Death by Socks - Pictures even!

I neglected to post this in my busy-ness here lately. I entered Sock-Wars (link to appear later), and was promptly offed by this fabulous pair of socks. They were the "shot heard round the world" literally. The yarn was gathered by a woman in Utah, who herself was offed by a woman in Australia. Hence, Utah lady had to send her weapon (the yarn in this case) to the Australian lady. The Australian lady managed to knit them up and send them off to finish their target (me) in the same amount of time it took me to knit my weapon (a steel gray pair), and send those on to my own (but completely different) target, also in Australia.

I know, sounds confusing, but basically, you just knit and send the socks on! It was not entirely unpleasant being killed by this pink and green pair - they're quite nice and keep my toes nice and warm. Why is it that when it first gets cold, you feel like you'll never be warm again, even though you know darned-right-well that it will be much, much colder than this before Spring arrives again???

Ah, well, enjoy - cause I am!

Good Hints

Here is a bit more information for my Secret Pal! I borrowed this from Lacy - my SP8 pal - sure hope we can find that Koigu that went MIA, Lacy!

List your favorite:

Actor – Denzel Washington
Actress – Julia Roberts
Animal - Turtles
Band – Don’t have a Band I love, but as for singers, I like everything Cassandra Wilson has ever done. She’s wonderful.
Book - I have several, but the big winner has to be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – brilliant!
Bubble Bath – Anything lavender scented.
Candy – Junior Mints and Skittles, depending on if I need just a sugar fix, or if I have to have some chocolate, too.
Color – Red
Drink - N/A: coffee (Starbucks – yum, but home-brewed is good too). A: Mojito
Flower – in a garden – Lantana, in a boquet - calla lillies
Food – no way I can pick a favorite! I just plain love food!
Lip Balm – Burt’s Bees (I agree with Lacy!)
Lotion – Plain old Lubriderm, or anything lavender scented
Movie – I don’t really have a favorite. I just love watching movies.
Place – I don’t really get out as much as I would like, so I’m usually in love with the last place I’ve been, but the one place that always holds my heart is Lake Champlain, Vermont – where I “grew up” during summers with my grandmother.
Song – “Nature Boy” – there are so many artists who have done a great job of covering this song – it’s a jazz staple, but Eva Cassidy and Chuck Brown (yes, THAT Chuck Brown) have done a great job. I love to hear new renditions of it from new artists.
TV Show – LOST I am definitely a “lostie” – the best TV show in a long, long time!
Yarn – Koigu KPPM. It’s really bliss!
Vacation Spot - Miami

Does it Hurt Much?

So, we've gotten into a habit here at The House Full O'Love . . . we measure The Boy about every two weeks, just to see if he's grown any. We use the archway into the kitchen to mark his progress. And, well, if I could find the camera right now, I'd take a shot and show you said wall. It's unbelievable. It has to hurt. In one year - June '05 to June '06, he grew 3 and 1/8 inches. For the past four months in a row, however, he's grown 1/4 of an inch each stinkin' month. That would be June, '06 - one quarter of an inch. July '06 - one quarter of an inch. August and September? Yep - you guessed it - one quarter of an inch apiece.

THEN! THEN!!!!!! Friday night, just for kicks, I guess, he asked me to measure him after we watched a movie together (celebrating his having a good week at school, hence, the treat of TV time!!!). Well, lemme tell ya what - even though it's only been two weeks since September, and therefore two weeks since the last measuring, HE GREW ANOTHER QUARTER OF AN INCH!!!

The only thing I can say is - Man, does that hurt, sweetie??? Cause I'm thinkin, with growth at that rate, he's gotta be feelin' it! Doncha think? If he keeps this up, he'll be taller than me when he's 6! He's already more than half my height. I think I need a load of bricks for the top of his head!

And by the way, he's also amazing the pants off me lately with his READING!!!! Yes, he's to the point where he's decoding words - three letter words like m-a-n, p-a-n, h-o-t, p-i-n, and my favorite (cause we weren't "practicing" at the time) i-c-e!!!!! We had just pulled up in front of 7-11, he was climbing out my door like he likes to do, and saying "ice" "ice" "ice." When I looked around, he was looking right at the door to the ice machine, where the word is printed, and saying ICE!!!! I just about dropped him as I was lifting him out of the car. We are not frequent 7-11 visitors, either, so I don't think he was just doing a recognition thingy like McDonalds or Walmart - he was looking at the letters! I wanted to cry! He really laughs at me when I get so excited over him decoding stuff. The first time he did it when we were reading a story together, I think I just about ripped his leg off for shaking it so hard. I was really excited! I keep telling him I can't wait until he can read me a story - because Mommy needs a break! Ha ha!

He seems to be a pretty good sport, basically, about Mommy being a teacher and tending to a bunch of other kids every day at school - even his buddies from the neighborhood (!), but I really do try to cut it back some when he's around. A friend told me not to bring home any work, or at least not to do it in front of the kiddo. It's a rule I'm sticking to, for the most part - occasionally I have to do some "classroom" shopping with him, and then I always try to get him something as well. He got a whole Curious George storybook collection that way the other day - you gotta love Target for the variety!! Rubber bands for the classroom, great book for the kiddo!

:O)

SP9 Questionnaire

Okay, SP9 - whoever you may be - here's my survey. Enjoy!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I am in LOVE with Koigu, and soft wools. I've been dying to try bamboo and linen yarns. Besides the fuzzy/trendy yarns, there's not really much I don’t like - I love to experiment with new yarns!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Got a new case from my SP8 Pal Lisabe!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Been knitting for about 7-8 years. I first learned when I was a teenager - my mom's attempt to connect at that age - but didn't have much patience for it then. My now former Mother-in-Law reintroduced me about 7-8 years ago, and I've been a knitting fiend since then!! I still consider myself intermediate because some things still scare me!

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Nope - keep meaning to do that. I'll keep you updated if I find time to create one.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath produlavender.) Lavendar

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I absolutely love Junior Mints and Skittles - YUM!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? With my schedule, knitting is pretty much all I find time for, although I have been meaning to finally catch up on my scrap-booking, before my son winds up graduating high-school before I finish his third year's album! I don't spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I'm a big jazz fan - Cassandra Wilson is my favorite of all, but I really love anything jazz with a saxophone in it! My computer can handle music, and I'm upgrading my cell phone to one that's an MP3 player, cause I really want an I-Pod.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? My favorite is red, followed closely by green. The only color I pretty much dislike seems to be yellow.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? My son and I are living with my parents until this school year is over, then we are off to our own place nearby. We have one family cat, and Zac (my son) just got a fish (Japanese Fighting fish named "Fred")that we keep in our shared room.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Scarves, hats, and ponchos, don’t really like mittens.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Sweaters that knit up quickly and look great - member of the SKC also - and I love hats and scarves for the quit-knit factor! And socks are great for traveling/take-along knitting!

13. What are you knitting right now? Um, let's see - Sizzle for the current SKC knit-along, just finished socks for Yarnmonkey's "SockWars", also have on the needles a lacy shrug for my mother's Christmas present, and finishing up a cardigan in alpaca to wear in my freezing cold classroom.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Sure!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I prefer circular needles, but I'm not really that picky - I'll knit on bamboo and aluminum, and lately have been trying to stay away from sticky plastic!

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I borrow my grandmother's swift when I need to wind yarn into a ball - I'm pretty sure she's gonna will it to me!

17. How old is your oldest UFO? About a year old I finally frogged my four-year old unfinished Pi Shawl!

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas because of the fun with my son at this age - he's 4 ½.

19. Is there anything that you collect? Turtles (particularly Diamond-backed Terrapins), since I'm a University of Maryland/Terps alumnus.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I really want a subscription to Interweave Knits because I really like the patterns I see there, and I'm dying to own the Yarn Harlot books! She cracks me up!

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Taking a design class next month at Stitches East.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes, I love knitting and wearing knitted socks I wear a U.S. size 9 ladies.

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) 05/06.