Temporarily out of order

Still a house in process

Husband has arrived from Germany.  He said he wasn't going to do any "projects" on the house for 30 days.  He was going to use this Leave time to relax.

I knew it wouldn't happen as he's not the type to just laze around.

So far he's fixed a toilet (constantly running), a shower door (sticking), bathtub (calking needed), enptied all the boxes from one of the bedrooms, cleaned the garage and hung curtains on 10 windows.

Now if I could only get him to buy a hot tub.

Still unpacking

Too many boxes.  I can't seem to get ahead.  Be glad with husband gets here.  Maybe then I can get some knitting done.

HHG arrived

Our House Hold goods were delivered yesterday.  The delivery crew were professional and knowledgeable.  They worked quickly in order to get the furniture inside before the rain.  We got everything inside before the rain hit. 
Now all I have to do is empty a "zillion" boxes.

One more shipment

I received our storage shipment from Texas.  Not impressed with the company that handled the transportation from Texas. We requested shipment back in April and it was received in August.  Three months to move it just 1200 miles.

I got notification that my shipment from Germany will be delivered on Tuesday. 

Funny it only took about 6 weeks to get the large shipment from Germany to Florida.   So this shipment made it over 5,000 miles in 6 weeks. 

Does this seem strange to anyone else?

Crochet fan chains

They finely notified us that the storage shipment from Texas was scheduled to be in JAX yesterday.  We  still don't know when they will deliver it.  It's already a week late, so why would they worry.  I can't wait until I'm asked to write comments on delivery company.  

But on the other hand, my youngest granddaughter (A) asked me to teach her to crochet.  While I prefer to knit, I can crochet faster.  I have some crochet hooks and bought some books for A.  She's a quick study. 

As most of you know I just moved into a new home.  I was lucky the previous owners put ceiling fans in all the rooms.  Not so lucky for me, is the fan chains are way too short for me to change the fan speed or turn on/off the lights.  I got tired of getting the step ladder and I didn't feel like going out to get extension chains from the hardware store.  So I crocheted them. 

NOT HAPPY

Just found out that my storage shipment won't be delivered this week.  This is the stuff we stored in San Antonio.  The company had over 3 months notice. We had requested the deliver date as 17 July, the company changed the date to 30 July. This was the REQUIRED delivery date.  Seems that the company doesn't need the government business.  My stuff hasn't even arrived in JAX.  What's worse, is I had Tommy take out the washer and dryer out of this house so there was room for my front loaders that were in storage.  I'm now going to have to ask Tommy to put them back in the house. 

Thanks a bunch Coleman American Moving. 

Clean knitting room?

We are still in the process of moving from Germany to Florida.  Most of my knitting stuff is in transit so I only have a few knitting needles (my favorites) with me.

So here's my future craft room and some of the "stuff" I am knitting with.

Back from SC

The Friday night meet and greet was interesting.  It was nice to talk to some of the "girls" that I had been in contact recently.

On Saturday Missy, Harvey and I went into Charleston and did a bus tour.  After lunch it was just too hot and we were just too tired to do more.  Danielle had elected not to join us on our trip into Charleston, maybe she had the right idea.

On Satuday night we were late to my 45th High School reunion because Harvey decided to wake up and cry just as we were leaving.  We didn't want to leave Danielle with a crying baby so we stayed another 45 minutes.  Once we got to the reunion it went very well.  I met up with quite a few of my classmates that actually remembered me.  It was nice to talk and catch up on what's happened in their lives.

One downer was finding out how many of our classmates have passed away.  This included one boy that I remember very well.  He was one of the guys that actually talked to me and I'll admit I had a little crush on him.  It never came to anything, but I had always rememebered him.

On Sunday we drove back to JAX.  The trip is less than 5 hours, but that's a long time in a car seat for a 7 month old baby, so we stopped once to give Harvey a break.

Got home around 1pm and immediately had to go to the store, as I didn't have anything for dinner or for breakfast tomorrow.

After getting back from the store, I had a little panic attack.  I couldn't find my itouch.  I emptied my suitcase, my camera bag and my purse.  Couldn't find it.  Finely I looked in the makeup bag.  Not sure how it got in there, but there it was.  I was relieved to find it.

Now for a quite couple days.

High School reunion?

Tomorrow I'm going to South Carolina for my 45th High School reunion.  This should be interesting.  Being a Navy kid, we moved a lot.  We moved to Charleston in the middle of my junior year.  So I only went to Berkeley High for about 18 months. 

I wasn't real outgoing so I didn't make many friends and the few I did lived in military housing near us.  In the past, I've been out of the country when the reunion's were scheduled.  This time I've just moved from Germany to Florida so I thought I'd go.  I can't remember many of my classmates.

Luckily, my daughter Melissa is going to drive me up there.  We are going to use this as a mother/daughter/granddaughter mini vacation. We have to take baby Harvey with us, so Melissa's 16 year old daughter is going with us to take care of Harvey while we are at the reunion.

I'm very nervous. Wish me luck.

I'm back in Florida.  So I guess it's official, I'm a Floridian.  Tom won't be here until the end of September.  That seems a long time away. 

My car, MX5 is here in Florida and I can pick it up tomorrow morning. 

Tommy's going to take me to get the car in the morning.  He wants to drive the MX5 every since he saw the car on Top Gear.

Yesterday Missy, Danielle, Harvey, Jack and I went to a local flea market.  Danielle was hoping to see an old school friend.  It was hot and humid and Danielle's friend was late and we couldn't stay any longer. 

Of course, since I'm back in Florida, I'll be taking photos of the grand kids. 

As for knitting, I'm working on a yellow blanket for a friend's grandson.  Photos to follow.

Knits in an unexpected place

Yesterday, 4 July, Tom and I decided to have one more day trip before I leave Germany for good. We went to Trier Germany about 1 hour away from our house in Kindsbach. We did the tourist type stuff, road the city site seeing bus around twice. It was great fun.



As we were going across the park to the museum, I noticed something I had never seen in person.  Two of the statues had knitted items on them. 

Even Tom was surprised, he asked how they got the wrist warmers on the statue as he couldn't see any way to move the arm.  I explained that they had the warmers ready but didn't sew them together until they were put on the statue. 

He seemed to be impressed.

Spending to much time on line?

I'm hooked on Pinterest.  They have the neatest of stuff.  If you haven't been there yet, check it out: http://pinterest.com/all/
It seems that if I'm not knitting I'm on Pinterest checking out their knitting pins. Since our house hold goods are on the way Stateside. There's not much I can do except knit and surf the web.

I've discovered that  living without much furniture can be done.  I still have some of my knitting stuff.  I'll put, most of that in my checked luggage. The baby blanket I'm knitting I'll carry on the plane. So far when I traveled between US and Germany I haven't had any trouble with my knitting needles.  I travel with wooden circular needles.  Hope that my luck holds out as I'll be changing planes in Pennsylvania instead of DC as I usually do.

The schedule is for me to leave Germany around 2pm (Germany time) on Friday.  I should be in FL around 8pm (East coast time).  I'm excited about leaving Germany and a little sad as Tom will have to stay another 2 1/2 months.  The time should go by fast for me as I'll be getting the house hold furniture delivered and trying to find a place for all the stuff we have.
As for the knitting/craft room, I've got that figured out (I think).  The room identified as Office space by the sellers, I'm going to use for "Knitone Studio". That's most likely the first room I'll work on. 

Here we go

Today's "Packout #1".  By the end of the afternoon, we'll be down to one bed, one chair and two laptops.  This should be fun.  Don't think I'll get much knitting done today.

Paris

I've been here.By the way, there's a toilet at the top of the tower.  I know cause I paid 50p (about .75 cents) to pee up there.  Too much information?

How did you spend your Saturday monring...

As most of you know, we are in the process of moving from Germany back to the US.  We've been cleaning out stuff and moving stuff around.  Since I'm leaving on 6 July, I've only got a few more days left here.

Earlier this week, Tom mentioned that he wanted to get a squirrel.  I was surprised, but though he meant he was going to get another wood one.  No, he meant a stuffed one.  Seems that one of his German friends had called around and found a guy in a town nearby that did that kind of stuff.

So this morning we took a ride to the "stuffers" place about 30 minutes away.  It was weird and a little scary to see all the stuffed animals.  Tom got his squirrel and is happy, but  when we get back stateside, he's going to have to keep it in his "man cave".

Found on Pinterest

When I read this on Pinterest, it reminded me of my girls.  The middle daughter especially had a habit of eating paste and paper.

I have got to make this!

knitting withdrawals?

My knitting machines are all packed up. I've sorted some of the yarn, some went in the express shipment (yesterday).  Some yarn will be mailed, and the rest will go in the house hold shipment on  29 July.  I'll hand carry some books, accessories and yarn in my suitcase.                                                                                      During the "clean up" process, I found yarn that I'd forgotten I had, and even some yarn I'm not sure where it came from.

I'll try to keep knitting right up until they take away all my stuff.  One good thing about moving is that I've realized, there's no such thing as too much yarn or too many knitting needles.

And the big move begins

Tomorrow we start the move.  Our express shipment (350 lbs) will be packed and shipped tomorrow.  On 29 June the 1st part of our "regular" shipment is packed and shipped.  I'll leave Germany on 6 July.  So Florida becomes our real home.  
Tom will stay a few months longer in Germany. 

The 2nd part of the regular shipment will be picked up mid Sept.  Tom should fly out on 29 Sept.  He's retirement date is 31 Oct, but he'll be on leave from 1 - 31 Oct. 

I'm excited to finely leave Germany and move into our "retirement home".  Tom hasn't seen it yet, so it will be a real surprise for him.  Hope he'll like it as much as I do.

Can't settle on what to do

I'm a knitter who seems to have lost the "knitting mojo".  I have lots of yarn and a zillion patterns not to mention the ability to get more patterns and ides from the internet (especially Ravery.com).  For some reason I start knitting, then realize that I don't want to work on the project so I put it aside (or rip it out).  Not sure why I can't seem to settle on a project.

We are getting ready to move back to the states.  I purchased a home in Florida near two of my kids. Yes, I'm excited about this and also a little nervous. My husband and I both will be retired, we are moving to an area we've never lived before, we'll have to learn to live on a budget (now that's a dirty word).  We'll be OK, it will just take getting used to.  I've been in the habit of buying nice yarn even if I don't have a project in mind.  In the past, I've just stockpiled my stash with any yarn that caught my attention.  Guess I'll just have to use up my stash instead of purchasing more yarn. 

When I picked up some yarn earlier this morning, I figured I'd just knit a little girl sweater for my best friends granddaughter.  I've got the back started but as has happened often lately, I just don't seem to like how the pattern is turning out with the yarn I chose (from my stash). 

So as I sat there looking at the pretty pink and yellow yarn, I started thinking about all the knitting I've done in the past for my kids and grandkids. That started me thinking about how lucky I am to have such great kids.  I'm proud of each of them.  Here's a few reasons why:

Girl #1 has two kids, daughter in college and son in high school.  Last year she decided she wasn't happy with the way things were going in her marriage.  She took a big leap of faith and moved out. It took time for the dust to settle and she lost a lot of friends because of her decision. The kids spend time between the two homes and have adjusting well. I'm proud that she found the strength to go for what she knew in her heart was right.

Girl #2 has 4 kids, the oldest is 16 and the youngest is 6 months. She's amazing and I'm not sure I could handle all the things she has on her plate.  The kids are involved in various sports and events, they have to be driven to and from school daily (thank goodness for her husband and his family).  She keeps on going no matter what obstacles are thrown in her path.  I'm proud that she's got a level head on her shoulders and a heart overflowing with love.

Boy #3 is single and says he's not in any hurry to get married and he's not sure he'd even want kids. Seems that Girl #2's kids have been enough for him.  He's healthy, works hard and is well liked.  He goes his own way.  Nothing seems to bother him and he's always willing to lend a helping hand.  I'm proud that he has the ability to stand up for what he thinks is right even when others are trying to push him in another direction. 

I have a pretty good life, and I know that my knitting mojo will return soon. Until then, maybe I'll pick back up crocheting or work on my million other craft projects.  Scrap-booking might be an option.   

Knitting in London

Sure wish I could see this in person. 

"Drive by Knitting"

For years I've noticed that knitting seems to show up in lots of different places.  Here's Katherine Hepburn knitting.  Wonder what's she's making.

MX5 in transport

Yesterday I dropped of the MX5 (Miata) for transportation stateside.  They'd better take care of it!

Too much gas

I've spent most of today driving the MX5 (Miata) around and around the local area.  We are shipping the car on Friday and it can't have more that 1/4 a tank of gas.  Of course, the MX5 gets good gas milage and I can't seem to get the gas needle to move.  Oh well, more driving tomorrow.

A little more blogging a whole lot less Facebook

NEWS:  In recent months, Facebook has become a breeding ground of discontent between friends, family and complete strangers.  Therefore I've decided to close my account with them.  Friends and family know where to find me.

As my friends and family know, I bought a house in Jacksonville Fl.  So we are in the process of moving from Germany to Florida.  It looks like most of the household goods will be picked up at our home in Germany the end of June.  Tom will be keeping the bare minimum as he'll be staying through Sept.  I'll fly back to FL in July.  With luck I'll have the household goods in August/Sept.

My little red convertible MX5 is being shipped on 25 May.  So I'll be without a car for a month.  Not sure how well that will go over.  Tom still has to use my VW to go to work.  He'll have to share.

I've been knitting in between trying to get the house ready for the move.  I've finished a couple baby sweater sets and a pair of fingerless gloves.

My knitting and packing has been handicapped by my shoulder problem.  Sometimes the pain is so bad that I just have to stop and take pain meds.  That makes me sleepy, not good for packing or knitting.

I have to say that Tom's been a champ about this.  He hasn't seen the house in FL yet.  He's moving to an area he wasn't sure he wanted to live in, and he still hasn't got his "big" truck to pull the camper (that he hasn't seen in over 3 years).

This should be fun.

Keep on knitting, crafting and keep in touch.

KD

Baby Knitting

I love knitting for babies.  My best friend, Lucy, asked me to knit a set for a friend of her daughter-in-law.  The colors of the baby's room is light grey and light pink.  I didn't have any grey yarn, so I settled for pink and white for the sweater and hat.  I love color for baby blankets, so I did multi colors with trimming in pink.

Pinned via pinmarklet

I've become addicted to Pinterest.

We have neighbors

Moving in process but still knitting

The process of purchasing a "short" sale home in Florida while still living in Germany was a long and stressful one.  It's not something I'll do again, but we got a great house in a fantastic neighborhood for a good price.

The house needed some cosmetic updates.  I had the house painted. It's a little lighter than the original color, but that could be just that the old paint had faded.  I had gutter's installed.  It had been my intention to have a slab poured out back by the patio for a hot tub, but I ran out of money. So that will have to wait awhile.

I've moves some furniture in, some purchased used some things given to me by my daughters in-laws.  In fact , I'm concerned that I have too much furniture here that when my household goods arrive from Germany I'll have too much furniture.  We'll see.

During all this I've managed to knit some.  I'm a member of the Raverly CAL/KAL of monthly dishcloth/towels.   I managed to knit 4 dishcloths and a scarf.  Need to get more yarn soon.

Best friends are the "Best" kind

Still knitting in Florida

Since I'm only "part-way" moved in, I don't have a TV but I do have internet and can watch some TV shows.  Thank Goodness NCIS is available. 

So while I'm watching TV on my computer, I'm also knitting and crocheting.  Photos to follow as soon as I find the cable.

Almost moved in

Yesterday was a busy day.  Tommy and Daryl (our real estate agent) moved 3 rooms of furniture into our new home.  I still have to place the furniture then I take some photos. 

There's still a long "to do" list.  Going to try to put a dent in the list today.

I did get a little knitting started last night, but not enought to brag about.

This is my new home

I got the house of my dreams.  Tomorrow I'll move in some furniture and be able to stay there. 

I'm enjoying FL

In JAX FL

Arrived last night in JAX FL.  The flights were bad at all.  Arrived tired and hungry but glad to see Missy and Tommy.  Got to hold the newest Grandson, Harvey.  He's so cute. He had on one of the hats I knitted him in Dec.  Of course I'll be taking photos today and will post some. 

Stash buster knitting

It's 3 degrees here in Germany.

It's nice and warm in FL.  I have my tickets and am flying to JAX next Monday.



I'm getting old

When did my grandaughters grow up?  I know the oldest "M" is 20 and has attended college.  BUT when did "D" get old enough to date?

Daughter's sweater photos

The sweater on the right is the first sweater I ever knitted.  I made it using yarn donated by the British friend that taught me to knit.  As you can see from Missy's face, she didn't like the sweater.  The second photo is of a sweater I made for her when she was a teenager.  She liked this one and still has it.

Thanks Designs of the Interior (DOTI) of Ponte Vedra Beach

Designs of the Interior from Jacksonville Fl left me a message.  They can help me design my knitting room.  Don't think they realized that I'm in Germany, but I might use them when we move to Jacksonville later this year.

I did take their survey and found out my style is:  

Bohemian with an Eclectic Flair for the Dramatic

You are a trend setter, not a trend follower. But, you would hate that people said that about you! You pave your own way - if you love it, you use it! You mix colors, patterns, textures and styles. You love pieces that have been used before, but probably reincarnate them as something different. You want friends and family to be comfortable in your home - they can put their feet up and not worry about making a mark on your cocktail table.

You tend to be a "collector" of things. These items could be from your many travels - or just because you love antique clocks! You like using window treatments where you need to, whether to block out the sun or give you privacy from the neighbors - but they are typically simple and serve a purpose.

Funny, they hit the mark with me.  Only Tom is the clock collector.

More photos of the messy craft room

The last post only showed a corner of the craft room.  So here's the rest of the mess.