I found out today that 10 year old boys are carp. Princess had the day off from school and had plans to spend a large chunk of the day at the playground with her BFFs. Princess kept trying me to let her go out to play wearing her good clothes. I jokingly asked her which boy she was trying to impress and her response was "if I wanted to get the boys to look at me I'd wear something shimmery". All I could think of was the shimmery lures my father used when he went fishing. Who knew 10 year old boys were carp.

Labels: family, life., Princess

It's a nice, rainy day around here thanks to the Former Hurricane Faye. I've been cleaning house and catching up. Yeah! Someday I might even get a head.

Things around here are calmer, Princess has gone back to school. She's attending a new school this year and was a little nervous on her first day. She got off the bus raving about how great her teacher is and how great the school is. She got the grand tour the first day and the kids are really friendly. Somehow I found the school of kids just like Princess (ah! The Horror! The Horror!). Her BFF is not only at the bus stop with her, but they sit near each other in class. I was worried about the move this summer, but it seems Princess not only survived, but is thriving.

We're all thriving around here. My muse has returned and boy has she been keeping me busy. The little knitting bag at the top is a pin that I just made. I'm working on a bunch of them in different styles. They are just so cute and fun.

We went to our first Stitch & Pitch last Saturday. It was sponsored by the Uncommon Threads. We had a blast. It was fun to take in America's Past time and knit at the same time. The base of the purple hat was knit at the game. And in a thrilling 9Th inning the York Revolution won the game! Yeah! After the game we had fireworks. I can't wait until next years Stitch & Pitch.




This is my latest baby hat. Purple Malibrigo. It's so soft and cute. While Hubby was sick on Sunday, I sat and untwisted all the yarn in the pom-pom to make a puffy ball. It was worth the effort.

Labels: Crochet, family, finished projects, Knitting, Princess, York county

Since the move is done, life is returning to "normal". I thought I'd take a few moments and share a few of my favorite things.


Socks on the hook. I'm in the process of crocheting a pair of socks. They are from my own toe up pattern and crocheted on a size D hook (small hook) from Lorna's Laces yarn. I'm loving them so far. I love the snug feel of a crochet foot . I'm thinking of transferring to knitting needles for the cuff. I can't remember the color's name or number at the moment, but it's just like a party for the feet.



Homemade iced lattes. They are so simple to make and so yummy. Nothing like cold caffeine to pass the time in the Summer. I have room on my kitchen counters now to keep my espresso maker. Yeah!

Empty boxes. Every time I unpack a box and get to yell "dead box" (our term for an empty box) I get a little thrill. We've done a lot of decluttering in our lives the last few months and put so much of our lives in boxes, that it's nice to find a place for things. Not that we are anywhere near done unpacking, but things are taking shape. I"ll have to share a picture of my studio with you soon.


Princess. I have discovered that she will do just about anything to avoid cleaning her room. She has taken to doing the laundry and loading/unloading the dishwasher. I'm not going to complain. She has also learned that the sooner the housework is done, the sooner we can go to the pool.

For the sake of balance in the Universe, I'll list my not favorite thing: Dial-up Internet. Until Friday, I'm on dial up. After 2 years of DSL, I forgot how slow dial up is. I admit it, on the Net, I am a speed girl. I like fast connections. The area we moved to doesn't have DSL coverage, so on Friday, a nice gentleman is coming to install a High speed cable connection to the Internet and cable TV. We are not going to know what to do with ourselves.

Labels: crafts, Crochet, family, Home, life., Princess, socks, the move

My friend's daughter just turned two. She's a sweet little girl who just brings smiles to everyone who meets her. Princess helped watch her at Market this summer and the two of them are BFF's. I wanted to come up with something special for her for her birthday that wasn't a) the same as what every other two year old girl was getting and b) fit the fairy girl's personality. I came up with the idea of a fairy skirt. I think it turned out great. FairyGirl wanted to wear it yesterday at the party and she loved it. I think it turned out really cute. The skirt came with a matching wand because everyone knows that a fairy needs to be properly accessorized.

The cake was made by one of the restaurant owners at Market and it was delicious. It was a candy carousel. How cool is that? I'll have to try to find one of the pics I took of it. It was a gathering of family and friends. Princess took over corralling the little ones and it wore her out. It was nice hanging out with grownups and socializing, even if I hurt all over.

This morning I woke up in pain still. My right arm hurts and my shoulder is very stiff. My knee still looks raw and skinned and I can't put any pressure on it. I'm taking it easy today, watching movies on Netflix and working of the flowers for Princess's curtain. Tonight, hubby is going to give my shoulder a tiger balm massage.

Labels: Crochet, family, food, friends, Princess

We played tourist in our home county yesterday. Princess has a project for school where she has to visit a list of parks and lakes in the county and get her picture taken at each place he visits. The weather was great, we had nothing we had to do, and everyone was feeling well (except for the itching of my poison ivy), so we went out and played tourists. Our first stop was William H. Kain Park and Lake Redman. It's a beautiful lake that has fishing, boating, picnic areas, and also provides the county with water. Many years ago, my husband almost proposed to me while we were boating on the lake. He decided that maybe he should propose on dry ground just in case (see, he's a wise man, that's one of the reasons I love him). Princess and I gave a willow tree a nice hug before we left.
This is Princess on the boat docks at William H. Kain Park. You can rent boats and take them out on the lake. I think Princess was looking for Reddie, the monster of Lake Redman or she could be searching for mermaids. Princess really loves water and the whole time her daddy was worried that she'd fall in.
Meet Bob! Bob is a snake that lives at Richard Nixon Park. Bob lives in a big aquarium and is used for educational purposes. We have a deal: we can be friends as long as he stays on his side of the glass and I stay on mine. I'm terrified of snakes but every time I go down to Nixon Park, I make a point of sitting on the floor in front of the snake case. I'm working on getting over my fear. Bob posed nice for me when I told him he was going to be on my blog. He also agrees with me that itching is no fun (it looks like he's getting ready to shed his skin in a few weeks.)
It was such fun spending the day surrounded by the beauty of nature. It was kind of like a belated May Day for us. I really want to get out more often this summer and spend more time exploring nature. We always come back from our days out feeling tired, but at the same time we always come home feeling happy.

Labels: family, York county

My Marine Nephew just became a daddy. His first daughter was born at 10 something last night. (I was called with the details early this morning and promptly forgot them when I fell back to sleep. The joys of watching my step niece and nephew while their little sis was born). Mommy and baby are doing fine. I haven't seen my new great niece yet, but I'm told she resembles her mommy. Now I just need to finish her baby blanket and stop in to visit her.

Dear little great niece,
~Always remember to be yourself, it is who you will be best at being.
~Always be true to yourself, even if it means not following the crowd. They will follow you in time.
~Always seek what truly brings your joy in life, don't waste time on what others say will bring you joy.
~Always welcome new knowledge into your life, the more you know the farther you will get.
~Always meet people with an open mind, you never know who you may meet or who's life you will change.
~Always embrace life, you only get one chance at this, you should enjoy it.
~Always allow art into your life, it helps your brain problem solve and it soothes the soul.
~Always have dreams and goals, if you don't have an idea of where you want to go, how can you go there.
~Always smile and never be afraid to cry, emotions soothe the soul and light up the darkness.
~Finally, always love, the world needs more love.
Love,
Auntie Angel.

PS. Have fun with this life.

Labels: family

And a fire would be so delightful,
I have no place to go,
Because I was sick, I was sick, I was sick.

It just lacks something from the original. We get this great storm full of snow and ice here and I'm too sick to go out sledding. UGH! Life is so not fair! This is the third month in a row that I've had an occurance of this illness. Let me tell you, UTI are nothing to fool around with. Last night, I was in the ER for 8 hours because I had pains in my abdomon and my doctor was afraid that I had kidney stones. Well, after some nice painkillers and a CaT scan, I can tell you that my guts are nice and healthy. Yippy! I have no stones in my kidneys (I was told they were exceptionally healthy) and my urinary tract looks nice (why thank you, I don't normally show my UT on the first date). So why am I gettting Infections every month? That is the medical mystery. They are going to take my urine sample and grow some of the bacteria that are living in it (urine in the body is normally sterile and not full of bacteria) so they can figure out what is causing my to get sick.

I'm tired of being sick. It's so cutting in to my art time and my sledding time. Hopefully, those who paid big bucks to go to medical school will figure out what is wrong with me. The good news is my guts are healthy and whatever I have is just a me thing (I'm not contagious or anything).

I'm not the only sickie in the house at the moment. Princess is off school again today with a chest cold. They never listen when you tell them to zip their coats do they? She was up half the night coughing and blowing her nose, so today she is going to hang with Grandma and rest.

Hopefully, things will be heathier around here soon. I have picture to show, but I need to upload them off the camera first.

Labels: family

New Year's Eve was spent quietly around here. We had our annual CutThroat Monopoly game with a nice side of wine, cheese, and crackers. I won, but only because I ended up buying all four railroads. It's not my fault people like to ride the trains. Princess had a wonderful time. I think she looks forward to this game every year. We do play Monopoly several times a year, but this is always a special game. I found crackers (or poppers) while I was shopping a few days before New Year's, so this year, we all had paper crowns to wear for the evening. I'd rather spend a quiet New Year's with my family than go out driving with the drunks.

New Year's Day was spent in Baltimore. My brother in law, John, made jambalaya and invited us down for some. Yummy! It poured on the way down and I began to doubt that we would make it at all. But once the rain passed we made it in good time. It's always nice to visit family. One of my resolutions this year is to get out more. I also got to meet the chinchilla, Ling-Ling. He's such a cute little fluff ball. Princess is totally in love with him and wanted to bring him home. Something tells me, Harry would think we brought him some food. John and Joan, thanks for inviting us.


I've also been crafting this year. This is my cat and mouse pillow. The cat and the mouse are redwork embroidery done in pink. This is going in Princess's room so it had to be pink. I stitched the pillow together yesterday. The front also has some cluney lace on it and the back is a flannel with cats printed all over it. I think it turned out really cute. I'm working on one now that says "Be my Valentine." That one is for the living room.

Labels: family, sewing

This is Harry Potter, post bath. I have to have one of the few cats in the world that enjoys a good bath on occasion. Poor kitty gets dandruff and a nice bath helps control it. It also makes him feel extra soft and smell nice to. I just put a few inches of warm water in the tub, place Harry in the water, and wash with baby shampoo. Afterwards, I make sure he gets a good pinch of catnip (Harry would let me shave him in I would give him catnip afterwards.)

We spent a good bit of Sunday at Nixon Park enjoying the day. Nixon is really cool because it's a nature learning center. I found out that I'm shorter than a moose and a lot shorter than a polar bear. A local taxidermist donated his entire collection of animals to the park when he retired. He didn't want someone to keep them as trophies, so the park uses them for education. The Kodiak Bear always takes my breath away because he is huge. After exploring the learning center for a while we went for a walk in the sensory garden. I love sitting by the meandering stream and watching the water. It was like 48 degrees outside and we had snack outdoors. The perfect garnish to a Autumn day, fresh apples and local apple cider. Princess sneak attacked me with her cold hands and I'm sure they heard me scream on the other side of the county. Princess and her daddy also examined the duckweed in the pond. I'm glad princess has a healthy love of nature.

I did get some knitting done this weekend and a little more done on the Princess rug. I'll post photos as soon as I get them off the camera.

In other news, I've started working. I'm selling candy at the farmer's market downtown. It's a really cool job. More on the job later.

Labels: family, Holiday Knitting, work

Or is it...Stay Off the Sidewalks!

Congratulations to my niece, Miss C., who became an official licenced driver yesterday. The 4th time was the charm. Drive safely and enjoy it!

Labels: family