Whoo Hoo I won!

Are you familiar with the Creative connection? If not..dash on over and check them out! I just found out I won the give away sponsored by the French General
Whoops! Should have been doing a better job keeping up with my blog reading. At any rate I’d like to thank Kaari! I can hardly wait to lovingly browse the book!

On another note, it’s been a busy few weeks. After an 18+ year stint I left my office for the last time last Thursday. Don’t panic yet! I’m still employed, still with the same employer. I’ll work at home awhile.until a new location is found for me. I’m looking at this as a blessing. Nearly 2 more hours a day to do what I choose to do. I’m reading my Bible more, exercising more and sewing more. All things I adore!

New Look

I’ve had the same old WordPress theme way too long. I need a fresh look. Just trying this on for size. I am supposed to be able to customize the background and the header. We’ll see. Stay tuned as I do a bit of experimenting. Don’t run away please, just because it does not look familiar.

I don’t know about you but I am so glad the weekend is here! I am a bit more mobile now and am enjoying an evening on the porch. I’m even doing a bit around the house. This evening I made a batch of home made ice cream for John (DH) in my Donvier freezer, now I know why that thing has been sitting in the cupboard so long. It does not stir well once the freezing starts at all, so we stirred with a spatula, the stiff kind you spread icing with. John had a big bowl, I had a small one with bananna, and we put the rest in the freezer. I think I’m going to wash that thing up and freecycle it. I love the principal of freecycle, I just hate dealing with all the no-shows and drama from those ‘not selected’.

I finished my cedar leaf shawlette last weekend and am now making the Issara Coat from the fall 2010 Twist Collective edition. Unfortunately, I think this lovely pattern has an error and I have found the author less than responsive for pattern support. Hope I hear back soon, because a weekend of sitting on the backside without busy hands is more than I can cope with!

Happy weekend, the kids may be going back to school, but the temperatures are still in the 100’s and sweltering, it is not fall yet! I don’t refuse to let summer go until I am cast and brace free and can romp a bit!

Testing the Posting Options

Hmm…just realized I could post to my blog using e-mail, or at least that is what the WordPress dashboard makes it look like. Did it work? You tell me.

What’s new today

I’ve almost finished my ‘shawlette’.  I’m loving the leaf edging. 🙂

And…lots of yummy mags to read while I sit on my tooshie and try to heal.

Expecting the next Ottobre issue tomorrow in the mail.  From the chatter on the list it’s landing all around me.  Won’t be sewing but I will be browsing.

Also, the new Knitty is up.  Cute things….I see knitting in my near future.  Perhaps DH will take me to knitted bliss this weekend for a bit of shopping.  🙂

Love this scarf. Too bad I have no neck.

The sideways knitting on this cute sweater sure does hug the curves nicely.  Just wondering if I have too many curves?  It’s a maybe.

Totally cute skirt. But it’s going to need a slip.  Hmmm a knit skirt with hip measurement going up to 52.  Is that legal?  I guess if it’s not too tight it could be adorable in the right circumstance. I love it with tights.  But I’m seeing this on one of the skinny DD’s.

Well…back to knitting.  Perhaps I can finish that shawlette and get a photo up.  It’s going to be lovely!  My friend Mary Beth over at the Stitchery, co-sufferer of bad feet has tuned me into last.fm radio.  I am loving Ladies in Lavender by Joshua Bell.  (Classical Music)  I see it’s a sound track to a movie. I may be looking for it this weekend too.

Oh…one more thing.  I have joined twitter.  I’m not tweeting my own horn much, but I am following alot.  fittingtips is my twitter ID.

Technorati Tags: knitting Ottobre knitty

Is It Brainstorming…or Just Overthinking?

Seems like whenever I have a lot of time on my hands, I come up with my best ideas.  I think I need space to think.  But then, maybe I just overthink because not all ideas I have turn out to be that great.  I love trying new things, but I can be a dabler…not always a finisher.  I also think best with busy hands…heck, I do everything best with busy hands…I can’t just sit quietly with my hands in my lap, I have to be doing something.  Right now, because getting into the sewing room is virtually impossible, I’m knitting … and thinking.

Thinking about how much I love e-readers…but do I want the Kindle or the Nook? 

Thinking about how the things I really like to read have pictures…OK…maybe I have not outgrown picture books, but I love pretty magazines…remember the old Victoria Magazine, the Hearst publication?  Total eye candy…the new publication edited by Phyllis Hoffman is great, but somehow it’s still not my old Victoria.  And I love home dec magazines, and sewing magazines, quilting magazines, and knitting magazines…not to mention pretty picture loaded books.  So…I need an e-reader with color.  Is that an oxymoron with all the e-ink hype and such?  I’m not sure.

So…I’ve decided what I really need is an iPad.  I can run both the kindle and the nook apps as well as overdrive e-books from my local library.  I can also read PDF’s in color.  Or…Zinio…do you have an app?  Guess what..Sterling Publications and Curious George can both be found in Zinio books….not to mention the UK Version of Country Living if you want to pay $44/year…ummm…no thanks!  Wait!  Zinio does have an iphone app…and I’ll bet they wil have an ipad app soon too…and color..baby…color!  Now, to convince DH that I really do need an iPad!  Maybe if I promise to be real good…get the WiFi version, not the G3…Ok…I’ll think of something.

I’m also thinking about ‘what I want to be when I grow up’.  AKA  retire…I’m cooking up a new venture and it involves fiber!  It involves garments, it involves innovation.  Not ready to let the cat out of the bag yet, because it might also involve one of those fly by night ideas that’s off my plate nearly as fast as it got on.

Dependence Day?

While most of you in the U.S. are celebrating Independence Day, I am celebrating a new level of dependence.  Three weeks ago I stumbled at work.  I came down awkwardly first on one leg, then the other.  On leg number 2 I heard a loud crack…it was my 5th metatarsal (major foot bone).  I knew that leg one had some knee damage but it took 3 weeks, yes, you read that correctly, to get an MRI authorized.  I have a fracture of the tibia in the knee joint and a newly re-torn meniscus.  Groan…that’s the one just repaired 18 months ago.  Now I’m sporting the pneumatic cast boot on the left foot and this giant articulated brace contraption on the right.  Fortunately DH is a patient soul who takes very good care of me and still gets his golf in.  My friend has deeded me the wheelchair she inherited from her father.

It goes without saying, I have too much time on my hands.  That means my brain is in overdrive.  I was thinking about independence.  It’s a good thing when we earn it from an oppressive or negative situation.  It is good to grow up and learn to be independent.  But in reality, we are all dependent upon one another to some degree.  When we depend on others who are caring and giving, that is a good thing as long as we don’t forget to return those deeds as we are able.

When our country earned it’s independence that was a good thing, but we had to depend on our fellow Americans.  Sadly, over the years we have become dependent on not only our fellow countrymen (and women) but on other countries as well.  Sometimes this is not in our best interest.  I’ll spare you my political rant.

Let me just close with this.  I hope all your dependencies are positive ones.  That those you depend on care for you and want the best for you.  I hope you in turn are dependable and caring.

My dear husband fought for this country.  So tomorrow, I will honor his service to buy my freedom.  I am proud to be an American.  And I will be grateful that he is someone I can rely on when I need him, klutz that I am.

Bored Blogger

I’m still ‘off my feet’ literally.

Fortunately we have had a regular series of rain showers and so the flowers and garden are doing OK without me. DH has been very good about weeding and sprinkling when needed. But, he doesn’t recognize all my flowers, and I miss the ‘hands on’.

Last night my pepper plant was tilting precariously. It had a pepper causing it to tilt to one side. It could have gone longer, and I was actually hoping to wait on it to ripen to a sweet red pepper, but we picked it anyway to save the plant. I am sure it will be tasty. The cukes have gone wild and are now being tied to a trellis. Blossoms only on the tomato plant…as there have been for the last 3 weeks, but still no tomatoes setting on. Do you have to have more than one plant for that to happen? Help me out here if you are a more seasoned vegetable gardener than I am…please!

I’m also knitting. A cute scarflet pattern from a fellow blogger NeverNotKnitting. Found the pattern at my LYS…Bliss. I’m using Debbie Bliss Prima as they had no Handmaiden Lady Godiva…wow! that was lovely and drapable yarn. This pattern is called Cedar Leaf Shawlette, by Alana Dakos. The pattern has a nice scrapbooky look to it and came in a plastic sleeve…Very nice.

Here we go again!

Well, apparently I am no longer meant to walk on my feet.  I just stumble around like an oaf!  I took a flying trip on Wednesday followed by a flying trip to the ER!  I’m now cast on the left foot (hey at least it’s a new one) due to a broken 5th metatarsal…high up..as in near the ankle, not near the toe.  And I have my right knee…the post surgical knee filling with fluid.  So..while we wait on preapproval of an MRI and my orthopedist to return from a convention I’m off my feet….literally.  Wheelchair bound again.  At least my friend Martha still had the one I borrowed last time in her attic.  She’s now bequeathed it to me unless she needs it.  Oh joy!

I’m trying to stay busy.  Can’t get in the sewing room but may have to have DH drag out one of the machines.  Trouble is my stash is in that same inaccessible room and I don’t think I could correctly describe what piece he should snag.  I have a quilt that I’m hand quilting…missed the wedding so the rush for the quilt and the guilt that it wasn’t finished are  temporarily put at bay.  I have a knitting project I can access, and I am catching up on blogs that are long forgotten.  Perhaps I’ll post a few pics here too that are way over due…stay tuned.

Loretta

Clumsy as ever.

The Other Side of My Life

OK…many of you know me as a woman who enjoys sewing, a grandmother, and perhaps a gardener.  Well, I have a ‘day job’ and in that position I design learning for scientists.  It used to be all kinds of learning, now it’s primarily e-learning.  I work in a very rigid work environment.  In fact, over time the rigidity had grown.  Our environment used to be a bit more self directed and we had a certain sense of autonomy to create.  It was a very successful and productive group.  A few years ago management decided we could be ‘improved’ by centralization which essentially sucked all the self autonomy and most opportunities for creativity out our our daily work.  In my opinion, and that of most of my coworkers, it’s not going well.  The objective of management was increased revenue, I am not privy to the numbers, but from the reactions of management I suspect that is not happening either.  Could it be that the ‘scientists’ forgot to look at the science behind the organization and what the change would portend? Check this out. <a href="

I think he makes his case.

Trip to Paradise

On Wednesday John and I flew out to visit his brother in Phoenix on our way yo Kauai Hawaii. I so enjoy Gloria as a sister-in-law and friend. It is a shame we don’t have more time to get to know each other better.
Thursday morning we were off to Kauai where we landed about 5pm local time. We are at tht Marriott beach resort,a beautiful hotel. The weather is lovely and I’m spending mornings on the beach and moving to the terrace or the gardens surrounding the koi ponds when the sun is high. With my inability to tan I simply can not be in the hot sun. It is so relaxing. What a shame you have to travel half way around the globe for such an opportunity.
The first picture is from my chaise on the beach. There are trees to provide light shade and a gentle breeze. The mountains tower over the harbor and I love to watch the paddle surfers. The scond picture is a view from the terrace. Sego palms surround the pool and beyond is another view of the mountains.
Yesterday I finished The Shack. I met several on the plane who were eager to discuss it, and a hawaian lady selling jewelry on the terrace who was reading it as well. It launches with a difficult start, but is an exceptional book full of surprises and thought challenging ideas. I have moved on now to Beth Moore’s So Long Insecurity and Liz Curtis Higgs latest novel Here burns my Candle. I have to swich ohh because I’m reading the Higgs novel on the kindle app on om iPhone. I love it, but it does not do well in full sun!
I’m seeing lots of kindled an i-pads around the pool but have not approached anyone to see how they are faring. I guess John is right, I am the gadget girl 🙂