a conversation between Mom and I......

Ring Ring Ring: Calling mom's home number.......
VoiceMail: Hello you've reached Patricia........*hang up*
Me: Crap
Ring Ring Ring: Calling mom's cell which is a bit like playing roullette, I should get 100 bucks if she answers...
Cell Phone: The person you are attempting to reach is.....*hang up*
Me: Crap, well I probably said something more colorful than crap but we'll go wtih that for now....while I try the cell phone again......
Ring Ring Ring
Me: (before the phone is answered): Come on, Answer the %$&#ing Phone
Mom: Hello
Me: Hey Mom, are you at the aiport
Mom: Yeah.....
Me: did you remember your passport?
Mom: Why?
Me: so we can get into Canada?
Mom: Crap
Me (silently to myself): #$@! I have non-changeable tickets......


It's like Paris all over again............
Thankfully my brother is currently overnighting the passport and I was able to change the departure to later in the day.
So we will make it to Canada, thank goodness D is coming up on Sunday, there is no telling if we would make it back......

FYI for those of you traveling from the U.S. to Canada a U.S. Passport is required to cross the border.

knitting fear.....

Have you ever committed to a project for someone, something that is going to be special and personal, and you offered to knit it for the person because along with it being months ago, you really want to to give them something amazingly wonderful that they will cherish forever, especially the day they are going to wear it for everyone they love to see? I know I can't be the only one to do this......however I may be the only one who has worked herself into a complete lather over it, knitting on practice yarn and freaking myself out to the point that i am now sufficiently afraid of completely tanking the whole thing, straining family relations for years to come with the embarrassment that I will hoist upon the soon to be new member of our family with this horrid monstronsity that she feels obligated to wear because I made it for her and thus casting me into the black hole of knitting doom forever where I will be forced to knit garter stitch wash clothes and hot pads for all eternity, which when you think about it should make mom happy so, bonus for you mom.
So clearly I've psyched myself out on this thing and just need to stab the monkey on my back with my size 10 needles, take a shot of the wild turkey, and get the damn thing knit........so off I go to knit a beautiful lace shawl with lace weight kidsilk haze on size 9 and 10 needles.

p.s. I didn't really have a slug of wild turkey but the bottle of Haymaker made a difference.....

p.p.s I know the bottle I haven't really isn't wild turkey. I could have sworn i had a bottle of that in the pantry but apparently i am either confused or forgot how to read or mr. brown drank it all......he favors the whiskey.









if anyone needs me tonight i'll be silently rocking in the corner fingering the kidsilk haze talking nicely to it so that it does nice things for me and eventually M. (not mom, another M who is joining the clan)
xoxo
Carmel

and that's how the weekend rolls.........

A few dozen butterscotch and chocolate chip cookies, 5 hours at the yarn shop today working, well really I knit that fantastically awesome baby rattle that I found on Ravelry. The bell is just loud enough to amuse a baby, and soft enough to not send mom and dad screaming over the brink, at least I think it's soft enough, not being a parent I have nothing to base that theory on except that it probably wouldn't send me over the brink after years of conditioning from boxers who love L-O-V-E squeaky toys.
Also, please note the super soft construction of the toy so that when Baby Girl Peanut gets rocking with her rattle, should she crack herself in the nugget with it, no mark will be left causing passerby's to think unsavory thoughts.......
on that pleasant little ending, I'm off to take the final batch of cookies from the oven, hoping not to burn myself again. It's my turn to bring the treat for the birthday of the month so these are for Chris.
Happy Birthday Christopher........

a few more lessons learned.......

It's early Sunday morning, I know it's early because I am the only one awake in the house and my neighbor just returned from fishing which he does before dawn cracks and returns when all the lollygaggers come out and clog up the waterways. It's 7:15 a.m.

I'm terrible at making maintenance appointments. By maintenance I mean, hair cut and color, pedicures and waxing. The last one is especially bad. It's not that I'm afraid, I'm not, I've had it done for years and Beth does amazing things with my eyebrows that no one else can do, the problem is calling to make the appointment as soon as I think to myself, 'wow you need to make an appointment', instead of thinking it and putting it off till later in the day. The problem is I usually remember at 10:00 o'clock at night. Have no fear though, I have found a pinch hitter that if I forget to call to make the appointment at 10:00 p.m. I can do it myself at home.......and here in lies the lesson..............Once you get the strip with the wax on your lip, there is no turning back, you have to rip it like you've never ripped before, it's going to sting, it may even bring some tears to your eyes, but what you have will be good enough till you can call Beth and make an appointment, and not leave you with the handlebar mustache and grandma goatee that catches the light just perfectly.  So the lesson: Think before you stick.

And no, I didn't attempt the brows myself, if I had there would be nothing left........

I'm going to knit for a while before I have to get ready to go work at the yarn shop.....it's going to be sunny and in the 80's today and five hours at the yarn shop watching the tourists sweat through the market while I work on: Finishing my big green lace blanket (started last year and has 3 balls to go), a new LaLa simple Shawl in Classic Elites Katydid it's a cotton tape yarn that's pretty fun stuff to use. The color I chose is a beautiful spring green. I am of course still on a baby kick......today I am going to also make a baby rattle or 4 since that's how many cat toys with bells in them came in the pack. The woman at the big box pet store yesterday said in a somewhat snooty tone 'is that all you're getting for your cat' and my reply was 'Oh these aren't for a cat, I'm knitting balls'.

She didn't offer me a customer satisfaction survey......I wonder why?

no words.......

For how incredibly smitten I am with this sweater pattern........

Autumn Leaves Cardigan

Green is for Baby Girl Savannah due in September

Purple is for a 2 week old baby girl who, as far as I know received it today.....I am still waiting for an update and if you are a knitter and aren't there to see your knitterly gifts given, then you know that this is driving me nutty!

Red is for Baby Girl Peanut who will arrive sometime in November.

On the needles currently for Peanut (since she is my Yarn Bombing Project right now)

is Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch 'n' Bitch knit in Berroco Comfort Chunky. It's wonderful, it's fast, and it's machine washable. The picture isn't doing the color any favors, it's really a dark brick red.

P.S. between the time I typed this 2 days ago and now I have since finished BBB and am currently working on some more peanut size accesories along with a funny surprise for my friend Lori in Cloquet.......

xoxo

happy weekend.

just think...in 6 more days my mom will be in a town and we'll on the ferry to Victoria B.C. for the weekend!

There is a reason that it smells fresh.........

I love to sit outside in the sun, enjoy a drink after work, crank out a few rows of knitting while listening to talk radio, and basically taking a big deep breath before moving forward for the afternoon. However, Gabby thinks that along with my having a drink, cranking out knitwear, and taking a deep breath should be coupled with the tossing of her grotty ball. She lets me know that this is her plan by dumping it, literally, in my lap haphazardly and with no regard to what I could possibly be doing. Throw the ball. That's all I need to do to make her happy.

I also would like to put out there to the collective web universe that I have decided to enter a few things in the Evergreen State Fair this year........I'm typically not comfortable with this, I get nervous and then angry if I don't get any recognition, it's a crazy emotional cycle, however I am going to do it but I thought I would let everyone know that along with a Crochet, Lace, Knitting category they also have a Crafts and Hobbies category for 'Shrunken Apple Head People'

I'm for sure swinging by that display, but for now I'll leave you with this thought I had while cruising home on I-5.......

Is this a movement that has taken hold of State Fairs everywhere? Do people collect these? How do you judge it? If it doesn't smell rotten and have some soft spots does it move to the next round? I seriously picture people's homes with rooms decicated to these Shrunken Apple Head people doing various things like; playing in their Shrunken Head Doll House, Riding a Shrunken Head pony, eating sliced Shrunken Heads for dinner.........(those are the ones that don't make it to the next round of judging and I think it's pretty clear that Shrunken Apple Heads clearly have to be cannibals.

So if anyone has any ideas on things that I could submit keeping in mind that it has to be turned in by the 13th of August send me a message!

magic glasses.....

Ever notice that sense of freedom that you feel when you step outside, slip on your sunglasses and it's like an invisibility cloak has been dropped over you.......maybe it's just me...but I doubt it. As soon as I don my sunglasses and start cruising down the street I take on an aloof persona, observing without it being obvious and having a confidence that is alarming to my un-sunglassed clad self. If eyes are the window to our soul, mine are the gateway to my uber persona. The one who gets behind the wheel of ghetto jepeto, cranks up the music and sings, really loud, with the windows down, what do I care, I have my sunglasses on, no one knows who I am and even if they did, I'm cool, I'm hip, I'm Uber-Carmel, knitter extraordinaire, strutting down the street dripping woolen lovelies as I go for the common horde to pick up and rave over, following me like a entourage hoping that more of the wonderfulness that is me will rub off on them or at least pass them more wooly items. The other side of me.......the Carmel walking down the street with her regular glasses on because her Magic Sunglasses are not prescription and she trips over everything and don't even think about knitting and walking at the same time, I still haven't mastered chewing gum and sitting at the same time me, moves fast, with a purpose, avoiding eye contact with anyone lest they see that fun loving Uber-Carmel is in there somewhere and try to snatch her.......
It's over 80 degrees here in Seattle, apparently the burst of sun I soaked up at lunch has boosted my endorphin sun loving vitamin D craving self to a whole new level......

Currently on the needles is Autumn Leaves by Nikki Van de Car
It's really lovely.......and it's for someone very special....who I get to meet at Christmas....

That perfect moment........

You know what I'm talking about....that moment when everything is exactly right....the yard looks beautiful,  you don't cringe when you walk into the laundry room, you aren't afraid to use the bathroom after your spouse has been in there, the dogs are sleeping, dinner is all figured out, the knitting is cruising along at an alarming right of perfection and then all hell breaks loose..........

the dogs get fleas

the yard apparenlty got its roots on some steroids and has made it's attack

someone ordered the south of the border omlette at breakfast

you haven't caught up on the laundry all week and have been dressing in the laundry room

you make a minor mistake in your knitting 20 rows back and try to talk yourself into believing it's not noticeable and it'll be fine and just keep knitting more rows as it taunts you with its horridness and you finally scream, toss, and swear at the yarn as you rip it out and start over.............on a completely knew project.

I'm currently working on my next perfect moment.......