Nicknames

Here’s Lily in her Dublin Bay socks, finished last night during the final minutes of ER, and the first few minutes of the local 11:00 news.

No, Lily’s not her real name….. and this is actually a rare sighting, she rarely lets me put her on the blog. No, Lily is just one of her many nicknames. This is the kid who made up her own nicknames. When she was about 2-1/2 years old, she decided she wanted to be called Squeakers – and it stuck, and for a few years, everyone called her Squeakers.

Then, back in my soap opera watching days, she liked the name Lily, from Lily Snyder on As The World Turns. “Call me Lily, I want to be Lily now” she said. That was about age 4. That one stuck. I started calling her Lily-Pud (rhymes with wood), and the Pud part has stuck, too. That’s about all her dad calls her, Pud, or “The Pud”. (it never looks right when you write it, though).

I always call her Lil, almost exclusively, unless she’s in trouble.

Nicknames run rampant through our family, like Kaity and Doozer. Well, actually Kaity is short for Kaitlin, but most of us call her Doozer. Her dad named her that after the Doozers on Fraggle Rock (blast from the past), those busy little guys.

My dad called all upset one day, from work no less, when Kaity was about three, asking my mom “What’s Doozer’s real name? I’ve been trying to remember all morning, and all I can think of is Doozer.”

The hubby has called me “woman” for most of our lives together. I know, it sounds horrible, but it isn’t.

I like nicknames – they’re like little family secrets, because only you know why they really started and what they really mean.

Well, the nice, endearing ones, anyway…. “bird legs” and “motormouth” come to mind from my past…. not so fun. Everyone in the family, both mine and the hubby’s, calls me Lyn. But, everyone on the “outside” calls me Lynda.

I guess the hubby’s family didn’t even know my real name was Lynda until the wedding invitations were printed!

People used to call me Lyndi, my mom still does sometimes…. and my sis calls me sis…. I like that.

Oh well, babble, babble, this really went a whole lot of nowhere, so how ’bout some specs:

Socks: Dublin Bay
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces, Sherbet colorway. I used just a smidgen over one skein, which is pretty sweet, I think!

I revised the pattern a little bit for size 2 DPN’s, casting on 64 stitches. That’s the only real modification. I think this is such a pretty pattern for the variegated yarns, like Lorna’s Laces…. very pretty, but still simple enough it doesn’t complete with the yarn. I’ll be using it again.

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Doing The Dishes

http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a337/knittogether/?action=view&current=dancindoozer.flv
Click on the link above –

You know you want Kaity of your own…

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Questionable Taste

I was remarking to Kaity the other day how I had more comments on my ugly/cool Trekking Jaywalkers than anything else I have knit. She intimated that perhaps I have a whole lot of friends with questionable taste in what’s cool.

It got me thinking, why do we decide what we absolutely will or will not wear, what we like and what we don’t. I find it very interesting and enjoyable that everyone develops their own “style.”

Sometimes, I’m surprised. A few years ago my hubby and I were invited to a 40th birthday party a friend was giving for his wife. A dressy affair, a limo was going to pick us up, dinner, a whole “evening” – just four couples. We don’t go to a lot of “dressy affairs” – so my husband asked me to pick him out something. The whole package, pants, shoes, shirt… “you know what I like” he says. I pick out a shirt and tie, a nice pair of dress slacks, new black shoes and belt.

He takes one look at them and says, “I don’t wear black shoes.” Just a matter of fact statement. Huh??? At this point we’d been married at least 20 years. “You mean, you don’t like black shoes?” I ask. “No, I don’t wear black shoes. I don’t like them.“

What happened to “you know what I like”?????

20 years, how did I not know this? I just kept repeating myself, “You really won’t wear black shoes? Ever?” “Nope.“

Granted, this is the man who wears shorts 360 days a year, not a huge fashion plate – but he absolutely refuses to wear the black shoes. “Just trade them in for brown ones, but I’ll still wear the belt.”

Now I’m really perplexed. For starters, this is the most easy-going guy you’ll ever run across, Mr. Happy All The Time – it’s where Kaity gets it. But he absolutely WON’T wear black shoes for some odd reason he can’t explain, but he WILL wear brown shoes and a black belt to a dressy affair – NOT ON MY WATCH he won’t.

So, I traded in the shoes AND the belt for brown, and a fun time was had by all.

I don’t wear black shoes…. puhleeze.

Anyhoooo, this brings me to my new yarn. Monarch Farms, Fly Super Sport. It threatens to be ugly/cool socks, like the Trekking Jaywalkers. But check it out…. 650 yards, 3-ply washable wool, very soft, size 2 needles. It’s like the Perfect Storm. What’s not to like. Why haven’t I seen anyone knitting with this? The best part – 650 yards, enough for two pairs of socks, $25. Even. No shipping, no tax. $25. I’m in love.

I do have a caveat, however. It looks nothing like the picture on the website. (see the little sample to the left, straight off the website) I double-checked, and it’s the same colorway…. in theory. I know ordering off the internet is iffy – monitors all being different what what not…. but, this is REALLY different.

I don’t really mind, they’re just socks, and the stuff I ended up with isn’t bad. And, well, let’s face it – you’ve seen what kind of socks I’ll make and wear…. and – may I add – you all seem to like! – so these should be winners.

However, I still think I’ve found the sock yarn deal of the century. It’s beautiful soft stuff. Kaity and I wound it up into balls yesterday and I gave her half. 650 yards for $25, no shipping, no tax… you just have to be a little open to interpretation regarding the colorway. Oh, I’ll order again, can’t wait to see what I get!

**I’ve fixed the link, so now it’ll take you to the website

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Spring Fever

I’m sitting here, getting ready to work, hoping for those magical words “No Jobs Available” to pop up on my computer screen. It’s rare, but maybe once a month, if I’m lucky, we’ve all typed faster than the doctors can talk, all the dictation has been typed and is current….. and there’s no work.

That means I can knit without guilt. I mean, if there’s no work, there’s no work, and that’s no fault of my own. It means I can knit.

Well, what it also means (and I’m perfectly willing to ignore this for today) is that when the end of the pay period comes, I may be scrambling to make my quota of 12,000 lines…. I REALLY hate that, but for now, just this morning, (and every morning last week) I just want to see those magical words. I just want to play hooky.

What I have is major spring fever.

Who can blame me, I mean really. It’s gorgeous out, and I have new yarn. The LYS had a 20% sale this weekend on ALL wool – anything with a smidgen of wool, 20% off. The place was packed, and I had a car full of girls wanting to go prom dress shopping, waiting for me in the parking lot, so I limited myself to these four skeins of sock yarn, two Lorna’s Laces in “Buck’s Bar”, and two skeins of Claudia’s Handpainted in “Passion Fruit.”

I am totally addicted to sock yarn…. wait ’til I show you what I ordered…. maybe it’ll be here today- oh, the yarny goodness…

Some days I really hate working. You know this 2nd Dublin Bay is just screaming to be finished. And all the “next sock candidates” are showing all their glory, hoping to be the lucky one to cast on.

I suppose it doesn’t help that I keep my current sock in progress and ALL my new favorite sock yarns sitting on my desk, where they can taunt me. Probably not too smart. They’re just WAY to distracting. It’s one of the drawbacks to working from home….. well, at least if you’re the distractable type, like me.

But, they’re so pretty….

Ok – FOCUS.

Really – I was always a good girl, I never cut class, never ditched school, never called in sick when I wasn’t…. I just want to see those magical words “No Jobs Available.” Come on – chant it with me…..

UNLUCKY!!! I just checked and there’s work. Gotta go. Have a nice day, and do some knitting for me.

(PS – the margarita in the top picture is from last night, the only thing on my desk this morning is a cup of coffee. Really, give me more credit that that!)

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I Love ‘Em…. I Love ‘Em Not

Really, these could seriously be the ugliest socks in history…. or the coolest. I totally can’t decide if they’re just butt ugly, or really cool.

Most people in my house are voting “ugly.” However, they all know I’ll wear them – a lot. And, they’ll complain everytime. So what…

So, you know, the old photo shoot – but this time I’ve got Kaity to help me. Yeah, I need that kind of help. See this lovely picture by the birch tree…. this was after a try for a picture by the front door ceramic lizards…. Me, lying on the front porch, keeping one eye peeled for the neighbors, because I look like a major dork…. lying on my back with my feet in the air, like a stuck turtle.

So, I’m afraid she’s gonna ditch me and leave me lying on the porch, perhaps even locking me out (oh, YES she would) – but I have the birch tree shoot in mind so I say, “hey, wait, I still need you.” And she says, “Why, to help you up?”

Thanks. I may be old and not very graceful, and own the ugliest handknit socks in existence, but I can still get up off the ground.

I guess I’ll know that’s when to quit.

The things I do for you people…

Jaywalkers
Trekking XXL, colorway 105, one ball
Size 2 DPN

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Show and Tell

When one of my nieces was in Kindergarten, the way they did Show and Tell, was every week it corresponded to a letter in the alphabet. “A”, bring something to show and tell that begins with “A”…. etc.

One week at “Monday Night Dinner” (I will get around to telling y’all about that some day), she asked my hubby, and my brother, if she could bring them for Show And Tell. Now, as you know, all kindergarteners are irresistibly cute, and my kids and nieces and nephews even more so than the average, doncha know… so what red-blooded American uncle worth his salt could say No to a request like that. They made a plan, they would plan their lunch hour around Show and Tell, take off a little extra time, and go to kindergarten the next day.

How cute is this? Thinking back on it always makes me smile – there are my hubby and my brother, standing in a room full of kindergarteners next to their adorable niece, fielding questions from the room “what kind of truck do you drive?” etc, inquiring kindergartener minds want to know, when the teacher asks them to introduce themselves to the class. So they introduce themselves.

“Well that’s very nice, Tim and Dave, thank you for coming,” and then she asks my niece what Tim and Dave have to do with the letter “U” – that week’s Show and Tell letter. She proudly looks up and them and beams, “U is for Uncle – and these are MY uncles!” Too cute!

So, here’s my Show and Tell for this week, and part of it is courtesy of my cute niece’s dad (the sis’s hubby). Remember how my sis was going to Germany and we gave her yarn money? Well, she was so busy (work, bummer) she didn’t get to shop. But, look at the picture up top there…. the next week her hubby went on a business trip to Norway, and look what he turned up with on Easter! He actually went into a yarn store in Norway, not knowing a THING about what he was supposed to be looking for, not to mention couldn’t speak the language… and came back with some Norwegian sock yarn! Gotta love a guy who will shop for yarn on a business trip, for his wife, SIL and MIL!

This is Rauma-ragg, made in Norway, 80% Ren ny ull (first use wool – I looked it up!) and 20% nylon, and I’m pretty sure it’s superwash. I’ve been wanting to make boot socks for my hiking boots, and this will be perfect!

And checkie out my new Claudia Handpainted sock yarn – Turquoise Jeans colorway. I’ve never used this before, but it’s gorgeous, and soft. I’m thinking ribbed socks – we’ll see.

What do you have to Show and Tell?

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Extreme Egg Hunting

When the kids get older, the stakes just get higher. See, we always do Easter with my parents and my sister and her family. My sister and I take turns hosting every year. Now, between us there are six kids, ranging in ages from 10 to 21. So, this year, the “big kids” opted out of the egg hunt, being “too old.” That, and last year D#2 took a little flak for body-slamming her 11-year-old cousin. It was an “accident.”

When they were all little, it was just a free for all – kind of “ready, set, go.” Then when there were older ones, and really little ones, we’d stagger the start times…. letting the babies out first so they stood a chance – otherwise all the big cousins are whizzing by snatching up all the eggs and the babies are just standing there without a clue.

So this year, in the interest of safety, all the but the two youngest opted out, like I said, which means we have probably close to NINETY eggs spread all over the backyard for TWO kids. Still, they run around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to get the most.

It’s just too funny – I mean, look at the picture…. his basket is nearly empty because he’s dumped his loot twice already into a large paper bag, there are really very few eggs left to be found, as evidenced by the empty grass, and he’s still going full tilt. This is serious business.

Well, it was too painful for the big kids to be left out, so next year we decided we’ll up the ante, blindfold them or something. An idea that got a lot of votes was three legged race Easter egg hunting. You know, tying two kids together. Oh yeah, this is an excellent idea. I can see it now, The Bud dragging one of his little cousins all over the yard… and there’ll be some kind of discussion about who has to be tied to the “uncoordinated one.” This should be good.

You see, they just won’t let any of the traditions fade away. We still have to do ALL the stuff we did when they were little. We have to have colored boiled eggs, candy-filled eggs, deviled eggs, and Jell-O eggs. I tried to “accidentally” forget about the Jell-O eggs this year, but No… they wouldn’t let me. Not to mention all the chocolate eggs. Why, because “it’s just what we do, Mom.”

And, we have to have the “bunny cake.” And we have to have the marshmallow treats with the Peep heads on top (sis makes those….and, where are all the Peep butts, may I ask?).

Truthfully, I wouldn’t trade any of it – traditions make for memories, and it’s all part of being a family, and that’s important. The kids will do some (ALL) of the same things with their families. Because “it’s just what we do.” They never really grow up.

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Hey, A Sock!

D#2 woke up this morning (at 11:00 am, must be nice…), and the first thing I heard was a happy “hey, a sock!” She tried it on, and it fits perfectly, and she likes it. Yea! Yes, yes, it does need a mate.

The yarn is Lorna’s Laces, Sherbet colorway, Dublin Bay sock pattern. I’ll give all the specs when I finish the 2nd one!

I’m thinking I might finish up my last Jaywalker first, though. I’ve heel flapped the 2nd sock and really should just finish them…

First, house cleaning because the family is congregating here after church tomorrow for Easter dinner, egg hunting, and all those festivities. The kids never get too old to hunt for Easter eggs, we just let the little kids go first (the youngest cousin is now 10!), so the big girls don’t trample them! It’s pretty brutal – I’ll try to get pictures! It’s raining today, so it’ll be a soggy egg hunt – don’t think it’ll slow them down, though.

Have a happy and blessed Easter all my friends – here’s the reason for my joy:

Because He Lives
God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus. He came to love, heal and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives.

-Gloria and William Gaither, c.1971

Rocks me to my soul and brings me to tears every time…. I’m blessed

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Every Once In A While

This is my “grandma necklace.” My grandma died about 22 yrs ago. I’ve talked about her before. She was the grandma who traveled with grandpa (grandma in the purple shirt on the camel-grandma), the one who bought all the charms for my charm bracelet, the one who let us kids eat ice cream on the “Davenport.” A few weeks before she died, my mom called and said that grandma wanted my sister and I to come over, she had something for us.

When we got there, she gave us matching pendants. She had taken the diamond stud earrings she always wore and had grandpa take them to her favorite jeweler, and had them re-made into pendants for my sister and I. My sister and I put them on then, and have rarely taken them off for the last 22 years. This is the only piece of jewelry I wear everyday, besides my wedding ring. I wear it with everything, everywhere, everyday. It ties us all together, my sister, my grandma, and I, but for some reason, especially my sister and I.

Every once in a while I’ll wear something else, but usually I wear my grandma necklace, every day.

I know, this has nothing to do with knitting…. but, really, it does. Because I have a new necklace, and it’s made by a knitter – a knitter we all know and love! Not only that, a knitter who is a very talented jeweler. A knitter I know, who even named this piece after me! How sweet is that? I was very touched.

And I had to have it, not only because she named it after me, but because it is beautiful.

You really must go over to Twisted Lily Designs and check out Heather‘s creations. She has started up her very own business – and she is TALENTED! I think she’s really found her calling.

I am the proud owner of this very pretty garnet and silver, handcrafted necklace. I’m wearing it today, and I love it.

I’ll still wear my grandma necklace every day, well most every day – it just doesn’t feel right if I don’t have it on – but this is my new “every once in a while” necklace! Thanks Heather!

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"Look At Mom"

I have GOT to stop drinking the margaritas at our local Mexican restaurant. Ok, I’m a lightweight drinker anyway – half a glass of anything, and I’m feeling it. Combine that with the fact that I have, maybe, two drinks a month…. cheap date.

But this place – they serve one FINE margarita. And, it kicks my butt every time.

Scenario – last night the hubby takes the family out for dinner, at our local Mexican restaurant. They have the BEST margaritas. On the rocks, with salt…. oh yea. One basket of chips and half a margarita later, D#2 says “Look at Mom, she’s just kind of staring…”

Now, really, I wasn’t drunk, or close, but I was feeling it, and I wouldn’t have driven, that’s for sure. So, we finish dinner, and the margarita, and we get home (hubby driving), and D#2 says, “Mom, can you take me to so-and-so’s house?” My answer, well, maybe in about a half an hour. That was one good margarita.

The hubby drove her to her friends, I sat on the couch and picked up my knitting, and since I was beginning to heel flap, I wisely just put it back down. I have trouble heel flapping with all my wits about me.

Now – I have teenage kids – I can’t have the kids referring to me as “tipsy.” This is not good parenting. I’ll stick to my own margaritas at home every once in a while, or a glass of wine now and then – but no more kick-bootie margaritas at the local watering hole. Not good.

Besides…. I didn’t get a bit of knitting done last night – NOT GOOD!!

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