A few weeks ago , my beloved Hubs mentioned that he needs new jeans , as all of his are ripping in inconvenient places . Last week , I was able to accompany a friend to the store where I buy his jeans . It 's across the river , and I don 't like to drive over there . Someday it might make an interesting post to explain exactly why . I bought Hubs three pairs of new jeans in the size I was pretty sure he wore . I also bought him lots of new T - shirts , as he 's been complaining that his have been going missing . When I got home , I removed all tags and threw all the new clothes into the washing machine . When I brought them upstairs , I compared the new ones to the ones he 's been wearing . Uh oh . The new ones are a size smaller . The next day , I mentioned to Hubs that I thought I might have gotten him the wrong size jeans . He agreed with me , that he 's been wearing the next size up . As soon as I could , yesterday , I got another friend to drive across the river with me , and I bought three more pairs , in the bigger size . Now , I didn 't return the first jeans . They had been washed , and their tags were thrown away . I couldn 't get them out of the garbage , they already had coffee grounds on them . Bummer . I thought of it as sort of a pay back for all the times I spent money on food , cooked it , and it didn 't get eaten . This time , I left the tags on the jeans , and didn 't wash them first . I put them on the bed for Hubs to try on . Last night , after his shower , he tried on one of the first pairs I had bought . THEY FIT ! ! Then he tried on the newer ones . They were too big . I think we were both surprised . Now I get to take back the second set of jeans , and he 's keeping the first set . I might mention that Hubs only wears carpenter jeans , he likes the way they fit . Do you know how hard they are to find ? I can pay about $ 30 a pair at a local hardware type store , or go to the big , unpopular chain store and pay $ 17 or $ 18 a pair . Which do you think I did ? That 's right . I saved some money . This coming weekend , my son is moving out of the house . He is my youngest child , the last to leave home . I thought I was ready . It turns out I am not . For some reason I am freaking out about it . This past weekend , he was in his room , packing his belongings into boxes . He came out of his room , shaking a little jar . He asked me if I wanted these . I asked him what they were . . . His answer surprised me , he said they were his baby teeth ! I asked him why he still had them , and he said that I told him to save them . Later on , thinking about it , I wondered why , out of all the things in his life that I had told him to do , did he choose this one time to listen to me ! I have no reason to worry about him , he will be fine . After all , he is more mature than his father and I put together ! He is a 4th degree black belt ! He is a certified Karate instructor ! He has more self confidence than I ever dreamed possible . Maybe I am mourning the end of his childhood , and what this all means to me . After all , this is what parents are supposed to do , prepare their children for life as an adult . We are supposed to look forward to the empty nest . That means we parents can finally enjoy each others company , and relax , knowing we did our job well . What they don 't tell you is that you now have a brand new set of worries and concerns about your kid . Is he eating well ? Does he have enough money for his bills ? And worst thought of all , will he want to move back home ? I applaud his decision to move on . It may not be easy for me , but I know it 's necessary . He won 't be alone , he will be sharing the house with his girlfriend and another couple . And Graeme is a full fledged working paramedic , who wants to be a doctor . That makes me feel better , in case of a medical emergency . I think the neighbors feel good about that too . They have seen the ambulance parked in the driveway , during the renovations , as he checks in to see how things are going . So it will be a very emotional day for me , when he actually leaves . He will be taking our sectional with him , as well as the big fish tank , and the stand for it . Recently , in anticipation of his moving , I bought a bottle of champagne for Hubs and I to share on Jesse 's first night in the new house . I know that the kids have a bottle as well . We shall all toast to the future ! Today is Memorial Day here in the U . S . The day we remember all the men and women who have fought and died for our freedom . My dad was in the Air Force , he served in Korea . I thought about him today , as the float of veterans drove by , during our parade . Every year , our town had two parades , one for Memorial Day and one for Independence Day . Since he was 12 , our son has been marching in the parades every year . He started as a member of the Demonstration Team for his karate school , and now he 's the leader of the team . I sit with some other karate moms and we cheer for our kids as they go by . < insert photo here > This morning , I was in a bit of a rush to get out of the house and totally forgot my camera . I was going to take photos of the parade today . Now I wish I hadn 't forgotten it , as there were some new marchers in the parade . The Captain and crew of one the ships that is docked in NYC for fleet week made the trip up to march in our parade . I believe they were from the USS Roosevelt . Which makes sense , because FDR was from Hyde Park . < insert photo here > We were extremely lucky to find space to sit under two great big shady trees . It is very hot today , the forecast was for over 90 degrees . We were nice and cool in the shade . All the poor marchers were drenched in sweat as they walked by . More than one marcher remarked how cool it was under our trees , and told their group to march slower ! It looks like I shall have the house to myself for much of today , as Hubs has gone to Fishkill , and Jess headed down there after the parade . I don 't even know if Hubs will be home for dinner ! I am getting ready to make myself one of my big salads for lunch . There is some teriyaki marinated pork loin roast , left over , sitting in the fridge that will be delicious in it . My tummy growls just thinking about it ! Posted by I decided to take the Beast , formerly known as the Great Garter Stitch Monster , into my bedroom and take photos of it on the bed . I also took measurements . I am now more than halfway done , and here is the photo : In order to get the best photo , I had to find something to stand on . I got out our really old step stool and took it into the bedroom . I think my shawl looks pretty good ! As for the measurements , it is currently about 32 inches across the top , and at the halfway point , its 26 inches , therefore it will be 52 inches when finished ( I hope ) . Also at the center point , it 's about 27 inches deep . I think the stripes look pretty good . I hate wasting yarn trying to match up the color changes . So the stripes are a little off . When I was writing this earlier , a thunderstorm started , and I got nervous , so I shut down . Now that it 's over , I shall continue . I am glad it rained , I would have had to go out and water my two unplanted lilacs ! I was knitting during the storm , and being as I 'm a little tired , I made a mistake . AGAIN . So once again , I had to tink rows 1 and 8 because I forgot to do the cable cast on of the 6 stitches at the start of row 8 . But I 'm already through re - knitting those rows , so I 'm over it . At this point I want to state that I was not intentionally being a snobby knitter when I challenged Kim about Venomous Tentacula . I was hoping to spur her on to finish it , really I was . . . . Well , when Hubs got home from work this morning , it was still raining a little bit , so he decided not to plant my lilacs . We are currently watching The Glades , a show I really like when it was on the first time . I can 't wait until next Sunday , when the new season starts . Today , as Hubs left for work , he told me that tomorrow morning , he would like to plant the two remaining lilac bushes . If the weather allows , that is . Personally , I think he should be out there even if it 's a hurricane . Those poor lilacs have now been here almost two weeks . I think they might have given up on ever being planted in the ground ! I did run outside yesterday and snap a photo of Miss Kim in her new position in the front yard . Behind her in the driveway , which goes down to the two car garage and the pool level . I think she 's happy where she is , she gets full sun most of the day . The other two will get full sun until later in the afternoon than Miss Kim . According to their tags , full sun is what they want . We will do our best to make sure that they thrive , after all I waited 22 years for them . I 'm having it for dinner , and I make it myself ! First I need to search through the fridge and see what there is to go in my salad . Hmmm , there 's some left over lamb chops , but they are too old , so I throw them away . I guess there 's no meat this time . I have been known to chop up left over pork roast , or chicken , or even steak and put it in my salad . Out of the fridge I pull the bagged salad mix , the extra sharp cheddar cheese , and the pineapple spears I bought for just this purpose . Also I grab the salad dressing , more on that later . And out comes the jar of chopped hazelnuts . I buy them in a bag and put them in the jar and keep them in the refrigerator . I also pull out the package of mixed fruit that Julie left here earlier this week . She won 't mind if I steal a few pieces of melon , will she ? Then it 's on to the freezer ! I pull out the chopped broccoli , but change my mind and switch it for the bag of peas . I thaw some in the microwave and throw them on top of the salad mix in the BIG bowl . Then I cut some cheese into little cubes and they get thrown on top too . Next I slice the pineapple spear lengthwise and then chop it up too , on it goes to the growing pile . I pull some cantaloupe and that green melon out of the package and chop them up too . Then I sprinkle some of the chopped hazelnuts over the whole thing . I have been known to use fresh strawberries in my salad , they really taste delicious , even with chunky blue cheese dressing ! I just love putting fruit in my salads ! Then I realize I forgot the croutons ! So I turn around and pull them out of the cupboard , and dump a large handful on top of the whole mess . Vinaigrette , it 's one of my favorites ! I also love Ken 's Sweet Vidalia Onion . Then there 's my fall back dressing , Marie 's Chunky Blue Cheese . And here is what it looks like ! Now , if you will excuse me , it 's time to eat ! ! After putting the Beast up for a day , I am back working on it . Now that I 'm nearly halfway done , I want to finish it very badly . During the one day that I didn 't work on it , I picked up Sara 's baby blanket , and finally finished picking up the stitches for the fourth side . I even knitted two or three rows . Then I wanted to work on the crocheted shawl that I had gotten so far on . It was sitting here on the couch , right next to me , when the hook decided to slide out of the stitch it was in , and roll down between sections of our sectional . It is not , at this time , retrievable . In the past , there was enough space there that I could put a yardstick down there and manage to push out to the front the things that were lost . Now the sections are just too close together . That makes two hooks in the past two weeks that have decided to do that . And I don 't have spares of those sizes any more . The good news is that in about a week , the sectional will be moving to Fishkill with the boy . At that time , I am looking forward to joyously reuniting with my lost hooks . I wonder what else has been lost down there ? I know there is at least one pencil , and maybe a pair of small scissors . Probably at least one yarn needle will be found also . It will be much like Christmas when this sectional is finally out of here ! That event will start the ball rolling on all the work to get done around here . We will move into Jesse 's room , and do our bedroom over . We 've had new bedroom furniture waiting for us in the basement for years . Also , the carpet in the living / dining rooms and short hallway will be coming up . It 's very old and Hubs wants it gone . I am greatly looking forward to shopping for a new couch , or couches , or recliners or . . . . whatever we decide on ! I have been thinking lately . It seems some people only read my blog when it 's not about knitting or crocheting , and some only read it when it is . I have been considering starting another blog altogether , and keeping the two separate . One for crafting , and one for life in general . I would really like to know what you , my readers , think about this . Please comment and let me know which you would prefer to read , or if you would read both . On another front , I am tired today . It was even worse yesterday . Yesterday was a really bad air day for me . On days like that , I get worn out just from the effort of breathing . It 's not pretty . I try to do the things I want to do , but am not always successful . It was rainy and humid yesterday , and today thunderstorms are possible . Right now , it 's sunny and nice , but that could change . I am tired because I was up at the ass crack of dawn again . Earlier than my alarm , even , which was set for 5 : 45 ! I am such a good friend . And I still have another young lady to sit for today . It 's a good thing she has been taking loooong naps for the last week or so . They have been averaging 2 1 / 2 hours ! So I have been getting lots of knitting done while she naps . I should have known better than to start knitting before I 've had my coffee , I really should . I pick up the Beast , and start knitting , looking at the row counter first to make sure of which row I was going to be working on . I went all the way across , and then all the way back , and UH - OH . I stop and look , suddenly confused . Something 's not right . . . I look again at the row counter , which told me that row 5 had been the last row completed . But in my pre - coffee daze , I totally forgot to cable cast on the six stitches when I started row 6 . After swearing quite a bit , I decided that this mistake needed to be tinked . I set to work , and after a while , in a shorter time than I expected , it was done . It was a bit difficult at times , but I did it . Then I went to work , and after Malia went down for her nap , I realized I forgot my written pattern . It really was okay , since I am at the point where the pattern is there just for emergencies . I actually remembered what to do , so I was good . I actually got several repeats done while the little princess slept . After babysitting , I was going to the grocery store , so I stopped at the credit union to check my balance . As I was leaving , I checked the time , and realized Kim and Cherub would be at karate very soon . So I drove there , it 's in the same plaza as the credit union , but they weren 't there yet . After waiting only a short time , they came in ! So I got some more knitting done during karate class . THEN I finally made it to the grocery store and picked up the few things I needed . For dinner tonight , I am making a pork loin roast , rubbed with Gobs of Garlic from the Awesome store , garlic mashed potatoes , corn on the cob , and maybe pork gravy . Very yummy ! The garlic flavor seeps down into the meat , it 's soooo good ! Still no new photos of Miss Kim or the other lilac bushes , it 's been raining all day . But at least I know that they are getting enough water ! But with all this humidity it 's very difficult to breathe . I am getting a complete workout just sitting on the couch trying to breathe . There are days like this , thankfully not too many . I read the Yarn Harlot 's blog , like many , many other people . She is highly amusing . In fact , she is one of the reasons I began my own blog . She had been blogging about a shawl , Wingspan , and how nice it was to knit . And like many , many other knitters , I went to Ravelry and downloaded the pattern . It was even free . If I had had to frog " the beast " again , I was going to give up on it , and cast on Wingspan . But to my delight , I was able to make good progress with " the beast " , and so Wingspan gets put in my queue , and will up up next . I am looking forward to it ! I will have to see if I have enough of any one yarn in my stash to make it . Wouldn 't it be a pity if I had to go and buy more yarn ? ? After a week of languishing in her plastic pot , this evening Hubs finally got a chance to put Miss Kim in her new place in the front yard . We hope she will be very happy there , and thrive , and give me many years of gorgeous smelling blooms . No photos yet , as it was getting dark by the time we were finished . I just watched the weather report , and showers are predicted for the next five days , so she should get plenty of water . Now I just need her sisters to get planted . Posted by The Beast referred to in the title is a shawl , Venomous Tentacula by Jennifer Dassau . It is all garter stitch , with cool holes in it made by binding off and then casting on in the next row . Very cool looking . My friend Kim was knitting this shawl and finished it a few days ago . She wrote about it in her blog , Ridiculous Knits . Being a fan of garter stitch myself , I thought I 'd give it a try . Now , Kim had some problems with it , eventually getting the hang of the trickier parts . I sort of challenged her about it , saying I could do it . Of course , I had trouble too . I frogged it three times , and had to tink it more than once . But eventually , I got the hang of it too . It is a fun knit ! I took a photo of my progress as of yesterday afternoon : See what I mean ? It is cool looking . That 's what appealed to me . I ended up staying up pretty late last night , knitting . I couldn 't seem to put it down ! Here is a photo I just took a little while ago , after working on it again this morning : See how much progress I 've made ? I 'm really excited about it . Of course , I still have to finish the baby blanket , I got bored picking up stitches on the fourth side . I also made significant progress in the pentagram shawl I am crocheting . It seems that this particular shawl is addicting . It 's done sideways . The first photo shows the knitting needle at the top , and in the second , it 's on the right side , so the top of the shawl is at the top of the photo . Hopefully later today , Hubs will get my lilacs planted . I will take photos of that so you can see them in the ground . Miss Kim smells so pretty ! I smelled her blooms when I watered her yesterday . I am so glad it 's Spring ! For a very long time , I have been searching for a good back scratcher . This sounds simple , doesn 't it ? Well , it 's not so simple . Most back scratchers on the market are simply not satisfactory . A long time ago , I had the perfect one , it was a salad serving fork , red plastic , from Betty Crocker . I have since lost it . Hence my long , and until now , fruitless search . I have tried so many scratchers , it boggles the mind . Most are simply not sharp enough for me . I even suggested to Hubs that he could pound some nails into a board , and those points might , just might , be sharp enough to suit me . Well , ladies and gentlemen , today my search has come to an end . On a whim , I went into our local dollar store . I was actually looking for a kind of short , kind of wide , plastic tumbler . I have looked everywhere else , this place was my last hope . I found something usable , to my surprise . Just by chance , I walked through the kitchen utensil section of the store , and there it was ! It was intended to be wooden spaghetti fork , but I saw perfect back scratcher . I admit it , I tried it out , right there in the store . I was pleasantly surprised , it actually worked , even through my T - shirt . I was very excited . I left the store with my two precious finds . And here is the photo of it . I haven 't named it yet , but you know that I will ! Posted by The Great Yarn Goddess has forgiven me my arrogance , shortly after I wrote my last post , I picked up the crocheted shawl and figured out where I fracked up . Woud you like to know ? It turned out the first group in the row had one too few stitches . So that put everything else off by one stitch . I fixed it , and it 's been full steam ahead ever since . I even made some progress on the great garter stitch beastie shawl ! But I am still taking it easy with this one , and waiting for my audience with Her Majesty the Knitting Queen for direction . It would have been yesterday , Wednesday , but she sent me a text message that they weren 't going to be at karate . So I put my house clothes back on and settled back into my crocheting . I can have patience when I need to , even if I need to wait until Friday 's Stitch n Bitch session . Today I went outside and took photos of my new lilac bushes . Since it finally stopped raining , it was do - able . And here is Miss Kim : I have to say , after Hubs took her out of the truck , she looked okay . But the next day , she began to look very peaked . Her leaves were wilting , and she looked pretty sad . I am very happy to report , that with all the rain we had for two days , she has perked right up , as you can see in the photo ! I was worried that we were going to lose her . And here is the third one , she is lovely as well ! You can 't see in this photo , but she has blooms too , like Miss Kim . You can also see that our lawn needs mowing , but when it rains on Hubs ' says off , that can 't get done . I am hoping that this weekend , Hubs can get all three new ladies planted ! I can 't wait ! I did not get a chance to blog yesterday . Hubs and I ended up going to the Fishkill house " for a couple of hours " in the afternoon , and didn 't get home until after 11 p . m . That said , the house is really coming along nicely ! The bedrooms are painted and looking awesome , and the light grey paint looks terrific in the dining room . I was surprised how well it went with the floor , which is a tan linoleum tile , it turns out that there is a significant amount of grey in the tiles ! Before the grey walls , you never noticed the grey in the floor . It really looks awesome . So the house is almost done , and ready for it 's new tenants . They are all excited about it . The only major project left is the electrical work . And that should happen soon , so we can still make the June 1st target date . Now for the crafting part of my story . It turns out that I pissed off both the knit and crochet Goddesses . My crocheted shawl project is stalled , the stitch count is off . Hard to do , since it 's mesh , like filet crochet , and the design is filled in boxes in the mesh . Every series of filled in boxes ends up being an odd number of stitches , and in the third row of my chart , one of the series of filled in boxes has an even number of stitches . I have gone back and counted stitches in the previous rows , they are all correct . I don 't get it . I have even put it down overnight and counted again the next day , hoping against hope that it would somehow correct itself . It has not worked . Color me disappointed . Last week , I opened my big mouth and told an expert knitter that I could make the shawl that she was making and not have so much trouble with it . I think you can guess what is happening . This shawl is also kicking my ass , and making me doubt that I even know how to knit . So far , I have frogged it 3times . I started the fourth attempt , and am currently awaiting an audience with her Majesty for advice . So at this point , I need to re - learn how to count , to crochet , to interpret a crochet chart , and to trust my friends . But I really like the knitted shawl , I hope to overcome my obstacles . Does anyone have any suggestions as to what an appropriate sacrifice to the Goddesses would be ? I am willing to do almost anything . I have been crocheting a good portion of today , as well as yesterday , and my hands are beginning to hurt . It 's been a while since I crocheted all day . But I am happy to be working on my new shawl . My new Lilacs are still in their pots . We did move the two down near to where they will end up , lower at the bottom of the hill . They will be planted up on the hill . But Miss Kim still seems to be wilting big time . At least it 's raining , so she 's getting some water . I gave them all some water yesterday . Miss Kim will be planted in the front yard . I have been doing laundry and washing dishes in between crocheting sessions , which is always a good thing . Hubs went to Fishkill today without me . I volunteered to go , but he said I should stay home . I got the mail from the post office , as well as across the street . I was going to go to spinning group at the library this morning , but I was so tired when Kim got home that I just went home and went back to bed with Hubs . I have missed the ladies , but now that I am babysitting from 11 : 15 to 3 : 15 , by the time I got there , I 'd have about a half hour until I 'd have to leave . But this week I have off until Thursday , so I thought I 'd go . But there was the whole being tired thing . This is , unbelievably , my 300th post ! I can 't believe it . And soon my one year blogiversary will be here . Whoop whoop ! I haven 't gotten as much feedback as I hoped , but I will keep plugging away . So please feel free to comment ! I 'd love to hear from you . . . and thanks for reading my blog ! Ever since I gave away my favorite shawl , I have been itching to crochet another one just like it . This time it will be a bit smaller , since I 'm using a smaller hook and lighter weight yarn . So , I dug out the pattern , and started shortly after I finished the one side of the baby blanket . I did start picking up stitches on the 4th side , but it has lost its luster for me at this point . The same thing happened when I was picking up the stitches on the side I just finished . It took me three days to pick those up . So I am having a very nice Mother 's Day , thank you ! Hubs and I were taken out to breakfast by our son , a very nice gesture ! I also received three lilac trees ! I have been asking for some for 22 years . He was only going to get the two , but then spotted a dwarf tree called Miss Kim , and he said he had to get that one too . Apparently Jess helped with the picking out . Now Hubs is trying to get some sleep , but not succeeding very well , I 'm afraid . He 's been out here twice already . He worked last night . I get to sit here and watch television and crochet . It 's a nice peaceful way to spend a day . I will get photos of my lilacs once they have been planted . Two are going on the hill in the back yard , and Miss Kim is going in the front yard . Now , if you 'll excuse me , I should get back to my crocheting . I love knitting in public . We regularly do this , at our Stitch n Bitch sessions at Cranberry 's at Tilley Hall , in Hyde Park . It 's fun to have people come up to you and ask what you are making . I have learned over the years to bring something with me whenever I go somewhere that I may have to wait . Like the doctor 's office , or the DMV . I used to have my nook with me at all times , but have recently switched it out for my knitting . I find I am getting quite a bit of knitting done while I am waiting . Today , I had lunch with my mom and darling daughter . I thought I might be late , as I had a few stops to make on the way down to the restaurant . First the drug store for a mothers day card , then the bank to cash in my change stash . Finally I had to stop for gas , or I might not have made it home . That was the plan , anyway . The first obstacle was in the bank . They only have one change machine in our branch , and as I walked in I saw that there was already someone standing there getting ready to use it . So I sat down . Then I took a longer look . This man had , I kid you not , a huge satchel out of which he was pulling bags of change . I quickly decided I did not have the time to wait for him , so I left . I hoped to stop again on my way home . The stop for gas went smoothly , and soon I was on my way to lunch . It turned out that I arrived before mom and Sara ! So I went in , and sat on the bench and pulled out my knitting . I remember thinking it was a good thing I didn 't bring my nook , as it was very dark in there , and I wouldn 't have been able to read anyway . This morning I finally finished picking up the stitches on one side of the baby blanket , and I had knit the first row . So I sat there on the bench and knit almost a whole second row before mom and Sara arrived ! We had a lovely time at lunch . We talked long after the food was taken away , it was a good thing they weren 't busy . The waitress was gracious , and the food was very good . There are times I would like to take a chair out to Rte 9 , and just sit there and knit . Come to think of it , that 's what we do on Memorial Day , while we watch the parade ! I 'm looking forward to doing that again this year . It 's been the three of us , Kim , Jan and myself , for the last couple of years . All three of our kids march with the Karate School , and are on the Demonstration Team . Of course , my kid is the leader of the whole team , as well as being the newest 4th degree black belt , the second student ever to get that rank . No , I 'm not too proud or anything . . . . That 's him on the right , accepting his certificate . The red stripe on his belt denotes his rank as a Master . It seems I have strayed a bit off topic . Oh well . . . Yesterday , I read a blog that I follow , in which she talks about having Lupus . And May is Lupus awareness month . In my infinite foolishness , I tweeted to her that at least her disease had an awareness month , that to my knowledge mine did not . That was the Open Mouth part of the story . The target was painted on my back at that moment . . . Shortly after I tweeted that , I started thinking about it . I decided to Google it , to see if there is a Sarcoidosis awareness month . It turns out that there is indeed an awareness month for Sarcoidosis , and I just missed it ! April is my month . I totally panicked , didn 't know what to do . And there is the Insert Foot . I texted friend Kim , who informed me that I could delete that tweet , which I did , tout suite . I inserted that foot so hard and so far that I am still gagging . So here I am apologising to Miss Vicious , who probably has it a lot worse than me . I can do nearly everything I want to , just slower . And as an aside to Miss V , it 's not the end of the world if you lose your hair . My Hubs still loves me just fine without mine . YAY ! This blanket is finally nearly finished ! Last night , I started the top border , and now that is almost done . I was talking about it today with my knitting expert friend Jan , and I told her I wasn 't looking forward to picking up all those stitches on the long edges . She had a great suggestion for that ! She asked couldn 't I do a row of crochet and pick up from that ? That was brilliant ! I was concerned about the edges because the stitches there seemed a bit tight . I really wasn 't looking forward to trying to work them . And just so you are aware , I won 't be posting another photo of the blanket until it 's completely finished , and washed and dried . As for the empty nest , it 's getting closer and closer ! Work is coming along on the house in Fishkill . The greatest advance , in my opinion , is the decision not to refinish the main floor hardwood floors . That would have taken a good chunk of time , and more money than we anticipated . The kids are so excited ! Graeme and Amy 's room is all painted , yellow , and Jess and Julie are down there now , doing their second coat . They chose purple , it 's Julie 's favorite color . I can 't wait to get our house all to ourselves ! So much to do once the boy is outta here ! I am not going to talk about our plans just yet , even though I may have mentioned something in a earlier post . Let 's just say that changes are on the way ! Posted by Yup , that was me , tinking back across a row , for about the 7 millionth time . I think the problem is that I am forgetting how to count . I 've caught the Hartmann disease ! I mean really , how hard is K2 , S1 , K4 , S1 across the whole fracking row ? When I get to the end of the row , and it doesn 't end the way it 's supposed to , I know I fracked up somewhere . I even stop about every 30 stitches or so , and look back and make sure it 's right ! Yet , it continues to happen . With startling regularity . Yet , I persevere . Today , I measured the blanket , and it was at 31 inches long . I decided to do one more pattern repeat and then start the end border . So far , I have done four of the twelve rows . However , in a little while , I will be heading for karate to sit with my friend while the Cherub takes class , taught by my son . So I might get a row or two done while I 'm there . But maybe not . I am extremely tired again today . This comes from not sleeping last night because Hubs got mad at me . Then I couldn 't get back to sleep , and when I finally did , I dreamed all these dreams of horrible things he did to get back at me . . . And tomorrow is his birthday too . This really sucks . I have a plan , though . Let 's all hope it works ! P . S . it is so totally not my fault that he guilted himself . . . Posted by While I was sitting there in the AtKnitsEndYarn booth at Clermont , I was surprisingly enough , knitting . I was at that point nearly to the one quarter finished mark of the never - ending - garter - stitch blanket . I had , up to that point , not dropped a single solitary stitch . My friend Kim had gone off on a looking jaunt , and here she comes ! She bears a gift for moi , a really beautiful beaded crochet hook fixer thing for dropped stitches . She bought three , all exactly alike , one for me as a thank you for helping , one for herself and one for friend ObliviousKnits . Shortly after receiving my gift , I was sitting there knitting , and it was like she jinxed me . I dropped a stitch ! I cursed , and fumbled with one hand for the little tool , which was still in its package . I handed it to Kim , asking her to open it . She laughed , and was amazed that right after she bought me the tool , I needed to use it ! I completely blame her for the dropped stitch . She did jinx me ! That 's my story and I 'm sticking with it . It is 4 p . m . here , and I am having a cup of coffee . In fact , it 's Godiva Chocolate Truffle Coffee . . . very scrumptious . I am needing coffee this late in the afternoon because I was up at the ass - crack of dawn today to sit for my favorite almost - 10 - year - old Cherub . That 's not the bad part , the bad part was I had a bit of a rough night . I woke up at 3 : 15 a . m . looked at my cell phone , and thought it was 5 : 15 , I figured it wouldn 't pay to sleep for just another half hour . So I just laid there waiting for my cell phone alarm to go off . Apparently I fell asleep anyway , because next thing I know , I wake up and my cell phone looks like it says 5 : 59 ! I 'm freaking out thinking the stupid thing didn 't wake me up ! When I sat up in a panic , I saw the time on the cable box was 3 : 59 ! So I got up and went to the bathroom . I guess I was able to fall back asleep , because my alarm did wake me up at 5 : 45 . Today I measured the blanket . I have been putting it off , kind of not wanting to know , but last night I decided it was time . I measured it today , and it is 25 inches ! Only about 9 more inches to go ! I did the measuring when I was sitting for Miss Malia today . She was very interested in my blanket , it was hard for me to get her to leave it alone long enough for me to take the photo ! I told her I would take her picture too , so here it is ! I showed it to her on my camera , and she got really excited . But then something she likes came on the TV , so she started dancing and lost interest in the photo . . . Posted by My day was pretty good , actually . I got to sleep late , until 9 : 30 . I waited to get up until Hubs fell asleep . That 's my favorite time of the day , when I can put my hand on his back , and he falls asleep . I got up and made myself some coffee , then started knitting . I got a few pattern repeats done , too . I am pleased that I am not needing to refer to the written pattern any more ! I ate my cookie from Cranberry 's with my coffee . It was my very favorite cookie , too . A walnut melt - away . They were originally made with pecans , but the nuts got too expensive . I have told them they could make them with almost any nut , and they would still be the worlds best cookie ! To my surprise , Hubs only slept for two hours . So I made him some coffee and we settled in to watch a Steven Seagal movie , one where he fights vampire zombie things . It was made in 2009 and is called Against The Dark . After that , he took a shower and got on with his day . He went up to the farm and checked his trail cameras . While he was gone , I got all the dishes done , and started some laundry . Then he came home and looked at the photos that were taken . After a while , he went into the garage / man cave to try and get one of the three weed wackers , and one of the two leaf blowers to work . I think he was successful . After a while he took his chain saw down by the creek , and started trying to cut up the bigger pieces of the trees that we had had cut down last fall . By this time he was getting tired , so that didn 't last too long . He came back into the house and I started dinner . We had Barbecued Sirloin Tips with garlic mashed potatoes . Yum . I made Jesse some Alfredo noodles with broccoli , his favorite . Now I 'm back to knitting , and watching Cars on pay - per - view , as the movie channel that it 's on is all broken up from sun spots and it 's difficult to watch . We have plans to watch Cars 2 also tonight . I think I 'm going to go fix myself a drink . . . my life sounds waaay more boring than it really is . As most of you know , I have been knitting intensely for nearly two years now . I worked my way through a bunch of scarves , three hats , four sweaters of one kind , and two of another . There have been so many shawls I can 't even put a number to it . I am now working on my second baby blanket . In all this time , I have also crocheted four afghans . Which , I am sorry to say , I have still not mailed to Texas , sorry Gordie ! I started a sweater for my granddaughter Chloe , but I just can 't make myself do it . I have to say , that 's entirely my fault , not Chloes . I have just gotten lazy . And so I made my discovery . I crocheted exclusively for over 30 years , and now I don 't want to do it any more . Hopefully I will make the wrist warmers for my son - in - law , but other than that , I have no desire to crochet any more . I find that fact very saddening . My crochet hooks were my closest friends for a very long time . I had many hooks of different colors in all sizes , so I could use one the complimented or contrasted my project . I had my hooks organized into plastic holder things , by size . I had one for tiny hooks , for sizes up to G . One for " regular size " hooks , sizes H thru K , and one for the big hooks , sizes L and up . Since we moved back from Fishkill last year , I have misplaced my tiny hooks container , and I can 't find it anywhere . I am surprised that this doesn 't upset me ! I think this was my first hint about how my feelings were changing . I was also in denial about it . I am really good about totally ignoring unpleasant facts , ask my Hubs , he 'll tell you . And so I apologise to all my crocheting friends . I am now a knitter . I just hope I don 't knit exclusively for the next 30 years ! ! When I started knitting again , I began using circular needles . I was hooked ! It was so much easier to knit with them , and there was no way you could lose one needle . Since then , every once in a while , I will knit something small on regular straight needles , and again I am reminded how much better the circulars are . The straights seem so unwieldy , and awkward . The yarn gets caught on them , and wraps around the right one . Even with the shorter ones , I would keep hitting my right arm , it was very uncomfortable . I started using Addi 's , which I love even though they are a little expensive . When we lived in Fishkill for 7 months , I started buying HiyaHiya needles , which I really like , and they are less expensive . I almost always use metal needles , I do have a small 16 inch bamboo , size 11 , I believe . I have used it , but am not all that fond of them . Now we fast forward to Winter of 2010 / 2011 . I was making my first one - piece bottom up cardigan . I was so in love with this pattern . I had bought all the needles I needed , all size 9 . I needed 2 16 inch , a 40 inch , and I ended up needing / wanting a 60 inch too . That was when I purchased a 40 inch square circular needle from Kollage . At first I really liked them , I liked the way they knit . The square shape is easier to manipulate . HOWEVER I had a very large problem with the cord on them . One of the facts of knitting with circulars is that your project slides easily from one side to the other . I found out very quickly that the cord on the Kollage needle did not allow this to happen . It was like glue was applied to the cord ! I literally held one end of the needle up in the air , and dropped the other end , with my sweater hanging on it , and my sweater did not slide at all towards the floor ! ! I even shook it , just to make sure . I gave the needles a good try , I really wanted them to work well . I liked how pliable the cord was , but the not - slippery thing was unacceptable . In the end , rather than put the project down so I could manually force my knitting further along the needle , I ended up using my teeth . I only used them until I could get a pair of HiyaHiyas , which had to be ordered for me from my LYS in Fishkill . They have been in my collection ever since , unused since that time . Has anyone else used these needles ? Do you love them , or hate them ? I 'd like to hear what you have to say about them . If there is something I could do to make them slippery , I want to know . I 'd do it in a heartbeat , I 'd like to give them a second chance . The current blanket I am knitting has a 12 row repeat . I never thought I would memorize it . But after a time , I am finding I am beginning to remember which row comes next ! I am only keeping the printed pattern handy in case I forget which row is which . Here is a photo of my progress : Pretty cool , huh ? I 'm thinking this will be a lovely baby blanket when it 's finished . I have to agree , these certainly are soothing colors . Remember the other day , when I went to Michael 's , then had to go back ? Well . Both of the row counters for circular needles that I bought , broke . The first one after about 3 rows of knitting . I was pissed , but glad I bought a second one . Then the second one broke , even after being more careful with it ! ! They were $ 3 a piece ! I asked my Hubs if it is possible to glue the counter thing back onto the hanging stem that it broke off of . He says probably , but he doesn 't have any super - type glue . So I am making do . Another thing : On the stupid row counters , the numbers were extremely hard to turn ! That was how the first one broke ! WTF ? ? Is it that hard to make something that functions the way it 's supposed to , for a decent price , with about 1 / 2 cents worth of plastic ? ? OK , I think I ' done ranting and raving for today . Having read Miss Viscious ' blog about her circular needle problems , perhaps I will regale you all with my circular needle disappointments . I 've only had one , but it was enough , let me tell you . This morning I was up before the ass - crack of dawn , and before my alarm went off at 5 : 45 a . m . I was up so I could go spend a few hours with my favorite 9 year old friend , between the time her Nana leaves for work and her mama gets home from work . This is always a challenge for me , as I am totally not a morning person . I then only had to worry about sitting for little Miss Malia . This went off without a hitch , she is a very pleasant and charming 16 month old little girl . I will not do her the disservice of calling her a baby , because she is not . She is a very smart little girl , who can count to 10 , and knows what she wants . Many adults I know don 't know that much . After Malia 's dad came to get her , I went home to my empty house . Hubs had gotten up late , and headed down to the house in Fishkill to get some work done today . I called him from home , to see if he needed me to come and help him . It turns out he did want some help . But first , I went to the karate school and visited with the Cherub and her mama . Now it 's getting late , and I have to get up early again , although not as early as today . I will be sitting with Miss Malia all day tomorrow and Thursday . Her mama is putting in some overtime . That 's fine with me , I could use the money . I was knitting when Malia woke up from her nap today , and as usual , she climbs up on my lap and lays there against my chest . It takes her a long time to wake up . So I finished the row I had started , and by then she had sat up and turned so she could watch me knit . I told her that if she wants me to , I will teach her how to knit when she gets older . She didn 't respond , just laid her head back down and yawned again . It was definitely not just another day .