Hello Beautiful New Year!

I finished exactly two fiber related projects last year. One a knit for someone else and one a woven scarf. I worked on a couple of knits, but frogged or forgot about most. I received my weaving club every two months and didn’t work on a single one. I did some cross stitch and embroidery. I spent time at the pool. I rode in the Sam’s Club Bike MS150. I did no Jiu Jitsu. I was sick for about half the year. I’m still down with the sickness and hope to have better answers next year. I broke a rib, my momma went septic on us. I almost gave up the blog and domain. It was an odd year. I think the word of the year was “apathetic”. It was like I just took a year off.

I’m not doing a whole “new year, new me” thing. I just need to get back on track.

Of course, January always means a month of CMMDI. Here’s a peek at everything I have laying around:

Yeah. I may also have a tiny addiction to JessaLu bags.

Happy New Year y’all!

Summer of Socks ’15

Bwahahah.

Ahem.

This was the summer of not knitting socks. Or knitting much of anything really. I kind of wonder if people still knit.

Texas and I did things that involved staying cool. There wasn’t a lot of jiu jitsu on my part because it was just too hot and I only have so many tablespoons. I think we rode bikes together once, maybe twice when that cold front came through.  He may have been crazy enough to go out, but well, he is a boy.

We never got to that second camping trip because the temperatures hit 108 and we really didn’t need to see what would happen to the things in my head. We ended up in New Braunfels and San Antonio instead. Rafting the river was so relaxing. Kayaking was awesome because I could pretty much dump myself into the water if I got too hot or just float with the current if I got too tired.

My body has definitely noticed the whole “taking it easy” trend and I can’t wait until it cools off and I can try to work out regularly again. (aka, I gained weight)

We added Hannibal I mean Harry to our little family. We spent a horrific amount of time trolling Fort Worth (or FTW as people like to shorten it to) for nicer neighborhoods and decently reviewed apartment complexes.  Neither of us completely lost our shit on the neighbors here. I am surprisingly ready to pack all this up and GTFO.

So, knitting.  I have the wash cloth that I cast on the day before our camping trip.  I know. A wash cloth. I totally didn’t care if it got sweaty or wet or dirty or whatever happens when you do ALL the things out doors. I started it July 24th and finished it today. Details here if you’re really interested.  I’m even fixin’ ta cast on another in the opposite colors.

I knit a little on that Julia that some Aussie chick made me start. I had to rip it back a bit because I seriously overestimated my knitting while drugged abilities. I’m back on track and about ready to change colors. YEAH!

Other than that, I bought yarn for a sweater knit along that starts tonight. (Obviously I’m not there. People! Blerg!) I might cast on for it tomorrow while Texas is at the Farm. Oh, and I’m considering doing a serious de-stash since we’re downsizing when we move.

Happy Fall Y’all!

And no one died

Dinosaur Valley State Park was the destination for our experimental camping trip. It was close enough that if things went wrong, we could be home in short order. I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid.   I don’t have a lot of pictures because we were doing ALL the things.

 

27 miles of walking/ hiking, not including the time spent in the water walking to the Bluehole and dinosaur tracks. We were a half mile from the bathrooms. Our campsite was 1/3 mile from the parking area and park store. It was hot. Hot! So we spent a bunch of time actually in the water. Our hiking was done before 10 a.m.

It actually went so well that we’ll be doing another trip next month.

Happy Tuesday y’all!

10 Years and all I got was this blog.

Who knew I’d be doing this 10 years later. I decided to take a look back at the past ten Octobers.

9 years ago, I had just gotten my job at Edwards and was moving to the desert.

8 years ago, I made the floppy.

7 years ago, there was some type of crazy weave along and 2 pairs of socks from Socktoberfest.

6 years ago this month, I made the decision to move to Texas. My head also went all splody around that time*.

5 years ago, I pretty much spent the whole month blogging about my trip to WI that took place the previous month, trying to avoid the reality of the official NMO diagnosis

4 years ago, I was traveling back and forth to Pennsylvania trying to help family.**

3 years ago, I took fundraising for NMO to the knitters.

2 years ago, there was another round of fundraising, a completed pair of socks and DUCKS!

1 year ago, yet again, more fundraising and no knitting at all.

I think I better get on making this October a little more interesting than the past three. They seem kind of boring compared to those first few.

I’m not doing a fundraiser this year because the things in my head decided to act up last month. If you still feel like donating, here are some options.

• The Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation (medical research)
• The Collin McDaniel Hope Foundation (to help children and families)
• The TMA (research and support for people with TM, NMO, ON, and ADEM)

Happy Wednesday y’all!

*Hmmm. Anyone else wonder if there is a connection? Really there isn’t since we can now trace the NMO back to 2003, but it doesn’t hurt to josh with Texas about that.

**Yeah. Well, that was a waste of a month. Just saying.

5000 Yards of Wine

We’re counting the days until my next infusion. I’m so ready for the side effects because at least I can estimate how long they’re going to last. With the heat and the regrowing of B-cells, I’ve been pretty much stuck in the house since Tuesday. I may be a little itchy/ annoyed/ bored/ exasperated/ crabby.. you name it, I got it.

On the bright side, there are 5000 yards of yarn and a crochet hook.

And a lot of this:

So yeah, I kind of like Moscato wines. I had 3 bottles at home and nothing better to do. I bought a fourth bottle so I could really tie one on even out the regular and sparkling. I had to be fair like that. *ahem*

Salt of the Earth, Flore de Moscato 2013 This was new to me. It was very sweet and heavy. It had a honey like flavor. I went all red neck on the second (and third) glass and added ice to thin it out a little. It paired well with my Green Tea Smoked Duck.

Beviamo Moscato d’Asti 2010 In contrast, this was bubbly, light, and very floral. I thought of lavender when I first tasted it. I’ve had this one before, but I never noticed the floral bit. Of course, I’ve never had two bottles of wine in one night before either. With this one, on the third glass, I went all so-phis-ti-cated and added orange juice. It went well with the pork fried rice.

Los Pinos Moscato 2012: I love wines from this vineyard and they are from an East Texas winery.  (My favorites are All My X’s and Sweet Rodeo Red) There is no traditional Moscato sweetness with this one. It actually has a little burn going down and a spicy aftertaste.  The smell going in, the dryness, and the taste remaining on your palate remind me more of a Chardonnay. I had high expectations for this one. I have no pairing, but I bet it would be great for cooking.

Villa Alena Moscato d’Asti 2013 Sweet and a little spicy. There wasn’t as much bubbly as the   , but it worked. This was my favorite of the weekend. I could drink two of these at a time.

Ummm. Ran out of things to say about wine. Four bottles in two days. Considering I haven’t had a drink since patient day last year, I think I did good.  (Yeah, I keep forgetting about the annual Lemon Drop Martini thing.)

So, Happy Sunday?

p.s. When did bottles of wine start only giving out three glasses per bottle?

p.p.s. No, I didn’t share with Texas.

p.p.p.s. No one got drunk in the making of this blog post. Not even a little buzz. I tried. I have no idea either.

Hello September!

This means we’re one month closer to cool. Yes, it is still in the 100’s here. (37+ for you Celsius people)

Thank God all y’all are out having a life this weekend! I finally got caught up on my blogs. Between naps and all that.

So, here’s the plan. Kind of. Maybe. I have a Sweetheart Tree thing (Blackberry Heart. Fitting if it weren’t cute too) that I’ve let sit for a while. I messed up the count a bit and have to rip out some stitches. Besides, it’s 1 strand over 28 count and I want to finish it before the old takes over my eyes. The other is Pumpkins 4 Sale. I do love me some pumpkins and fall.

Texas is resuming the Sunday breakfast making since the stove is fully functional. He used to like floppy bacon. Until we watched a Monsters Inside Me about trichinosis yesterday. He also used to walk outside barefoot until sometime back in March when we watched one on something some guy picked up walking in his yard.

I’m telling you, that show can be dangerous.

Is anyone else going to watch The Man With the 132 lb Scrotum tonight? It sounds horrifying and yet the medically interesting part of me is thinking “well, that’s one thing I don’t have to worry about”.

Some days, it’s the little things.

Happy Sunday y’all!

 

And so this is Sunday

A sockless Sunday. During SoS13. Shouldn’t I be knitting one or something? I kind of feel guilty for not having one to show. I mean SoS ends next weekend.

By the way, where did the summer go?

Apparently, I’m having an attack of Catholic guilt today.

I feel the need to apologize for not replying to my blog comments. I read them, I just figure I’ll answer them later, and then later becomes a couple of days or a week. By then, I figure the relevance of my response is nil, nada, zip, zilch.

I’m also feeling guilty about leaving for Dallas for a few days. There are always a ton of things that need to be done here on the farm and although Texas is an adult and can do them, I feel a responsibility to get things done. Of course, no one could ever live up to my standards for cleaning or doing things the proper way. (aka my way)

Granted, I am going  for my infusion, but I’ll be thinking about what may or may not be getting done.

In other news, there is a Brangus heifer on the loose in my neighborhood. She escaped from one of the local vets and there are missing poster ALL OVER TOWN. I’m hoping Texas spots her and brings her home. Although I suspect, she has already been found and relocated, witness protection style, into someone else’s herd.

Happy Sunday y’all

Do people still blog?

Here she is on her first tow. Doesn’t the Princess look so sad?

For those of you not following along on Facebook, my alternator belt exploded the other day. Luckily, I have a MIL that knows how to work on cars. She replaced both belts before Texas got home from work, so all he had to do was run a compression check to make sure that I hadn’t killed my engine too.

On the plus side, she now has pretty, sparkly silver writing on her outlining the path of the belts. I think that’s a plus side.

Pre-cut. The orange is left over from last time, the hot pink is new. I walked out of there with a fauxhawk. Which no one will get to see until I bring my eyebrows back under control. I can’t wait to play with it today and see what else it does.

Can I also mention that less hair just leaves you with nothing to soak up the sweat? I’ve picked up a couple of cute headbands and will be on the lookout for more.

Still plugging away on socks. I may have something to post about this Sunday. However, I was distracted by a trip to Hobby Lobby (only because they have an awesomly soft cotton that makes fabulous face cloths and isn’t hard on your hands) and ended up coming home with this:

It was bright and cheery on a day I needed bright and cheery.  It makes me smile looking at it.

In other news, I am out of the good coffee. I told Texas to tell his boss that I am being forced to drink inferior coffee and I’m pretty damn sure that demons are pulling the wings off of angels somewhere today because of it.

I’m hoping he gets the hint and brings some home from work today.

What is making you smile today?

While the cat’s away…

She did a bunch of crochet. Shut up, my brain is melting.

I hung out at the lake yesterday and forced my momma to go over the basics with me again.

Hers is on top. We were using the same yarn, same pattern, and I had a larger needle.

I may have had tension issues.

By this morning, I thought I was doing better, but I kept on making pasties. Do you think I can find a market for that?

Someone suggested I try the magic loop crochet thing and I ended up with finger cots.

Yeah. Well.

What are all y’all doin’ today?

 

Mega May

In CMMDI ’13 news, it is Mega May.  Whatever mega means to you. Mega needles, mega yarns, mega projects, mega crazy. Surely there is something mega going on in your life.  Go ahead and blame her. It’s easier that way.

Apparently, for us here in Texas this morning, that includes Mega Cold! It is never this cold in May.  It was 51 degrees in our bedroom this morning! Yeah, someone *coughmecough* forgot to turn on the heat last night.

And mega stupidity.

Including the possibility  that I may have run into a tree with the tractor. The tractor is fine. It was a jarring experience. I swear, it jumped in front of me *coughwhileIwaschangingsongsonmyipodcough* out of nowhere.

Mega needles. US35’s and US50’s. Texas wanted to know if I was taking up vampire hunting and if it was safe to sleep. There may be circulars in the same sizes that were in the same box. I also might have jumped down the US120 rabbit hole. Don’t ask. It will however involve 1/2″ cotton piping.

Mega May. Do you have something mega lined up? (Remember, size doesn’t matter. If it’s mega in your mind, then it’s mega for CMMDI)

Happy (freezing) Friday y’all!