RED HEART SUPER SAVER!

I went a little crazy today at Wal-Mart. I bought 11 skeins of the variegated. They were all the same dye lot and I wanted to make sure I had enough for the project I have planned. I am going to use this to make the munchkin an afghan. I plan on replicating an afghan that she uses a lot now. It's a single crochet ripple afghan that was made for me when I was a baby. I can't wait to see how it works up. But I have to finish my log cabin before I start on this one. I am so excited. I know it's only acrylic, but I think it's beautiful. And besides, for the amount of wear it's going to get, I want to make sure that it's going to hold up.

Bacterial Infection

There's a really good reason that I haven't posted yet this weekend. Friday night around 11 p.m. it all hit the fan at our house.

I was in bed reading my book and heard the munchkin crying. Of course, I hoped she would just go back to sleep. But after a little bit, I could tell that wasn't going to happen. So I went in to get her. She only has a night light in her room at night. When I grabbed her out of the crib I noticed a strange odor and her pajamas seemed to be wet.

Once I turned on the light, it was immediately apparent what we were dealing with. She had thrown up all over herself, all over the sheets, the blankets, and everything.

So I got her out of bed, gave her a bath to clean her off, set her down with the hubby, and went to work trying to sort out what needed to be done with the bedding.

Got that under control and was sitting in the chair with her so I could keep an eye on her throughout the night. Around midnight she threw up again. This continued all night.

At 7:45 I decided, even though the emergency room had said if it didn't clear up by mid-morning she should be seen, that we had had enough. I had done more laundry in the middle of the night than I do in any normal week during daylight hours.

Munchkin had her blood oxygen checked, blood taken, a pediatric urine collector applied, ears and throat checked, and pretty much everything else they can do to piss off a toddler.

In the midst of it all, munchkin kept asking for "Papa". So, we called my dad. Once she got to talk to Papa for a while, she seemed to do a little better.

In the end, the blood tests came back saying that her white count was elevated. She has a bacterial infection. They're suggesting that it could be a UTI, but we won't know anything until we can collect a specimen. I'm not even going to go into all the trouble we've had with the pediatric urine collectors!

Once we had picked up her prescriptions and some groceries, we came home. She slept for about 6 hours. I got around 4. Then, she proceeded to sleep for 12 hours last night. The poor little thing has been a real trooper through it all. It's obvious she doesn't feel well, but she's doing better now. She's playing more and beginning to laugh again. It's nice to see her smiling again.

Friday night was a long night. I can't remember the last time I was that tired. I'll be glad when she's better. I hate seeing her uncomfortable.

Seaside Scarf

This is one of my favorites. I love the color so much. It measures 4" by 8'. It's amazingly soft and snuggly. You could feel it around your neck.

Another finished scarf

My cousin tells me these are all the rage. I did one for her. This one measures 26" in diameter and 12" high. It goes straight over your head and bunches around your neck. Does it looks like it wants to come live with you?

Shall we call it an obsession?

For better or for worse I've chosen my next obsession. I want to spin. Yarn. Not the exercise. Only one problem with this plan. The wheel I want, the Ashford Traveler (check it out here) will only cost me around $500.

And once I have a spinning wheel, then I have to have something to spin. Raw fiber of any quality costs $5 per pound.

And once you have raw fiber, you have to card it to make it into roving. Hand carders, like these run from $55-60. Or I could get a drum carder, like this, and save my poor arms and hands. That's another $300-700.

So as you can see, it's going to be a while before I get to spin lovely, homemade fibers with which to crochet beautiful things. But my day will come.

Early morning dreaming

Early this morning I was having a dream about my mom's mom. She died a couple of years ago. Since she was the one who taught me to crochet, it was a big loss for me. I've always heard that when you have a dream about someone that's passed on, that's their way of telling you that they're OK. In my dream she was wearing the same kind of housecoat that I always remember her wearing.

Then today we went over to my parent's for Christmas. As part of my gift, I received Hooked: A Crocheter's Stash of Wit and Wisdom by Kari Cornell. I read the first essay before taking a nap. It talked about how crochet is passed on from person to person, generation to generation. As I said, my grandmother taught me to crochet. And now I'm passing the craft on to others.

I'd like to think that she's looking down on me and that the dream was her way of telling me that she's proud of what I'm doing.

Washing machine mishap

For a while now I've been working on a Christmas surprise for my father. It's now safe to write about it as both parents are off for the holidays and don't have internet at home. Two years ago my dad's dad died. I had taken two pairs of my grandfather's overalls and was crocheting a rag rug with them for my dad.

I spent hours cutting them into strips and crippling my hands working them into the rug. It really was beautiful. One pair was blue and white striped and the other was just solid denim. I alternated with 5 rounds of each. There were two stripes of each type. I finished last night.

Are you ready? If you can't stand the carnage, you really ought to just walk away now. I'm serious. I won't hold it against you.

I washed it.

Shouldn't cause any problems, right? WRONG! My washing machine ate the rug. If it had just been the edge that wouldn't be a big deal. I could have frogged the edge and given him a slightly smaller rug. However, it ate the center too. I'm devastated. I can't even stand to post an image. It's too frightening.

And the worst part? I now have no overalls with which to make anything. I killed them.

Horses, horses, horses

My favorite holiday scene from a movie. You don't have to watch very far. Just listen to Meg sing. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. Merry Christmas.

What's new?

In the past, getting ready for the holidays has not been a happy thing for me. It's hard to feel in the Christmas spirit when you know that the get together is going to be all work for you and bumpiness on a log for somone else.

But in the past few years I've been blessed. I've been so incredibly blessed. Christmas of 2005 was my first Christmas with my wonderful hubby and it also brought my nephew to the family. Christmas 2006 was the munchkin's first Christmas. Now that was a kick. And this Christmas looks to be equally as good as the last two. We have a beautiful tree, amazing presents for us and for the munchkin, and the food is looking good too.

It's truly amazing the difference one person can make in your life.

New people in our group

The other day my boss and I were talking about a meeting she'd had where she was asked if we'd be hiring two new writers next quarter. Our work load continues to expand and our time is limited. Hiring two new writers would be ideal. But we're picky. We don't want just any writer. This person needs to be able to fit into our group. So, what was her response?

"I'm not hiring a writer until I can find the right writer to hire."

Sounds like a Dr. Seuss book to me!

12 days

For your viewing pleasure. Oh, and to the hubby..."Oh LOOK! A CHICKEN!"

Stephanie's new scarf

This thing measured right around 8 feet. 4 inches by 8 feet. Boucle yarn. It was painful, but it turned out beautifully. I love making things for friends.

Word nerd example

Not only am I a total word nerd, but I take pictures of word nerd stuff. Here's what I saw.

My munchkin

Last night my munchkin was eating mashed potatoes and gravy. She was feeding herself. Of course, she was a mess. So I grabbed the camera to take some pictures. The moment I aimed the camera at her, the munchkin took one look at me with a megawatt grin and said, "CHEESE!"

I have no idea where she got that. Neither of us taught it to her!

Psychological barfing

Yep, that's what's been going on in the last few days. Pretty much, my world has been turned upside down. But I'm determined to move on and get past it. And to that end, I won't be discussing it here. But for all of you involved, thank you for all your kind thoughts and prayers.

In other news, yesterday was a blast. We went up to my aunt's house for the day. It was a combination Christmas celebration and birthday party for my grandfather. He turned 95. How amazing to make it that far in life and have all those that love you around.

I feel fortunate and blessed that I was able to take part in the celebration. It's not often anymore that our whole family gets together. We had so much fun.

New toy

The munchkin got a Sit N' Spin today. A lady at work was getting rid of hers and asked if I would like to have it. So far, she hasn't really figured it out, but she's trying. It's fun to watch her spin back and forth. She hasn't mastered around and around yet, but she'll get there. And in the meantime it's fun to watch her sit near it and spin it with her foot while she drinks her juice.

UPDATE: As of this morning, 12-7-07, she's already figured it out. She can spin all the way around. It didn't take much!

There is humor in crochet

As a lot of you know, I've been "teaching" an informal class on crocheting. Basically it's just a bunch of us getting together, chatting, and learning a little about crochet. A lot of fun.

Recently, one of the girls that I work with told me this story.

Evidently she was sitting on the couch, watching Friends and crocheting. Her husband took one look at her and said, "This is the biggest turn off ever."

I guess he doesn't think much of Friends. :)

Pineapples

Here's a pattern from Vanna. I love the way this turned out!

And here's the pineapples close up.

And here's the edging. It's a stitch I'd never done before and I'm so thrilled with the way it turned out!

Hubby ripple pictures

Here it is people. Pleasantville in crochet.

"Holey" scarf

This is another finished scarf without a home. If you feel it needs to live with you, feel free to contact me. The scarf measures 4" x 20" but I could duplicate it and make it longer this time around.

One skein scarf

Here's a scarf I completed that is one of the ones that launched my "business". It still has no home. If you would like to own it, contact me for purchasing information. I am making and selling these scarves. Do you have some of those hard to buy for people on your Christmas list? The scarf measures 6" x 50".

Success!!

We got it. It's going to be a Merry Christmas around our house. If the munchkin could talk, this is what she would tell us she wanted most. And they're only being sold at Scholastic Book Fairs. Fortunately, our local library had one this weekend. I stormed the castle gates at 10 a.m. and got one of the three they had. WOOHOO!

Crazy weekend

Wow. Busy last few days!

First, on Friday, I attended a session at work on internet security. I won a flash drive while there. That was pretty cool.

Friday night I attended our work holiday party. I won a $25 gift certificate to our local grocery store. Free money is never a bad thing.

Saturday I went to a friend's house for a Pampered Chef and Tastefully Simple party. I won a measuring cup.

Can this lucky streak hold up?