Eyes so blue

I was never one to be totally taken by any actors, but I always admired Paul Newman and his wife of many years Joanne Woodard. It really made a void this morning when I found out he had died. It's not like we were friends?? It's not like I "loved him"? He was just a wonderful role model for other actors and actresses with his anti Hollywood appeal. Of course he was old and this tends to happen in the life cycle, but for me, I am sad. I feel for the families of high interest people, how do they feel watching their beloved on the TV or movies over and over again and again and again. I know how hard it is to look at pictures of Joey without getting teary eyed, that face, those eyes, that sniffing, (Joey was my dog) I don't want someone to get the wrong idea there?? So life goes on and so will we, but we can still support his wonderful charities, by buying Salad dressing, he has done wonderful work with that for underprivledged children.
I had a great birthday Thanks to Angela and Lois for the party and for Mike and Danijela for the special dinner!!! Chris the jeweler made me the most beautiful Spider ring and you will have to stop in the shop to see it!!!
Have a good weekend!!

Happy Birthday to me!!!

I love cake....I love birthdays!!!! It is the one time of year you don't have to share with everyone else....your special day!!! It is not Christmas or Easter it is your own special event. You may share it with others but not like a Holiday!!!! So last night when I was going to bed, knowing when I woke up I would be another year older...I got the giggles, how life changes!!!! When you are young you get a drink, go pottie and hop into bed with a favorite small toy to avoid getting caught. You get into Motherhood and you make sure everyone else has a drink, goes pottie and fall into bed exhausted. You go into menopause and you go pee, twice, take your pills, pee again, check to see if you turned off the water from taking the pills, go back to bed sit on the edge of the bed and forgot what you were going to do, wake up in puddles of sweat, then have an anxiety attack and lay awake, trying to figure out what woke you up, go pee and go to sleep one hour before you have to wake up.....now I go to bed after doing the watering and dewatering, put on my glasses to read, and my muzzle to breath and read a half a page and fall asleep, wake up three hours later and dewater again.....remuzzle....sleep....and wake up and I'm another year older.....!!! I can hardly wait till the next change. For those of you that share MY day Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

Still Lacing?

Yes I am still knitting on the lace scarf.....when did the Olympics end????? Not much new here, I will be getting a bunch of new yarns in, hopefully before the Yarn Tasting party!!! I got a new toy in and sold out as fast, it was a pompom maker!!! It is so cool, so now everything will have pompoms on it!!! I am finally getting back into the groove after being gone a few days....I am trying to catch up on emails and there were over 100!!! Oh it's not that I am that popular it is for Erectile disfunction but they get disguised next to an important message...like..."I've been trying to get a hold of you!!!"" So foolishly I open it thinking it being a customer or an important mail!!!! I have something a little interesting to tell everyone. I have a friend that lives in Texas, they were on the cusp of the hurricane and came through unscathed, but he had made an interesting comment...the Mexican Army and Canadian Armies were there helping with the clean up aide...Now has anyone heard anything about that???? All we ever hear is how the US is going in to help other countries???? He seems to think it is a political thing....I found it interesting, so I thought I would pass it on, so we do get help from foreign countries. OK, I am off to get my hair cut.

Back from Up North

I needed my fix of the Woods. I have friends that have a cottage in Crandon, WI on Lake Metanga. We went for boat rides and just sat around a fire and enjoyed the wonderful weather. It was wonderful!!!! What is it about Up North that is so calming?? People in Wisconsin use "Up North" as a term for anywhere 50 miles north of the city!!! No one know exactly where up North is? But we all know it's meaning....
What are you doing this weekend? Going up North...Oh that will be fun!!! Yep....
Typical conversation at any given table here. It is all encompassing, it's like a secret language and I got to go!!!
They have the most wonderful 7 month old chocolate Lab named Sam....Sam and I got into trouble....he wanted to sit in my lap, which, when Sam was little probably was an easy task but Sam is pretty big now and so instead he slinked unto my lap and ended up sleeping with his butt on my lap and head on my knitting.. He acted like no one could see him if his eyes were closed!!!!! So I got my puppy fix for a while.
I knit on my endless Wondercoat....and am on the last leg of it.....a huge feat!!!! Well today it is back to business!!! There is stock to be put out and new stock to put out!!!! What is this it's supposed to 80 today!!!! uh uh.....

Puppy Pile

Can you see 6 puppies in the pile? Yep...I was visiting friends and they are babysitting one Chihuahua, but have 5 of their own and they all were piled on the couch...there is one way underneath the pile....his name is Coal....I just have to laugh at this photo!!! I made a dishcloth and did some spinning and dying and have been knitting on the Alice's Wondercoat and my lace scarf....
What's on your needles. It is getting cool and I love this weather. So it's time for the sweaters to come out and wool socks and all of the fruits of our talents!!!

The Diamond necklace

I was watching GMA this morning and saw a wonderful segment on a group of 13 woman, that pitched in and bought a $15,000, diamond necklace. It changed their lives...each month they got to wear the necklace and had rules like if anyone was going to Paris the necklace had to go with them....what they found most was it renewed their friendships and made them feel special. I was excited about the idea, of course I don't know who would want to spring for that kind of dough, but we can do it in other ways. We need to make ourselves feel special. I love to do little things for "Me", I am spoiled that way. It may mean as little as a new bar of handmade soap?? Or a new pair of earrings??? When I worked construction, I spent $100's of dollars on underwear. I know it sounds stupid.. but , I was wearing mens clothes, flannel shirts jeans, mens work boots, hard hat, leather gloves...but underneath all of that manly clothing, I had on lace underwear, real frilly sexy, underwear. Right next to my skin, I was all woman, it made me hold on to something very dear to me....my feminenity. We need to do something special for us, I learned a long time ago, if you take the 30 minutes for yourself you are more capable of dealing with others.
In this GMA segway, the woman became closer through the necklace, and I think we become closer through our yarn.....look what knitter do for the World by knitting!!! How many of us have rushed to the aid of a family needing hats or Seaman or Soldiers....we don't wear the necklace but we do have a kindred Spirit....needles and yarn and our Love for our craft. .....Kneedles Unite!!! We all are Diamonds!!!!
no I am not done with the lace scarf.....

GPS & Power shopping

So Friday night and I close in a hurry to go meet Patty and drive out to Jefferson for Sheep and Wool. Patty has one of those cars that still has an engine....a real engine that sounds like a car. I am not a car person but I know how great it used to be to step on the gas and move. For me actually it would be dangerous, I would be the jerk pulling out in front of everyone and getting major speeding tickets. So for me the 4 cyl. car was a saftey measure. So Patty also has GPS, which she has fondly named Lola. The free way is stopped and we take the backroads and get behind every slow driver out taking a scenic Friday night cruise. There is a detour and Lola tends to be a little slow on the detour....which is taking us a bit out of the way. So we get to our destination ....not much help from Lola I may add.
Power shopping at Sheep and Wool, we got to walk up and down the four aisles once and go 1/2 way back and the lights go out the doors shut and we got evicted. I have one bag and Patty has a bag... we scored some yarn and used the restroom and that was Sheep and Wool abbreviated into 45 minutes. Can't quite believe I was even there????.....so we power up Lola and off we go to a Fish fry.....We found the 5 o clock club with the help of Lola...good job Lola. Now can you get us a table??? One hour wait so we sit at the bar, where Patty gets a beer bath from the tarbender when the tapper runs out, he proceeds to joke about it and offers to buy either of us a drink, but shame on us for drinking coke, so he wouldn't buy a drink???? That my friends is an Ass...I'm sorry I would rather respect someone for drinking a soda than not buy them a drink because it is non alcoholic? So we get our table the food is good and plan to leave. Patty punches in HOME!!! Her home I assume....Lola tells us to go left, I say to Patty...hmmmm we came in straight ahead, maybe Lola knows a shorter way to the freeway? Lola again says turn left which is a right angle to the last turn. and once again....turn left...Patty makes the comment it feels like we are going around the block....uuuhhhhh alas...turn left again....right to the front of the dinner club....Lola gets shut off and we take our chances and risk our lives driving like millions have done before us.....by instinct!!!!!

Wearing a shirt backwards?

Yesterday I got up early, I had a lot of errands to run, because Monday is my normal closed day but it also was also Labor day, so the business I needed to do, I couldn't.
I will be officially retired from my "JOB" the old one, on October 1st, 2008. I had to go to fill out paperwork, so this was a real official day. I got dressed and left, looking fine, nothing spectacular, I didn't wear a black power suit or anything like that. From there I went to Office Max and stood in line to check out. I went to the Dump...I went to Gander Mountain and Walmart, i was on a Mission...as I was leaving Wally World, empty handed I might add...my shirt seemed to be crawling up around my neck...we are talking 4 hours after I put it on....now it had become annoying. Now it had become apparant, I had it on backwards..oh yeah, pockets in the back and neckline open to the back, Thank God no tags in the front. Then I retraced my steps, sitting in an office with an Agent, discussing terms of retirement....signing important papers, looking senile???? Standing in line with the person behind me checking out wether I was coming or going? The dump just didn't care....so I left it like that....I wore it backwards all day, because I could. I did not knit yesterday for fear of knitting backwards!!!! Next I will try inside out

Long time...

A fiber artist friend of mine at Harley fest!!!!

It seems like a long time since I checked in...I have been fighting with my computer...oh yeah they work great when they work but we are having a lace problem, if you know what i mean. But if you got the newsletter, I think I covered most everything??? I am getting lots of new knitters in the shop...is it Harley fest....don't think so. I can say one thing I am glad my bedroom is facing away from the highway, they are rumbling constantly on Hwy. 32. I have had some shoppers from Michigan and Ohio that were taking a break from the festivities. That was nice. I had to laugh, they are getting $250.00 for rooms at Days Inn in Racine for this festival.....the couple said the ceiling is falling in and duct tape is holding the ceiling fan cord to the wall???? Nice...had i thought of it sooner I could have rented my home out and made a mortgage payment with the money. I could have put a cot in the shop, one of those air beds...and who cooks....I can eat junk for a couple of days...heck I could eat Lobster for the money they are paying. I guess nothing ever meant that much to me to pay that kind of price to fight the crowds....I say this while I am kicking back and playing on my laptop!!!!

Na woo chi, ne ou kin

We are all winners!!!! Some of us, finished some came close and some are waiting till the next Olympics!!!! We had closing ceremonies in the shop today. We got to see all of the projects...There was Erin, she finished her sock, her first sock, and it was beautiful and with no help, her next challenge is to finish it's mate. Lois was working on the mitered square mittens, let's just say, she has what looks like a hand cast done Angela, is making yet another part of the bathing suit she has the bottoms to...by the way these are patches for the bottoms. Charlie finished a beautiful shawl using Kims, pattern, it is made with handspun, and it shimmers like it has beads on it. Martha, is working on a block for her teachers at Knitting camp in Hooterville. Patty did her first cables, in a scarf pattern of Kim's too!!! Me, I have made peace with this lace pattern, peace does not mean I have to like it, but we won't fight anymore...I am not done, but I am over half way done and I will finish it.....that's another blog. We ate Chinese food and hey I just thought of it, there were no fortune cookies!!!!!! I will have photos of the medal ceremonies in the Newsletter.

Still Knitting

I am here and I am still knitting lace....I am just finishing my first skein so it looks rather dim here at the Massie homefront. I may have laid an egg at the birdsnest....dropped the baton....sat on the beam....dropped a needle. I am however done knitting on all the scarves for the traveling scarf. I have stuff I forgot to put in the books and forgot to sign my name in some and didn't put my tag on some???? Back off , I am busy doing all this computer stuff and I am starting to do more play stuff. I have classes to get ready for.

I can do this....

It is the half way point of the Olympics today...I should be starting my second skein of yarn for my lace scarf, I am behind. It just so happened that I turned on the games today and even though I am not a tennis fan, I do recognize the Williams twins, I think that is their names, Serena and Venus? well any American knows who I am speaking of. I watched as I did my usual knit rip routine....they won the Gold and I cried. I cried when the raised the American Flag and played the Anthem. What is it, that touches the Patriotic Spirit with that song? I don't know if it the fact that I am proud to be an American and my heart goes out to the Chinese that are so persecuted? I am not in agreement with the Chinese holding the Olympics, but I still support the Athletes....sometimes we have to leave Politics behind and see the History of the games and what it means to the people that participate. So the twins won the doubles tennis match and they were ecstatic....you wouldn't think so with all of their medals but they won the gold as sisters. So this has inspired me to keep going on the lace scarf....I can do this, I have no competition, just me...I thought it would get easier but I still knit and rip at least every other pattern sequence. So yes Lace knitting is not for me, but I can do this and I can finish this....hopefully in another week.

Doing OK???

I'm still here, I am avoiding what needs to be done but I am still here. I am cleaning house, cooking, and there it is glaring at me...defying me....taunting and snickering. She lays in wait....a mockery. She is beautiful and has an enticing quality.....I know this is going to be a love/hate relationship. So I pick her up I knit a row, one too many stitches. I rip a row, I knit again, it's Ok, I knit another row...wow, I am on a roll.....I knit 5 rows....one too many....I rip again.....knit, unknit, knit, unknit....How long do the Olympics last????? I am also doing ply split braiding since my basement is cleaned.
I am sitting here listening to the song of a Cardinal...probably calling her/his mate, for breakfast...or maybe a quickie, not sure about the personal lives of birds, but....I thought breakfast sounded good. I am back drinking coffee, only one cup, unless Lois brings powder sugar donuts...I can pound those babies down like a machine gun, but they must be washed with coffee. Powdered sugar, who invented that.....the unsnortable sweet treat that feels cold on your tongue. How many times have we inhaled while sneaking up on a coated sweet treat. My personal favorite is wearing it down the front of my shirt, like I am some sort of Coke head, advertising my addiction. When I went to the Church Festival I had on a brown top and just got my limp paper plate with a greasy hot funnel cake on it, with a mountain of powdered sugar and a gust of wind, I had sugar on my sleeves and so did the person next to me. I love funnel cakes. I love powdered sugar...I hate lace.

Halliluhia!!!!!

Doing the Happy Dance....tap o tap o tappity tap!!! Let the Playtime begin!!!! Woooohooooo!!! The basement is done....good enough done!!! Work areas ready to go and I am rather happy with the results!!!! It still looks like a basement but it's MY studio, My creative spot and there is no water down there and no carpeting to worry about and my butt is draggin.....
I took my usual Money Monday trip to Lowes and looked at paint for the floor...uuhhhh that will be a no to the painting of the floor. I thought that epoxy stuff would look cool but I opted to splash dye on the floor to add color and I will paint the wall with colors galore!!! No actually I got white for the ONE wall I choose to paint. But anyway, I have a table top and counter top and work area and I even mended some clothes today, oh yeah I was busy. I can't find my black serger thread , but a trip to Joannes will solve that. Did I knit today? Oh sure about three rows six times.....I made better headway in the dungeon. My feet hurt, my legs hurt but my face is smiling. I have a zillion plans for creativity....I have been writing it down to keep me reminded....so I am brewing myself a nice cup of coffee and a sit outside....Later.

To everything there is a Season....

and it is the Season of swearing.....I am knitting on the lace scarf...my %#@&* Olympic Knitting project....I am beginning to think I am a Masochist. Something is wrong with me, when I am only on the 21 st row and have ripped it three times...just two rows but what the heck.....I have counted and counted and blue smoke is billowing above my head and I am questioning just what am I to get out of this besides high blood pressure. Will the World be a better place if I knit Lace? Will children get fed and will there be World Peace??? Hell NO!!!! All I get is frustrated....annoyed....PO'd...I don't get more money, only more gray hair and acid reflux. I am in the kind of mood that I may just knit whatever the heck I feel like, by that I mean, if I am short a stitch, I am just going to add one....who cares I may actually invent a new pattern and it won't look like graceful leaves falling on a warm Autumn day...in a lovely Lavender that oozes touch me. Nope it will look like a mass of crap....add a stitch, drop a stitch....who cares....I will make a new Event for Knitting Olympics called Free form...
Be afraid be very afraid.....I am going to bed....

My Knitting is done!!!!

I have my scarf done for the traveling scarf, and so does Lois. It actually knits really fast...I love my bag for my scarf too. Angela made me a traveling bag with material that looks like a tropical vacation and it's beautiful.
I worked in the endless mess of a basement and found an old rag rug that my grandma made, which sucked up water and has been fostering mold. Mold is one of my asthma triggers so it was a double surprise!!!! It must have fallen behind a box or something who knows....so into the trash and out with the bleach to clean the area. I wonder what other surprises I will find. I think that should be it. I have moved everything in the basement and am in the process of putting it back in some semblance of order? I have a new toy and I can't play with it till I get the darn basements done....tomorrow I will go at it again. I am close, but keep finding new ways to make it look less basementy.

Traveling Scarf Chaos

Can you say cram 10 pounds of stuff in a 5 pound can....you get the picture right???? Well put 12 anxious knitters in the shop to make Travel Journals, with paper, scissors and glue and I lost total control. The glue was being weilded with great abandon....there were schnipples of paper all over, most was on the table...but see that photo above. You know how you go to a restaurant and there is a family with a little kid that has made a total mess on the floor??? You know you have seen it...well that photo up there???? Martha.....Martha was sitting in that spot with all the stuff on the floor...and we found out something else....Martha has a sticker fetish...oh yeah....Everyone is done with their journals and Martha's little book weighs 10 pounds because she has every sticker in sight on her book. Just kidding Martha, but we did get a good laugh about the floor!!!
I think everyone left with a puzzled look on their face trying to figure out what exactly it is we are supposed to do???? I can only hope that we get some resemblance of scarves when they come back....by the way...Lois is the first one done with her 7"....anyone on her team done yet??? Have a good weekend..oh it's Sunday....tomorrow is my day to run errands.

Bar time!!!

If I was out drinking, it would be closing time right now....I am up blogging!!!! I went to bed....thought I was tired, but nothing. I tried a little tele....nothing....I read....the Wisdom of Menopause....boring.....I figured enough fighting this I am up and wide awake. I ate a bowl of cereal. I open tomorrow at 10....chances are I will still be sleeping....!!!
If I could go in my nightie I would be hanging out at George Webbs, right now, sipping coffee....!! I am thinking this is all part of the hot flash, menopause crap. I bet it wasn't a few weeks ago, I mentioned to someone that .....hhhhmmm I haven't had a hot flash for a while....whhhooooaaa I did not say I miss having hot flashes I said I didn't have any.....kiss of death. This is the souvenir that I brought back from Quebec. I have been having almost debilitating hot flashes....the nausea, the almost passing out kind....and the not sleeping. It's 2:00am Parents do you know where your children are??? I did some knitting and am watching saved movies and things on TV....no shopping channel....I promise.

Can't sleep?

You can look like her too if you buy new spray on Luminesse make up..........
I am one of those people that can sleep anytime....I am hated by those that have trouble sleeping, I can go to sleep easily and love to sleep. I love a nap and can take a 10 minute nap and wake up like a new person. Well last night...I got up at 3:00am and was wide awake....so I turned on the sleeping box,otherwise known as a television. Well I love QVC it is no secret, I am picky about which thing I watch, but because I hate shopping QVC opens up the world of shopping to me. Let me tell you if you want to shop, on any channel, stay up late, because, every channel on TV, had infomercials on.....I learned how to make a million dollars selling property, I learned how to improve my love life? How to remodel my whole house with one tool. Rare precious stones that you can only get on that channel for 4 more minutes. New best spray on makeup, which I almost thought of trying but there was no price for the whole thing....gotcha.....Oh but the good one that I almost bit on was Mary Lou Rettons the Olympic gymnyst, has a scale that talks to you and coaches you about losing and gaining weight...oh yeah it doesn't have numbers it says Oh you slipped a little and that happens, but you have gained 2 pounds sweetie and you need to get your arse out there and work out and quit eating dam donuts fatso. No not really but I was thinking of it, a scale with no numbers!!!! Maybe I was dreaming......


I flipped from one channel to the other and it was all different, but the same selling stuff. I searched for my Credit Card and got tired looking for it and fell back to sleep. So I have off today and will probably be sleeping.....Why I was up is I needed to write down a few things that I need to pick up today, I didn't think velcro would wake me up at night???? Apparrantly it is much more important than I thought.

Swizzle Candy fun

I know, I know, yet another project....well I am working on my sweater, and my Alice's Wondercoat and oh I finished my Magic Carpet sock, well one. I probably won't knit the other one anyway the sock is too narrow for my fat foot. So anyone that has been in the shop knows the best place to shove your hand to feel fiber is the Alpaca in the front. So if your hand decides to wander upwards or maybe it will be your eyes first because the color is exquisite, you will reach the Fiesta Ballet, in a wonderful range of color. I saw the cutest baby hat and decided, baby hat, small I can do this, I picked colors that remind me of Swizzle candy, the sweet but tart candies you get tons of at Halloween....it will be yummy for a baby hat. It is working up beautifully!!! I went to a retirement party last night, with a Mariachi band....Open bar (I don't drink) and seeing lots of people I used to work with.
I used to enjoy going to work, most of us did and as odd as that may sound we had a great working crew. We did our jobs and yet were allowed to see each other in the lunch rooms and kabitz about our lives, families and love lives. It was a good place to work. The company was taken over by a South African company and we were assured things wouldn't change but we all knew differently. It was slow at first so not to upset the troups, but it was evident that things were changing. They changed the lunch hours so the lunch rooms turned into a ghost town, they made team rooms and people had to eat their lunch near their work station. This created a void of socializing with co workers. Time studies and so on and so forth. It got progressively worse and workers were counting the days till retirement. Myself included, I lost my love for my job, they took away the pride of my work and instead of doing my job that I loved was required to do more paperwork to do a five minute job than the job took. They took away the incentive to do a good job, we used to fix whatever was broke, we just did, and then it was you were written up, if you did a job without a work order, which meant, I could be standing looking at something broke and couldn't fix it without two weeks of paper work???? This is what they wanted, and that is what they got??? It made most of us sad and it is reflecting in the mood of workers still left. So it was a good thing to see everyone, it was a sad thing to see so many miserable American workers. I had a great time, but left feeling sorry