Sunday Morning

Thought I would check in here quick before the folks show up to go to the zoo. The weather man says it will be nice all day today. We had some more rain last night but no bad storms, thank goodness.

I will be back here on Tuesday with a few new yarns for you.

Estes Scarf

I got this yarn at the Estes Wool Market. Plain and Fancy Sheep Co Sport wt lambs wool colorway Autumn Leaves. I found the pattern on Ravelry it is called The Sweeney Todd Scarf. The knitting is really simple but the look is great. It is soft and cozy. . I think the pattern would be great in almost any yarn. This will be a long scarf. I plan on knitting till the 400 yards is gone.

Along with the scarf I am working on a new sock. No pattern just making it up as I go. I put the lace shawl away for a while. I found a big mistake about 35 rows back and have to rip. I am also not sure I like the color.

In shop news I got some roving to dye up(64 ct Merino) and more yarn ready to go. (thanks to Miss V's skein winder). I will be having a "free gift with every order" special in July.
I am slowly listing the new yarns so check back and see what you like. I won't be doing much with the shop this weekend because my Mom and Dad will be here for the next 4 days. Yeah! The MK's are very excited. We are all going to the zoo on Sunday. If you have never been to the Henry Dorrley Zoo here in Omaha you should check it out. We have the best zoo I have ever been to here with new things opening every year.

Ahhh Rain again!

It is raining again. a lot. I'm sick of it. Please stop.

Go Cubs!

Go Cubs Go

So I don't blog much about the Cubs because when I do they lose. They lost last night so its OK today. They are doing great this year! Might we dare to dream? Could 100 years please the goat? Ask me again in September.

Wowbagger, the Infinitely Prolonged

Wowbagger is an alien who became immortal due to an accident with an irrational particle accelerator, a pair of rubber bands and a liquid lunch, so therefore does not know how to handle being immortal. This is in contrast to the rest of the immortal beings in the universe, who are, in his opinion, "a load of serene bastards." He eventually comes up with a plan to keep himself busy: he will insult every living being in the universe - in alphabetical order.

Another Visit with The Guide

Slartibartfast

Slartibartfast is a Magrathean, and a designer of planets. His favourite part of the job was creating coastlines, the most notable of which were the fjords found on the coast of Norway on planet Earth, for which he won an award.

Random Dent

Arthur Dent's Daughter

Deep Thought

Deep Thought is the computer that gives the us the answer of 42. It does not know the question.

Grunthos the Flatulent

Grunthos the Flatulent was the poetmaster of the Azgoths of Kria, writers of the second worst poetry in the universe. The guide recites a tale of how, during a reading of his poem Ode To A Small Lump Of Green Putty I Found In My Armpit One Midsummer Morning, "four of the audience died of internal hemorrhaging and the president of the Mid-Galactic Arts Nobbling Council survived only by gnawing one of his own legs off."

More with the not sucking

On Father's Day, Hubby wanted fish for dinner so we went fishing. Here he is with MB's first catch. This fish is too small to eat so MB threw him back. MB thinks throwing him back was the most fun part. Here is MG and her first fish. A keeper! She was much more interested in fishing after catching this one. 12 inches!
MG was not to happy with holding the fish for the picture. MB has no fear of the little fish. Or anything else for that matter!
Hubby did get a fish. A 14" trout that he did in fact have for dinner. I took the kids swimming shortly after the above pictures and Hubby spent the next few hours fishing all by himself. He was happy for the break as the MK's lost interest pretty quick. It took them about 2 hours to get the first fish. We did a little more fishing later in the week. I can't remember how many they threw back. MB loves that part. "So they can get big Mom!"
Am I fishing? Ah no. Not my thing really. But we had a great time. That night Hubby grilled his fish and made pizzas for the kids. We saw a fox as we sat on the porch. The fox seems to live near by. He made the rounds of the parking lot late at night to see is anyone left the dumpster open. It is against the law to feed wildlife in Colorado. People are pretty good about keeping that dumpster closed. Fox seems to know this but checks anyway. Almost every night we were there.
We also saw lots of Elk this trip. They graze right in peoples yards. There is plenty of green for them to munch on this year too.



Father's Day was also our 12 Wedding Anniversary. Happy 12 years Baby! I love you.

Lonesome Stone

Above is Linda of Lonesome Stone. We had a great time there. Lonesome Stone is a fiber mill and alpaca farm. Linda took us down to the pasture to meet all the girls. They were wonderful! The MK's got to give them treats and pet their soft necks. Linda told us all about her animals and their fiber. She breads for the fleeces and let me tell you they are gorgeous! MG wanted to bring one home, so did I. Linda also showed us the whole operation from fleece to finished yarn. There is yarn and fiber all over the place. They also have a shop there with all natural yarns from the farm as well as for clients all over the place. I bought 400 yards of a creamy dk weight alpaca. I met the animal the fleece came from. His name is Dutch and his fleece gave 35 skeins of yarn (200 yards) I also picked up one skein of a dark brown color.
This little baby is only a few days old. I love the color! She loves her Momma. There were lots of babies in all kinds of colors. The babies are a little shy but very cute to watch.
Momma and baby are not the same color. This one tried to nibble a little too much. MG is asking her not to bite fingers.
MB made friends right away. He loves animals.
Oh and this is me on the shore of Lake Granby. Ms. B had remarked that she had no real idea of what I look like so here I am. Hubby took this as I watched my son run along the waters edge. Not the best but what ya gonna do?

I would recomend if you are ever up in the Rockies go visit Linda and the gang at Lonesome Stone. You will never forget it.

RIP George Carlin

George Carlin Died last night. I loved him. He was so funny and always told it like it was. I for one will miss you George. This is for you: Shit, Piss, Fuck,cunt,cocksucker,mother fucker, tits! (I can't remember the rest of the words you can not say on tv)

It doesn't suck

Hubby and I have a little saying about our place in the Fraser valley of Colorado: "it doesn't suck"

We love it there. The people are friendly, the air is clean and the scenery is to beautiful. I spent part of each afternoon just as you see me in the picture. Knitting by the pool watching the MK's swim. (the pool is heated) It did not suck a bit. I got the socks you see done. They are for Hubby. How cool is it the Hubby will wear socks that loud? (yarn is BMFA STR in Ct Cluckla)

Below is a shot from the bank of Monarch Lake. We found this lake while driving the back country roads around Lake Granby. You have to get out of the car and walk a bit to find the lake but it is so worth it. The views are stunning. The MK's had fun on our walk. They were pretending they were Indiana Jones on an adventure. MB is fearless. More than once I found myself pulling him away from the river that feeds the lake.( All the water levels in the valley are high. They had 400" of snow this past winter.) The entire valley is greener than we have seen in the past. There seems to be less Pine Beetle damage too. I uploaded all the pictures to flickr.

You should be able to see them all there.

We had perfect weather the whole trip. We had about 5 minutes of sunny mountain rain the last day and that was it.

We did see some storms though. We hear they beat Denver pretty good though.

Back later with a post about our trip to the yarn mill and pictures of the Estes stash. I have yarn to get ready for a shop update tonight and tomorrow.

Estes

See these 2 cute fellows? I mean the furry ones. We met them at the Estes Park Wool Market last Saturday. I had a great time. Hubby and I took the kids to meet all the animals, They both got to led a very nice alpaca named Mr Rodney around the barn. I must have stuck my hand into every fleece in the place. The range of color of the alpacas is amazing. Once the MK's had enough of that Hubby took them for some fishing on lake Estes and I was off to the vendor barn and the blogger meet up. Well I went into the vendor barn and when I came out I realized I had missed the meet up. Shopped right through it. Ah oops! I just kind of got lost in the wool fumes and couldn't get out. I had a great time wondering through the booths and talking to the vendors. I did buy a few things I have yet to take photos of. Wait till you see. I bought a skein of 100% alpaca in a natural dark grey color. So soft. I also got some very pretty hand painted wool. After I realized I had missed the meet up I went to look at the fleeces. I lost myself for a while in the fiber. They were so beautiful. I almost bought one but just could not bring myself to buy a fleece I don't know what to do with. I am sure they all got good homes. I was not the only one who lost it a little in there. hehehehe. I'll be back with pictures of the yarn and some vacation highlights. The whole week was great. We got some amazing pictures this time and went to a bunch of new palces including a fiber mill and alpaca farm.

Home

We are home. I will have pictures and a full report tommrow. I'm beat. We had a great time.

Find Sandy

So if you find me at The Estes Wool Market I will have a little prize for you! (I have 20 of these Wishful thinking) But Sandy you never post your picture. How will we know its you? Well I will be carrying the above backpack (and red GoKnit pouch) and wearing my red Winter Park hat. I am going to the bloggers meet up on Saturday too! I will only be at the market on Saturday. I will have the family with me for part of the day so you may spot the MK's. Come on up and say Hi! Tell me you read the blog and you get a little prize!
See that pretty blue/purple one? That's for me. Yep I am keeping that one. I plan to knit it on the trip. I love the brown and gold so much I made an extra. I may keep that one too. I will do more of both when I get home.
I am thinking of calling it Long Neck.

From the dye pot

so here are the skeins from yesterday. MG picked the colors for the blue and red one. I have 3 more soaking now. The base yarn is 100% superwash merino. I really like it soft and lofty. I am not going to list these until I get back.

Stormy Night

Again. Another night of storms and another day of rain. The yard is so wet I am sure the grass is going to take over the world very soon. We can't get it mowed because it will not dry out. ick

There has been so much rain in the Midwest they had to call off the Iowa Sheep & Wool Festival.

This should make you laugh

Yesterday MG came out of the bathroom and told me she had flushed my deodorant down the toilet. There was no water on the floor but something was clogging it up. Hubby tried the plunger but no luck. I stuck my hand as far in there as I could and I could feel the thing but I could not grab it. So Hubby takes the tank off the thing think we could reach it from the top. Well we could not. So I stuck my hand in again thinking I could tip it up a bit and it would drop down to me. Well I was able to get it to move but in the wrong direction. No way I can get my arm to bend that way.. Hubby removed the toilet and turned it over only to find the hole is too small to get it out. After much shaking of the crapper to see if we could get it out the way it went in, Hubby finally pried it out with his screwdriver.
The best part is MIL and Lt Col arrived as I had my arm jammed in the crapper! it was a sight I can tell you. Poor MG was pretty sure she was in huge trouble but it was not her fault. (I leave things on the tank all the time) Poor thing I think I scared her more when I told her my arm was stuck in there forever. She was upset until I pulled my arm out. All is now well... The crapper has been restored, My arm has been washed and we will not leave pit stick on the tank ever again.

Oh and I started another mindless sock. I wanted to see if I could turn the heel from memory. I can.

In other news: We leave for the Rockies in 3 days! I can not wait! The weather there is going to be cooler (60-70 for the most part) and I hope dryer. We have had so much rain here. The lawn is out of control even with weekly mowing. I have our camping gear all ready to go and just need to pack clothes and knitting. I was planing on just knitting socks the whole time I am out there but I may need something else too. This may be a good time to knit some gifts. I will be able to go to the local library and check e-mail but I don't think I will be blogging.

I got 11 lbs of superwash merino sock yarn the other day and the first batch is soaking now. If I am lucky they may be dry in 3 days! I plan on getting most of this dyed after our trip but there will be a few new colors before then, as well as Sweeney Todd sock yarn! I think my fall colors are going to be The Rocky Mountain collection. I always find myself inspired there.

Check back tomorrow for details on the Find Sandyknits at EWM game. (I have prizes) I should have pretty yarn pics too!

Feeling fine

No we did not blow away last night. I was loud enough to wake the kids but by the time they woke me up it was all over. We did have a lot of sticks come off the trees but nothing bad.

Just a little update

Boy yesterday was so busy. The MK's were so wound up they did not sleep until almost 11:30.

We had our 5th swimming lesson in the morning. Both kids are doing well. Leah will be doing the front and back craw by the end and MB is floating and fearless. Oddly enough there is another little boy with the same name in his class who is 20 days younger. They are good buddies. Each has an older sister who will start 2nd grade this fall. We all got together after class for lunch in our park. All the kids had a great time.

After the park I got both kids in and out of the bath and dressed pretty for Hubbys Step Sisters wedding. Hubby had to work so I took the kids to the Elmwood Park Grotto and found a good place to see on the path out because MB was not going to be quiet. It was hot and no shade for the Bridal party. Hubbys Dad (The Major) walked the bride down the aisle beaming and a little sweaty. I felt bad for the guys in black shirts and black suits with pink ties. We met Hubby after work to go to the reception where we knew no one but the bride and the Major and his wife. I know her other kids but... well if you don't have anything nice to say...
It was a nice party with bad food and a DJ who couldn't get his mic to work right. MB threw a nicely timed fit after the toast and we went home. The good news is the Major and his wife want the MK's to visit with them for a week this summer. I love the Major dearly but he has been distant lately. Hubby and I will go pick them up and spend a long weekend in July. They have a place on the lake. The Major wants to teach them to fish. It will be a good chance for the MK's to get to know these grandparents. MG is very excited to fish and swim in the lake. It will be a good time to dye up the 10 lbs of sock yarn I just ordered.

Mil and the Lt Col will be here tomorrow morning. They are heading out again on Tuesday morning so you might not see much of me until then. I have floors to clean and GAL's yarn soaking. I need to get that dyed today. can't soak forever.

On Board

Well now that the Dems have decided that Obama is our man it is time to get on board. He is a moving speaker and really knows how to work his crowd. You can bet there won't be any "my girl didn't win so I'm voting for McBush" here but I do want to say this. Stop telling HRC she needs to get out today so she does not hurt BHO's chances. She is not hurting him in anyway this week. She wants to end her run on her terms not the medias. Let us not forget she has gotten closer than any women in history. Even if you didn't vote for her you have to admit that her run is every bit as historic as his (more so imo as we girls still get short shift all over the world). She wants to end it her own way and not make it seem like the boys pushed her out. Give her a break. It will all be over this weekend and we can move on. BHO needs her and her voters to beat McBush in the fall. Oh and for the record the glass ceiling only shatters when a women sits in the Oval office. Close only counts in Horseshoes. (and also for the record I wanted to vote for Edwards)

So enough of that. Obama is our man! Lets get him in The White House! As he said the other night "...This is our moment, this is our time...to remake our country" (I am quoteing from memory here. I'm close) Lets use it well.

In knitting news I don't have much. I have been busy cleaning the house for my MIL's visit. She is coming Sunday. She won't tell us where they are staying or for how long.sigh. She has not been here since the ugliness last summer. My plan is to smile and nod a lot. If it gets bad I will take my knitting and go somewhere. I don't want the kids to witness another breakdown like the last one. The upside is my house is nice and clean. I even cleaned under the fridge! Her husband the LTC Jim is coming too. I had better get some beer for him. They have been on the go for 2 weeks already. We are their last stop before heading towards home.LTC likes his beer and his home.He also dislikes the drama MIL can stir up. He and I get along well and he feels bad about the way she acts sometimes. I just have to remind myself that she has a short fuse and can not always help herself.

New Suit

I have always been a pretty modest person when it comes to how I dress. I am not one for tight dresses or short skirts. I know Mom is saying but what about the dress you wore to Amy's wedding? Pretty Sexy! A rare exception. Anywho why bring this up? Because yesterday I was shopping with the MK's and looking for a new swim suit for our trip. After boring them to death and trying on every one piece suit in the place I had not found one I liked. Well MG had her own ideas about my swimsuit. I let her pick 3 two piece suits to try on. 2 were the tank top style that made me look bigger than I like in the butt area and the 3rd was a bikini top and very short shorts. I had rejected this one before even putting it on but MG wanted me to try. I bought it. I have no idea what would make me do this. Maybe it was because MB kept saying "Mommy you look cool" or MG saying " Dad will think that totally rocks!" or maybe I am just nuts. I got it home and left it in the bag thinking I would return it. MG told Hubby about it so he told me to try it on again. He likes it. (duh!) and wants me to keep it. I asked him if I looked like I was trying to recapture my youth. I am closer to 40 than 30 after all. He assures me I look great and I should wear it. He then says "You can't even see your stretch marks"

So I said: "I'll wear it but you have to come to the pool with us more."

" How come?" says he

" Cuz all the young dudes at the condo will be looking" says I

"What makes you say that?"

"I've seen you watching the pool" I answer with a grin

"Then you had better spend more time at the pool."

I love this guy!



I'm keeping it. No I won't post a pic on me in it.

In the pool

So the MK's had their first swimming lesson today. MG was first and did a great job. She loves the pool and seemed to listen well to the teacher. I was a little worried about MB because he won't often go anywhere with someone he doesn't know but he lined up with the rest of the class and jumped right in. He was the first in his class to put his head under the water. The teachers seem nice and you can tell they have taught this class many times. I am happy they behaved themselves so well and had fun. 9 more lessons to go!

Back to the guide

Ford Prefect

Deep Thought

Gives us the answer 42, but what is the question?

2 new colorways now up in the shop. Enjoy!