Blogging in my Head

Yes, I've been blogging in my head again. Maybe I should invest in that Dragon program that types while you talk. That would be so much easier than my constant typo-fixing. Anyway...
My Christmas gift socks are done. I forgot to take pictures, unfortunately, but they look good. The pair for my brother are big. He's got biggish feet and wears boots most of the time so I made the leg 10". That's a bunch of stockinette! It didn't take long, though, because partway through I hit a good groove and the needles just flew. I made his and Dad's from a cone of undyed wool/bamboo blend that I'd gotten for the etsy shop and have decided that when my stash goes down I'd like to get more yarn on cones. It's so much easier. For example, I didn't have to think about if I had a good color for my brother or if the skein was big enough - I could just knit and dye it when done. I'd like to have cones of both fingering weight and something heavier for sweaters. I'll have to do some saving, of course, because the initial expense is bigger than a single skein, but the price balances out quite nicely in the end.
I had to take Kerry to an orthodontist last week - he needs braces - and decided to stop at Home Depot while we were close. Why? So I could get the paint chips for the colors of the Doctor Who scarf as listed on the http://www.wittyLittleKnitter.com website. I'll be getting a little money for my birthday and am going to get the yarn for a scarf. My plan is to use Vanna's Choice, but with the colors in my purse I'll be ready if another type catches my eye. I'd like to get the colors in fingering weight, too (I don't trust my dyeing skills to match them) so I can knit up some socks and maybe a couple of ties for some favorite podcasters. I thought a long skinny fingering weight scarf might be nice as a belt or headband, too. We'll see how things go. I may wind up having to order what I need.
On to some podcasts! One of my favorites, Smart Mouths, is ending. The hosts have had increasingly harder times getting together to record. I'm going to miss listening to them. I have found some new Doctor Who podcasts to listen to. I absolutely love Hoo on Who. They are a father/son team who talk mostly about older episodes. The older episodes were just the father and guests, and I'm going back to listen to some of those as well. I also love The Happiness Patrol. I found this one because of my cyber-crush on Tardis Tara, the genius behind the Witty Little Knitter site. This show has four regular hosts and is hilarious. They all have lots of information about Doctor Who and its history and seem to know everyone in Who fandom. Two of the hosts, Tara and Lela, actually tracked the cast and crew of Doctor Who in Utah and got to meet the cast. It sounded like such a great time.
There's a newer knitting podcast that I really enjoy. It's called Knitting Pipeline. Paula, the host, is from the next county over. It's neat to hear her talk about nearby places. She's a great knitter and has interesting stories both about knitting and bagpiping, her other love.
Khloe has been taking guitar lessons. She's pretty good. She has a knack for music and picks things up rather quickly. I have to remind her to practice, though, becuse she'd rather sit and complain about being bored. Ugh. I hope this "bored" phase ends soon - there's not much that's more annoying than someone complaining of boredom.
Kerry doesn't want to give up wearing my wool socks. I've cast on a pair for him, but I really need to give myself a small-needle break. Of course, being selfish, I want to work on something for me as well. Never fear, the boy will get his socks - and I may just let him keep the ones that he loves so much.
I need to get going - I started watching Buffy on Netflix and now I can't think about anything else. It's quite a show. I've queued up Close Encounters and Jurassic Park 3 as well - two of my gotta-watch all-time favorite movies. It's going to be a television day, can you tell?

Health and House Cup

Things have been a bit chaotic here lately. The kids had a five-day weekend for Thanksgiving and then were sick the whole next week. They're feeling much better now, thank goodness, and so am I - having them home is a bit taxing on my nerves. At least they're old enough now to take a nap when told.
The House Cup has ended another term and Ravenclaw tied with Gryffindor for the win. I personally completed two OWLS and won a Star of Isis award. I'm also among the first group to complete seven "years". We're trying to decide what to call ourselves now that we've "graduated". Next term will have a special new member - Khloe has joined Ravelry and the House Cup. She's had a great time so far getting to know everyone. I monitor what she does, of course, to make sure she's in groups that are not too mature for her.
Since my keyboard is being difficult right now I'm going to get going. Next time I'll talk about my gift knitting and random other stuff. Stay warm!

Pictures!

Just a couple of things to share - my new shawl for the release of HP7 in house colors and Khloe showing off her new hat and the skein of yarn that she dyed with food colors.

And yes, I am the only non-fall person ever.

Am I Really?

I'm beginning to think that I'm the only person who doesn't love autumn. All around me I hear people talk about the weather, the pretty colors, etc, but I just don't get it. I look out the window and the neon yellow-orange trees across the street hurt my eyes. In the morning it's 40 degrees and in the afternoon it's 70 and the kids leave their jackets at school so they freeze again in the morning because they don't listen. Our allergies are back with a passion from something and I've developed a sinus infection from it. There are some people around here who think they can burn their leaves whenever they want so the neighborhood stinks. We can't decorate the yard with pumpkins because the disrespectful brats around here think it's funny to destroy them. It's not a good season. I miss summer. I know that in summer it's going to be hot. In winter I know it's going to be cold. There's no kids arguing about if they need a coat or not. Sometimes I like winter - warm socks and sweaters and blankets are so nice. I don't much care for spring, though, either - it's mud everywhere, including in my house. There are a couple of things that I enjoy about fall, though. I can't get enough caramel apples and pumpkin pie.
I'm listening to Coggie and the Savvy Girls talk about their adventures at Rhinebeck with envy. I want to go! Eric said he'd help me save up so I can go to some knitting events and party with my podcasters. It would be so much fun to laugh and be silly with Coggie, Deborah, and Melanie, don't you think? I hope that when I go all of the podcasters will be there so that I can meet them all. I think the best part of any festival would be meeting people. When Khloe gets a bit bigger I could take her with me if she wants. Of course, she'd probably want to run away with Melanie to be a gerbil mom.
Speaking of Khloe, I just went to a parent-teacher conference. My girl is a straight-A, above average, excellent reader. She loves math. Unfortunately, though, she gets a bit chatty in class. She's had the same classmates and teacher for the past two years so she's very comfortable with everyone. I'd like to make her teacher a shawl as a thank you gift - Khloe loves her and really listens to her. It will be for the end of school, so there's time to plan. Maybe by then the perfect pattern and I will find each other.
More Kerry news - I tookhim to the doctor because he's got a big bump on his leg. It turned out that it's not a bruise - it's a cartilage and bone growth called osteochondroma. He had an MRI last week and did really well - no freaking out or getting scared. The result from that is good news - it's not cancer. We will go back and discuss options with the doctor in a week. Most likely he'll need surgery.
I'll finish up here with a request - if any of you know of some Steampunk or Victorian waistcoat/vest patterns or where to buy one affordably, please let me know. I'd like to add to my wardrobe and a snazzy vest with a chain would be great. Thanks!
Pictures soon, I promise!

Almost Caught Up

We had another computer crash recently which is why I've been absent. Apparently our Windows had a virus and everything had to be moved to a backup while the tech guy reinstalled Windows for us. Then comes the fun part of putting everything back where it's supposed to be. I got the pleasure of reinstalling itunes and finding that it wasn't the current list of my podcasts so that took an hour or so. I'm still putting my bookmarks back to the "favorites" tab - and finding new favorite places, of course. I had about 250 emails to sort through even after going to the library once to check it. Eric has his user account done - but then, he only has his internet browser and nothing else. The girls haven't been over to see that they need to redo all of their accounts. Thank goodness we have an external hard drive for our pictures and such - I'm paranoid about losing my pay patterns so they're stored there - and in a flash drive and some are on my kindle. Actually, I filled up my flash drive and need a new one. That's alot of patterns!
I spent most of September knitting a cardigan for myself in some great pink wool. I got it all done, put it on, and it's WAY TOO BIG! My gauge swatch lied! I get to frog the whole thing and do it all over. I love the cardi - it's the Birthstone Cardigan in the latest KnitScene. It looks so good in the baby pink I'm using. I can almost feel myself wearing it - being warm and cozy while watching snow fall outside. I'll have to do some gauge work, though, so it's perfect this time.
This month, so far, I've been hat crazy. I've made four hats out of handspun that are very thick and squishy. Khloe has claimed one to wear all winter. I've got a few more hats that I want to make - and I'm obsessed with getting the Wolly Wormhead collection of sideways-knit patterns - as soon as I get the cash saved up. What's the exchange rate for pounds, anyway?
Speaking of Khloe, she got bored one afternoon. After much internal struggling I gave her a big skein of superwash merino to dye with food coloring. It's gorgeous and colorful - she used all of the neon green and most of the other colors. Now we need to find a pattern for about a thousand yards of fingering weight that's not a shawl. She's tiny, though, so maybe we can pick a sweater or something.
Let's see, what else...Oh! My friend Jenny is selling her spinning wheel....to Me! (donations for the payments will be accepted ;)). I've been doing some practicing with it and it's very, crap - I can't think of the right word. It's like my hands and feet know instinctively what to do - it's strange. I really enjoy it. Of course, so far it's all bulky but I like bulky - great for warm hats!
I've had the great pleasure of introducing my son to Doctor Who. He's very taken with it. He's gone through the seasons with Rose and Martha and is now watching Donna. I, on the other hand, have been watching the classic seasons on Netflix. I can't get enough! I'm aching for a scarf, too. I thought about asking for the yarn for Christmas but Eric thought it was a bad idea. I plan to get the paint chips suggested by Tara Wheeler and write the yardages for each color on the back so I'm prepared for any situation. I'll link Tara's site on the side. She's my new cyber crush - she even met David Tennant! She's like the ultimate Doctor Who fan.
I'd better run - I can hear the girl child calling for me and I need to get some pictures uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

Too Much

It's been a long time since my last post. So many things have happened and I've blogged in my brain a hundred times but stuff has been moving along too fast. Here's the rundown -
My email was hacked and someone sent I-don't-know-how-many people a sob story about me being trapped in London with no money so could they please wire a bunch so I can come home? It was awful - I mean, I may really never get to London even though I want to. It took a good chunk of time to find and fix the problem and regain control of my email - and set up my account through here - msbobbilicious(at)gmail(dot)com if you're interested. Ugh. If you got the message and are mad at me for wanting cash and I didn't talk to you I'm very sorry. It was some other bad child, not this one.
My happy place is falling apart. There's a problem in the staff and I'm imploding about it. See, I'm staff now - meet this term's second potions TA. So - I'm all new in the staff forum and I'm trying to keep up with potions and keep up with the rest of the Cup and work on my projects and take care of my kids and school and all and NOW all of this is happening with the staff (and I don't even know what's really going on for sure). I've been trying to catch up all morning and oce I finish this post I have more threads and posts to read and see what I can do to help. My brain hurts and I want to cry. The House Cup is my second home, the beginning of so many of my projects, the place where many dear friends are, and my main reason for being on ravelry.
My parents have had various illnesses this summer. It's tough to try to talk through things with them and not say anything to the kids that will upset them because they're way too emotional when it comes to grandma and grandpa. Have I mentioned that the sun rises and sets for grandpa in Khloe's eyes?
One bright spot, however, has been something that I've learned about my son. Kerry has behavior problems and is in a class for the learning-disabled kids at school. I've been to the class- my first day subbing was there. Some of the kids are very disabled. My son, however, doesn't notice their problems or disabilities. He sees them as his friends. He signs up to take lunch with them, he races around the track with one girl in her wheelchair just because she likes it, and he really is friends with them. I've spent alot of time worried that he had no friends - there are few kids in our neighborhood that he plays with and spent most of the summer with me and Khloe, not out playing football or kickball. In fact, a couple of the kids around here are mean to him for reasons unknown (although it is a bit of a crappy neighborhood when it comes to friends and acceptance of others). My Kerry makes me proud. Now, if he would only be nice to his sister...

Tour Cardi

This is the finished cardi from my Tour de Fleece knitting. I had a bit of a problem with the Verena pattern - the waist yoke wasn't looking like the picture so I emailed for assistance and haven't heard back. I'm pleased with this new cardi. It's the Spring Fling pattern from knitty. I used Cotton Fleece and really like this yarn. It's a bit splitty but it's so soft. It only took two weeks to knit up, too, and I worked on other things at the same time. Oh, and Coggie talked about it on her High Fiber Diet podcast! Isn't that cool?
Speaking of Coggie, she's asked for people to knit hats for the soldiers who are serving with her husband. The details are on her show notes page, so check it out if you're interested. I've stash-dived to find brown yarns to make a couple of hats. Since I've been out of the Random Acts of Kindness group I haven't had an outlet for my need to give so I'm adding this to the kidney cozies and animal shelter blankets that I'm working on this fall.
I'm not trying to make anyone think I'm trying to make myself sound all big and wonderful. I have a big yarn stash and really need to do something with it - and although I love to crochet afghans we have quite enough blankets around the house.
In other news, I have a Kindle! It's so cool. I've read two books on it so far and have put about twenty on it - some free ones and some that I bought. I also put several patterns on it, both to keep them safe if our computer dies and to knit from when they come up on my personal to-knit list. It's a gift from my family, a very early Christmas and birthday gift. I really enjoy it. Mom had me order one for her, too. I put about ten books on hers. She likes mysteries and thrillers, so our Kindles have very different content. I'd like to learn how to put some audio on it, too, but I'd hate for my ipod, Pinky, to get jealous.
It's been a great summer for the pool. I'm in it several times each week. When the water got warm it stayed that way and I'm loving it. The kids don't get in it much. I'm not sure why, though. Perfect water, sunshine, floating noodles, and music sound like a perfect to me!
Well, there's a project calling my name, so I'll be going for now. See ya later!