Poor Mike Rowe

Sharks are big at our house. Ian loves sharks. One year for Halloween, he was a shark (complete with a remora).

So it understandable that shark week is HUGE at our house, so is Mike Rowe. It is a wonderful day when Mike Rowe and shark week are combined. However last night, Mike lost his status as "I wish Mike Rowe was my Dad".

Mike's dirty job last night was in the Arctic searching for the elusive Greenland shark. That was cool...sub-zero weather, snowmobiles, airplanes. The group even found a shark - that was great! The not so great part was when we (the real parents) ignored the warning that said 'sensitive material ahead". The first part was ok, but let's just say we should have headed the second warning....After a few minutes, the t.v. was promptly turned off because the material was not appropriate for a almost six year old. The fact is Ian had seen what they were doing before on a different show, but Mike Rowe doing it on this show was horrible for him. Ian had LOTS to say about it and it wasn't pretty.

Sorry Mike, but last night's dirty job helped you to loose your favorite status for pretend Dad at our house (for this week anyway). And the real parents in the house have hopefully learned an important lesson too - follow the warnings to avoid stress before bed time.

Drum roll, please

I got my comps. paper back last night at class and I passed! (I knew I would BUT I always worry when I have to hand in a really big project.) I get to continue with the program....that means in 2 more classes and an action research project , not to mention family and work, I will have my masters. The target completion date is April 09.

Today I am going to swatch my Liesl sweater. I bought the pattern and yarn at the beginning of summer thinking that I would have it finished by now. Oh well, it's still summer.

Things I learned today...

I learned several things today....

1. An 11 pound semi-friendly cat will turn into a polecat when given vaccinations.
2. It doesn't matter how many times an almost 4 year old and almost 6 year old tell you they will stay in the mega cart at Target - they won't.
3. The black printer ink apparently does not come in twin packs (this is important - remember it!)
4. You can't go school shopping for the almost 6 year old with out getting anything for the almost 4 year old.
5. The black printer cartridge will not REPEAT will not print the 127 pages needed for class tonight. It printed all but 41 pages. I really thought I bought a two pack at the store. I'll be stopping after class tonight to get a few more black cartridges.

AND I learned all of this by 11:30 this morning.

So I decided that after lunch I would knit and you know what.... a little bit of knitting can bring a lot of happiness - to the knitter and the knittee.

Simon's Socks
Pattern: generic 2x2 rib pattern
Yarn: Regia 4-fold (color 5048 23633 -AKA - Simon's favorite)
Needles: Little Pearls 1.5

These really knit up fast. Partly because they were my reward project for doing homework and partly because Simon has little feet. I really liked using the Little Pearl needles. I usually use short (4 inch) bamboo needles when making socks. I think these were six inches long and yarn friendly.

Firemen's Parade

Today we went to a parade in a town near where I grew up. It was a traditional firemen's parade with bands, floats, and candy!!!! We had curb-side seats at my cousin's house - on the sunny side of the street.

HOT ........ and sweaty

Taking a break from getting candy

My friend, Denise, on the tenor drum

Cooling off with Gramma.

Kal and I walked to the park to see a statue dedication and listen to the pipe and drum band play again, and the boys went home with Gramma and Grandpa. When we saw Denise at the park, she was excited. She had walked within feet of us and didn't see us. It was so good to see her - its been too long again.

Knitted Bracelet

Knitted Bracelet
pattern: Bead Stew by Earth Faire
beads: assorted glass and crystal knit on Kreinek tapestry thread

I just finished the bead stew bracelet. I really like how it turned out - it really sparkles in the sun. This one was made with my own beads using the pattern from here. I think it takes as long to string the beads on the thread as to knit it. It is a birthday present for someone special.

I'm happy....

I'm happy...Today is one of those days to be thankful for....calm.... semi-quiet....

Craft night was so much fun last night. I am so glad I met Zoe at camp. I don't tend to meet people easily. (Kal says I come off as stand offish and a bit you know....starts with a b, ends with y. I don't know.) Through her, I have met new friends with whom I have something in common - laughing, sharing, and crafting. I'll stop here because I still want them to be my friends and not think I am some sort of crafting stalker! I worked on another bracelet last night and it's almost finished.

Tonight, I am going out with more friends for dinner and TJ Max/Marshall's shopping. We always laugh so hard... I can't wait.

BUT most importantly - I wanted to let you know I'm happy today!

Dream Park

Yesterday, we went to the dream park in Monona. Here's the conversation from the back seat:

I: Do you see it yet?
S: Nope, but I got my eagle eye out.
I: She said it was a castle.
S: I see it! I see it!
I: Oh my gosh... She said it was kid sized and it is.

The Dream Park is a kid sized castle with ins and outs and little hiding spots that was built by volunteers. The boys imaginations ran wild for almost 3 hours. Even though it was warm and humid the boys and I had a great time. Afterward, we went for ice cream. They were such good listeners and played so well with each other and other kids at the park. Of course the conversation on the way home was when we could go to the park again.

I thought for sure they would be asleep when I got home from class with all of the play... hmm....right...they were waiting for their stories.

Today is another great day.We went to swimming and Simon told his instructor he was going to try his best today and he did!

Now, its outside to enjoy the weather.

One bag down.....

With all of the quiet yesterday, I was also able to finish the pink bag. It was knitted and felted 3 years ago and I bought the clear handles about 2 years ago. I could never find what I wanted for lining fabric though, so it waited and waited in the closet.

I went to the fabric store yesterday and found the perfect lining. The lining took about an hour to finish. (I really don't like interfacing.) Then I sewed it in by hand. Do you think 3 years 2 hours is too long to work on a project?

The bag is a beautiful rosy color with orange undertones. I loved the yarn - I think it was Cascade 220 - color??

The lining is a cool mod oval pattern. (The colors in the pic don't do it justice.) There is the ever important gum pocket, pen/sunglasses/reading glasses pocket, mobile pocket, a large pocket for my calendar (yes - I still use a paper calendar) and a key holder on the other end. The inside is huge. I can carry all of the other essentials and a sock project!

I love it! I know that a felted wool purse is probably not fashionable in July, but I couldn't wait to use it so it had its first use today.

In other news, I took my "boys" to a movie and lunch today. We went to see Space Chimps - it was ok - Ian and Simon watched the whole movie and there was enough adult humor or connections to other space movies to keep me interested. Then it was off Noodles.

It's all in the bag...

The comps paper is finished (YEAH!!!!). I will hand it in on Monday afternoon.

Now it's time for some fun inspired by my friend who has been making tote bags. I found a bag stuck in my crafting "closet" that needs to be completed. I have the lining fabric and handles - all I need to do get started and that's what I am going to do right away.

p.s. I was able to finish the paper and do some crafting because Kal took the boys to a reunion, of sorts - hard to explain. No interruptions from the boys. Thanks Kal.

White belt

Ian received his white belt yesterday. He's been taking a park and rec. class at a local karate school. Now he wants to continue so that he can get a real karate "suit". This has been a really good class for him - a mix of discipline and fun. He even won the focus game - I know....can you believe it???

I finished Simon's sock this morning and he told me I could not take any pictures before the other one was done. So hopefully, I'll be sharing next week.

Here are some pictures that I found this morning (I did not take any of them)

Spidey reveals his true identity.

"She'll never know if this needle is missing"

"Cheese"

Have a good day!

Mallard's baseball fun

The boys got tickets to Monday night's Mallards game for being responsible bike riders. A DeForest police officers "caught" the boys being good last week and they got the tickets for wearing their bike helmets while riding. We had a blast, even though it was warm.

We ate lots of cotton candy!

Patiently waiting for the very cheesy, very yummy fried cheese curds.

Future Maynard.

A future Mallard

On the crafting front, I finished some dish clothes that I had laying around. I also worked on Simon's sock - it should be done tomorrow.

Sunday Fun

We had an excellent weekend. We went to visit Kal's parents. Truthfully, they babysat for us at their house while we went to see a concert on the riverfront. The first act was Molly Hatchett - they were bad! I was thinking "I sure hope the next one isn't like this". Then Joan Jett walks out on stage and says" Folks this is not the show. This is the sound check." My worries were gone. If you get a chance to see Joan Jett - GO!! It was one of the best concerts I've been to in a while. She played the oldie but goodies and some stuff off of her new album. I especially like the Mary Tyler-Moore song.


The boys begged to go into the pool when we got home from Kal's mom and dad's house today. They love to be in the water. Ian is a very good swimmer and Simon thinks he's a better swimmer than he really is - he really is becoming more skilled. They weren't in very long today though. The water was cold!


Some summery sweetness after taking the dip in the pool. It's never too cold for a popsicle.

See all those little sticky notes. The info that they are marking needs to be put into the paper I am currently procrastinating on. I have my visual model of "what happens when the reader's eye meets the page" completed, now I need to write 10-12 pages to go with it. I am worried about this paper.... It's the last comps. paper in my masters program. I'm going to get up early tomorrow and start it while the house is still quiet.

Crafting night

I was invited to craft night last night. It was so much fun. We got a little loud and were told to keep it down....oh well...



I did get the cuff of Simon's sock finished though. He tried it on for me this morning and promptly said, " Now are you going to finish the foot part?"

A new beginning

Welcome to my little corner. I hope to keep everyone up-to-date on family, crafting and gardening projects. Also the ever important masters program (I'm procrastinating on a big project right now)!