Family Reunion

Several days ago, Cara came to me and asked if she could have a family reunion. I was not quite sure what family she was talking about. Was she wanting to invite those who live out of town in for a visit? Or was she just wanting our immediate family to spend some time together? The answer was neither. Her best friend is moving in a couple of weeks. Cara planned to invite the "group" from last year over as a surprise get together for Tessa. Cara and Tessa don't see the rest of the group this year as they all go to another school. It was a great idea. Everyone was able to make it and Tessa was surprised. They made ice cream sundaes, ate pizza, and played the Wii. How can you beat that?

Needles(s) To Say They Turned Out Ok

Cara's best friend is moving and I wanted to make her something that would be meaningful to her. She is also an avid knitter and I had been reading on the Ravelry about making knitting needles out of dowels. I thought I would give it a shot. It was easier than I thought it would be. Tessa likes to knit on larger needles, so I found some oak dowels that would come out to be size 10 needles. I got a kick out of the looks I got in Lowe's when I was using my trusty needle sizer thingy to check the dowel sizes. I cut the dowels down to size and used a knife to make the point on each needle. After sanding them with several grades of sandpaper, they were ready for the party. I wanted the "family" to sign them tomorrow.

Written 9-12: The needles were a hit, I think. I had the kids sign them using Sharpies. I was bummed when the ink smeared on them, but they are still readable. I used a candle wax to seal the wood a bit and to put one last smooth finish on them before gluing on the end caps. I forgot to take a picture of them prior to the party, so this picture is the "after" shot.

Shortbread Cookies

On my other blog, Cheese and Chocolate, I do a weekly recipe post about a recipe I want to make. Last week's recipe was for shortbread cookies. My grandmother used to make "tea cakes". I wish I knew the recipe. All I remember was the cookies were good. They were similar to shortbread cookies, so I gave a shortbread recipe a try. They were good, but used 2 sticks of butter for 20 cookies. Yikes.

Labor Day

Robyn and Cara had a few friends over to spend the day. Cara and Tessa were holed up working on the computer. Robyn, Shelby and Andrew spent the day watching videos. I think today was a celebration of non-labor.

And Stitch Markers

Since I have a bit of a knitting obsession going on right now, I thought it would be fun to create some more stitch markers. I have made a couple of pair and I love using them while I knit. I love to see the little sparklies in the knitting.

Earrings

Lately I have been having a creative block. I finally decided that if I pulled out some of by beads and findings, I could not put it away without making something. It was just the push I needed. I bought short strand of these beads in black and white. I used a couple, but wanted to make something else with them. The result, is the Tumbling Dice.

Cupcake!

For a year of so, I have been wanting to learn how to crochet so I could make amigurumi. Most of the patterns are for crochet and I love how cute they are. I found a pattern for a cupcake and luckily it was knitted. There are several knitting patterns actually. It was fun to decide whether to make white cake or chocolate cake and to go through my stash to find a yarn for icing. What was not that fun was the major increasing of stitches on the DPNs that needed to be done for the pattern. I do better with decreasing. I would love to give the "magic loop" a try. I watch the videos online for it, but none show beginning with so few stitches. I just can't visualize it in my head. I like how it turned out tho...

Fluff

Here is my latest hat completion. I do like working on hats. This hat is in one of my favorite colors. I love this color and have several skeins in various shades. The addition of the eyelash makes the hat very soft. It is now in the box waiting for donation.

Everybody Wants to Be a Cat

Oh to be Whiskers... I wish. I am posted about this nutty girl before. Sometimes when I don't see her for a while, I go on a hunt for her. Often I can find her closed up in one of the girls' rooms. She sneaks in when no one sees her. We call her teleportation cat or TP for short. They are convinced that she was not in the room when they closed the door. Today when I went on my TP hunt, I found her on Cara's bed completely relaxed. As stated many times...I want to be a cat.

Geting an AC Overhaul

The AC guys came out and replaced our system in the attic and one of the units. I cannot imagine how they can work in that heat. I know the attic is an oven. I made a comment about the heat to one of the guys. He just smiled and said they were used to it. Can you get used to heat like that?

Where's the Kitty...You Can't See Her

She was hiding. I washed Robyn prayer shawl in a big plastic container. I left it out a couple of days to let it dry before putting it away. It doesn't help if the washing container has mold growing in it. Apparently the container makes a great hiding place. Whiskers had a great time, sitting inside and watching everyone walk by. Sometimes she would jump out at us and we would pretend we didn't see her in there. Her favorite victim was Pretty. Pretty didn't pretend like we did and let her sister know that this jumping out was not appreciated. I think Whiskers was on the lookout for Pretty in this picture and was unaware that her prey was nearer than she thought.

Prayer Shawl

I have been working on a prayer shawl for Robyn's birthday. She wanted some numbers used within the shawl to reflect meaningful numbers in her life. I played around and frogged it a bunch before I finally came up with a pattern I liked. She was happy with it and the knitting part is now done. I am in the process of blocking it. I have never blocked before, so we will see how that goes. Hopefully it will go OK.

One of Life's Greatest Pleasures

I have been anticipating this morning for a couple of days. Today I finished a jar of peanut butter. Peanut butter is a source of joy around here in puppyville. I cut the jar in half and give one to each of the babies. Heaven. Jasmine delicately and slowly licks her half clean. I can't get a picture of her because she stops every time I come close. Maybe she thinks I will want some. She is a good
"sharer". Skittles on the other hand eats hers as fast as she can because you might want some and she is not much on sharing food. Anything else? Sure thing, but never food. When I came to take a picture, she would not look up no matter how much I tried to get her attention.

My Assistant Blog Author

Often when I am on the computer, Skittles will come in and lie near me. You never know what position she will be in. I sometimes talk to her as I write the blog, getting her input on various ideas or working. I am grateful for her help. Without her I would not be able to accomplish many things.

Yes, She Does Still Have Hair Left

One of the joys of having a white pet is the lovely white hair you will find on every thing. No matter how much you brush, there is always more to spread all over. Cara loves to carry Whiskers around and you can see the tell tale signs of that deed all over her clothes. Standing outside waiting with her for the school bus...shirt covered in cat hair. Getting out of the car for dance...leotard covered in cat hair. Coming to tell me good night...pajamas covered in cat hair. Check, check and check. It is hard to believe Whiskers has any hair left since Cara wears so much of it...trust me...she still has plenty.

Labs Are Vital to Me

Today Robyn and I were running around picking up school supplies. As we drove through the Wal-Mart parking lot (after trying to find the elusive page protectors cheaper than Office Depot), we came up on this truck. I asked Robyn to pull over so I could get a quick picture. She thought I was nuts. All I really saw were the words "Labs Are Vital". I didn't really pay much attention to the rest of the words. Those 3 words are meaningful to me. My Skittles is a lab mix and she is very vital to my happiness. We spend a lot of time together during the day and I cannot imagine a day without her sweet presence. After explaining what I saw to Robyn, she agreed with the sentiment. Our fur babies are a vital part of our lives.

What the Cat Drug In...

We came home this afternoon and was greeted with this sight. Pretty has been knitting AGAIN. The yarn ran from Robyn's room, through the kitchen and into the dining room. It seems like under the dining room table is her favorite knitting spot. Sometimes you will find a single thread of yarn passing through and other times I will find several whole skeins under the table. What is it with Pretty and the yarn?

Top Dog

Being a Senior brings some new activities. One is called Top Dog/Little Dog. The Seniors adopt a Freshman homeroom and do little things for them during the year. There are also other activities they can participate in individually too. Robyn and Shelby spent the afternoon putting together goodie bags for their chosen homeroom. I guess going to school is like a party and you get a goodie bag.

What? No Posts?

When I started this blog in February, my intent was to post a picture taken each day. It is not easy to attempt to come up with interesting photos of what happens with us each day. We are not all that interesting. At times, it stresses me to try to think of something...anything. Hence the frequent knitting and fruit tree posts. It got to the point that I stopped posting at all since there was nothing intersting going on. Why do we let little things like this bother us? No one is putting this pressure on me, but me. So I had a little talk with myself and decided it is ok not to post every day. I will when I can, but life as we know it goes on if a post does not appear. There...I feel so much better.

Chicken Little Doesn't Live Here

While walking through the kitchen, Phillip felt a drip on his head. Looking up this is what he saw. Oh no! Not a good sign. Since we are clueless over here, Phillip called our handy next door neighbor who knows tons. Bill was able to pin point the problem immediately. A leak in one of our AC lines. The liquid, from somewhere in the system, had pooled on the attic floor and finally made its way down through the ceiling. Great. Guess who is calling the AC guys in the morning?

Surely You Jest

Earlier this week, my friend, Gina, welcomed her second granddaughter. I made a bunny hat for the new baby, but I wanted to make a hat for her first granddaughter. I decided on a jester hat. I love the fun colors of this yarn and think it goes well with the type of hat. I started knitting it when we were in Houston earlier this month. Not thinking, I finished it off before I measured the length. It was too short. I put it aside and pretended that I didn't mess it up. Once the new baby arrived, I pulled the hat out and began to think about how to fix it. I planned to knit a strip to sew onto the bottom. That looked horrible. I was stumped. Finally, I checked to see if anyone on Ravelry had run into similar problems. Eureka! There are others out there who have not thought a project through and found a link for a blog where suggestions are given on how to fix projects that are too short or too long. I cut out the bottom row and picked up the live stitches and was able to finish it correctly. Why didn't I think of that before?

A Hat Again?

I am slowly working through my stash of yarn. Unfortunately (not!), I will never find the end because I keep buying more. As stated earlier, I can't help buying it, especially when it is on sale. This hat is a combo of two yarns. One is a "speciality" yarn that has bits of eyelash and multi-colors running through it. It was on sale for 71 cents. I "had" to buy the second regular type of yarn, that was not on sale, to knit with the other. I have made a couple of other hats with the multi-colors running through them and I love the way they look.

If you look closely, you can see the tip of Skitttles' tail peaking out on the left side. She was my assistant photographer this morning.

I Want To Be A Cat

And yet another post in the series of why being a cat would be a good thing to be. This is what Whiskers does 28 hours a day. I made my point.

Taking Back My Hoard

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the parish library site and put a ton of knitting books on hold. Some I had been reading about on Ravelry and others just looked good. Once they came in, I had something like 20 or so knitting books out. I was in book heaven. Finally, it was time to reduce my stash down to those I really wanted to peruse deeper. I jumped in the car with my trusty car pals and off we went. Jasmine truly does not like the CRV. The seats are much narrower than the van, so she did more whining than usual. Skittles is happy to be in any car. Once I dropped the books in the return, I jumped out to take their picture. I got some real strange looks. I thought that was just as amusing as they thought we were.

P. S. It was hard to return the books. I loved them all.

Handmade Louisiana Southshore Meeting

Most of the Handmade Louisiana meetings have taken place on the Northshore. We have added several new members to the group who live across the lake. We made our end of the month meeting in Metairie, so those who live too far to travel to the Northshore can attend a meet. We had a good turn out. Most of them were members I had not yet met. It was nice to be able to put a face with a name on the internet.

Handmade Louisiana members: Left to right- front- New Orleans Umbrella Company, Debi Deaux, Miss Malaprop, By Apryl, Bayou Tatter; back- Cheese and Chocolate, Lisa Raspino, Mamas Little Monkeys

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

We went to see the latest Harry Potter. It was good. The scenery was gorgeous. It has been a while since I read the book. They did a pretty good job transforming it into the movie, but I will never understand why film makers feel the need to add in stuff that was not in the book. I enjoy thinking back on the first couple of movies and remembering how young the lead actors were at the beginning. They were so young.

Robyn's Knitted Zoo

Robyn has been knitting some really cute animals lately. She has created a wolf, a bunny and a tiger. I love how they turn out. Each one has its own personality. She plans to donate them to Children's Hospital in New Orleans. I know they will love them. You can see her "softies" here.

Looking for Sirius Black

Last night before bed, I noticed Whiskers standing in front of the fireplace. That is one thing about cats. They can stare at what looks like nothing for hours. She must have stared into the fireplace for 20 minutes or so. This morning I noticed she has soot on her side. I guess we took a trip into the fireplace to get a closer look. It reminds me of when Harry Potter talks to Sirius Black in the "Goblet of Fire". Maybe Whiskers was waiting to see if Sirius' face would show up at our house as well.

Our Last Check-in

Checking in with our last fruit tree brings us to Gerson the Grapefruit tree. Gerson has not done much since my last photo. His fruit looks to be the same size. I am curious to see what size the fruit ultimately turns out to be. When I was out taking the picture, Phillip picked one to give it a taste. The review was that the fruit was not ready. Really?

Our Next Contestant

Our next featured fruit tree is Mr. Sam the Satsuma tree. We last saw Sam here. He has grown a little, but not a huge amount. I am fasinated by the growth of our fruit trees. Some grow qiuckly and others not. I wonder when it will start to turn orange. It's fun to watch though.

An Update on the Fruit Trees

It has been a while since I updated the progress on Phillip's orchard of fruit trees. When last we looked, our lemons looked like this . Now they gotten a lot bigger. Phillip says they are starting to turn yellow, but I don't see it. Maybe one of us is colorblind. Come on Leonard the Lemon tree. Get a move on!

The Things I Find Funny

I think this sign is hysterical. I always have. When I would come home on the weekends while in college, I would pass this sign and crack up. I have always wanted to take a picture of this sign. Baptist and Pumpkin Center are two small towns outside of Hammond. That they would be on the same sign is wonderful. I think about whether there should be a Methodist Pumpkin Center, a Catholic Pumpkin Center, or even a Jewish Pumpkin Center. I had to take a picture of this sign on the way home from Nana's. Robyn thought I was nuts. She doesn't see the humor in it. That's ok. I laugh about it enough for the both of us. By the way...the sign is only funny if you are heading east on I-12. Going west it reads Pumpkin Center Baptist. Not as funny.

We Are Safe

I love when you come home and find evidence that your dog or cat has been working in your absence. Today, we took a trip over to the mall. As usual, we could not resist a visit to the book store. We came home and Nana put her purchase in her room. Later, we went out again. When we returned, my sister called us into Nana's room. There we found the evidence of an epic battle between Hanna and the notorious plastic bag. The bag was no doubt up to no good and had to be dealt with. I am glad that we didn't have to witness the struggle that must have ensued (but that would have been fun). Thank you Hanna for keeping all safe while we were gone.

Exactly What Is This?

When we were on our way to eat out (again!), we drove by this stand outside of a store. The girls loved that it was a stand that looked like a lemon, but the biggest topic of conversation was the sign on the side of the stand. It reads "Now Serving Cup of Corn $2.00" People buy cups of corn? Maybe the ducks we saw yesterday come by for dinner. What kind of corn is it? We talked about this sign and the silly lemon shaped stand all throughout dinner. On the way home, I made my sister swing around so I could take a picture. A girl was sitting out by the back, talking on the phone. I know she had to wonder why some strange woman was taking a picture of her, the stand and the amazing sign.

Get Me Away From Her

It has been several days and Hanna is still not interested in meeting us. I know we are loud, smell funny, and increase the number of people in the house over her norm. Today, Nana and I took a drive to see Papa's grave. Hanna loves to ride in the car as much as Skittles does. It is a battle to see who can get out of the garage door and to the car first. Hanna jumped in the back of the car. As I passed by, I stopped to talk to her. She immediately decided she was moving as far as possible and sat in the passenger's seat. I guess I was expected to ride in the back. When I moved to the passenger's side, she moved to the driver's side. Poor Hanna. Here is was messing up her fun. Nana got Hanna to move to the back and we took off. Hanna did let me pet her, but she would have been happiest if I had been back at home...my home.

Should You Invite Us for Dinner?

We all went out to dinner at Cheddar's. Robyn, as usual, ordered Fettuccine Alfredo. It came with broccoli mixed in. She tried a piece or two and decided she was not a fan. Once she was finished, she and Cara decided to "play" with it, cutting it up into pieces, arranging it in the bowl, and other assorted things one can do with broccoli. The poor broccoli was a major hit for them. If I had known it was so good at entertaining them, I would have packed it in my diaper bag when they were little.

Oh, and as to the questions asked in the title? Maybe not.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

...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.

Our Sentry

Sometimes people moving around the house need to be checked out by security. Whiskers is happy to provide this service. She likes to sit at her post on top of the stereo. She sits there looking beautiful and she draws each person passing closer to her. We cannot pass without reaching out to pet her. That is when we undergo inspection. She is tricky like that, taking care of her security duties without our realizing it. Later she moves to the back of the sofa where she "appears" to nap. We know that cannot be the case because she is ever vigilant in her quest to keep us in line.

Bunny

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?

Finger at the Window

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.

Growing Pains

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.

The Bridge

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.

Driving across the bridge brings some interesting sites. Sometimes you will see a pelican sitting on the railing or seagulls looking for dinner. Many boats are seen along the trip...sailboats, fishing boats, those who are crabbing, and those just out for a ride. I don't think we give much thought to how amazing the bridge is. It is just a part of life here on the Northshore.

Volunteering

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.

Robyn enjoyed her work. Like I did, she has found a favorite or two. It makes you feel good when they are adopted out. They will have a family who will love and cherish them as all cats should be.

Multilingual? I Wish

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.

Still Pitiful

Jasmine is such a silly thing. She moans, groans, and sleeps in all sorts of contorted positions. She is comfortable and doesn't seem to mind. I frequently pass her "room" throughout the day and find her in all sort of crazy ways. This is one of her latest. She is sleeping on her back (her favorite position) and on top of her bowl. I had come in to take her bowl out of her room (see here as to why she eats in her room). I guess I was not fast enough and the sandman came for a visit.

A New Family Member

Such is the life in Southeast Louisiana. As soon as the end of May nears, we start thinking about hurricane season. We bought a generator in Houston while we were evacuated for Katrina. Phillip used it when he had gone back to check on the house and his office. It was a cheapish model and served its purpose briefly. We bought a second generator year before last. It was used last year when Gustav blew through. It was tossed around a bit when the small tornado ripped though the back yard. Phillip tried to get it up and running for this season. It was not cooperating. He has tried everything and Bill, our next door neighbor, came over to lend his expertise. Nope, nothing, nada.

We headed over to Lowe's and bought another generator. You really don't want to go too long without power. Trust me on this. Hopefully, it will be easier to put together than the last one.

Added 7/6/09 Phillip decided to take the air filter out of the old one and rinse and let it dry as a last resort. He is convinced that the old generator started up right a way because it saw the handwriting on the wall with the new generator sitting next to it.

Happy Independence Day !

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.

Cara decided to wear her new outfit to show Tessa. I was telling Nana how cute she looked in it and wanted to send her a picture. I called Cara in for the picture. This is the pose she liked best. I just love that girl!

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old...

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.

Friends bring so much richness to your lives. These three ladies are my a few of my "golden girls". They are gold treasures in my collection of friends.

Vernon

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.

Adventures in Felting Part Deaux

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.