bleeeeeeeeeeeccccccchhhhh.........

That is the update. Since yesterday afternoon, my antibiotics have "ripped me a new one." Seriously not happy side effects. The best parallel I can draw is if you have ever had serious food poisoning, that is the closest state to what I have.



So I went to the doctor this morning to get my antibiotics changed. And the nurse practicioner had to have "a little talk" to me about not walking in. That I must always call ahead. I told her that I walked in, with the understanding that I could wait all day...that I only did it because I have been so sick and that it is the day before a long holiday weekend. So anyway, I am really upset right now. I always try to do the right thing, and other doctors have never been so ridiculous to me in the past. So I am auditioning for yet another new doctor (the last two closed their practices). If anyone has a recommendation out there for doctors who actually have good bedside manners and want to SEE patients, let me know. Please. Because I guess I should have been warned when this doctor's office hours are only 9-4, and they are closed 10-2 for lunch. And if their voicemail system was good enough like other doctors, I could leave messages with an understanding that it would be addressed. (But I have had such a hard time even finding any doctor, I was desperate.) And also my medication said to see my doctor if I had stomach pain (which I did). At the receptionists desk, they even laughed at me that my medication said such a thing, as if the print out that you get with them NEVER SAY THAT (in my experience they do). I guess I can't win. People today have such a 'tood.



Maybe this is what I should expect from the Greenville Hospital system.



Anyway, I am glad to say I took a dose of the new antibiotic an hour ago. And I feel better already. Maybe I will be able to eat. Well, there goes the only benefit of nausea inducing meds; the weight loss plan. :)



And all of your posts were sweet yesterday. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts.

No, I am not a hypochondriac...

...there are just a lot of weird little things that happen to me.

For example, my finger is now infected. Really badly. Near as I can tell, it happened at a hangnail site while gardening. Yes, I did clean it with alcohol and use antibiotics and bandaids, but all of a sudden overnight, it became worse. I feel like a pathetic weirdo. I mean, there are people out there alot worse off than me, and for that I am thankful. It seems I get all these strange little health problems and not big ones, thank God. But, it is now an obstacle to golf and knitting. But not bad enough to really put me down. So I feel like I should be doing much better things than sitting around with my hand elevated. The finger feels hot and the whole hand aches. I had to turn down driving range practice with my neighbors, and no aikido tonight. I hope I can get well enough for our golf lesson tomorrow morning.

About the only thing I can do is show you some flowers in my garden. Oh, and I might just be a touch crazy because I bought two hybrid tea roses to grow in my back yarn. I never stop taking on challenges.

Dahlias

Daylillies

Penstemon



















And I was so happy to meet Isis in person, finally! We (my Simpsonville Knit Group and I) may have scared her off.... :)....No, I doubt that. She seems to be pretty funny herself. Anyway, we all met at the Yarns Forever 50% off sale. There were at least 6 group members there. Lily bought enough to make an impressive stash on its own. The rest of us did pretty well ourselves. :) I will try to post some of that later, since I won't have alot of project content until my hand heals.


I look forward to having lunch with Isis tomorrow. :) I love making new knitting friends.

I think I am a little pink...

...because I spent 75 minutes at the driving range today. Today was my first golf lesson with my two neighbors, both named Janet. Teehee. And they both go by Jan, so it is pretty funny. Anyway, they are nice ladies. And they are noncompetitive. So I think we are really going to get along with taking lessons together. There is nothing I can't stand (much) more than overly competitive women when you are all learning something new. I just want to focus on what my own problems are in my swing! :)



>sigh< I have been tagged twice already in the last 24 hours for the same meme. So here I am posting 8 things about me.



1. I am a saggittarius, and am kind of independent and strong spirited as the astrological profile says. (Sorry, was reading some book about that in the Barnes & Noble sale section.)

2. I love learning new things. All sorts of new things, from sports to art to really challenging subjects like advanced science.

3. I have been told that I have cute feet. (Seriously trying to think of unusual things here.)

4. I am developing a list of my last meal dinners this week. You know, the kinds of dinners you would eat if you were going to meet an untimely death. The list was originally started as my must have "O" foods. So far I have: Chicken Tikka Masala (Indian), Pork Pad Ke Mao (Thai), Spicy Tuna Roll (Japanese Sushi), Chicken Kung Pao (Chinese...but West Coast only), Filet Mignon, Chicken ala Rosetti (Italian: Sorry, I don't have a recipe for this one and the restaurant is closed.), really good french fries and a bacon cheeseburger. I need to think of some more. This topic is so Seinfeldian of me.

5. I am a flexitarian. As in a sometimes vegetarian, usually for 1-2 meals a day.

6. I am 5'4".

7. I am learning to play golf.

8. I am going to challenge those after me to come up with some pretty unusual 8 things, too. Just to make this meme more interesting.



I am going to tag Lily, Kirsten, Dianne, Yarnthrower, Fiberitis, and Isis.

Oh, and some new daylillies bloomed. The red and green ones. I will try to get pictures of the next flowers to open because I think the first two that bloomed may have closed already.

Mucho better...

I am back today, and less cranky. I think it is because I tend to watch nearly zero TV on the weekends because I am so busy. And I am a happier person to be celebrity-news free. I will say that this morning I am making an exception because I am slowing down for once. I am watching too much Food TV, and am printing off alot of recipes. Heck, I have to do something until my husband wakes up.

Yesterday I went to an Afghan Annie party. For those of you who do not know what that is....a group of women get together and each of them knits a 10" x 10" square. Usually someone picks out what yarn is used. And it is usually something inexpensive and washable, like acrylic (such that one can afford to buy all of the yarn for an afghan). Sometimes money is collected to pay for the yarn. Someone volunteers to collect all the squares and assemble the afghan, which is then later raffled off. Only those who knit the squares are included in the group of names from which the winner is selected. We also all bring potluck food to the party. So it can be a fun way to spend the afternoon.

I have started on my afghan square. Does the pattern look familiar? It is the cable from the Inside Out socks....heck, I wanted to do cables and this is the one pattern that was resident in my head when I was at the party. I just guessed how many stitches to cast on and all. I think I am going to be lucky in my guess, because it looks like it is shaping up to be 10" wide.

Notice the lion-sized ball of yarn. Too funny. Someone in our group donated the yarn from some other project she scrapped. So there were something like 10 huge balls of yarn to use up.

I would love to win this afghan. It would match my guest bedroom. I decided to do the cable because the yarn is so plain...which is not a bad thing. Some people already did some beaded squares. Sometimes plain yarn really causes people to get creative.

Casualty of blogging and knitting...

The 'ole carpal tunnel seems to be flaring up today. And some back pain. And since I have to try to make it to aikido tonight, I better get moving today. I can't sit here too long reading blogs.

Can somebody PLEASE stop the 24-hour Paris Hilton news stream? I DON'T FREAKIN' CARE WHAT SHE DOES. It falls in line with my DH's and my "Why the freak is this news?" ponderings. (We are known to mutter this, directed at the TV about once a day. No, we are not crazy. :) ) It is a shame that alleged 24 hours NEWS channels cover this kind of tabloid junk to the extent that they do. It is the dumbing down of America. No, we can't REALLY know what is going on in the world, just be happy with finding out what drugged up stunt Lindsey Lohan pulled this week...and oh, by the way did you see what designer bag she was carrying while doing it? It is this kind of junk that is seriously causing me to lean to a TV-free lifestyle for awhile. But then I would miss good things like 24. It is time to turn off the TV. And this reminds me of joking with my knitting group last night, that a woman sitting next to me on an airplane trip kept giving me strange and disgusted looks while I was knitting on the plane...but she is better than me because she spent her time reading People magazine. Oh the horror, the horror....

Okay, I know this is a repeat of an earlier rant, but I just can't take it sometimes. Junk news creates mental clutter.

I want to say for the zillionth time that my husband is the sweetest man. He went for his first golf lesson last night (he already plays some, but wants to get better), and one of the first things he says is that he almost bought a set of clubs for me last night. Because he does not want to be out there having fun without me. Isn't that sweet? I told some muggles that he would not make me into a golf widow, but I am sure many of them are saying "Yeah, right." in their heads. But that is not his way.

And this is really not so strange, considering I LOVE sports. All those years in softball have given me many skills that I can transfer to things like golf. And I am a wee bit competitive with myself.

I plan on getting clubs soon, but I want to take some lessons on demo clubs before I pick some out. I had taken some lessons a few years ago and loved it, but did not have time to really learn. I had to work my way through business school, so I did not have the leisure time I would have liked. I am waiting for my two neighbors to set up group lessons for us ladies. But they seem to not really be going through with it...I may have to set up my own lessons.

SP10 Contest #6

Robyn, the SP10 hostess-goddess has issued another contest edict: Post a picture of ALL your current WIP'S (Work in Progress Knitting Projects) and you will be entered into a drawing for a prize! Tell us when they are from, and if they are old, why they aren't finished yet!

Note: I am leaving out the picture of the amigurumi crochet birdie, because it is not KNITTING WIP. I am also leaving out the picture of the afore-blogged einstein coat (we don't need to go there again).

Lizard Ridge: This is a slow-progress project, considering it is an throw. It is 4 months old, and I continue to work on a few blocks every month. In fact, I have been working on this block for the last day or two.

Fleece Artist Jacket: 5 months old. I procrastinated on seaming it together since I did not have time to do it when I got to that point, and just have not picked it back up yet. I will soon. I am feeling that "spring cleaning" urge to finish up WIPs.

Bird of Paradise Socks: 2 months old. Just need to frog it back and get gage. Other socks were moved up on the priority list.

Snowflake Hat: I think this hat is something like 15 months old? Not finished because my pattern and gage is off. I just have not picked it back up since my two-handed fair isle knitting gage has vastly improved. I will probably restart it this fall.


And to go into the realm of no, I really don't need to spend more money on my hobbies but I can't resist....

30% off at Yarns Forever since they are closing.
50-60% off of quilting thread (and everything else) at a Hancock Fabrics that is closing in Simpsonville.

What is wrong with this d**n town? The good stores are closing. The Hancock fabrics out in Simpsonville was worth the drive because it was a really CLEAN store, friendly, fast service and well stocked. I guess the well stocked indicates they weren't profitable ENOUGH, not just well run. Now we are stuck with the runky one in town. And Yarns Forever closing, well alot of us have already said how we feel about that.

Wordless Wednesday

Just like some other blogs....pictures of my latest daylilly blooms.

Meme tag....

Isis tagged me with this meme....hot potato! On it goes....


You are supposed to write a list of statements that begin with I am.


I am serious.


I am wacky. (Yes, I am both. That is what makes what I do so unexpected.)


I am happily married to the sweetest guy.


I am a burned out recovering financial person.


I am still trying to figure out how many things I want to be when I grow up.


I am trying to figure out what I want to be next.


I am scared about that. What if I pick wrong? Not just that, I am not sure which direction I really want to go in right now.


I am both shy and outgoing.


I am a black helicopter libertarian. (Really, I am kidding about the black helicopter thing. But I *love* scaring my DH into thinking I really believe some conspiracy theories. I must get that from my family of jokers.)


I am a good "hack" chef.


I am working on developing my own salad dressing recipes/line.


I am a good teacher. So people say. But not by education.


I am also a "hack" gardener.


I am an eternal student.


I am always taking classes and learning new things.


I am not a jealous person. I am awed and inspired by others with talent.


I guess that's enough.


And I tag: Dianne, Lily, Kirsten, and Laura


Thanks to Deborah, I finally have some Bovidae Farm pictures. Thanks to her for all of her hard work on trying to get them to me!


The view from the driveway/front porch.
My MDSW buddy, Mary, and I on the wrap around porch. I am knitting my Inside Out socks.



And of course, the sheep!

There is alot to be excited about today...but also some sad news

Bovidae Farm Trip, FO, new sock yarn, Stitches East signups, and I think some more....

On Saturday I trekked up to Bovidae Farm in Mars Hill, NC with some members of our local knitting groups. It is best to visit Bovidae Farm in a group, because they like for you to call ahead and arrange a visit since they are a real-working farm and have alot of work to do! Anyway, we all made lunch dishes and drove up there and ate lunch on their wrap around porch, and petted their corriedale and merino sheep. Most of the flock is corriedale. I forgot my camera, so I will post some pictures when one of the other ladies on the trip sends some to me. They process and dye their own wool, as well as sell some other yarns in a little yarn shop in their cabin. Very nice people...what else can you say about people who let a group take over their house and knit! Hey, at least we brought food! I picked out some worsted weight in their Lichen colorway (dark sage greens and brown to match my eyes) for the rogue sweater. I will have to wash it first because the lanolin in the yarn will drive my allergies nuts.

It is funny, but in this light it looks more of an emerald green. Anyway, it will look great on me no matter what the lighting is.

We decided to leave Bovidae early to visit a yarn store up the road called Yummi Yarns in Burnsville, NC. The ladies in the store were very nice (I think they let us take over their shop for two hours), and they have an impressive selection of yarn, from high end to more modest yarns. Louisa Harding, Rowan, Noro, Hanne Falkenberg Kits, Colinette, Lamb's Pride, etc.. Too many to remember. Anyway, I had fun playing fashion model for the Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Show. I am glad it was there, because I got to try on many styles and narrow down what Iwould really buy if I was ever lucky enough to do so...some day I will own Diva or Mermaid. Man, am I a sucker for scandinavian designs. I will really need to save up for them, as they run ~$250 per kit!

They don't have a website yet, so I will post the info here: Yummi Yarns, 7 So. Main Street, Burnsville, NC 28714, 828 678 9890

I also finished my Inside Outs yesterday! Finally! It took forever since I have been working on many projects and traveling too much!

Yesterday, I also received my Sundara Yarn Petals Collection for May. It is gorgeous! Let me tell you, this girl has an eye for color you won't believe. And this kit is modeled on Dahlias, which I love. I have even planted some this year. I am so tempted to jump into this right away.

And last but not least, I signed up for my Stitches East classes this morning! And I got all of my first choices!! squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I am going to take alot of design classes this year, to work on my New Years Knitting Resolutions. It is time to take off the training wheels and dive in. I know I can do it and already understand some design. But I have not really done much of that yet. Mary and I also have already reserved a hotel, so we are good to go!

We found out last week that our best local yarn shop, IMO, Yarns Forever, is closing its brick and mortar doors. I am saddened by this, but realize that this is also an opportunity for the owner. She is going to instead focus on expanding her growing wholesale and retail hand dyed yarn business, and on starting an alpaca farm. Have no fear, she will keep selling yarn through her websites for Yarns Forever and Creatively Dyed. It is unfortunate, but the local market is not enough to support the overhead of a bricks and mortar store. So, to all of my local readers, please go by and support her while she closes out the store. I know that many of you have not had the time to go there yet, but please make the time. She is open for a few hours on Saturdays, so please try to fit it into your schedules.

My red daylillies are totally in bloom now. Each has about 3-4 flowers per plant, and more buds waiting to bloom. I am excited. It is time to go and feed them some liquid fertilizer, and to plant my tomatoes and herbs.

I think it is time to slow down and spend some time at home. I have been on the road way too much. I need to feel a little more grounded. :) Plus, DH is starting to forget who I am!

MDSW part dos

There were a few funny things I forgot to post about for MDSW. It is funny how the mind continues to seep things out over time.

My travelling buddy, Mary, threatened to come home with some sheep. In case you are wondering, she already owns 4, and runs a tiny "hobby" farm on her property. I told her, there is no room in a rented Hyundai for sheep! But it was funny anyway, calling home to her 18-year old son and telling him that she had purchased 3 more sheep. (Imagine me baaaahing in the background for effect. I am such an enabler.) We were trying to freak him out into believing he would have to build another fence. :)

In case you think I am cruel, do not weep for Mary. For she has already purchased 4 more sheep (3 Finn ewes, and one Jacob ram) SINCE MDSW in the NC and GA area. So her little sheepy community is growing despite me. :) And not to mention all the bees she has to keep her company. Yes, she is a beekeeper. And a dogkeeper and a pigkeeper.

Then when we went to one of our knitting groups on Wednesday night, I found out that another of our friends had already "appropriated" Mary's skein of STR Fire on the Mountain. And by "appropriated" I mean that she took the sock yarn and hid it down her blouse. (I know what you are thinking, and don't tell me that some of you all have never been struck by the urge to stuff someone else's sock yarn p0rn down your shirt ala Miss Violet. I don't believe you.) But this woman is so sweet, is like a mom to all of us, and does so much for charity that you can't bear to take the Fire on the Mountain back. It turns out she wanted another skein to do a project, so she bought mine from me....if I was working, I would have given it to her for free, but I really need to pay these yarn bills. So it looks like I am keeping the Cracked Canyon after all. I wanted to keep it anyway so there is my excuse. Bought 5 skeins and kept 1. Not bad. I could be a recovering sock yarn hoarder. Maybe I need to create a 12 step program....

And my other friend loved the two sock yarns I picked out for her. I am so happy.

This is going to be a crazy weekend. This afternoon and evening I have a Thimbleberries quilting retreat. And tomorrow is a trip to Bovidae Farm with one of my knitting groups. I have not been able to visit Bovidae Farm since I moved here 3 years ago because you need to arrange visits ahead of time, and I really want to go even though I have been on the road way too much lately. You see, they have a wrap around porch on their house, and they pen the sheep up next to the house so we can pet them. And they process and dye their own yarn. I did not know about this trip until last Sunday. So I have no money to spend at the Farm. But our friend who took our STR Fire on the Mountain wants some yarn from there, so at least I get to buy by proxy.

And I think I am going to take out the impatiens I planted on Tuesday. The weather here is way too hot for them already and I think some are already croaking. I don't want to spend more money, but I need to fork over some to get some flowers that are more hardy. I also need to plant my wild hydrangea. Oi.

MDSW

Disclaimer: Dang! This post is long. So go grab a cup of tea or coffee, take a deep breath, and dive in.

That means Maryland Sheep and Wool to the non-fiber obsessed.

My travelling buddy Mary and I headed out of our burg at 9 am on Friday morning. We (I should say I since I rented the car and did all the driving but I don't mind that) drove 9 hours to get to Frederick MD. There is something special about two people who can talk so much that they never need to turn on a radio for 9 hours. Scary, isn't it? We stayed at a hotel with other knitters from SC, as well as from NY and NJ. I really have to love those Courtyard Marriots. The one in Frederick and the one in Greenville BOTH let us completely take over the lobby and knit away for hours on end. Being the obnoxious, crazy knitters that we are, you would think they would eventually take the free coffee away from us. But no, they have not learned their lesson. We should come with a sign "DO NOT FEED THE KNITTERS CAFFEINE. WE WILL NEVER LEAVE."

Muggles stop and gaze in horror at a group of ladies and men of all ages sit around and knit and, dareIsayit, laugh? Can people who knit really have fun? I mean, there must be SOMETHING wrong with us. Because thank Gawd to some peoples' learned perverted sense of feminism, the domestic arts JUST AREN'T DONE ANYMORE, right? We have been saved from them, haven't we? I do have to say, that fortunately on this trip we left the wine alone. However, (as mentioned in my last post) we would have been WAY outperformed in this regard by a wedding party. (And another aside: Young ladies, if you think you are way sexy and bold when you are stumbling drunk, and that everyone loves you...please think twice before accosting strangers on an elevator. Especially those with needles. We are friendly sorts, but don't be rude. Oh, and lay off the tanning booths/sprays. It does not look natural... :) )

Anyway, fellow knitters, do share the love and stay at Courtyard Marriots since they love us. So please give them your business.

We woke up at 7 in the morning both mornings, left the hotel by 7:45 am. I mean that rocks, doesn't it? Two women who can shower AND eat breakfast in 45 minutes? I am so proud of us...all those 2 minute showers in the Army have paid finally paid off! No, I did not take 2 minute showers, now that I am a civilian I can handle like 5 minute showers...ooooooh, the luxury! Because we were then able to drive the 30 minutes to the fairgrounds and have no problems parking. We even had parking right up front on Sunday. Amazing.

On Saturday, I headed straight for The Fold's booth. Well, honestly not straight, since I stopped to look at some yarn at the entrance. But then Mary reminded me of my mission and obligation to a friend back home in Greenville. Must buy Socks That Rock. Must buy Socks That Rock. So then I headed straight to their booth. I was something like 20th or 30th in line before they opened. Thank goodness I had my choice of all of their colors since I was so early. Ladies, I was the one making a megaphone with my hands asking for two skeins of Fire on the Mountain to be handed back in line to me. Truly, I love you all, but I was getting worried that it would sell out on me before I could even reach it...even though I was only 3 people away. I know it is hard to make a decision on what colorway you want when one is truly overwhelmed by the choices...but it was totally SLOW GOING. I am thankful though that we were able to avoid the STR grabbing frenzy that happened at Stitches East. No mosh pits. Some of us were saying that they should only allow a few people in the booth at a time and to give them a few minutes to choose and then bing! you are done. I honestly think that would be the best approach. Because there are some people out there who kept wandering back and forth to the point that they never left the booth and others couldn't come in. (I know I am exaggerating here.) There is a point where you should figure it out and it is only fair to others that you have a time limit or some other system...maybe those later in line would have a prayer then of getting a skein...just in case you forgot to get one under the time pressure. :) Anyway, I think the people who took the longest were the ones who were toward the front of the line. I guess if you think you earned the right to be there first, you can be leisurely. But, understand y'all, leisure and STR DO NOT GO HAND IN HAND!

Anyhoo, I have often been told I am too much of an optimist, and care too much about sharing for the greater good of the community. Which explains my comments above.

The STR for the friend, Seastone and Fire on the Mountain.

STR for sale to friends: Little Bunny Foo Foo (sold!) and Cracked Canyon. I tend to go a little bonkers on STR, so I pick a few colors and sell at cost to my friends.

After The Fold, I was left to the rest of the festival on a more leisurely schedule. I wandered through everywhere at least twice I think. And then again on Sunday. I had a few shopping missions that I was on:

MISSION #1: Try not to go crazy buying sock yarn for self.

Yeah, right. Well, see below. Not too bad.

From L to R: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Wild Raspberry. STR Fire on the Mountain. Cloverhill Yarn in Cloverhill. I did buy a Tess' Yarns baby Lace Leaf Cardigan pattern that uses sock yarn. It is one of my plans to use up all this darn sock yarn.

MISSION #2: Yarn for sock yarn swap pal.

First I choose the Cloverhill shown above, but then thought better of it. I mean, really, you are thinking that sock yarn is more my taste, right? Right. You are so right and thank you for pointing that out to me. So now this sock yarn is MINE.

So now here is the real sock yarn for the swap. She says she hates pastels but likes lavender. Unfortunately, lavender is not a popular sock yarn color this season. Don't ask me how they decide what is IN season. I am sure the dyers look at fashion magazines as well as follow their own muses, but lavender is NOT IN. This was the only real other choice other than KPPPM. And anyone can find KPPPM, but who can get their hands on Sheldridge Farms? Not many on the East Coast. Plus it is super soft and quite heavenly. The swap theme is May Flowers, so I hope it is flowery and bright enough.

MISSION #3: Find yarn for a Rogue pullover.

I was auditioning Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair since I had read online that it made a beautiful rogue. And they were going to be there at MDSW. But honestly, after I felt it and looked at it and the yardage vs price, it was just not rocking my world. So I shopped around. I probably should have picked up some Peace Fleece worsted at $6.20/sk sale price, but by the time I settled on that, they did not have enough yardage in colors that I liked. So I figured out that I will probably do it in some Lamb's Pride Worsted, which I totally adore as a yarn. Since I need a wool with a touch of mohair, it should work. And it comes in so many colors, one can be REALLY picky as to what they can choose. So I left MDSW empty handed, but with a better idea of what I will do.

MISSION #4: Find yarn for another Clapotis.

I have already finished one Clapotis this year. And I loved it so much that I decided to step it up a notch and buy more of a luxury yarn that the pattern originally called for. The answer: Tess' Yarns Cultivated Silk and Wool (50/50). I really wanted more of a white to grey to black colorway, but this is the closest she had. I will say it cost me a pretty penny, but I think it is slightly cheaper than the original Lorna's Laces the pattern calls for.


MISSION #5: Try not to go crazy buying something other than sock yarn.

Oops.

Honestly, I had a coupon for Morehouse Farm, one of my old favorites from my days in NY. Who can resist a coupon? This Melody's shawl is knit in the round with a steek. Too cool. It is Morehouse Merino variegated laceweight. I was torn between this colorway and another with navy blue, forest green and rust. It was too hard, but I could only afford one.

And this yarn was a steal at $6 per hank, normally sells for $16/hank. Gorgeous. By Terra Yarns, called Blue Spruce, 60% merino, 20% Baby Alpaca, 20% silk. It reminds me of home. It will make a lovely scarf or something for me.

MISSION 6: Buy artisan jewelry for Mom's Christmas present.

Durn camera. Sorry. That is two swan heads forming a heart with a celtic knot in the middle. By R.E. Piland.

BONUS MISSION: Buy a present for DH.

C'mon, we all know what this is. To distract him from the fact we bought way too much yarn. Appease him with chocolates, food, yarn for him, or whatever. This time it is in the form of a mug, cause he loves bunnies!

One side of the mug.

The other side of the mug.
Pottery by Greenbridge Pottery. Supernice people with the cutest pottery. Go visit their website for good presents. They let their daughters help draw the designs, like the one above.

Oh yeah, and I only remembered that I had a camera for a brief period. Below is a pic of the crowds on Saturday...the weather started to look stormy and there was a cold wind so it thinned out a bit. Hah!...it never rained. I guess all of that NW upbringing paid of there...knowing when the rain is just trying to psych you out. That and knowing to always pack a raincoat. :P And lots of lambies being sheared.I forgot to take pics of the 5 new lambs. I am sorry. I will remember next year. They wanted me to bring them home with me, but I just couldn't take them from their mommies. :)

We left the festival around noon on Sunday. I managed to make record time driving back. We were back home in Greenville around 9:30 pm. Even with a big dinner stop at an Outback. I think I drove 85 mph most of the way home. It was weird, no cops! Not even in NC, where they tend to set up camp on I-85.

I present to you a picture of one of my first daylillies of the season.

I am spent.

I'm not dead yet...

For those of you who are sensitive, it is just a Monty Python quote...relax and accept my apologies.

MDSW has taken it out of me. Maybe it was the drunken wedding party that kept me up to 4 am on Friday night at the hotel. Maybe it was walking through miles and miles of craft booths and sheep stalls. Maybe it was the yarn sensory overload. Maybe it was the 18 hours of driving there and back. Dunno. But I am beeeeaaaat. (Imagine that being said like a lamb's baaaah.)

I have to say though, my travelling partner rocks! We both talk (but she tells the best stories), like to eat real meals with silverware for dinner but don't mind the fastfood during the day, wake up early and take like 15 minutes to get ready so we can get good parking, and we both like to independently shop and just meet up later. Definitely low maintenance women. We had a great time, and lack of sleep did not keep us from getting into The Fold's line early on Saturday. I think I was like around the 20th to 30th person in that line. So I was able to buy some for a friend.

Anyhoo, I am going to postpone the long update for now. For the weather is briefly cool here in SC, and I need to get outside and pull up my pansies, plant a daylilly and only a few impatiens. I am going to try to make this garden not as high maintenance. Too many impatiens means too much watering time. I will try to do some tomatoes in pots later this week.

I also have to go volunteer at the organic produce buying club this afternoon, so I better get going!

All is quiet on the Southern front....

But anybody who knows anything about an army...be wary when an army is quiet...as they are preparing to launch an offensive! (Or establish a killer defense, but that analogy does not work here.)

Yes, I am talking about Maryland Sheep & Wool (MSW). My blog has been kind of quiet. I am preoccupied with mainly MSW packing, and I was gone last weekend so I am catching up with things.

MSW packing list:
-iPod and car adapter
-cell phone and charger
-closed toe shoes
-camping chair
-cooler
-sun hat
-sun block
-money
-camera?
-knitting shopping wishlist
-Others' knitting wishlists (something about buying for others makes me feel better)
-sock knitting
-raincoat (I am convinced that 95% of the time, if I bring a raincoat it will not rain. It is not even in the forecast.)
-vendor list (highlighted)
-map

You can tell I am such a gadet geek. The iPod makes many a long road trip fly by.

And now for SP10 Contest # 5:
Contest Number 5 is about to begin. All you have to do is blog about what you do while knitting. Is there aunique way you like to cuddle up with your yarn and needles? Do you watch TV? Do you listen to the radio? A podcast? Do you drink tea? Coffee? Wine? Do you have to wear slippers? Do you have to have peace & quiet? Do you have a fave spot?

Typically, I knit in my bed with coffee, first thing in the morning while watching the news. Or at night in bed while watching tivo'ed programs like 24, Grey's Anatomy, etc.. I sit under my brand new Ott lite which is totally helping with the old eye strain issue. I usually listen to podcasts while driving around in my car. Sometimes I sit in a chair, but often at night I like to spread out in bed to relax my back. I guess sock knitting and smaller projects is best for that. :)

Here is the April Socks That Rock Kit. Walk on the Wild Tide Colorway. Sorry, the Ott lite is not doing in justice, but my sunroom table is covered with stitch marker making stuff (for my swap partners).

I probably won't post for a few days. Since I will be gone to MSW!