Ravelry

I just got my Ravelry invite last night - YAY - of course you can find me there at Psyched2Knit. However, you won't find much there because I CAN'T FIND MY CAMERA. How frustrating is that?! I have been watching my place in line go down from 6,000 something, and fantasizing all summer about posting all of my projects and stash, and now I have been beaten by my messy house! ARGH!!!!

On a lighter note, I celebrated Rosh Hashanah today. It was just my oldest daughter and I during the day, and we went to the children's service, and planted some mums and cooked. It was really nice spending time with her. She enjoyed everything except for the service. She told me it was boring. I hated to tell her that it was supposed to be - but what can you do?- she was bound to find out sooner or later.

School is going well - I think. I now have a ton of papers to grade, I can't use the technology to goes with my book, and I have a 9th grade history class, that is covering topics that I don't know anything about - Yep, sounds like school has offically begun!

P2K

Dying to go back to school

I dyed some yarn over the summer. The green and the blue are the Cascade Eco Wool dyed with Easter Egg dye, and the skein in the front is wool (miscellaneous Aran wool from the early '90's) dyed with beet juice. The eco wool is really soft, and was fun to dye. I think I am going to dye another skein of it with beet juice, to make a striped sweater. The blue and green together need a little something to break up the sweetness of the two colors.

School started for me yesterday with meetings. It was o.k. as far as first days go. Our principal is pretty good about getting out information without a lot of extra discussion. This is SUCH an improvement over the last guy who spent a year's worth of faculty meetings to discuss the attendance policy. That was SOOO tedious. Today I met with my freshmen. I haven't taught freshmen since I was a student teacher, so this is a nice change for me. My seniors come in tomorrow. I don't know if it ever goes away, but I am nervous! I'm also bummed that summer is over. :( Oh well, now it is time for some good sweater knitting.

P2K

Back from Vacation

After visiting my parents in Virginia for a week, we went to Cape Cod to stay with my mother-in-law for a few days, and then went to Denver for a wedding. The Cape was nice, although the weather was kind of cold, and on Thursday afternoon we left for the Providence airport to fly to Denver on SouthWest. I HATE SOUTHWEST AIRLINES. I didn't really have a thought about them before, but I will NEVER take them again!

There was pretty bad weather in Chicago last Thursday, and that was the city that we were connecting through. But... instead of cancelling the flight, or re-routing us through another city, they held us in Providence for about 2 hours and then let us take off. Of course the weather was still bad in Chicago, so we landed in Cleveland for 3 hours. Finally, Midway airport was open again and they loaded us on the plane and tried to get us into Chicago. However, all of the other flights that had been detoured also were trying to get in at the same time, so we circled for a while, and then had to land in Milwaukee for emergency fueling. By this time it was 2:00 in the morning East Coast time. We waited for a while in Milwaukee, and then landed in Chicago, but they didn't have a gate for us, so we sat on the tarmac for a while. We ended up getting off of the plane at 3:24 am Chicago time.

Lots of us had connections that we missed, so they sent us ALL to the ticket counter (along with all of the other people who were in this predicament.) My husband and I (Thank God we had left the girls with their grandmother) stood in line until 7:00 in the morning, and just barely made our flight. Of course, since we had re-booked a one way flight at the last minute, we were HIGHLY searched at security. By the time we arrived in Denver it was almost 11:00 in the morning Denver time - which meant that we had been travelling for 24 hours.

All that being said, our weekend was FABULOUS. We had a great time at the wedding, got to see a little of Colorado, and found the people in Denver to be incredibly FANTASTIC! People always say that folks in New England are rude, and I always thought that they were full of it, but honestly, we are not THAT nice.

I did get to knit a bit. First, I finished a scarf that I am making for my sister. It is silk (the pink) and merino. It took me much longer than I thought it would, but I think that she will like it. It is either for her birthday, or for Christmas, depending on whether or not I can finish other Christmas gifts.

I also worked on a baby sweater. I don't know if you can tell by the picture, but I have been burned by not checking the dye lot! This picture shows the 2 fronts of the cardigan, and the right front is so much more muted than the left. It is so bad, that I don't think I will be able to get away with it. I finished the back, as well, in the muted tone, and I think that will be fine, but I am going to have to re-knit the right front in the more vibrant yarn (since I have more of that.) I'm bummed. Other than that, all is well.

P2K

a break in vacation

I'm home for a day before we go on our next vacation. We spent last week visiting my parents in South Western Virginia. The town is Martinsville (of Nascar fame) which is a very quiet town - needless to say, it was VERY relaxing. It was nice to spend time with my parents. They haven't gotten one on one time with the kids since last summer, so I think it was really nice for them to reconnect. My oldest daughter really bonded to my mother when she came up a year and a half ago when the youngest was born, so it was really great to see them foster that relationship. One day "Grammy" took my eldest on a "date" to buy school clothes, that ended with a trip to "Build a bear." I don't know who had more fun.

I've been working on a couple of things. A baby sweater for some great friends who had a baby at the beginning of the month (it isn't like I didn't know that this child was coming - you would think that I would have started on this earlier). I've also been working on a hooded sweatshirt type sweater for my oldest daughter, and a scarf for my sister. The scarf is made of silk and merino (both by artyarns) and I think it is going to be hard for me to part with this scarf! As you can see, I'm starting on my Christmas knitting - I am hopeful! I'll write again in a week, and maybe by that time I will find my camera, and take some pictures!
P2K

a quickie

I have been busy nursing a sick baby. Let's just say it has been gross, and any of you with kids out there know exactly what I mean! I saw this on the internet, and it made me giggle.

P2K

Knitting Virtual Vacation Swap

Ariel was my Secret Pal. She's from Southern California, and gave me such a FABULOUS package. I'm so excited. I also checked out her blog, and she makes some beautiful things. The envelope at the top of the package gave great information about the jam, olives and candy. I'm really excited about trying the olives! I also got great smelling incense (which I am enjoying right now) candy and a mug from Disney world (which I know I will have to hide from my 5 year old!) and a terrific romance novel by Janet Evanovich, which I already started reading. I don't know if Ariel realized it, but the book is set in Boston, and I love that! I also got a cinnamon/sage candle and some Cascade fixation, which I have heard a lot about. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! It is all so exciting!



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Knit 1 Tea 2 Color Swap Questionnaire

Do you like loose tea or bags, or both – something you want to try? I prefer loose tea
What is your favorite kind of tea (Brand, flavor, variety, etc)? I like the darker teas like Assaam, Keemam, and even Ceylon
Favorite color in regards to tea or one you would like to try? (black, green, red, and white) (keeping in mind that this is how this swap is set up). My favorite type of tea is Black, but I wouldn't mind trying red.
Would you say you were a tea pot kind of person or just a hot water heater kind? Totally a teapot type of gal.
What tea accessories would you like but have never purchases for yourself? Is this a trick question? I love different strainers, though, and haven't bought one in a while.
How do you prefer to be pampered? (examples: mani/pedi, bubble bath, yummy treat, etc). I like to be pampered with bath products, paper stuff (stationary, etc) candles and of course treats.
If you were a kind of yarn what would you be and why? I would be Merino Wool. I am sturdy, dependable, and special.
If you had to knit/crochet baby booties, a fun fur scarf, or a fair isle sweater, which would you choose and why? I would knit a fair isle sweater because of the challenge. The booties wouldn't take enough time, and the fun fur scarf would be boring.
What other event would make you skip a tea party? (A garden party? A book club meeting? A yoga class? Opening night for a new action thriller? etc?) Not much would make me skip a tea party, but I love romantic comedies. I guess I would only miss the tea party for a family event.
What treat would you consider essential at your tea party? (Sweet? Salty? Scones? Those petite pastry trays with a couple of all sorts of things? Little crust less sandwiches?) Scones with lemon curd.
When buying yarn for a project how do you choose - do you buy the one called for or do you substitute? A lot of times I substitute.
What do you carry your knitting/crocheting in when on the go? A bag. I have a lot of them and I love them all.
Favorite movie to watch while knitting/crocheting? Love and Basketball, 2 weeks notice, the Mirror has Two faces, Something New, and any other romantic comedy!
Are you a traditional tea cup kind of person or a mug type of person? Do you care if they match? I love tea cups, and no, they don't have to match
Favorite childhood birthday party? One that I did arts and crafts at.
Favorite type of scone and jam? Blueberry scone and lemon curd
If you use candles, what is your favorite scent? Rose, Green tea and Geranium also Bergamont
If you could choose 3 people to have 'tea' with, who would they be and why? (famous or not, living or dead). Tom Hanks, because he just seems like such a nice guy, Emma Thompson because she just seems like the type of person you would want to have tea with, and finally, Mike Lowell, the 3rd baseman of the Boston Red Sox because he also seems like a terrific guy.
You've been invited to a tea party, what 'props' will you wear (formal or casual)? I would love to be a lady to wear a fancy hat and gloves - Of course I would have to buy this fancy hat and gloves!!!
Any allergies/preferences you have or are willing to admit to? I'm allergic to soy
Anything we missed that you want your pal to know?I don't like fruity teas, and I HATE Earl Grey tea - sorry.