Sew Sew

I've been knitting, in fact I've finished two projects this weekend. I've order two sweaters of yarn, thanks to some really good sales. I've also been sewing. I broke out the little sewing machine that the Hub bought me for my birthday *Cough* um that was the last birthday, not this one.

Its a good little machine, I'll see how I feel about it when I really get going. I've got my eye on a little fancier one. I would fell a little guilty about buying a new one, seeing as this one was a gift.
Sooooo while we were in Nashville one night to blow through a mess of gift cards that the Hub had accumulated from various gift giving holidays I found this book.



Its like the "Stitch and Bitch" of sewing. If you already have a wee knowledge of sewing (thanx mom) its really good at getting you up and running. So here it is, my first project since high school. Back then I made a mess of super ugly purses out of some lime green wide whale corduroy.



After getting that done, I searched town for pattern paper. This mythical thing doesn't seem to really exist. So I just bought big graph paper and stuck them together with tape. I also got some fabric for my next project.



Give me a week or so I'll show you the results.

Snip

Snip, snip went the scissors. On Saturday I went and had my hair cut. I needed shape and well its hard to not trim too much off. I would have liked to have kept some of the length but I'll go with it.

Send happy thoughts to.....

An APO in one of those countries that end in 'STAN. The Hub packed up and headed out this week. Budgie and I send our love. On the plus side, while he packed and packed, and packed, the hub said "you know you could knit me a blanket" YES!! Finally something that he might use and actually wants. Long long ago I began a pair of red socks for him, this is long FA story and I might reward a reader with some sock yarn if they can relay this story. Well he said "they're too girlie" somewhere around the heel flap. Those went in the frog pile. Before he left in '05 I got out the old measuring tape and found what size sweater he'd wear, but promptly lost those measurements and was reminded that he is a human space heater. There went that knitting gift. Promises of handknit gators and helmet liners have be received with "mmm I'm ok" loosely translated "I don't wear the one they issued me, why would I want a fancy one", there goes that one too. But finally something asked for, something I know will get used in the sometime sub-zero high dessert of the 'stans. I picked a nice crochet pattern because a knitted blanket is akin to hot wax and leg hair. I'll be starting that beauty tonight after pad-thai and "The First 48". Honest if you want to send anything over seas to any one please let me know, we have many guys who need support.

We'll do lunch

Girls often say funny things to each other like "I'll call you, we'll have lunch" however we rarely mean these things. Oh we mean them at the moment, but it never really happens. We forget or something comes up more important. Sometimes cell phones are crushed under car wheels other times we just plain don't want to ever speak to, see, or be bothered with these people ever again. Well when I told my blog, "I'll call you" I actually meant it, but I kinda got side tracked. To begin with the mother-in-law came for a slightly un-asked visit. I managed to stress about the 48 hour visit to a zit inducing level and have remained in this pimply state of being for the past week. The Hub is packing and repacking to hit the not so friendly skies. But on a much happier and knitty-ier note I've got some finished things and some started things.

Pattern: Eyelet Cardigan, Lion Brand
Yarn: Lion brand Wool-ease 2 balls, some bluish cooler
Needles: Knit Picks Options
Size: 2 YO
Made for: Co-workers Daughter

I've also started the dread, brain sucking THERMAL!!

It's slow going but I love it, the yarn is so soft and silky. I get tons of compliments on it and I'm no were near finished. Can't wait until I work up enough gumption to finish it in a timely manner. All is well, but check this shit out....

Thats like 3 inches that has fallen since 5pm in Clarksville, and its going to keep on falling all night.

Vegas! A week late.....

Here just a few pictures from our trip.....

The Fountains at night


Old Town


Not really Paris, but it'll do


Hub


Our room looked right out on the sphinxes ass

A short re-cap.....

Before I launch into anything new, lets recap everything from the Super Bowl out.....
That was a sunday....I drank too much, ate too much salty food and went to bed too late. I just kinda was there on monday. Tuesday we had another storm, this time no power outages just a few Tornadoes. Wednesday Ross came home from bragg so I skipped out on work and puttered around the house all day. Thursday was nothing special that I remember. Friday we sent the neighbor off with a far well dinner and beer. Saturday I loaded up the mini and drove to Nashville with Tom to send him back (he made it safe) and went straight home to to continue with the post Bragg laundry. Saturday we had the not so usual suspects over for BBQ chicken and what have you. This puts us into the pre=trip preparations which are all dull.
So its tuesday night, Shonday has stopped by to get the keys to watch the Budgie, and its snowing. Not only is it snowing there is this layer of ice on the porch. Do we drive to nashville now or wait until the morning? Oh hell live dangerously and leave in the morning. This turned out to be the right choice, there was no ice or even water on the roads. The fact that there had been ice since the night before was lost on the airport which took an hour to de-ice our plane causing us to miss our flight out of Denver. We used every once of luck for the day, which was alloted for slots and black jack, to hit a pair of stand by seats on the next one out. I would have liked to see the Airline-esk melt down the Hub was planning if they couldn't get us out of there. Then we hit Vegas.......

BURN, BURN, BURN....

In a lake of fire, Tom Brady. My dearest wish has come true, Tom Brady has died. Ok figuratively but I'll take what I can get. I have no voice left, and don't ever what to see a chicken wing again, but I'm happy. I didn't spend all season watching football at other peoples house not to watch the hell out of this game. So we screamed, yelled, jumped around the room and when it was all over we ran across the street to celebrate with the neighbors. There we rehashed the game, much to the shame of the one New England fan, and then talked about it some more. It was a good clean win, without any New England bullshit, not cheap shots, no close calls. it was good

"there is a great disruption in the force"

Not to give away my super-geekie-ness. My chi, wah, zen, what ever you want to call that great leveling factor that guides my universe is so out of whack that I can't remember what day it is. To start off the Hub is in NC, and he must be having a hell of a good time blowing the hell out stuff with the last remaining 155 in north american because he hasn't called to check on me. My normal work pattern has be thrown off since I've started to visit DNA three days a week and was also pushed into conscripted chicken-killer service on tuesday. You don't want to know, but yes I had to kill them. Then the power went out ALL NIGHT. From about 6:30 um til like 10, no power, plus rain, plus not at the house with any food. That equals a hungry claire. To further disrupt the universe those who should not be here are, ie neighbor Tom. Back for two weeks of paper work fun, and getting muddy foot prints on my clean floors (I'm currently staring at one right now wonder how best to seek revenge). Then as the kindly voices of nashville public radio told me there was a chance of snow, I looked out me window and then got right back into bed. SNOW DAY!!!!! Thinking I might be a huge snow driving wussy right? Nope my other TN dwelling co-worker called and side not to even try, the cops were turning people around at the KY state line. yippie!

Scarf Seasons

So for x-mas/birthday, leaning more toward birthday, Amanda got me a big ol'ball of yarn from Woodstock Wool Company. The yarn is called EGO and in the Lake Hill colorway. This is rather funny and she doesn't know it but I grew up in the Lake Hills area of Bellevue, Wa.



I'm making a 1X1 rib scarf mainly to give my fingers something to do while I get motivated for the year.



After much looking and looking I went to the MALL, the sole sucking mall to find new shoes. I've been nursing my pair of Dankso clogs for all they are worth and at two years they've about had it. They may be supper comfy but they are super ugly. I picked these


All the comfy and little of the cute.

Goodness, me

Well then, Since we last spoke I really haven't been up to much. We had a great New Year with Evan and Amanda, we enjoyed Krug with popcorn. To make sure they had a safe trip home we celebrated the new year a wee early, Chilean new year in fact. The following weekend, 4th, 5th and 6th the Hub and I headed north. Upstate New York, for a friend's wedding which was in great need of uniformed folk. It was a surprisingly fun time. I spent all week playing catch up from laundry and cleaning. This weekend was a complete waste with football and neighborly house cleaning plus a few minor home improvements. I did get a chance to make this.....

I wear it alot, a while I look like a knitwear muffin I LOVE IT. so poooo
Send a happy birthday Jen's way today too.

Ummm

Yeah I have no good excuse for my delinquent-ness. Nothing. I've just been lazy and boring, but still here.

Big X-mas Wrap Up, Part II

Well all the gifts that needed returning have been taken back, the gift cards spent and the prime rib digested so I should get to putting us pictures and taken down christmas.

These sisters were my favorite gift this year

Pull them back and watch them race.

Here's dinner, it tasted just as good as it looked. But after all the messing around in the spice cupboard we went out and got one more christmas gift, thanx to the gift card Mac got us

All the important ones are stuck to the wall now.

While I didn't get yarn or any yarn gift cards, I got two books for Christmas. I've even managed to start another quick project that I hope to get done so I can get some use out of it. le Slouch!

Big X-mas Wrap Up, Part I

We had a good old time this Christmas with my folks here. From cooking too much food to silly gifts. The days leading up to christmas where filled with trips the grocery store and BBQ fun. The Hub and the Dad had way to much fun with grilled meat and open flames.

We made ribs two ways.

Did yummie BBQ chicken and then Ross tried his hand at the art of sausage making.

These are the "fresh" unsmoked sausages, both spicy and not so spicy before they went on the grill and a few hours later...

Here they are all smoked and ready to eat.

The holidays are all about food in my family!!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone, just a day early!
ps it's my birthday today :)

Almost Christmas

Well its almost here, we've gone to the grocery store everyday since my parents arrived. Tomorrow is birthday and then christmas!!! Yippie

That sinking feeling.

It could be all the rain thats causing that sinking feeling and my house is finally slipping down the hill side or its the impending doom of the seattle trip. I'm generally in favor of flying the friendly skies and hitting up the evergreen state but its only a four day trip and then we turn around and have christmas. I'm a little stressed. Oh bother I'll be ok, the trip will be great, you can't see me but I'm making that if you take my picture I'll kill you smile, great just great. People I don't know or care about that much on the married in side of the family here I come.

Flat as a pancake

So this morning my "butt Light" went off while I was driving. No this isn't a warning that my butt looks big in these pants or that the driver of the car next to me is not paying attention because they are scratching their butt, but that I have low tire pressure. It looks more like a butt then a flat tire. This is quite normal when we're having bad or abnormal weather (tomorrows high is 72, Baghdad's is 67 just to put in perspective) so I just turned the stupid flashing beeping light off and drove on. After lunch though Steve called the lab to let me know, that it was in deed flat. Very very flat. UGH!!! So steve pulled the air compressor around front topped it off and I drove off, about two blocks until it started to loose pressure again. A nail was all it was, all patched and fixed for 14 bucks. But it just goes to show you that even your car will cry wolf.
Tomorrow, the hubby's birthday!!!

“Men seldom make passes At girls who wear glasses”

Thank you Dorthy Parker for that gem. It was new glasses day for me saturday. Big deal seeing as thats how I see. No contacts for me any more, they really bug me. So me and super high prescription popped into Lenscrafters to escape the terrors in the mall (grrrrr to x-mas gifts) and there they were on the wall..... still there waiting for me to take them home.

They have little black sparkles all along the top and on the sides. I finally have sparklely glasses.
I also got a second pair (ummm I have a special account from work to pay for this, so stop thinking I just won money off a scratch ticket and didn't tell the Hubby.) These are my "normal" glasses...hahahhaaa

Love them both, and since my prescription hasn't changed, or I'm in denial about it changing and haven't gotten my eyes checked again, I have 3 pairs to wear!!! this is fun.

Rules are meant to be broken

Out of complete and total boredom I broke my own "no knitting where coffee can not go" rule.........




thats my super high tech lab I work in. Hiding behind the knitting is a stack of old plates labeled "s. aureus, FREEZE" that hasn't happened nor will it, thats what grad students are for and I don't see any.

Not to jinx it..

...but come on already. We're super slow these days at the lab, and I don't know why. Its been cold and rainy, though not at the same time. Cold and dry one day and wet and mild the next. I guess the cows just aren't getting E.coli from each other any more. Here we test samples from both living animals, sent in from vets offices, and DEAD animals that we process here. Normally the bulk of work comes from the dead critters. We were to have this major "fall rush" which never seemed to happen, except from a brief push in October. mmmmm so that leads me to my next question what should I do with myself. Write out christmas cards, hit up amazon.com for gifts, or just sit here with blogging at work. I would knit but I do draw the line some where when it comes to big nasty germs and hobbies. I used to knit at the hospital but that was different, no bacteria just blood products and bodily fluids. I make it a rule not to knit where I wouldn't drink coffee, but x-mas cards they're fair game so don't lick them ok. Stayed up to watch the football game last night, grrrrrrrr I really wanted the tom brady to loose, grrrrrr. Oh well they'res always next week. Time for lunch!!