Wednesday

Wow, what a lovely day here so far. Sun's out. Been to school and back then back to school again for a meeting. Might go out again before needing to get the kids from school so I can get a walk in the beautiful weather.

Flowers are coming out too, not like last year where my Son picked all the buds off before they bloomed, check it out...




The bulbs I missed removing last year are flowering too..



But the bulbs I replaced not long ago are stil green shoots and low to the ground. I should have put them in earlier I think. The willow tree is waking up too, after looking like a stick all winter in the pot...



Only got a few rows of knitting done yesterday, I sat down to do some when Hubby reminded me we needed to go across town for a meeting. Mmm. Oh well, good thing about knitting is that it'll be there when I go to it.

Being Patient

Waiting to hear from the hospital about Daughter's implant. Soon they reckon. Enjoying the warmer days, sun gets up earlier and daylight savings will start in the next month. The back of the cardigan is growing well, I'm about quarter of the way up the sleeve decreases. No photos today, maybe tomorrow I'll take some after a bit more progress is made.

Reading Watchmen by Alan Moore. All over the place people are trying to get Doug Hutchison to do the role of Rorschach, here at his IMDB board, here at the Yahoo fan board,at the Green Mile IMDB board, so I hope he at least considers the part. It would be neat to see him in this role.

Go and play a guitar, you'll feel really good.

Knit It

Here I am pottering away on the back of the cardigan, I can't wait until I start decreasing, but at the same time I don't want to stop knitting this thing. Sometimes that happens with me, I'll be knitting away and realizing that the more I knit the less there is to knit. This is one of them. I start doing the decreases for the sleeveholes/armholes in the next block of blue, that's about 10 rows or so ahead - don't worry I'll make sure it's at the right place. The yarn seems to last forever too, I have only just started a new ball of blue a few rows back.



Daughter is going up north for her ICD implant soon, so I'll have to work out if I am able to take some knitting or settle for a book of Sudoku. Going on the plane is going to be fun with all the security issues now, especially coming back with her implant through the airport gates etc. I have alot of questions for the cardio when we get up there, so I don't mess up anything.

Gardening and Watching

Yesterday and Saturday were both beautiful days, so the kids and I got into the garden. I weeded a little along the back fence before my arm got too sore, so slowly does it. Did a little bit both days and will keep at it. In no time the whole garden will be free of weeds and ready for plants again. I managed to get the onions that Hubby's Mum gave me last week into the dirt too, and freed up the leeks that have been overwhelmed by weeds for the last couple of weeks. Mmm.

Went out to Kairakei Beach on Saturday where Hubby had a hoon on the motorbike. The kids and I were quite content to look at the fishing, jetskiing and finding dead stuff on the beach. I won't show, but we found numerous dead crabs, and even a dead dogfish. The jetskiers looked like they were having lots of fun... click for big..



I also got a fair bit done on the back of the cardi...





I need to block the other pieces still, thought I would wait until the back is done though, so I can make them all the same.

Another Sunny Day

Finished the front half of the cardi I've been knitting.



Now I have cast on for the back and have cast on 121 sts, hope it looks ok.

Even though I was keeping an eye on the house down the street it was gone this morning by 7:30 and I didn't hear it go in the night. This was what it looked like before we went to bed last night (yes I know this photo is taken in the daytime, but it hadn't moved when we turned in)...



Yesterday I also took photos of Son's artwork in the school foyer. He worked really hard at this piece. I really like it, and feel good that his was chosen to be displayed near the office where heaps of people can see it.



After I dropped the kids off at school this morning - we walked - I went with Hubby to hospital in an ambulance, where they tried to figure out why he's been so ill the last few days. It's possibly Colitis. Lotsa fun.

Sunny Day

I can tell it's getting closer to warm weather by the way the sun is coming into the kitchen when I'm making breakfast now. It didn't used to a while ago, now it's getting brighter in there earlier.

More things are happening down at the end of our street too, the house is going to be lifted and moved away somewhere. I was watching the guys rip the chimney out yesterday, and this morning there was someone on the roof ripping all the old tiles off. I just hope we can drive out of the street later on. You can see that the house is already up in the air at least 4 feet cause of all the jacks they've put underneath. Lots of drilling yesterday too, as the concrete was all removed from the foundation. Photos...



I worked on the old cardi again last night, and I'm well and truly into the decreases now, so it's going quite fast now. I'm looking forward to knitting the sleeves and body next, not sure which I'll do first though. I'm not even through a ball of yarn in either colour so I think there will be enough to do the whole cardi.

Wet Weather

While it rained last night, I did some more knitting on the old cardi, as I'm calling it. This is what I found in the yarn stash...



on the right is where I've cast on and ready to start. A bit closer...



After about two hours I got this...



boy this yarn is fine, I'm using 2 and 3/4 mm needles, so it's alot slower than my last project. This is how it looks this morning with I suppose about another three hours work on it...



The hard part will be figuring out where to decrease and when. It looks like the decreases are made right up next to the ribbing and then shortly after that at the outer edge at the same time. It needs really close inspection. I don't decrease until the end of the next 'blue stripe' anyway, so I'll keep plodding along until then.

Busy Saturday

The weather was terrible, so the kids and I found other ways to entertain ourselves. We made capes for a couple of the kids toys. Daughter's doggy...



Son's action man...



Later on Daughter posed with the jersey I just finished, and also had on the pants I made today, double reason to show...



Detail of lower jersey, upper pants...



and by pure accident, Daughter is also wearing the wristband I made a while back. I attached a watch face to it, then of course the watch battery ran flat so she just wears it and pretends what the time is. She was smiling in these photos too.
Shoulder detail...



After the kids went to bed I got out my next knitting project. It was in a whole bag full of different yarns given to me ages ago by my FIL's friend. Someone had started to knit a cardigan, and then gave up after finishing half of the front. I'm going to try to finish it. Photos tomorrow.

Finished Jersey

So I finished the jersey last night, and sat it on the chair next to Daughter. She looked at it and said "I love it!". Though that doesn't mean she'll wear it again. I took some photos last night but they were lost last night when Hubby 'fixed' the computer. Arggh. Oh well, at least I might be able to get a few photos today if I can get her to put it on for a minute.

I'm making chicken soup and it's making the whole house smell lovely and homely. I may make cupcakes later too, if I feel like it.

It was sunny until I got the kids to school, then as I was leaving the clouds just turned black and opened up over my head. I ran to the car, and thanked my stars I had not walked.

Because I don't have any knitting photos, here is Matt again..

Thursday

Today I have already saved some money. School had a second hand clothing sale. I got a t-shirt and hat for $4. That would normally have cost $22 brand new. The items are in good condition too, which is why I bothered. Still have to get Son some more pants, as his knees are ripping out of two of his pairs. Or I could patch them with some similar material.

Going to roast a chicken for tea tonight. Then tomorrow I'll make soup from the carcass and we'll have that for tea tomorrow night. Last time I made soup it was delicious, but I stuffed up when I reheated it to eat. I only warmed up a cup and after I ate it, I thought gee, I should have really made it a bit hotter. Yep, paid for it later that night. Stomach cramps and you know the rest. The cat was staring at me and meowing while I filled a bowl. He's never seen anybody vomit I suppose.

I want to go for another walk too. Hubby isn't up and it's 10:20 already. I may just go without him. The sun is shining but it's only about 2 degrees celsius outside, so I'll have to wrap up a bit. When I come back I'll probably finish the sleeve. Then I can work out what I'm going to do with my hands for my next project. Oh, yeah Daughter wanted a vest/waistcoat made with the same yarn as this current jersey. I'll have to look for a pattern then.

I'm going to also have a go at uploading another home video to YouTube, which I think was quite funny. Plenty of time for that though.

Sleeves

Two sleeves almost now. I'm close to halfway through the second sleeve now that I've caught up and decreased properly.





It's a wee bit sunnier here though outside is still very cold. Hubby and I might go for a walk around town before coming back for lunch. I've been doing washing and knitting the past couple of hours, so it'll be nice to get out of the house for a wee while.

Sister told me about this game she plays online when she was here the other night, so I went and had a look. Sister loves playing Marbles and says it's a great way to relieve her stress. I had a go at the Quarantine game, and boy is it addictive. Showed Son last night and even he enjoyed playing it.

It's Raining Again

So in the weekend we tidied the house, did grocery shopping, went to the library and managed to get a walk too. Last night we had Hubby's Mum over for her 75th birthday. His Sister and Brother-in-Law came over too and we had a BBQ. Yes, I know it's been pouring rain for a couple of days now, but a BBQ is yummy in any weather. Hubby cooked the meat in the garage. I did salad in the kitchen and we came together to put it all on the table. Kids enjoyed themselves too. Sister had bought her Mum a locket with Mum engraved on it, I hope she uses it, as it is very delicate and pretty.

We had a lamington cake for pudding and some delicious Creamy Vanilla icecream by Cadbury. Yum. Wish I'd taken some photos of the spread as it all looked rather good. Tasted good too.

Had to rip back a little of the second sleeve as I had started decreasing too soon, but I shouldn't take too long to catch up on that.

Found a photo of Matt from Muse getting into the music.



I've seen violinists with this expression on their face as they play, and it just shows how passionate a person can get about what they are performing.

I want to start Son's hammock too, we need to go through the material together and sort what he wants on it.

Listening to James Blunt, Muse and Elliot Smith again.

Feeling Crappy

Woke up this morning with a headache. Managed to get the kids to school though. Got home and collapsed into bed for two hours and when I woke up I still felt awful. I wanted to do the food shopping today while the kids were at school. Arggh.

Maybe I'll be able to do it later if I take one child with me. It's a dreary day outside and cold too. Real August weather!

Looking around at other sewing/knitting/quilting sites in the meantime.

The 150th Post

To celebrate 150 I'm putting these photos up. 'Cause I can.

Matt Bellamy


Billy Boyd


Doug Hutchison


Paul Bettany


Dominic Monaghan


Ralph Fiennes


More knitting done last night, started the second sleeve and am about an inch into it already. Kids are dressed up today for a fundraiser at school. Son is Ron Weasley and Daughter is Snow White. Must take a photo of them in their costumes.

Photos I Took This Morning

In no particular order, here is where Billy the cat was when I got home from dropping the kids off at school. Hubby said he was on the bed, but hopped down for some reason.



Billy is giving me lots of smooches this morning.



This is who I sleep with, or rather what... it's the cpap machine in use, sounds a little like the sea ( that's what I tell myself when I can't sleep 'cause it's so darn noisy - and this is the quiet model too).



Daughter hung the hammock up on her drawers full of soft toys to see how it works. Not too bad for a first effort I reckon. Might try to make Son's a little wider though, and of course I need to buy some hooks!



I quite like how the neck turned out on the Aran That Daughter Will Never Wear. I hope she at least puts it on when I'm done so I can get a photo of it being worn before I give it away.



The first sleeve is done. Yay. Didn't pick up stitches like I wanted to last night, perhaps if the day doesn't improve anymore I'll do it this morning. It's dreary out there, dark and rainy. I've got the lights on in the lounge even though it's ten to ten in the morning.



Listening to Muse while I do the housework and blog, good inspirational music too. Be the best you can be, don't let yourself go etc...



They are from the left Dom, Matt and Chris.
Hot cup of soup here I come.

Sunny Days

Yesterday and today were both beautiful sunny days. Had to break out the shorts yesterday while in my bedroom. I finished off Daughter's hammock in there while I baked (yes, I made cocoa cupcakes too for afternoon tea). Wanted to get it done though, as I started the loops the night before and wanted to get the other three done in the same manner. Daughter has already hung the hammock with toys in it on her drawer handles, as I have yet to purchase the hooks for the wall.

I have finished the first sleeve though Daughter is unwilling to try the jersey on. I'm going to try to take some photos tomorrow of the jersey with one sleeve. Might try to start the second one tonight if I can sit still long enough.

Went for a walk down to the local mall today to pay the phone bill, bumped into the same man twice. He used to bump into me in the mornings when I was dropping off Son to school. Now he saw me today and was so friendly, it was a real lift to the day that someone wanted to talk to me other than my children.

Been looking at different things on YouTube today while Daughter was laying around with a headache. She did that for about half and hour this morning, and of course didn't go to school. I'll make sure she goes to school tomorrow morning. We've been told her defibrillator implant will happen within the month, and it may be some sort of wire strip on the sternum to begin with. That may totally change though, as that was the discussion over a year ago. It's amazing how much technology can change in that amount of time.