretty warm here the other day (mid 50's) and now its getting colder with alot more wind....
You can see the remnants of the storm in the branch lying behind the basketball hoop. And that's the tiny pile....the large pile is out back. Our neighbor graciously asked if he could cut it up for his wood burning stove.....uhhhh like YEAH! Some recent knitting. A quick knit hat for a dear friend recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Its made from Berrocco's Chinchilla (1 skein) and its a quick one my friends. Here it is modeled on my daughter, Delia, who had to come home early from school today due to illness....yeah right, I think it was the shock of actually being back at school!

The beginning of another hat for my friend. This is just an easy 8 row pattern repeat with the cable in the 5th row. Really easy--no pattern, just eyeballing it. There is something so freeing about that. This is worked in the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK. I've said it before and I'll say it again--I love this yarn! It's soft and the color is beautiful--it doesn't split and it knits up great. I promise I don't work for Debbie Bliss--if I did I imagine that every pay day, they would look at me and say "how would YOU like to pay for that?"

Which brings me to this.......

Yes, its a large blue pot...but its not just ANY pot...its a Le Creuset pot...the big one, the 9.5 quart pot! The one that Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa uses...the one that I have been wanting forever...the one that has always been out of my price range...well, I saved several gift cards from Williams Sonoma and finally picked this baby up. And let me tell you, this thing is HEAVY. Its enameled cast iron and I LOVE IT. I have resisted the temptation to light votive candles around it--that would just be a little weird, huh. But I am leaving it out just to look at it (sorry about the dirty stove top) and for all to admire.

Ok, so that's about all for today. Back to the cabled hat, the pomatomus sock and Beef Bourguignon!

ICE STATION ANNAPOLIS! You should have heard the trees when the wind blew....it was all this twinkling and then when the wind blew HARD...the sounds of limbs breaking under the weight...it was pretty scary. The kids were home yesterday and again today, as about 50,000 people in our county are without power....luckily not us!

Finished 1 Pomatomus sock...cast on for the second......here we go.

SO this is what 3 hours early dismissal from school looks like: The kids were actually shocked this morning when schools weren't closed at all. I know anyone brought up in areas where snow is common place are probably laughing right now. I mean, really, it's barely on the ground much less on the roads. And the main roads are fine! There is a concern that it might turn to freezing rain in which case, that is a whole different ball game. But the kids are happy. Here is what a 3 hour early dismissal looks like from the kids perspectives:

There's John proudly cheering with his crutches. He just took his younger brother and sister to lunch at McDonalds! Lunch at 11am you say....what the heck...it gave him something to do!
There's Mickey and no, he's not in pain...that is actually his "look at me, off from school watching King Kong in High Def" happy face! Oh, I should also point out, that they have NO homework either. So, its not like I can send them off to their rooms for awhile until homework is finished. Nope, I'm pretty much the cruise director now. Of course, having a new big flat screen tv with loads of HD channels helps to ease the pain!
On to the knitting front--here is a simple ribbed baby hat for my nephew Stephen...it is made out of Debbie Bliss's cashmerino. This stuff is a dream to work with, I tell ya. I would love to make an entire sweater out of this.....the Pomatomus Sock is almost finished..although I have to say that I am dreading the second sock with this one. The pattern is hard and I think I need something mindless. So I either have to look for a fun-loving amputee, or suck it up and knit the other one. Stay warm friends...and watch that snow for heaven's sake!