A couple of months ago I needed a new printer. Of course it doesn't take my old ink cartridges! These are new, sealed, and up for grabs if anyone can use them. HP Black 94 and HP Tricolor 97. Let me know where I can send them off!
She taunts us with food plates and dessert pictures all the time. Most recently it was cupcakes that brought to mind "Princess Cake" cravings which then lead me to binge on peanut M&M's because it was the only treat I could find in an emergency, with a belly ache to follow. It's all good.
In an effort to give back (cause I'm a giver!) here is what time on my hands causes me to find. Oh the cleverness of some people!! I really, honestly think someday I might give these a whirl.
It began with a show I caught on television....it may have been a Martha if I recall, but I don't ever watch that show so I can't be sure. Anyway, these just looked yummy! Marzipan cupcakes that would be the hit of any Knit Night!
Then I caught This Post on Good Yarns blog....
Which lead to this...
....and finally these pictures!
You have to love the note at the end here!
I was in a big fat hurry and wanted to knit these up for a friend. She has a mad crush on Johnny Depp and his pirate swagger...which I can totally relate to myself. The color is Black Pearl, like in the movie....so I had to knit them for her. Lorna's Laces worsted and a Knitting Pure and Simple pattern made these babies fly...took a day to knit. Gotta love big needles and big yarn!
My mad crush is on Viggo Mortensen, and his Lord of the Rings character Aragon. Can't tell you what is is about his grubby, dirty looks but it makes me swoon. His picture hangs in my laundry room above the washing machine. Honey Bunny brings home movies with Viggo in them cause he is really secure like that. That, and he's... well.....hoping?
*Sigh!*
Please ignore the jammies and the cleavage...I share the amazing cuteness on my lap! Though the jammies are cute as well...Target I believe. They are my summer camping jams because they have pink flamingos. Everyone knows that pink flamingos are the the universal sign of "vacation", and camping is the only vacationing we will be doing this summer. (Oy! Gas prices!!) The pajama pants also have a little red fire engine for the mailboxes...go figure! Now you really know why I had to have them!!
Notice her little tongue poking out? When she is in a deep sleep I will hear this tiny suckling noise....she is having nursing dreams I imagine, and it is seriously one of the cutest things ever. I keep hoping to have my camera ready for a quick video, but it hasn't happened yet. 
Only 19,998 more posts until I feel caught up on life as it has happened...and yet continues!
We have been thinking about it for ages, and talking about it for months. This was not a surprise. The only surprise was my heart changing (relenting) to get another mini dachshund rather than a German Shepherd. Don't get me wrong, I love Mayzie, my mini that I have now. In fact that is the problem...I love her too much! There is no way any pooch can compete with her, and besides that, I grew up with shepherds so I have a bit of a hankering for a large dog again. (These are a few of her pictures)
Well, Honey Bunny put his foot down! Big dogs = big food storage and bigger poops and it was going to be a doxie if there was going to be a puppy. Period.
So, after lots of searching I found a place that had some puppies. Exactly what I wanted too. A black and tan smooth, female please. She had one left, but as it turned out it was really one available. People had "claimed" a puppy but no one had picked them out, so I actually was first in line to pick from two litters! What luck!
Hours later, and much talking abut my current dog, I was finally on my way home with the baby. So hard to choose yet now I could not wait to introduce Mayzie to her new baby!
Now the drama begins. I pulled into the driveway and my daughter ran out and sad "Bad news"....Apparently my husband had taken the jeep out wheelin' with the dogs, and when he got to his destination only one jumped out of the car. Somewhere in the past 20 miles Mayzie had either popped out from a bump, or jumped out, but either way she was not in the jeep.
He searched for a couple of hours and then came home to load his motorcycle and try some more. His plan was to be out there all night and keep calling for her, but the search area was huge.
Needless to say I was a wreck. I felt like I had traded my much loved dog for this little puppy and it was impossible to be anything but sad. I wanted to take her back and go find my Mayzie. I was up most of the night worried about her and my Honey Bunny. I made flyers, posted on bulletin boards, left messages at all the vets offices in my area and in Reno, and I called all the animal control offices in the area.
At about 4 in the morning I woke up one of my kids and loaded up our other dog. Sometimes you just can't wait anymore and I thought in the quiet of the morning she might come out if she heard us calling. I made a big thermos of coffee and headed out.
The first thing I saw was a coyote crossing my street!! Not a good sign. It only added to my fears of bobcats, mountain lions, eagles, hawks, people who might keep her and the 27 degree night that she might be shivering in.
At about 6 am I came around a corner and saw a small sign posted on a street sign. "Lost Dog?" with a phone number was all it said. My hopes began to soar, and if I didn't breath I seemed to have a cell signal. I left a message, which began a series of cell phone nightmare phone tag from the sketchy signal....but long story short, he had my girl!!
Turns out he saw this adorable little dog trotting down the road and when he opened his door she hopped right in. He took her home and worked as hard at finding us as we were working to find her. She is micro-chipped but had no tags on her collar. From now on all collars will have a Sharpied phone number on the inside, but she has too many collars to have tags on all of them.
My Honey Bunny turned out to be the hardest one to find. Once I knew we had our dog back the quest was to find him so he could stop worrying. He was out roaming the mountains on a motorcycle, trying desperately to return my dog to me....finally he was located and all is well in the end.
I have my Mayzie back, and now I have this new little bundle of cuteness....and she has puppy breath to boot!
The next weekend was Father's Day and Honey Bunny got 3 new harness' to secure the dogs into the Jeep, and this t-shirt from REI:
One of the previously mentioned 20,000 posts I now have time for....
Jimmy Beans Wool has this amazing once a month Limited Edition colorway in conjunction with Lorna's Laces yarn. Each month brings a new treat and it sells out like mad, so you have to move quickly to get yours! For the month of June the color was Blueberry Snowcone. I was able to pick up the last 3 hanks of Lion and Lamb and did the happy dance like you can not believe!!
I LOVE Lion and Lamb and knew immediately what I wanted to do with this yarn once I got it.....Clapotis!!
I have to say that when I first saw this pattern I was not especially "wowed". That came later, with the throngs of people knitting it, loving it, wearing it and then making more than one. What can I say? I am a lemming without hope, so I was dying to follow along and knit my own.
My stroke of originality came when I read enough blogs and enough on Ravelry to know that I did not need 4 hanks. Nothing worse than an entire 30.00ish hank to knit the last 20ish number of rows!! I simply did one less repeat and actually knit it a bit longer and still had some leftover.
In the end, I love it!! Probably the most wearable thing I have knit in ages. My husband commented on it, which he never does and even more....my kids noticed! I seriously love it and I can finally understand why so many people knit another one. Quick, easy and nearly mindless knitting to achieve something I will wear forever....and will have to hide when my sister visits because she will steal it for sure!
These pictures show a glimpse of how smoky it has been, and the fires are insanely far away! I only wish I could use Willy Wonka's Smell-O-Vision so you could fully experience it. My contact lens' are driving me mad!!
So, it is not that I don't have things happening. Quite the contrary! It seems that I have all this stuff to blog about and yet no time, so when I do have the time I could literally make 20,000 posts (all outdated) in a row. Anyone with me on that?
My husband is away on a fire assignment. This is good because it means...well...he is a-w-a-y. It is bad because he is *sniff, sniff*..... AWAY! It is a good assignment because he is actually on a really nice detail and while right in the middle of a fire area, he is relatively safe. He is the paramedic in the camp, so basically, for the time being, he is handing out sunscreen and bug spray. If anyone does need medical attention, they have medics and a bus (ambulance) close by for immediate response. Fingers and toes are crossed that all those firefighters need on this fire is sunscreen and bug spray!!
The other day he called and asked me to bring him some supplies to make life better. I guess the fire camp is set up in an area that gets a lot of sun and fire conditions being hot, dry and windy...life is better with some shade. He was also hoping not to jinx things, yet expected he could be there a while. Lucky for us, Northern California is burning up for a change, and this means he is within driving time from home. We met at a half way point about 45 minutes from home and I delivered our EZ-Up shade canopy, a cot, his sleeping bag, sleeping pad, clean pillow, iPod shuffle, tarp, generator, small television WITH a remote, small selection of "dude movies", a few music cd's that can be played on the tv, red vine licorice, and clean underwear. Phew!! Can I get a shout out with "What a good wife!!"?
What most people don't know is that when these guys get called to a fire, they leave in the clothes they are wearing and in a hurry. The experienced ones have an "out of county" bag with a few niceties in it, but depending on the station they are covering etc, they might not get to grab it. Honey Bunny has gone to fires locally that lasted a couple days and he had nothing. They sleep sitting in their engine or on the ground...in the clothes they have on. He told me about one fire on a hillside where they cat-napped nearly standing the hill was so steep, listening for rocks rolling down towards them so they could roll to the side. Lovely job isn't it?
I am back to the pros and cons. Overtime rocks! We have dishwashers to replace and bathrooms that need help and we're planning to re-do in August. We also have summer camp next week and I am taking 25 highschool kids with me, and I have a new puppy!. Kids home alone with a housebreaking mini dachshund is scary indeed. Yet, overtime rocks! I have tile and bathtubs to pick out. Smoke is hard to breath in for weeks on end, but quesadillas or Cheerios for dinner is awesome! Husbands who call with "honey do's" because he is away and he knows the lawn needs mowing...well that doesn't exactly stink, but the man can sure come up with some lists of chores because he is sitting around all day thinking of things HE does around here...and now WE need to get done, and that? Well that stinks! Holding down the fort as a single mom with 3 teens is actually....not too bad :-)
I have great kids and we are doing just fine. I am off to call the inlaws! Gotta see if they house/puppy/kid sit in case Honey Bunny doesn't come home.........just keep chanting "Over Time! Over Time!"
Sometimes it is just plain time....and he knew it was coming. I have been telling, clueing and cueing him in for quite a while now, so he really should not be shocked. Yet for some reason I am the one who is in a sort of giddy shock myself.
I went and ordered this:
It is a new Kenmore Elite dishwasher, and they swear it is quiet! The salesman was telling me what I wanted to hear baby! Not like he had to convince me or anything...our 10 year old (199.00) dishwasher is loud and falling apart. It got even louder last year when we put in hardwood floors. It has "features"!! We tend to be the do-it-yourself types and ascribe to the live within (or beneath) your means and so "features" just really makes me jump up and down!
I have been online shopping and researching off an on for the past couple of years. Ours has been on it's last leg for a while but it is really finally beyond just annoying. Things are falling apart, and now it has become dangerous. It won't turn off either, which sucks the utility bill I'm sure....but when it won't turn off that means it just stays on that last heat drying cycle until you realize the house is about to burn down. I did turn off the heat, but that doesn't change the worry.
So, I did it. Honey Bunny is off fighting a fire and I am spending it before he brings it home. The upside is that it was on sale and the installation and take away of the old one is free, so that should make him happy. Hopefully when he comes home it will all be a done deal and that will make him happy. I call it a win/win!
A friend sent me this email today. I am simply going to post it the way she sent it. It moved me greatly, and I am so glad she responded to the nudge to share this among friends. If you are not someone who believes in this sort of thing....no offense intended, and if you are I hope you are as blessed as I was. We live in troubled times and encouragement can be like a glass of cool water! Hello Friends, brothers and sisters in the Lord, This morning I had a devotion that I thought wasn’t just for me so I’m passing it on for whomever these scriptures can encourage. The truth is: God never lets us down. That’s the truth. But this morning, I think I found a story about a woman who was disappointed with God because she thought he had let her down. You’ll know the story, so I won’t go into the details, but I’ll highlight the scriptures I personally never paid that much attention to until today. John 11:20 "When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home." I don’t think there are ever any unnecessary words or details in the Bible. I believe they all have significance. So what’s the significance behind the information that Mary stayed at home? Is it because she didn’t know that Jesus was nearby? I don’t think so. I think she knew and she stayed at home on purpose. The same Mary who didn’t let busyness keep her from his feet. The same one so commended by God for seeking him first, is now staying at home. That’s a little unlike her. So what’s going on? Well a lot is going on. Her brother just died. Before that the sisters had sent word to Jesus to let him know he was sick and asked him to come. But he didn’t. The situation grew worse and more than likely they were probably going to the door frequently and anxiously looking for any sign of him. You know the feeling. "Where IS he?" "Did he get our message?" "What is taking him so long?" And then the rest of the story, Lazarus breathes his last. He’s gone. I have been there. It caused me to start hyperventilating. I ran from the scene. It makes you sick. It makes you start to weep like you have never cried before and all I kept repeating was "No, no, NO!!" Death is horrible and oh so painful. The kind of pain that wakes you up in the middle of the night and hits you all over again like a ton of bricks and it goes on for who knows how long. You don’t know how many days, weeks, months, years it will take for the pain to start to subside. You have dreams where they come back and you see them again and then you wake up. It is painful. But now Jesus is here. Better late than never?? Not really. What they feared has happened. It almost doesn’t matter now. Or does it? I think she stayed at home because she was disappointed in Jesus and maybe, yes, just a little angry. We try not to admit it. We know God doesn’t deserve our anger. But we’re confused. We’re hurting and pain can cause us to put our shield of faith down and those fiery darts get through. We don’t have the strength to fend off the doubts and they’re making us question everything we know about God. So she stays at home. I’ve done it too. We skip the quiet time because we’re secretly harboring resentment against God. Sometimes we don’t even know it. But it’s kind of like we’re giving God the silent treatment. Letting Him know "if you’re not on my side and you’re not going to help me, I’m on my own and I’m not sure I have time for you." Verse 28 – "The Teacher is here," she (Martha) said, and is asking for you (Mary)." Hmmm… You think Jesus knew? You think Jesus knew that Mary was staying away on purpose? You think He knew that she was broken hearted, confused, weak, angry? I think so. Does he give her the silent treatment back? No. He loves her. He has compassion. He knows she’s hurting and he wants to comfort her. So he’s asking her to come to him. He asks us the same thing – "Come child. Don’t stay away. I know where you are. I know what you’re thinking and what you’re trying to figure out. And I have the answers. But the answer is really just one thing – ME. So don’t shut me out. You need me right now and I’m here. So Come." And she does. She falls at his feet, crying, and the questions, half way accusations, start pouring out – If you had been here, my brother would not have died. Make sense of it Jesus. Tell me why this is happening. You could’ve prevented it. Why didn’t you? How many countless others have asked the same question. When Jesus saw her weeping…he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. And then the famous verse – John 11:35 – Jesus wept. The easiest one in the whole Bible to memorize. So many people have taken a stab at what he was crying about. Even the Jews that day were trying to figure it out – "See how he loved him!" "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this many from dying?" Was he crying because he loved Lazarus and was sad that he was gone. Umm…. he knew that Lazarus was about to be raised back to life. We’re the doubts bothering him? Yeah, I’m sure they were, but he didn’t cry when Martha expressed the same thing. Call me simple. I think he was crying because Mary was crying. I think he felt her pain and "whoever touches you, touches the apple of his eye." He knows better than we do how much pain sin has caused this fallen world. Romans 12:15 says "weep with those who weep." If that is what God commands us to do, do you think he does anything less? I don’t know about physical tears, but I think God’s heart still breaks when ours does. So no lecture. No explanation. Tears. Jesus wants us to know we’re not alone. He’ll go through it with us. He’ll carry all our pain not on his shoulders, but in his heart and he’ll get us through. – "What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer." And then the glorious end of the story. There is no more commentary on it, but you can imagine, can’t you? Mary and Martha running to Lazarus, tears turning not just into smiles, but even laughter as they quickly unwrap him, throw their arms around him, still crying, but this time tears of joy, kissing him and being surrounded by everyone else. And then the look back to Jesus. I’m sure Mary did. Looking over her shoulder, past the crowd and seeing his peaceful, quiet, loving expression looking back at her. Not condemning her. So pleased that she was happy again. Yet you know what she felt. I’ve felt it. You’ve felt it. That little sting of remorse in our hearts when we realize we’ve doubted God and he once more came through. He always does. He never lets us down. That’s the truth. No doubt there were other looks at Jesus that day; jaw dropping, shocked, amazed looks like the ones the disciples had after he stilled the storm. There is much to be learned from this story, but this morning God made one more point with me. What about when He doesn’t raise people back to life again? What about when we lose something and it doesn’t come back or never gain something that we so longed for and even lacked? Has God let us down? Are his delays his denials? Or is he still telling us to Wait. The end of the story has been written, but not fully revealed, yet this is what God says about it – "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind can conceive what God has planned…" Whatever we lack here will be more than made up for there. Can you think of anything a person would want for in this world that Heaven will not abundantly supply? Love, relationships, health, possessions, purpose, even food! Romans 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." God is still coming. He is on his way. Though we may wonder "Where IS he?" What is taking him so long? Be patient. Wait on the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait on the Lord. For when we get to Heaven I know we will all say – "You have not let us down." The Lord is our Shepherd. We shall not be in want. True story – Myamar – where the cyclone hit and the government won’t allow in any aid – Christians are dying. Terry Sartain, pastor of Calvary Chapel Charlotte went with Jack Monday, director of Rapid Response for Billy Graham Ministries and two others were granted passports – four of only 45 that have been granted since the cyclone. It is absolutely dangerous to be a Christian there. They traveled in separate taxis to the place where they were secretly meeting with pastors from the region. 44 showed up. All of them hungry, grieving and confused. When Terry got there, he said he had no idea why he was there. What could he offer these men. All their rice fields were destroyed. All their water supplies had been salted by the sea. They were not just dying of hunger, but also dying of thirst. Praying for rain water. Asking questions like "if I only have enough rice left for one more meal for my family and someone comes to my door asking for food, what do I do?" All Terry said he could do the first day was stand in front of them and weep and pray. There is that weeping again. The compassion of the Lord. Knowing how much pain they are suffering from the sin of this oppressive government. For the first two days, there was a soberness in the crowd, a hopelessness. But somewhere on the third day, the mood changed. Terry and the others realized they might not have food or water, but they still had Jesus and they could still give Jesus away. The men left not knowing if they were going back to die, but rejoicing that the greatest possession, they still possessed and in heaven all their tears will be wiped away. Pray for them. Pray for rain. Pray for relief. Pray for hope, comfort, and faith. Faith in a Great God that will gain them rewards in heaven not able to be imagined here on Earth.
God Bless, Kim
All this talk about trips (and there is more besides Appalachia!) has me wanting to think about knitting. I did knit on the trip actually. You would not know it because I haven't mentioned it, and there are no photos as evidence, but I did knit a no purl Monkey sock on the plane. One and a half socks actually. That is where it stands still, at one and a half. (Am I the only one with an entire album of Disneyland pictures and yet you would never know I was there?)
I will get around to sharing the knitting but since my pile of UFO's has grown ever larger it is actually a bit sad and discouraging it will have to wait a bit. Work up the nerve ya know? I have taken plenty of solace in just reading about how I am not alone. Most of us have a stack of things we start and then set down. There is something about the excitement of a new project, new yarn, new technique, new pattern, new, new, new...it always has me chasing after it. Oh, and it isn't just us knitters I'm finding. Quilters do it too. Crafty and creative people of all sorts seem to have projects that linger. It helps me to know that.
Has anyone seen the new Berroco Seduce? I so badly want to start a project with that!!
In all my reading and random searching of blogs this little gem popped up. I know there are all sorts of journals you can buy, but this puppy is FREE! I don't know how well I will use these pages, but I did download and save a copy for myself just in case. Everything from graph paper to keeping track of works in progress, there is a sheet for everything. Kathryn Ivy's site has this Knitting Journal (Designed by Grace Schnebly) and I think it is just plain cool! Check it out and let me know what you think.... There are a number of do it yourself items on the sidebar as well.
Other than that, my nephew is here. What a sport he is! They live far enough away that he barely knows us, and yet he is here for two weeks. See, we went to Oregon to visit family and on our way out of town we stopped to say goodbye. My sister in law asked if I wanted to take a kid home. Kind of feeling put on the spot I said "yes", and then immediately started thinking if this was a good idea or not. Besides the 7 hour drive we were about to take on, he doesn't really know us! Yet, in about 15 minutes we were on our way home with an additional passenger....for a 2 week stay! 
It has been a blast is all I can say. He did great in the car and every time the phone rings he yells "I'm not ready to go home yet!". I like to think that this means he likes us. My brother just thinks we are spoiling him. Who knows? I just know that I am not ready for him to go home yet either.
After a quick trip to Oregon, I am back and can continue the story....
As I said, we had a couple of days of feeling like we needed to do more. From the beginning I mentioned how much I love these kids. Hopefully you are beginning to understand why and maybe love them a bit yourself....I should highlight that these kids worked hard to get the money for the trip as well. They did car washes, yard work, dog walking, jobs, babysitting, and asking friends, family and business for donations. Each of them came up with 700.00 and I am darn proud of them! They raised the money to go and spend a week working and darn it, they wanted to WORK!
My group spent a couple of days doing things around the camp but never interacting with many people. They felt like they hadn't met any families or been very challenged by the chores they had been given.
Arrival of days 3 and 4 were awesome! After whining to Head Honcho Rob, we were able to switch it up a bit and my group was able to head out into Kentucky at long last.
We met up with our CAP worker, and headed off to the home of a sweet lady named "D". She is a single mom who is raising her two children, 4 abandoned kittens, and a classic Southern front porch puppy! I spent a bit of time talking with her and found that her family went back in this particular holler as long as anyone could remember or know. She was one of 15 children in her own family, and they all remain in the holler and are quite close. She said she hardly knows anyone outside of her own family, and besides, who needs friends when you have that many siblings!
D was in a small mobile home and it was in great need of updating. CAP is a local organization that is amazing!! Go check it out HERE
Basically they determine need and work it all out with the people they serve. They have on going projects and we just come in and help them where they are at on specific sites. Unlike Mexico, there isn't a clear completion of a project (like building a house) but we still made a lot of progress.
D's house had already been roofed and new decks built. She had a door that opened to nothing and a deck was made for it. We showed up and finished the deck, railings and spindles. We also finished much of the new siding and soffetts around the house. Oh, and did I mention how much I love my highschool friends? They used their lunch time to build a dog house for the puppy out of scrap material! We were also able to clean up all of the debris left over from the project, which was a huge pile in her front yard.
We instantly loved this little family and she was so kind to all of us. She was out with us all day, each day, appreciative and open to conversation about everything. We learned so much about her, and I know none of us will ever forget this amazing woman! I think we all made a loving impression on her as well.
The days were long and hot, and the work was rewarding. I think it is also safe to say that the kids I hang out with came away with what they wanted to experience...truly helping someone out and making an impact for the better. They learned that you make an impact in the world in big ways that are tangible and in small ways that may never be seen. While the work at D's house seemed like it was the most significant, I know for a fact that the work we did around the camp was profound. It was helping the people who serve there day in and day out. It was coming along side of people who also get little recognition and giving them some encouragement in what they do each and every day. We got to see both sides of serving, great humility and sweet reward.
