You asked for it, you got it!

Socks. What else can I say? They have taken over my life. I am not an accomplished knitter, but it came the time to move out of my comfort range of knit, purl and whatever. I knit with a group of great knitters, so I took the plunge in the Fall. I knew if I had questions or problems, they would help me. So I made my first pair. ( They look so nice on those cute chubby legs!!!) They had their problems that I didn't realize, but I was told what I did wrong. I was ready for my next pair and haven't stopped. I made socks for me, my mom, my son and my sil.

These are the buckeye socks for my son that went to Ohio State. What a great Christmas present! He hasn't worn them yet. Maybe he is waiting for football season. (those are handsome feet too!)

After making many basic socks, I was ready for a challenge. But was I really ready for one. Janet was making Monkey socks, and they were looking great. She said they are just yo and k2tog. OK, I thought. OHHHHHHH, I loved knitting them!
And the quest is on. I need purple socks. Got some great Malabrigo Violeta Africana from my favorite knitting store, The Village Yarn Shop in Zionsville, IN. I can't wait to get them on the needles!

On another note, isn't it fun to spend lots of money on necessary house repairs?? Our water heater developed a leak and had to be replaced. Our basement is finished, so the carpet has to be dried out. It sounds like there is a jet in our basement. And the smell. Yuck. Thankfully, it didn't get to Nathaniel's room or the Rockatorium.

This is a test, this is only a test

This is a test of my ability to post pictures. Nathaniel says to trust him that all that gobbly gook will transform into a picture. We will just see. If it does, isn't it a lovely picture of my family??? What a group! You have to figure out who is who. I will be the easy one to pick out.
I spent the morning out in the snow going to meetings this morning. And out on my quest to find a pineapple gift. And now I am home and the sun is out. Why?? Couldn't we have had the sun in the morning and snow in the afternoon? That would have made more sense to me.
The meetings went well, though. We have a new place for our church vegetable garden to feed the local food pantries. It will work out well. And we put labels on lots of blankets for Project Linus. A productive morning for me. And I did find a pineapple gift for my Psych swap.
I guess that is enough fun facts for one Saturday. I need to go knit.

A Tragedy

I only know of one family that lives in the Buffalo area. The Wielinski's live at 6038 Long St. in Clarence Center, NY. They are the family that got hit by the plane last night.
I couldn't believe the reporter this morning when he mentioned Karen and her daughter's names. They got out safely but she lost her husband in the crash. Karen's friends are so sad and wish we were closer to her to help her. But now we are all scattered around the country.
Karen and I lived in the same Ohio town and belonged to a mother's group. We spent a lot of time together doing activities with our kids. They moved back to the Buffalo area where they were originally from and were excited about going back. We also moved a couple of times, but we kept in touch. I always loved getting their Christmas cards. Karen would draw the card and it would be lovely. And always the family picture! Karen and Doug had four girls and I enjoyed watching the girls grow up in those pictures.
I could go on, but please say prayers for Karen and her four girls.

A little background music, please

Some background info about me.  Not fun, but factual!

I  have moved around quite a bit.  Born on an AFB overseas and grew up in Massena, NY.  Can you say "eh"?  Went to a state school in Syracuse where I met my husband over a rack of test tubes. Well, almost.  He was in graduate school and his lab was down the hall from mine.  He went to Philadelphia to do his post doctoral work.  We got married and had one boy.  Moved to Ohio and had two boys.  Moved to NJ (yeah!) and did not have any more boys (yeah!)  And now we live in Indiana. 

As I said I have three boys.  They are really young men now.  Alex is turning 25 and is a sweetie.  He graduated Ohio State with a poly sci degree.  He tried law school.  He didn't like it and it didn't like him.  A car accident sealed his fate there, and he came home. Oh, boy!  He works at a wine store.  Good use of his degree, but that how things are.  Bryan is 22 and lives at home (there is a common thread here). Another sweetie.  He has learning problems and is without a job for now.  I am sure that will change soon even in this economy.  Nathaniel is 19 and at Indiana University majoring in poly sci (uh oh!)  He is a man with a plan and I doubt we will have to worry much about him.  He is my punker and makes life interesting.  I have a whole family of punkers that make my home, their home.  Nathaniel also has a business making one inch buttons.  Check out decayingyouth.com for all your button needs! Oh, did I mention that he is a sweetie, too?

I have been knitting off and on for a long time.  Learned to knit when I was a girl scout.  I have gotten back into the swing of things again and haven't stopped.  I do a lot of charity knitting.  With my church, I knit sweaters for chilly children and prayer shawls for those in need.  I make blankets for Project Linus, too.  But now I am reaching out of my comfort zone and attempting new projects that I wouldn't have before.   I am addicted to socks at the moment.  I don't know how I lived without hand knitted socks before!
I guess that is probably enough info on me for ever. If I knew how to post a picture, I would. Maybe in the future!