My Little Tribe

Whats a kid to do?

Dress accordingly of course! As the temps here in central New York climb to a whopping 75 today, spring fever has hit the house. Actually, the boys were plastic bin diving yesterday, and came across the summer clothes and put their bathing suits on right away (or "the unibomber suits" as Daddy calls them).
We tried to hide them, but they were found promptly this morning. I give up. At the very least, if they run through the house and bump into something, they are well padded.
The second Retro Rib sock is started. It will keep me busy until I start to miss Badcaul, which may or may not happen sometime soon. With the deadline for Sockapaloooza pretty far off yet, I'm not feeling the urgency to finish those up. Actually, there isn't a fire under my arse to finish the Retro Ribs either, but I am enjoying these much more.
I'm still dreaming about Ashley's sherbet colored yarn (see previous blog entry) And I did go and buy myself some sherbet last night (Byrne Dairy raspberry...and I gotta tell you, it aint hittin' the spot like Kemps Wild Strawberry). I had sort of thought I'd get out my dye last night and play with some sherbet colors, but I just plum ran out of time, and energy.  Today though, is a lovely day to dye yarn! The windows are open, there is a slight breeze....a perfect day for yarn to dry in the sunshine!  I have two balls of Kroy in a natural cream color, which I think I'm going to wind up on the swift and prepare to dye. Its only Kroy...if I screw it up, I won't cry over it.

Inspiration & Redirection

I wandered over to Ashley's blog yesterday and imagine my delight when I saw this.unbelievable.yarn. Goodness, I haven't been able to stop thinking about Kemp's Wild Strawberry Sherbet since, which I love, adore, so...much and is not available in this part of the country ...DRATS!  And you know, I'm not even a pink sort of person. But its that orange...oh the orange! (What on earth is happening to me...I even want, so desperately, this orange washer and dryer set!)
Ashley also commented about yesterday's knitting ADD, and how to combat it. Don't deny yourself, feed into those cravings and go with it! So last night, instead of picking up Badcaul, I picked up the long neglected Retro Ribs. I opened up the package of yarn that I purchased off knitswap, and whatta ya know..the two balls that I bought, are exactly the same dye lot as I already had! But, get this.... I didn't need that extra yarn as it turns out! Of course, there is a mere 10 INCHES of yarn left after I kitchenered the toe, which is a little toooooo close for my fiber insurance comfort zone. My suggestion? Making Retro Rib socks with Kroy? Buy the third ball...just in case!

As for Thursday momming.. the older children had a half day of school (and no school tomorrow) Realizing this late last night, I was not afforded the proper frame of time to mentally prepare for aforementioned early dismissal.

One word.... Calgon

 

More Camera Experimentation

As you can see from my earlier blog entry, I'm still having issues with the camera, especially that blurriness. I've tried all sorts of things to fix it, with no luck. I finally went to the LCD menu and reverted all settings to the factory settings. Granted, once that was done, none of the settings were any different than where I had them.
But funny, its taking better pictures now.
I do not at all expect the sort of quality that Gwyneth, Cara, or sweetgeorgia acheive, by using this 4 year old point and shoot. But is it too much to ask for an in focus picture?
I guess its still the wonky camera from hell. Will have to experiment some more with another round of indoor knitworthy pictures.

Another spell of ADD

I'm at the heel for the Sockapaloooza Badcaul socks. I imagine I'll probably start that heel sometime today, once Connor goes down for his nap. I have to say however, I'm getting a little bored with the Badcaul. That or I have another spell of knitting ADD coming on.
It soooooo does not help, that every time I open my ottoman to get the Badcaul sock out, there is other stuff staring at me.
Like the Supermerino I bought with Paula in Skaneateles months ago. But I'm planning on making Thuja with this, and I currently lack the right sized needles. That Lapis Socks That Rock, I believe will be the Simply Lovely Lace Socks  from the latest Interweave Knits (but I haven't gotten my issue yet!) And I bought a ball of OnLine Supersocke at Mission Rose last week that I'm having a hard time resisting. I generally don't go for the self patterning yarns, but the colors in this ball practically talked to me (and it didn't hurt that the sample sock next to it, was just gorgeous!) Is there even an equivilent to Ritalin for knitters? I so need some!
And here is some Connor Cuteness to brighten your day....

Funny things kids say

So we purchased Chicken Little for the kids this week. And not only do they watch it repeatedly. They watch the music video bonus features as well. Cassidy is rather partial to the Cheetah Girls song on the soundtrack (really, I'm sick of it already).
But Barenaked Ladies have a song on the soundtrack too ("One Little Slip" ), and as its playing the video, Cassidy turns to me and asks "who is that Mom?". So I tell her, and she giggles and says "Mooooom, they are NOT bare naked! And they are NOT ladies! Really, who IS it?"

And yes, this is my second mindless rambling post of the day. What can I say, I'm bored and I haven't touched my knitting needles all day.

I've got nuthin as well.

Just like Courtney, I've got nuthin' fun to blog today. I could tell you about the sick children that stayed home from school, and drove me absolutely batty. But instead, I put on Winamp and hit random, this the first ten songs that played. I didn't hit skip...I promise. Its crazy that moe. didn't come up at all in that first ten. Richard has an insane amout of live moe. in his audio files.

1) Mozart Molto Allegro - Symphonies 40 & 41

2) Grateful Dead - Hell In A Bucket - Live (Rich Stadium, Buffalo NY, 7/16/90, hee! one of my fave shows!)

3) Jimmy Buffett - The Great Filling Station Holdup - Live (date and location unknown)

4) Grateful Dead - Sunshine Daydream - Live (Polo Field Golden Gate Park San Francisco CA 11/3/91)

5) Indigo Girls - Watershed (Indians, Nomads and Saints)

6) Phish - Honey Pie - Live (a Halloween show, but I'm not sure which)

7) U2 - Van Diemen's Land (Rattle And Hum)

8) Dave Matthews Band - Rapunzel - Live (4/19/02)

9) Bob Dylan - Meet Me In The Morning (Blood On The Tracks)

10) Live - Pillar Of Davidson - (Throwing Copper)

My name is Carla, and I am a nimrod.

So, I've complained, endlessly, about the wonky camera from hell. A four year old Kodak Easy Share DX3900 . Good little camera originally. We paid at the time, what seemed like a small fortune for it, with the Easy Share Dock.
So last summer, it seemed like the camera was starting to act up. Wouldn't hold a charge for very long, and because of that, it just took awful pictures (was slow switching modes, ultimately eating battery life, etc) So I bought new batteries for it, the kind the buyers guide at the store told me to buy...they were not cheap.  But the camera just seemed to get worse. Ultimately, not holding a charge at all, and leaving me only able to take pictures whilst the camera sat in the dock and tethered to an electrical outlet.
The lack of a decent camera, is very frustraing for a blogger. As I've said a million times, blogging without pictures, is uber boring. And our DX3900 3.1MP camera aint even a nice camera, but when its working, at least it takes pictures!

Ok...so back to the fact that I am a nimrod.
So for the past two days, I've been shopping around online. Trying to find a decent yet affordable camera. And man, for as much as I long for that Canon EOS Digital SLR, I can only afford, well...not much. And why spend that money on a crap camera...wait it out, and buy the better camera when we can.
In coming to that conclusion, I head over to the kodak site and go through their trouble shooting guide to see if I can figure out exactly what is up with our camera, and make a feeble attempt to fix it.   Nope that doesn't work either.
So I dig in the desk drawer and get out the old battery pack that came with it, pop that in, and go through the troubleshooting guide again.

Well..whatta ya know....IT FREAKING WORKED!
Now, do you want to know WHY I'm a nimrod? Those expensive batteries that the guide in the store told me to buy last summer? They were not effin' rechargeable batteries!

I know your laughing. Go ahead. I don't care.
My excuse? I must have been blonde in a previous life.

Now back to your regular blog surfing activities. I still need to buy a new battery pack for our camera, but at least this time I'll buy the right kind.

Weekend Roundup

Susan had invited me to join herself and some others (Sarah, Liz, Pam, and Becky) at Starbucks for some early morning knitting and chit chat. So I ventured, all by myself, for the first time, downtown...(and didn't get lost, not even once!) It was such a great time, that time literally flew by. Before we realized, it was well past lunch time, and I had managed to get several inches done on the Badcaul re-knit. A lot of progress in just one day, but I can thank the new US1 Addi Turbo for that. Good bye Inox Express and your horrible joins. It should be a requirement, that only Addi Turbos be used for the magic loop method ...smooth sailing from here on! I also got to fondle Susan's STR Sock Of The Month Club goodies. I so wish I had been able to join in on that,...maybe next time when they open up memberships again. Just a bit too pricey for me right now.

Then Saturday night I set about to make some muffins to take to Loren's. We had planned all week on driving down to the farm for a visit and the kids had been talking about it for days. Cassidy was especially excited to possibly bottle feed the recently born lamb . However, Loren called early this morning to let us know there was a bit of a nasty tummy bug in the house. I always appreciate it when folks give us a heads up on an illness so that we can try to avoid it. So we've re-scheduled our visit with Loren and her family for next weekend.
At the very least it will give me a chance to tweak the recipe (Carrot Oatmeal Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling), since they could be so much better. A bit more coconut, omit the raisins, sweeten the filling just a tad, maybe increase the pineapple or include some applesauce. But as you can see, we're still enjoying them the way they are!

A moron in the White House. No kidding.

Snagged from Moth Heaven ...

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.  On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

H.  L.  Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Sad aint it?

 

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.  On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

H.  L.  Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Sad aint it?

 

completely.blown.away

Once again, my Secret Pal, has completely blown me away. But this time she absolutely drove me to tears. I'm not kidding.
The beauty of this gift, the sheer generosity, I'm nearly speechless.
Go ahead click on the picture to enlarge it. I dare you.
What you'll see is a silver hammered bracelet from One Of A Kind, hand engraved in Hebrew "she selects wool and flax and works with her eager hands".
And, thats not all. I think its stitch markers on a holder. But what I think I would be most likely to use it as, is a shawl pin.
I have to say again, I have the most incredible Secret Pal. She has pampered me above and beyond what Secret Pals are required to do. And always knowing when I'm having a rough week, especially through all of our difficult transitions these past few months.

Whew. Secret Pal...I'm not sure I'll ever be able to properly thank you. Honestly.