A Small Request

One day, I'm going to be an old woman. I'll be all wrinkly and have flat(ter) boobs. When that day comes, if I try to go to church wearing a dress that looks more like a slip and no bra, somebody shoot me before I get there. Mmmkay?

And now back to our regularly scheduled bloging...

I Meant To

post this yesterday.  It wasn't until after I'd already gone to bed that I remembered I'd forgotten to blog.  By that time, I didn't want to get back up, so you get it today instead.

The Traveling Roses scarf after two pattern repeats. I tell ya, I'm really loving this pattern. I think once I get done with this one, I might knit it again with a smooth yarn.

That's about all I've done today. I did get me an external hard drive so's I can get some of these pictures off of my desktop. I spent a good deal of the day uploading to Webshots, then deleting photos--after I'd backed them up, of course. I mean, I have storage capacity there of 69,000 photos, and I'm not even using 10% of that.

Well, I started by uploading puppy photos of Rylea.  She had her own album, but it only had 6 photos in it.  She's got a few more than that, now.  But look, I found this totally cute puppy photo. 



She was probably only about 7 weeks old here.  Since she came from the pound, I don't really know what day she was born. The first time I took her to the vet, he estimated her to be between 6-7 weeks old. So I counted back 6 1/2 weeks and came up with May 5, 2007 as a close enough birthday.

I do have some good news for you, though.  My mind seems to have started working again, and I'm writing at work once more.  I've got a few posts almost ready to go.  Now, I just need to get away from Facebook and Netflix long enough to give the blog the attention it needs.

But it'll give you something to look forward to. 

Bummed

And I mean seriously bummed.

It didn't come as a surprise.  The handwriting had been on the wall for quite some time.

But still, I wish it hadn't happened.

But it did.

The Cowboys have cut

Marion Barber.

No matter where he goes.

No matter which team he ends up with.

He will always be

The Barbarian to me. 

Decisions, Decisions

Man, I can hardly believe July is over, and the kids will be starting school next week.  And get this...my child is a senior this year!  Seems like just yesterday, I was squeezing him out at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Naples, Italy.

Now, he's about to graduate.  Where does the time go?

Ah, but no time to be maudlin, I've got decisions to make!

Now that I've gotten the dress finished, I need to knit something to wear over it.  Vanessa said she doesn't think it's too skimpy to wear to church, but still...

I'd like to have something just in case they have the air conditioner set to Arctic Blast.

So the plan is to knit a shawlette out of one of these two sock yarns.  The only question is which one?  That is Cherry Tree Hill Sugar Maple on the left, and Shelly Dyes Cheesehead on the right.

Just so's you'll know, I don't think Shelly is dying sock yarn any more...

Eventually, I'm going to knit myself a Vernal Equinox (the last one being sent to my sister for Christmas) out of this Knit Picks Gloss in Dandelion.  That's not just for the dress, though.  I'd been wanting to knit another one ever since...well, I sent the last one to my sister for Christmas.

I"m almost back to where I ripped on the Traveling Roses scarf.  Yeah, this one looks much better, now that I've knit all the rows I was supposed to.

Funny how that works.

And finally, I spent far too much time playing around on Google Earth, so now I'm late to bed, yet again.  Sigh, when will I ever learn?

Supper

Sausage gravy and biscuits from scratch.  As the old folks used to say, I'm full as a tick! 

It's Here! It's Here!

Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook may recall a few days ago when I posted that I'd gotten some very exciting news. At long last, I can reveal what that exciting news is! That's because what I'd been waiting on got here today. And what, you may ask, is that? Well, I may answer, it's this:

And what, you may still ask, is that? Well, I may still answer, I'll tell you.

You know how the Green Bay Packers fans have their cheeseheads? Now, we have our very own STAR HEADS!

Kewl, huh? Squeaky isn't impressed. "What in the name of the Great Litterbox Scooper is that thing on your head?"

Cats just don't understand football...


This also came.

I buy coffees for military personnel serving overseas through Green Beans Coffee Company. A few weeks ago, they had a special promotion, where when you buy a certain amount of coffee, they send you this shirt. Since I already buy the stuff, I thought I'd just bump my contribution up enough to get the shirt.


Sharp eyed readers may have noticed that I didn't post yesterday. I'd intended to, but right when I was getting ready to compose my blog, the electricity went out. It didn't come back on until after I'd gone to bed, so I'm just going to incorporate yesterday's post into today's post.


The big news is, I finished the dress...finally!

It was that darn zipper that threw me. I had instructions, but they just didn't make any sense to me. I finally ended up putting them aside and just winging it. Eh, it worked. Oh, it isn't completely finished. I still have the belt tie to do. But, now that I've seen how narrow the belt tie is, I may just skip it and buy a wide white belt to go with it.


And I started over on my Traveling Roses scarf.

See, what had happened was, I'd gotten about half way through the second pattern repeat, and noticed that I'd messed up in the first pattern repeat. And this was not the simple dropped stitch or missed yarn over that's pretty easy to fix. No, I'd somehow managed to skip two entire rows! There was no way to fix that, thus the ripping.

Aloft does not frog all that well. The rows came loose pretty easily, but the edge stitches simply would not turn loose. I ripped until the yarn broke, then just set the unripped part aside and started over. If I need it, I'll rip it, but somehow, I don't think I'll need it.

Yes, that is my Kindle holding down the extremely curly Addi Turbo cable enough so I can get a photo.  If only I hadn't just ordered from Knit Picks...

.

Saturday

I woke up this morning around 5 to that most blessed of sounds, something we've not heard around here in far too long--rain on the roof.  I got up and let the dog out, then went back to bed.  I  dozed on and off waking several times before finally getting on up at 7:30, and each time I roused from my slumber, nature's music was still playing.

It rained until nearly noon.  Not a hard rain, but that long, slow, drizzly kind that our parched ground needed.  The kind that can soak in and really revive the grass.  It was the perfect day to get some inside work done.

And what did I do on this gloriously rainy Saturday?  Well, the usual--laundry, bills, etc.  I did finish shampooing my carpet and it looks sooo much better.  Almost like new again.  Hmmm, let's see...what else did I do?

Oh yeah!  I knit.   I finished another soldier hat, and got the two newest ones washed and dried. 

That makes 6 that are ready to go.  I've started collecting other things to put into the box, too.  And the good news is, I found my Print Shop program so I can make little tags for the hats.

I think I might have already told you that. 

I got another ball of yarn out to wind and cast on the next hat, but something was stopping me.  I love doing the soldier hats, but sometimes I just need a break so it doesn't get too monotonous.  I picked up the AMS11 and knit a couple of rows on it, but it's not really appealing to me right now either.  It took me a while, but I finally figured out what the problem was.

It was that darned Aloft yarn that has been sitting there for months.  I just really, really, really wanted to knit something with it.

Really.

So I poked around a bit and found a pattern that seemed just right for it.  And I cast the stuff on! 

This is the Traveling Roses Scarf pattern that can be found in the right sidebar of To Knit Is Divine. I'm about 2/3 of the way through the first pattern repeat. I'm loving how light and fuzzy this yarn is.

I'm not loving the Addi Turbo needles I'm knitting it on. It was my only available 2.5mm needle so that's what I'm using for now. I'm afraid my Knit Picks Options have gotten me spoiled. Love the nice sharp tips they have. The Addis seem like I'm knitting with ..well, I don't know, but they have nice, safe rounded tips are making the K3TOGs very difficult to manage.  But we'll make do. 

For now. 

O is For

Orange slices!

Orange slices were my dad's favorite candy. Mammaw always kept a bag of them for we would visit.

Us kids weren't allowed to get more than two. "Those are your daddy's candy," Mammaw would say.

She kept Milky Way bars for us. And coconut cookies.  And oatmeal cookies.  And Snickers.  Oh, there was plenty of stuff for us.

But the orange slices, they were Dad's. 

A Little Of This

And A Little Of That

Let's start off with the latest completed hat.  

I knit this one at a slightly looser gauge, doing the ribbing on size 7 needles and the body on size 8.  I figured somebody over there might have a big head, and will need a big hat.  And yes, the next hat is already cast on...

I got a nice little note from my Blue Star Moms contact this morning.  She said that the stuff I'd sent last time had been received by those in the sandbox, and was appreciated.  I'm glad to know they got it.  I'm hoping to get a bunch more stuff out soon.  Oh, and I found my Print Shop program, so I can make little tags to go on the hats. 

Well, I got home from work this evening and Rylea had had another accident in the living room.  I can't really blame her.  It's been too hot to walk her, and her circadian rhythms have been thrown off.  Usually she's pretty good about holding it, but sometimes it just catches up with her, and she can't help it.  But it provided the impetus I needed. 

I'd been wanting to buy my own shampooer.  I'd even picked out the model I wanted, but Wal-mart didn't have any in stock.  I waited and waited, and they never got any in.  So, in light of today's doggie doo doo, I went and got the next best thing.  I got the Bissell Pro Heat Pet shampooer.  It may not have been my first choice, but it sure did a number on my carpet.

I got the hall, the cat's room, and about half the living room done.  As you can see, it made an obvious difference.  Yeah, you can tell where I stopped.

I was shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, at how much dog hair I got out of my supposedly clean carpet. I mean, I'd just vacuumed --twice in the same week, even-- and still got an almost frightening amount of dog hair out.  I figure I'll finish this weekend.  It'll give me something to do.


My friend Jan always posts what she is blogging to, be it music, an audiobook, or a quiet house.  Well, tonight you get the pleasure of sharing what I am blogging to, and it is this:



And finally, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased --or a little frightened by...

I jus' don' know 'bout that boy...

More Tearjerker Moments

A while back, I wrote a post about my top 10 tearjerker moments in movies and TV shows.  Given the lack of blog fodder these days, I thought I'd come up with another list.  These aren't my all time top tearjerker moments.  Just a few more that have touched me. 

Just a warning, though.  I can't guarantee that I can share these moments without posting spoilers, so proceed at your own risk. 

1. Savannah Smiles--A sweet story about a lonely little girl who runs away from home and manages to end up with two escaped convicts.  When she is finally reunited with her parents, and the convicts are arrested again, one turns to the other and says, "I hope nobody ever tells her we were the bad guys." 

2. I Am Legend--Face it, an entire movie about a man who believes he is the last human left on earth is pretty sad in and of itself.  Dr. Robert Neville is the only man left in New York City after a mutated virus claims everyone else, or turns them into some sort of humanoid monster.  His only companion is his dog Sam.  Sam is attacked by infected canines, and Robert is forced to euthanize her.  After he buries the dog, he goes into the video shop and speaks to the mannequin. "I promised my friend I would say hello to you today. So, hello. Would you say hello to me? Please say hello to me."  The loneliness and despair in that simple statement gets me every time.

3. Ruffian--the true story of the race horse Ruffian. Her promising career is cut short when she breaks both forelegs in a match race with Foolish Pleasure.  I remember watching this race on TV.  Anyway, the horse is euthanized and buried whole.  For a horse, this is the highest honor.  When they bury her, the trainer tells the groom, "go down there and put her blanket on her."  A simple, touching gesture that shows how much she meant to him.

4.  Marley And Me --  I don't think I even need to tell you why.  It was just a few months later that we had to make that same decision with our Katie.  I haven't been able to watch this since.

5.  The Terminal --Victor Navorski is in an air port in New York.  He doesn't speak English, yet he sees in the TV his home country of Krakosia in flames, with bombs going off and armed soldiers running around in the streets.  He doesn't understand what is going on, so he tries to call home.  However, he can't figure out how to use the calling card that INS has given him.  He reaches out, pleads, but nobody will stop and help him.  I feel so sorry for the guy. 

And the last one for tonight (hey, I have to save some for another day when blog fodder runs low)

6.  The Blind Side --  OK, face it, this entire movie requires the copious use of tissues, but the one moment that jumps out at me is when Leigh Anne Tuohy fixes up a bedroom for Michael.  He says, "I've never had one before."  She says, "What?  A room of your own?", and he replies, "A bed." 

So there you have it.  More movie moments that move me.  What are yours?

On The Other Hand

There is that moment.  That not so great moment.  That somewhat dreadful, and slightly creepy moment when you're working along, pouring your heart out, living your purposeful life and you look up.  And that's when you discover...

there's a snake staring at you.

Yeah. We won't go there.

That Moment

Have you ever experienced it?  That magical, once-in-a-lifetime moment?  That moment when you first realize it?  That moment when you know

you've found your calling. 

I had that moment this week.  All my life, I'd been wondering why I was here.  What was my purpose?  What was God's plan for my life?  I mean, yeah, I was smart, but I never wanted to be anything.  Never wanted to do anything.  Never really wanted to make anything of myself.

They say that God gives each one of us a gift, and he expects us to use that gift for him.  But I was thinking that someone, somewhere had made a mistake.  I'd been passed over in the Gift From God department.  There just didn't seem to be anything I could do.  I can't sing.  I can't dance.  I can't act.  I can't teach.  I sure can't preach.  For 40 some odd years, I'd been floundering along.  Stumbling through life.  Wondering what I was supposed to be doing.  What I was supposed to be being.  This week, I found it.  I know why I'm here.

To knit hats.

Wait, what?  That's not a calling from God!  Being a preacher is a calling from God.  Being a missionary is a calling from God!  Being a gospel singer is a calling from God!  Becoming a doctor who donates his time to help the poor, that is a calling from God.  Not knitting hats.  You're crazy.

Yeah, I thought that too.  But then a few weeks back, I heard on the radio words that changed my life.

God needs ditch diggers, too.

God needs ditch diggers, too.  And God needs garbagemen.  And God needs mail carriers.  And God needs construction workers, and traffic directors, and the guy who pours the asphalt, and the kid who delivers the paper... 

And God needs people to knit hats.  And God needs people to say a little prayer for whoever it is that will wear that hat.  And God needs people to put those hats in a box, along with some pens, toothpaste, a deck of cards, and some jellybeans and God needs people to send that box overseas, to someone who desperately needs to know that those he is fighting for have not forgotten him.

That's what I'm here for.  It's why I've had the compulsion to learn to knit for as long as I can remember.  It's why I had the determination to teach myself, when there was no one around me who knew how to knit.  It's why I had the perseverance to keep trying when everyone was telling me that knitting is too hard, and I should stick with crochet instead. 

I still say that's not a calling from God.  You need to find something else.  Something great.  Something noble.  Something life altering.  Knitting hats doesn't make the world a better place.

Sure it does.  It makes the world a better place for that person who receives it.  This is what I'm supposed to be doing.  This is my gift to God.  This is my cup of cool water. 

It may not be great.  It may not be noble, but it is my task.  A small task, but I will do it as if it were great and noble. 

Because it's my calling.



I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.  Helen Keller

Sixteen Years

Walter Lee Gunstream, Jr.

October 23, 1926-July 14, 1995

Wednesday Debate

First of all, I want to thank everyone for the comments on yesterday's post. Yes, I do blog for me (mostly) but it's always nice to have some reassurance that people are reading.  As my pastor would say, I just had a case of the mully grubs. 

I say I blog mostly for me, because the truth is, I blog for readers.  For you.  If I were blogging just for me, well, I have an almost frightening collection of journals that need to be used up.

Sue on FB likened blogging to those long letters we used to write before the internet came along.  We wrote what was interesting, and hoped the reader didn't get too bored.  Back when I first started blogging, I imagined myself sitting down with a couple of friends over a cup of coffee (which I didn't even drink back then) and asking each other how our days went.  What I wrote was what I'd chat about, if I were conversing with a friend in person.  Maybe if I got back to that imagery, it would help me blog.

Now, before I get to my debate of the day, I want to tell you what happened at work.  Vanessa had gone to the bathroom, when The Other Rod (not to be confused with Former Group Leader Rod) came over to my stand and said that she wanted me in the front break room.

"Are you serious?" I asked.  He assured me that he was serious, so I went up to the front break room, thinking something was wrong.  Vanessa wasn't up there, so I came on back to my stand.  When I got back, I discovered that he'd taken a tie wrap and tied our brazing tips together.

Vanessa seemed genuinely angry about it, and I was trying to act angry, but secretly, I thought it was funny.  I was trying to look mad whilst stifling my laughter at the same time.  I didn't completely succeed.

Just between you and me, The Other Rod has some of the sexiest lips I've ever seen in my entire life.  One of these days, I really need to get a picture of him and post it for you.  Which segues nicely into today's debate...

As you may know, my trusty point and shoot camera gave up the ghost a few weeks ago.  What you may not know is that I'm going to be able to upgrade my phone on August 7.  Now, the question is, do I want to get myself a new P&S, or just get a phone with a really good camera?  What is the best camera phone out there?  What would be the advantages of having a P&S camera as opposed to a phone camera?  What have been your experiences with phone cameras?  I mean for quality photos, rather than just snapshots. 

Keep in mind that I still have my DSLR, so this would not be my only camera.  I just want something smaller for times when I don't want to lug that big ol' thing around. 

And now for a bit of good news.  It has been raining for nearly 4 hours now!  Woo hoo! 

Tuesday Debate...

I woke up all excited this morning, because for some reason, I thought it was Friday.  Then, as my head cleared and I realized it was only Tuesday, I nearly started crying right there in the bed. 

But, Tuesday or Friday, life must go on, so I eventually got up and got on with my day. 

You know, Lou is one of the oldest blogs I read.  I still read every day, but since I've put my blogroll into a feed reader, I seldom click through to comment.  I must get better about doing that.  Anyway, Lou posted the other day about how she'd been debating whether to continue on with her blog or not.  I guess that's something we all go through.  When you wonder if anyone is still reading, and whether it's worth it to continue.  I know I've been there more than once myself. 

I was never very popular, and really, I'm still not.  It's mostly my own fault, I guess.  It's not that I don't want to talk to people.  I do.  I just never know what to talk about.  People tell me, "Oh, just talk about anything."  I do try that. I try to just talk about anything.  Then I see the eyes glaze over and the irritated "will you shut up already" looks on faces...so I shut up.  Seems that most people don't use works like conundrum, aspirate, harken, and thermonuclear reactor in casual conversation any more. 

Apropos of nothing, I need to order more rats.  Monty and Slider are completely out...

Now back to the topic at hand.  What do people talk about?  You can only hear "Hot enough for you?" so many times before you start pulling your hair out.  Talking about the dogs is like talking about your kids.  It may be interesting to me, but nobody else wants to hear it. 

Speaking of dogs, Jake has been spending a lot of time over here this week.  Auntie and Uncle are next door for a visit, and two 90 year olds don't mix too well with a hyperactive 80 lb dog.  So he's been spending time with me.  It's just too dangerously hot to leave him outside.  It hit 101 today, with a Heat Index of 110. 

Hot enough for you? 

So the debate is, do I continue to blog or not?  Lou has decided to keep going with her blog.  She says "I blog for me."  But me, I don't know.  I spent the first 20 or so years of my life hearing my mother tell me that nobody wants to hear what I have to say.  Nobody cares what I think.  "Don't go bothering people.  If they want to talk to you, they will come to YOU."  I guess that's the real question.

Does anyone besides me care what I have to say? 

A Dog Person

If you've read my blog for any length of time--like two days-- you've probably figured out that I'm pretty much of a dog person.  Photos of Rylea --and Katie before her--fill the pages.  There are even a few, well, at least one, photo of me with a stray Italian dog.

I can't imagine my life without a dog.  But you may be surprised to learn that this was not always so.

We were never allowed to have dogs when I was growing up.  We did have a couple of puppies, but didn't keep them very long.  Then there was the stray dog that followed my brother and sister home from school...three times.  The first two times, my dad loaded the dog up into the car and took him back to the school.  The third time he found his way to our house, my mother said that we must be meant to have him.  But when he wouldn't stay inside the fence, we had to give him away, too.

I was 15 before I was allowed to have a dog that I could keep.

She was an American Eskimo named Meika.  I kept her until I went into Navy Boot Camp, then gave her to my sister.  For all of my childhood, I thought it was my mother who didn't like dogs.  Mainly because she is the one who always had to tell us no.

But after she and my dad separated, before we knew what was happening, she had seven dogs.

Dad had told me the story before, but it wasn't until then that I made the connection.  It had happened when Dad was 13.  He had a dog named Rex.  Now, Dad had had a few dogs before, but they didn't last long.  One got ran over.  Another got stolen right off of his front porch.  They actually saw a hand reach down and grab the puppy.  They ran outside, but didn't see anyone, and they never saw that puppy again.  But this dog he had, Rex, well this was the worst of all.

Where they lived at the time, when my Dad had Rex, they had this really mean neighbor girl.  I asked my Aunt Bonnie about her one time.  As soon as she figured out who I was talking about, she exclaimed, "That awful girl?"  So, though I never met her, I could pretty much figure out that the girl was spoiled, and selfish.  She used to come over to my dad's back yard and tease Rex unmercifully.  She'd throw rocks at him, and hit him with sticks, all the while being careful to stay beyond the length of Rex's chain.

One day, she misjudged.

She got a little too close and Rex bit her. Though it was no fault of the dogs-- he was definitely provoked-- the girl's father came over and shot Rex that same day.  My dad was heartbroken, and just gave up on having dogs after that.  Can't say as I blame him.    So, we always had cats as pets when I was growing up.

Soon as I was old enough, though, I got myself a dog.  Except for the five years I was in the Navy, I haven't been without one since.

And, I don't expect I ever will be.

I'm Back!

Didja miss me?

I've kind of neglected the blog for a few days.  This cold/sinus/allergy thing really threw me for a loop this last week or so.  Even after I started feeling better, my head still stayed so clogged up that I just didn't care about anything.  I got up, survived the work day, then came home and just collapsed. I didn't want to do anything.  I did manage to rouse myself long enough to make peanut butter cookies for Former Group Leader Rod's birthday on Thursday, but that's about it.  I was just bleh all around.

But then, I got up this morning, and, like magic, it was all gone.  No congestion.  No constant sneezing.  No drippy nose. No nothing.  Just normal me.

Um, no comments from the peanut gallery...

So, what have I done since I talked with you last?  Well, let's see...I finished a soldier hat.

Then I cast on another one,

and finished it.

So, these two, along with the one I finished last week makes three that are ready to go.

But three hats aren't nearly enough, so I cast on another one.

This one is the Hurricane Hat pattern, in my Cowboy Way yarn. 

But surely you must think that I didn't spend all of the last several days knitting hats!  And you would be absolutely right!

I gave myself a pedicure-- of sorts...

This is the Pink Radiance by Avon.  See, I wasn't sure if this was something I'd want to keep up, never having been interested in having painted toenails before.  So I bought cheap polish from Wal-mart.  But a comment from an old friend about painted toenails being hot inspired me to give it a go.  So I got this.  Note that I'm getting a bit better at painting them.  My toes no longer look like they were painted by a 4 year old.  Now they look like they were painted by a 5 year old. 

Hey, it's progress.

Um, OK, moving right along...

I got most of my dress sewn.

 

I still need to go into town and get a zipper (darn small print) and hem the thing.  Then I'll need to knit a shrug or something to wear over it.  Call me old fashioned.  Call me a prude.  Call me whatever you want, but I still believe women should dress modestly, especially at church.  Even worse than the boys showing up in shorts and flip flops are the teenage girls who show up half naked.  That's why I'm always so glad when it starts to get cold.  The girls put clothes on. 

Speaking of cold, look what I got!

This is my *ahem* Christmas gift from my younger brother and sister in law.  Yes, I got it in July.  I'm just glad I'm not the only one who does that...I think I'll hang this one in the living room, and move the plain round one that is in the living room now into--um, another room. Somewhere.

The bear and I wore our matching shirts today.

He finally has a name, by the way.  We argued over it, and I lost. 

Yes, I lost an argument with a teddy bear.  Has there ever been anyone else who has done that?  But look at it this way, it makes me unique in all the world!  It went something like this:

Me:  I still need to give you a name.

Bear:  I want to be named Rodney.

Me:  You can't be named Rodney.  I already have a Rodney.

Bear:  I want to be Rodney, too! 

Me:  What about Miles?

Bear:   Rodney!

Me:  Dez?

Bear:  Rodney!

Me:  Jason?  Tony?  DeMarcus?

Bear:  RODNEY! 

Me:  Has there ever even been a Dallas Cowboy named Rodney?

Needless to say, the bear is now named Rodney.  I'll call him Roddy, to differentiate him from the other Rodney, whom I've had since I was 16.  I need to dig him out one day and tell you the story of how I got him.

Meanwhile, Rylea says, "I sure hope you don't get any ideas about dog shirts..."