Where have I been?

Nowhere really.  I've been away from the blog because I've been busy.  Well, busy is relative.  Compared to most people, my busy is probably like most people's normal.   I just don't handle having things to do well.  I am amazed by those people who work all day, then have time to do stuff with friends and family, and still squeeze out some time for themselves.  I just can't do it.  I can manage only one thing going on at a time without it seeming super busy.

What's been keeping me busy?  The last week of October and the first week of November, we had a visit from Loops' parents so the time was consumed with shopping, eating out, sightseeing,  and more shopping.  Fun times were had and cool gifts were received.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="HP TouchSmart IQ506"][/caption]

That's right.  They bought me the best gift ever.  It may not look like much, but there's nothing much cooler than a 22" touchscreen.  Not to mention it's very tidy since it's an all-in-one computer.  Even the keyboard and mouse that come with it are nice.  It's sitting on the bar in between my kitchen and living room.  Now I just need a barstool.

Since they flew back home, it's been a bit dull around here.  They are definitely more fun than Loops and me.  I'm mostly just being lazy and Loops has returned to work.  Of course, I'm allowed to be lazy because I had a root canal on Monday.  It wasn't that bad.  In fact, the only bad part was writing the check after it was done.  That was torture!

Of course, one other thing has happened and I've saved it for last because I can see the looks of disappointment forming from all my family as they look below:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Moxie"][/caption]

This is Moxie.  She was adopted on Monday night.  She's very sweet and super playful.  Sure we didn't need another cat, but we've been wanting a third.  We'll try to stop at that number though.  I have a feeling between her and Dottie we'll have our hands too full for any others.

What's being knitted right now?

Not only am I knitting my first sock (which is not showing much progress right now), I am also knitting a few other things.  I'm knitting a scarf out of Bernat Bamboo yarn.  I'm not sure I like how it looks, but it feels so soft I don't really care what it looks like.  I haven't taken any pictures of it.  Sorry.

I am also knitting a Chevron Scarf.  I'm not knitting it nearly fast enough.  I should be finishing it so I can wear it.  The evenings are getting cool enough for scarves.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="352" caption="Chevron Scarf Progress"][/caption]

The other thing I'm working on is a blanket.  It is knit in panels and I'm just on the first one right now, but I'm really liking it and it's easy to knit.  It's become my football knitting.  I'll be continuing with it tonight.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="354" caption="Winging It Blankie Progress"][/caption]

Attempting things beyond my skill level

So I've been thinking about knitting things of a non rectangular shape for awhile now, but have found it a bit scary.  As slow as I am, the thought of knitting a sweater is just too much.  I'm not much of a hat or mitten person either so I decided I'd try knitting socks.  I've mentioned this in a previous blog.  I even bought a book about it (which is what I do when I think I might want to try something). Well, yesterday, the making of a sock officially began.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Trust me. It is a sock."][/caption]

In truth, I almost gave up.  Those first few rounds were awful.  Needles were going everywhere and I really wasn't sure if I could do it.  After the first two or three rounds though, it became much easier to knit.  Hopefully I'll complete this.  I mean, I've already almost quit once and I haven't even gotten to the tough parts yet!   I've only ever done the basics of knitting: knit, purl, simple increases and decreases.  I'm sure making socks isn't that difficult, but I'm going to have to teach myself a lot of things to complete this project.  I'll keep you updated on it no matter what happens.

Spiffying up

Just wanted to do a quick post before the Giants game starts.  Earlier today I reupholstered a stool my father made way back in the day.  I believe he made it while in high school shop class.  He can correct me if I'm wrong about that.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Before"][/caption]

I believe he had his car upholstered in the same material.  Ah, the 60's. :D  I wanted to keep this in my kitchen to reach high shelves, but the animal print just wasn't doing it for me so I decided to find something a bit more subtle.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="After"][/caption]

I picked up the fabric in a bin at Wal-Mart.  I think it was $1.50 and I only used half.  I'm not in love with it, but it's ok.  Don't worry, Dad, the other is still under there.  I wouldn't dare get rid of the original.  I just tidied it up and stapled this material on top of it.

One more thing that really amused me when I found it... the groovy cushion under the leopard print.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Where on earth did this come from, Dad?"][/caption]

Gotta go! Gametime!!!!

I finished something.

It's nice to complete something you've been knitting.  It is especially nice when you knit as slowly as I do.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="334" caption="Lambie modeling Stacy's scarf"][/caption]

Pattern: Diagonal Striped Scarf
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in Taupe and Dusty Blue
Needle: US 10

I did change it a bit from the pattern.  I used a lighter yarn, cast on 32 instead of 14, knit more rows of each color, and I slipped the first stitch of each row because I thought it made it look more tidy.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Diagonal Stripped Scarf Roll"][/caption]

I actually completed this a week a go, but had to wait for Stacy to receive it for her birthday today before posting anything about it.

In other news, the new furniture should be here tomorrow.  Luna's excited because she'll have something to sit on while staring up at the skylights.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="334" caption="Luna in serious stare mode"][/caption]

New Furniture

Since moving here, I've been looking around for different types of furniture for my 3rd floor area, which, of course, is my personal room full of books, my stereo and everything crafty.  The only seating up there has been my old office chair which isn't really inviting for just hanging out and relaxing.  I've been tossing around different ideas of what I might like up there.  I've thought futon, daybed, pile of pillows, sleeper sofa, etc.  As you can probably see, most of those things provide an extra sleep surface, which is part of what I was wanting up there.  Not to mention, I prefer to lay down to read.  Sadly, most of those options were kind of expensive and I couldn't bring myself to fork over that much money.  In my search for things, I found this great site though: Home Decorator's Outlet.  It's from Home Depot's Home Decorator's site, but is the stuff drastically reduced in price because of low stock or newer styles or whatever. And as something that would probably amuse only me and Stacy, its warehouse seems to be run out of Mexico, MO. :D I ended up purchasing a chair and a chaise lounge, both at around 70% off.  And what do they look like?

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="560" caption="Bright Red Chair"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="560" caption="Matching Chaise Lounge"][/caption]

I know, VERY RED and a lot more modern than what is normally "me".  I thought they'd be fun and spice up the 3rd floor.  I'm not sure when I will receive them though.  Freight shipments always seem to take forever. :(

Obviously, they go against my plan to buy a "sleeping surface".  The main reason for this?  I realized the likelihood of more than one person or a couple visiting me at any time is slim to none so I really don't need extra beds.

Now that I've bought furniture for my room, Loops is getting ideas that his man room needs to be furnished. :D

Another day...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Loops in the Wind"][/caption]

Yep, that's right... Another day at the beach.  It was insanely windy today.  You can see the top layer of sand blowing in the picture above.  You can also see Loops (which he is not happy about) taking a photo.  Actually, I would guess he was taking about 100 photos since he was in that position for about 5 minutes.  We had a nice time though.  There were quite a few people parasurfing, which I had never seen before.  It was cool.  Nothing I'd ever do, of course, but it was fun to watch.

We didn't get home until after dark.  I went straight for my supper before Loops could steal it.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="385" caption="Suppertime!"][/caption]

It's Shepards Pie according to the recipe, but technically I think it's Cottage Pie because it is using beef instead of lamb.  I varied the recipe this time by using peas instead of carrots.  Next time I'll use both.  It'll be all colorful and fun that way.  It was yummy.  In fact, it was so yummy I had it for supper last night, lunch today, and then finished it off tonight.

In knitting news, I started a scarf for myself.  I'm not sure about it yet, but once I knit a few more rows I'll  know if it's a keeper or not.  Also, it's my first time to use a yarn lighter than worsted.  I think I like using the lighter stuff.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Chevron Started"][/caption]

Dottie was not impressed, though.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The biggest yawn ever!"][/caption]

What's the haps?

There's not much happening around here, but I'll do my best to fill ya'll in on everything since there were complaints about the lack of content in the last post.

The weather's been great here in Charleston the past few days. It seems Fall is finally coming and I'm excited about it. I've had my fill of the super hot and humid. I just wish I had a yard to sit out and enjoy the weather. I guess I can't complain though. I don't have to mow grass and if I want to enjoy the outdoors, I can just go to the beach. In fact, Loops and I went to Folly Beach again Thursday evening for a couple of hours. While Loops took pictures of graffiti, I spent some time with the birds watching the waves come in.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Watching the Waves"][/caption]

It was very peaceful. I'm not sure about Loops, but I had a good time. After the beach, we went out to eat and to the bookstore. I picked up Getting Started Knitting Socks by Ann Budd.  I haven't delved too deep into the book yet, but it looks informative so, hopefully, I'll be knitting socks soon enough.

In other knitting news, I finished another dishcloth.  It was for Mom, and since she's received it, I can post a picture.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Did I mention I love this pattern?"][/caption]

I've purchased more cotton yarn because Loops is demanding a new dishcloth of his very own so you will be seeing yet another dishcloth picture in the near future.  I'm still working on Stacy's scarf.  I've adjusted the pattern more, given it thicker stripes.  The picture below shows both versions.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="357" caption="New vs. Old"][/caption]

I've completed about a foot of scarf, which is a little over twice as much as pictured above.  I should be finished with it by now, but I haven't been working on it as much as I should.  I'll try to do better.  I promise.

To finish off for the night, I leave you with my half-eaten dessert.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Tiramisu, or as it likes to be called, TIRAM'SU"][/caption]

I got this at Publix tonight.  I got a kick out of opening it and seeing they'd "labeled" it.  It was pretty good for store bakery dessert. :P

Nifty widget and photos

In a total and shameless ploy to get ya'll to buy me stuff, I give you the widget I just noticed on Amazon:


Cool, huh? ;-)

I've managed to edit a few of the photos I've been taking.  I didn't get to the ones from Magnolia Gardens or ones I took earlier in the year at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens, but I did do a couple from Folly Beach the other day.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="333" caption="Folly Island"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="379" caption="Graffiti and the Morris Island Lighthouse"][/caption]

I also editted a couple of random flower pictures. The first is from a few months ago, back in Alabama:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="A little bit of home"][/caption]

The second is from some pretty flowers Loops bought for me.  Sadly it's the only picture I got of the flowers because I waited to take pictures until they were past their prime. :(

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="333" caption="The Gift"][/caption]

That's it for now.  I know I didn't have much to say.  Maybe next time. :D

My new toy

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="372" caption="My new Centro"][/caption]

It's great... and totally more phone than I need, but it was just to cool to ignore. :)  Lewis got the extact same phone, but it's white, with green buttons where mine are white.  His is almost as cool as mine.  Almost. :D

A scarf, the beach, and 200+ books

What do these things have in common?  Nothing other than me and what I was up to yesterday.  I started off my day by driving out to Folly Beach.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Folly Beach "][/caption]

Unlike a lot of people, I wouldn't step foot in the water and sitting in the sand holds no appeal for me.  I mostly go for the solitude and to commune with nature, if you will.  Luckily, there weren't many people there yesterday.  I managed to get a good walk, take a few pictures, and collect a few shells.  It was nice.  Unfortunately, I couldn't stay very long because it was HOT.  With the sun shining, it didn't take long for me to feel like I was cooking so I headed home after an hour.

After I got home, I decided to tackle a problem on the third floor, which is my room, by the way.  It is home for all my craft stuff, my music, and books.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Book Addict"][/caption]

Did I mention it was a huge problem?  I have piles of books all over the floor.  I'm not sure how many there are, but I'm trying to organize them and figure it out.  Sadly, I don't have bookshelves for them yet.  I need to get some soon.  As for the organizing, I'm just trying to sort them and catalog what I have.  I've decided to use weRead to catalog everything.  I'm not sure how much I like it, but it's online so I'll always have access and there may be improvements made to the site in the future.  Right now I'm up to 225 books.  I'm not finished taking inventory though.  The sad thing is that I've only been collecting books for a few years.  I used to hate to read, but at about the age of 25, I started up.  By the time I'm old, no telling how many books I'll own!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Diagonal Stripe Scarf"][/caption]

Lastly, I started a scarf.  It's the Diagonal Striped Scarf.  It's a nice pattern, but I wasn't thinking about what I was doing when I started it.  With all the stockinette stitch action, I really should've used something natural that would block, but I had some cheap acrylic and thought I'd use it.  The colors are pretty though and were selected with my sister in mind.  Hi Stacy! ;)  I ended up binding off not long after the picture above was taken and I will test it to see if I can get the thing to lay flat.  If so, I will recast on and maybe make the bands of color thicker.  I haven't decided yet.

Magnolia Gardens

This past weekend Lewis and I visited Magnolia Plantation and Garden.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Magnolia Gardens Bridge"][/caption]

We went early, but it was still very humid.  It took about 30 minutes for our cameras to adjust to the environment.  We decided to just tour the grounds and leave off the house tour.  The gardens were very nice and I got lots of flower pictures.  I have yet to process them, but hopefully some will turn out nicely.  There were several cute wooden bridges on the property.  Unfortunately, the one above was the only one that photographed decently.  All the others were over water that was covered in a very unattractive green scum. :?

In other news from the weekend, I finally finished the Chinese Wave Dishcloth.  It turned out nicely.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="334" caption="Chinese Waves Dishcloth is finally finished!"][/caption]

I love the different textures on the two sides! :D

Getting back in the swing of things

I first started knitting in January of this year. I was inspired after my mother-in-law started making me scarves. I don't think I'd ever even owned a scarf until she knitted me one. I love them now though and decided it'd be cool to make my own. So I started knitting. I was going strong for a few months. I knitted a scarf, a few cat toys, and a dishcloth. It probably would've been more, but I think I may be the slowest knitter in the world. I then took a few months off from knitting while getting ready to and then finally moving. Now that I'm all settled in, I've started again. I'm working on another scarf and another dishcloth.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Chinese Waves Dishcloth"][/caption]

Pattern: Chinese Waves Dishcloth by Margaret K.K. Radcliffe
Yarn: Cotton Ease in Stone
Needle: 9 ( size 7 is recommended, but I am a super tight knitter)

This is a fun, quick knit and useful to boot. I need to make a whole pile of these so I can throw away my storebought dishcloths. I hate them. :|

The Everyman

That time of year has come again where every amateur photographer around gets to enter, in my opinion, the best photo contest around, The Everyman Photo Contest.  I've been entering since either 2004 or 2005.  I can't remember exactly.  I'm happy to say that a photo or two has been noticed by some of the judges, although I've never come close to winning.  It's cool though.  There are so many great amatuer photographers out there, it's just an honor to get recognized at all.

For this year's Everyman, I have submitted two photos.  The first:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="332" caption="Follow the Leader"][/caption]

This photo was taken on Tybee Island, GA on my honeymoon roadtrip.  It's actually my favorite from the whole trip.  I battled gusting winds and freezing cold (OK, not technically, but it was cold!) to get this picture.

The second picture is actually from 2006 when I was visiting Wales and went to the National Botanic Gardens.  Oddly, it was extremely cold then too.  I've always loved this photo even though no one else has been that crazy about it.  I love the abstractness of it.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Under Attack"][/caption]

We'll have to wait to see if any of the judges like the photos.  I believe the results won't be out until December.

Please excuse the mess.

So I've been working on getting my website going for months now.  I'm not sure what's taking me so long.  Disinterest, I suppose.  I get in the mood to work on some part of it and then after a few days I'm back to ignoring it's existence.  I'm not sure if anyone even comes to the site, but if you do... I'm sorry for the mess.  I know some links don't work and there is very little happening here, but someday I will get this thing finished and will keep the blog updated on all that's going on.  Promise. ;)