Have you yet?

It's October. It's the middle of October....have you made something PINK yet?

There's still plenty of time.

What's this liquid? Actual - measurable?

What's this? What is this wet stuff? It's all over the grass...the hedges...

The sidewalk and the driveway....anybody recognize this stuff?

It's appeared all over my car?

It's puddled in the flowerbeds...the cracks in the driveway?

Why, it's actual, measurable RAIN! Yes, here in Southern California, it RAINED overnight! To a measurement of 0.08 inches! Wow-weeeeeee!!! The 2nd measurable rain since April! Think we'll have cracked the drought from the past 8 1/2 years with this? Probably not.

But I thought I'd document it here just in case we have all forgotten what this liquid substance looks like!

In other news, in the continuing saga of the gazillion and one baby blankets that should have been finished last August, another one is off the list. At the current count (please stop drinking the water- I'm soooooooooo freakin' far behind!) there is one baby already here waiting on a blanket, and 6 more on the way. I'm beginning to understand the appeal of knitting machines. ha.

Once again, I bring to you another Crayon Ripple Throw. It's a pattern available through Lion Brand yarns. It's a full sized pattern that I've adapted for 'baby size.' I used an "H" hook, and Caron's Simply Soft yarn. This is the white that has become soooooooooo elusive to find in an actual WHITE shade, rather than a 'grey' tinge. Ulg. That stuff looks like it's been dragged through a mountain of dust bunnies. I wish Caron would get their act together. Some time back I contacted them and they responded saying that they WHITE would hit the stores in August. So far, all I've been able to find is the grey tinged yuck stuff. I'm wondering if that's because that's what they have on hand and wont' order more? What do you think?

The finished details: Caron Simply Soft colors: White #1201, Soft Blue #9712, Orchid #9717, Soft Pink #9719, Off White #9702, Soft Green #9739. Crochet hook sized "H", finished size: 36" square.

Next up, is another Feather and Fan Rainbow Baby Blanket in the same colors.

The best news of the week? Dad went home on Sunday, and is still at home! He's on a liquid diet and they're monitoring his food very carefully. There's some talk about adding soft foods in the future, but at a very slow pace and not for a little while.

In the last bit of news, I'm frustrated with something that I found by chance reading another person's blog. There was a posting of someone who'd purchased a pattern and knitted a towel for the kitchen. Here's where I got upset. Upon looking at the picture, and then following the details from where she bought the pattern, it's my pattern for my Hanging Kitchen Towel pattern that I worked over several months to get the decreasing and towel topper section the way I wanted it back in 2005. I started from scratch and worked out the details, and have offered the pattern for free here on my blog for people's PERSONAL, NOT-FOR-SALE, PRIVATE USE! Meaning, with the posting and the copyright of any of my patterns, they are MINE! They are NOT FOR SALE OR PROFIT!

Now, the blog writer isn't to blame for this. She, in good faith not only purchased and knitted up a pattern, but also gave credit for it's source. Rightly so. However, the 'designer' of the pattern that the blog writer has posted, in my opinion, has 'borrowed' my pattern and is now making a profit off of it. And it's my opinion, that this person also has several other patterns 'borrowed' from other sources than myself, changed a border here and there...and is making a profit off of other people's intellectual knowledge and time, and their free sharing of the patterns they've written. Now I ask you. Is that fair?


I'm NOT a happy camper. At all.

At this point, I'm trying to concentrate on the goodness of my Dad being home rather than in the hospital so very often over the past few months. However, if these patterns aren't taken down very soon, I'm going to have to inquire to other matters. I have shared my designs for your personal use. Not for this other person's financial gains.

Not.HAPPY!AT.ALL.

NOPE.NOT.AT.ALL.

'winging' our way through the week

It has certainly been some kinda week around here..and I'm thrilled that we are 'winging' our way to the end of it...Between finishing up the hats so I can finally 'wing' the last box over to Little Miss "B" , to multiple asthma attacks around here thanks to the sewer line back up, to Dad's current trip in the hospital. I'm glad we're at the end of it.

First things, first. The Lavender Heart Blanket that has been so patiently waiting is now accompanied by the BSJ Red Wings BSJ with matching hat. In the box are also three hats for both Grandpas and Daddy to try on to match Little Miss "B". YAAA-HOOOOOOOOO we're finally finished! (Just hope they all fit now that I've taken this much time.

On the Dad front, he's still in the hospital this weekend, but hopefully for not much longer. They 'scoped' him while he ate this week to snap a few pictures during the digestive process. (Sounds like a barrel of monkeys kinda fun-no?) What they found was a collapsed intestine area that the radiation caused. For lack of a better word, and for politeness here, we'll just say that when he eats, parts clot or stick together, thus causing the blockages. (sounds like my mail sewer line last week..no?) Now we have answers. For the time being he'll be on a liquid diet. It might in time 're-inflate' itself or he'll stay on a liquid diet for the rest of his life. Good thing he likes soup and ice cream-huh? And the good news was that it wasn't scar tissue from the surgeon's mistake of a couple of years ago. That means, at this point. No surgery!

Now for the last segment before I 'wing' my way over to have dinner with my brother for the few short hours he's nearby... the grass has been cut and the bushes have finally been trimmed back...the last time they were taken care of..was back in MAY! In the meantime, with all the water backed up into the house last week, I've been doing battle with the carpet. The first night I was up until 2am washing the towels we used immediately to soak up the water. Boy were they heavy. Then we had the carpets trying to mildew on us. Take a lesson here...if you resort to using bleach in the steam cleaning machine to kill the mildew...don't do it if you have asthma! I woke up this morning and have been struggling for the past few days with asthma attacks. Today was the worst post bleach episode. I could only breathe to the base of my collarbone it felt like. NOT GOOD. I'm now waiting for the carpet to finish drying after I used some allergen shampoo on it. It's cut the bleach aroma around here, but I'm still having issues with breathing. Going to the store this morning really helped. Can't wait for my brother to wake up shortly...so I can get out of 'Dodge' for a couple of hours while the fans stay on the carpet.

Hope the rest of your weekend is better than this week has been over here in chez yucky carpet central. And may the weather stay warmer while the windows need to be opened- it went down to 53*F last night! So much for SUNNY Southern California here!

Oh, and I hit my 4 year mark this past week from my fall at work back on October 2, 2003! Thanks Governor! I'm still waiting for my court ordered/won medical treatment to begin! You're doing such a bang up job there! (Too bad you didn't have to wait this long to have your leg set when you broke it PLAYING in the snow!)

You're never too young!!!

You're never too young to start showing your pride with your team colors! The Red Wings BSJ and it's little hat is all complete. And I like it better than the first one I'd finished back in April. The side of the white stripe on the bottom is smoother with picking up stitches in that area with a purl stitch. It cleaned up the area very nicely, I think.

So, with this now all finished for Little Miss "B", the gifts from each of my kids for her have all been finished (ya, I know they were due back in June)...I am now just stitching up a hat for 'Daddy' to be included in the package, then Little Miss "B", her Grandpas and her Daddy can all wear their Wings Pride. I had plans of getting it all finished up this am and run to the post office before they closed at noon. The Lavender Heart Blanket is waiting, patiently for me to have finished up all the red stuff but I can hear it stomping it's foot loudly.

Well, did you catch the operative word?

You know the one....

HAD.

Yep....gotta love landlords that don't send the gardener (which is in your rental contract) since before June...which makes your yard look like this:

and like this:

Those are weeds folks. Long, hay fever producing/asthma inducing weeds. I told them in writing with the September rent check that the gardeners hadn't been here since before June. Nothing was done about it this month. So, while I was taking pictures this morning to include in the October rent check note, the eye doctor's office called. I ran over to get my new frames attached to my lenses. YEA! I thought. My nose won't get cut anymore from the nose piece being broken. And double YEA that I have a lifetime guarantee on the frames so I didn't have to pay for them to be replaced. I grabbed the hat for 'Daddy' and ran (ok gimped) out the door.



I no sooner sat down after handing over my glasses when my daughter called. "MOM! I HATE THIS HOUSE I HATE THIS HOUSE!" "What?" I thought maybe she stubbed her toe or something...nope...."There's water flooding the house! It's coming up from the tub and the base of the toilets!!!" niceeeeeeeeeee......

Up the tub, under the wall to the front door, and out the door...into the hallway and into my bedroom.... Yes, that was 4 1/2 hours ago, and still no answer from the landlord, and the water's been shut off to the house since then...think about that one for a moment....no.water.to.the.house. YEA.

I do believe I love the Rotor Rooter guy! This makes my 25' snake from Home Depot years ago..look like child's play....

Have a great weekend....and may you NOT have to 'dance' for over 5 hours.....

Oh, and my Dad's count? Home for 5 days this round...back in the hospital last night again...

Only in LA!

Remember my saga back on September 15, of trying to get to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's talk up in Los Angeles? You remember, my trials of once more thinking I knew it all and could out smart the freeways? Where I ended up lost and then stuck in traffic? Ya..the one that included the sign on the freeway that said it was a one hour delay? It was due to a HOUSE on the freeway?

Yeah. I wasn't kidding.

The noon news said they're finally going to move the house today. Can you imagine that it's been there since the 15th? 10 days! The owner took the wrong direction (permit was for another set of freeways) and then it's been 'decorated' while it's been sitting there. Thanks for another reason to make LA the worst freeways in the country!

(click on pictures to make them larger)

It could ONLY happen in Los Angeles...*sigh*

Thanks to Crazy Aunt Purl for giving me the idea of taking pictures from the TV to post on the blog...if she can get the weather...I can get the "HOUSE" tie-up on the freeway. Right? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR........

Sometimes I'm just sooooooooooooooo smart!

I got sidetracked again...oh, don't look at me that way. Don't be shocked. You should expect it by now. HA! Another Grandma's favorite, but rather than using YO's for the increase, I used a M1. I like it. This is made in the Amish way...it's not perfect - it's got a glaring mistake, but I'm not telling where. It should, however, pop out to you if you're familiar with this pattern. I took it up to 45 stitches and it's being sent home with my daughter's friend after spending the weekend down here.

Now, sometimes I think I'm soooooooooooooo smart. While staying up to watch the UCLA football game late last night, and then the Iron Chef competition (that Food Network Channel is mighty addicting I tell you!), I got a good start on Dad's vest. Thinking about how some folks like to make two socks at the same time I thought I'd do something similar. Smart cookie that I am. I figured if I started all three sections at that same time, with 3 sets of yarn cakes, I wouldn't have to count how many rows for the ribbing. EH? Keeps the row count the same and the tension on the same sections even. Now that's using the old noodle. Right?

It would take a smidge longer to knit them all at once while keeping track of each separate strand of yarn. Not as hard as it may seem. I've done this before when knitting two sleeves or two sets of the front of a cardigan sweater. It keeps you knitting cables, etc... evenly.

I added row markers on the FRONT/RIGHT sides of the ribbing. That way when you have to stop between sections you can figure out which part to restart with again. In the back, I put the row marker in the center of the section.

The right and left front sections have the markers on their respective edges. When I pick up my knitting, I can see right away that a) I'm on the right or wrong side of the vest, and b) which section that I'm on to minimize confusion. (good place to insert the music here...)

See how they all lay flat? Can you see all 3 row counters? Pretty smart cookie here, eh? I thought so-at least at the time.... (if you notice, rather than the 1 x 1 rib as the pattern calls for, I've changed it. Don't be shocked...it's a personal preference to make 2x2 twisted rib here.) Now, seeing how smart I am, take a guess what thought I had at 3am as I was putting this all carefully away in my bag.

Sometimes smart people are just too smart for their own good.

If I'd really been smart, I would have cast on all of the stitches continuously with only one strand of wool. As if I were knitting in the round without joining the ends together. DOH!


I'm off to find me some Paula Deen. "Hey Y'ALL! Let's make something DEEE-LICIOUS!"(Did you know that she sells aprons on her web site with some of her phrases on them? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......hint hint...oh family of mine..hehehe) She's calmer to knit to than the Iron Chef competitions. *sigh*