Sparkles?

Last week, the texture was applied to the ceiling, and for some reason, this brought a childhood memory back to me. I remembered a house I used to live in, where the ceilings had sparkles. I used to lay in bed at night, and pretend they were stars. I asked Jerry (Charlie's son, who's been working in the room) if people ever ask for the sparkles anymore. He told me no, but if I wanted them, he'd sure add them. Of course, I told him I didn't want them, but for a brief moment, I have to confess I was tempted. I'm sure it's just nostalgia that made me temporarily want them.

Beautiful!

My new shawl is really coming along nicely. I've already gotten this much done in just a few days, and that's only knitting on it in the evenings...and that's only on TV nights! This pattern is very easy to memorize, which makes it the perfect project for the times when I just want to knit, and not think about it. I can talk to the cats (or Dave), watch TV, or listen to music, without making mistakes. :) I highly recommend this pattern, even if you're a beginner. It's fast, fun, and the instant gratification will encourage you in your knitting journey.

And The Job Gets Bigger

What began as a simple ceiling repair has blossomed into a redo of the room. Instead of simply putting up new tiles, we had decided to sheet rock and texture the ceiling, like we did when we remodeled the kitchen. This way, when it's up, it's going to stay. As I was washing and ironing my curtains yesterday, I was thinking that it's too bad we couldn't texture the walls, too. For those of you who haven't been to my house, we have old fashioned sheet rock panels. They were much thinner, and have seams where they meet. It sort of looks like paneling that's been painted over. I was also thinking how nice it would be to cover that door. Again, for those of you who have never seen my house, we have a door leading to nowhere. Well, it actually leads to the back of the bathroom closet we had built back in 2006.
At the end of yesterday's work day, Charlie gave me the perfect opportunity to mention my thoughts. They had finished taping and bedding the ceiling. Since they couldn't do anything else until the mud dried, they were getting ready to leave. Charlie asked me if I'd like them to just go ahead and paint the whole room while they had it all emptied. I told him it sounded like a great idea, and now that you mention it, I do have some other ideas....
I explained all I'd been thinking, and after discussing it with Dave, we decided to go ahead with the total room makeover. It's going to cost us a lot more, but we do have the money in savings. It also means a longer period of my house being in disarray, but the idea of a fresh, new room, makes that all worth it. Besides, it gives me a chance to go through my stuff, throw out what I no longer want, and clean up what I do.

Repairs Began...

They got started on my ceiling. They had to work us in among thier already scheduled projects, and, due to a delayed countertop delivery for another home, they were able to get to us today. After pulling all the old tiles down, and removing what looked like millions of staples, they put up the sheet rock. I took this opportunity to do some serious cleaning. I washed and ironed all my curtains, and dusted all the things I normally leave undone, because I can't reach it. Since they can't do anymore work until the tape and bedding stuff has dried, they've quit for the day. I'm sitting here surrounded by all my extra bedroom furniture. I'm not sure if I'll spend the rest of the night washing and dusting, or if I'll just knit on my shawl, and do it tomorrow. I know this sounds wierd, but I'm actually exhilerated by the work. Maybe it's because I know the finished result will be a fresh, clean room.

My Springtime Shawl

Where I live, the daytime temperatures have become warmer, but there is still a chill in the morning and evening. I've decided to knit myself a shawl to combat this chill as I enjoy my back porch. I chose the pattern, Sweet November, a free Ravelry download, designed by Caryl Pierre. It's the perfect pattern for now, because it is easy and quick (I figured it would defeat my purpose if, by the time I finish shawl, it’s too warm to wear it). I’m using Cascade Sierra, a mostly cotton yarn with a small amount of wool, and US size 10 needles. The pattern suggests 10.5, but this size tips isn't included in my addiClick set. It doesn't look like the change is going to hurt the finished look one bit.

Homemade Pizza Day!

Dave and I have had so much fun cooking together. Actually, I'm not much of a cook. My job, normally, is to keep the dishes washed up, and the countertops wiped down. That way, after we eat, there's no huge mess to clean up. Today, however, I got to actually help. I took some pictures hoping my readers would really get to share in our fun...
First, Dave made the pizza crust in his food processor, then we left it to rise, while we went to feed Max, then pick up a package of cheese from Kroger. When we got home, I washed up the cutting board and knife, while Dave sauted some mushrooms he had previously sliced. Then I opened up a can of black olives and sliced them, while Dave cooked some sliced bell pepper (only long enough to soften them a bit). He then rolled out the dough, brushed a little olive oil over it, then sprinkled our first layer of cheese. Here's a helpful tip- Dave has found that if you start with a layer of cheese, then apply your sauce, dotting it across your cheese by the teaspoon, your crust doesn't get soggy. After applying the sauce, I helped Dave top it. Today's toppings of choice were sauted mushrooms, sliced green bell peppers, sliced jumbo black olives, low-fat turkey pepperoni, and low-fat Canadian bacon. Add another layer of cheese and bake. Yummy! The best part? Eating, of course :) And, happily, today is another warm day. That means we got to eat our lunch outside. It is just so relaxing to feel the sunshine, and fresh air while enjoying the lunch my husband and I made as a team. Life may not be perfect, but it really is good.

More Sweater Blues :(

What started out as an easy project has turned into a nightmare. I updated my Ravelry page yesterday, and I'd like to copy and paste what I wrote so you can see the kind of day I had...

Notes
2-16-11 After giving myself a little break from this project, I decided to get it out this morning. I had finished the left side, and it was probably a mistake to wait so long before starting the right side. It has been long enough for me to lose the feel of the lace pattern. After I completed side #2, I held it up to look at it. I noticed a spot where I got off the pattern, and I’m going to have to unravel again. I’m starting to wish I’d never seen this pattern.
Later Very frustrated. When I went to do the back portion, I discovered a huge mistake. I got completely off when I separated for the armholes, so I had to rip all my work back. It looks like, once again, I failed to reach a goal. I’m developing a very strong dislike for this pattern. It started out so easy, and a breeze to follow, but that armhole separation line is so confusing. Then after that, it’s left up to the knitter to guess the rest of the chart. I’m not good at guessing.

Working Outdoors

Today has been a wierd day, weatherwise. We were supposed to have clear skies, with a high in the lower 70's. That did not happen. It's been cloudy, and still looks like it could rain any minute. Happily, it was warm, and Dave and I got to eat our lunch on the back porch (looks like it's time to clean out there). Normally, my routine after lunch, it to go visit Max, come home, and go for my walk. Today, I omitted the walk. I didn't want to chance being a mile alway from home, with the possibility of rainfall. Instead, I opted to work in my back yard. I pruned back my roses, cleaned out my pots, and pulled up annuals left over from last year. I'm happy to report that I'm already seeing leaf buds on many of my plants. I guess they're probably confused by the warm temperatures, but it was still nice to see. I know we haven't seen the last of our cold weather, but I'm going to enjoy this warm spell as long as it lasts.

Noro Scarf (Second Try)

This is my second attempt at knitting a Noro Striped Scarf. The first one didn't have enough contrast to really show off the colors of each skein. This time, I chose a bright and a muted, hoping to correct that problem. The stripes are showing up nicely so far, but it's looking a little girly. I wish I knew the secret to picking out color combinations for this pattern. I haven't seen any way to determine the color progression of the stripes while the skeins are wound, and shop owners would rather you didn't unwind the skeins on the shelf.

I guess, since I'm a bit of a girly girl, I see no reason to frog this scarf at the moment, so I'm going to keep on knitting. In looking at the finished projects on Ravelry, I've learned that each color change usually works together beautifully in the end. Only time will tell if this is true in my case.

A Little Bragging

I just wanted to say how very proud I am of my husband and of my town. He did a great job at the Sweetheart Soiree Saturday night. As MC, he introduced the video presentation and the live band. He also gave a short description of each item to be aucioned to raise money for The Children's Advocacy Center. They raised $50 thousand, the most they've ever raised, and that is after expenses. I know they appreciate all who came out to support this great cause.

A Finished Project

After knitting into the wee hours for a full week, and seeing that I wasn't going to finish it anyway, I decided to put my Cherie Amour to the side. At least for the weekend. That gave me the perfect opportunity to finish my Turn A Square Hat. This pattern enabled me to learn how to do jogless stripes. For those of you, who are interested in this technique, I found this video to be a lifesaver. I had hoped for more pronounced color changes in the Noro yarn, but I'm not disappointed. I think it turned out well, for my first try.

Isn't Gonna Happen :(

Well, it was a valliant effort, but it looks like finishing my sweater before tomorrow night is out. I had finally finished my ribbing, and was in the process of knitting the top section. I got all the way to the armholes, when the pattern stopped making sense to me. It could have been sleep deprivation, but it was like I completely forgot how to read a pattern. I finally had to put it away and go to sleep. Since the wee hours is the only time I can work on it without interuption, and since I still have two sleeves to make after finishing the body, I'm going to have to admit defeat. Oh well. It's not like I don't have ANYthing to wear. Still, I'm not disappointed with the effort. My new goal is to have it ready to wear by our church's monthly singing service, which, if I'm not mistaken, I believe is next Saturday.

Trouble already?

Yes, I can't believe it, but I've already hit my first snag in my Sweater goal. I had finished the lower body, and over half the ribbing when I discovered it. It just was looking so big. I know the sweater is designed to be worn with positive ease, but, wow, that's a lot of ease. I looked at the schematic, then again at the pattern measurements, and there was my mistake. I had cast on for the wrong size. Can you believe it? I need this sweater by Saturday night, and I'm knitting it in in the WRONG SIZE! (grr!) I transferred the work onto waste yarn, so I could try on the garment. I noticed the number of rows required for my size is the same as for this size, so the length is fine. In fact, I think I'm going to like the flouncier look better (and I always appreciate a little more booty room). The ribbing, on the other hand, had to be redone. I ripped back to the last row of the lower body part, and decreased twelve stitches evenly across my first ribbing row. Now I have the correct amount of stitches for my size. Hopefully, the rest of the garment will go without a hitch. I believe I'm going to enjoy wearing this sweater. The chances of having it completed by Saturday just got slimmer, but I'm still going to try.

Wish Me Luck

Dave has been asked to MC the Sweetheart Soiree on Saturday Night. This particular event isn't formal, but I do need something dressy. I've been mentally going through my closet since last week, and nothing seems to fit the description of party attire. Last night, I was thinking how great it would be if I had a new sweater to go with one of my dressier skirts, but I'm not about to get out in this frozen weather to go shopping. Then I remembered a pattern I have in my Ravelry queue. For those of you who are unfamiliar with ravelry, our queue is a list of patterns we plan to knit someday. This pattern is called Cherie Amour. It is designed by Ashley Adams Moncrief, and can be found here, at knitty.com. As you can see, it's a meshy fabric, knit with bulky yarn on large needles, making it possible to knit it up fast. The yarn I'm using is called Fusion, and is a product of Madil Yarns. This yarn is a blend of wool and PC-dralon (whatever that is), with a little mohair for fluff. It is listed as aran weight, which is normally what U.S. residents call worsted weight, but I'm not sure the information is correct. I've already knit up one ball, and while I don't think it's quite as thick as bulky, I know it's thicker than any worsted I've ever seen. I actually have mixed feelings about this yarn. It has a slightly fuzzy texture, which causes it to split. That can be a bit of a challange to work with. On the other hand, it's creating a light, crazy soft fabric that I know will be a pleasure to wear...If I can finish in time.

So you can see, I've got my work cut out for me. I've put all my other projects on hold so I can consentrate on this one goal. I hope I finish it, or I'll be running around at the last minute, trying to find something to wear to this shin-dig. Please, wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby...

Last week, with the aproach of Dave's birthday, I was asking him if there's anything he might want to do. While Dave and I don't normally exchange gifts for our birthdays, we do try to do something together. Poor Dave seems to have the short end of the stick. My birthday is in the middle of summer, when nothing else is going on, and we usually can take a nice road trip together. Dave's birthday falls at a time when we're still paying for our end-of-year credit card charges, and house taxes. We never have the funds to go off together for his birthday.

Dave, I pray for God's blessings to follow you all day, and your evening is relaxing and refreshing. If there's anything special you want for dinner, or if there's anywhere you'd like to go, just let me know, and we'll make it happen. Sometimes I feel I fall short of being the kind of wife you deserve. I love you so much, and I'm so blessed to have you in my life.

"...This is my beloved, and this is my friend..." Song of Solomon 5:16

Industrious Neighbor

The family who lives on the corner sure seem to be enjoying our snowy winter. The first snow resulted in a beautiful snowman, that to this day I wish I'd taken a picture of. This snowfall brought the completely unexpected...And this time, I got a picture!

Dave and I were witness to how much work he put into it. We had some errands to run yesterday, and as we were leaving the house, he was beginning his project. We just assumed it was another snowman in the making, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Heading home after our grocery store visit, we turned the corner and onto our street. One glance into their yard was all it took to know something big was in store. He had built a wall, and was working on a second one. An Igloo? Surely not. It wasn't until today, on our way home from church, that we saw the final project. He had built a snow fort. Three full walls, with an entryway in the fourth wall. Wow! So much hard work. I hope it doesn't melt to soon. They deserve a little time to enjoy it.

Bad Day

Ok, so after another night of insomnia, I finally get to sleep around 5am. Dave comes home around 8 or so to tell me our pipe has burst, we have water running all the way to the street, and the plumber in on his way. The damaged pipe is the one leading to the back yard faucet. For a while, it was pretty hectic here. Dave was on call, so his phone was ringing almost constantly, the plumbers were pulling up the boards of my back deck to get to the pipes, and the cats were nervous, and trying to escape. The plumbers tell us a better option would be to bury this pipe that keeps bursting, keeping better insulated against the cold. Since we're not using the back faucet anyway (it's been staying frozen), he suggested we cap it off for now. This allows us to have our water back on, then when the outdoor temperatures warm up enough to work with it, they'll be back with a new pipe to finish the job.
So, our temporary fix is in place, and Dave had gone back to work, but I'm still battling with my nerves. I really wanted to walk today, but my anxiety is causing my stomache to act up again. Even if it wasn't, I still couldn't walk, because the snow continues to fall. This is so unfair. I used to love snow, and always felt cheated that our part of Texas sees so little of it. It really is beautiful, but all I can do is worry about Max. Did he spend the night outside? Is he cold? I just don't know, and it's killing me.

Finished Scarf

I just finished my One Row Scarf. I knitted all during our TV night, and just as The Mentalist was ending, I was casting off. I took a picture of the finished item so I could share it with my friends here. Tomorrow, if I'm well enough to walk, this scarf will be a great help against the cold.

Getting Better

First of all, I'd like to send out a "Thank you" to all who prayed for me last night. At the time I wrote on my blog, I had a shakey stomache, and some dizziness. By nightfall, I was achy all over, and I had chill bumps popping out, even though I was sitting right by the heater. I was convinced I had the flu, because my clothes were actually hurting my skin. I was wearing my loosest, softests fleece sweatshirt, and it was still hurting my skin.
Today is much better. I'm not 100%, because I have to be careful what I eat, so my stomache doesn't get upset. I've also discovered that I can't lean over for long periods of time. (lol) I learned this the hard way. I opened a box of canned cat food, and leaned over to stack the cans on the bottom shelf of the pantry. When I raised up, I had a little dizzy spell. So I still have to be careful, but it looks like I'm going to live. :)

No Walk Today

I'm going crazy, sitting here. The streets are still icy, but I was going to bundle up tightly, and go for my walk anyway. Those plans changed, when I woke up feeling queazy. I don't know what it is. I was just fine yesterday, then later, after Dave had gone to sleep, I began to feel a little sick. I just dismissed it as lack of sleep, but I guess it's more. Several times, I've thought I might be getting better, only to be hit with waves of nausea and dizziness later. I was hoping this would pass, and I could still go for my walk, but I guess it's not going to happen. Please, pray for me. I don't like having a shakey stomache. It scares me. :(

Isaiah 40:28-31 (King James Version)

28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.