Wednesday, May 20, 2009

back to scotland for the longest sock ever

ok, we gotta go back to scotland. once a sheep is proving how coordinated she is. and it is a beautiful day in scotland.  click on her site name to get more information.
(spv: i wonder how many local texas knitters i could get to do this. i would take pictures of course as you can't drive a chair and knit at the same time! giggle)

let's go to germany!


we went to scotland, now go to germany with i would rather be knitting. she is my wondering school teacher with great stories and pictures. well, she is in germany but the posting is referencing her stay in italy.

it is fun, if you have a while, to go back as far as you can on the global hopping, reading her adventures and seeing the sites with her. so if you just want to get a way for a while on a warm, tiring afternoon, go along, travel in the most relaxing way!

"drop one" has been on another walk


lexie-drinkingdrop one
drop one again took me with her in words and pictures and links to historical information. o, you want to go to scotland again? here's the newest posting. a wonderfilled spring day.

365 by Joanna: DAY 136: Enjoying warm sunny day

365 by Joanna: DAY 136: Enjoying warm sunny day

i do love photograph! her stuff will touch emotions.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

breast cancer and women

i don't normally get political on this site but this is really, really important! please go here and read and think and then follow your heart. if you want to do more after that, write and/or call you representatives and ask them to truly represent you and all the women you know.

it's an anniversary! and a contest!



her forth year! go here and you will see why i like visiting sandra singh! and it is not just because we have the same name! and to make it better, darcy is having a giveaway in her honor so go here to find out the details!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

and then the rain came down


they said we were in a line of weather that went all the way to michigan. they said it would hit us about sunrise. well, they were right and they were wrong. we were in the line. about midnight, oscar wild started panting. a bit later he went into the shower stall. a bit later he was under the covers, vibrating against charlie. my body agreed with him. about 1 am, is said, i think i hear thunder. later, isn't that thunder? later still, that's thunder. and then the wind picked up and blew some stuff across the bed. and then the north winds started blowing rain through the window! about 2:30 in the morning. so we have decided to watch oscar wild, the weatherdog, instead of watching the weatherman. he is much better, is our oscar. what? you don't know oscar? have you seen my avatar? that's our oscar.

Friday, May 15, 2009

pooped and hot

the air conditioner is in trouble. good thing i didn't used my cpap last night or i might not have smelled the burning of the wires before the alarm went out. so it is hot and muggy with all the windows open! charlie is waiting for paul to get home so he can take him to go get a part.

pooped...i have spent the entire day hunched over my computer trying to get rid of mail in yahoo and ravelry. and trying to get my pattern folder organized so i can find the right patterns faster. have i finish that job yer...no. but the mail is down...way down...like i can see the bottom of the page in both areas. 

ok, so much for my break. time to get back to organizing patterns.

i hate diets


especially yarn diets. especially when people keep sending info about yarns on sale or new yarns they have! and tell me why they come in bunches?

ok, maybe, but only just maybe, it is because i subscribe to them. but couldn't they just show me yarns i don't really like or want...you know, the kind that is thin as thread and has to be knit with toothpick size needles?

i gotta go...incoming mail...from webs!

Thursday, May 14, 2009

today i met the nicest lady & so talented

pillow throw decor. she has 2, not just 1, sites. this one is in canada...and has the work of other people's s well as her pillows! wow, can you have fun at her sites! this one is in is on etsy,  she makes the most beutiful, enteresting, multi functional,  traditional to modern, pillow you have seen.so you must go visit her sires. 

the lady is, Pillow Throws Decor or cristine skaley. i made some comments thru esty about some of the things i thought lovely. she responded back and thus we became friends. but ya gotta go see for yourself...just don't be surprised if you fine a pillow there you like for every member of your family. 

tell her i sent you...it might make her smile...i know it does me!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

ye gods and little fishes

give me time kids! i have bunches of catching up to do! there are pictures in the phone and camera. but what with trying to play catchup...

i just got caught up on everyone's blogs, most of my email (3 require long missives). i will get there....promise.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

want to go but can't afford to go?


bluebell
where? why to scotland of course! then i have a site for you! dropone. you can see some of the best pictures ever and access much more information than posted when you click on the highlighted places. so take a trip with her!

Friday, May 1, 2009

i won!!

magnolia
remember my posting about joanna's photos and her contest??? well, i won!!! it is a beautiful picture of a magnolia!! ok, i know that was months ago but remember, i am trying to play catch up!

oh, she has 2 blog sites, so she is listed thrice. sometimes it is hard to keep up with her. but well worth it! and the original is so much better!

egads, have i really been away so long

i knew i hadn't posted in a while but this is beyond silly!!!

ok, i will try to give you a fast update: something attacked my body shortly after thanksgiving and would not give up. finally went to the doctor who ran tests and took me to task. then there were taxes and other interventions of life. but i am back and will try to catch up with everyone.

i do have pictures to post but not as many as i would like. o, i did get a new wheelchair for new year's. it is blue and magical...goes up and down so i don't get a crick in my neck from looking up and even tilts back (for a nap maybe).  

i am recovered from fiber fest and was a good girl...i only bought one skein of yarn (i had been lusting after it for about a year).  it reminds me of a sunset on a cloudy day...sort of blue-gray with pink...with a bit of silver sparkle. o, fear not, i have not reformed...i just needed some tools and jewelry...like what? some stitch markers by cat b so i can make better sense of her patterns, a couple of shawl pins, some socks charlie can wear with his kilt (lovely, soft alpaca)...i think that is all.  i did take a class on fiber substitution

dogs are fine and learning new tricks.

hmmm. about sir charles. about 3 weeks ago, he fell while waiting for my wheelchair guy to arrive. he broke and dislocated his ankle and heel. he had surgery that night to repair everything. so now there are 2 gimpy kids in the house. now here's the good news.  i have 2 walkers (the first one was really too tall but no one would believe me) and 2 electric wheelchairs (i have not donated the jazzy since i got the pride) and my old canadian (cuff) canes. so nothing had to be purchased as i had everything already. his cast is blue so he thinks he should ride the new blue pride. such a silly rabbit.

i have added sandra singh to my favorite blogs list. she is a lovely lady with a shop near austin. she also is on ravelry. give her a visit. "it's a good thing."

will try and post pictures as soon as i can figure out what costco has done to confuse me!

Monday, December 8, 2008

you gotta go see joanna's photos

you can see them here and she is having a contest too! go quickly! some of her pictures as so... well, you just go see for yourself!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

o joy, i am not a total idiot



i've done it! i have made a pair of socks! and charlie loves them! what? pictures? ok, i will show them. remember they will come in backwards so this note will be on the bottom.

Monday, October 20, 2008

wool ease thick and quick


wool ease thick and quick
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
now before you all get your nickers in a twist, he picked out the yarn...i thought it would be too thick but he is the customer sooo.. this is what his work boot sock will be made out of!

sock for charlie


sock for charlie
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
ok, i did the cast on and i am up to the heel...panic time...what can i do to avoid this step...ok, ok, i'll do it i'll do it...patience, please!

sock for charlie


sock for charlie
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
ok, i made it past the heel and it fits! breath...i can now finish the cuff

sock for charlie


sock for charlie
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
here he is modeling the finished product ... sock #1

sock for charlie


sock for charlie
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
if i did this right, this will be at the end. here he is posing with the sock as it will be worn.

mysy pup smiling


mysy pup smiling
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
such a happy dog...we sing together sometimes, much to dh's amusement...oscar wild sometimes joins in.

mystery pup


mystery pup
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
this is our lovely lady, mystery puppy, aka mysy pup...isn't she pretty? a very shy girl who runs and hides went cameras click or flash at her.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

i'm still not very good at this,

this blog thing.  i at least have figured out how to get pictures from flicker into my blog (finally) but they do appear a bit on the small side. AND apparently if i used them in more than one spot, they go wonky. so, if you want to see them in a bigger way OR you see a blank box, click on it and it will take you where the picture is.

anniversary flowers august 14, 2008


anniversary flowers
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
he got the snapdragons he loves to play with them. i got the purple ones cause...well, i liked them with the snaps!

anniversary flowers


anniversary flowers
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
august 14, 2008.

wild flowers


flowers
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
these are at the bottom under my vitech tree. there are some white ones as well but they are pretty.

wild flower that lives at my house


flower
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
at night this tiny flower, sleep

wild flower that lives at my house


wild flower
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
this is how it looks in the day?

carrollton knitters


carrollton knitters
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
wolfsong (Cristov) one of our 2 guys. he not only knits but crochets! and does both well! not the best of pictures but it is with my cell phone.

carrollton knitters


carrollton knitters
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
janie (our fearless leader) gosh this is fuzzy but they will keep on talking and moving and it was with a cell phone. maybe this would a time to practice with my nikon.

carrollton knitters


carrollton knitters
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
ashley (before baby...but not by much)

Saturday, September 27, 2008

what do you do when you can't afford to travel?

and what is your answer? 

i'm waiting. 

take your time. 

ok. this is what i do. i make my friends, on penalty of death and dismembership (yes, i am a toughie), take pictures of their travels and share them with me...it is altogether better when they have a blog with pictures and stories! 

so if i've missed your travels and neglected your blog...or don't even know you have one (curses), please update me. 

what? 

how will you know i have been there? 

please, what kind of appreciator would i be if i did not make comments? 

that would be rude! my mother of 3 daughters would never approve of those manners! she would have my head in a hand basket for sure.

ps...what is a hand basket...uck, a basket full of hands? 

never mind.

Friday, September 26, 2008

i love writing and reading

and this is a good cause so please, please, please check it out. (o, sorry, but you will probably have to be a member of ravelry to view this.)

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

i am in deep water!!!

you don't know how wonderful it is to be in deep water again! i don't care what i am doing as long as i am there!!! it has been so very long! of course my pt had to weight my feet down in the pool... i float like a bloody cork! 

fear of falling (instilled by the ot at the nursing home) has me banned from the bathtub for about 5 years...pools, lakes, etc as well! 

you understand that i was one who was short enough to float in the older type bathtubs, who loved bubbles, bath salts, who would stay in the bath until the water got all cold and scummy. so the pool is...pick a word!!!  WAAHOOO...WATER...LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER!!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

what am i doing up at 5:40 a.m.?

typing on the computer and watching ike roll on in ... and dafty people doing dafty things in it! you would think adults would understand that when they tell you this is going to be a really bad hurricane, LISTEN! when they tell you, if you stayed, don't go out until it is light, LISTEN! so i watch and listen to stories about people who don't/didn't LISTEN!

it is way too early to worry about how it will effect us in the dfw metroplex but, it just seemed like the thing to do. what with friends sitting it out in danger areas. and then the kids at a&m...not mine, my friend sheila's girls.  

looks like we are going to miss the worst of it but we will get the  "side lines". 

for those hearing about the 7" of rain lubbock got ... i know that does not sound like much, but you have to understand...lubbock is up on the mesa (spanish for "table").  flat....miles and miles of flat! and flat don't drain! get it? got it? good! 

i think i best go to sleep now. 

y'all take care now, ya here?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

where have i been??

my body was talking to me, loudly, and i went into a depression...doing as little as i had to and trying to play like all was well when i had to be around others. stupid. people who love me would try to help if i had just said "i'm depress and my spirit is very dim. but somehow, i don't feel i am allowed. how dishonest is that? how rude? to myself and my friends! if i allow others to be down and help them, why can't i ... 

uck. enough of this. i have to get ready to go to a knitting meet up at starbucks. 

tonight i tried to get a picture of missy pup. i will check it out when i get home...if it took, you will be so ... don't know the word but if it shows up the way i hope, i will change my avatar and you will see it and say "awwww"!

o, the reason i posted the last entry was because i loved the puppy picture!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

i took this for giggles...what do you think?

Your result for The Best Thing About You Test...

Compassion

Compassion is your strongest virtue


Compassion is the most human of the virtues. And you? Your heart has limits far beyond normal levels empathy, and your capacity for feeling the world's pain is boundless. You poor, beautiful, wonderful thing. All 7 virtues are a part of you, but your compassion runs deepest.


It is likely you're an altruist. And it's likely (but not necessarily true, think of Bono) that your humility score is high too.


Compassionate famous people: Brad Pitt, Mother Theresa, The A-Team.


Your raw relative scores follow. 0% is low, and 100% is perfect, nearly impossible. Note that I pitted the virtues against each other, so in some way these are relative scores. It's impossible to score high on all of them, and a low score on one is just relatively low compared to the other virtues.


YOUR VIRTUES


80% Compassion


44% Intelligence


63% Humility


67% Honesty


13% Discipline


43% Courage


50% Passion

Take The Best Thing About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

you gotta go

here for a free obama/biden sticker!

i have tried not to be political here but i must. john mc cain is not the man i would have voted for in 2000. this war cannot continue. 

mc cain was honest when he said the draft would have to be reenacted if he gets in...think about it. if you keep losing soldiers, and recruiting is down to the bottom of the barrel, you have to get them from somewhere...and that is the draft...your daughter, your son. 

women need to keep our civil rights...as in birth control which is now being considered as abortion by this administration...and something mc cain agrees on. 

please check out the truth of what mc cain is saying. don't throw up your hands and decide not to vote. there is too much at stake. don't throw away your vote!

Monday, August 25, 2008

after the olympics

thanks to the recorder, i will see the last 3 days of the olympics. a migraine and back pain had me down. no knitting or tv...just podcasts and audio books. i committed to 4 project for ravelympics...3 projects to finish and 1 new one.  i got the new baby hat done, the red square, and the first of diamonds for daylia...the bloody socks have been put in time out! i think they have been a contributor to my migraine! so until i have made some with thicker...much thicker yarn! and much, much lighter yarn! so i can see what i am doing and what i am learning, they will stay in time out.  

for the convention, i am working on the back of my round the trip sweater and ribbing for it.

i just watched teddy kennedy at the democratic convention...he is losing his hair from his treatments for cancer but not his spirit! god bless him!

and now meet mrs obama

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

a v8 moment!

i know my sox needles are not the littlest by far! but if you look back, you will see that yarn is DARK! i am trying to do a wrap and turn heel (for nonknitters or nonsock knitters, i've learned to follow it but don't ask me to explain it! better you should watch this youtube video.). "learned" is rather a loose term here. "learning" would be a much better term. for those of you who have struggled with this one, i have figured out a trick...my v8 moment.  

i could not see if i had really done the wrap as my yarn is not as big as in the youtube demo. or as light! after ripping it back and starting over (because i was unsure or thought i had not done the wrap.) i finally did the wrap, placed a stitch marker, knitted to the next one needed, did the wrap, placed the stitch marker and carried on. 

placing the markers prevents you from making too many wraps (like i did) or not enough wraps (like i did)! it also helps when you go to unwap as you cannot skip a wrap when you go to picing up stitches. 

fiddly, you bet! save on eyesight and sanity, YOU BET!  

try it or suggest it to others. may help the person, the sanity, the eyesight, and prevent lots of undo ripping! also might get some people, who don't do this type of heel, to stick with it a bit longer before only doing a different heel type. 

at my group knitting last night, no one at the table does this type of heel. i think it is easy now that i figured out my little trick!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

the great excape


have any of you ever owned a terrier? even a half breed terrier? if you have, this story is for you!

yesterday, charlie and i went to pt (physical therapy), leaving the kids behind...something that oscar wilde does not like. several hours later, we returned home to much enthusiastic greetings! some verbal comments from oscar.  

so when it came time to go see my gp (doctor) and get my blood sucked, it was agreed that the one who was bouncing like he had springs on his paws as he verbally cried his excitement and demands for accompaniment, could come as was his smiling, tail wagging sister, ie, mystery puppy...hey, if he goes and you go, i want to go too!

the day was cool and cloudy. the car with windows cracked, would not be hot.

away we went. i saw herr doctor. i had what seemed like a gallon of blood removed. we went back to the car. two dogs greeted us...mysy with her squeaks and smiles from under the steering wheel...oscar from atop the passenger seat with smiles and tail a waggle! 

the next moment, out he goes, minus halter? huh? and in a flash he is out of site! 

as the sky was crying, we thought it would be best to continue with my transfer from chair to car and get the car quickly undercover in the trunk as well.

windows down, we called and called. we drove around the lot he had streaked off toward. 

no dog. we drove around and around the area calling. the hospital desk was informed in case he decided to get out of the wet! we parked back were we had been. no dog.

charlie went off on foot...around all the parking lots; front back and side. no dog. 

we drove around the hospital again...as well as checking back at the desk. no dog.

we had to go to the store as the cupboard was bear. in despair we went. a small adventure ensued when we knew what city we were in but not quite sure of the best direction to head in as we were not seeing street names we were familiar with...we did ultimately drive over john mc cain a couple of times (unintentionally, for sure....but gave me a laugh). finally, there it was! sprouts! i love that store! we had to eat first (blood had to be fasting). charlie has learned it is a bad, very bad idea to let some people, of small stature, to shop on an empty stomach! finally, we had all the necessities.

ah, but we needed gas. we got it.

mysy and well as the two biped were off to the hospital, one more time. all hoping to see a small white dog! we turned in slowly searching the small hillock. the lot in front. under the poetical. the newly stripped area. UH. what? what? and as we turn toward the area where we had parked, there he was! dripping wet! full of cockaburrs...our own oscar. quite  happy. ready for a ride.

and that was the end of the great escape! 

moral: he will now have to have a collar and a halter when he got out! so if he develops another houdini trick, he will have id tags...just encase someone does not check his chip! for chip he got right after the first escape the second day we had him.

and that, my friends, is what it is like to own terriers!

noodles and knitting, they go together how?

like this! i think she needs to be added to the list of my favorite blog! i do love people who can think "outside" the box! (hmmmm, maybe i did work for xerox too long!)

Friday, August 15, 2008

do i love this pottery


this is a is a spinner bowl

this is a yarn bowl.

you have to go see, 'cause they have done it again! it is the knit witch and the dh! o, and while you are there, if you like photography, visit her blog! yepido, for knitters, this is a fun site! and if you don't know what does pieces are for, you just gotta go find out about it. you can look at so many things here, you could get lost for  hours!!

taken from her blog:

Remember all those little tadpoles we had swimming around in the pond? Well, they have sprouted legs! Look how cute they are!



These little guys are so cute peppered all over the pond plants. They are TINY.

trains planes and automobiles

saturn blew another thingy ... back to the borrowed heater until it's fixed. ok, i am having a whiny day! live with it! 

but my dogs like me...oscar came and tried to help me type...doesn't work well. he generally confuses everything and i have to start over. i am safe right now as he is helping charlie fix the car.  

mysy just came in for a drink and a cuddle.  she doesn't try to type, just curls up for a nap and woofs when dh comes in or any other noise sounds suspicious! do you know how loud a 55 lb dog woofs!!! but she is my singing buddy so i best not make too many comments.

enough messing around...must finish getting thru emails and back to tinking (unknitting) 16 screwed up rows on those bloody socks!

clouds

clouds

clouds

used in serveral items


used in serveral items
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
and in this hat also...there was also some green yarn from my stash that i will not show you...'cause i don't want to! 

but the end result is the funky hat!

red square

hat made from a bit of this

red square by you.

hat dash



funky hat (one may be clearer than the other) as demo'd on a foot

Mirasol Hacho Yarn


Mirasol Hacho
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
so pretty, so thin, so dark...read earlier postings for additional comments

sandy's first attempt at socks

sandy's damn socks by you.
toes up, two at a time.

red square

i forgot to take a picture of where i started on this one but it was about 2 inches from the end....finished work in progress...the first one i did..finish that is!
red square by you.

from whence i began


tn-1
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
and rip and knitted and ripped and knitted

yarn one of the yarns for diamonds for daylia

9429 by you.

no. 1 of diamonds for daylia


the completion of one
9429 by you.

ravelrylimpics pics

no. 1 of diamonds for daylia by you.
baby hat on foot by you.
red square by you.

o good grief granny!

silly avlerydo you ever have groups of days that run together and confuse your brain because you are running in too many directions? 

yes, i answer. 

for some reason, i suddenly decided the olympics were ending the 17th! what a panic...3 works in progress to finish, one hat...no, i was not going to make it....i had to go to pt and there were knitting groups to go to...and then, and then....o my god!!!  i forgot the knitting class i signed up for!!! i hadn't gotten the yarn!! i still needed the book!!! so naturally, i kept messing easy things up! again! and again! it was like my brain was on crack and i either had too many fingers or not enough and i forgot how to count and which direction i was supposed to be going in!!!

and then my temporary crown feel out making me spend 4, count them 4 hours in the dentist chair...on my birthday no less! that's the way to celebrate! not!  

ok, the wip are:

1. diamonds for daylia (if i could finish the first one, maybe i will get onto the rest)
done
2. red square (and i still hate doing bobbles)
done
3. sandy's socks (my first socks ever ...read below for deeper understanding...may be renamed "those bloody socks"
still a wip...damn those heels! damn that tiny yarn!  damn those tiny needles! damn that dark color! damn damn damn!!!! 

the new project:

1. baby hat (done on the blue round loom...had to be frogged because i needed a tighter weave and was running out of yarn...so i had to stew over it...then i lost the yarn...and the loom. found the yarn, loom was still amiss. finally went out and brought another! made the "funky hat". (by the way, the original loom magically reappeared ....this morning ...after i finished the had in the wee hours of the morning ....naughty words naughty words
done

what??? you want to see??? ok. let me see what i can do...i have had no success in getting them posted in the ravelry posts or in my email but we know i can get them here...i think i will put them in on the next post...all by themselves...so you will see them first.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

oil painting


oil painting
Originally uploaded by spvaughan
well, i tried to get it straighter