The End of a Journey or 2 or 3

The end of March brings the 1st month of Project Spectrum to a close, the end of Secret Pal 7, the end of March Madness-almost, and it's the end of non-daylight savings.
My red / pink craft for Project Spectrum was the bright pink hand / wrist warmers shown in this post.
The secret pal I spoiled this time around was Heather of Felted Kitty.
I haven't found out who was spoiling me but she did contact me a couple weeks ago so I'm sure she'll reveal herself soon!
The weather has been quite Spring like the last few days. A bunch of rain is on it's way so hopefully the trees and flowers will start budding soon. I'm especially looking forward to springing ahead Sunday morning!
Hope you all had a great month no matter what you participated in.

Here's a sampling of red & pink items I found in the house throughout the month of March...

I'M VENTING AGAIN

DEAR CO-WORKER WHO TEXT MESSAGES ME ON AN HOURLY BASIS,
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. I PREFER NOT TO BE YELLED AT IN THE OFFICE. WE SHOULD REALLY BE USING OUR INSIDE VOICES.
thank you.

I'm Done Blogging

Today is the last day I'll be blogging










here.
Did I scare you? ;-)
Maybe some of you have been to my other blog, I'm not sure, but I've decided to hang it up for now. I may post a cool photo here & there but I've decided to quit posting on a regular basis. I won't be deleting the blog so feel free to browse around.
Now, let's get knitting.

Embossed Leaf

I've finished the 1st of my sockapaloooza socks. The pattern is Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt found in Interweave Knits Winter 2005. I really like the pattern, the sock seems to fly off the needles. And I love the way the toe is decreased leaving a star pattern. I'll be casting on for the 2nd sock sometime today, maybe I'll watch Walk the Line.
BTW, all the candy I've eaten since yesterdays delivery has been uber yum.

Candy Explosion

This morning there was a knock on the door. It was the postman with a package from Japan!!! It must be from my candyswapping pal...whoo hoo!!!!!
Check out this package, Casey did. I love the striped tape.










I really like the look of this mailing sticker (am I easily amused?)













And here's all the candy!!!!! It came from Molly of Knitty Knitty Bang Bang. By looking at the pictures on the packages I can figure out what most of it is. There's some gummy candies, maybe some mints? and some coffee candy among many others. One package looks like a build-your-own candy sushi kit. I'm intrigued by it for sure. I love looking at the packages, they're all so pretty.










Molly sent a few unusual KitKat bars. One appears to be cherry since the box is covered with cherry blossoms and one looks like fancy french milk chocolate. She tucked in a couple of banana KitKats too!













Check out the fabulous colors in this bag of bite size chocolates! I just can't stand it...










Thank you SO much Molly! I can't wait to dive into all the goodies. Molly did say she got a little carried away picking out the candy and I'd have to agree! And thank you to Mariko for putting together such a fun swap. ;-)

Crikey! I haven't heard from the person I sent candy to but once I do I'll link to her blog. (that was a little clue)

I'm Just Sayin'

* If you happen to be the guy at the Blaine Barnes & N*ble who sleeps in the big fluffy chairs, you're creepy. Everytime I'm there you're there sleeping, and last time you were in the cafe sleeping at a table. Go home.
By the way, that LOST book that you hold as a prop doesn't fool me. And I hate how you follow people around the store with your eyes, when you're not sleeping that is.

* If you're the lady at the cutting counter at the fabric store, I'd appreciate it if next time you didn't chop my fabric but cut it. If I want 1 yard, I'd like the entire 1 yard not the 7/8 yard I end up with after cleaning up the edge. Thank you lady at the fabric store.

* If you're the crazy driver who passed the car next to me on the shoulder on 35W north Tuesday night, that's just stupid.

* If you're the cook at the Vietnamese restaurant where I ate lunch on Tuesday, you rock.

* If you are the fool who developed "March Madness" I don't like you very much considering many of my favorite TV shows have been put on hold for a silly basketball tournament.

Thanks for reading if you've made it this far. Am I alone in these thoughts?
I'll probably have some knitting content soon...

Sevens

I've been tagged by Amandamonkey although I'm quite embarrassed since mine won't be 1/7th as interesting as hers.

Seven things to do before I die:
1. Live
2. Travel out of the country (not including Mexico-been there)
3. Celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary just like my grandparents
4. Have more puppies
5. Become my own boss
6. Move
7. Go on a cruise

Seven Things I cannot do:
1. Stay awake during a movie
2. Touch my tongue to the tip of my nose
3. Apply makeup correctly
4. Sing
5. Spend a whole day at home without turning on the TV
6. Paint a car
7. Eat pickled herring

Seven Things that attract me to my mate:
1. His patience
2. His green eyes
3. His strength
4. His infectious laugh
5. His humor
6. The way he interacts with Casey
7. The way he loves his parents

Seven Books I love:
1. All Little House on the Prairie books
2. The Kite Runner
3. Memoirs of a Geisha
4. The Lovely Bones
5. Insomnia
6. Into Thin Air
7. The Time Travelers Wife

Seven Things I say:
1. 'boo'
2. 'how often do you floss?'
3. 'do you have to go potty?'
4. 'sit'
5. 'coolio'
6. 'hey buddy'
7. 'now what did you buy?'

Seven Movies I've Loved:
1. Shawshank Redemption
2. Edward Scissorhands
3. North by Northwest
4. Citizen Kane
5. X-Men
6. Faster
7. The World's Fastest Indian

Seven People to Tag:
1. The life and times of a San Fransisco Stranger
2. Knitting Knurse
3. KnitPastis
4. pjbknit
5. In Search of Minutiae
6. Splatgirl Creates
7. AKDmax

And of course, do it only if you want to.

Knit for Peace

Today is Knit for Peace day. Pick up those needles!!!

Am I Your Secret Pal?

As the end of secret pal 7 approaches, I am gathering up the last few gifts to send. On Friday I dyed her a special skein of sock yarn, S*Cubed (Secret Pal Seven Sockyarn). I guess if you find this in your post in the next week you'll know I'm your pal...

Do You Blingo?

If you haven't tried Blingo yet, get on over there and join.
It's as great as Google and you can win prizes!!!

It's Been a Good Mail Week

Way back when, I ordered 3 skeins of Socks That Rock yarn but only 2 were ready so the other day I received the third skein and I think it's my favorite. Seal Rock is the colorway.










And then...I won second place in a contest over at Paula's blog. She sent me a really cool Christmas quilting book and a pattern for knit stockings. Thanks Paula!!!!










Today I sent my candyswappers candy to Australia! How cool is that? I'll let you know when I get my candy and of course I'll have photos!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

iTrip

I was falling a little behind in my podcasts so I invested in an iTrip so I could listen to my iPod through my car radio. It's slick. Now I find myself downloading even more podcasts...it's a neverending cycle.

Happy 9th Anniversary To Us!

For our anniversary this year we went to 'dinner' at the Wild game! Mmmm hot dogs, onion rings & peanuts. There's nothing better than being with the one you love. I Love You Kyle !!!

Project Spectrum CoMPleTeD!

Pattern: Hand/Wrist Warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha Color#102 Hot Pink
Needles: Size 6 DPN Bamboo
Adjustments: I knit an extra 2 rows for the thumb opening only because I did it on accident on the 1st hand warmer, I repeated the mistake on the 2nd so they would be the same length.
Started: March 9, 2006
Finished: March 12, 2006










Over the weekend we did a little shopping and I found these sweet pink Merrells on clearance for $11. Eleven dollars!!!!! Since it's pink/red month for Project Spectrum (and the fact that they were $11!) I couldn't pass them up.

Snow Day!!!!

My view from the front window this morning. The newscasters report 8-10 inches on the ground in most areas and the DoT is recommending staying off the roads if travel is not necessary. Yesterday my front yard was clear of all snow. It's just craziness out there. I received a call this morning from work telling me all my patients cancelled until 2:40 so it's pj morning for me!! Our power went out for about 2 hours early this morning but has been turned back on, quicker than I expected !













Casey hesitated for quite a while when this is what we saw when opening the back door. He did manage to prance through, can you see his foot print?










I remember a snowfall just like this exactly 9 years ago. A few days before our wedding the sky opened up just like this.

I'm Still Here...

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I seem to have all the time in the world yet no time at all. Last night I got together with some friends for dinner and even more friends for a knitting night at Bettys Bikes & Buns. We had a record turnout, 11!!!! Not all were knitting, some people were beading but we all had a great time chatting and laughing. This photo shows you what my area at the table looked like...I spread my stuff out all over. Betty's bakes the best oatmeal raisin cookies which I chased with a Chai latte. And then of course there's my knitting stuff...

34

Minnesota lost a hero today.






I'll always remember watching Kirby play in the '87 & '91 World Series, I flicked my friend in the eye with my Homer Hanky as I cheered on the '87 win and I'll always remember as Kirby rounded the bases after hitting the home run which sent the '91 Series into a 7th game. I still have all the newspaper clippings from those 2 great years of the Twins and a little wooden bat signed by Kirby. I'll never forget Bob Casey announcing as he stepped to the plate "Kirbeeeeee Puckett." He will be missed.

"You never know. What you have today can be gone tomorrow. There are no guarantees in life." - Kirby Puckett

Rest in Peace

Did I Earn a Bronze Medal at Least?

I did manage to finish the Clapotis and made it about 2/3 of the way through my 1st Jaywalker for my Olympic knitting, does this earn a bronze? Am I disappointed that I didn't earn a gold medal? Not really. I just couldn't manage to finish the Jaywalkers, I think I chose a yarn that is a bit too thick for the size 1 needles I'm using. I will finish them eventually. However, do not expect them any time soon.

Mini Clapotis

Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert published on Knitty.com
Yarn: Twinkletoes?, color unknown, acquired it through a trade and it was unlabeled.
Needles: Size 8 straight birch
Adjustments: I knit only 3 section 2 repeats, 10 section 3 repeats, and 3 section 4 repeats. I would have done 2 more section 3 repeats but wasn't sure if I'd have enough yarn. It turns out I could have done that.
Started: February 12, 2006
Finished: February 19, 2006

Saturday Catch-Up

I'm using today to catch up on a few things: TiVo...it's nearly full, reading blogs...I still haven't caught up, a letter to my secret pal 7, some pink beads for Project Spectrum, a new sock...started in Chicago and just a few jelly beans ;-).

Chicago Rocks / Saturday-Sunday Edition

Saturday brought a full day of classes so we really whooped it up that night. We started with a delicious dinner at Viand Bar & Kitchen, I had the pecan encrusted trout and 2 martinis...the best cosmo I've ever had! That night we went to Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar. I've never been to a dueling piano bar and gosh that was fun, I really enjoyed the night.













So you're curious about celebrity sightings aren't you? Well, one of my friends claimed seeing Stedman...Oprah's beau...twice. I never caught sight of him though. I may have seen a basketball star but wouldn't know in a million years who it was. One celebrity I was excited about was David! He's from Real World 9: New Orleans on MTv. We ran into him quite a few times since he was the elevator man at The Ritz. He is super down to earth and very sweet...he took our group photo with about 11 bajillion cameras. And he told us he never uses his Real World status to get girls. ;-)










Sunday was fairly laid back since we had to be at the train station at about 1:30. We grabbed a Chi-dog and caught our last taxi. What a fun weekend!!










And of course there had to be a little knitting on the train back home.
This photo was taken sometime before we had to stop for an hour and 15 minutes because we hit a car. Yes...A CAR. Read about it here. We never felt a thing and actually didn't even know what really happened until later that night.










I can't wait to go back to Chicago...

Project Spectrum ~Red / Pink

I'm taking part in Project Spectrum this year, March is the 1st month and the color is red and pink. I still haven't planned anything...what to do, what to do?