Monday, February 12, 2007

Birthday bowling



Hera are a couple of pictures of the boys bowling . This was Patrick's little birthday party. We all had a fun time and Alexander is getting to be a pretty good bowler. Afterwards we came home and and I made tacos. Sorry - this is an incredibly boring post and I can't think of any way to make it interesting ,but as I uploaded the photos I am just going to leave it.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Pix!!

Okay - here are the missing pictures from yesterday. Didn't Cheryl do a fantastic job on the felted bag? it is so pretty- I am just not sure what to use it for as I want to use it for something, where I will see it often.
The other picture shows my foot stool, with some knitting and the cool sock needle holders Cheryl sent. On the right is a finished sock, on the left is the second of these ONT. In one of the needle holders is a half sock , from the second I left one end open so that you can see how it works. Fun stuff!
My sister received and liked the socks I sent her for her birthday- which was yesterday- she said the socks fit and both she and Holly (her cat) approved the colorway.

Speaking of colorways- yes, I changed my blog template. Blue is and always has been my favorite color, every few years I take a dive into pink or purple ,but in the end I always come back to blue.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

A Pictureless post- for the moment.

I had a lovely box of goodies come from Cheryl yesterday. A felted bag that she made, a sampler book and some really, really , cool needle holders for when you put down your socks that you are knitting on DPN's .
There were some sweatshirts for the kids as well, but while that's very nice, it's not very exciting for you :-)
Anyway ,I wanted to photograph the felt bag which is a wonderful purple and green , I even wandered around with it to try and find an "artistic" place to make the photo, as opposed to most of my photos which I just take on the table. Sometimes I stand on a chair to get a good one ;-)

I have an ivy plant which I am training around a big heart shaped form and I thought: A ha- perfect. But, my camera was dead. The plug for the cradle goes under my desk and I probably stepped on it and pulled it out. I have killed a couple of headsets this way. The cables get wrapped around my leg and then I walk away and pull on them in ways they were not made to withstand. I have however plugged the camera cradle back in and it seems to be loading. Hopefully in a couple of hours I can take my "artistic" pictures. It might be too dark by then though...
In the meantime I am going to drive to the store. I was just there an hour ago. I want to make chicken pot pie for dinner . I looked up a recipe , made a shopping list and forgot to buy....chicken!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Stitching knitting content

For those who come for stitching, knitting content-- here it is. Finished and mailed these socks for my sister's birthday- I hope they fit and she likes them. The leg bit is quite long - the cuffs are folded over, but if she has on high boots she can leave them unfolded. I also received and STARTED on Su's neighborhood RR. I will complete this on time!!!

Happy Birthday Pacman

Yes, it is Patrick's birthday and yes, he opened presents before school- before breakfast even. Michael, Alexander and I gifted him with a couple of band T-shirts ( have you heard of System of a Down?) , a duvet, pillow case set with a print from some heavy metal band and a new, bigger (read louder) amplifier .
The Duvet cover has a horrible print of some boney, thing with a hatchet and and dripping blood. Eddy, Freddy ? from Iron maiden? Anybody know this? Anybody want to admit to knowing this? I am not sure I can sleep with such a thing in the house. I am sure I would not be able to sleep under it ,but then I am not a 14 year old boy. I was even a good mommy and baked a cake yesterday and did not wait until this afternoon to try and bake in a panic, between my English lessons. Dinner, at Patricks request, is a huge platter of nachos.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Forgot

Diane made a comment on my blog post, with the picture of the guys around the xmas ,tree about us looking like something out of the "Sound of Music" if we were all wearing the outfits that Michael brought us from The Congo. Almost fell off my chair laughing because 1, It is one of my favorite movies and 2, she is so right!!! BTW- he didn't just purchase the bits out of the same print- no , he bought the fabbie- and then had a tailor sew everything. Insane. LOL

Four things about this weekend.

1, I am still sick, have new symptoms, old symptoms- BLECH!!!

2, I pulled myself together and packed and addressed a bunch of stuff so that I can take it to the post office on Monday. Don't get excited there is nothing for you- it is all boring stuff :-(

3, Patrick is now taller than me- I am officially, for the first time in 16 years the shortest person in the house. Or, does the dog count ?

4, I baked cookies. I do love my children.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Lovely presents

Here are a few pix of some lovely bits for you all to enjoy- I hope! The beautiful "R" fob is my PIF from Carol. I is stunning and I may have to run out some time this week and buy a new pair of scissors to match it. The orange sock is the first of a pair intended for my sister. The yarn is "butterfly" from Opal but I think it looks kind of like a calico cat. My sister is a definite "cat person". Plus she looks good in orange.


The blue socks are my first pair with cables. They took me forever- not just because of the cables , but because I wasn't doing anything- you know the story. And my swift!!!!!! Check it out. My mom sent a huge box with all sorts of lovelies. The swift- which I have been longing for.Also in the box were some blue earrings and a matching necklace, some blue flowered embroidery Ginghers , which I am addicted to.. plus a measuring tape with a Pinochio nose. I am feeling very lucky.

For Ann

Hi -Ann in Berkeley . Can you leave me your email address ? I would love to get in touch with you, we can chat about yarn- maybe do some exchanging , if your husband doesn't find anything for you in Munich. I was born in Berkeley- it's one of my favorite places :-)

Thursday, January 18, 2007

I'm baaaack!

Hi ,
I am, hopefully, back. In a nutshell- Alexander was sick, I was sick, my mom came, my mom went, Michael came, we went on vacation, I got sick again, Michael left.. and I am still sick- but getting better and feel like I can sit at the computer for a few minutes again.
The picture is of my "men" putting up the Xmas tree. Alexander's shirt is from the Congo. Michael brought each of the boys a shirt and shorts , a shirt for himself and a Congo style dress for me. All out of the same material. Pretty scary and funny. I meant to take a picture of all of us together dressed in our finery- I will try and remember the next time Michael is home. Give everyone a good laugh!

Many thanks and apologies to those who wrote emails, snail mails,comments and cards, also to those who called and to those who kept us in their thoughts through what was a very Dark December for me. Even if I didn't write you back,and I probably didn't, I very much appreciated every communication. Things are looking up and if I ever get rid of this cold/bronchitis thing I will be cruisin' again.
I did not manage to stitch anything- including Carol's neighborhood ,but I will get that back at some point in the RR and get it done. I have knit one sock since November. Thats it! I sent no Xmas cards- mailed no presents- sent no ecards- again apologies. I will try to do better throughout the year. I am also going to try and visit everyones blogs over the next few days. Hope to hear from you soon.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Sorry

Hi everyone- things are not good here and so I am going to take a break from blogging. I will probably still read your blog but not comment. Sorry.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

11-11-2006



Today is the official first day of Fashing or carnival- for those who are interested. The narren were out and about.

Here are two of the pairs of socks I showed in my last blog entry - but finished now.

I had to make a break in writting this entry to make spaghetti for 5 kids- where do they all come from? I am going to have to drive into town to pick them up from the movies at 11 pm. Blech- but I would rather go get them and know where they are than have them swaning around completely unwatched.

Talked to Michael today- Things are going well in the Congo. They have only had a little bit of shooting today - nothing to get excited about!

I also, have actually started christmas shopping. Have you ? :-)

11-11-2006



Today is the official first day of Fashing or carnival- for those who are interested. The narren were out and about.

Here are two of the pairs of socks I showed in my last blog entry - but finished now.

I had to make a break in writting this entry to make spaghetti for 5 kids- where do they all come from? I am going to have to drive into town to pick them up from the movies at 11 pm. Blech- but I would rather go get them and know where they are than have them swaning around completely unwatched.

Talked to Michael today- Things are going well in the Congo. They have only had a little bit of shooting today - nothing to get excited about!

I also, have actually started christmas shopping. Have you ? :-)

Monday, November 06, 2006

Pay it forward


I have joined the Pay It Forward Challenge:The first five people to respond to this post (via the comments section) will get some form of "art" made by me. It will be a hand crafted item made from sewing, crocheting, stitching, decoupage-just about anything. I will try to make the item something special just for you. After you comment, please email me your snail mail address . In return, each person will post the same action on their blogs and pledge gifts to the first five to respond, and so on. I think this sounds like a lot of fun and a good way to improve your karma!
My email is rachael@gmx dot de - you know how the dot thing works.
These are the socks I am working on at the moment. The little pink and red one is for one of my god daughters, whose birthday is in ten days. The green one is for her mother. The green yarn is Austerman step which is super soft and the pattern is a baby cable which is one of my favorite patterns. The blue sock is a pattern I am making for the first time and I really like the way it is coming out. The blue and pink yarns are both from Opal. I am also knitting a sock on two circs for the first time and I have to say - I hate it- give me 5 DPNs any day. The only thing I can think of is that my cables are too long. I will finish these socks on the circs in the hopes that I will get used to them . They are great for taking with you. Scrabbeling around on the floor of a train after a dropped DPN isn't really fun.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

Alexander


Alexander in his new glasses- now if I could talk him into a haircut, he could be seen as well as see.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Schlampe!

For your enjoyment - A picture of the mess on my computer desk. Think of it as a still life. You can see it is geting cold here because I don't bother to drink tea everyday. I often go without caffeen if it is warm and/ or the weekend. The fact that there are 4 cups built up here since yesterday evening is a sign. Just in case your wondering three are from Starbuck's and one is a Harry Potter cup. All have had their day , but my absolute fave at the moment is the white one with the orange inside ( I almost called it "lining' ) I realy like the shape.
An aside for those who worry about this sort of thing. The cups have only been collecting for less than 24 hours and while the picure was loading to bloggger, I got rid of them and that juice bottle as well.

Well, I finished the poncho-- and I've worn it as well. It ended up with a bit of fringe. I have been trying some knew knitting technics on some socks- including mosaic knitting and knitting socks on two round needles.
I took Alexander to the eye doctor last week and then to Fielman for his first pair of glasses. I had made an appointment for myself at the eye Dr. as well. After writing Alexander's prescription he checked mine and laughed. They are practicly identical.
My husband called and asked me if I could find a couple of remote control boats to send him. He wanted something to play with in the flooded yard. I was just glad he didn't plan on useing them in the room he is living in. I managed to get a good price on a couple from ebay- it had to be at least two because as he said 'it's no fun playing by yourself!"
Yesterday, I ordered winter tires for my car. There is a new law in Germany that you must have winter tires in the winter. Now this sounds pretty obvious, but in tests, winter tires , unless they are very high quality (read expensive) rate very badly in rain. I hate to break it to people , but exept for in Southern Germany , you tend to have more rain than snow here. I needed new tires anyway ( of course, I'll need them again in the spring when the winter tires come off) so off I went to order the tires and get an appointment to have them put on. It was a madhouse. There were a bazillion people there , at ten in the morning, and they all wanted winter tires and they wanted them NOW.
I knew I would have to order, ( my car is fairly large and heavy for Europe) they never have the tires and rims I need in stock. So I wasn't disapointed to leave with no more than an order and an appointment for next week. However, I won't tell you how much those babys are going to cost. It would make you weep for the amount of stash that I will be driving around on!!
I learned that, not only are oil product prices are on the rise, but due to the growing economy in China, there is a steel shortage going on. And in all honesty- Californina girl that I am - when it snows and I have to go to town- I usually take the bus.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Poncho

Okay all you knitters out there - be kind!
This is the first thing I have knit other than socks and one scarf. I didn't have a chart and it was my first time knitting cables ,I taught myself out of a book. The neck is wider than I really wanted but the length is just right, the points come right to my waist. the edges are not quite even and strait ,but I guess that comes with practice. I hope. I think it needs some fringe or a crocheted edging or something but I can't quite decide- any ideas? Plus any knitting /blocking tips would be very welcome.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Ein Kleine Tropfen Wehmut

A little drop of melancholy- The translation doesn't sound as good as the original, but it describes the situation.
Michael Schumacher just drove in his last Formula One race.
I am a bit of a Formula One fan and have been for almost ten years. I have never had a "favorite " driver or team . I just like the exitement and the stratagy of the race- however. Schumacher is the most succesful F1 race car driver of all time and has been a large part of the sport for 16 years.
He is also a celebrity who has shown a lot of class over the years. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has never been "caught" with anyone else, he has kept his children and his private life, just that - private. He is always gracious in interviews and has nice things to say about the other F1 drivers.

Most of all he is an incredibly talented person who found his niche and filled it to the utmost and knew that the moment to make a change in his life had come. Respect.
F1 won't be the same with out him but I wish him the best.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Autumn

As some of you know I live on a farm. We have this harvest wreath hanging on one of the barns year round, and every two years it gets taken down and remade. This year was the year and the picture is of our farmer hanging the new wreath. The making of the wreath is a reason for a party and all of the family and neighbors get together to make the bunches of wheat. The farmers wife does the binding . when the new wreath is hung everyone celebrates with dinner and lots of beer as is the tradition in Germany.

You can see that I didn't get back to this yesterday and almost didn't make it today. My massage yesterday was medical and for my back which is still giving me a lot of trouble. Afterwards I took Alexander to Muenster- we needed a few things ,plus I had to pick op a box of books from customs. My sweet Papa sent a huge box, which we will have a wonderful time working our way through.
Then we had our tea at Starbuck's and did a little shopping.
Today I sent Michael a package with his Wellies . He called and said that the rainy season has begun in the Congo and as he wasn't planning on staying this long he wasn't prepared. It is raining both in and out of the house he is working and living in and he needed his rubber boots. I packed them up with a bunch of anis Fisherman's friends and took them to the post office. I hope he gets them soon.
The I had to give an extra english lesson and then take Patrick to the orthodontist. The good (bad) thing about going to the orthodontist is that there is a good yarn shop right next to his office. I have now started to knit a (don't laugh) poncho. They are pretty fashionable here right now and I have been trying to find a short one that I like . There was one hanging in the yarn shop that was the perfect size . So, now I am trying to recreate the size and knit cables for the first time and actually have no idea what I am doing so wish me luck!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Sloth


Here is a picture of Cheryl and I in Amsterdam. We are sitting in the outdoor seating from "Boom Chicago" on the Leidensplein. The weather was fantastic and we were having, as you can see, a great time.

Annemarie tagged me with what seven songs are you listening to right now. No Annemarie- I don't mind you tagging me as it gave me a kick in the behind to write at all!
I noticed recently that most of the(very few) cd's that I have purchased are from women . The only cd's that I purchased with men singing are copies of stuff that I have had on tape forever ,nothing new as far a music goes. I tend to listen to the same stuff year in and year out anyway.
1.Put your records on- Corrine Bailey Rae
2.Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfeld
3.Snakes and Ladders -Joss Stone
4.Ain't no other mann- Christina Aguiera
5. Things- Robbie Williams and Nichole Kiddman
6. When Doves Cry- Prince and the Revolution
7.Dancing in the Moonlight- Top Loader
oops- I just realized I have a massage in 20 minutes and I am still in my pj"s- gotta go but I am going to try- realy hard - to get back to this tday. I think I am supposed to tag some people to do this list as well but I am not sure how many so I am going to go with Cheryl, Bine,andMom for now.
Gotta run