I finally made it to Web*sters here in Ashland. I bought some vacation fiber Heathery gray-blue and some heathery brighter blue), and two skeins of KPPPM in the perfect banana colorway so that I can make some Nanners Socks. I wanted to shop more, but Mr Midgeling made me hold back. So I didn't buy the hand cards I wanted. He promised he would make me some as soon as we finish moving completely out of the old house and into the new.

Later tonight we will be dining at Chateaulin with Grandma A. I am really looking forward to the French onion soup. Aunt Kelly says it is super delicious!

Tomorrow we leave for Vancouver, WA to spend the holiday weekend with my parents, sister and brothers. It will be fun! I really don't want to go back home and have my vacation be over. I am having way too much fun.

This adorable creature is Pudge. He is the most adorable hamster I have ever seen in my life. He is sweet, affectionate and loves to cuddle. I never really cared for hamsters until Pudge. He is awesome. He reminds me a lot of my old pet rat Ivy that we had years ago - they have the same markings and very similar personalities. Chace has been wanting a hamster for quite a while now, but I never wanted one. If he does get one, it has to be of the Pudge variety.

I am going to try to get downtown to Web-sters today to buy some vacation fiber. Wish me luck!!

Here's the first one:

It's a wallhanging done in Japanese print fabrics. I love it. I already plan on hanging it over the fireplace mantle. It is so pretty! And here's the second:

Here's a closeup of the fabrics (also Asian themed):

I really love these quilts.

Two sleeves down. 10 rows into left front. Wedding is on the 28th. Don't know if I will make it, lol. At least I will have a lot of car knitting time on the way to CA. Too bad Baby won't be there to assist with yarn wrangling.

I am going to be going to a cousin's wedding on June 28th, and I need something decent to wear. So I am knitting the Sapphire Wrap by Melissa Wehrle.

So I happened to do my shopping while the 2008 LYS Tour was going on. While at Renaissance Yarns I spent more than $25, so I got the lovely free tote bag you see in the photo. I am doing the pattern in the same color, but not the same yarn. The pattern yarn used is cashmere, which just isn't in my budget. I am using Louet MerLin (merino/linen), which isn't cheap either, but it isn't as much as cashmere.

I have one sleeve plus most of the second sleeve completed so far. I sure hope I will get it done in time. I am also hoping that the computer gets brought over to the new house soon. Until then, I still have to come over here to the old house to work and use the computer. Blech.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I hope to catch up with you all soon.

It is currently 81 degrees in my little bit of Washington. I am packing and moving boxes. And sweating. Spring is glorious and beautiful and colorful and bloomy. 81 degrees isn't supposed to happen for another couple of months. I want my spring back.

Did you know that if you take Zyrtec and Sudafed (the real stuff) and drink a large iced coffee that you start to physically buzz like a bumblebee and feel like you may just start to fly? Yeah. I didn't either. Consider this a lesson learned.

Hey - if anyone reads this, and you live in the Puget Sound area can you do me a favor? Nancy's Knits is being sold to Debby, one of their emloyees. Debby is going through some seriously rough times right now with family illness and taking on the store. She is a wonderful lady who really works hard to make sure her customers are happy. Summer seasons are usually a bit slow for business. If you could just stop in and maybe patronize her shop a bit that might help bolster her confidence. And if not, if you could say a prayer or two for her, that would be lovely as well. Thanks!

So since Weebug mentioned my sock yarn scrap blanket thingy, I figured I'd better post a photo of it.

I started it a couple of years ago and have been slowly adding to it as I knit socks and have a bit leftover. There's a couple of socks not represented here - those were made for Mr Midgeling and his monstrous feet, so I had no yarn leftovers to use. One pair I made him had toes from the yarn in that orange square there since I ran out of his yarn. It is more or less chronological, but not completely, since I have been known to lose my scraps and find them again in odd places months later.

It's not really a true knit-along, since I am famous for not being a put-together person. But you can have the recipe I used here:

Mitered Square Scrap Sock Yarn Blankie (MSSSYB - pronounced "Misseeb"?)

Square size: roughly 4" when I am not on painkillers for my back, lol.
Needle size: 2.0 mm or size to get gauge. If you want. I mean, it's a scrap blanket. It only has to look the way you want it. Gauge really isn't critical here.

First square:
Cast on 60 sts.
First row: Slip first stitch PW, Knit 27 sts, SSK, K2tog, Knit 28 sts.
Next Row: Slip first stitch PW, knit across.
Next Row: Slip first stitch PW, Knit 26 sts, SSK, K2tog, Knit 27 sts.
Next Row: Slip first stitch PW, knit across.
Continue on like this until you have 2 sts, then K2tog.and bind off.

Second Square:
Cast on 30 sts, pick up and knit 30 sts along the Right (Public) Side of the first square.
Next Row: Slip first stitch PW, knit across.
First row: Slip first stitch PW, Knit 27 sts, SSK, K2tog, Knit 28 sts.
Next Row: Slip first stitch PW, knit across.
Next Row: Slip first stitch PW, Knit 26 sts, SSK, K2tog, Knit 27 sts.
Next Row: Slip first stitch PW, knit across.
Continue on like this until you have 2 sts, then K2tog and bind off.

Keep adding squares in this manner until your blankie is Big Enough. If you are like me and oddly particular, you may wish to pay attention to what direction your miters are facing as you join the squares. If not, just go for it and let them end up facing whatever random direction you like.

Anyway, back to my evil monkey ways. So he has this freaky eye thing going on, right? Well, I left my Zyrtec on the counter and told him that maybe he better take one of those today to try to get the allergy thing uunder control. And then I happily hopped on the bus to work. So he calls me a bit ago to let me know that the Zyrtec stuff messed him all up. It makes me feel like i am on crack, but apparently it makes him sleepy.

So one of the things on his list of things to do today was finish fixing up his motorcycle. Well, he is all drugged up, and wrecks at the top of the hill of the old house. I think his pager is in the bushes somewhere. So I drugged him up and then tried to get him to commit motorcycle suicide. Evil Monkey. He's okay. It was only a minor spin out type thing.

Life at the new house is great. The kids were thrilled because my mom drove up from Vancouver WA for a weekend visit. She helped me unpack and watched the kids while Mr Midgeling and I went to the old house load up and haul more stuff. I don't have any internet access at the new house yet, and I still don't have a card reader, so no photos just yet. I have a couple of things, but Harley took my SD card from my phone, so I can't even use thqt right now. Darn kid.

I hope you all have a good week. I will try to get caught up with everyone soon.

Still no card reader, you here you have a not so good phone photo of my Reversai socks that were Round 2 of Sock Madness. Um, okay. No photo. my darling daughter was using my phone and she still has it in her posession. So why is that a big deal? Well, she is at the new house with her father and I am here at the old house with the rest of the kids. We'll probably be doing the 2 house thing for this week until we can get more of our stuff moved.

Dang, I am so tired! I'm going to bed. I hope you all have a good week.

Mr Midgeling is being... difficult. He and I see differently about me having access to my paychecks. It's not like I spend them all. He's not exactly thrilled with my tithing to church. Last month was particularly rough for me, and he did a lot of stupid man-things that made me indulge in a bit of retail therapy. So today when he saw my bank statement for the account where all my paychecks go (that I am not supposed to use at all) and I had spent actual money, he jumped in my poop.

I did not take kindly to the aforementioned poop-jumping. I jumped back at him. I am still cranky about the whole business. Because there are a couple of issues that I let slide that I have every right to be pissed about. And now that it has come up again, I am angry all over again. Maybe it's because I have been perusing the Old Testament over again, but I swear, I am feeling like one of those poor purchased women-folk who had no right to the income they earned.

That man stole my zen.

In an effort to reclaim my zen, I will begin to sing one of my favorite songs by Bowling for Soup called "A Friendly Goodbye"

... Ain't that a "b" with an itch
Ain't that a mother trucker
You can go to H-E-double hockey sticks
And Eff yourself
Cause I'm flippin' gosh darn sick
Of all the "s" word you put me through
So Eff You!
Eff You! ...