finishitis

startitis is considered contagious and with ravelry and other knitting blogs it's probably more like an epidemic! however, i have a new word for knitters- finishitis - this too could be equally contagious. finishitis is when you are frantic to get things off your needles--the symptoms may include things like: ignoring your family's need to be fed because you need to finish one more row! you schedule your day around your knitting time, you're giddy when you find out you'll have to spend hours waiting at the doctor's office or at the airport--you're tempted to take the knitting into the um- restroom-just kidding about that one.

NONETHELESS that's where i'm at now... still plugging along with the moss sweater, and 2 sock mates-seems like i can't shake that one, and a baby blanket-i also have a bad case of startitis: the tween green cardi, another pair of socks :-), the lace scarf for my secret sister, 2 more baby blankets for my co-workers, christmas gifts (it is around the corner and ready to pounce- you know it's true), and knitting for our busy hands ministry which i have yet to contribute! this is just the knitting, i'm not factoring in the quilting projects i want to get done- oy!
let me know if you've got it too. . .

is there a cure, no, and i don't think we really want one, now do we?!

dillard 2008

mary did such a great job posting about dillard house, that i'm just going to do a few photos of other stuff we did.


wooly friends-sheep, alpacas and goats- yes it's like yarn in the buff







cows along the trail
beautiful morning for a ride on horseback










me on tonto, and pj on maverick











end of the long and dusty trail that took us across the river and back, through beautiful meadows- total fun!









tallulah gorge on tuesday, very beautiful, we walked about 1.5 of the 2 miles (i think) - we didn't do the whole loop, but it was a gorgeous day to be outdoors, mastered most of the 1000+ steps, and walked across the suspension bridge- and my knees felt it when we were done. ate at reba's grill and buffet in hollywood definitely a "locals" place, pretty good basic food-then headed home- unpacked and got ready for the work week.



zombie socks (pattern by Sheryl Ball) and my own rocker pose for the camera- sock #1 done!









thanks for a great holiday weekend- polly, roy, mary, sara, karen, ron, paula, jillian, and my boys- everyone got to do pretty much what they wanted, but we still did stuff together

ps- look forward to more antiquing with mary and polly next time

no mas!

that's right no more birthdays until august, here's the two birthdays for this week back to back!

mom's dinner choice included: snacks from the party + the addition of some steamed shrimp, and sticky toffee pudding from haagan dazs, for dessert----food network featured this competition some time back couldn't find a link, but thanks karen for sharing back in february before NY.


steve's dinner choice included: rib-eye steaks, loaded baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, caeser salad, and cheesecake for dessert.



posts to follow: dillard house happenings, wine update, yarn purchases from NY, LV, and only ewe and cotton too.

hats and gloves . .

it was a smashing success, lots of food, laughs, cool gifts- especially the gift card to cast on cottage- an afternoon outing is being planned with the roswell crew :-). a few photos from the tea party,

many ladies came in hats, some even gloves-

some of the food


we even had one gentlemen get into the spirit by wearing his own version of hats and gloves,

this is isabelle's grandpa, can you image what those two will be doing in a couple years?! he's got a flower on his cap, and gardening gloves!

i have to give a big thank you to kathy who came over on saturday to help with washing fruit, veggies, making sandwiches, etc. AND she even cooked lasagna for our dinner so that i'd have one less thing to worry about- now that's a good friend. also, on sunday kathy and angie were on hand for, like hours, serving, setting up, washing cups, etc. they were a tremendous help, and are such a blessing to my mom and i.

a pretty party photo- i did wear a hat, i just don't have a picture.

how do you like this for a wine label- it was good too!



so now i feel i can relax a bit, just 2 more birthdays this week, and they will be simple affairs with just the folks in the house- getting ready for dillard. i have friday off so there will be plenty of time to get things together and sorted before we go. plan to take several projects. speaking of projects - looks like i won't get to the photo projects before "summer starts", maybe i'll have time to do those at dillard, if not they'll get done sooner or later.

am totally excited about boston in june- really cambridge mass, and there is a yarn shop a block from the hotel!!!! and another that is about a mile away, and according to the shop owner, a very nice walk- and lots of cool restaurants, i'm also going to the museum as there is an el greco and velasquez exhibit going on- can NOT wait! more on that later, and i'm planning to do better research on places to eat.

TTFN

it's here... and it's almost HERE

got the 1st installment of the Punk Rock Sock Club" yarn- love it, not at all what i'd imagined, thanks Melanie. can't wait to see what karen, mary and i come up with--- must get cracking on mom's party stuff, cause IT'S almost HERE!!!! you know what i'll be doing between now and sunday, can't wait to share the celebration pix- wish me luck on getting everything ready TTFN

happy 13!

wow, 'roo, hard to believe you're 13- where has the time gone, i remember the tea parties with eeyore and pooh, when you would put on my shoes and walk around, i'm glad i took all those pictures so i can look back on them some day- you are a great "little" guy, mom loves you bunches!

we enjoyed a great day (in between all the others!) andrew wanted hot dogs and red velvet cupcakes, so a bit of a compromise and i added burgers on the grill and chips-very simple and very good! happy birthday my little yahooligan!

weekend rewind

a busy weekend as usual, but things are winding down for summer yea- the weekend started with an outing with mary, a great time on all levels- dinner at murphy's, yarn shopping at knitch, and wonderful company. this is the sweater i'm going to start next, love the green, and the pattern. mary was very helpful in making sure i got something that would fit, be fun to knit, and low on the frustration factor, look forward to giving updates on this.









soccer on saturday- we won one, and lost one (lost on sunday, we didn't play, so that's the end of soccer: here's a couple shots. max our mascot- what a good boy!

check out these socks! love em

no place to park? no problem!



after a long day at the soccer field, we met steve and pj for mexican and a margaritas, yum, and then home to finish up the sunday school lesson (it's totally done now, just have to teach)

celebrated sunday with steaks, potatoes and peach pie for mother's day, did some knitting, and relaxing! a great weekend, really looking forward to dillard- some real chilling out and great company

happy mother's day

to all the wonderful mom's out there - mom, polly, karen, mary, and kecia- for all the diapers, meals, rides, loads of laundry- the list is endless as is the love of a mother- hope you all have a happy day

destruction update

okay, so here's some background, if you notice in the previous post there is quite a bit of distance between the top step and the threshold of the door. well, that is what was supposed to be repaired. the contractor said he would have to "cut" away the shrubs in order to have room to work- now i have found out that he was told to "do whatever he needed" he didn't even call ahead to say he would be starting any of this work. also, after all this butchery, he has to take a new approach to making the repair--huh?????

here's another photo that gives a headlong look at why this is a true tragedy.

notice the hedge-like way these shrubs have developed? also, to pour salt into the wound when i saw the aforementioned contractor later in the evening. he did a bit of a sing-songy thing "the shrubs are done, lydia, the shrubs are gone", like i'm supposed to think this is okay- what part of this is okay? then he tells me i could plant some bushes there, and he that didn't have a choice-

anything planted here is going to look like crap because of the height of the remaining shrubs, so i guess the next step is to pull out the rest of the shrubs and re-landscape this area---this was not an expense or project i was planning to take on this year. oh yea, and he doesn't even have the decency to haul away the yard debris, had we had the opportunity, these could have been salvaged and put somewhere else in the yard.

polite words escape me...

i came home to this "destruction",

and to see "this" pile of rubbish- i'm aghast.

down to the wire...

feeling the time crunch now, but here's what HAS to be done by 9:00 pm on Saturday:

SS lesson- nearly done, a few more images and commentary (will probably take to the soccer tournament on saturday)
Dinner with Mary- see not all work!
3 more exercise days
1 evening meeting
2 soccer practices
1 full day of soccer
complete sotsii repair
cook 2 more meals for the week
1 orthodontist appt
1 trip to the post office
1 trip to the grocery store
house cleaning-it's an easy week
folding and prepping 200+ newsletters for bulk mailing (by Thursday)
i think that's it, at least i hope that's it!!! Then i'll have to dive into preparations for mom's party, and 3 birthdays- yikes.

now some comments to comments left on a previous posts:

Polly- yes that is a can of spam-- long story, but considering that the UK was under rations until 1954- nearly mom's entire formative years- should be no surprise-
PJ- learning to drive, am i ready? one the one hand i'm thrilled for him, i remember what it was like and getting that license was a major milestone- on the other hand i'm terrified- i see how folks drive- very scary.
Mary- oh i said at least one expletive when it did it, and then i yelled at mom, had to apologize, as i wasn't yelling AT her, but rather yelling in general! then i was angry at myself for being so stupid, then i thought about how i was going to fix it, by sunday after it had dried, i put the live stitches on a dpn and 2 stch holders, and since then have figured out how i can fix it, may not be to it's original state, but hopefully you won't be able to tell, so by the time i did the post i had calmed down alot!

weekend in pictures

a very busy weekend, but expected- here's a pictorial overview:

saturday soccer::me with coffee, knitting, --after a brief rain delay- i decided to stay in the tahoe and watch the rest of the game-
they lost :-( ---ever; i did finish these socks, thinking i started from the wrong end of the ball when i started the second sock!!!! but love them, they will be very warm this winter - also managed a youth group family picnic- burgers on the grill- yum- no photos though---

our celebratory flowers: b.days and anniversary these were at the alter for today's church service- truly beautiful
mural dedication at andrew's school- great history depicted here, and andrew was a participant in it's completion- ask me, i'll give you the details
here's the other lydia in our life- her family was part of the dedication, and they are also a part of our church family.
steve and i at our anniversary dinner at macaroni grill, one of the few times we have actually had dinner on our anniversay-

finally- this is what happens when you pull too tight- yes, as i was blocking the stole and resounding "snap", and this is what i ended up with, i managed to get the stiches onto stitch holders and a dpn, so i'll see how i can fix these last couple inches- dangit! i did finish when i had planned- oh well i guess that's part of the process.

a busy, but very nice weekend, our may is soooo busy it was nice to be able to enjoy this year's celebrations . . .

a very happy day

Happy birthday to you, PJ, you've come a long way from your beginnings as a 3.15 # preemie! here are some party highlights- the evening was complete with pizza, friends, cupcakes and gifts!

thanks to brenden, ryan, johnnie, mike, christopher, mom, dad, andrew and nana for making the day very special . .







a new tradition, bought this small plate for the birthday boy/girl to have their treat on . .

so much knitting, so little time

i love the venezia pullover in the Interweave Knits Winter 06 so much that i bought the back issue --

and have been scouring the universe for the yarn. originally i though the sweater was a bit of a stretch as i was guessing the cost for the yarn at about $200, but upon further research, alas i think i can get my grubby hands on the called for wool for less than $100. although to make matters worse this issue packed with other goodies to knit like the cardigan for arwen, nantucket jacket, the cowgirl slipper socks, the adorable tweed beret, oh la la, and a definate this for my secret sister.

got some good feedback from people on ravelry-love that website-regarding yarn substitution, so my question to YOU is, do i substitute for something less expensive, or do i hunt down the proper ingredients, and GO FOR IT!, i think i already know the answer . . and BTW have you seen the summer IK, please someone stop me now!!!!!

happy knitting to you and yours