When we got married, I promised to follow him to the ends of the earth, now he's calling me on it

The Good News: The Plumber got an amazing great paying new job!

The Bad News: It's in Fairbanks, where you can do this in the middle of winter:



That's boiling water thrown in -45 degree weather.


We're probably moving there as soon as we can sell the house. I told The Plumber when we first got married that I didn't want to move to New Jersey because it was too cold. Now this? That kind of cold scares the poop out of me. How the heck to you bundle up kids and do errands in that kind of weather. It's north of North Pole! Did you know they have a plug at every parking spot there so that you can plug in your car while you're in Walmart so your battery doesn't freeze? And I know what people say, oh but the summers are great! Well, the summers here are great, too, but what about the other 8 months of the year? I mean, Anchorage is too cold for my tastes, but I deal with it. But Fairbanks?

I think I'm going to throw up.

The Plumber sure is lucky I love him as much as I do. The pay is almost double what he was making before, and we did ask God to bless us financially. Never let it be said that God doesn't have a sense of humor.

I'm sure I'll feel better once I get used to the idea, but for now, I think I need to go lie down.

I Won't Be Offended If You Laugh

The latest "thing" at my LYS has been weaving and knitting with telephone wire. There are some really neat baskets there that people have made, including some beautiful ones made by the owner's 10 yr old daughter. After a recent stop into the store, where I showed someone how to do a russian join and answered a few questions about a project that I had previously knitted, I was asked if I wanted some of the wire. I thought, "Sure, why not?" As I was walking out the door, I heard someone exclaim,"I bet she's going to do something fabulous with that!" It's been sitting on my floor for a week or so now, and I kept staring at it, trying to come up with something "fabulous". I decided that a vase type of basket would be a great project, and would be a neat place to store straight knitting needles. I started with the bottom, and it looked great. It was after I turned the corner and started to weave up that something seems to have gone terribly wrong.



I would be really upset that I wasted so many hours doing this, except that it is so stinkin' pitiful looking! I can't help but laugh every time I look at it. The sad part is that I didn't really notice that it wasn't going well until the middle of the top stripe.
Notice the "artistic" braided top feature:




I think I'll leave the basket weaving to the 10 year olds, and stick with knitting.

Noro Noro Bo Boro Banana Fana Fo Foro.....

I love Noro. Kureyon and Silk Garden have such a nice feel to them, I don't even mind the little sticks and stuff. They give it character and are easy to pick out. And the colors!
I ordered 5 skeins of Silk Garden on impulse at the Knit Happens sale, and didn't really know what I was going to do with them. After seeing this pattern, I figured it would work if I shortened it up a little.






I LOVE the way it turned out, but this pattern sucked. I don't know if it is the designers fault, or the magazine's, but I found at least 3 errors. There was no information on how to do the armhole ribbing, a whole row is missing in one area, and there is a misprint where a stitch section is doubled. If I didn't know what I was doing, or was new to garment shaping, I would have been pulling my hair out. The pattern instructs you to do the ribbing on each side seperately, then graft them in the back. Why? It was so much easier to just pick up stitches from one side go up and around the back and down the other side, no grafting. It wasn't that much trouble though, I am confident enought to fiddle around with things, and can usually spot problems pretty quickly. This sweater/shrug is definitely a good example of why it's so important to learn why you do things in knitting, and not just follow patterns blindly. A good grasp of knitting theory can save you tons of time and heartache.

Pattern: Fusion Waistcoat by Wendy Yarns
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden
Modifications: What didn't I modify?

I know I said I would have 2 FO in my next post, and I DID finish the second item, but I need a baby to model it for a picture, and I'm not waking up my little guy at this time of night just for a picture. He might never go back to sleep! So I'll take a picture tomorrow.

WD is at his first sleepover tonight, and the younger kids were feeling pretty left out, so we went for a walk to the park. After playing on the playground, we walked to the bridge over Campbell Creek and stared down at the freezing cold water rushing by. The Plumber noticed some little black things bobbing up and down in the water, and pointed them out. We couldn't figure out what they were, so he went down, grabbed a stick, and started poking around.


My children followed him down there, and I was standing on the bridge yelling at them to "STAY OFF OF THAT SNOW IT WILL FALL INTO THE CREEK AND THAT WATER IS COLD AND I DO NOT WANT TO JUMP IN THERE DO YOU HEAR ME?????" Since anything that they aren't supposed to touch is an instant attraction, I had to repeat the above statement several times in the time it took The Plumber to figure out what the mystery item was. Apparently, 4 and 3 year olds feel that any restrictions placed on them are null and void after a minute has passed.


The little things bobbing in the water were film canisters taped to the camera strap. The style of camera is obviously old, I'm guessing from the 70's or 80's. The leather wasn't totally deteriorated, so I know it hasn't been down there for more than a couple of years. I'm sure there's quite a story behind how it got in the creek!

Crisis Resolved

Last night I spent a lot of time in prayer. Basically, I told God that I couldn't take any more stress right now, and to pleeease let something good happen to cheer me up and let me know and feel that He was there. I had posted on Freecycle that I needed a washer, but my last couple of tries at requesting things on freecycle have not had any results.
We went to Home Depot this morning, or as WD calls it, "Home Teapot", and looked at washers. They were way expensive, and we didn't really want to buy just a washer now, when we knew that we are eventually going to have to buy a mega huge capacity washer-dryer set for the mega huge amount of laundry this family produces. Plus, well, we're broke. And the idea of driving to Eagle River to get my dad's truck, driving back into Anchorage, buying a washer, dragging it into the house, driving back to Eagle River, picking up our van, and driving back to Anchorage didn't sound like a whole lot of fun, especially since we did so much of THAT last week.
When we got home, The Plumber started taking the washer apart and trying to fix it. I love that man to death, but he is a PLUMBER, not a washer repair man, so we basically ended up with parts of pieces of washer all over the kitchen, while he continued to stare into the bowels of the machine, hoping that an answer to what was wrong would fling itself out and smack him in the forehead. Not willing to continue watching the carnage that was going on in the wash room, I hopped on the couch, popped open the laptop, and checked my email. And someone had a washer for us.
I called them up, and said we would take it and when did they want us to pick it up? (Trying to choreograph the whole truck-van switcheroo scenario in my head) and they said, "Actually, it's in the back of our truck, we can deliver it to your house in about 15 minutes."

So not only did God get me a washer, He threw in delivery service as well. I so quickly doubt, and start to wonder if He is going to take care of me,but He has always come through, because He's my Father and He loves me.

Next post, 2 FO's. I promise!

My Week

Things around this place have been crazy. Not just normal crazy, but pull out your hair and scream crazy. Let me elaborate.

Friday: The Plumber was informed that the company he has worked for for 7 years wasn't sure if they had any work for him this week. But hey, come in on Monday and we'll see if we have anything. Umm, ok. so they have had work for him all this week, but every day he went in not knowing if he would be sent home.

Saturday: We were doing errands and the brakes started making horrible noises. By then all of the brake places were closed, and Easter was the next day, so I knew none of them would be open then either.

Sunday:We screeched our way 20 minutes north to Eagle River, to eat Easter Dinner at my parents house. My brother-in-law mentioned that he could fix the brakes, and we said "Wahoo!" and they found a place in Eagle River that was open and had the parts. Yay! Then as they were replacing them, The Plumber dropped a piece and it broke. Uh-oh is not something that you want to hear when someone is replacing your brakes. The auto parts store didn't have the part, but they could get it by the next day, no problem! BIL put the brakes back on, telling us that they could go out at any moment since that piece was broken. As we drive home, trying to use the brakes as little as possible, I start to feel a little scratch in my throat.

Monday: I am so freakin' sick. Too-sick-to-knit sick. The kids watch an obscene amount of PBSKids, as I huddle on the couch and bribe them with candy if only they will pleeeeease just watch TV. My children think this is very odd, and give me a look that says, "Mom has gone off the deep end." The Plumber arrives home from work, takes the kids to my parents house so that my mother can watch them while he fixes the car. As he and BIL arrive at the auto parts store, they find out that the part they need is not in Eagle River, no no no, in fact, it is in Anchorage, where The Plumber just came from! He and BIL race into Anchorage, with 3 minutes to spare they arrive at the store and.. The Plumber left his wallet in Eagle River. Back to Eagle River, put the crappy parts back on the van, and back to Anchorage.

Tuesday: MORE PBSKids! The fun of 24 hour kid tv has worn off, and the kids don't understand why I don't want to play a game or go somewhere or get a snack and a drink and he pinched me and where is their favorite toy??? I blow my nose, point to the tv, and say, "Hey, look at what Barney is doing!" They don't fall for it. After work, The Plumber rounds up the kids, and drives to Eagle River. I sigh with relief, collapse on the couch, blow my nose, and shiver. I haven't taken a shower in 3 days, I am wearing ripped pajama pants, a shirt with cookie stains on it, and no bra. The phone rings. Who could this be? Someone to ask how I'm doing, maybe offer a bowl of chicken soup? Why, no, it's The Plumber! And I quote, "I just got to Eagle River, and I locked the keys in the car. And the baby's in there." I scrape myself off of the couch, grab the keys and drive 20 minutes out there, thinking that my poor baby is probably hysterical. As I pull in the driveway, I notice the guys working on the van. "Is he still in there?" I ask. "Oh, no. We got him out a while ago" Back into the car I go, notice that now The Plumber's car is on E, and drag my grungy, greasy, grimy, mess of a body into a gas station before heading home. He and the kids came back a little while later, and the brakes were fixed. Finally.

Wednesday: I receive the 2nd nasty notice from the library that 3 books are overdue. I turn the house upside down looking for them, but find nothing. Sweet Pea is going through an odd phase right now, where she likes to put things in odd places. I may find a sock in my purse, a doll in the pots and pans, or a spatula underneath the bathroom sink. I have a feeling that she has put the books in a very strange place, but when I ask her where they are, she replies in her cutest, squeekiest little voice, "I don't know!"

Thursday (Today): The Plumber calls to inform me that his company has no work for him tomorrow, but they think they might have a full weeks work for him next week. Maybe. And that they are going to lay of half of the guys. I sigh, throw a load of clothes into the washer (reducing the huge mountain of dirty clothes by an inch or two), and start to walk away. As I enter the kitchen, a strong burning rubber smell hits my nostrils, and then......


My washer died.

Sockret Pal and Sizzle

I recieved my Socret Pal sock/reveal package last week, and it is amazing!



My partner was Rebecca, and she really outdid herself. I have been wanting some sock blockers for a long time, and these are so cute. And the socks! They are from the new Grumperina pattern in the latest Interweave Knits, and the colors are so nice and happy. She also sent a mini sock blocker keychain, and a zippered pouch that was full of chocolate, but, well, that's long gone. ahem.
Thanks Rebecca!

I finished my 2nd Sizzle, and while it is beautiful, in it's preblocking state it's just not floating my boat. My last Sizzle turned out too big (happily for my LYS owner, who I gifted it to), so I knit this one in a smaller size, and it's a wee bit snug. And about 2 inches too short.


I'm hoping I can work some blocking magic, and s-t-r-e-t-c-h it out longer, but I'm worried that as soon as I stick my bosom (bosom? bosoms? Who cares, it's a fun word to say) into this sweater it will spring back up. The yarn, Loisa Harding Kashmir Aran, is lovely though.

Remember this guy? My little Deanorino is growing up! He is walking now, and is such a little imp. How can you have a bad day with smiles like this around?

I have so much to post about: Sockret Pal package, a finished Sizzle, a new pair of Jaywalkers I started, but my camera's batteries are dead, and I know I have some extras around here somewhere, but can't find them. Now that I think about it, WD's gameboy uses the same kind of batteries as my camera... (eyeing the gameboy and wondering if he will notice that I snagged them)

No, can't do it. Well, at least not while he's awake.

By the way, did anyone else get in on that awesome 50 percent off sale at Knit Happens? Good Grief, it was so good. The kind of sale you need a cigarette after. I ordered a few things, and thought they would come today, but UPS says not for a few more days. They better hurry, I need a fix, bad.