psssssssst......... ~ Melissa (!)

.... she's back ....

more later

baby

steps

♥

The Great Alaskan Knit ~ by Kelli

You're a big, strong, grown man.  You fish and crab in some the the most feared waves and ice, that out of control weather. You're gone from your family for long periods of time. 

You pack your favorite new baseball cap, your iPod,charging equipment, camera, and he never forgets his blanket his wife knitted him~ 

I'm impressed how it has not pilled up. It could use a good blocking ( but that's never going to happen )

He cherishes his blanket. Which may be the best knit I've knitted. No fancy ribbons, awards, or museum entries here. No great stitches, YO's, or pattern for that matter...

 The thought of me knowing its treasured fills me beyond measure ~

Superbowl Shenanigans ~ Melissa



my mom's kitchen...usually spotless...the mess is my fault ~ dinner was on us last night as a thank you & I was jumping back & forth between cooking & sewing



Special request from Jason....12th Man Beer Can hats for the boys' roadtrip to Arizona (they are Superbowl bound!!!).  So highbrow, cough cough, but every fan needs one, right?  We spent the weekend with my mom and these hats were a true group effort ~ I cut the cans into pieces and did the seaming, Jason punched all the holes in the aluminum, my mom used her mad crochet skills, and Dozer supervised!

 

They were a blast to make ~ sorry I can't share a recipe but we fudged these caps from beginning to end ~ they're freeform and custom fit.  There are tons of patterns out there, though...we just couldn't find one that suited our vision.  I think they turned out fantastic.  Jason thinks they are perfect, so that's all that matters anyway. 

 

Note to self - when working against a deadline, make sure to allow time for the beer to be imbibed.  Sadly, this surprisingly tasty beer went down the drain except for a few small glasses.  Boo.  Hoo.

 

more photos can be found here

 

GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!



look what she can do! ~ posted by Melissa

I thought about naming this post :

'Who Needs A Plumber?'
or



'How I Spent the First Day of Summer Vacation'

...but neither felt exciting enough for today's accomplishment.

 

This week I discovered that my dryer hose was heavy.  Very heavy.  And full of water.  Houston, we have a problem, and I'm guessing it's a pretty d*mn big one.  So with some supervision from my husband (who is still in chore lock down), I added a plumber's cap (which is so much better than plumbers butt !) to my growing collection of hats.  Check this out!

 

Before photos (I spared you the rusted sopping wet mess that I found inside the wall):

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

I did things I never knew I could do this afternoon!  I cut out drywall, removed insulation, disassembled all the old ventilation pipes and a piece of our tile floor.  Our foundation is so wet and the metal pipe has been leaning flush against it for longer than the 15 years we've owned our house.  It was full of rusty holes and literally fell apart as I was removing it.  I think the only thing that was holding it together was the insulation packed around it?

 

And I did all this in between the wall and our laundry organizer ~ a space about as big as I am wide so there was very little room to work in (the picture below, to the right of the step ladder is where all this took place.  Tight squeeze, let me tell you!  I don't know how my husband could have fit!

 

 

 

And now, although the new drywall will wait til Jason is back to his old self, I have a functioning washer/dryer and brand new shiny pipes and ductwork :

 

I've done a load of laundry already and nothing fell apart (I feel like I aced a test!).

 



I think my husband might just be a little proud of me ~ he made me dinner in return :) .

 

Sesame Ginger grilled chicken sandwiches and a salad...no pictures this time, I was too hungry to take the time to share!

 

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

~ Melissa



hap(py) ~ posted by Melissa

 Hello again!  Many thanks to everyone that chimed in to last week's post (link here) and helped solve a mystery.  Although quite a few of you thought my plant is a white hydrangea (and have now made me covet a few of these as well!), I believe that those of you who decided it is a snowball viburnum hit the nail on the head.  Everything I've looked at online mirror images the flowers and leaves and size of the plant we have.  Thanks again ~ I'm excited to track down another of these since they seem to thrive in our bog of a back yard when not much else is happy there.
 

 

This week I pulled out a work-in-progress (and if you know me at all, you're not surprised that I chose something that matched the color scheme of the book I'm reading ~ I'm a dork!).  I'm working on my jaywalker socks (link here) and I should be done with them by next week's yarn along.  They're pretty easy and I put them away with one completed and the other already started so I'm more than half finished.  They're fun and easy and a sanity saver (thanks, Will ~ hehe!).

 

And look!  I finished the hap I cast on last week already! 

(link here) 

 

 

It was such an addicting knit ~ so hard to put down and so quick to knit up.

 

 

That Kate Davies is wonderful ~ the pattern is very well written and so classic and simple.  I think I'm going to cast on another soon in a lighter weight yarn.  Perfect for a travel, no-brainer project.

 

Hope you all had a good holiday weekend (if you're stateside) ~ I tried to balance the must-do's with a few wanna-do's and it turned out to be a fairly pleasant few days.  The best part though was when my husband (who I've had on chore-lockdown for the last 10 months...and counting) told me to park it on the couch and knit so he could make me dinner.  It was delicious!!!  I felt guilty the entire time but I sure enjoyed it ~ and even better, there were leftovers the next night.  What a guy :)

 

 

here's a link to the recipe : Papas Con Chorizo

 

see you all next week :)

Melissa

 

joining Ginny @ Small Things and her Yarn Along Crew





good juju & a bit of knitting ~ posted by Melissa

just a quick post today to share some loves ~

 

first off, I received this one of a kind gift in the mail from a new friend:

 

 

Jocelyn sent me a note back in January and wanted to know if she could contribute to our Operation Alex Project Phase 1 & Phase 2 (her hat and a few others didn't make it into the photos so there was actually a Phase 3 that never got blogged about...sorry!)



 

I recently noticed one of these button jar creations in her projects and commented on it ~ lo & behold, look what I am now so proud and excited to own!  Not only did Jocelyn knit up the pin cushion jar topper, she also made all the buttons she enclosed herself!  Thank you so much, my new (and very talented!) friend.  I hope much good juju comes your way if it hasn't already!

 

If you'd like to make one of your own here are some links:

Jane Burns : One Knitty Knerd (the jar)

NADELWERK's etsy shop (sewing pins)

The Blue Daisy's etsy shop (sewing pins)

 

on the knitting front:

 

I've been working on Coda from Wool People 7.  It's a wonderfully classic reversible ( ! ) sweater design from Olga Buraya-Kefelian.  It's a bottom-up sweater and I'm just about to the bust increases but had to stop for a bit since Olga sent me a note about errata in the pattern that I'm unsure about, so I'm waiting for her to answer a note from me before I go on.  I love this design and with the bonus of using Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, it's been pretty hard to put down.

 

I'm also working on this:

 

It's a lace weight version of Jared Flood's Guernsey Wrap that I'm modifying for the finer gauge yarn.  I'm hoping to have this done by our twentieth wedding anniversary in July (the entire project grew around this yarn and the colorway that so closely resembles our wedding flowers in color ~ salmon, orange and pink).  It's Sappho 1 by The Sanguine Gryphon in the 'but have you forgotten me' colorway...a destash purchase from our fellow blogger Jeff.  I was picking another friend's brain about my idea to use this yarn with this design and while I was chatting with her, she decided to surprise me with the pattern (thanks so much, Mimi!!).

 

I'm really enjoying this project as well since it prompted a visit down memory lane ~ the photo albums came out and we've had fun going through them and thinking about how quickly twenty years have gone by.  I'm hoping the next twenty bring just as much joy as the first did.

 

my handsome husband still takes my breathe away

 

That's it for today ~ Dozer has a much needed date at the do-it-yourself salon (why oh why does he insist on rolling on slugs in the yard ~ stinky stinky stinky!!) and today I'm the lucky lady that gets to give him his bath.  He hates it.  I'm pretty sure I will, too, by the time it's over :).

 

Happy weekend, everyone!  ~  Melissa

snicker snicker ~ posted by Melissa

How about a laugh at my expense?  C'mon ~ I know you want to!

 

I've turned into a complete brain-addled dork lately which has led to a few misunderstandings...some with a good outcome & some, well ...I'll let you be the judge.

 

First ~ the good.  I almost never read my horoscope but as it's on the flip side of the NY Times Sunday crossword page in our paper, I do occasionally take a peek.  This past Sunday printed neatly by VIRGO was this:

 

"Romance flowers today and tomorrow."

 

Which prompted an excited reaction from me to my husband after reading it for the third time. 'This says I'm going to get flowers two (TWO!) days in a row', she said with glee.  Only, when I spoke the words aloud I realized that, doh, that's not even close to what it said.  Romance itself was predicted to flower...no actual flowers involved.  Which he thought was pretty funny.

 

But guess what?  My horoscope came true ~ haha!  Romance flowered AND I got flowers :)

 

eek ~ better go swipe away that spider web!

 

My husband surprised me with this lovely hanging basket for our front porch the next day ~ we're on a tight budget and alas, had crossed our annual hanging baskets off our list this year but he received a birthday gift card to a local hardware store on Sunday & decided to spend it on me ~ yup, romance abounds.  My horoscope came true ~ any-which-way you read it! (Thanks JR & Kelli for your part in this ~ I thought you might find this amusing!)

 

 

Now onto the other faux pas of the week.  It was horrifying but ridiculously funny.  Let me just start by saying this ~  if you drive by a sign that says:

 

Amber's Red Hot Coffee

 

it's probably NOT referring to coffee as the hot item.  Learned this myself the hard way.  The coffee was not that hot but Amber sure was ~ good lord ~ pretty sure my face turned the exact same color red as the coffee hut when I pulled up to the window & realized that Amber (or one of her cohorts) was about to make my coffee dressed in her undies.  REALLY?  I don't make my own coffee dressed in lingerie, my friends, and I found it beyond embarrassing to have some young missy wearing hers while brewing my morning java.  Needless to say, I will NOT be visiting there again...I don't care how long the line at Starbucks is.  My husband got a good laugh ~ I called him immediately to tell him I was drinking a dirty, dirty coffee and he was in hysterics listening to me. 

 

If this happens to you, don't say I didn't warn you!

 

For the few of you who have messaged me that you've missed my more frequent blogging...

are you wishing I'd have stayed away a little longer??!

 

HAH :)

 

Since I hate to leave you with a mental picture of Amber in her negligee, here are a few flowers for YOU from our blossoming yard:

 

our rhododendron

summertime sweet yellow osteospermum

volunteer chives

'romance flowers' ~ hehe

Hope you're having a good week ~ thanks for stopping by!

Melissa



phase two ~ posted by Melissa

 

Operation Alex

 

there were only going to be two batches but look what I received in the last two days

 

enough to warrant a third batch later, I think, since there are still more coming

 

you all blow me away...

 

 

thank you Miss Lightbeam for the thoughtfulness to include something for Alex's mom...

 

I know you already know how I feel about you :)

 

 

& will Alex ever be blown away, Mimi & Sean, when he opens his package of 'army guy'  stuff

 

you both blew me away (I know ~ a little repetitive but it's true) ~ thanks for your kindness and thank you for your service, Sean

 

mom asked for one hat...

 

we've answered with sixteen (16) so far with more on the way (I did wrap each one of your hats individually and put a tag that has your name and where you live on it so he knows how far and wide people care about him)

 

thank you thank you thank you

 

(just to update ~ mom still is unaware of what's been going on...she ended up at the doctors with one of Alex's siblings last week on the day I was supposed to see her...when it rains it pours ~ I will let you know when she and Alex finally get all your packages)

roadtrip (narrated by Mr Webster) ~ posted by Melissa

waiting - the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)




home - The abiding place of the affections,





embark - To go on board a vessel or a boat for a voyage



awe-inspiring - inspiring awe or admiration or wonder;"this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath"- Melville;



anticipation - pleasurable expectation



church mouse - a fictional mouse created by Lewis Carroll



nirvana - any place of complete bliss and delight and peace



intoxicating - extremely exciting as if by alcohol or a narcotic



gracious - Abounding in beauty, loveliness, or amiability




 patience - the power of suffering with fortitude








recompense - To give in return; to pay back; to pay, as something earned or deserved



energize - cause to be alert and energetic; "Coffee and tea stimulate me"

 

character - The peculiar quality, or the sum of qualities, by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others; the stamp impressed by nature, education, or habit

 

snarf - make off with belongings of others

 

felicity - The state of being happy; blessedness; blissfulness; enjoyment of good

 

A long awaited trip to Churchmouse Yarns & Teas.  A day with my husband spent out and about enjoying each other's company.  Christmas gifts received were carefully plotted, planned and well spent (thank you Trudy and Nanna).  More BT Shelter for hats, bright happy yarn for socks and enough yarn for our just kicked off New Year's Knitalong.  I'll get better yarn photos tomorrow in better light because, no, my Spire will not be golden and peach like you see above in the middle...not even close!  There's still time to join if you're tempted (and if you are following along and want to post (Mara!) ~ don't forget to pm me on Ravelry so I can tell you what I need from you so you can play along :)

 

I love how excited everyone seems to be who has taken time to post...and I know by Kelli's silence she is almost finished (only half kidding!).

 

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful posts and photos and excitement ~ you make doing this every year worthwhile and something to look forward to all year long!

 

I need to wind some yarn so that's all for now ~ more to come tomorrow hopefully! 

 

Happy knitting and happy new year!  Melissa

 

(and I did snarf the drink menu above but only because I plan on trying this at home!)