Blog Award

 

Chan Knits gave me an award recently and I want to pass it on.  I should have done this sooner but I am in something of a disordered state of mind coming off of the 17th.  I go home and sit in my big chair in the corner and stare into space.  DH says I am "licking my wounds" but I don't even have the energy for that.  Anyway....

My five awards go to five of my favorites.  These are blogs that I go to for every post and love these people!!

1.  Irisheyesknitters
2.  Chan Knits
3.  Seducedbyyarn
4.  Celtic Memory Yarns
5.  Loving Comfort Knits

And to complete the award task, here are five little known facts about me that probably should never have been shared but here goes:

1.  I speed read so I read 100+ books a year, about 50/50 fiction and non-fiction.  I enjoy speed reading and I DO retain the information. 

 

2.  I am hooked on The Young and the Restless and General Hospital.  I record them every day and watch, minus commercials, in the evening.  Other than the two soaps I do not watch much TV.

3.  I do admit to being a golf channel junkie!  I don't play golf I just watch it.  When DH plays I sometimes ride in the cart and tell him what he is doing wrong.  He doesn't let me come along very often.  Go figure.

4.  A lot of family secrets surfaced later in my life (in terms of surprise brothers and sisters complete with surprise second families, and relatives who were married to someone other than the person they were said to be married to.  Interesting secrets and a good thing to find out later in life because it doesn't really matter any longer!!    Note:  never let it be said that kids and teens can't keep a secret because all of my friends knew about this and never said a word to me. 

 

Therefore:

5.  We have a rule in our family that whenever anything happens or there is news of some kind, I am  told about it FIRST.  Otherwise, mom gets very, very unhappy and you do not want mom to be unhappy!!  On the other hand, when a week like last week comes along I consider rethinking this rule(both granddaughter and darling daughter hit deer on the road and totaled their cars on two consecutive days).  Sometimes it's just better not to know!!

Knitting news--Easy-Peasy Shawl is three feet long and sock number one is getting a toe.

I'm Being Stalked

It followed me to work and gawked at me from across the office.  It spoke to me in whispers at first then became increasingly loud to the point of being obnoxious.  I guess you can't put a good sock down and this one is a good one.  So I worked on it off and on during the day and ended the day with the heel turned and the foot started. 

 

I think I was getting tired of Easy-Peasy Shawl not getting any longer (except that it is now growing) and wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment.  As the madness at work enters  the last week, and knitting time between tax clients decreases as the time between clients becomes nonexistent, it is hard to finish a single row during a whole day.

 

Soon knitting will come back around to an important position in my free time.  I feel it coming!!  Life will return to peacefulness and I will return to...me-ness.  Until then sock will keep me company at my desk, on my keyboard, on top of the ever present columnar pad.

 

As I was leaving this morning something buzzed by my head and I swatted at it.  Huge dragon fly?  Super wasp?  Then I saw the miracle that is happening on my front porch--wrens in the wren house.  DD bought the wren house for us at Christmas three years ago.  Since that time it has not been inhabited by a single little bird.  Now there is a family and they are so busy that they appear to be remodeling the place.  DH thinks they may even have moved in a plasma TV.  A peek inside revealed several small eggs and a very industrious Mom.  Developments to follow as the babies hatch.

Life is good!

Breakfast Joys

The horses came to breakfast this morning.  The pictures I took are not great but it is important to document their visits and antics.  They "come to breakfast" every couple of weeks, sometimes staring at us over the fence in a sad faced plea for carrots or apples.

 

The other breakfast photo is one of the new wave of hummingbirds that have stopped off.  Surgical nurse and wild life photographer DS#3 set up a table arrangement for me consisting of a tripod, camera and attached scope directed at the hummingbird feeder.  I have not succeeded in adjusting the scope properly but I'm working on it.  One of these days you will be wowed by a crystal clear picture of a hummingbird up close and personal. 

This week I've been too tired to even knit in the evenings.  After dinner I just sit and gaze at the TV feeling like I can't lift my arms to read or knit.  Tax season is almost over and I know that I will survive another week and a half but that's not much comfort.  I did pick up the Easy-Peasy shawl in the office and it seems to be getting longer, but I believe this is going to be one of those projects that refuses to grow no matter how much knitting I do on it.  Then one morning I'll wake up and a finished shawl will be waiting.  I'll know the knitting elves have been at work because none of the knitting I have been doing resulted in project completion.  Do you ever have projects that defy completion?

On other projects, bag is getting longer, sweater is inactive, socks are resting and cashmere shawl is...crochet (what more can I say?).

Life is good!

 

Flowers, Oil and Dog Toys

About a bunch of stuff today...DD brought me the table centerpiece from a conference last night.  She recently moved into nurse education after 18 years in the ER of our children's hospital.  Now she is traveling and attending a lot of meetings, banquets and conferences.  I didn't like it at first because I worry about her working long hours, but she continues to bring me the swag from her meetings and I'm finding that being bought is really nice!

Last night's meeting was about the Children's Alliance and a worthier cause cannot be found.  If you have a moment pop over and see what they have to offer in the way of contributions we can all make to children's health and care. 

For a while now I have been using Josie Maran Argan Oil makeup and moisturizers.  I was running out of the Argan oil moisturizer, which I have found to actually erase a few of my wrinkles and crow's feet.  It really does a good job!  My skin looks better than it has in many years.  Anyway, it was hard for me to justify paying $40 to $50 for a small 1.7oz bottle of 100% argan oil so I started looking for alternatives.  I discovered that a 4oz bottle of 100% argan oil, without the fancy packaging and the product brand, sold for only $8.99.  Imagine!!  I bought it and recommend it to anyone with aging skin.  What am I talking about--none of you have that problem!!

Finally, dog toys and new habits.  Macy and Max have decided (out of the blue) that new dog toys must take a trip outside as soon as they are delivered to the new owner.  It's grab the toy, run to the door, put the toy down, bark once or twice, pick up the toy and wait for the door to be opened.  The toy then takes a jaunt outside and immediately comes back in.  Can anyone tell me what that is about?  I am puzzled, no, bewildered!!  I've asked what is going on but neither pup is talking.

Life is good