It's a bird, a plane, it's a shawl?

So I finally blocked the shawl. I forgot to measure it before blocking but after it measured 7'7" by 3'8". I can't believe it grew so much. The only place big enough to block it was right in the middle of the living room. Everyone was thrilled to tip toe around it. Actually, Hbomb pretended it was a boat for a while. Here are the pictures. Chloe took them, that's why they're so good.

I really want to knit another shawl some time. It was mindless knitting, even the border was easy to memorize.

That is item #6 on my new years resolution list!
Another one down!

Pour Becky : maintenant vous le besoin de faire le Web de Charlotte ! C'est un si beau modèle et le filé est si parfait ! (hope thats right)

Tag, Yard, & Garage Sales Galore

It's getting warm in our neck of the woods so yard sale season is starting. This weekend we got some great finds. (this is really funny since I'm trying to buy less) Here is a list of what I can remember:

Shirt for Troy .25
Shorts for Troy .25
glass vase 1.00
silk scarf .25
wire grate thing for cooking on a open fire .25
bbq scraping tool (new) .25
Marbleworks discovery toy $1.00
fleece vest for Chloe .50
Shorts for Chloe .50
Jeans for Chloe .50
4 cloth bags for groceries $1.00
misc. toys my kids got free because they're cute

When we got home I put everything away and Hbomb found this strange "little people" doll on the floor. She appearently needed a new family and stowed away in something we bought.

Her name is Sabine and she's a little...strange. She moves about the house by herself(though we have yet to catch her in the act, just in a new location) and likes to take a hot tub with HBomb.

Signs of Spring

My Sweet Peas are coming up! I was worried they wouldn't.



Spring is coming!

Also, thinking of decluttering your stuff? Here is a neat site I found and am planning on using this term when explaining myself to others Discardia.

Spring cleaning here I come!

Another Project or Two

I forgot to tell you that the business that was closing was a fabric store. Well, when I went in to get my bookshelf, I picked up some fabric.


The fabric on the left will be an apron. I've needed one for a while and hate the fact that I've ruined at least three shirts in the last year due to cooking catastrophies.

The fabric on the right will be a cute little tote bag for things like a book and knitting project. This idea is from Super Eggplant. You too could make a bag.

In other news, I really need to block my shawl so I can show you all pictures. Maybe after the apron.

The Project

A few weeks ago I bought a bookshelf ($75) from a business that was closing down. They needed all the fixtures until their last day so I didn't get it until last week. It needed some work so guess what I did nearly all weekend....yup, sanded, painted, painted, painted, painted, and then painted some more. Here are the before and after pictures.
Before (boring white, with pink and blue accents) After(need I say more)

The red took at least 12 coats to look even. The black was 4 coats and went on more smoothly. Either I got crappy paint, or red is just harder to use.

The shocking thing about this project is I learned Troy is a master painter (and pain in the ass about that fact...yes I have paint issues). It's as if the paint behaves for him. He can effortlessly paint a shelf and it might only need 2 coats instead of the 7 coats it would take me.

Ahh well, he has the gift...I always wondered which gift, now I know....paint.

The Cool Birthday Gift

So this year for my birthday (April 5th if your wondering), I've decided to get a nice leather journal to record all things not blog worthy or that I don't want to share (sorry, I'm holding back on you).
I'm buying it from this company and these are a few of my choices. Different color options are available. Any help on this choice would be appreciated. I'm going for the small version 4.75inches x 7inches. It's a refillable journal so this is a lifetime choice (no pressure).

Shiners and Other Misc.

Henry got a black eye. Our sink in the bathroom is right in front of the toilet and he leaned forward to pull up his drawers when KABOOM! After lots of tears it looked like he might just get a bruise on his eye brow. Two days later, Troy is asking him what he did to his eye. So the bruise moved to above his eye. It isn't too bad but it is a first for HBomb. See the pics below.

I've been going to the thrift shop again. I got a navy skirt and a great cookbook called "Laurel's Kitchen" for $2.50. I also just recently inherited my mom's old "Magic Chef" stove. It's only about 5 yrs old but she wanted one with a flat cooking surface so she gave me her old one. So the very old avocado stove is living in the basement. HBomb thinks this is very "silly" and plays cooking on it.

My blog friend Becky from Fluffa has started a new blog for knitters who live in France. It's in French and English and is so well put together. She's so clever, check it out Life in the Frog Pond. There is also a super cute picture of her son in a frog suit in the left column.

HBomb loves Captain Destructo!

Part 3 "The Long Road Home"

I read some where that Europeans think 100 miles is a long way and that Americans think 100 years is a long time... Well the trip home always seems like both to me.

We left Spokane at about 10:30 after a breakfast of fresh fruit, peasant bread, fried ham, and cheese. So simple, so yummy. We grabbed some gas for the ride home (1.77 p/gal if you care to know) and a peppermint pattie (or two).

As soon as we couldn't get a good radio station (the ones promising salvation don't count) I plugged in a tape called "Peaceful Parenting". I knew that the only way to get Troy to listen to it was going to be under captive audience mode so I brought it along. It was very interesting. They apparently just recorded a seminar so there was a lot of background noise. It was pretty good.

That was pretty much it. We got home unloaded, then went to get the kids and Le Pooch. I recommend that if you do a trip away from the kids plan for two nights. One just didn't seem like enough.

Part 2 "The Concert and the Drag Queens that Got Away"

So the concert we went to was in a place called "The Big Easy". It's formulated to give you a "New Orleans" Experience from this point on it will be known as The Big Cheesy because it is. All the way down to the black bouncers who litter the place like well....black bouncers. I think that is a cliche to have only black security at an establishment that is supposed to trick you into thinking you have traveled to New Orleans why not Drag Queen Security...now that would be something! But I'll get to that in a minute.

So the Big Cheesy is an all ages venue. There are two bars one on the balcony and one on the floor. Before you're allowed in, they check your id and give you an arm band if you're 21 and over or two huge black X's on the back of both hands if you are underage. It kinda looks like some sort of punk rock stigmata actually....

The only thing separating the bar section from the non-bar section is some sort of railing that's waist high. So, if you were so inclined you could pour your alcohol laden drink into your minor friend's cup fairly easily. Oh, and you can't buy a drink downstairs and carry it up stairs because the stairs are considered "all ages". Also, the place was soooo smoky it burns your eyes and you leave smelling like an ashtray.

There were 2 opening bands for Liz. One sort of White Stripes duo without drums, and a folksy sort of Neil Young guy who was very good. During most of this, everyone stayed at these mini cafe tables drinking and smoking. There were a few people on the floor maybe 20.

Then Liz came out and I wanted to go to the floor because you could basically walk right up to the stage and watch. When she started maybe 30 people made it to the floor. The rest sat on their asses and watched from the top of their over priced drink cups. (god Americans are lazy) Ms Phair's set totally rocked. She was very pretty and sounded great. (My husband has the hugest crush on her now) After her show she signed autographs from the stage for anyone who wanted one. Of course Troy was delighted, she signed his ticket stub. I told him he should have brought his favorite heart underwear for her to sign and we all sighed with afterthought....(sigh)
Check out Darwin's Camera for a concert photo.

So after the show, we walk out of the building glad to be back in Washington State. (although I'm sure it would have been warmer in Louisiana) What should I spy across the 5 lane one way street!!! A giggle of Drag Queens. So I tell Troy "Hey! Dude looks like a lady!"(one of the items for the online scavenger hunt) but the traffic is so busy we have to go to the corner to cross. By the time we get there they have dispersed like a the sparks from a 4th of July Firework in the night. But wait, I see one in this building....MY GOD HE/SHE MUST BE 7 FT TALL! AND WEARING A TIARA!!! What??!! A $5 cover? No way! Bummer, Troy Drank all our extra money! DAMN! How often can you say, "The Drag Queen That Got Away..." sigh...

to be continued

Road Trip Part 1 "The Ride Up"

You all must be thinking, "WOW, must have been a crazy trip, she hasn't blogged it yet." Well, yes and no. I have been trying to limit my computer time because when I'm on the computer, I become "ZOMBIE MOM" and things go on all around me that I don't notice until I get off. Then I become "MEAN MOM" and that is never any good.

Since this trip has a lot of things to post about, I've decided to do it in installments. So bear with me...

We dropped off the kids and La Pooch at about 10:00 then drove up. On the drive I worked on my Tasha Tudor shawl a bit trying to savor the small amount of knitting left on it. When a project is a year old from start to finish, it kind of becomes a friend you can turn to for simple knitting pleasure....(sigh) I also tried to read a little from an old copy of Utne magazine. There were some great articles in it about down time. How Americans don't have enough and why we always feel the need to schedule every minute of the day. Also, people who choose to not schedule things become weirdos. I think I'm a part time weirdo. With kids, it's sometimes not so easy to just go with the flow of the day.

Troy and I argued about something...can't remember what it was (I was PMSing. I know what a lame excuse). I was a little nervous about staying on my diet while on the road. I brought my water bottle (I try and drink 96 oz a day) and some healthy snacks. When we got to the city, we stopped at Quiznos for lunch because...."They got a pepper bar".

After lunch we went to my brother's apartment. He lives in a gated complex called (I am so not kidding) "The whimsical Pig...a charming hamlet" I wish I had gotten a picture of the sign to the place. My sister-in-law is finishing up nursing school and needed a few hours to study so the three of us took off to do some shopping for a pedal trailer for H-Bomb. We found one:



Then we went to this awesome store called "Huckleberries". It was natural foods grocery store. Organic produce, meats, cheeses, medicine, etc. I bought some peasant bread, cheese, and apples for breakfast the next morning. I also picked up some beeswax birthday candles.(I've been looking for these for a while and didn't want to mail order) Basically this store is my dream grocery store and I will never live next to one unless I move.

We headed back to the apartment. I finished the Tasha Tudor shawl with ONE YARD of yarn left! Talk about cutting it close. By then, it was time to get ready for the concert....

On the Road

We are leaving tomorrow to go to the Liz Phair concert and I'm getting so excited! The kids are staying with my mom, as well as the pooch. We're staying for free at my brother's. Alone time with my sweetie, who could ask for anything more....

I do have to come up with a alternate knitting project though. The shawl won't take me but an hour to finish, then I'll have nothing. Here is the dilema, I didn't really want to start any new projects until the current unfinished ones are done. The problem with that is the only thing left is the Norwegian sweater from hell and it takes a little more concentration than say...socks. I do have some new sock yarn so I might bring that. They are a small handy little project that I can continue to take with me but, when you do socks it's almost like doing two projects since there are two to knit....

Ahh hell, I'm sure I'll figure it out.

BTW, check out the new posts at Darwins Camera

Still Lovin' It!

I have to tell you, I'm loving this lace boarder thing. It goes relatively fast and the effect is so cool. My camera's batteries are dead so I can't take a picture of the (now two) awesome corners I turned on the shawl. They didn't pucker, curl, or undulate. I am hoping by the weekend, it will be ready to block.

I have come to the conclusion that a shawl would be a great article for someone who had a blankie when they were a kid. I didn't but am seeing the benefits of one:
1) It's warm.
2) Being warm, it's relaxing.
3) I'd seriously consider killing if anyone did anything to my shawl.

OK, I probably should give it away since I am getting way to attached...

YEAH RIGHT!!!