Music Monday

A recently rediscovered an album from my past. I have only a few albums (LP) saved, and most are REALLY scratched up...why am I saving them? However, one missing was this Elton John album "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" --whatever happened to it I have NO idea but I do know I played the heck out of that record. I recently found the CD, you know one of those you are not even looking for yet it seems to jump out at you, I HAD to have it. It plays regularly on my MP3 player, the CD's in my truck and on my laptop! Takes me back...

Hope you enjoy.

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Neverending WIP

This is for my MIL...

My goodness will I ever get finished with it? It feels like a plate of spaghetti...it keeps growing but I never get to the end. I love the colors, the pattern is great-very easy to remember...but I really don't like this yarn--JoJoland Harmony. Oh, it's beautiful, the colors are gorgeous and very squishy soft--but a pain in the rear to work with! This is not the first JoJoland yarn I've knit with and disliked. Back in November I made my aunt a pair of socks out of Melody, I found it to be "splity" (drove me insane).
This ball of Harmony I'm knitting with had several "breaks" in the yarn, it supposed to be a "single" cobweb yarn but it appears to me to be 2 play because it splits as I knit. The colorbands in the picture is accurate...the colors are getting deeper as I knit, which makes me wonder if MIL will notice?
Oh well, it's the thought that counts after all huh? I'll just be glad to get this project done, I have others I want to get started on.

The 2004 World Series Trophy will be at City Hall today for a photo op, maybe since I'm a City employee they'll let me touch it?
We're getting rain, rain and more rain...tomorrow we're supposed to have SOXFEST at the ballfield...to help welcome our NEW TEAM to the valley, no longer associated with the Houston Astros or called the Salem Avalanche, I'm planning to go. We have our tickets for opening night...I'M READY FOR SOME BASEBALL!!!

Any special plans for the weekend?

Oh...and though he doesn't read my blog I have to say--"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANTA DAD!"

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!

Dogs on Thursday

Thursday...one more day closer to the weekend...





Chin-up Momma...I'll make you feel better!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!

UGH!!

Blogging will resume shortly...it's been one of those weeks!




Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Welcome~~

(click on the picture)

Aaaaaah ~~ today is the first day of Spring!

For me Springtime gives the sense of renewal...after a long winter of cold & dreariness. I always feel so revived when things begin to "pop"! I love watching my garden emerge...seeing what survived the winter and what has multiplied. I get real camera happy when this happens so be forewarned for pics to come!

I also have this renewed energy that leads me headlong into my exercise & yoga practice....AND MY KNITTING & SPINNING!!

Most know I practice yoga...I love my yoga...it keeps me grounded & sane! As I have learned it's not all about the poses or asanas...there is the spiritual side that leads you to a peacefulness. I know from my upbringing yoga raises eyebrows in the sense that most people think you are Buddist or Hindu just because you practice. My Grandparents would immediately think I joined some "cult". I believe that the principles of Yoga can be translated into ANY religion. For me the Yamas & Niyamas (I've put the examples below) lead me right back to the Bible and my Christian upbringing. Personally, my Mantras are Bible verses (one of my favorites is Philippians 4:13) and I use my meditation time for prayer.

Yamas-

Ahimsa: Nonviolence.
Satya: Truthfulness in word and thought.
Asteya: No stealing, no coveting, no entering into debt.
Brahmacharya: Divine conduct, continence, celibate when single, faithful when married.
Kshama: Patience, releasing time, functioning in the now.
Dhriti: Steadfastness, overcoming non-perseverance, fear, and indecision; seeing each task through to completion.
Daya: Compassion; conquering callous, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all beings. (truthfully, I struggle with this one...especially with one person at work)
Arjava: Honesty, straightforwardness, renouncing deception and wrongdoing.
Mitahara: Moderate appetite, neither eating too much nor too little (nor consuming meat, fish, shellfish, fowl, or eggs) (this one is hard for me...I tried to be a vegetarian one time--only to find out I'm a carnivore...sorry)
Shaucha: Purity, avoidance of impurity in body, mind, and speech.

Niyamas -

samtosha (contentment)
tapas (asceticism or chastity)
svadhyaya (study)
ishvara-pranidhana (devotion to the Lord)

(Yama means moral restraint while niyama means discipline)

I grew up with the Golden Rule...and always remind myself before I do something that might hurt someone else or "if I would appreciate it if the shoe were on the other foot". Which again if you click on the link you'll see that it translates across ALL religions.

Don't you think if we ALL lived by these simple principles...the world would be a better place?

The things I work hardest on are not judging others and kindness (especially with those who are not kind to me or, as I stated above, with the ONE I work with)...sometimes if you can't say anything nice it's best not to say anything at all, which I do a lot of!
I have learned to forgive those who have wronged me in the past...another that's a hard one for me to do...but by holding on to that anger and hatred only internalizes it and makes me unhappy.
I strive to surround myself with positive people & positive energy, though I find myself complaining at times I quickly remind myself that things could be worse!

I believe in our lives we will have many teacher and mentors to reflect on. You've heard me talk about my Granny...but there's another family member who I look to for inspiration. I mentioned my cousin Kim in one of yesterday's posts, she's the closest one to me in age (me being the oldest) and actually is as close to a sister as I'll ever get. We grew up spending practically EVERY weekend together at our Granny & Grandaddy's house, and if we weren't there we were at one or the others house spending the night. She is one of the kindest and sweetest people I know, I can only hope to be more like her. I think she embodies more of my Granny's qualities than anyone in the family.


OH!--the other great thing about Springtime?? It means CAMPING SEASON!!!

HAPPY SPRING -- hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Cool Art for Ewe!

This is the latest thing going around the Blog-o-sphere! I saw it the other day on Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm...and since then it's been spreading like wildfire! So....I'm following suit!

This is so cool....



My cousin Kim is gonna love this!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Dogs on Thursday

I know when we get to Dogs on Thursday we're only one day away from the weekend! Yippee~~

This week all the celebration going on for St. Patrick's Day has affected everyone, of course you read about the "Cat-Party" yesterday...I loved my friend Robin's comment -- "I guess you wouldn't give a hung over cat "hair of the dog" would you????"

...do you think Rudy was part of all the festivities?



...or an innocent bystander? Poor pooped puppy!

He loves his new "froggie"!!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!!

Whiskers on Wednesday~~

We all know what today is...and of course yet again Ace unavailable for interview, go figure!

The evidence left around the house shows that he did quite a bit of "partying" for St. Patrick's Day yesterday. I tell ya...the noises we heard after going to bed, you'd have thought there were 20 cats in the house!

I did find this picture that leads me to believe there was quite a shin-dig here:





I opened the freezer this morning and Ace grabbed an ice pack!








Notice he has that paw out to stop the bed from spinning!

Hee-hee...serves him right!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Happy St. Patty's Day ~~

Good Marnin' to ya...

Wishin' ya all a verrry Happy St. Patty's Dey

(I'm tryin my best Irish brogue here...)

Ya better be wearin' ye green, or watch out to be pinched on the arse!



I'm seriously wishin' I had more time to make Lil Rudy this...(I found this picture too late)

Is this not the cutest thing ever??? Next year, my little leprechaun will have this outfit!

What better way to end this post than with a couple Irish Proverbs:

"If the knitter is weary, the baby will have no new bonnet"

and

"If God sends you down a stony path, may he give you strong shoes"

...one last thing here, I love my music--today I'll share with you one of my favorite Irish bands...




Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!!

Music Monday

I'm still on a high from my run Saturday I thought I'd share a song from my playlist.



This is a recent performance (great light show-BTW) and I must say that Pink Floyd is like a fine wine...it only gets better with age! David Gilmour is as awesome as ever.
I also thought this video would be better than freaking everyone out with the video from "The Wall"! Bob Geldof even freaked me out.

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Sticks & Stones...

...Sticks & Stones baby!

You can call me crazy, you can call me a fool...you can even call me hardcore!
BUT -- you can't call me a quitter!

As much as I tried to this morning I nearly talked myself out of the race this morning. It all started when RUDY let me sleep too late...I woke up at 7:45, something I NEVER do. The race started at 9:15 and we have about a 20 minute drive depending on traffic to downtown Roanoke. All the way there the rain POUNDED the windshield...and I'm still asking myself -- why? Well I've been training since my last race in November, and since I was in the 4th grade I swore I'd NEVER be called a quitter again (long story)...I registered for this and I wouldn't feel right being a "fair weather" runner, others do it so can I!

As you can see Rudy was there with his Daddy aka "My Photographer"...and so was the rain!

I just told myself I was going for a morning run with a few hundred friends...but that didn't detract from the fact it was cold and WET!


The gal who was standing next to me suggested we just hit Mill Mountain Coffee and hit the finish line about 30 mins later...I was tempted! She said she was asking herself the same thing this morning "am I crazy?" -- as she drove 45 minutes to get here!



The Roanoke Catholic Mascot was there...looks more like a Viking than a Celt! There was a "costume" contest but honestly, how do you run in a costume? I only saw a few people wearing hats & such...one guy who was "scantily clad" with a huge shamrock painted on his nicely sculpted Quad! Other than that I didn't notice anything else!




You can see St. Andrews Catholic Church in the background, growing up in this valley I've always loved this landmark. Coming in on Interstate 581 to downtown this is one of the first things you see. As a child we always called it Cinderella's Castle! It's BEAUTIFUL on the inside too!!



FINALLY! The starter said he didn't bring the gun because he was afraid it wouldn't go off...so it was your standard ..on your mark...get ready...(I think you get the picture)

Running in the rain isn't as easy as I thought it'd be, I'm so glad I had my MP3 player to help me keep my mind focused...the hardest part wasn't rain hitting me in the face it was the "squishy shoes"! I hate "squishy shoes"!!! I did have to walk a couple of times but only for a few steps to regain my focus...but I DID FINISH!!




I should have you guys caption this picture for me!! I know what I'd put....but what about you guys -- what do you think I'm saying?


Oh...so you want to know my time? They haven't posted the official times yet but I think I crossed the line at 31:22...just over 2 minutes better than my November time! Had I not walked those couple of times it would have been even better...damn "squishy shoes"!
I wasn't about to stay for the awards and such wearing wet clothes & "squishy shoes". I'm just SO glad I did this, yet again proving to myself I can do anything I put my mind to!

Thanks for all your comments and good luck wishes, I don't think I could have posted to you today and tell you I didn't make the run...THANK YOU FOR KEEPING ME GOING!

Whew...now I don't have to do the 10K in 2 weeks!


Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

FO Pics

As promised I have FO Pics!

I LOVE THIS SWEATER!!!! I wore it to work today, and didn't want to take if off this evening.
The pictures really don't do it justice...the detail simply doesn't show up in any picture I take.

I'm also very proud of the fact that this is a "sheep to sweater" project!

Aran Wrap Cardigan Vogue Fall 2008


I think I'm gonna run my race tomorrow rain or not! The forecast is for 36 degrees and a 70% chance of light rain. Maybe I should wear my new sweater?
Wish me luck!!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

FO Friday!

Can you believe it...actual knitting content and a FINISHED OBJECT!!! Well...this is sort of a tease post, I was so excited that I had finished it late last night it was too dark to get some good shots of it--SO you'll have to hang on for the "model shots"! I lightly steamed it last night and am wearing it to work today!!! Wooooo-Hoooooo!! I really love it!

The weather has turned nasty...just in time for my new sweater and my latest 5K tomorrow! I told Hubby that one thing about running in the cold & rain is I'll want to hurry up and get it finished so maybe I'll get a good time in! Seriously, I'm going to make the call in the morning as to whether I actually run or not. Registration money is going to a good cause and all the training has kept me in shape. Hmmmm, there's always Richmond in 2 weeks?!?! The question is -- Am I ready for a 10K??

Pssst...today is another Friday the 13th...I'm in hiding again!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!!

Dogs on Thursday

This week the subtitle is "Buds"!


Best Buds...


Milo was in this past weekend and Rudy was the happiest pup around! With the GLORIOUS weather we spent most of our time outside, where I managed to get some "action shots"! Since Milo only makes it in about every 2 weeks or so he finds that Rudy is bigger, stronger and faster each time.

Here's a sequence of Rudy's "takedown"~~


I Love You Man!!



ONE MORE VOTE FOR RUDY NEEDED! Our local TV station has a "Cute Pet of the Week" contest...please click HERE and vote for Rudy (I hope they get his name straight...they have him listed as "Ruby"!)

Flower buds....



These were taken on Sunday, the Bradford Pear & Daffodils have completely opened, now I can't wait for that beautiful sweet smell of the lilacs!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'

These Are The Days~

...I guess I've been saving for, not that I've wanted to, but the fact remains our economy is really, really bad. Scary bad in ways.

This week I found out my hours at work were cut, Hubby's worried about things in his office as well. We both work for neighboring city governments, things aren't looking so good. I got a preliminary look at our City's budget, I only have 2 words...not good. The City of Roanoke is even worse from all the news reports.

SO...all of the fiber/yarn/fabric I've "squirreled-up" for the past...oh, almost 30 years -- is going to be it for a while! I thought I'd been saving it for some great blizzard when we'd be housebound for days...NOT! I truly hope this economy turns around soon, it's not so much that I want to buy yarn or fiber...it's the worry that the income will become non-existent! So many people have lost their jobs, with what seems to be no end in sight...more and more businesses are closing or laying off people. As much as I may complain, I'm SO thankful to have a job.

We're doing a lot to cut back and be more self-sufficient, I've even gone back to the days of clipping coupons!

It's too scary to watch the news these days....

No WoW this week, the cat won't cooperate! But please go over and check out my friend Anita's fur-baby...she's the feature of the week.

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Fabulous~

We had a FABULOUS weekend...the weather was VERY unseasonable, in fact, I sat on the deck knitting on Saturday and actually got a little sunburned! Who would have thought I'd need sunscreen in March?! I certainly didn't think about it.

We didn't get that ride on the Parkway like I'd hoped...Hubby started a "fix-it" project that, of course, blossomed into a major repair that took all weekend long. I was the perfect supervisor, when called upon I supplied necessary tools & ice tea!

I hope to have a FO by the end of the week (happy dance)!

How was your weekend?

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Music Monday

I have a family "claim to fame" -- even if you've never heard of the band I'm featuring today, they are Nashville recording artists and my cousin plays in the band! When the good Lord was passing out talent...I missed the musical part. Coming from a family of musicians...sadly I can't play a lick! In 1927 my Great Grandfather, Grandfather and 2 Great uncles went to Richmond to record a record as the Salem Highballers, I found an old recording at Ferrum College and had a copy made for my dad. It's is badly aged but through all the pops & cracks my family's musical history comes through. I can remember as a child listening to my grandfather & anyone else who could play sit on the porch on a summer night "pickin' & a grinnin" -- There are few snapshots of these events but the sound of my Grandfather picking a bluegrass guitar is so clear in my mind all I need to hear is "Rocky Top" or "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" and I'm back there again. The sad thing is when I became a teenager it became "uncool" to listen to bluegrass music. Boy do I wish I could go back and change that, 'cause I really do like it today!
Hubby and I do attend a couple Bluegrass Festivals every year...and it really brings back all those memories of my childhood.

These are 3 videos that the band Cimmaron made back in the 80's. My cousin Joey carries on this family legacy, he plays the steel guitar...and he's darn good too!


Check out the mullets in the videos! Thankfully Joey doesn't have one today!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!!

Update~

Well, I'm plugging along on my projects! This nine-patch has been designed and redesigned as I go along...I can't say for sure I'm completely happy with what I have in my head right now but we'll see. I probably will have plenty of squares left over for maybe a lap quilt or something. I scrap quilt like my Granny taught me, nothing is ever set in stone. Very freeform and always ready for a change at anytime.
These squares are from all the 19th century dresses, linings & shirts I made over the years...another thing Granny taught me~~if you can get a square out of it--it's worth saving for a quilt! Believe you me, I have many Rubbermaid totes full of fabric scraps!

My Aran Wrap Cardigan is coming right along, I'm within 2 inches of finishing the last sleeve...then I'm ready to cast on the lower edge. (I'm dancing)

Trying to decide on what my next project will be...my queue is so out of control!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend~~we're gonna have temps in the 70's. That after our only snowfall this past Monday! I don't think we'll do much, maybe go for a ride on the Parkway.

Do you have any special plans for the weekend?

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Dogs on Thursday

By today ALL the snow will be gone and we're gonna have one very sad pup on our hands. He has THOROUGHLY enjoyed playing in the snow, and we've given him as much time as possible out in it, to our own enjoyment as well! We now call him "The Rudy Plow"...



Diving into the snow...



Going on a running spree that would tire anyone...



And getting to sport the new sweater his Daddy bought him...(I won't let him wear anything I make into such conditions)


I think you can see how much fun he's had over the past few days!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!

Whiskers on Wednesday~~

We don't often get snow these days, so we've all been enjoying it...well, except for one!

Hey Ace...

Wanna go outside and play in the snow?



...you've got to be kidding me! When donkey's fly!!
I'm right where I want to be and I WILL remain right here--in front of the heat duct!

Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!

Snow Happened!

FINALLY!! A REAL snowstorm! When all was said and done there was about 6 inches of the white stuff, and even last night as I was going to bed we experienced a "Thundersnow" including lightning!
This was taken yesterday at the park where we often take Rudy for his walk. He LOVES the snow.

Now...one of my goal here is to always keep a smile on your face, maybe even a giggle every once in a while. Seeing as how these two characters names are "Snowball" and "Frosty" I thought it would be fun to post!

Enjoy~~






Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!!!!

Music Monday

As the old saying goes~~"In Like a Lion....Out Like a Lamb" March has come in like a lion with our first REAL snowstorm of the winter, though it's no blizzard as I would have liked it's pretty to watch, and peaceful to listen to. Now that may sound weird but I've ALWAYS love the snow for the peacefulness it presents.

Considering that old saying, last week being the anniversary of my Granny's passing, the new birth of AuntPam's WeeTwo and the upcoming birth of Jenn's little man...I thought this song to be appropriate for this weeks edition!

Enjoy




Oh...go on over to my friend Bobbi's blog and enter her contest!


Keep on Knittin' & Spinnin'!