one of these things is not like the other

so we're having some work done outside the house. The guys that are doing it all look alike except one.... (there's a fourth who matches but isn't in the picture cuz he's driving the grapple bulldozer thing.)
anyway can you spot the 2 differences in the men?

so we're attaching the gas line to switch the heating from oil to gas. Getting a new furnace for the summer vacation. The hole they put in the street is large enough to bury me. and the two in the yard could bury small animals (like dogs or cats) of course my snapdrapgons are now gone for good... They've been there since 8 AM and it's almost 8 hours later.... lots of tools too.





The downside (may be an upside) is I have to empty the stash rooms and clean them out when the furnace people come to take out the oil tanks and furnace and water heater and install the new ones.... i guess a little revisit to the stash will be useful. Perhaps it will be a great time to destash on ravelry or elsewhere

tulips

are a girl's best friend...
Thought I'd show you mine. I really love the color. Perfect pick me up from a sweetheart











Including a couple of better pictures of the cloths... these are taken with a real camera.

flower friday

except today is thursday... oh well, wishful thinking to bring on the weekend.
I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden.....do you remember that song from the 70's, sung by Lynn Anderson? It was a 2 grammy winner in '71, one for Anderson and one for writer Joe South. Anyway, it popped in my head as I was snapping pictures in my garden. The roses are particularly pretty this year.
















I'm sad that I didn't get some taken of my favorite before DH cut it back. The petals are deep red on the interior and white on the exterior. It's a very thorny stem and near the back door. Always makes me a bit nervous with the kids around.













This is one that was one of the first things that caught my eye May of 1999, when we first looked at this house. It's a very tall plant and the root ball is loosening.





This bush is saving itself... When I stand at my kitchen doing dishes and look out the window, this is what I see. It's a beautiful deep peach color. I love this bush. And it's right next to the lilac. How pretty it would be if they bloomed at the same time!




My neighbor gets to appreciate this bush that climbs up the side of my house. If it's not trimmed well it bites you when you walk past. I try to let it sneak in a wide path though so I can see it from the kitchen window as well.


Lest you think there are only roses, I leave you with a beautiful iris. I really love these giant Dutch iris. And another of my favorite flowers. These can talk to you. The ones I have now are volunteers.






One year I planted about 10 snapdragon plants and I've had them every year since. I really love them even though I pulled many out last summer. They had overtaken the yard like weeds. Always need to have some in the garden though :-)

he's so sweet

we met at Wegman's for dinner and it was pretty obvious that my mood wasn't the best. (horrible last period class... really I'm so glad it was the last time I'll see them until September and with any luck the dynamics will be better from mixing the kids in different homerooms) so after we all ate, I took the older 2 to pick out gifts for birthday parties they're attending this weekend while he did the grocery shopping. (DS2 went to the store's child care) I got home with the older 2 and there were these sitting on the kitchen counter waiting to be put in water.


His parents arrive tomorrow morning for 40 days. I'll say no more.

We stopped at the Boutique at the Rink while we were out looking for b'day gifts (scoping for yarn of course) Unfortunately, it opened yesterday and by this evening most of the good stuff is gone... no yarn but I found 2 pairs of needles; a size 10 in white plastic and a size 8 in metal. The 8s will be perfect for school next year :-)
I'm gonna work on getting as many 8s as possible keeps the heat of the chopsticks down, although I've already started collecting for them as well. Can never have too many. I'd like to start a knitting group at school. If my schedule allows that is!

These iris came from the yard. The rhizomes were given to me by our neighbor. I believe they're described as black. The picture doesn't do them justice. They look like velvet.


I finished yet another lizard ridge square last night while watching je t'aime Paris.
And cast on for Shirley's may mid-month cloth KAL that I was previously having some troubles with.. it's going rather well now, I'm happy to say. I'll probably gift it to a dear colleague/friend who just moved to her newly built house.

I also mailed out my Weekly dishcloth KAL out from ravelry. I hope my partner likes her cloth and the skein of Lion Cotton and magnet I sent her. (yes I forgot to take a picture of the goodies... bad blogger, I know!)

I'm hoping to go back to the sale tmrw or Sat (bag day) to look for cashmere or merino to frog and/or white cotton to tie dye for me. (sheets would be good too!) I may pick up a belt while there (I almost did that tonight, but the DC weren't that patient with dear old mom)

happy memorial day.

time to get out the American flag, I suppose... take down the pointsettia... what will Mrs. M say? LOL

We spent Sat evening and all day today with our dear friends in Plainsboro. In the afternoon, we took all the kids to a park nearby and in the park were many trees. On one tree were many flowers (I know this sounds like the rattlin' bog song... I promise it stops soon) which were falling off the tree along with at least a pair of leaves and hitting me in
the head. I brought some home to photograph so I could determine what kind of tree it was. So I've posted a picture of the flower and the leaf as well. If you can help me in my search, thanks!



I finished Lizard Ridge square 8. It's really pretty.

I'm becoming addicted to knitting this thing. As soon as I bind off, I want to cast on a new square. I think it's going to be so incredibly beautiful when it's all finished.

I had to rip back on Rachel's cloth KAL, cuz I goofed up something in the lace. That's what I get for trying to knit lace when talking to family. So I cast on another garter slip stitch cloth for the way home and am about 40% through it. This one will be gifted to another colleague who seemed a bit pouty about my last gifting. Seems more of my friends than I realize like to wash their dishes with homemade cloths. ;-)

Have to post these gorgeous iris pics. We had a stormy week and my garden iris were beat up. So rather than let them die rain trodden on the ground, I cut them off and brought them indoors to decorate a bit. I think this small one is a Japanese iris, it's a volunteer that every year gets more blooms...
Love it! The other 2 are bearded iris that were gifted to me from my next door neighbor (who can also enjoy them while they are in my garden!)

DD had a school project to interview a character from a book she read and make a face of that character. She chose the some Barbie character from Mermaidia (not that book but one in that series) and here she is being that character for her interview:




I leave you with more flower pictures... happy crafting on memorial day. Make something for a vet!

short projects

are flying off the needles.

Pattern: Garter slip stitch dishcloth by Monika
Yarn: Lily's Sugar 'n Cream
Colors: Hot Blue and Hot Green
Needle: US6
Recipient: ravelry dishcloth swap partner
This has become my new favoirte 2 color cloth to knit. It's fast and easy and I love the nubby textrue it creates. I think it will be really good for washing dishes (or bodies) Actually I've started my second tonight in a colorway that matches the cloth below, but I'm tweaking the pattern in just one little area.....will post more about that later.

Pattern: Mason Dixon Ballband cloth
Yarn: Elmore Pisgah Peaches and Cream
Colors: Persimmon and Tea Rose
Needle: US6
Reciepient: Darlene

This is the first ballband that I've actually made correctly. I discovered that I had been knitting them with a mistake up until now (knitting all 4 rows of the bricks... such a dummy head!)

Tomorrow I am chaperoning our third graders (with many others) to Quiet Valley. Usually I never get to go on field trips but the one teahcer recently had eye surgery and still can't see out of one eye, so it's really not safe for her to go and be in charge. Instead, she'll be teaching my classes and I'll be chaperoning her kids. I love quiet Valley, so it's hardly a hardship for me to do this, even though it is mth easiest day of the week for me, until after Memorial Day that is. But I can spend the day knitting, while on the bus both ways and when the folks are lecturing in each building. I'm really excited about goin.

I took some pictures of the iris in the garden today so that my mom could see the them (since they came from her garden originally. There is one that is all white with lavendar at the edges that I want a ictuer of, but the sun didn't cooperate and the picture is a bit washed out. I'll try again tmrw. It's really pretty.

My own kids have decided that they want to sell their artwork in order to save for a Nintendo DS...I don't have the heart to tell them that they probably won't sell

happy mom's day

to all the mother's in the world. Cherish your babies... no matter how old they are.

My kids surprised me yesterday with these beautiful flowers. I love them, especially the Galliarda daisies.. wish I could get them to grow in my garden. Unfortunately, I have a kind of black thumb.






After that surprise, they also handed me these hortensia (in Spanish), better known here as hydrangea or snowball bush. The flower comes in many colors and can change depending on the make-up of your soil. I planted one of these last year and managed to kill it. DH tells me that the florist said they like their feet wet, which makes sense because in Argentina they grow to huge sizes along the Tigre River delta.

This morning I had 4 cards made by my cherubs, a hand written book and a heart shaped potpourri DD made at after school care. AND a gift certificate to yarnmarket.com. I'm not familiar with that store, so I'll have to check it out later.

Mom loved her hat, so now I can post a picture of it. Unfortunately, I forgot to take my camera along, so you'll have to tolerate it being modeled by me. It looks particulary beautiful with my purple hair don't you think?

Pattern: Felted Hat by Arlene Williams
Ruffled Rose by Y2Knit
Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino
Colors: Rich Red and That's Purple
Needle: US11
Bead: from Oriental Trading red flower glass bead kit

She has a red hat meeting tomorrow at lunch so it's perfect timing as her only other red hat was a maroon baseball cap by brother gave her!

We also gave her a miniature rose bush that I'll plant outside her patio (and yes I forgot to get a picture of that as well)

Mom gave me a boatload of pictures of dad to make a collage with for the luncheon next week. I think I'll scan the ones I want to use then put them on a disk and print them so I can cut them and arrange them artistically.... got to spend some time on that!

in the rotten news, I think the dvd drive on my computer is shot :-( It won't play DVDs and won't record CDs... I should look into fixing this (should have done it months ago, as the warranty prolly *just* ran out :-p )

busy weekend

DS1 and DD had a full schedule Saturday. They both had their respective gymnastics lesson this morning. Then this afternoon, they each had a meet. The boys first and then the girls. DS1 (who seems to goof in his lesson more than anything) won first place - highest overall score - in his division. He is tickled, well red (his favorite color)
DD did better than last year. I should mention that in between class and the meet, she went to a birthday party. Not making excuses for her... but she was pretty pooped. She fell asleep in less than 2 pages of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

The concert Friday night was an experience. DS1 didn't wear the hat or makeshift bow-tie I made him. And for a while, I thought he wasn't going to go. "I look stupid, people will laugh at me" but DH convinced him to go (after the rest of us left) and he soon realized that all his chums looked just as 'stupid' as he did and rather cute I'll say.


DD came through.. she wore her outfit with pride and gave me no problems once it was finished. Her outbursts were before it was even made. After the concert, we went for ice cream at the parlor closest to the concert venue. We all got cups except for DD who insisted on a cone. Her dress wore more than she ate. Thank goodness it only cost me $3. I'll try to wash it out though as she seems to think it would ve fun to use as dress up. The blouse was big on her, and somehow more lace managed to get ripped. So before I put it away, I'll fix the new broken spots. and then carefully find it a home.


I had my first camera disappointment. I bought this model from eBay when the kids broke mine that is identical. I wanted this one because one year for Mother's Day DH had gotten me a telephoto lens and a wide angle lens that screw on to the camera with an adapter. This ring is supposed to screw off the front of the camera. I couldnt' get the ring to screw off the ebay one at the concert (had I tried it before, you ask.... of course not) so I had to hold the lens on the front of the camera.. not precisely ideal for taking pictures in focus (the camera wasn't very steady with me pushing the extra lens on the front) but you can get the idea. That and we were back 26 rows... so the flash wasn't very helpful. The place was packed and quite the mess. Bach Choir of Bethlehem's first weekend of the May festival was happening at the same time (at a very nearby venue) so the parking deck was full of Bach goers and school concert goers. The average audience member, who is there to see their own kid, can be so rude to other listeners. I've found this at the concerts we give at my school and I'm always enraged by it, so I don't know why I was surprised.

We didn't even get to look at the art work in the lobby because the information that came home said that the elementary concert was first then browsing the gallery for the art show and then the middle/high school concert. But they made the announcement that kids should take their art work home.. so half of it was gone. DS's grade showcased a lesson on birthday cakes. (same as DD when she was in Kdg) This birthday cake is for me... hence the 12 on the cake. the Date of my birthday (and of course it says happy Birthday mommy) My sweet, sweet boy.

DD has a picture of a fish that they used white paint on the paper and then used pastels on top.. it creates a textured picture. The background of the picture was to be comprised of cool colors and the picture itself was to use warm colors. This kids amazes me!

Sorry I have no knitting pictures. Natalie and I did fix our dresses yesterday and my shirt this afternoon though (where did I squeeze that activity in) so we look more presentable at our concert Tuesday evening when they put us on Blue Ridge Cable TV presenting our check to ACS


The lilacs are out full force and I have the voice to prove it.






As are my chives:



I bought a cheap (in many ways) bookshelf from craigslist today to put my cotton cones on. It fits behind the door to the yarn room... so it's out of the way. Pics of that will come as soon as it's ready.

more spring goodness

the lilacs are coming out. The buds are swollen and some have burst open. The bees are flying... it's glorious.

And there are more tulips that have opened. We only have a few of these. They are so delicate. Just edges with purple and the inside where the stamen are has black... what wonder to behold.


Today I planted DS1's trees that he got for Earth Day, sweet basil, oregano and parsley in the herb bed. The chives are going strong. Oh how I love spring.

so much.....

to show.

I finished the Monthly Dishcloth KAL a couple of days early. But now that everyone could be done, I'll post the picture:

Pattern: Dots within Stripes April mid-month KAL for the Monthly Dishcloth Yahoo group
Yarn: Elmore-Pisgah Peaches and Cream
Colors: Persimmon and Tea Rose
Needle: US7

I'm planning on gifting this to one of my friends from work. She's really having a rough go of it right now and I know she LOVES the cloths for her kitchen, which is orange. I'll try to whip up a ballband or two in the same colors as well.







I finished the prayer lap blanket for church.

Pattern: Adapted from Lion Brands Prayer Shawl
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun
Color: Fiesta
Needle: US 13
Completed Size: 40" x 26"
I started this before getting the instructions from church so I cast on fewer stitches than they suggested, as a result I knit it longer so it's a bit larger than suggested, but I think it should be fine. This is really soft, but kind of a pain to knit with. My pop got the last one that the hospital had (since then they've received more from church) but it's part of the new knitting me.... you'll see more of the new side of the knitting me over time. It's a good side. I think you'll eventually agree :-)







I also finished the second Baby Kimono from the Mason Dixon book.

Pattern: Baby Kimono from the Mason Dixon Knitting Book
Yarn: Bernat Naturals Organic Cotton
Color: Cactus
Needle: US6
Button: from stash

I chose cactus because it's the color of the baby's room. I think the sweater looks much more casual knit in garter than in stockinette. I purposely made this larger by about 20%. I hope it fits little Sean.
I'm going to try to make a toy before I mail this out to Paula. Auntie Andrea likes it though, so that's good!

Hopefully you've noticed some more flowering proof of spring in this blog. I really love this season and I think the reason is the new life! The chicks in the 5th grade classroom are hatching. Tomorrow I think I'll take P up to see some.. I must take the camera along to get pictures of him with them. And one of my first grade classes had an emergence from a cocoon yesterday. I still don't know what it was. Need to do some research on that one! Maybe a buckeye butterfly, but I'm leaning more toward some kind of moth.

We hit the local annual booksale at the pool today. DS2 got a Thomas book (hardback with about 4 stories), a Beverly Cleary book (he liked the picture on the front) and the Pony train. DS1 chose Lego books and DD picked out 2 videos (spy kid and some barbie movie) and a Scooby Doo book. Me, I bought them the Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories, Dr. Suess Daisy-Head Mazie (never had heard of that one before and both were hardbacks) and I got the story of Peer Gynt (another hardback) and 2 sing along videos for work. All of that was $10.25 Not to shabby. I love thrifting :-)

just an update

on the flowers. Every day there's a new surprise. I really do love the spring. I have yarny goodness to post but there are pictures in the other camera (with the pix of the kids)

The taxes were finished and enveloped April 14th before 10PM :-D


And now my second born has the virus, he woke up around 6 complaining of a belly ache and proceeded to show us that he really was not feeling well. the poor kid slept all day with dad as the caregiver. Guess I'm on duty next.


I'll post some pics tmrw!