CarmelKnits, etc.

I've said before that race day is a long day. A really long day, especially when we get to the track at 11:00 which means we leave at 9:45 and stand in line for a while till they open the pit gate. It's a flurry of activity, unloading all the stuff, the car, the tool boxes, the table, tent etc. Get the trailer parked, get the car to tech, run for an electrical outlet so we can have power in the pit area, save spaces for friends to pit next to us, etc,. Then begins, going over the car, getting D into his driver suit and into the car for practice, make sure he gets enough water, and making sure that people eat a little bit. It's a long day, but it's filled with fun. I adore the friends I have at the track and I love making sure that everyone is happy (something I've done my whole life, just ask my mom) Yesterday was a good day for us...Well it was kind of funny and D got pretty fired up when he was putting his race tires on and realized he put the front tires on the...

On Saturdays...

I got excited and pulled one! Isn't it a beautiful red? I think so...

I found out the other day that one of the babies in my families future will be a girl! Well Little Girl, I knew I was saving this for something special...and it's already turning into something wonderful, just like you.

Sometimes I am struck by a bout of knitting shyness when I am out in the general public...maybe shyness isn't the right word for it...I sometimes don't want people asking me questions about what I am knitting along with the inevitable...'wow, I wish I had time to do that' and 'that's amazing, i wish I could learn how to do that', and my favorite is 'wow, it looks like what my grandma used to crochet'. That's when I get up and walk away because the person cant be saved and I can't be held responsible for my actions... This isn't a knock on crochet, i have a weird fascination with he art of crochet and the things that people do with it... But knitting DOES NOT look like crochet, no matter how you stitch it. So for now Fatima's shawl sits in hiding in my bag till the lady hogging one of the comfortable sofas leaves...I think she would be the one to say, 'i wish I could learn how to do that' and I would have to respond with someth...

I've been watching a lot of movies lately...Hitting the RedBox at QFC pretty hard and while I'll post on Facebook what I'm watching I don't really go into the detail about how I like the movie when it's done. So, my friend Fatima suggested that I do random blog postings about the movies I've seen recently. Good and Bad...I am going to do a bit of research first on other movie reviews so I don't disappoint. Stay Tuned... In other news, it's still chilly here, there was promise of sun today but at 2:00 a.m. when Old Man Mr. Brown wanted to go outside, it was raining. At 4:00 a.m. when I rolled my cranky self out of bed it was misting. My yard is a jungle, I'm pretty sure a machete would serve me quite well in the hacking down of tropical growth. I think my tomato plant grew an inch yesterday...hopefully I'll get a tomato off of it, I have my doubts though. Hopefully the sun will arrive today, again, I have my doubts. I hate to complain that our wea...

I thought so...

It's a Beet! I think these two days of sun have been great for my root vegetables! It's also been good for me. Happy Sunday

Pretty much how the day went yesterday...D, slept in fairly late. That being said, anything past 8:00 is late for me and I'm usually up and rearing to go by 7:30. We had a grand plan to get things done around the house, including an oil change on Mr. Ford in the driveway, but apparently that requires a special socket, a socket that D bought and now can't find. So off we went in search of a new one to buy. Now at this point in the story it gets a little sketchy. Dale says he had the line (racing term) which leads me to believe 2 things. 1. 3 weeks off from racing is too long for him 2. Next time he 'has the line' I don't plan on being in the car What happened you ask? Well he took a corner a little bit fast and hit the curb with my right front causing the sidewall to separate and bubble out. Instant trip to the tire center. Well now there is a wrench in the rest of the day because we also made an impromptu plan to have family and friends over for dinner and we wer...

I did nail it! I combed over stitch patterns, lace patterns, and said 'screw swatching' and just cast on gazillions of stitches then realized I hadn't thought it thru and had to rip back again and again. I bought patterns and tried them again saying 'swatching be damned' and screwed up, ripped out some more. Some things I have learned from this frustrating enlightening journey: 1. If you're going to make it up you better swatch it up 2. KnitPicks lace is super generous in how many times it'll let you rip your sh!it  beautiful knitting back. 3.I still have way too much yarn (this is just as observation as I gaze out to my living room and see the crates piled high with yarn, coffee table covered decorated with yarn, and the couch has a new box of yarn as it as I speak...) What did I nail? Fati's wedding wrap. It's so simple I'm delirious and yet the simplicity is what's going to make it amazing, especially on her... I am using the Kni...

I crack myself up... In an email to my mom last night (sorry you're going to have to read this again)  image courtesy of Clker.com  Thanks to my new phone app iPairings I now know that Elk pairs nicely with a Pinot Noir... Thank goodness! I would hate to make such a faux pax as to order Chardonnay when eating an Elk...               disclaimer: the above statement is based soley on an app, I have not (nor will I) verified that Elk does indeed pair nicely with Pinot Noir versus a delicious Chardonnay. To me whatever is in my glass compliments what I'm eating perfectly.   Happy Friday...

On size 35 needles....the biggest DPN I pulled out of my can was a 10.5. It was awkward to say the least...

That's right....just like a boomerang I knew it would circle back to me. We're still on shakey ground but we're working things out. We need to spend some time together and talk about why it left and why it can't wander off again, at least not until January, see I'm going to be an Aunt again x 2 so I am incredibly busy (overwhelmed), plus my darling friend Alyssa is expecting and I need to get a little something something together for her wee one! Not to mention Fati's wedding is fast approaching and I found a lace pattern that is clicking and I think it's going to be perfect........I don't want to scare you away though Mojo so you better man up and stick around for the next 5 months or we're going to have a conversation about our relationship that will be very unpleasant and some nasty words will be said.....

I did take my moms advice and pulled one.... Nothing but man alive they look good in the pots!! BEETS!!! Wheeee

Who would have thought that I would ever knit with size 35 needles? My mom gave me these sticks 10 years ago when I first started knitting. To say it's awkward is being kind...They look like clown knitting needles but I had to pull them out. Actually I knew where one was but had to find the other because I use it to get Gabby's balls out from under the couch :) Aside from the size these are weird because I am a circular knitting needle user for everything (except socks, I use DPN's for those) and these are straight...I feel like I did in Kindergarten or Preschool when they taught us how to hold our pencils and the pencils we used for that were HUGE, I still have an odd affection for those pencils by the way... So here goes (again) I cast on with my Paris yarn yesterday and knit thru a whole skein of it on size 17's and it was too stiff so I ripped it all out today and have done a provisional cast-on, Wendy Bernard of Knit and Tonic has a great turtorial on it found h...

Recently my mom took a trip with my younger brother and his wife to France....(lucky right?) Anyway, they had a blast and thanks to the internet, wifi, and tiny devices capable of keeping everyone in touch at all times of day I was able to email mom and ask ' fine me something fabulous in Paris, something that when you look at it makes you think of me immediately!' Mom and Marg were totally up to the task and the package arrived about 2 weeks ago. Well when Mom and Marg were out shopping they found it and said 'that's it! that's perfect for Carmel' Of course it was yarn, but it's so much more than yarn. It's amazing! It's super-bulky, could easily be mistaken for roving (it's not) and calls for size 35 needles! I'm scrambling to find mine. That's not all that was contained in the box, there was a pattern book (all in french which I can't speak let alone read) it has beautiful pictures! A pair of hilarious socks that I can't wa...

I've talked before about how much I cook for race day, and it's not a trial by any means, in fact I love it. I love the sense of community it's created in our pit area, it's brought a bunch of us together in a way that only food can and I am just giddy about it! Lots of people contribute and everyone has fun, which is really why we are all out there...(boys are you reading this?) I love that I cook for the people out there and that when I come home from the track it's all gone. (if you know racers you know it's almost impossible to get them to eat anything on race day) At least once a day while we are out there people ask if I have a tip jar so they can help contribute. I don't. It's not something that I'm 100% comfortable with asking people for money,  however everyone says I need one so Voila! I made one.....My crafty side reared it's glitter bedazzled head and took me to Michaels for some supplies.....Ever observe someone walking around clearl...

I don't know how it happened, when it happened, or why but it's gone. I have searched everywhere for it and it's like it vanished into thin air......there are pieces of it laying about, sadly discarded around my house and I touch them thinking to myself 'why?' Did I abandon it? Did it feel neglected? I don't know what to do...I can try and force myself thru this, the 'fake it till you make it theory' but I seem to be lacking the umpf to do so...I find myself, laying in bed at night watching TV and NOT knitting..........hopefully this is a phase...I just don't have it in me...I crank out a few rows and then 'blah' toss it aside. I pick up a different project, knit a row, 'meh' toss it aside.........repeat night after night. it's a little bit scary It looks like it'll be okay though, because Steven over at Bitches Get Stitches got his groove back so I am confident that mine will be back too (hopefully sooner than later) Hey...

It started out great..........D set fast time which also set a new track record in the smoking hot CarmelKnits Ministock! While D was busy with the car I was busy getting food ready for everyone......silly me, I forgot my fork to pierce the potatoes with...thank goodness the tool box was nearby becuase there are all manner of fun things to pierce potatoes with in there....I settled on a screwdriver. (I would have resorted to my knitting needles if I had to)  Photo courtesy of Racing for Jesus Ministries, Nancy Benjamin   Here is D setting his fast time! I was standing in the corner of turn 3 as his mark (where he needed to start going into the turn) I asked if he saw me, he said 'no, I was too busy ______ my pants' (use your imagination) Saturday's race was the first time the Ministock Class was allowed to race on the big track...They hit speeds of 105 mph! The boys of the 99 team Scott and Eddie (not sure who the guy in the white tee is) In between Qualifying, cook...

Are coming along!! The potatoes have exploded!! I don't even want to talk about my tomatoes..........

Turns 7!!  Gabby's First Birthday   someone snuck her ball into the house....  I hope Quintus got her something good for her birthday.........I have to make a stop for a cheeseburger and a new ball on the way home tonight........

Right after I posted the morning blog our friend Kim texted me asking if we wanted to go Lake Cavanaugh for the day. So the floors will get swept another day, the weeds will get a chance to grow some more, and the laundry can wait one more day.......when the day us sunny and your friends invite you on their boat you jump at it!! Thanks Clint & Kim we had a blast!!!!

Every Saturday morning this is what I see.......Mr. Brown and Gabby both ready to rock 'n' roll and me wishing they had a snooze button imbedded in their little heads........it's a beautiful sunny day here and I am off to run errands (new glasses) work in the yard (stupid weeds) and get some food ready for our friends party tomorrow on their farm! Which reminds me....... Better charge my camera I hear they have miniature goats! Happy Saturday!