Ketchup in Tennessee

This is Youngest Grandson. He's two and a half. Kinda cute, huh? I think that's oatmeal on his temple.

This is big sock for Third Son. Toe up, using Judy's Magic Cast On. Two strands of sock yarn, size five needles. Fourty-eight stitch cast on. My first ever short row heel. Not perfect, but good enough for a work sock.

We haven't been doing much of anything...just hanging out. Son and DIL still going to work. They generally work opposite shifts so someone is here most of the time. Youngest Son and I got adventerous and took the car. We promptly got lost but it's such a small place it doesn't matter.

A Sock!

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I finished up the first of the worksocks I'm making for Third Son. I don't know why these are so not fun to make, (other than being HUGE) but I shall persevere. His birthday is the 19th and I want to get them to him on time, so I need to finish them up this week.

CrazyAuntPurl talks about stuff:

The other concept I got a handle on, finally, is that I AM NOT MY STUFF. I am not a better person if I wear designer labels. I am not a kinder, smarter or even happier woman if I have the most expensive handbag. I am not sexier or more successful if I drive a nice car or own my own home or get my nails done or have an ipod. I am not my stuff. I enjoy my ipod -- believe me it is a saving grace on the bus -- but I am not lesser of a human being for buying a refurbished one or not buying one at all. I am not my stuff. My worth as a human being is not contingent on driving a fancy vehicle -- and thank God, since my Jeep qualifies for extinction, I think.

Yes I love pretty things, and I like shoes and I love to shop at the grocery store and buy the stinky yummy expensive cheese. But all of it is just stuff. It took a while for me to disassociate who I am from what I have, and sometimes it was painful. I had given all these little things -- things with no value -- so much sentimental value that I had a house full of clutter and my life was cramped and confusing and uncomfortable. Because of stuff! Stuff I'd bought to make me feel better in a lonely and sad marriage, stuff I'd bought just because it was on sale, or because I thought it made me look better, or I thought maybe this one thing is what I need to make me happy once and for all. Can you imagine when I finally started getting rid of even the smallest bits of clutter how much my emotional load lightened? Being free of objects that had all these old ideas and memories and hopes wrapped up in them was like letting go of a false self.

Schaefer Yarns has new colorways, Sock the Vote, to honor the women involved in the 2008 elections. I have to agree with their view of Sarah Palin! Plain Jane Brown. :snort: Sorry, she just doesn't impress me as the brightest bulb in the chandelier! At around $26 a skein, I'm not gonna be buying any of them, but if I did, Michelle would have my vote!

Look at this darling little boy in the very cute hat!

Knitting is feeling better....

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Almost done with the sock. I was done, up to the grafting when I had Youngest Son try it on and it was about an inch too short. So frogged back to decreases, added a few rounds and am starting the toe decreases. It felt better knitting yesterday. Maybe just getting out of the house for awhile did it.

So, I bought this printer at Big Lots! the other day. Twenty dollars. Such a deal! What I didn'tsee was the fine print that a USB printer cable must be purchased separately. Not knowing that these are universal, I started researching and found the Lexmark cable cost more than the printer...and almost as much as the printer if I'd paid full price at OfficeMax for the printer. Fortunately money is low so I didn't order the cable.

After I dropped Youngest Granddaughter off at school, I went to have coffee with my BFF, F. He had an extra USB printer cable. They are universal, and now I have a printer. You know, there has to be something wrong with the world when it's cheaper to throw a printer away than to buy an ink cartridge for it....

BFF, F and his hubby B, gave me a gift certificate to KnitPicks. I came home and immediately ordered two sock blanks! I've been wanting to try these out since someone came out with the idea (and it wasn't KnitPicks). Contemplated buying my own knitting machine, but just can't swing that yet. Anyway, it'll be great fun to dye them. Ginny did some with Wilton's cake frosting dyes.

To compensate for the lack of cake baking facilities, Youngest Daughter brought home birthday doughnuts yesterday. I really like a plain cake donut with my morning coffee.

Slow but sure....

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Seems like I just can't make any headway on these socks. I'm ready to turn the heel now. Life has been so hectic these last few weeks. It's starting to return to normal, sort of.... Youngest Daughter's finally gone back to work full time. Her client got home from vacation last Tuesday. Which means I'm up and running from 7:00 am to make sure granddaughters get up, dressed, fed and off to school. Youngest Granddaughter's bus service hasn't started yet, so it's the race across town from one school to the other in the morning. Eventually it will all settle down.

Remember those 60 pairs of Mittnz I knitted? Well all the totals are in and the 66 people participating in the blitz sent in 1003 pairs of mittens/gloves/wristers mailed in late September and early October to the Cheyenne River Reservation, Eagle Butte, SD.

This woman has some scary stuff....and I don't mean "BOO!" scary.

Looking for cat hats? Not hats for the cat, hats with cats on them! Cat Hat #1 and Cat Hat#2!

To my five friends....you know who you are!

Another Birthday....

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Another October birthday coming up... Third Son needs more work socks! Just a generic plain vanilla sock, CO 56 sts. I'm using one strand of sock yarn, Bare Essentials from KnitPicks, and one strand of baby weight acrylic. That will make the sock 50% acrylic, 38% wool and 12% nylon. Warmth, durability and stretch. Good combo, I think.