A Birthday and a Contest!

Well, someone is having a special birthday next week and I thought I would have a contest in his honor! Yes, Sumo is going to be 12 on Monday, March 3rd! Wasn't he the cutest little guy that you've ever seen?













I decided to try and figure out what Sumo's age is in human terms. (You always hear that you multiply the age times 7 to get his 'real' age). Well I found a site on line where you plug in all kinds of information on your animal (health, activity level, weight, training, etc..) and they compute the age for you more 'scientifically'! Well, these were the results:

Sumo's DogAge is 55.5! That's 15.6 years younger than the average DogAge for Sumo's breed. DogAge is the biological age of your dog, measured in people years. Your dog is lucky to have such a good caretaker.

Wow! What a young guy! No wonder he's still out chasing coyotes!


So, here is the contest. Leave a comment with a favorite memory (past or present) of a pet. I'll be drawing a name on Sumo's birthday for 2 skeins of Shibui Knit yarn and a Yarn Cake Holder.
(Now, if you are not a knitter, let me know and I will have a special prize for you as well.)






Speaking of birthdays, today is Sheri's birthday over at The Loopy Ewe. Head over and wish her a Happy Birthday as well.


As for me, I am busy cooking and packing for my weekend away. Here is what my stove top looked like yesterday. A big pot of this. And a pan full of vegies to make these. And, of course, a double batch of our favorite cookies.
Yes, that is a LOT of cookie dough! Steve helped me make them and brought in a HUGE tray to work today. He works until noon, and then the movers come and they are moving the clinic to a new location. They are all pretty excited. Gee, I'm so bummed that I can't be here this weekend to help move. Darn.



Well, I better go finish packing. I'll leave you with a few more baby photos of Sumo.




























Until Next Time....

Loopy Love

It came! My skein of Loopy Legends 'Janice's Sunshine in Winter' colorway, and I LOVE it! (So does Sumo!!)

















I am hoping to cast it on today, if I can decide on just the right pattern. I loaded it on to the swift and wound it into my ball winder so it is ready to go.














The colors are perfect, and I LOVE the name. Especially in light of the winter we have been having!!











Sheri even sent me one of the new Loopy Totes and thermos which I will use to store and carry this project in. And if that's not Loopy enough, Sheri also chose to spotlight me in her Loopy Limelight today.... How fun is that?






Well, off to work. I finished a little cozy for my ITouch this morning and it is in my purse ready to go.













Until Next Time....

Felting Fun...

This weekend I was able to felt several purses and get them ready to get in the mail tomorrow. I always enjoy the felting process. I've said it before, but there is something so magical about watching the huge knitted item shrink down and become a usable purse or tote! This is the Ballband bag I knit using Paton's wool and Big Noro Kureyon double stranded. It makes a great tote! I used the same style of strap as the Lucy bag and it came out great. Now just to add a snap.


I finished knitting the black Lucy bag and it also took a dip in the washing machine! I have added a pin that I had special ordered for it which I will show you later this week. (After it makes its way to its new owner.) I used Galway wool for this one in a black heather color. I know I need to move on and knit another pattern, but there are a few more of these that I want to try before I do that.











One is a two tone Lucy which I am imagining in my head and I hope it turns out. The bottom will be brown as well as about an inch going up from the bottom. Then it will be blue for the remainder of the body of the purse with the straps being done in brown. I got the idea from my friend Cheryl who drew me a picture of a felted purse she had seen. If it works out, there are several fun color combinations I would like to try!




I re-felted the purse for K and found a fun button at Fiber Wild over the weekend. I wish I could hop in the car tomorrow and bring it down to her at school, but I won't be able to. So it is now in a box and ready to be sent via the US Post Office. (And besides, what college student doesn't love to get a box in the mail???) I could really score some points and add chocolate and coffee.......






I realized this weekend that with the cold weather we've been having, I have been neglecting Sumo's nails. They were long!!! Time for a pedicure to be sure! Sumo really does a good job sitting still for me while I file down his nails with an electric Dremel tool. He knows that 2 Milkbone Dog Biscuits will be his after the ordeal is over. Now I just need to stay on top of it so they don't get so long again!!!







Well, off to pack up purses and get ready for the week. It will be a short work week for me as I have my annual Spring Crop with my friends next weekend!! Stay tuned.....


Until Next Time....

Still Offline

Well, our internet has been down now since last Saturday and I am realizing how dependent I am on it, and am feeling quite disconnected in so many ways. I finally got off work a little early today (5 p.m.) and packed up the laptop and am now sitting at Panera trying to catch up on emails; blogs; ravelry; paying bills etc.. Probably should have worn my P.J.'s and just spent the night!!

Yes, winter continues. Yesterday it was 40 below zero here with the windchill. 40 below. That's just crazy. I'm ready to ask Allison if she has a guest room I can rent out there in California! (Her blog is always full of beautiful flower pictures.. go check out the daffodils!!) I'm pretty sure she won't be jealous of my ice laden icicle lights hanging from my roof!!




But sunshine comes in many forms! This week I was honored to be one of Sheri's first Loopy Legends with a yarn colorway named just after me!! It is called 'Janice's Sunshine in Winter' and is beautiful! She is sending me a skein and I can't wait to knit it into something special!


I also received the last installment of the inaugural year of the Loopy Ewe Sock Club. All of the yarns and patterns have been great. I'm looking forward to collecting the ones from this coming year as well!! I think Sumo feels their should be a little doggy treat included in the package since he isn't allowed the Loopy kisses that are always included!






Not much else to report. Life is pretty much consumed with W2's; 1099's; Itemized Deductions etc... But it's all good.

Oh, and if you enjoy seeing baby lambs, check out Rohanknitter's blog.... scroll down to see some adorable pictures of the recent deliveries on their farm. There are some especially cute pictures of some triplets with one of the barn cats!! Too cute!!

Next post I'll have the finished Ballband bag and Lucy bag to show. Until then, stay warm!

Until Next Time.....

UNCLE

Yes, I am crying UNCLE. Maybe then we will see an end to this winter weather!! Today we are under a blizzard warning with another 5-8 inches of snow expected. It just keeps piling up. I don't think I've ever anticipated the coming of Spring like I am this year!!












I have been doing some knitting. I finished the Ballband bag and it is ready to felt next weekend. It is almost as tall as I am! (You can see my new little toy next to it, which I will tell you about shortly!)














I also cast on another Lucy bag yesterday and have already gotten quite far. It should also be ready to felt next weekend, which is good since these two bags are both gifts for February birthday girls. This is Galway wool in a black/heather colorway. I think it's going to felt up nicely.












We were suppose to head to Ames today to see A and take him to Des Moines for lunch and a trip to the Apple store. With the impending storm, we decided to do it yesterday instead. (Which is a good thing because we never would have been able to make it today). Well, I was thinking that I wanted to look at Ipods while we were there because my Mini had been acting up. That's when I saw the ITouch and it was love at first sight and I knew it had to be mine! It is the funnest toy I have ever owned! I loaded it with music and photos and that is just the tip of the iceberg of what it can do!


I had an exciting package arrive this week! My package from the Loopy Ewe Swap arrived and it was full of wonderful goodies from Liz. Liz did such an amazing job! She lives near Boston and did a Boston theme throughout the package! The socks are the New England pattern by Nancy Bush in J Knits yarn - Boston colorway! There was a container of Boston Baked Beans and a box of Massachusetts Maple candy. The little mice you see are fancy chocolates from her favorite local chocolate shop, and are just too cute for words! (And too cute to ever eat!) Loose tea (you know.. Boston and tea!) and a skein of yarn from her favorite local yarn shop where the owner dyes her own yarn. It feels so yummy! Finally a set of fun stitch markers for good measure! Thank You Liz!


Sumo is keeping on eye on the front door. I think is monitoring us and willing us to stay home for a whole day! Well, I think we'll be staying put today!!






Until Next Time....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wow! Valentine's Day already!! I had wanted to make heart-shaped sugar cookies, but didn't have time to let the dough refrigerate, so I made these instead. No one around here seems to mind that they aren't in the shape of hearts!!






I tried to felt K's Lucy bag over the weekend and it came out 'ok', but I still think I want to try a bit longer next weekend in the other machine. The feel of it is a little thin, and I like a little thicker fabric. But after over an hour in the wash machine, I decided to call it quits!! Not sure if it is the washing machine or the well water that is causing it not to work well.











I'm still knitting away on the Ballband bag. I find that my eyes are too tired after being at the computer all day to focus on knitting at night. I just got a new prescription from the eye doctor and am hoping after my new glasses come in that they will help.







Did you notice the neat container that my teal yarn is in in the above picture? I ordered several of these yarn cake holders a few weeks ago. They are really very simple.. just a round plastic container with a small grommet at the top. But it works great for keeping the yarn in while you knit. I think this would be especially nice if one had a curious cat!! I will enjoy using it while I knit in the car, because my yarn always ends up on the ground.




I did end up going down to the spinners guild on Saturday, but I didn't bring my wheel. I visited with a few of the gals and asked a few questions, but am really thinking that I just need more time spinning! I did buy some alpaca roving from one of the gals there who raises alpacas. I think I'll try to do a few other rovings before I tackle this. It is so soft and fine, but I hear a little tricky to spin.











Well, the weatherman is predicting more snow today. Personally, I think we should be snow-exempt for the rest of the year!!! (And all of next year for that matter!) Of course, Steve and Sumo have a different opinion. Steve thinks we are having a GREAT winter and LOVES all of the snow. Crazy guy!! And Sumo loves it as well, although I think he is happy to be a house dog for the most part. I guess I'm glad somebody enjoys it!




Until Next Time....

I Love Saturdays.....

Gotta love the weekend!!! It was so nice to wake up today and not have to go anywhere. I still got up very early, but I'm a morning person, so sleeping in is not my thing. I enjoy getting up and knitting; baking cookies; etc... So this morning I finished knitting K's Lucy bag. I made the strap 100 rows longer than mine. It is HUGE! I can't wait to felt it. I haven't had much luck felting in my machine here at home, but I may give it another try later today.


I also did a little spinning this morning. I'm starting to understand the 'drafting' a little more.. but have a long way to go in understanding tension; drive ratios etc... I'm hoping to head down to the spinning guild later today and get some more help.






I had a narrow escape this morning when I opened the freezer and realized I had forgot a pop can in there last night! Oops. (I like my pop with just a little ice on top... but it can be hazardous to the cleaniness of ones' freezer when you forget...) This one expanded, but did not burst! Phew!! I would love to be able to tell you that this is the first time this has happened to me. But that would not be true. It has happened more times than I care to admit!!







I made some peanut butter cookies this morning to send down to A at school. (R & M will be taking them to him tomorrow). This is one of my favorite cookie recipes. I add kisses to some, but not to all. My boys like them without the chocolate, but Steve loves the added kiss. This is kind of a combination of a few recipes.







Well, we have gotten our fair share of snow this winter!!! These are the bushes in the front of our house. Yes, it is beautiful in it's own way, but I still really don't like the cold. And it sounds like more bitter cold weather is heading our way today with wind chills approaching minus 30. That's just not right.





Sumo really loves to be out in the snow, but really didn't care to have to sit on the freezing cold snow covered cement. Just thought I'd show you the sidewalk heading up to our front door. Well, the cold weather is good for curling up and doing some more knitting. Have a great weekend!!




Until Next Time....

Sigh.

Here I am all alone. I really don't like tax season very much. (And from what I understand, most people don't like it either!!) For me it means long days in the house by myself while I wait for everyone to come home. I do have the important job of guarding the house and all, but it gets lonely.

Sure wish I had opposable thumbs so I could knit or something.

Well, I'm sure Janice will find time to blog in the next few days. Until then, think of me.

Sumo

Recovering...

Well, this weekend has been spent helping K recover from getting her wisdom tooth out on Friday. Yes, just one. (She only had one!) So, although she thinks she looks like a chipmunk, she really doesn't look too bad. She'll head back to school today. It's been fun helping her recover. Knitting; watching movies; drinking malts, it's been a tough weekend!



I cast on the Ballband bag that I am making for a Ravelry KAL, but didn't like how muted the colored section of it was. I ripped out about 10 rows and decided to add some more color.





I picked out a light teal that was a part of the Noro colorway and pressed on. I think that I am going to like it.








Here is a closer picture of the colors. This is really a fast and fun bag to knit up and I know that it is a favorite bag of K, M and S. (My daughter, daughter in law, and niece!) I'm going to make myself one someday, but this is is being made as a birthday gift for somebody....






I've also been plugging away on K's Lucy bag. She wants the strap longer than mine, so I think I'll do about 300 rows. I hope to get it done during the Super Bowl today. Sumo wasn't too interested in taking blog pictures. His job was to keep a close eye on K. He was just so happy to have one of his 'kids' home for the weekend. And somehow dogs just know when they are in need of extra love. I think he's feeling a little left out because I didn't make him a chocolate malt!!









I found a new pin to put on my Lucy bag. This is actually a brooch that one of my Japanese friends made for me while we were living in Japan. I found it tucked away in my jewelry drawer. I just love it. I continue to fall more in love with this purse the more I carry it!













I thought I would share the contents of my purse. I know... "strange". But a friend once shared how she organizes her purse so that it is easy to change purses in a hurray. Just use some of the small cosmetic bags to store all the misc. junk that you need. (A black one works great for items you don't want the world to see if you need to pull it out). Keeps the purse pretty organized so one isn't always reaching into the dark trying to find ones' keys or cell phone etc..



Well, off to start getting a few treats ready for the Super Bowl and then head to church.

Until Next Time.....