Anniversary Dinner

Tonight Tom and I went out for sushi at Shanghi Bistro here in Eau Claire. As usual, it was fabulous. We shared a sushi platter with ten different kinds of sushi. The platter came with a spicy tuna roll. For dessert I had creme brulee and Tom had Mochi. We've never had mochi before and it was very good. He ordered the coffee flavored one. I'd like to try the green tea flavored one or the mango. I'm going to see if I can buy this. It was good. The creme brulee was pretty good, too.

I got a wonderful skein of Malabrigo and a bar of chocolate in the mail today from Lisa. She is a fellow member in one of my groups on Ravelry. She lives in Mt. Horeb, WI which is by Madison. What a nice surprise. I'm thinking of making some fingerless mitts with it.

I'm off to work on my socks. Happy knitting!!

Not a creature was stirring...not even a mouse!

Well, we had two little creatures stirring around our house!!! Ahhh, when we opened the silverware drawer on Christmas morning there were mouse droppings! Ick!!! All the silverware was put into the dishwasher and we sterilized the drawer. We put traps into several of the kitchen drawers and lo and behold yesterday morning Tom had two mice in a trap in the silverware drawer. Nasty!!! We have a rule about not eating anywhere but the kitchen because we don't want to attract any rodents. Well, as Grant pointed out, it doesn't do much good to have that rule since the mice were in the kitchen!! Teenagers! The rule still exists!

I started working on a pair of socks yesterday and have both toes done. I am now going to put them onto one 40" circular needle so I can finish them at the same time. I need to make myself do this more often, then I wouldn't suffer from second sock syndrome. I still have four socks that need mates. I am also starting a Clapotis on January 1. I joined a KAL on Ravelry.

I'll post a picture of the socks after my swap partner gets them. I don't know if she reads my blog or not, but just in case she does, I don't want to spoil the surprise. Need to go finish dinner. Happy knitting!!

The Shack

I have wanted to read The Shack for a while now. I was asked if I would lead a high school book club at church and this is the first book we are going to discuss. I spent the day reading it. I found this book amazing. I don't have the words to describe how I'm feeling right now. I am looking forward to Jan. 19 when the book club will be meeting for the first time. I want all of my kids to read this book. Okay, Patrick may be too young, but I will want him to read this at some point in his life. I am going to strongly encourage both of my older kids to read it.

We had a nice Christmas. Everyone was pleased with their gifts. We all went to the movie Valkyrie yesterday. It was pretty good, but sad. I think I would have rather gone to Marley and Me, but the rest of the family picked Valkyrie. I did get a movie gift certificate in my stocking, so I will be going to see Marley and Me during this Christmas break.

I joined a swap on Ravelry, so tomorrow I need to start my project for my swap partner. I am going to make her some socks, but I haven't decided on a pattern yet. Something simple, cuz I am so slow at knitting socks and these need to be sent to her by Feb. 1. Yes, that is a month or so away and for some of you fast knitters this seems a long time. For me it is not long enough. I'll have to hope that my wrists don't get angry and make sure I have lots of ibuprophen on hand. I should get to bed. I'm such a night owl. Happy knitting!!!

Merry Christmas!

Anders.....

Look what came in the mail on Monday...I love him. He is so soft. Julie is a wonderful knitter. Amazing. I will treasure this little rabbit forever. My yarn came on Monday, too. I'll post a picture of that tomorrow. I need to post and run today. I have to clean and get my house ready to host book club tomorrow night. I have to bake cookies for a cookie exchange on Friday morning. Seven dozen, no problem. :)

Have a good day! Happy knitting!

Christmas Cheer?

After school I told the kids I needed to take a picture for the Christmas cards. Well, let's just say this is an experience in our household. As Maggie says, "Mom, we're not a perfect family, so you won't get a perfect picture!" Okay, she's right. I wanted an outdoor picture without coats, hats, and gloves. Grant did not like this idea and those pictures turned out crappy. I settled on a picture taken in front of the tree. I now know why I don't have a lot of pictures of my kids together. Someday they'll all like each other and get along, right?

The mail carrier did deliver the package from the Discovery store, so that is a relief. I'm bummed my other packages haven't arrived, but hopefully they will come tomorrow or Saturday. And now for your viewing pleasure, the picture we picked for the cards:

Oh Please Mr. Postman....

I have been trying to be patient with the USPS. I have packages coming from Germany and the UK. My Little Cotton Rabbit from Julie and my sock club package from Claudia, aka Wollmeise.
I thought both of the packages would have been here by now. I hope they didn't get lost. I also ordered a gift for Grant from the Discovery store. The tracker said it was in Memphis, TN on Dec. 5 and was now in the hands of the USPS. I didn't think it took that long for mail within the US to get from one area to another. Memphis isn't that far from Eau Claire. If these packages don't arrive by next Monday, then I'll start to panic and make phone calls. Yes, I am not the most patient person on this earth, I admit. I'm just so excited to see my rabbit in person and the yarn. I've seen a lot of pictures of the yarn on Ravelry, and I just know it will be even prettier in person.

My throat is feeling better, now I've lost my voice. I think the kids and Tom are happy about that. :) The fingerless mitts have been soaked and are now dry to wrap. I really think they turned out neat. I started a pair for myself. Well, I'm going to my friend's to scrapbook today. I need to get my stuff together. Happy Knitting!

Fingerless Mitts
I finished the fingerless mitts tonight. They were so easy and fun. I finished one on Sunday night. I felt like crap yesterday and so I didn't knit. I cast on for the second one this afternoon and got it done a few minutes ago. Loved this pattern. I have enough yarn left over to make myself a pair. The yarn is Noro Iro. I got it a few years ago at Yellow Dog Knitting.

My wrists have been bugging me, so my doctor had me see an occupational therapist today. The therapist was not very good. I have spoken to my doctor and she is going to call a hand specialist and ask who he recommends I see. I do not want to have carpal tunnel surgery, so I'd like to see what else I can do to alleviate the tingling and numbness. I've had symptoms for about four years and it has gotten worse this fall. Perhaps stripping wallpaper, painting, and moving furniture and carpet has aggravated things. I know I can't knit for as long as I used to and I'm trying to cut back on the amount of time I knit at one sitting. Knitting with size 8 needles helps a bit. I have been knitting socks and I am using size 00 for them. This really hurts, but I love knitting socks. I also have quite a big stash of sock yarn, so I'm not giving up on socks.

Christmas preparations have come to a stop while I've been sick. I won't be putting up the other two trees this year. I have 3/4 of the shopping done, I just need to wrap gifts and get the picture taken for the cards. I'm just not going to stress over Christmas this year.

Well, I'm off to have a cup of tea with honey. Happy knitting!

Ugh!!!



I have a terrible sore throat and feel like crap. I do not have time to be sick. The silver lining in this?....knitting without feeling guilty. I'm watching the Packer game and sipping tea while knitting and blogging. Two out of four Christmas trees are decorated and one mantle is 3/4 done. If this is all that gets done this year, oh well, that's okay.

Yesterday we had a knit in at church. It was a lot of fun and wonderful soup and bread were served for lunch along with many yummy treats. I worked on my sock in progress and then last night worked on a fingerless mitt pattern that I picked up at church. I am going to give them to my friend, Amy, who does my nails and hair. I think she'll like them. I know she will appreciate the handmade gift, because she makes glass beads and sells them.

Well, I need to pay attention to the game. Tom and Patrick are there, so I'm going to see if I can spot them in the crowd. Happy knitting!!

Cable Knit Mug

I saw this on Vicki's blog and wanted one. Yesterday I was running errands and went to Starbucks to get one. They have yarn ball decorations for Christmas. If you are near a Starbucks, go in just to see the decorations if you don't buy coffee, etc. I bet you will want a mug, though.I have been working on a sock and have an idea in my head for a cable sweater. It is based on a sweater I noticed Blythe Danner wearing in the movie, Meet the Parents. I've seen this movie several times, but the other night I really noticed this sweater. Now I'm trying to gather some cable patterns together for swatching and design the sweater. I may be in over my head, but why not try?

The kids don't have school today due to a staff development day. It snowed a little last night, so the boys went out to try sledding. Not enough snow for that, but they had fun. It helps get me in the mood to finish decorating.

Well, I'm off to get some work done. Happy knitting!!

Knitted Bliss......

I have been trying to get one of these cute knitted rabbits for over a year. Guess what? Yesterday I was lucky enough to have been stalking ETSY and this one popped up. I snagged him right away. Anders is now on the way to me from the UK. Julie has two kids and a busy life taking care of them. She knits to relax and also add some income for her family. Pop on over to read her
blog.

Grant and Patrick put up the Christmas tree last night and put the lights on. They did a pretty good job. I may have to adjust the lights a bit to hide the wires, and we are going to move it into the study. We are going to get a bigger tree from Sandy to put in the family room. We have a higher ceiling in there, so we can go with a bigger tree. Tonight and tomorrow we will decorate the trees and I'll start on the staircase and rest of the house. I love decorating for Christmas.

Tom and Maggie will be going to the Packer game tomorrow. I'm so glad Tom is able to take the time to have one on one time with the kids. Maggie enjoys having her dad all to her self, too. I am going to work on some socks. I have four singles that need mates. I used to be very good about finishing a whole pair of socks, but some how I caught SSS. Must work on correcting that tomorrow. Happy Knitting!!

ETA: Julie has an ETSY shop as well as this shop.

The day after.....


We had a very nice Thanksgiving. I am so tired today! My friend Sandy and her boyfriend, Greg came over early in the afternoon and stayed until late last night. The kids were wonderful and I think Grant appreciated being home and not having a lot of extra people in the house. Greg brought fireworks and the kids loved that. Let's just say I'm glad the Sheriff's department didn't show up!!!! Very nice display and it wasn't even 4th of July. Last night Maggie went to stand in line at Best Buy with her friends Zac and Lexi. Zac wanted to get a computer when the store opened at 4 this morning. I haven't talked to her yet because I'm guessing she's still sleeping.

Today Tom and I are going to buy a new Christmas tree. It is an artificial one that already has lights on it. Sandy works at a flower shop and is going to give us a good deal. :)
Tonight we are going out to dinner at The Creamery with Sandy and Greg and our neighbors Tom and Darla. It will be fun. They have wonderful food!!! A friend of Tom's bought the Creamery a few months ago with his brother and it is fun to run into him when we are there. He lives two weeks in California and two weeks here.

Well, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving (here in the US) and gets a lot of knitting time in over the weekend. I finished my cowl and am loving it!!!! Happy knitting!

24.......Finally!!!!

It seems like forever since this has been on. We are watching it right now.

Knitting:

Yarn: Hand Maiden Casbah Loopified colorway
Pattern:Gloria Cowl


I'm loving this yarn!! It is so soft. This was a special color for The Loopy Ewe's second anniversary. It is going to match my ski jacket perfectly. (Not that I ski or anything)

We are staying home for Thanksgiving and having a low key day, just the five of us. I will be baking pies with my neighbor on Tuesday. She makes great pie crust and is going to teach me how. I usually just use Pillsb*ry, but I really want to make it from scratch after tasting her pie crust. She made a pie for Tom on his 50th birthday on Oct. 26.

I hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving (if you celebrate) Happy knitting!

AND THE WINNER IS......

Well, since I only had two commenters that donated to their area shelters, both of you are winners. I have another skein of Yarn Pirate Yarn in the Cupcake colorway, which is cream, pink, and brown. So Since Turtle commented first, she gets the June Bug and Kristen gets the Cupcake. Send me an email to jaciquigleyATcharterDOTnet with your snail mail address and I'll get your yarn in the mail. I'm sorry I didn't do this Monday night, but my back was causing problems and I took a sleeping pill and was in bed by 6:00 that night.

So far this week I've been helping a neighbor with her puppy. He is a handful and she is having some personal problems and just couldn't handle him. He was here Tuesday through this morning. She took him to a horse farm where someone is going to try and train him. I tried, but he was so mean to my dog Todd. I really thought he was going to hurt him. I feel bad that I couldn't keep him, but I already have two dogs and two cats.

On to the knitting news, well there really isn't any. :( I spent last week getting ready for my annual scrapbooking weekend. It was fun and I got a lot done, but have a lot more to do to get Maggie's book caught up. Grant and Patrick's books need my attention too. I am much more organized now, so it will be easier to grab a few pictures and do a couple pages each day.

It's currently raining again. We've seen some snowflakes this past week too. I just with the sun would shine! I'm off to snuggle with the dogs for a bit and I may actually knit. Happy knitting!

ETA: Sorry about the spelling errors, I was in a hurry this morning. Also, the puppy is going back to the breeder. It's best for their family and him. I'm so sad that I couldn't keep him, but this is for the best.

I decided to change the look of the blog because it's been TWO YEARS since I started blogging. I'm having a contest for this skein of Yarn Pirate June Bug Yarn. In order to be entered into the drawing, donate $20 or more to your local animal shelter and post about it on your blog, then leave me a comment. If you don't have a blog, then just let me know in the comments that you donated. I'd like to have the donations reach at least $100 dollars, so pass the word along to other knitters and friends. The contest will be open until November 10th at 6:00 pm. central standard time.


FINISHED KNITTED OBJECTS....for real!!!!!

Yes, I finally have some knitting to show. I finished Tom's felted slippers and a scarf. I am currently working on making mittens for Maggie's friends, a baby sweater, and some socks.


I used Cascade 220 for the slippers and the scarf was made from Wollmeise in the Paul color way.





It's been a busy month. Maggie is done with volleyball, attended Memorial's homecoming, and is in kickball tournament for a friends dad who has cancer. The tournament is part of a benefit to raise money for his cancer treatment. Grant has his permit now and that is a little nerve wracking. Patrick is adjusting to middle school and has really improved his grades.

Maggie in her homecoming dress. Maggie dressed up as Madonna for a Halloween party.
I took a spinning class the other night at The Yellow Dog. I also took a class on dying yarn.

I'll try to post more often. Have a good weekend and happy knitting!

WOW, TWO MONTHS SINCE I LAST POSTED!!!

I am a bad blogger. I hate to admit that Ravelry has been taking a lot of my time away from my blog. I continue to read a lot of blogs, but just don't post on my own. Knitting has been sparse around here. I've only knit one sock and one scarf since last spring. Ugh!

The kids continue to keep me busy and on my toes!!! Two in high school and one in middle school. WOW! Maggie loves volleyball and her season will end next week. Her team has been very successful. Grant is going to get his Driver's Permit tomorrow and has his first behind the wheel lesson on Friday night. Big stuff for my teenagers. Patrick is adjusting to Middle School after a rough first few weeks. I have had some time to reconnect with some friends now that school is in session. I am back to Bible Study once a week and scrapbooking a few times a month. I do enjoy my time with friends.

Tom has been stressed lately with all of the stuff happening in the stock market and economy, but he is doing okay. He has been putting in 12-13 hour days and is very tired when he gets home. I'm trying to keep things going smoothly at home to help ease the stress. It is no secret to those who know us best that it would bug me when he'd get mad about spending money. I am now thankful that he was always the voice of reason when I'd approach him about spending money. We will be just fine and just need to keep watching what we spend money on. He is confident the market will come back up and we just need to "ride this out".

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough.

Another one......

Here is a picture of my new tatoo.......It's hard taking a picture of your own ankle, but you all get the idea. This is Loopy, the logo from The Loopy Ewe.

The first time I shopped at their online store I fell in love with the logo. I have been tossing the idea around in my head to get a knitting tatto, and well, I did it. Last spring I asked Sheri for permission to use her logo, and she said yes. Then I had surgery and didn't feel up to having it done. Now it's done and I love it. I'm off to get Grant ready for work. Happy knitting!

Country Jam...Part 2

We had a good time on Saturday, except for the thunderstorm that went through around 5:30. The VIP area was full of water. It was gross, but we went back to our chairs anyway. Clay Walker and Carrie Underwood were great. Earlier in the afternoon it was hot and sunny. Maggie and I got our picture taken with Sarah Johns. Maggie is holding a postcard from The Loopy Ewe of their logo Loopy. On September 1st they are giving away gift certificates from the pictures submitted. Check out their website and go to photo galleries. Click on Summer 2008 and see some of the neat places he's been this summer.

Country Jam 2008 Big Kenny and John Rich from Big and Rich. Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts, and Taylor Swift. Maggie and I are having a good time. More picture tomorrow. We are off to see Lady Antebellum, Clay Walker, and Carrie Underwood today. Bye, y'all. :)

Update...

I had an MRI done yesterday on my shoulder. I have bursitis and a tear in my rotator cuff. I was give a cortisone shot and will do some physical therapy. The doctor said I will need to have surgery, but hopefully not for a few years. I am very thankful for that. I've had enough surgeries to last for awhile!!! I'm still not knitting a lot so really have nothing new to share.

Maggie had fun at her friend's cabin last weekend, but ended up with a concussion and whiplash from tubing behind the boat. She was launched into the air and landed so hard that it knocked the wind out of her in addition to the other stuff. She has to take it easy for two weeks. She will be going to volleyball camp on the 20th for four days, then home for three days and off to YMCA camp on the 27th for a week. I'm thankful that she is doing better. She doesn't like having to stay home and relax, but if she wants to recover quickly and go to her camps, she must.

I'm off to check emails and then bed.