Tagging

Even though I'm a bit late in doing this, I've been tagged by my pal, M, and so here goes:
5 Things I'd Do With $100 Million
1. I'd give my kids a few million each.
2. I'd give my mom a million.
3. I'd pay off our mortgage.
4. I'd donate a large sum to the ASPCA.
5. I'd donate a very large sum to our local Children's Hospital.

5 Places To Run Away To
1. Bermuda, my favorite place of all!
2. Oxford, England to tour, stroll, and take in all the sites.
3. Paris
4. Belgium
5. Germany

5 Songs I Know All The Words To
1. The Way He Makes Me Feel
2. Crystal Blue Persuasion
3. The Way We Were
4. At Last
5. Let It Be Me

5 Things I'll Never Wear
1. Thong Underwear
2. A Bikini Anymore, alas!
3. High Heels (anything over 3")
4. A Mini Skirt--once again, those days are over :(
5. Any furs

5 Snacks I Love
1. Cream Donuts
2. Fudge
3. Milkshakes (you can see where this is going, right)
4. Brach's Candy Corn
5. Tastycakes

5 Favorite TV Shows
1. 24 (can't wait for the new season)
2. Lost
3. Alias
4. Midsomer Murders (an English mystery show)
5. Monk

5 Favorite Toys
1. My Knitting Accessories
2. My Knitting Stash
3. The Computer
4. My Collection of CD's & DVD's
5. My Car

5 Biggest Joys
1. My Sweet Husband
2. Our great kids
3. Our Two Cats, Bunny & Trixie
4. My Faith
5. My Family's & My Health

And Finally, 5 People to Pass This Onto
1. Matt
2. Kay
3. Lee
4. G.
5. L.K.

So, there you have it, a bit of an insight to my personality, if you will. While doing it, I realized that some of the above isn't necessarily in order of importance......and when it came to naming 5 songs that I know all the words to, heck, I could name 100. I've been blessed with a great memory and for things like that, it comes in handy. I usually wind up telling my mother and my grandmother the words to the songs from their era as well as my own and my kids, LOL.

I wish you joy and great days until we meet again.

"The journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step."

Computer Problems

My computer crashed utterly and completely! I did a google search for free "gifs" (for those of you who don't know what they are as I didn't till a friend told me, they're all kinds of cute little pictures which you can put on your blog). Apparently, one of the ones I saved had a major virus attached to it and voila, no more access for me! It's amazing how much info I had stored in my former computers memory and now to have to try and remember it all is no easy task. I'm sure many of you can sympathize with me on this, and maybe even have worse experiences.

The up side of it is that I did get lots more knitting done without the availability of logging in and surfing or emailing, etc. I worked on my Manos sampler afghan and I'm just finishing up the 2nd square (of 4) and then it will be completed. All I'll have to do is block, sew, and cuddle up under it. It's going to be very warm and toasty, which I'm sure my kitties will love.


"Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe".

"
P.S. What was I thinking? When I went to browse for the cat's picture, I realized that I don't have them stored anymore. You know what I'll be busy doing in the next couple of weeks, so by my next post I should have the picture up.

Autumn Is Here!

Today is a splendidly, cool, crisp day, just the kind we associate with autumn and it's been a long time coming to my part of the country! Summer just doesn't want to give up. Now, I know that makes many people very happy, but I'm one of the ones that can't wait for the cooler weather and the nippy nights to snuggle up and knit some more, as a sip a cup of hot tea! Does it get any better than that, I ask, tongue in cheek?



All morning I've been cleaning, UGH, but it must be done. Now I can settle down and do some knitting, but not till I get my butt out there and walk. I haven't walked much all summer because of the intense heat and how much it affects me, but I know I need to add walking to my "low sugar" lifestyle. So why do I dread it so much? I really have a hard time getting myself out the door, but once I finally do, I'm usually glad I did.....go figure!

Mini Sweater

It's been a busy few days but I managed to get some knitting done. I had a doctor's appointment and took my knitting with me, all set to wait the usual "forever" time to get called in, but, as "Murphy's Law" would have it, I was called in about 1 minute after I pulled out all the necessary things to get started! :) Maybe there's a lesson here and I should always take my knitting with me wherever I know I'll have to wait. Perhaps once I take it out, this will work like a charm and, voila, no more long waits.........one can always hope.

I'm waiting for the results of my blood test to see if my glucose level has gone down. In August, it was creeping up there and my doctor wanted to discuss starting me on meds for adult onset diabetes. I didn't want any parts of that, and promised her that I would take some rather drastic measures (at least they're drastic for me) and significantly cut down my sugar intake. I bought the book she recommended (Sugar Busters) and really began watching, and buying different types of foods, etc. I even took a thorough inventory of everything in my cupboards and gave away a pretty darned good stash of candy.

Now, these candies were some of my favorites such as, a big, brand new tin of candy corn, 2 bags of SnoCaps, 2 bags of Raisinettes, and a box of assorted chocolates given to me by a dear friend. I know she wouldn't mind though since it's for a good cause in the end. My sons decided to bite the bullet, make their assorted sacrifices, and take the candy off my hands, LOL.

It's been about 8 weeks since I've had this "awakening" and I will find out next Monday, the 17th just what effect these broad and sweeping changes have had on my blood sugar. Please say a silent prayer that all goes well, because I dread the thought of having to be on medication for this, and I know it can make just about everything else much more involved.

Above is a picture of a little doll sweater I knit using Sweater Wizard. I was flying by the seat of my pants when I knit it (about 2 years ago), because I couldn't quite make complete sense out of the directions, which was the fault of my own and not SW. However, I plodded along and here it is. I used Kureyon and while I wasn't all that crazy about knitting with it, I do love the colors and how it looks. My son talked me out of it so he could use it as a sweater for his chihuahua........he looks adorable in it.

Well, I leave you with an inspiring verse and wish you well, until we meet again!

"Press on! If Fortune play thee false
Today, tomorrow, she'll be true;
Whom now she sinks she now exalts,
Taking old gifts and granting new,
The wisdom of the present hour
Makes up the follies past and gone;
To weakness strength succeeds, and power
From frailty springs! Press on, press on!"

Park Benjamin

A Relaxing Sunday

Thanks to Mary Ann (she knows who she is :), I finally got my first picture on my blog . I used the Blueberry Waffle pattern available on the web at www.azhreia.net/socks/waffle.html and it's a free pattern. I really loved working with the yarn, which is Cascade's Quattro, a worsted weight. These babies will be very toasty and come in handy for winter, if it ever gets to this part of the country, that is. I'm a big cold, crisp weather type of person, so I look forward to it cooling off after the unbearably hot summer we had.

We had a nice day today, just doing our own things. Mine was reading, doing the Sunday crossword puzzle, and of course, knitting. I tried a new pattern for a mitten, but I wasn't all that happy with the outcome. It called for a chunky yarn on size 101/2 needles and I couldn't get the gauge quite right. When I went up to an 11, still too small, and a 13 just looked too open for a mitten to be warm enough. I knit it using 2 strands of Jaeger DK merino and it came out very tiny, which is kind of cute, but unusable even for my GD, who is only one. :) So, I'll save it for a Christmas tree ornament, but all the same it was fun to knit.

G read the paper from front to back all morning and then watched football for most of the day. He's an Eagles fan, so what can I say? I'm not all that fond of football, so I watched my English shows on our other tv. I absolutely love Inspector Morse, Midsomer Murders, Poirot, etc. .....you get the picture . On Sundays, they are on for a good part of the day, so it works out for each of us.

Here's wishing you all a wonderful week filled with much love, happiness, and inner peace.

Blessings, L.

Rainy Saturday

It's been raining heavily since yesterday, with some mighty gusty winds, which always scare me. I don't mind the rain at all, since we really need it, but the high winds have always made me nervous. Ah well, so far, so good!

I worked on my Manos sampler afghan last night and had to rip out 2 rows on a lacey type square....what a bummer! I'm knitting this afghan in 3 strips, 4 squares each strip, and each square with a different pattern. It's turning out nicely, and is lovely yarn to knit with but it's been in the works for quite awhile now, so I'm really glad that I'm nearing the end. Then, I'll wash and block it, and I think I'll try crocheting it together.

G & I went food shopping earlier today and can anyone tell me what happens when we swear we're just going for a few things we need and when we get there it's our list plus more?? G, (my darling husband) said to me when we were checking out, " I thought we were only getting a few things"??? Oh well, I thank God that we live in a country where we have food available and sometimes I look around the store and feel guilty when I think of all the choices, let alone all the waste that must go on.
I think it's time for some knitting now, so I'll call it an evening. Perhaps I'll work on the afghan or maybe on the Aran baby blanket that's been calling my name for quite some time. I tend to have way too many projects in the wings and I'm trying to finish at least 2 or 3 before starting anything new. It takes some serious discipline , but I'm determined. I always feel so good when I finally do finish a long overdue project.

So, I'm An Official Blogger :)

I finally did it.....I'm a tried and true blogger! So many of my pals have their own place to put down all of their thoughts, fears, little and big aggravations, etc. that I thought it might be time for me to join in.

I've read some blogs and some of them are very interesting, some quite funny, and others just not my cup of tea. However, I don't always have all that much to say, so I won't be terribly prolific or funny, but I'll always be ME, and for each of us, that's more than enough.

I love to knit and crochet and find that the more I participate in this wonderful craft, the better I become at it and that always delights and amazes me to this day! My problem lies in the fact that I must think I have more than 2 hands with all of the yarn I have stashed away (easily enough to outlive me), and the projects I have going as we speak, let along swirling around in my mind. I can't imagine my life without my craft and it always gives me such peace and relaxation. I wish the same for all of you, no matter what your pastime may be.

I guess I've said enough for now, and since I feel vaguely "out of my depth" on this blog, I will say bye for now!