Spectacular Birthday

I had a fabulous birthday and a completely outrageous surprise, courtesy of Rachel. She bought me another puppy! Zippy is my first little girl, a Schnoodle (schnauzer-poodle mix born Oct 18 so as of today she is about nine weeks old. I'm completely in love. Stanley and Zippy are getting along very well. She is feisty, but good natured so far. RP is slowly adjusting, but occasionally lets her know, he is the boss. I have a feeling Zippy may warm RP's heart enough to break down some of his barriers.

There is plenty of love to go around, but I'll have my hands full until Zippy settles in.

Knitting is on the back burner for a while.

Relaxing

Two days off to relax. My older daughter and her fiance are visiting. Deb and Rachel are out looking at weddings gowns. Bill and Marvin are being typical guys..reading the paper. I may visit the yarn shop or book store. We'll probably go to the deli for dinner and discuss wedding plans.

Doing nothing and not having to be anywhere is a nice feeling,

Snow and a nice day off

I had the day off...perfect timing as we had our first few inches of pretty white snow. I slept in, went grocery shopping, met Rachel for lunch, came home and finished my Noro Aurora scarf. The colorway is so pretty. Blacks, grays, magenta, toast and lavender. The colorway makes sense. The sporadic wraps of metallic thread around the fibers added a delicate amount of glitz. I'm happy with the result.

Work is becoming busier and more fun as we approach the holidays.

Rachel is looking forward to the end of her semester and trip to Israel.

Last night the house fragrance was latkes and homemade applesauce...delicious.

Lost a week or two

I feel like I lost a week or two. We had a quiet, but delicious Thanksgiving. Rachel's Austrian friend, Viktor joined us. He is bright, articulate and delightful company. Viktor is a successful, freestyle skater, who previously represented Austria at the last Winter Olympics. Maybe we can convince him to dance with Rachel. They would have a great partnership.

Black Friday was not as busy at Eddie Bauer as we had hoped. Sales are down. I developed a nasty head cold and took a day off to just rest. Too much on my feet and I was wiped out.

On the knitting front, I've been trying to finish up current projects. Spent some time clearing off my desk and getting my dp's in order. I've lurked on Ravelry to see what other knitters are up to. Also, bought some new pattern books by Louisa Hardings and Sarah Dallas. I've been sharing these with Caroline. She is very excited about knitting and actually went to Yarnings by herself. You know you have launched a succesful knitter when they acually go looking for yarn by themselves. I'm so happy Caro is enjoying herself.

Tonight, a potential partner is flying in from San Jose to skate with Rachel for the week. Ben is 24 and has been skating for many years. Lets keep our fingers crossed on this.

Think I'll finish my cleaning, then relax and knit.

Ripping out

I ripped out my Noro sock. While I like the "After Bertha" spiral ribbed pattern, the ribbed fabric is feeling unusually coarse. I'm going to look at some other patterns and see what may be more suitable. Maybe I just need to be patient...working in size 2 needles isn't as much fun as I though t it would be!

Next, I ripped out my chevron scarf. The Saffron Dyeworks yarn is luscious, but I wasn't thrilled with the path of variegated yarn in this pattern.

I think I'll just work on the sleeve of Rachel's v-neck pullover for tonight. Hopefully I'll have enough yarn for the cuffs and v-neck ribbing.

Off to knit.

Fabulous Friday

Friday was a really fun and relaxing day. Caroline and I enjoyed our trip to Yarnings. This was her first visit to the shop and she was completely mesmerized. We were on a mission to find yarn for her scarf and I bought an Ella Rae book. Next, we went to lunch in Skippack Village at a place called, "Grandmas." Delicious food, cozy environment and good conversation. I was sorry to see the day end. We are both looking forward to doing this again real soon.

Feeling inspired

Chilly weather always inspires me to knit, especially with natural fibers. I just love the feel of wool, alpaca and mohair. I finished a rolled edge hat using some gorgeous Noro yarn, almost have a sleeve done on Rachel's top down sweater, am just about finished with the first Noro sock ribbing and ripped back to correct a mistake on the Victorian Shoulderette...forgot a YO. Today, I received two new books..."The Knitters Book of Yarn" and "Scottish Highland Knits."

The highlight of my week was teaching my favorite co worker to knit. This coming Friday, we both have the day off and plan to go out to lunch and visit Yarnings in Skippack, PA. We'll definitely get into some mischief.

OK, off to look through my new books and dream of new projects

Lazy Day

I have a day off and plan to be lazy except for taking Stanley to the vet to have his stitches removed. Then, home to be a knitting couch potato. I almost have the ribbing done on my Noro sock and made more progress on Rachel's shoulderette. I also have my eye on a ChicKnits pattern called CECE.

Today is also day six of Weight Watchers. So far so good. I have to start exercising to really make this work. That will take some effort especially after working in a retail environment all day.

Well I should get my day going.

Almost back to normal

The people part of my life has calmed to some degree. Now, its Stanley's turn to have some minor surgery and a dental cleaning. He and I were at the vet before 7AM this morning. Hopefully his recovery will go smoothly.

I'm finally back in the mood to knit. The rainy Saturday brought us some cool, crisp, autumn weather. I visited Yarnings in Skippack, PA after seeing their advertisement for Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. Bought one skein and happily returned to my knitting room where I spent most of my weekend. I now have a spiral, ribbed tube sock started using size 2 needles. "After Bertha," is the perfect pattern for me to get back the feel of knitting with toothpicks and also a great way to see how the colors...greens, blues, blacks, pinks, and golds swirl through the sock. I promise to make its mate! While I was working on the sock, I kept staring at my yarn stash and spotted a skein of gorgeous, teal colored, baby alpaca purchased a few years ago at a TNNA show. That is now in the process of becoming a "Victorian Shoulderette" for Rachel. At some point I will learn how to use the digital camera to take photos.

I'm slowly getting familiar with using Ravelry and am tracking my new projects there. Both my yarn stash and knitting library are so extensive, that it will take a lifetime to enter everything. I may just pass on that. I'm wondering if other knitters feel that way.

Guess I'll go back to my knitting before I leave for work.

In a funk

Rachel had a fun party with her friends this past weekend. She made four trays of delicious stuffed shells and two yummy birthday cakes. It was nice to see her enjoying herself.

I returned to work last week, but have cut back on hours. Between Marvin's medical stuff and my achy legs, its a good thing, But, my schedule is erratic, so that makes for some weirdness. I'm knitting in my spare time trying to complete WIPS. Also, keeping a watchful eye on Marvin. He doesn't like that, but as far as I'm concerned he doesn't have choice. I'm in a bit of a funk and wish I could muster up some motivation to get back to healthy eating and exercise. Where has my self-discipline gone?

Rachel's trip to Israel was confirmed. She leaves Dec 30 and returns Jan 10. Karen, her best friend in the whole wide world, is studying in Jerusaleum. Hopefully they can connect, but Rachel knows safety is paramount. We will not permit her to leave the security of the tour group.

I guess I should get ready for work. Tonight I'll continue knitting the sleeve of a top down, V-neck pullover for Rachel when I get home.

18 years old

Where did the time go? Rachel is 18 years old today. I vividly remember her just becoming 2 years old. I love her so much. We spent the weekend just being together. It was nice and relaxing. We splurged and bought her the perfect COACH bag and some earrings. This morning I baked a yellow cake with Rachel's favorite chocolate icing.

As for knitting, I did buy two skeins of gorgeous llama soft yarn in Rachel's favorite blue color...now to decide on something to make for her, or convince her to let me buy enough for a sweater.

What to do

Well, I started to get familiar with Ravelry which is an amazing site. I began to enter my stash info and realized this would take weeks. I still haven't figured out how to use the digital camera to photograph what I have. Then, I clicked on books and wound up at the Library thing. OY, I am a bit overwhelmed. I'm sure getting all this organized will be well worth it, but honestly, I have to ask myself if I want to get that nuts about my knitting life?

So, while thinking this over, I started and completed a rolled edge hat for an almost 2 year old. I used Berrocco Hip Hop in a bright, primary colors from my stash. This time spent was more much productive.

I'm going to marinate on this for a while, but will play on the site more to see what else it offers.

Life Upside Down

Its been a very long time since I blogged. Life gets so busy. I'm approaching my one year anniversary of returning to work after active momhood. Over the past few months, my hours and responsibilities have increased. Its still fun. I've continued with my knitting and finished various projects. Spent a few weekends organzing my knitting room and reducing my magazine stash. Yarn stash is still plentiful.

My daughter, Rachel and her partner/coach, CG, had fabulous presentation and results at the recent 2007 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships placing 4th/12th in the senior level compulsory dance event. We are hopeful that CG will decide to have a competitive season with Rachel.

Our summer was plagued with numerous health issues resulting in a tonsillectomy for Rachel and a nasty, first bout of diverticultis with complications for my husband. We are still trying to get right side up after all of those adventures.

I've been invited to join Ravelry and look forward to this. My computer skills are still not that great, so my abiltiy to get real fancy with my blog and photos may take a while.

Bittersweet

Well, Spokane was bittersweet. Rachel had a fabulous experience skating at Nationals and enjoyed spending time with her competitors and friends. Then, Kevin ended their partnership. It shocked and devastated Rachel and everyone else. What a lame thing to do. He hurt her so terribly and snubbed everyone else who put so much effort into their partnership. The ice dance community was very excited about their potential and development as a team. I have absolutely no respect for him or his family. We thought this man had some decent upbringing...turns out he is one big irresponsible, excuse waiting to pounce on someone else. I truly hope he does not continue skating as he will no doubt hurt his next partner. It makes me sick.

Rachel is determined to continue skating and is searching for a new partner.

Hope I have better news next time.

Life is Good

WOW...its been a while since I have blogged. Life has been busy. Work is going extremely well. My colleagues are great people. Each of us get along, have fun and work hard.

Biggest news is that on Jan 19, we leave for 2007 State Farm Figure Skating Championships. This is a huge deal! Rachel and Kevin look fabulous for a first year team. Our hope is that they both have a wonderful competitive experience and a good time with their friends.

I have been knittng even though I have less down time. Mostly finishing up projects, perusing through some of the newly published books and magazines.

Pups are still goofy. Stanley has GI troubles and RP's little brain is still off.

Well I should get ready for work. Hope to be better at blogging after we return from Spokane, WA.