When did using a turn signal become optional?

Something I noticed during our trip to Virginia was that only about half the cars on the road use turn signals. Does that mean that the use of turn signals has become optional? It sure looked like it to me. While driving on I64 it seemed like no one used their “blinkers”. They just switched lanes, turned off the interstate and even pulled over without ever using the turn signals. So many dangerous (i.e. bad drivers) on the road!
Now for a little “knitting content”. Remember the hat and scarf I knitted for myself? Well, during our trip, I managed to lose my hat. I had taken Mom to the cemetery to put crosses on the family graves. Mom’s legs gave out on her and she went down (not hard and she wasn’t hurt). While helping Mom get back to the jeep, I lost not only my hat, but also the lens cap to my camera. I wasn’t wearing the hat; I had stuffed it into my pocket. We went back to look for the lens cap (I didn’t notice the missing hat until later), but we didn’t find it. Tom will order a new lens cap for me, but I’ll have to knit the hat. Not enough yarn left of the original yarn so not sure what I’ll do.

We're back from VA

Christmas in Virginia was very nice. Not only did I get to see most of my family, but we also got to spend time with Tom's sisters and their family. Here are a few photos (I took over 200).

Merry Christmas

Here's the finished hat and scarf I knitted for myself. This is one of the few things I've finished that I'm going to keep and wear. Usually once I finish something, I'm tried of it and end of giving it away. The Cable and Twist sweater will most likely end up being worn by some one else as I'm not really happy with the way it fits.

At work there has been some knitting. K and M have been working on finishing their hats. As you can see, we have fun while knitting.

Keep on knitting!

Cables and Twist sweater

I've finished the knitting of the Cables and Twist sweater. Just need to put the buttons on. I knitted the large as I wanted this to be an over sweater, but it was too big. So I washed it in warm water. That made it smaller and it fits, but I'm not sure I like the way it fits. So this may end up being another sweater that I knitted for me and end up giving away. I'll take photos once I add the buttons (if I add buttons).

I did finish an Hat and scarf out of the alpaca yarn. LOVE them and I'll keep them for me. They turned out great, nice and soft. I'll write up the pattern and post photos soon.

Sill no offers on the house, but with the holidays I guess few people are looking to move. The bases here are upsizing, so the prospects are good to sell the house, but who knows how long that will take.

Keep on knitting.

I've finished all my Christmas shopping

Ok, I wrote checks and knitted gifts, but I'm finished!

PS, Tom's decided to go to Virginia with me. We leave 18 Dec.

Little knitting

I've been working on my cable and twist sweater and realized that I didn't have enough yarn to finish the sleeves. Called Yarn Barn KS and they are shipping be another hank of yarn. So my progress on the sweater has come to a halt.

We still have the house on the market, but so far not much action. There have been a few showings, but either they don't want a pool, or they want a bigger yard. It's only been on the market 2 weeks, but Tom's already beginning to panic. He does that so well. I'm not really worried. If it doesn't sell by the time Tom has to leave for Germany, then I'll stay till the house sells. UGH, not something I really want to do, but I'll do it.

With all the uncertainty on the house, Tom couldn't make up his mind on whether to take a road trip to Virginia or not. He's really concerned about leaving the house empty, so I'm flying to Virginia on my own. I really need to see Mom. While I'm there, I hope to see the rest of my family and maybe even get to see Tom's sisters.

I've finished my Christmas shopping. I cheated. The kids/grandkids got some hand knitted gifts and some small things, but I sent them checks. Missy's going to buy the kids zoo passes (they love the Jax Zoo). Trina will use the money as she see's fit. Who knows what Tommy will do with his money, probally use it to buy more computer games.

Until next time, keep on knitting.

We're back

We're back from the casino, not big winners, but not big losers either.











The best part was spending Thanksgiving with Tom's nephew, Jason and his Mom, Bianca. Jason is an amazing kid (is 18 a kid?). Funny, he's old enough to join the Air Force, but not old enough to play slots.

I got some knitting accomplished while on the road.

We're going to Casino, so I'll be off line for a few days.

I know I've been missing in action this last week, but I have excuses (not reasons, mind you, just excuses). We have been really busy with the house. No sale yet, but it's looking better than it was. The house is being showed.

On the knitting front: I've been working on the Cable and Twist cardigan. So far I love the yarn and the pattern (sort of). I though the top of the cardigan front was too busy, so I eliminated the middle cable and just used the twist. I like that a lot. I may rip out the back down to where the additional cables started and "do over". So far I've used almost 4 balls of yarn in the back, left front and about 1/4 of the right front. I have 3 more balls left, I expect that will be enough for the sleeves. Hope it stretches to cover the button hole band and collar. It should, but who knows.

Another "prize" student finished her hat. Our pattern called for casting on circluar needles and knitting in the round double rib (k2 p2) for 5 inches then changing to stocking stitch for 3 more inches. Then switching to double pointed needles and decreasing on every other round until there are 7 stitches between the decrease stitches. Then decreasing on every round. Not hard, but for a fairly inexperienced knitter, she did a fantastic job.
The photos make the hat look orange, but it's really RED. "C" did a great job, just look and her decrease top. Nice and even stitches and she's already talking about knitting another one.

It's official

Tom got the "official" job offer and the orders should be here within 2 weeks. Yesterday we put the house on the market. What a strange feeling!

We've been working on getting the house ready to put it on the market. Too much work for someone my age.

But I have been knitting on the Cables & Twists Cardigan. The kit I got from Yarn Barn Kansas included "New England Highland" yarn. It's 100% pure wool. In the past I've had problems knitting with 100% wool but not this yarn. It feels great and works up beautifully.

I got Yarn!

Thank you, Yarn Barn Kansas! I placed the order on Friday, they shipped it on Monday and I got it today. The color is Beautiful, even better than on the web.

I know who'll get my business while I'm in Germany. I'm going to start working up the gauge tonight. Gotta go, can't wait to knit!

What the heck is H Pyloric

Tom had an Endoscopy today and he's healthy. Yes he has H pylori (Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that causes chronic inflammation of the inner lining of the stomach), but it's treatable with antibiotics. The Doctors kept telling Tom it wasn't cancer, not to worry. Easy for them to say. But they were right. He's fine. Most of his problem was stress.
So it looks like we'll be moving to Germany some time in 2009.

Little knitting involved

Photo of Missy in a sweater I knitted years ago.

Now on to the current stuff: No knitting involved
I have to be careful what I write as family and friends read this blog. But darn it, some day’s it just doesn’t seem worth it. And yesterday was one of those days.
You get up in the morning; go to work and some days it’s like beating your head against the wall. All for nothing! I hate to complain, but I’m so very good at complaining! Recently at work it seems that I spend weeks writing up pages and pages of system requirements (too technical for you?), do all the documentations, make screenshots, not to mention all the meetings to discuss the requirement. After all the work is done the submitter decides to withdraw it. UGH. What a waste of time!
Then there’s the “non-work” part of my life. We are still planning of moving to Germany, but there are so many set backs. Tom’s got some heath issues that need to be addressed first (nothing major). Then there’s the house, cars, camper and that darn BIRD. It’s like I take one step forward and two steps back. Moving at any time is stressful, but this move seems to be moving backward.
We spent last weekend empting the attic and throwing away stuff, but it doesn’t look like we’ve done anything. Tom did get the back of the house painted and he’s working of the front. The house is three sides’ brick, so mostly it’s just painting the trim around the windows. But still it’s a lot of work and I’m not a very good painter’s helper.
We spent days’ clearing out junk from the study, only to fill it back up. How is it that you throw away stuff only to have it reappearing within hours? Does this seem wrong to anyone else? I’ve just about given up on accomplishing anything.
Ok, a little knitting info: Last week end I placed an order with Yarn Barn Kansas. When I checked the status of the order yesterday it said “On permanent hold”. Crap, is there something wrong with my credit card? Yep, panic set in quickly. I called them yesterday morning, and talk about a friendly voice on the phone. The girl who answered was able to explain that “permanent hold” actually meant that they didn’t have enough of one dye lot needed to fill my order in the color I requested. She asked if I’d like to change the color and she walked me through their web site to select a different color yarn. Talk about customer service! I was impressed. And it made things a little brighter in my corner of the world. I’ll let you know as soon as I get the yarn and if their customer service lives up to the first impression.

Knitting continues

Wednesday knitting group met again this week. As usual we have some members that show up every week, and other's that can't make it each time we meet. They are all such a different lot.

In the past when teaching knitting, I've set out a schedule to ensure that the new knitters learn different techniques with each project. This group seems to want to walk before they can crawl. That's not a bad thing, but I sometimes feel I'm loosing control. They want to work on big and/or difficult projects before they learn the basics. I'm trying to keep up with the every changing needs of the group.

Marva is still the prize student. She's been knitting for almost 2 years and what a Gem she's become. I think she's already knows all I can teach her. Of course she's been with me the longest.

Deb is quickly becoming a designer. The baby blankets she's knitted are beautiful, and they are her own pattern.

The new girls have really kept me on my toes. I think I'm learning as much from them as they are learning from me. Every week is different and they make me smile with their enthusiasm.

Once again I'm photoless. My fault, I forgot the camera. Sorry. kd

I know I'm MIA

Yes, I know I've been missing in action lately. It's just been so "nutty" here. We are still on track to move to Germany. Looks like it will happen the end of January/first week of Feb. We haven't put the house on the market yet, as we are still trying to get it ready. Tom's got some medical appointments to finish. Then of course, I have to renew my passport and I can't do that without government orders. Time is just ticking away.....

But on the good side, I'm still teaching knitting. Our Wednesday group is still meeting. Funny, some of the "girls" are trying to jump ahead so quickly. I keep saying, you got to learn to knit and purl before you can do lace.

Just goes to show they are already loving knitting.

Oh my aching back

I forgot how much work just getting ready to move can be. Thursday we took the rugs up, moved the furniture in the family room. The kitchen really didn’t need much except cleaning the cabinets and putting stuff away. The dining room was the easiest, just had to shine the hardwood floors. The master bedroom just needed the windows cleaned and dusting. The guest bed room was easiest, just put a different quilt on the bed.
On Friday we had already scheduled to have a few cracked tiles replaced in the master bed room. The company did a great job, quick and they cleaned up when the finished. Tom spent most of the day doing the yard. I went to work.
Today we started on the garage. We took a pick up load of junk to the dump and we aren’t finished. Who knows what we’ll find in the attic. And I don’t even want to think about the craft/storage room or the study. Did I tell you how much my back hurts?
They did show the house yesterday. The real estate agent was nice and we may sign with her, but the guy looking at the house didn’t seem like a serious buyer. I could be wrong, but I don’t think so.
So far, our plans are to get rid of as much “stuff” as possible, get the study cleaned up, go through the craft room and turn it back into a bed room. Next week, Tom will talk to the real estate agent and probably put the house on the market. We can’t really do a lot of planning until Tom gets orders. I have to renew my passport and that can’t be started until we get the orders.
OH well, back to work. Tom is up from his power nap and wants to go back to cleaning the garage. Not me, I’m going to go through the paper stash in the study.

We're moving?

I expected it, but not this soon! Tom accepted a job in Germany. So it looks like we are on the move again. Not bad, we've been here over 6 years. Longest we've lived in one place EVER.

We contacted a real estate agent and she's showing the house on Friday... yes this Friday. It's not even listed yet.

So much to do and so little time. Exact date for moving is still being worked out, but it looks like we'll be spending the new year in Germany.

By the way, we did knit today.

The bag is finished

Ok, that can be taken 2 ways... But I did finish the hand bag. After sewing it all together, I threw it in the washer (hot water). Boy did it ever felt. It is a lot smaller than it was before felting. I love it.

Yes, I have been knitting

In January 08 I promised myself that I’d knit something for myself. I had intended to knit a sweater, and I did but didn’t like it. So I decided to knit a “bag” for my knitting stuff. I am working on Four Square Mitered Tote from Bags – a Knitter’s dozen. As usual, I can’t knit straight from a pattern. I have to make changes. This time I only made a small change. I used markers on the square by casting on 35 pm 1 pm cast on another 35. This gave me the same number stitches, but when I started the decrease, I could just knit 2 together on each side of the markers.
Here’s the start of the bag. More update to come.

Grandkids photos

Missy's kids