...to Grandmother's house we go or in this case, Nana's house. Each summer, my mom, sister, Robyn, Cara, and I take a girls trip. This summer we decided to forgo that so the girls and I took a trip to see them. It is about a 6 1/2 hour drive from here, so it is not too bad. It is easy to break up into a couple of stops so I can walk around and stuff. We were particularly excited about seeing their new dog, Hanna. Hanna is a dog from the Austin German Shepherd Rescue. She was found after Hurricane Hanna, so that is what the rescue named her. Unfortunately, Hanna was not to excited about meeting us. She is a very sweet dog, but very shy. She spent most of the day in her crate in my sister's room. Hopefully, she will get to know us better in the coming days.
After taking a brief jaunt out of my hat making box, I have proceeded to jump back in. A friend of mine is expecting another grandbaby, so I thought I would make a baby hat for her. I have seen the cute animal hats in books and wanted to try one. I love the way it looks. Robyn wants me to make one for her and Cara wants me to make one for Whiskers. I don't think Whiskers wants a hat though. The hat was super easy since it is a variation of the hats I usually make. I had to improvise the ears a little, but I think they came out ok. I am making a hat for her other granddaughter too. It is jester style hat. Who would have thought I would be have so much fun knitting hats?
The girls and I are huge fans of Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers. We love them not only because the chicken fingers are wonderful, but because of their mascot, Cane. The founder of the company had a yellow lab, named Raising Cane, and named his restaurant after him. Skittles looks a lot like Cane. We smile and think of her while looking at the pictures of Cane on the walls of the restaurant. Cane looks like a friendly guy, just like our girl. Once Skittles took a ride with me to pick up chicken. As usual, she had her head stuck out of the window to check out all she could see. When I pulled up to the drive thru window to pick up our food, the lady at the window took one look at her and yelled back to the people in the kitchen "Finger at the window!" Quickly, a small container with one chicken finger was handed to me for Skittles. Skittles and Jasmine were thrilled to get the chicken and have been fans of the restaurant ever since. Skittles continues to take rides with me to pick up food, but that was the only time she received a complimentary chicken finger. The kids working at the window always point out how much she looks like Cane. Skittles will probably never have a restaurant named after her, but as long as she continues to get love from us and occasional rides in the car, I think she will be ok with that.
Sometimes growing pains do not end once you have become fully grown. Sometimes you experience them throughout your life in one phase or another. I am in a growing pain phase. Robyn took her senior portraits today. I am so proud of her. She has accomplished so much and has such a bright future ahead of her. As she took her pictures, I thought back on her life. She is our first born. Phillip and I were absolutely terrified of her when she was born. Neither of us had any experience with newborns. Luckily for all of us, we made it through the baby years. The older she grew, the more fun she became. That continues to be true today. She is almost ready to leave us and find her happiness in the world. The problem is I am not ready. I have the next 12 months to get my act together about this. I can do it for her.
We live across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans. To get there, we go "across the bridge". The bridge is the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway. The Causeway is the longest bridge in the world that is over water and the second longest in the world overall. The Causeway consists of two parallel bridges that are approximately 23.87 miles long. We have to pay a toll if we are going southbound to New Orleans, but there is no toll for the return trip. This picture shows the toll booths for the south bound traffic. 
Today, Robyn started volunteering for S.T.A.R.T. (St. Tammany Animal Resource Team). They are a local animal rescue agency who offers pets for adoption at our local PetSmart. Robyn will be cleaning the cat cages and helping on Saturdays when the bring the dogs to the store in hopes of finding their forever home. Today was cage cleaning day. I did this job several years ago and had to stop because my allergies were going crazy. I am allergic to both cats and dogs, but I seem to be able to handle it in a house a lot better than in a tiny room with no ventilation and 8-12 cats. It is so fun to play with the cats while they are loose in the room. Some of the cats are scared and you can help to get them used to humans. 
We had to head back to Lowe's to pick up something we forgot and saw this sign. I wish I could speak a second language. It was be so cool to be able to go to another country and feel as though you could do what you needed to do without worrying about being at the mercy of hoping they knew English or understood your game of charades. Bk, before kids, I went on a tour of Europe with my parents and sister. In Rotenburg Germany, I saw a lovely pitcher I wanted to buy. The owner of the shop was away at lunch and the clerk handling the store didn't know English. We were both able to point and act out what I needed for my purchase, but it could have been so much easier. I would have love to have been able to talk with her. I think she felt the same way. When I look at the pitcher I remember the transaction. It brings a smile to my face and I wonder what that clerk is doing now.
I love the 4th of July. Seeing the colors of red, white and blue makes me happy. I also love Christmas because of the colors. But anyway...we had a mini party with Uncle Gary, Shelby and Tessa coming over to eat, knit, and watch movies (Phillip and Gary refrained from knitting). It was a wonderful day spent with family and friends. 
A couple of times a year, my pal Tina comes into town. A couple of buddies from Baton Rouge come down as we meet at Tina's daughter's house to catch up on each other's lives. Paige is so gracious to let us use her house as our base. These ladies are my some of oldest friends...the ones I have kept in contact with the longest over the years. We initially met in college and later worked together. Debbie and Gina were in my wedding and Tina has given me support and strength (although she might not realize it) throughout the years. We don't get to see each other as often as we would like due to work and family commitments as well as distance. 
Robyn has been back at the needles again and has created yet another cute "softy". This one she has named Vernon. I have no idea where the name came from, but it seems to suit him. She says Vernon loves music and can often be found by the stereo, jamming to his tunes. Vernon joins an already filled softy area of her room. He will have plenty of buddies to hang out with.
The next step, in my bag creation, was to felt it. I put it in the washing machine with a tiny bit of soap and a pair of jeans. I put the water on hot and added some big time agitation. I got on the computer to start working on these blog posts and kinda forgot about the time. I was supposed to check it every 5 to 10 minutes to see how it looked. All was well and I love how it turned out. It is the perfect size for what I wanted. I put a box in it to hold its shape as it dries. Once it is dried, I will get all of the fuzzies off of it from the felting and I will be good to go.
The hard drive is here! The hard drive is here! I felt like Paul Revere as I ran through the house announcing its arrival. I called Dell and they were able to walk me through the process of removing the old drive, installing the new one, and reloading Windows. The tech was amusing because he kept telling me that I was doing very well. He said many people have trouble following directions. I didn't find it all that hard. I can follow directions...when I choose and I was completely motivated to do so here. It took most of the afternoon to get it all of the software back on, drivers installed, etc. I gave my computer a big hug and told it how much I missed it. Computer...please don't leave me like this again!
Robyn has felted a couple of items and I like the way they came out. I decided I needed a felted bag to put my current knitting projects in. I wanted something a little bigger than the bag I was using, but I didn't want a big bag where I would lose stuff in the corners. The solution was to make my own. I have a love/hate relationship with the sewing machine. I would love to be able to machine sew, but the bobbin hates me. A felted bag would do the trick for me. I could make it completely my own design. I knit until the sides looked long enough and then started another side. The same with the handles. 
Since my computer was kaput (and you probably know where I am going with this), I did a little knitting. A yarn shop opened up last September about 20 minutes away and I felt the need to make a visit. You will be impressed that it was my first visit there. I was afraid to go, because I knew I would fall in love with a ton of yarn and you know I don't NEED any more yarn. Want it, but don't need it. Today I did need a certain color. My trusty chauffeur took the wheel and off we went. I spent a lot of time drooling over the yarn. I picked up a bunch, but I made myself put it down. I was proud of myself, because I only bought the one skein I needed. Robyn on the other hand was the big purchaser. At first she wanted me to drive home so she could admire her purchases, but the lure of being able to drive was stronger and she decided to let her poor mother do the admiring for her.
Phillip decided this was the weekend to seal the deck. I wonder why he chooses to do this in the summer, and not only that...he waits until mid day to do it. He doesn't feel the heat like I do, but I think this time he did. I question why he doesn't get up early to do work outside. He tells me he will do things on his time. OK...it is just painful to watch him outside working in the heat when the heat index is around 110 degrees. 
Round number two of the birthday sleepovers featured Haley. Haley is another friend Cara wanted to have over. Cara and Haley spend a lot of time online checking out various sites and discussing characters they have created. Sleepover time with Haley will be similar to the time spend with Tessa as they will swim some and spend the rest of their time on the computer. I don't think they will be able to stay up as late as Cara and Tessa did, because their Girl Scout troop is going horseback riding in the afternoon and they can't sleep in as long as they would like. 
Yaa Hooo! I am so thrilled. Our boys pulled it out. I had been glued to the TV for the past 3 nights awaiting the outcome of this series. It ended the way I wanted it to. I had to get a picture of the front page of today's paper. 
As I was being chauffeured around by my oldest, we noticed this car while stopped at a light in downtown Covington. Since I started this blog, each member of the family (well the human ones anyway) has pointed out certain things that would make great pictures of the day. This was no exception. Robyn told me to grab my camera, but I was not as fast as the light. We made a trip around the block, so I could capture this bad boy. I could not get the whole car and still get the license plate, but you can probably figure out how the rest of the car looks. I still laugh when I think about the license plate. It is definitely memorable. I may not remember Troy's phone number, but I will remember his car.
Cara's birthday was this past week and she wanted to have friends sleepover. Unfortunately neither of her buddies were available for her actual birthday, so she compromised by having them over one at a time to hang and be silly. Tonight was Tessa's night. She and Tessa have a great friendship. They are both very funny, dramatic and compliment each other well. They spent the evening swimming and "working" on the computer. Plans are that we will go to IHOP in the morning for breakfast. I have a feeling there will be little sleeping tonight for these two.
While I was in Tampa, I kinda went on a minor yarn shopping spree. I hit the Jo Ann's for their sale and came away with some excellent yarn. One of my purchases was a skein of Jo Ann's brand yarn called Sensations. It is this huge skein of multi-colors acrylic that I thought would look great as a hat. So I started a knittin' and here is the result. I really liked the yarn. It is soft and I like how it felt in my hands. Robyn is a big fan of the striping.
Skittles has not been herself today. She is kinda mopey and wants to lie very close. The only thing that seemed to cheer her up was a ride in the car. Yes, I did drive her around the neighborhood to make her happy. She has spent some time today lying at my feet under the computer desk. Usually, that is Pretty's place of business. One might say that Pretty is not the friendliest of cats. She pretty much likes just me. I am sitting on the computer goofing around, with Skittles at my feet, using my foot to scratch her tummy. All of a sudden I get a swat on the other side of my leg. Pretty has come and is sitting in close proximity of Skittles. To say that Pretty hates the dogs is putting it very mildly. I wonder if she sees that Skittles is not herself and is giving her a break from her usual surliness. Maybe she thinks my foot is bothering Skittles. Pretty and sympathy...who would have thought?
We get some pretty bold squirrels in the yard. They mooch off of the various bird feeders and chase the birds away who were there first. Skittles and Jasmine love to race out the back door to go on "Squirrel Patrol". They never catch the squirrels. They just stand under the trees and bark at them. Jasmine usually gives up pretty quickly, but Skittles will continue to search for the squirrel in the tree for a while. I doubt they would know what to do with a squirrel if they caught one...maybe bring it in the house like the turtle. 
You are too tired to unpack your suitcase. You just open it up in front of your bedroom door and go from there. I am not calling out which one of my babies did this, but if you are a loyal reader, you will see a pattern by looking at the state of the room. She was not too tired to do several things around the house last night and she was able to get up and go to work this morning. She really cracks me up, that girl.
Just like the day we went to see the Devil Rays, today's Picture of the Day had some discussion. This trip had a lot of funny moments from Phillip getting so excited about free orange juice at the Florida Welcome Center, that he took the weigh station exit instead, to what happened this morning. We are a family of night owls. We hit our stride from 11:00 pm on, so getting up early to leave for home is accompanied by some complaining and some slow thinking. Someone (no one is claiming it) caused the toilet to overflow. For a brief time, the girls and I were not wake enough to do anything other than stare. Thankfully, Phillip, AKA Mr. Fix-It, was there to save the day and turn the water off. The females in this family were truly pitiful at this time. Of course, I took a picture and everyone wanted me to put that picture up as today's picture. Since this is my blog, I vetoed that, but put a portion of the picture up. It is to remind us of the great time we had, all of the laughter we shared, and how we love each other so much.
In Tarpon Springs, Cara bribed Robyn with stuff so she would go to Busch Gardens and ride the coasters with her. I still didn't want to go so they took the hotel shuttle and off they went. As for me...I was going shopping. I googled up directions to several stores and had me a fine time. As I was driving, I noticed the temperature. That number says it all. It was too hot to be at an amusement park. I sweat at the drop of a hat (thank for that gene, Dad) and the day of being a wet puddle didn't appeal to me in the least. I had a phone call from the girls about how miserable they were in the heat and how they wanted to leave. I made the right call for me.
The original plan was to hit Busch Gardens today. I decided I really didn't want to go and Robyn said the same. Cara was upset because she wanted a roller coaster buddy. Instead, we decided to drive up to Tarpon Springs to see the sponge docks. It was interesting. All of the shops on the water sold every kind of sponge imaginable. I didn't know there was so many different kinds. Tarpon Springs has a large Greek community. There were lots of opportunities to eat Greek food and to buy items imported from Greece.
This morning we had an appointment for a tour of Ringling College of Art and Design and with a admissions counselor following. Wow, the classrooms are impressive. One of the first stops was the Animation Department. Robyn's eyes popped when she entered the room with all of the animation desks (donated by Disney). She has wanted one of those desks since the first time she used one several years ago. In the hallway, they have plaques of some of the companies who employ Ringling graduates. It was like the Who's Who of companies who use animators. I got an annoying nose bleed, so I went back to the admissions office. Robyn and gang said the rest of the tour was just as great. She also loved the illustration department, the other major she is considering. 
We don't get the opportunity to watch major league baseball too often. Phillip jumps on any chance to do so. I love baseball too, but the girls are not so thrilled. We went to see the Devil Rays play the Washington Nationals. Our seats were pretty good and the game was great. Robyn started to get into the game and asked a lot of questions. By the end, she said she was starting to like baseball. Cara mostly read her book like she did last summer when we saw the Mets play. 
Today is World Wide Knit in Public Day. I bet you didn't know that. We are on our way to Tampa and a visit to Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota. Since Robyn and I can't attend a local public knitting event, we planned to knit in the hotel lobby. She chickened out on me, but I still did it. Phillip graciously agreed to take my picture downstairs and there you have it.
I took Cara and a friend to see UP! I love animated movies The stories are usually fun and I enjoy looking at how the characters are drawn. The movie was very good and we all enjoyed it. This one had several comments in the movie that young kids would not get. I like that they try to expand it's appeal to a wide range of ages.
Tonight, I met a couple of friends for dinner. I enjoy spending time with friends, but I also enjoy coming home to see what kind of mischief Phillip and the girls have gotten into. He can usually get the girls to do all kinds of silly stuff to show me when I get home. Tonight, Phillip and Cara had a little dance step they called "The Signature Move". They had a great time showing their move, cracking each other up and being goofy. They tried to get Robyn to join in, but she was interested in standing by me and watching the show. It was like getting a calorie free dessert when I got home...sweet and fulfilling.
Having a cat (or if you are luckier...cats) can bring a multitude of joys and laughter. I love reading about the cat escapades from bloggers such as Lin of Duck and Wheel with String, or from the cats themselves, Daisy and Harley of Daisy the Curly Cat. Cats are the original comics and they will have you smiling in no time. Lin sometimes does a little feature called "Where's the Kitty?". It is usually a post about some silly place Hobbes has gone. I am hitching a ride on Lin's coat tails and doing a "Where's the Kitty" segment too.
My brother-in-law, Gary, reads my blog. He commented that I have a lot of knitting posts. I guess I do lately cause that is pretty much all that I seem to do that is remotely interesting. My life is not all that exciting so there is not too much to take pictures of. 
I know this is not the best of pictures, but I wanted to post it anyway so I'll remember how funny this was. Robyn and I were heading down to the lakefront and we stopped so I could get a coke. These 2 guys come riding up on these crazy bikes. They are 2 bike frames welded on top of each other. They were tooling around on these things like everyone did it too. I went into the store and made Robyn wait to leave until I got a picture of them on the bike. Since I was in stealth mode, I didn't roll down the window and blatantly take the picture. I should have tho. Who knows when I will see this again?
Here is another hat I finished in the wee hours this morning. I really love this hat. It is so so soft. I wish I liked wearing hats more. I would love to have one like this.
When I looked behind me tonight, I saw the dogs lying next to each other like this. The first thing that came to mind was those cool dog photos "Sesame Street" used to have of the Weimaraners. They would put the dogs in all of these great positions to show the alphabet and numbers from 0-9. I loved those silly dogs. Jas and Skit often come and lie on the floor behind me while I am on the computer. I enjoy having them near me. They are my goofy girls.
I woke up around 6:30 to the sound of thunder. I jumped up to let the dogs out before the rain started and to get a picture of my latest baby hat. We were not back inside for 2 minutes before it started to pour. Jasmine refuses to go out in the rain and neither are fans of thunder. I like morning rain. It starts the day off with a nice fresh slate. Now, it is different when I have kids to get off to school, have to drive in it, or need to do something outdoors. But this morning, none of those things were happening, so I could sit and look out the window and watch the rain.
Food. I have always loved breakfast food. Bacon, eggs, sausage patties, pancakes, waffles, muffins, pizza, donuts...I love it all. Breakfast for Dinner is my go to dinner plan when I forget to plan. This is what we had tonight for dinner. I don't know how thrilled the rest of the family was about it, but as for me, it was all good.
Let me introduce you to my new best friend, my yarn ball winder. I love, love this contraption. I have been using 2 strands of yarn to knit my hats for chemo patients. I was winding the yarn into a ball and then rolling that into 2 smaller, equal balls (Yes, I know there was probably an easier way, but my dad was an Aggie...nuf said. It's in the DNA). My ball winder winds my yarn into beautiful cakes of yarn that don't roll off of my lap when knitting. I can then pull the yarn from the center and from the outside at the same time. It is so much fun to wind the yarn. The girls think I am nuts having so much fun using this thing, but they don't get it. I am making a yarn cake and cake in ANY form is wonderful. I just love cake. Don't you?
I saw a post on Ravelry about knitting preemie and newborn hats. City Year Louisiana, a member of Americorps, has organized several service events in Baton Rouge and New Orleans as part of a 100 Hours of Power. I have been on the hat making kick, so I thought I would give baby hats a try. I broke out of my box and found a new pattern to try. Yes, it is still a rolled brim hat like the others, but it does have a different type of finishing the crown of the hat. Ok, I moved from one box to another box, but it is a sweet hat. When I look at it, I just think "Awww...it is so cute." It knit up pretty fast and I am ready to start another one. Robyn started one, but she is letting me finish it up so she can make her famous bunnies. 
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