Good News!!!!

Well, once again...with all the irons I have in the fire...I've found it hard to live up to the expectations I have with my full time transcription job.  It has been a constant source of stress for me these past few weeks as I am just not committed to working full time at this.  Therefore, with a little reservation, this morning I formally resigned!!!  ACK!!!  However, ...the good news is - I did include a bit about the fact that I would be interested in staying on in a part time capacity....and to my surprise...they accepted!! Whoooot!!! What a relief off my shoulders.  This means that I am only EXPECTED to do a minimal amount - but the door is open should I wish to do more.  The reality of it is...my quota is only 1/2 of what I was expected to do full time - and that's a BREEZE!!!!  :)  I'll have no trouble doing that - and I can still do all of the other things I love to do!!!  WIN WIN!!! So...heading into the LONG WEEKEND....I am one happy camper!!! Whoooot!!!

Hope your weekend is a great as mine is starting out to be...thanks for stopping by!! :)

Covered.....

Hey Nancy....I'm pretty sure I found someone who doesn't like mosquitos almost as much as you!!!  This is Brayden's leg today when he arrived home from school.  What the.....???!!!  Man...he is COVERED!!!!  Both legs ......front and back!! I gave him 1/2 of one of those Benadryls cuz it looks like he's having a pretty good reaction!!  He's having a shower now and then I'll dose him up with the afterbite!  Poor guy! :(  Bring on the summer heat to kill these suckers OFF!!!! Sheeesh!

UPDATE:  Sooooo after his shower...I had another look - he was covered with HIVES!!!! All over his chest, back, arms, pelvis....everywhere!!! I did NOT let panic set in.  I just gooped him up with cream as they were itchy...and I am keeping a close eye on him.  The benadryl seems to be kicking in as they are getting smaller.  He's taking it easy watching TV in my bed for now.  Hopefully it was just a reaction to something and it will be gone shortly!!! GAH!!!! Parenthood...gotta love it!! :(

UPDATE #2:  Well, after about an hour...I went and checked on him.  The hives were huge and WORSE!!! Off to Emergency we went.  Not much they could do there (I was more concerned about his breathing than anything).  Said to keep doing what we were doing and keep an eye on him.  More Benadryl (bubble gum flavor this time) and I'll be checking on him.  So far so good.  Here's a picture of his chest when we got home after a couple hours.  His whole body was covered like this.  These are the hives "coming down"!!! ACK!!

Spinning....

Well, they say...if you're gonna spin...you should do a little each day - even 20 minutes is good!!  Ah...but that's not so easy.  This week I am going to make a conscious effort to spin a little everyday.  I am getting better and my yarn is turning out a little bit more even.  It definitely is getting easier.  Here was my very first bobbin - the night I got my wheel: 

You can see that there are lots of areas with overtwist (see those piggy tail looking bits) and lots of areas that are undertwisted (see the fuzzy bits).  Not so good, but okay for a beginner.  Then I let my wheel sit for a few weeks without touching it.  These last few days I've been trying to spin again.....and I must say - although there still are some thick and thin areas...it is getting better:

I think consistency will be the key!!! I'll keep practicing!! :)

Year End Soccer Tourney!!

Congratulations to the Navy Recruits for taking first overall in this weekend's year end soccer tourney!!! We were only defeated ONCE this year so we definitely deserved the win!! :)  Here's a pic of Brayden and his team  (he's not that fond of this picture...but I think it's kinda funny...).  Here's another one he likes better...

Well done Navy Recruits!!!  (and YEEEHAW for another season OVER and sleep in Saturdays until fall!! WHOOOOOT!!!!)

Happy Camper Crunch....

Although I'm not partaking in the Camp Loopy festivities this year...I did just make myself a bowl of Happy Camper Crunch....YUMBO!!!

4 cups Golden Graham Cereal
3 cups mini marshmallows
2 cups chocolate chips or M&M's if you want to add more color (I used both).

Can I just say.....what a fun little snack!!

Loaded more stuff in the shop...............

Here's a little collage of the yarns I've been working on!! I still have a few more to come - just need to skein them up!! :)   Sooooo fun to dye and see what comes out of the dyepots as you never really know until they're all dried and ready for sale!! :)  I'm sure loving the process.......

Meet and Greet with the BC LIONS!!!

Here's Brayden playing with the felines!!! Sorry the videos so crappy - but you get the idea!! We drove to Kamloops this afternoon and took in the final practice with the Lions...what a hoot! I'm not sure who was more excited ....ME or Brayden!!! Here's my signed goods:

Brayden got them to sign his "CLAW" and a football and his jersey.  I'd show you a picture....but he's sleeping with it all!! LOL!!! :)  We met our good friends the Griffiths there - so it was a great evening all around!! Here's a few more pics for you....

Brayden with his goods (Daniel behind him). 

Me and the boys....gettin' my hat signed.....Oh YEAH!! :) 

Brayden getting his jersey signed....soooo fun!!

....and a final shot of the team before they head back to Vancouver!!! Exhibition game on Wednesday!!! Here's hoping we have a GREAT season!!! GOOOOO LIONS!!!! Whooooot!!!

Yarn Makes Me Happy!!!

Okay- it's official!! I've taken the plunge.  I've opened a new Etsy store....you guessed it....."Yarn Makes Me Happy".  I struggled with a name for my store for quite some time.  First I wanted something witty - you know, something with a play on words such as "Creations for Ewe" or something along those lines.  Then I tried to think of something to convey the paradise in which I live - something along the lines of Gleneden Meadows, etc.... but nothing was really tickling my fancy.  Then it came to me.  What is it that I like about yarn??? Well, it makes me happy!! :)  So therein lies the new name of my Etsy Shop!! :)  Hope you like it!! I also changed my user name on Ravelry so hopefully that doesn't throw too many people off.  Now I only have 8 items in my store...so I guess you can bet that the next few days are going to be spent in the dyepots again.  I also want to add a few other things...but you'll have to wait for those!! :) Lots of fun stuff ahead!!!

Anyway ....you can find my new Etsy store here ---------------------> (scroll down a bit)
if you are interested!! I still have my cards in the Etsy store down below.  I sold another one today.  I am hoping that people realize that I can't ship anything out with the stupid CP strike.  I'm really hoping that this doesn't last very long.  Surely the powers that be will have to issue back to work legislation soon.  I can't see this going on forever.  What a stinkin' mess though.  Can you imagine the chaos once this thing gets settled???  Scary!!! Like I say - hopefully it won't take too long.  I have lots of parcels to ship!!!!

Well, as always - thanks for stopping by!! If you have any feedback on my new store or just want to make a comment in general....please feel free!! I welcome any suggestions you might have!!   Have a great weekend everyone!

Relax dude.....!!!

Is this cat relaxed or what?!  Seriously sleeping - legs straight out back on the DOG's bed!! LOL!!! He doesn't get to come indoors that often this time of year, so when he does....he takes full advantage!! Enjoy Tweak....it ain't gonna last too long!! :)

Meet Cooter!!

He's all tuckered out from the long ride home...but he's here...and he's ours and I love him already!! He's a super nice dog.  Not sure of his past as he seems a little skittish but he wags his tail when I come to see him and he seems to be fitting in nicely so far!! :)  I can't wait to play a little more with him tomorrow!

A challenge......

Ooooh, I love a challenge!! :)  So on Ravelry, in one of the groups that I frequent, we were discussing a pattern wherein the the stitcher knit up a gorgeous shawl in undyed yarn and then proceeded to dye it AFTER THE FACT!!!  Okay - seriously...that takes some kind of incredibleness!! So even though I love the concept - and this is one GORGEOUS peacock pattern....I don't think I'd have the guts to knit up an entire shawl....and THEN dye it!!  What if something went wrong??? 

So I suggested that I might try to incorporate the pattern into a pair of socks and try my hand at the post dyeing thing.  However, another gal suggested a dishcloth!! Hmmmmm even better!! I don't care if I screw up a dishcloth.  Socks would have been smaller too but in an amongst themselves are still a lot of work.  :)  A dishcloth....great idea - no sweat if I mess up...its a DISHCLOTH!!! :)  So therein lies my challenge!! I am going to try and construct the pattern this weekend and then hopefully get to dyeing it next week. 

Here's the original pattern and the "how-to" if you're interested:

The Melusine

Incredible eh???  Stay tuned...I'll keep you updated on my progress!! :)

Oh...and on another note...unless something goes horribly wrong - this little guy (the one in the middle) should be coming to live with us next weekend...isn't he cute???

What have I done???

Well, I've agreed to be on ANOTHER design team when I swore I'd NEVER do that again!!!  I dropped in to see Tara from ForgetMeNot Scrapbooking in Vernon yesterday and before I knew it, I was leaving the store with a bagful of stamps and a promise to create cards on a regular basis.  After this morning's phone call - I even offered to TEACH!!! YIKES!!!!   I'm actually thrilled as it has been FAR too long since I've been crafting and having fun.  Now just to come up with some amazing classes so that I can keep the hoards interested!!! :) Stay tuned!!! :)

Skeins of yarny goodness......

Guess what I did today instead of working??? Hmmmm???  Well, somedays when the mood strikes you - you just gotta play!! :)  Today I hovered over the dyepots....who says I can't cook!!! :)  I am really happy with the majority of these skeins and how they turned out.  The two on the end almost look tie dyed! LOL!! I tried a couple different techniques today and I tried a couple of different mediums.  I'm happy with the process and thilled with some of the color mixures....I felt like a chemist quite frankly!! LOL! :)  Anyway - now just to reskien these babies, build a proper light box and get them up in the store.  I'll keep you posted on how that goes.  :)  I'm sure it will be a few days! :)

What happened.....

to all my pristine WHITE fiber????

Rain....and MUD!!  Did you know alpacas like to roll in the dirt/mud whenever they get the chance!! :)  Here they are after yesterday's rainstorm.  Brutus is on the left and Popcorn is on the right.  You know...Wayne and my Dad built a barn for these guys but seriously, they prefer to stay outside in the rain.  Yesterday it was POURING ...and there they were - laying right in the middle of the pasture.  Doesn't seem to bother them a bit.  Funny little guys.....

They're also still pretty curious about the cat (Tweak)!! They follow him around when he gets to the pasture - its hilarious to watch them check him out.....they're very skittish as they know he's got claws and he's not afraid to use them!!  Can you tell he's just thrilled!!! Still...he follows me in there every morning at feeding time!! LOL!!  Crazy animals! Gotta love 'em!

...more finished objects....

Good morning all - hope you had a great weekend!!  I finished off my second mystery shawlette over the weekend and here she is .....all soaked, dried and blocked:

The color in the bottom picture is probably a little more accurate as it was taken outside on an overcast day. This was my first attempt at hand dyeing and I'm pretty happy with the result.  It's a little brighter than I'd normally like -but I figure it would look nice with something black underneath!  Anyway - the mystery KAL was fun - you sure do keep on track trying to get each section finished before the next section is released!! I enjoyed that as it makes you complete stuff quickly rather than letting it sit in the unfinished pile waiting for some love.  :)  This week, I hope to finish a couple of other items that have been languishing in the UFO pile for far too long.  Stay tuned!!! Oh...and after the crappy Canucks game last night...I whipped up one of these to wipe away my tears!! :)  It's just a simple dishcloth for the Quickie KAL - basically a take on the Grandmothers dishcloth - but I like the little variation of the center square.  Anyway - a quick fun knit...this one only took a couple hours! :) 

Obviously, I didn't soak or block this one.  Afterall, it IS a dishcloth so who cares if its blocked, right???!

Mystery Shawl #1

Here you go - the finished shawl...

Onto the next project - hoping to work a little more on Mystery shawl #2 this weekend perhaps while watching the Canuck Game....

Also, here's some pictures from Friday's fun at Sunnybrae - yes, the kids DID go swimming - crazy little buggers!!

Today we worked on some chores around the yard.  I planted some tomatoes and hummingbird flowers and also some lavender.  Really hoping that takes! :) I need some new sachets for my yarn stash! :)

A little Creative Chaos....

So yesterday Brayden and I braved the crowds and went to Creative Chaos in Vernon.  LOVE LOVE LOVED it!!! :)  Sooo much crafty inspiration and fun things to see and do!! It was AWESOME!!! :)

Anyway - this is what happens to your kid when you drag him around crafty goodness for far too long in the hot sun.....

Isn't that awesome!!! :)  I have to tell ya - this pic was taken from my phone - so not the best quality but I think you can get the idea.  The eyes looked sooo creepy from a distance!! Trust me when I say the kid garnered a LOT of stares!!! Also, you know its a good face painting job when people are asking you WHERE did you get that done???  It was soooooo awesome!! Took the gal about 5 minutes - she was a TRUE artist!!! :)  I love the teeth too - that's his bottom lip!! They didn't last long though but still VERY cool!!! 

Anyway - if you're in the area - check out the crafty goodness - you won't be disappointed.   The show is on until Sunday!! :)

Almost done........

.....and she's blocking!!! 

Hopefully she won't take too long to dry and I'll have some finished pics before too long.  I'm heading to Sunnybrae with Brayden tomorrow for a field trip, so hopefully the weather stays nice.  Wayne arrived home safely tonight so looking forward to the weekend together!!! Hopefully it warms up pretty soon as its weekends like this that I'd like to be out camping!!! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mail.....

So today was a GREAT mail day!!!  My Loopy bag arrived from Steve who does the Dramatic Knits podcast.  You can find a link on the side board over ----------------------> there if you are interested.  Anyway, I got a cool Loopy Ewe tote bag and he threw in a bunch of cool extras for me!!! Soooo fun!!! :)  Also today my Knittings My Bag project bag arrived!! Is this not the cutest???!   She does an amazing job and her bags are SUPER cute!!! If you're in the market for a cute little project bag....RUN to her shop and get yourself one.  Is it just me...or are these priced super cheap!!! They have a ton of pockets inside and they're really well made!!!

I love love love it!! :)  Anyway - still working on my mystery shawls, so no finished objects yet.  Hopefully I'll get some more time this week to work on those!!  Anyway - thanks for stopping by - hope you're having a good week.  Here's a little funny for you...untl next time!

Have a great week!