let it snow

another snow day except now it's just raining... yuck!

All 3 kids have now had the virus and hopefully we're done with it. I need to get up and moving so I don't feel so old. Tomorrow will be schedule as usual. With any luck there will be no more snow days before I go in to DS1's class to show spinning (or 4 more ;-o )

The college even closed today which is unprecedented. There's not that much snow, I don't get it!

Day 3 of flat belly diet.... I'm not hungry just bored with the food....

10 Favorite Articles of Clothing You Own

I'm not really the fashion diva.. could be my current weight so you'll find my favorite things are all comfy, kind of like old friends

• my soft fleece Gap sweat pant.... they ALWAYS fit
  
• my tie dye dresses... so comfy
  
• my sheepskin slippers (OK it's an accessory, but....)
  
• my white flouncy gauze skirt
  
• purple yoga pants from NY&C
  
• purple ski vest that SIL bought me for Christmas
  
• all my birkis
  
• my handknit socks
  
• GAP long sleeve Ts they're so soft!
  
• Gloria Vanderbilt cropped jeans that Anne gave me
  

tips on unknitting

I was asked if I ever posted how to deconstruct and frog sweaters from the thrift store.I won't presume to be the expert but here's a list of really good sites to visit if you want to try it on your own. I suggest you look at them before you head out to grab a sweater from your nearest thrift store though

• My Virtual Sanity
  
• neauveau fiber arts
  
• recycling yarn
  
• Soulful hues hobbies and random thoughts
  

And just in case you don't know where you nearest thrift store might be. Have a look here to help you out!

I joined NaBloPoMo for February.. at least it's a short month ;-)

thrifting again

yesterday in the morning I ran out to the thrift store and hit a motherlode :-)

These are for felting projects. Some valentine teachery things, some mittens and some Christmas.







JCrew This may be felted for a Christmas project or frogged for yarn, still deciding!








These are to frog:


100% cashmere























this one may need to stay in the felted state if I can't frog it.... will think of something nice to do with it as I have 2 other cashmere sweaters given to me that were felted.










GAP silk/wool blend












silk/cashmere blend









JCrew wool/angora rabbit blend already frogged the sleeves and back. The front was serged to the button band:-( so I'll felt that for mittens







I also got this beautiful mahogany serving dish made in haiti. It will be great for parties with crudité and dip in the center :-)






and 7 of these cute little silverplated knives which I'll use on cheese trays.

I came home smiling :-)

everything is as it was

DS2 stayed home today with DH. He's fine now.
DH is taking SIL to the airport for her return trip home. Boy, am I gonna miss her.

Found this photo of the beautiful moon that was out on my bday but somehow I missed.



I'm ready to sleep

sick kiddo

so I was putting DS2 to bed tonight. I laid down with him knowing full well that I'd be asleep before he was. That cuppa joe I had last night at 10:30 kept me up until 4:30 this morning.. so I was feeling kinda tired. All of a sudden he wakes up crying... and I knew it was inevitable... projectile vomiting... all over the bed AND me. These are the moments I hate having long hair. He's sleeping soundly in my bed now... question is where will I sleep????? His bed is stripped and airing out. I hope he's finished for the night.

10 on tuesday

is all about favorite sports moments.

I don't have 10...
but 2 of mine were from the men's swimming in this Olympics.


Other than that I was whooping it up with my 6th graders during the inauguration today. What a happy day! (sorry Eric) DD and I will watch some of the pre-ball stuff together. It's a girly thing that I am sure she'll enjoy.

thrifting

so I had the itch to thrift today. I took my SIL to SA in A-twn hoping to clean up... sadly, I didn't. I got some great sweaters for mittens that are even already felted for me. And picked up this really soft autumn tweed sweater from the Limited..... got it home and remembered that I have a blue tweed one just like it that is such a bear to frog.. well deconstruct. The seams are mattress stitched and it's really hard to find the right thread in all the mess..... but the yarn is so soft. It's a blend of wool, viscose, nylon, silk and cashmere in really pretty colors (as is the blue) I could smack myself in the head!

I did find (well SIL found them but they were too big for her) a pair of nine west shoes for 5.99 that were brand new... very dressy black slides with a heel but the old kind of wide in width but not in length heel. You can see that my shoe vocabulary is expansive. I'm not a shoe girl, most obviously. But they have a square toe and are a kind of satiny upper so would look great for a concert, so they came home with me.

we were out most of the day looking for some things for her b4 she goes back home on Friday. I'm going to miss her......lots.

my life in the zoo

We had a blast yesterday at the zoo. The behind the scenes stuff was fine, a bit boring for the kids, but the animals that were out and moving were so much fun. We went to the giraffe barn and got to go into the galapogas tortoise exhibit. There was a reptile thing where we saw one of the pythons close enough to touch. Some of the extra behind the scenes we skipped but our favorite spot was the big cat walk.

DS1 was playing for a LONG time with one tiger. He'd run outside and the tiger would see him, actually look for him. Then DS would run back into the place with the glass separation and the tiger would run right up to the glass. They would have touched noses were it not for the glass. Then they pawed at each other and the running game started over again. It was so funny and DS LOVED it.
He had watched an older boy doing the same thing with the lions and got the idea to try it with the tigers. It was almost closing time and I'm sure about dinner time for the tigers, so they were looking for some interaction. Plus it was a tad chilly... about 18° F.


The pumas were out and very playful as well. They were enjoying people watching. The zoo has a set of triplets (2 boys and a girl) that were found orphaned because a hunter had shot their mother. Fortunately he had reported it and a animal rescue team went out searching for the pups. They knew it was vital because they discovered that the mother was still lactating. These cats have been in captivity just about all their lives so when the zoo heard the story, they pounced on it and the cats were transferred to Phila. To distinguish the one male from the other the zookeepers have painted a black mark on its left hindquarter. It actually looks very natural though.

If you want a great book to read to your kids try Verdi. It's about a snake. This snake reminds me so much of the snake in the book, I had to take its picture.

The orangutans were having a blast but sadly I have no good pictures to share....

prayers answered

thank you saint anthony for prayers answered. DH's vest (well if you can call it that) is found. Last night I sat down in my chair to do something else, I think I was putting away my options needles that had been out for other projects and looked to the left and there it was staring up at me. It had NOT been there before. So there you have it!

I have another Lizard Ridge block done. Here are the two that are completed

Noro kureyon color 175C

Noro kureyon color 149F

I need to find the ball band of the one OTN now but I think it's color 194.

I have pictures from my Chorus concert. I didn't take them, so they aren't as good as I'd like, but it's better than nothing. The fat blob in the red skirt is me. Hopefully I'll be thinner by the spring concert. We all have on scarves because the concert was about snow. We don't have an auditorium in my school, so we have to use the gym for all our programs... kind of stinks. But DH built the big white screen and I do a power point to go along with all the stuff so that there is some kind of scenery. This year I hung up snowflakes the kids made from the ceiling. at different heights. Just to add a touch of something. The shredded paper is supposed to be like snow. In the last song the kids sing about going outside and throwing a bunch of snow... so at the very end they all threw white yarn pompom balls into the audience. It was kind of fun.

I have a long weekend since I took a trade day from the summer. So does the rest of the family. I hope I get to do something fun for me... I'm feeling the urge to go thrifting really badly. Not that I need anything, just for the hunt!

Tomorrow we go behind the scenes at the Phila. zoo.... just hope we don't freeze!

10 things you're really good at

• singing classical and religious music
  
• teaching
  
• knitting
  
• cross-stitch
  
• organizing choice things
  
• math
  
• baking
  
• sleeping
  
• eating
  
• drinking
  

Yes the last 2 are tongue in cheek..... but I am good at them!

Play along

prayers to st. anthony

I can't find DH's vest I'm making him. I had done up to the armholes in the back and then we decided that the resulting fabric was to stiff.. so I ripped out down to the ribbing at the waist... and carried it around for a bit, but left it for after Christmas, and of course now, can't find it....


I made a block for Lizard Ridge on Friday. Color 175C. Made another tonight color 149F.
Pictures to come.

what color flower?

You Are an Orange Flower

An orange flower tends to represent boldness, energy, and warmth. At times, you are courageous, like a poplar tree. And at other times, you are hopeful, like an orange iris. And more than you wish, you bond too quickly to people, like a honeysuckle.

What Color Flower Are You?

I love orange... it's a happy color and I could use some of it about now!

3 down 197 to go

I made my SIL these 6 cloths. I intended them for dishes but she says she won't use them for that cuz they're too pretty... crazy girl. I used the 365 knitting stitches a year perpetual calender for all of them and lily's sugar 'n cream cotton in white (her preferred house color)

Jan 28 - fagotted lace panel CO 43


Feb 9 - feather and fan CO 4O


Mar 4 - crossed stockinette CO 42


Nov 6 - star CO 43


Dec 25 - rice CO 43


Dec 31 - bamboo CO 41


Yarn: Lily Sugar 'n Cream
Color: white
Needle: US6


No school today because of ice. This is good because it changes the day that Tuesday is next week. Don't ask, it will make no sense... but trust me. I was happy! I could go for a late start tmrw. I'm really not feeling the love there. I feel overworked and underappreciated. But a short week now this week. Next week is my birthday and the concert and then the following week is short because of MLK day and the fact that I took a class this summer for a trade day.

My neighbor is driving me nuts of late. He plays loud music very late. It's almost midnight and I hear wild drumming through the wall (we live in half a double) I'm wondering if he has rockband for PSP or Wii.

I've been pretty good about working out on Wii... missed today though because everyone was home and I couldn't get on. Now DS2 is sleeping in front of the TV so I hate to move him and wake him up and I can't work out there.

Natalie and I got together and worked on the stuff for the spring concert. Earth Day in the park with all environmentally consious songs. I'm excited for it, but want to get the winter concert over with first. I made her a CD of our concert together from last year. I think she was really happy!

K off to do some lunch packing and get prepared for the am... blech. I love my job when I'm with the kids, it's the other adults I can't stand!

10 things you'd like to do in 2009

• finish my poncho
  
• spend more time with DH
  
• actually sing decent repertoire (maybe a recital)
  
• sew more
  
• be ready for Christmas 2009 before December
  
• keep my house tidy
  
• knit every day
  
• spin all the fiber in the stash (that's a dream)
  
• travel fun places
  
• get fit
  

Play along

200 stash down

I'm going to try to knit 200 balls of yarn this year as a part of knitting down my stash.

So far I've knit one ball of white kitchen cotton. I'm working on the 2nd right now. I figure if I knit down 200 balls it will reduce my stash by about 1/3 or so. Right now I have 498 yarns stashed. That's including fiber and doesn't count multiple balls. So I really don't have an accurate count. It's a good goal though and I'm hoping to do it.

I'm also looking only to enhance with either sock yarn or recycled yarn....wish me luck!