Meetings

A span of five generations meets for the first time: Our littlest meets his big uncle and is tickled that they share a hairstyle:And they bonded immediately:

Happy Birthday Kelly!

Happy Birthday to my best friend Kelly! Hope this is a good one for you! Love you my friend!

We've been friends for so many years and our friendship remains. Life would not have nearly as much zest and zeal without you in my life. You have always accepted me for exactly who I am despite all my quirks and foibles and shortcomings. (or maybe because of?) You understand me even when you don't understand me or I don't even understand myself. I love you my friend, and am grateful that you continue to be in my life.

All the monkeys in the zoo are singing just for you: Happy Birthday you little chimp, eek, eek!

Why Nothing Gets Done Around Here

Why the laundry doesn't get folded:Why the bed doesn't get made:

Just in Time for Spring Cleaning

This is the Happy Broom. I live with a man and an 11 year old boy (with lots of friends) and three boy kitties. My existing broom just was not happy, and quite frankly, I wasn't happy whilst using it. While shopping with a friend, I saw this lovely flower be-decked broom. She said "that is a happy broom". I have brought the Happy Broom home. I use the Happy Broom a lot. I am currently happy using the Happy Broom. (Some days I hold onto the Happy Broom like she is the mother ship.)

Now I just need a happy mop...

Spring is in the Air (and so is my boyfriend)

A beautiful weekend. Everyone should get on a trampoline. It's a great workout and good for the soul. Feels wonderful to be weightless, and it promotes a heaping helping of the giggles and chuckles and out and out laughter, and we all know that laughter is the best medicine!

Francis Ruth, Revisited presented

Finished in time for spring weather. Don't think I'll be wearing this until next fall or winter, unless spring temps drop, which is possible here in the Midwest. Pictures above show the open weave, despite using a smaller needle than called for, as well as a bathroom mirror in desperate need of cleaning!!! Picture below shows truer color of actual sweater as well as photographer laughing at herself trying to take a picture in a mirror.

Boots may need a hand-knit for himself!

Francis Ruth, Revisited is blocking on the bed. Boots is, apparently, attached to her. This sweater was completed on Sunday, finishing work done on Tuesday evening in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day. Such a lovely green for the holiday. Being a teacher, it is imperative, that I wear green on St. Paddy's Day, lest I be bruised up by little fingers a'pinchin' me. Not to complain, but Spring unveiled itself this week and Wednesday's forecast was upper 60s. If I worked out of doors, I may have been able to stomach a 100% wool sweater (the sleeves are 3/4 length, after all). However, I work in a 100+year old school building. The boiler system is either on or off. Let's just say I leave the classroom window open year round. There was no way I could wear this lovely finished object if it was in the 60s outside with a heater kicking out heat all day. Do the Irish have red faces? Beads of perspiration on their faces? That would have been my condition. But, there is hope for Francis Ruth, Revisited after all. Spring will take a little rest this weekend and temps will dip back to winter-like conditions. So perhaps she will see wear before the season ends after all! I have been working on a stealth project and lest she read this blog, which I don't think she does with regularity, I will not post about it. Plan to start up Heather Hoodie Vest as well. Will need to have something to work on while in her company. While the man and I were having a bite to eat at Jimmy Johns a week or so ago, I found ample reading material on the walls. As an avid reader, I will read anything, apparently, even the walls. A quote I found during my wall-read was by Dave Berry "there is a fine line between hobbies and mental illness". I approach that line on many an occasion. As I've said, Francis Ruth was finished (March's finished object for the resolution) on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday afternoon, the boy had a speech tournament (took second place in humorous duet!!!). I had enough time to run home from work and grab a snack and get in the man's car to drive to the tournament. While racing home, I realized I did not have any projects on needles, nor did I have that time to wind a hank into a ball to cast-on a new one. What to do? What to do? Seriously? Go to a 4-hour tournament with lots of in-between-speeches-time-on-your-hands with NO KNITTING????? Ah, thank goodness! Salvation! Blessed startitis! I remembered a small project begun much earlier that I could quickly get my hands on and into my purse. Whew! That was a close one! Congratulations to the boy and his partner for a very excellent performance at speech. they had the judges laughing outright at their antics. Many of the performances brought smiles and even chuckles, but outright laughter...that was the biggest compliment. This was their first competition ever. I was in speech as a young'un and I feel qualified to say that they surpassed, hands-down, everyone we saw (other than the little girls who took first place). The two little ladies who won first place definitely deserved the honor. But the boys...we're bursting with pride!

Travels with Booties

I finished up a painfully cute pair of booties on the road to pick up the Harley from her 5000mile check-up. I found the burliest dude I could at Woodstock Harley-Davidson and he was sport enough to pose with the booties for me. These biker dudes enjoyed the booties (really, who can resist booties this cute?) They are Blue Jean Booties by Kathie Popadin. Uh-dorable!! Thanks to Woodstock, IL Harley-Davidson for the boots' first outing.

The booties made their way around the store as well:

Step into a legend, indeed!

They did not get their first ride on a Harley, but did pose on an H-D trike:

And they've made it home for their ties and final pose before being gifted to Tina and Derek: