Questionnaire for SP12

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Not 100% wool, would prefer a blend, anything else is great, too!
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? In hand-thrown pots
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Advanced
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, Amazon.
5. What's your favorite scent? Fresh scents related to the ocean and greenery.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Plain M-n-Ms
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? Crochet and making decoupage bookmarks. I don't spin.
8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Contemporary Christian music. Yes, I can play MP3s.
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I like most colors with the exception of orange shades.
10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? DH & I have three adult children and two gorgeous Boxer dogs.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Scarves, mittens
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I don't have a favorite. I like variety.
13. What are you knitting right now? A sampler afghan, a scarf (for carry-along), & a wrap
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Why, yes I do! :)
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo circs
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes, but I don't use them.
17. How old is your oldest UFO? About 5-6 years!!
18. What is your favorite holiday? 4th of July
19. Is there anything that you collect? Hand thrown pottery, dolls
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? No
What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? No subscriptions.
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Not at the moment.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? No. 9"
23. When is your birthday? 2/26
24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? Pooch

Friday Fill-Ins

http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/

1. For me, following directions is the opposite of creativity.

2. Snow in August by Pete Hamill was the last excellent book I read.

3. I like fill-ins because I can be silly or semi-serious.

4. In nature I like looking at animals in the wild or, maybe, a magazine under a tree?

5. The best and the brightest should win the US elections.

6. The last time I laughed with all my belly was when I saw all my belly in the mirror. Yikes! Laugh or cry? I laughed.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to looking at my new hair style in the mirror instead of my belly, tomorrow my plans include reading, knitting, and fluffing my hair and Sunday, I want to go to see "Mama Mia!" at the Buell Theatre in Denver! We've had our tickets for weeks and weeks! http://www.denvercenter.org/home.cfm

Books-n-Dogs on Thursday

What is reading, anyway? Novels, comics, graphic novels, manga, e-books, audiobooks — which of these is reading these days? Are they all reading? Only some of them? What are your personal qualifications for something to be “reading” — why? If something isn’t reading, why not? Does it matter? Does it impact your desire to sample a source if you find out a premise you liked the sound of is in a format you don’t consider to be reading? Share your personal definition of reading, and how you came to have that stance.

Reading is a process by which one comprehends meaning from written symbols. A process. A verb. Its not something on which I can take a stance, since it is a word with a definition. I've taught it, studied it, and done it.

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This pic of Max reminds me of a tabloid shot of an unsuspecting celebrity. In this case, Mighty Max the Wonder Dog!

This ball is Lailah's choice of the day. How did she end up with so many? And, why does she choose a special one for daily games of fetch? A girl knows what she wants!

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Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Wordless Wednesday: Bloom Soon!

Some Gave All

Memorial Day, 2008

My Dad was awarded this Purple Heart for injuries received as a soldier in WWII.

To honor all who have served and are serving our country:

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Thru the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America,

My home sweet home.

God bless America,

My home sweet home.

--Words and music by Irving Berlin

Another Block for the Sampler Ghan

Here is the fifth block for the Sensational Sampler Ghan for my nephew and his wife. Though you can't tell by these pix, the color is Oatmeal.

The Berroco Comfort yarn is a dream, very soft and easy on the hands. I'm using size 10 needles with it.


Could this be the terrain on Mars? Mebbe...mebbe not!

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He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
~ Isaiah 40:29

Friday Fill-Ins

1. On my laziest day I like to have a massage!

2. Helping people makes me feel like I'm being productive.

3. I love little children and big dogs.

4. This summer I want to travel.

5. Lots of spare time made me start my blog.

6. Red lips and orange maracas.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going out for dinner, tomorrow my plans include spending the evening at church and Sunday, I want to do some shopping!

Booking With Dogs

http://btt2.wordpress.com/ Suggested by: Superfastreader:
Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?

A book stimulates imagination and fancies of thought often in an amorphous way. Movies frequently remove or accentuate secondary characters and alter the original setting and dialogue. By nature, a movie defines the characters and setting, thus removing the individual private conceptualization of the written word. I'll take the book please.

Whose tail is that??

Little Stalker by Jennifer Belle

Rebekah, New York one novel wonder, is seeking the second novel within her and to settle life around her. Divorced parents, an unknown sister, a unhealthy fanaticism to a character based on Woody Allen--of all people!---stir it up and read a hilarious, beyond quirky novel of an on the edge risk-taker. Spiced with humor, this is one good read!

Wordless Wednesday: Tastebuds?

Friday Fill-In

1. There is absolutely NO way you can get me to eat liver!


2. The time change resulting in later daylight reminds me that summer is almost here!


3. I cannot live without my TV remote.

4. Sailing and snorkeling are two things I'd like to try.


5. When life hands you lemons, don't accept them.


6. Swinging into the sky is my favorite childhood memory.


7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting and reading, tomorrow my plans include planting flowers in the containers on the deck and Sunday, I want to be with DH when he gets home from a hunting trip!

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For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. ---Philippians 4:13

Lailah's First Birthday!

First day at my new home. I didn't even have a name yet! I'm mesmerized by Max's tongue!



Max advises me to stop dragging the pillows off the living room furniture. He's too old to remember what its like to be young, frisky, and playful. He just doesn't get me! He might have also mentioned...uh...not jumping up to reach the kitchen counters, maybe not chewing magazines and newspapers, then there's the thing about always going outdoors for bathroom breaks. He's so picky! Set in his ways!


This is one of my Queen-of-the-Realm spots. So empowering!
And, I am one year old today!!
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Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ---Philippians 4:6

Wordless Wednesday ~~~ Molting & Eating

Scrap-A-Scarf

Blocking in progress! I used the odds and ends from the World Map Afghan to make a child's scarf for charity. This is done with Plymouth Encore in stockinette broken with two ridges of garter every 10-12 rows to give it a segmented texture in addition to the segmented colors. A crocheted ruffle at each end adds the finishing touch.
http://yarnknitreadlit.blogspot.com/2007/06/givng-world-to-dgs.html

Happy Mother's Day. Love my DH and our kids.

Miss my Mom and my Nonna.

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Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!"
~ Proverbs 31:28-29

Its All About the Fuzziness!

A pile-o-fluffy for 3-yr-old DGS. I've been wanting to make a "Happy Ghan" after I saw one that a friend had made. Happy is now discontinued---gee, that would be tragic in another sense, wouldn't it? Idena discontinued its Happy yarn, so when I saw some on sale at http://www.onefineyarn.com/ , I ordered piles of it. This is pewter Happy with a stash cotton charcoal DK yarn crocheted in double crochet with a size I hook. Totally mindless, soft and fuzzy, this little blanket offers a nice change of pace from my other WIPs.

CONTEST!
Do you have save best read books that you'd like to recommend for summer reading? Then hop over to http://oneschemeofhappiness.typepad.com/home/2008/05/blog-contest-bl.html to tell her about the books you enjoyed. You might even win a prize!

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For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
~ James 1:3

Friday Fill-In

1. The rose had an extra secret ingredient; it was Love Potion #9!

2. Leap through my window.

3. Right now, I need a massage, a pedicure, shrimp scampi, and an ocean view.

4. To sleep is where I went Thursday night; it was restorative.

5. Why does an owie hurt so much?

6. All I can think of is the trip we‘re taking in June.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to knitting, tomorrow my plans include reading and Sunday, I want to knit and read.

Dogs & Booking

Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?
I have several that haven't been consulted in a while. I used them for study and for references when I was teaching college courses. I'd say I have roughly 10 such books in English, Spanish, Italian...and maybe a Latin grammar is still tucked in there somewhere.

Parallel Dogs....asleep

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This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.’ Zechariah 7:9

Wordless Wednesday

Order Up!

What's more exciting than opening the door to a yarn delivery? Opening the door to a yarn delivery and a delivery of books! At the very same moment!! I've been taking Prednizone in various dosages for about 5 weeks now, and let me tell you, the crawling-out-of-my-skin quotient is off the charts with all the excitement!! Oh, HELP!

Here is the yank-it-all-out-of-the-box view so I can feast my eyes on it. All this is sale yarn from www.onefineyarn.com We have your Idena Happy yarn here--in two colors and your GGH Samoa and then there's your Oat Couture vest pattern. But, there's more. There IS more! Just keep reading for excruciating details! Bear with me, gentle reader.

The grand plan for the GGH Samoa in orange and orchid is to make a baby blanket for charity. Just wanted to play with these colors together.

Yuk! How bad does this look? In real life, this Idena Happy yarn is a rich pewter gray that I plan to use with a carry along yarn to make a "Happy Blanket" for youngest DGS. This makes the softest cuddly blanket ever!

So, if he's gonna have a Happy Blankie, then his DS needs one also. I'm going to carry a medium yellow WW along with the mixed pastels for her. Additionally, I now have a couple sets of new bamboo circs that I ordered.

Oh, yes...Amazon delivered as well! Here are my latest additions to my TBR pile. I watched an interview with Steve Coll on C-Span and was fascinated by his narrative about his new book The Bin Ladens, so I just absolutely required the book. It's on my shelf as we speak...er...as I type?

Sue Hempworth's Plotting for Beginners will be a good read---I look forward to it. It's about starting over from wherever you happen to be.

According to the reviews, there is something "screamingly funny" about life past middle age and it is contained in No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club: Diary of a Sixtieth Year by Virginia Ironside. Don't wanna miss out on that! I am appreciative of the "life past middle age" usage since I'm not in the elderly set and not middle aged either. Another level of 'tween, it appears.

OK, there is indeed something screamingly funny about this book already. I ordered three of them. Yes, I know. I may have been click happy, twitchy-fingered, confused, or it may have been the Prednizone. Two are going back to Amazon. You can stop laughing now.

Here I am snapping pix and flickrizing, madly blogging, adding to Ravelry stash, shelving my books at Good Reads and Library Thing! Who has time to knit...or read?

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Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God and respect the king.
~ 1 Peter 2:17

Wred Wrap!

See this holey piece of knitting?

When finished and artfully draped about my shoulders, it will be my long-wanted cotton wrap to throw on when I don't want to bother with a sweater or jacket.

Simplicity itself. Using Nature Cotton by Araucania, a Worsted / 10 ply Cotton in Cherry Red, I cast on, did a few garter rows, then kept three garter stitches at the left and right edges. Using stockinette stitch with a row of yarn-over every several rows, I am making an open, light wrap on size 15s. This softly-soft yarn is a thick and thin which adds a nice texture and is very easy on the hands.

In other knitting news, the Sensational Sampler Afghan steams ahead. I am doubling the size of each square in the Lily Chin pattern and added this block of moss stitch just because I like moss stitch. Oatmeal is the color and Berroco Comfort is the yarn for this wedding gift.

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O Lord, you alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
~ Psalm 71:5

Friday Fill-Ins

http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/

1. Two of my favorite ingredients in a drink are mocha & chocolate!

2. My imagination often amazes me.

3. You can keep doing that forever, the dog is not going to retrieve that stick.

4. Olive oil, sea salt, coarse pepper, basil, parsley, and wine vinegar, mix it all together and voila! You have a scrumptious salad dressing and/or dip for coarse bread!

5. If I had a yard with a garden, which I do and grow daisies, honeysuckle, perennial succulents, lilacs and peonies. .

6. Life is best au naturel.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to reading, tomorrow my plans include knitting, and Sunday, I want to cook on the deck!

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Don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
~ Matthew 10:31

Dogs & Bookin'

Guess who always finishes eating first and fastest!

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do??

Since I always keep an iPod in my purse, I'd have a couple of books to listen to. Stuck at the airport, I would have time to browse the vendors for a book to take along with me.

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Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose. Proverbs 18:21 MSG