Just Like Everyone Else...

I believe that we would all like to think we are different from everyone around us, but sometimes we aren't.  Today I am just like many other people who either used to blog, or haven't all year, or vary rarely.  Yet as in most instances we are compelled to verbalize our renewal to what makes us happy while ringing in the New Year.  Writing, photography, business, arts, cooking -- in essence whatever compelled us to start a blog in the first place.

Many years have passed since I used this blog, and even then I was a sporadic-for-only-a-year kind of blogger.  I have blogged on other things, on other blogs, but for some reason I have always come back to this one to look upon it and then think about all the things I would put on it, if only I had the time.  So for 2014 I would like to stop thinking about doing, and just do...  This is the year that I spend less time on my computer when I have other things waiting for me -- This means not as much time on Ravelry, or Facebook, and not even looking on Etsy!! 

So here is the shortened "Me".

I knit, I spin, I crochet, and I dye.  I work on my house when I can, and I spend a lot of time with my kids and animals.  I have an as yet unknown affliction in my legs that the doctors feel is most likely peripherial nerve damage from cause unknown swelling and cramping almost two years ago, that still continues.  I am in pain all the time, my calves are forever on the verge of cramping and locking up.  At times I can't walk well, and I am never able to walk far.  I fight this every single day, and the problem is compounded by the medical doctors (which I work in the medical field and know well) that I have available to me just trying to put me on a lot of pain medications which I also refuse to take on a full time basis.  I work from home full time as a Podiatry Denial Management person.  I love my job and I love my work, and I am thankful every single day that I have the opportunity to work from home!

Short(s) you might see in the blog will most likely mean this:

J (this is my partner's first initial)
R (this is my sons first initial)
B (oldest daughters first initial)
S (other daughters first initial, a twin)
C (other twin daughters first initial)
I (youngest daughters first initial)
J3 (step sons initials... he is a III)

Next up, pictures, and The Green Room!

Busy, Busy

Well this last week has been uber busy! We didn't get as much done as I would like but my house should be fulled re-arranged and spring cleaned before this weekend! yyayaya!!

In the mean time we worked out butts off this week and yesterday lil' J arrived from MI! lil' J is my step son but I hate calling him that. Usually I just call him my son, or my other son when just chatting with others. He is awesome and we all get really excited when he comes for the summer!! I always get so excited that I don't sleep much the few days before he gets here so I'm happy to say I slept pretty good last night..lol.. He came in at new airport about 3 hours from us, so yesterday was a very long day.

Today I have loads to do, I need to go grocery shopping and go to the post office and still do some work on the house, can't stop that or it won't get done and I would be stuck with a half finished house..not good..lol.. I have piles all over, bags of clothes that don't fit the kids (I've washed everything in site and everything out of our drawers!), toys that they don't play with, bags of just school papers that we didn't need anymore (I went through and kept certain art projects and stuff)...

We are very lucky here where I live that every few months we get blue bags delivered (for free) from the sanitary station and we can recycle each week with our regular trash. It's an awesome program and really appreciated! In fact our whole sanitary station is great down here. They pick up all sorts of things we would have had to pay and arm and a leg for up north. I should send them a card!! :c)

Anyway, I gotta go, but wanted to check in with everyone in B-Land.

Ohh and yea, I think the picture and the yarn WAS just me.. It does kind of look like the picture, I hadn't seen them side by side until I put the picture up here. The only thing that really got me was that in the picture I swear the yarn looks like it has gold, not yellowish/greenish.. O'well, I guess I will keep it and see how it knits up, I may love it afterward. lol..

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!

April in SC

Recent Talk About Yarn..

There has been recent talk on my very favorite groups (socknitters of course) about On Line sock yarns. So far the reviews have been really good and the colors look oh so wonderful and very perfect for a project I have in mind..



However, I'm a bit scared to buy more. I have one single ball that I bought a few months ago. I also mentioned a few posts back (umm, yea, more like a few months back!) that I would like to trade this ball of yarn for equal value of another sock yarn or something anyway. I paid $6.75 for it on sale at Littleknits.com



My main concern is not the yarn itself, it feels fantastic. It's that the picture did not at all look like the yarn I got, and I did double check the label. I got online (summer I think?) color #787. Here is what it looked like in the picture at little knits, its the bottom one:

And here is what I got:

I don't know about everyone out here in B-Land, but this does not look the same per-say. The yarn I got was WAY lighter than what the picture showed and unfortunately that shade of greenish/yellow does not look good on me, its similar looking, just a lot lighter than I anticipated. Its not that it's bad, it just doesn't look that great on me, hence why I would like to trade it. ( I have cats and dogs by the way, and birds, although none of them have been near the yarn really)

Has anyone else had this problem with On Line sock yarn? Should I be scared to buy more? Was this a fluke or should I just look at the yarn as always going to be lighter than the picture?? At least for this brand??

Any comments or offers would be appreciated. :c)

April in SC

Frog, Ribbit, Frog, Ribbit!

Well I've been SO busy with my wonderful new sock yarn that I KNOW I've horrible about contacting my SP10.... However....I LOVE YOU SUNNYME!



This yarn is just fantastic, I totally love it....Unfortunately I love it so much that I've frogged it like 4 times now. It's like NO pattern is good enough for this yarn! Yea, its bright and dark at the same time, yea, it can't take anything that is to fancy, BUT, it deserves something special darnnit, and it WILL have it!! LOL



So I just got done froggin' it back yet again and I've decided that although it may not look the best of the best, I'm going to go ahead and use the Baby Cable Rib from the Sensational Knitted Socks my SunnyMe got me for my birthday. I tried the Garter Rib and didn't like it, and I tried Jaywalker and didn't like it either (not to mention that a size smaller than was recommended still looked like it was going to be to large for my foot). I also tried two others and none looked that great. I have no idea why I'm fighting a nice plane sock, but something just tells me that this sock wants me to do something special with it, and *I* like the Baby Cable Rib.. So I'm using it! :c)



Okay, so I've re-Cast On and I'm on the big 4th row of the 2x2 ribbing..lol...But I feel confidant this time. And for anyone that is wondering, this Jitterbug has held up REALLY well to all my frogging!! I just couldn't be happier... Thank you again SunnyMe!!!!!!!!!!!



Other than knitting we've just been really busy around here the last week or so. We are getting ready for the yearly explosion of having 6 children in the house, the end of the school year and spring cleaning. We've all been working our little bottoms off.



Rhy has learned to scoot across the floor and go from couch to couch, and room to room to play with his sister.. However, he scooted just a bit to much today while I had my head stuck in papers and rubbed the heel of his cast off, or at least the first layer...sigh... I should have KNOWN to not take my eye off an almost 8 yo boy who is scooting through half the house.. What was I thinking?? Well he won't be doing much scooting now, and he also over did it and said his leg was hurting tonight, first time in over a week now..



Ire just got a does of Children's Motrin because she said her ear hurt. We will see in the morning if its still hurting, and if so I will have to take her to the doctor. The last time she kept complaining about her ear hurting she had a huge, hard ball of wax stuck in it..Over all I was thankful that it wasn't an infection. So I guess were just waiting to see if its still hurting tomorrow.



Brit, Rhy's bigger sister (my oldest who will be 17 yo in June, the day before Rhy's 8th b-day) has shown him how to play the card game Go Fish, and has been playing with him. Course he spent half the night cackling tonight because he beat her....again...lol...



Ire our funny and youngest girl is such a hoot. She was sitting on Brit's legs the other day while Brit did some sit-ups and she was having a hard time holding her feet down, so she stood up and said to her big sister, "I'm just gonna have to work out my butt so it will get bigger, than I can hold your feet down." ONLY out of the mouths of Babes I say! And this was a light funny from her! LOL



Well I better get, I was so busy cleaning and than taking a bit of knitting time that I forgot to feed the cats, they haven't forgotten though and are reminding me thoroughly of my duties!

Oh, yea, Brit's friend signed Rhy's cast and drew a Mickey head on it. I thought it was awesome for a quick free-hand. Here is a pic:

I hope everyone had a great weekend!!

April in SC

Tomorrow is Friday, Thank The Heavens!

This week has been..umm.. interesting to say the least. Rhy finally got his cast on (think I told you already, it was Monday), we had to move our old futon out to the living room so he would have more room and J wouldn't have to sit in a camp chair..lol..

I've been lifting him all week, plus his wheel chair and let me tell you, its awful! Last night I swore I was going to the ER for my neck, but I hate going to the doctor and I hate feeling like I'm whining so I just went to bed. I have an appointment for the 20th and I'm on the cancellation list to get in earlier, so why go the ER?? Either way, I'm SO glad tomorrow is Friday and I won't have to lift that darn wheel chair into the back of my truck until next week, and even then there is only 3 more days of school..

Ire has been doing all she can to either be annoying to her brother, or over helpful. Its like she can't make up her mind if she wants to be nice or mean...lol... For the most part she's helpful and I'm thankful for that.

Rhy on the other hand, is already bored, and I'm already feeling it. I keep asking him if he would like to learn to knit, but he keeps turning me down, but I keep telling him he wouldn't be bored anymore! lol Who knows, maybe I will get him to learn yet. ;c)

So we moved our old futon back into the living room. It wasn't just so our whole family could have a place to sit. Mainly it was so Rhy would have more room. The nurse who put his cast on told us that the more he could lay on his stomach the better he would be. All the weight of his leg is now on the heel of his foot, and it has been known to create sores under the cast. By keeping him on his belly we take that pressure off his heel. The futon is much deeper than our regular couch so he has room to stretch out, watch tv, color, have more toys around him and Ire can sit with him to play.. Over all its was a good thing and I'm glad I didn't get rid of it when my mother told me to last summer..lol.. Doesn't Rhy have the skinniest leg ever?? I'm sure he will fill out....one day...lol...

In my free time I did a swatch with my wonderful Colinette, Jitterbug I got from my SP10 Sunnyme. I'm getting 9spi and I finally think I've decided on a pattern, I'm going to try and hope it looks good. Its from the Sensational Knitted Socks book that Sunnyme sent me. Its on page 37 and the pattern is Baby Cable Rib. I'm not sure if it will look good, but the pattern looks light yet fun. I can't say how excited about I am about this yarn, and the yarn she sent for my birthday. I'm saving my birthday yarn for a special pattern, its variegated but its so light I think I might be able to do something a bit more challenging. I think I will wait for that until school gets out so I can give it more of my attention. :c)

As for pictures. I'm a few days behind, these were taken a few days ago and I'm just getting them up. I now have my gifts and yarn pics from Sunnyme on my camera along with some pics of my Lornas Laces finished Maman socks and just need to get it loaded onto my desktop computer, than onto my flash drive, then onto my laptop...unfortunately that always takes me a few days to do.. I'm a bit lazy that way...lol...

Well I've been trying to get to bed a bit earlier than normal, and I also want to get my new Jitterbug sock CO. So I'm going to go for today. I hope all is well with everyone in B-Land and that you all have a great weekend!!

April in SC

My SP10 Did It Again!!!

OMGosh! She did it again.. My Sunnyme has striked again when I needed it most, and lavished me with such gifts that I have been so busy finishing my Maman Socks so I can CO on again that I haven't even been able to post here!!


She sent me some of the most beautiful smelling tea candles that I don't even want to light them because I will miss the smell when they burn down.. She also sent me some bath beads, bath body wash, a make-up bag with cherries on them and another little cloth bag that I can't even say how cool it is AND it just happens to fit my sock knitting! Woooohoooooo!!!


And she sent something else.. what you ask?? She sent even more than that you say?? YES, I say! She did!! She sent me a skein of colinette jitterbug, in the jewel #54 color way... All I can say is WOW! Now this is not a color I would have normally picked for myself, but it is 100% what I NEEDED! I don't mean that in the sense that I have been ogling a pattern that this yarn fits, or that I have a special project planned. I mean it as in, I need more color, I need to be thrown out of my comfort zone and have someone show me that, yea, you can work with color and not only is it okay, but it looks great to. AND SHE HAS DONE THIS. I am SO in LOVE with this color, I can't even imagine only ever having one skein! I will need to buy more, as this color will need to be on my feet more than once a week! LOL



Sunnyme, you are more wonderful than you know, you are sharing things with me and opening me up with such small things but in such big ways. I don't even know how to explain without sounding totally insane, but your awesome and I thank you very much!



Okay, so now that I'm done being mushy *wink*... I will get pictures of everything I got because I can't not share, and I finally knit myself senseless and finished my Maman socks, so they will be coming soon.. In the mean time, here is a pic of the yarn taken from an Internet picture.....and I need some serious help in finding the "right" sock pattern -- so bring on the expert opinions!!



And I can't tell you enough times how this picture doesn't even do this yarn justice in the picture, its some of the most vibrant and luscious colors I've ever seen, and I LOVE the feel of this yarn!

In other news, Rhy my son got his cast put on Monday morning, and its not as simple as I had hoped. Since the buckle fracture is by his growth plate at the end of his bone the doc is pretty sure that some damage was done to the growth plate even if its not visible. So he will have to wear his cast for a full 6 to 8 weeks. :c( So we got him a wheel chair and he went back to school Tues. I have to drive him and pick him up, get him in and out of our truck, take his wheel chair in and out of the back of the truck, get him to the bathroom, help him dress (shorts and cast sock) and all that good stuff. My neck is killing me, I'm tired, and of course Ire my youngest had to have her two front bottom baby teeth pulled today. Her adult teeth were starting to come in behind her baby teeth and although the baby teeth were wiggly, they weren't coming out. Rhy has another doctor appointment on June 1. My step son arrives on June 3. Brit my oldest goes to her dads for a week on June 2nd I think. Rhy has a dentist appointment on June 11, and I have a doctor appointment on June 20 unless there is a cancellation. And finally we will have all 6 children home with us by the second weekend in June... So everything is super busy here, but I swear this ~ I will knit some socks with this fantastic yarn my Sunnyme sent me! -- So there :-P LOL

To be honest, I've already started my swatch.. Looks like I'm getting 9 SPI, but I need to knit a few more rows to be sure.. Lovely, lovely yarn!!!!

I don't have any updated pics of Rhy with his red cast on, but here are a few of him laying on the couch over the weekend with my kitty Voodoo laying all over him... Which Voodoo doesn't usually do, I think he knew Rhy didn't feel good and wanted to make him feel better. :c)

Please ignore the mess, we were still moving things and getting him comfy.. :c)

And here is my first colorwork thingy...aka...Rhy's cast sock... Not the greatest, and I was just playing around, but it sure was fun!! I can't wait to make some more... knit play is great! LOL

NOT a Good Day!!

Well, school is out and you would think I would have more time to blog, but the thing is I've been sitting here doing a bit knitting, cleaning a bit and pickin' my nose....sigh... I'm BORED already! I have gone back to school because I want a good job, I want to get out of the house and as much as I love the fact that no matter how slim we lived my fiance wanted me to stay home, but I don't want to do it anymore. All our children are in school all day and I need adult human interaction!! LOL So I've been kind of bummin around wishing I was back in school, I had purpose then, more purpose than the next load of laundry anyway..lol..



So I wake up today, mosey around the house a bit and just feel generally restless, don't wanna watch tv, don't really want to knit (although I'm almost done with my Belle Maman socks), don't wanna be in front of the computer, or play with the birds...just restless and all over the place not doing much of anything.....When I get a call...



The school nurse called and during gym another little boy ran into my son. It was a simple run in, not one they would normally even write an incident report over, but my son couldn't put weight on his left leg, after icing and rest..



So off I go into my truck and go down to the school (thank goodness its only about 2 miles or so) and walk in. Sure enough he's sitting on a chair super upset and has an ice bag on his upper thigh. So I walk him through what happened, where it hurt and how much. The nurse said she palpitated the area and couldn't feel anything broken, no muscle swelling or tightening.. she did a good job, but still he would not walk or put weight on that leg..



Honestly? I've been here before and my son only has that look or acts like that when something is wrong (which the nurse wouldn't know of course)... So all I really had to do was look at his little face and I KNEW something wasn't right. So I pick him up (umm...by the way.. this was NOT good on the neck and although he is thin for his age at only about 45 pounds, he is tall for me and going to be 8 yo next month!)...and I carry him out to my truck, and get him in the BACK SEAT no less. I'm feeling pretty good about that since my truck sits pretty high up off the ground and I have to heft my little 4'11" into it...



Anyway, I get him in the truck, call my aunt who thank goodness happens to be in my town shopping with a friend (she lives about 30 min from my town) and I go and meet her where we transfer my son out of the truck and into her much more manageable car and off the emergency room..While driving there I'm calling our oldest daughter (16) to let her know why I won't be home when she gets there, and of course call his dad because I'm almost positive that no matter what we will need some shorts when we leave because his jean are probably not going back on..



We get to our hospital and of course they are AWESOME!! They have the BEST child's ER ward with the BEST doctors and nurse's!! They X-Rayed his left thigh and sure enough he has what's called a buckle fracture (easy explanation) or torus fracture (more technical explanation) right above his knee on the outside of his left thigh bone. From what I've read it should heal pretty fast, the easy explanation said about 3 weeks. However the way they talked at the ER he will be in a FULL LEG CAST probably a bit longer. We don't know yet. So he's in a full leg splint right now and goes to see the bone doctor Monday morning and we'll find out more then.



Until then he is in a splint from toes to almost his groin area, he can't put any weight on the leg so I will have to carry him around everywhere and to the bathroom....one time to the bathroom this evening and I can tell you already, this is not going to be fun!!



It could be much worse though!! And he has been a real trooper through the whole thing, very calm and easy going as he always is. We were in the ER, they gave him some pain meds but still he looked over at me and said, "I love you mom"....awww, it could have broke my heart! He is so wonderful and I'm so thankful it wasn't anything worse!!



So after the ER, being the trooper he is, he decided to go to walmart with us to get his meds, so his dad carried him in and plunked him down into a wheel chair and off we went. After a day like this we got him a movie (Night at the Museum) and some McDonald's!



Here is my poor boy about at his limit while we picked up the meds at Wal-Mart

My SP10 Strikes AGAIN!

OMGosh! You all are NOT going to believe what my SP10 sent me!!! She said she had a small birthday present she was going to send me but that it would be a little late. Honestly I was thinking the Fantastic card she made me was enough, ya know? But ohhh noooo, my SP10 Sunnyme had to spoil me more and send me a BEAUTIFUL skein of SOCK yarn AND the Book SENSATIONAL KNITTED SOCKS (insert squeel cause the name is in all caps..lol)..

My FIRST sock book and one that I had recently descovered that I REALLY wanted! Can we all chant "OMGosh, OMGosh, OMGosh, OMGosh"???

To tell you how excited I was, I have been glued to this book and have almost rubbed the darn skein back to its orginal form, heck, you could almost put it back on the sheep. ;c)

Thank you Sunnyme!!!! And honestly that seems SO inadequate, a simple thank you... just doesn't seem enough!!!

Along these lines, has anyone else found that since finding knitting they can get emotional about it? Not in a bad way but a good one?? Maybe its just me right now in my life, but I have been getting a bit emotional over my knitting. I got this skein and book from my SP10 and I just sat thare stunned, I could feel the tears welling in my eyes and I thought to myself, "what the heck? You don't CRY!"... LOL I of course bucked up and held my tears in so my family didn't rush me to the emergency room thinking I was dying - lol - but its not the first time I have found myself in this situation - then again, maybe its just an SP10 thing since I am convinced I have the very best one. :c)

I will get pictures up soon, and I warn you now, NO slobbering on your screen or key pad, it will seriously mess it up and your computer won't work right after that. I've been their and its a serious problem. ;c)

I hope everyone had a good weekend and later today I will be sure to post a boring post about what else has been happening over here..

April in SC