Purls of Hope

Tagged ! This time by Sarah!

5 things i miss from childhood.

If you want to participate the chain-letter part works like this: remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog’s name in the #5 spot; just check to make sure the links are still attached if you copy n’ paste.


1. Nepenthe’s Misadventures
2. dynamiteknits
3. Sassy Stitchess
4. Stitch!
5. Purls of Hope



1. Quiet Time I never quite fit in as a kid and as much as I hated it at the time, I really miss it now. The time was my time, and I did what I wanted with it. Coloring, Reading, playing Barbies, etc.

2. Grandma(Paternal) I miss everything about her. The way she smelled, the way she said my name,etc. She lived on a dead end street, with a swamp at the end...ooooohhhh. And she warned me every week, "Don't go too close to the edge" And every week, I would fall into the swap. And she loved me anyway. She took me to see Annie and The Nutcracker, she encouraged my creative side.

3. Street Football and Wrestling. OMG, I would have done anything to fit in, I didn't say with the girls you know ;) I always bashed my face in the day before pictures, but I gotta tell you, it sure was fun!!!

4. Riding the School Bus. Did I tell you how much I love to read? This is from childhood and I so loved to read on the bus. I could escape into my book and not give a care to what was going on around me.

5. All the Great Jim Henson stuff. OMG, Remember the original Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock and all the Muppet Movies and ... and...

Well, um, now that you know I truly am extremely boring (only if you haven't met me ...lol) I must tag others... so here goes!

Roxanne, Tania, Dorothee, the other Christine and uh, YOU'RE IT!!!

This is Anna's progress. I just want to point out to all of those who think I cannot handle imperfection...please note, I did not rip it out...I just made it knittable for her. Updates later.

Please look at my clapotis... I am knitting it on US Size 8 and I fear it is not tight enough once dropping stitches... ARRGGG. Serves me right for not swatching.

Please leave me a comment as to whether you would frog and start over with smaller needles or leave it alone... The decision is being left up to you!

Wishing you all a peaceful and happy day!

Would you believe that I forgot to include my picture of Clapotis... This particular picture is from a couple of days ago... but you'll get the idea.
I am using SWTC Bamboo (Intensity is the colorway) It is being knit on a US8 Circular Needle. I started this on July 19, 2005.


I haven't given up on forgotten about my Debbie Bliss Noro Scoopneck Cardi. I just got bored (sleeves, I know you understand)

Thanks Michelle, for letting me borrow the book on HTML :) (thats how I learned how to do the strike through...lol)

Well that's my post and I'm sticking to it.

PS, If you are wondering where I am on the Clap right now... 5 rows away from starting Section 3 (aka Straight Rows)

Joy, Me, George, & Bill

Dylana & Harrison

Bill & Shari

Bill & Thomas & Dylana & Harrison & Anna

Moi & Shari

Mom's Purse pre-felting

Mom's purse post-felting

Stash Enhancement after shopping with Shari

Stash Enhancement Close Up

Budda Thomas...yes, this is your funny kid pic of the day :)

In 1975 (the year you were born)

Gerald Ford is president of the US Evacuation of US civilians from Saigon as Communist forces complete takeover of South Vietnam FBI agents capture Patty Hearst, who is indicted and convicted of bank robbery Teamster Jimmy Hoffa disappears without a trace Marines rescue the crew of the American ship the Mayaguez near Vietnam First Lady Betty Ford says in an interview that she thinks her children have tried marijuana Natalie Imbruglia, Drew Barrymore, David Beckham, Enrique Iglesias, Angelina Jolie, and Tiger Woods are born Cincinnati Reds win the World Series Pittsburgh Steelers win Superbowl IX Philadelphia Flyers win the Stanley Cup Production begins on Star Wars Jaws and The Rocky Horror Picture Show are the top grossing films Soul Train premieres on television in the United States "The Way We Were" (performed by Barbara Streisand) wins the Grammy for best song Saturday Night Live and Wheel of Fortune premiere

Only 36 days until my birthday... yep the big 3-0. Who knew David Beckham and Angelina Jolie are the same age...I knew about Drew...I *heart* Drew!!!!

Your Birthdate: August 29

Your birthday on the 29th adds a tone of idealism to your nature. You are imaginative and creative, but rather uncomfortable in the business world. You are very aware and sensitive, with outstanding intuitive skills and analytical abilities. The 29 reduces to 11, one of the master numbers which often produces much nervous tension. This is the birthday of the dreamer rather than the doer. You do, however, work very well with people.

You Are 25 Years Old

25 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

Is this supposed to make me feel better, or worse....lol

Rox tagged me ......

*******
10 years ago: I had my first child, hi Dylana, and lived in Norwalk, worked a really crapola job or two...wait it was 5. I was trying to figure out the meaning of life and walked everywhere (I couldn't even afford the bus)

5 years ago: HWWTS&J asked me to marry him. I had 2 children, hi Dylana & Anna, and my third on the way, hi Thomas. I worked for a not so stinky company and got paid to cause trouble... he he he.

1 year ago: We decided it was time for a bigger house. I found out I was prego with child number 5, hi Grace. Harrison was 1 1/2. Found house of my dreams, couldn't make house of my dreams work out... There were even nice neighbors that invited us to a block party while we were in negotiations.

Yesterday: I wished our company well on the remainder of their trip and was sad. I tried to clean up before HWWTS&J came home, didn't work!

Today: I mowed an acre of my property while trying to get some color. Cleaned some more of the house. Called Grandma and made plans for cookout on Friday for the family. Called Kendra (littlest sis) to find out if she wanted to go to the horse show tomorrow. Ate snacks...very bad for someone trying to get back her pre-Harrison figure. Tried to figure out how one can knit and tan at the same time.

Tomorrow: Finish the laundry. Go to the Farmer's Market. Try to get tan. Maybe go out on the boat.

5 snacks I enjoy: Anything sweet and anything salty... Really like dark chocolate, tortilla chips, licorice (yes, black) Aww heck, just about any kind of candy or cookie.

5 bands/singers that I know the lyrics of MOST of their songs: Don't you dare laugh. Cat Stevens (aka Yusef Islam), Def Lepard (sp?) Aerosmith, Metallica, Madonna, and more, but only 5 to be listed...lol. Don't think I didn't see you laugh.

Things I would do with $100,000,000: Buy yarn and lots of it. nope not kidding. Buy HWWTS&J his Shelby Cobra and Ford GT. Donate money to Project Return. Travel, definitely. Cancel all of my phones.

5 locations I'd like to run away to: Hawaii, Colorado, Spain, Italy, England

5 bad habits I have: Swearing, Swearing, Swearing, Swearing, Swearing the rest of me is perfect... I Swear... ;)

5 things I like doing: Knitting, eating, Knitting, Reading, Knitting.

5 things I would never wear: Remember, oh sensitive ones, this is about me. No tatoos, No eyebrow, nose, lip piercings. No Puke colors. NO Super Heels. No bows in hair.

5 TV shows I like: Gilmore Girls, 7th Heaven, CSI:NY & Miami, okay all of the CSI's,
Sunday Morning, Cops and AMW ... I see you laughing again!

5 movies I like: Breakfast Club, Point Break, Fly Away Home, All LOTR Movies, All HP movies

5 famous people I'd like to meet: Nicole Kidman. Oprah. Yusef Islam, this is hard, Edie Brickell, Amy Lee.

5 biggest joys at the moment: HWWTS&J, my kids, Angel (my dog), Knitting, Giving.

5 favorite toys: Knitting Needles, books,etc. Lawn Tractor, Ball Winder, Sock Blockers, Washing Machine.
***********
If you made it this far.... consider your self tagged!!! Yah ... you! That's right, I am talking to you!

Well, you may be wondering where the heck has Christine been. Truth be told, I was having fun without you! Maybe with some of you :) I had an awesome week... I made new friends, shared with old friends, Did some shopping (links later) I absolutely love my brother and sister in law... I learned a lesson about listening to others and making my own opinions! I started my own Clapotis. I usually am not a follower, but I had to. I have joined the Cigar Knit Along (I am making mine for my Dad and he is so psyched) I got accepted into Random Acts of Kindness. Woohoo!!! I went yarn shopping, yeah. Those of you wondering about The Needle Workshoppe, If you see cars in the driveway...stop in, they are happy to help you!! I bought the Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora book so that I can make Katy. I bought one ball of Cotton Angora to see if it makes me sneeze and how I like it. I would like to start sock #2 for Sockapal2za sometime this weekend. And if you have looked at my unky mood...yes, I am sad and lonely, not that 5 kids and a hubby make a person lonely, but I miss HWWTS&J's brother and sister in law already! Well more from me later. I just wanted to check in. Toodles

Getting this in on time for Knit Along Tuesdays....Feel free to check out the other posts too... funny stuff during the past 2 weeks...lol :)

And here it is... the 1st sock... woohoo


Must finish...NORO Cardi!!! Then on to the 2nd sock....yeah.

Subject: FW: Points To Ponder

COWS
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that the US government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington and they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around the country. Maybe we should give them all a cow.

CONSTITUTION
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq. Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it's worked for over 200 years and we're not using it anymore.

TEN COMMANDMENTS
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments in a Courthouse! You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery" and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians! It creates a hostile work environment!

And Last but not least.....George Carlin said it best about Martha Stewart... "Boy, I feel a lot safer now that she's behind bars. O.J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant are still walking around; Osama Bin Laden too, but they take the one woman in America willing to cook, clean, and work in the yard, and haul her ass off to jail."

Good Morning all.... Wanna see a finished Sockapal2za sock? See it here! It is time to stop ranting, well not really, I still have 44 days to be cranky if I want... Remember the 30th birthday resolution? LOL. Oh yeah, I add that I need to lose weight by then...even more reason for crankiness... I am plugging along on the sleeves of my NORO Scoop Neck Cardi... here are the other pieces
Someone asked me the other day, what I would wear it with...geesh I have no idea. I am now beginning to wonder about my color choice and whether I even have anything to wear with it. Now comes the mad dash to lose weight, you see, I don't fit into anything from my preceding Grace life... I refuse to buy any clothes in a size 10 or higher... And I am so sick of seeing my fat ass in the mirror...any suggestions for an appetite suppressant or any weight loss stuff that doesn't include artificial sweeteners? I need to stop eating so much, I have no willpower, I don't drink alcohol, so my family is driving me to eat! geesh. OH, yeah...here is anna with her first knitting project...
Well, it seems I must go, the urchins will be awake at any moment...lol

Have I told you how much I miss Knit Together? I moved to this forsaken place that I live in now back in December...gosh I wish I hadn't agreed to that. The one place that I absolutely miss the most is Knit Together. If you live in the CT area or find yourself passing through... you should definitely stop. They are truly wonderful. Don't forget to say hi to John and Joy... Clea makes wonderful socks, Miriam (when she stops by) is so dead honest I love her for it. Susan knows her books (and she's expecting a new grandbaby) And the rest of the girls are great too!

It's so funny, you decide to write a blog because you figure in real life you really aren't afraid to tell people how you feel! Well, I find myself either trying to decide if I should give out my blog addy or keep it to myself for fear of offending someone...geesh. I've pretty much always had a you can like me or not attitude, but I find as I am very quickly approaching my 30th birthday (in 47 days, if you must know) I am all of a sudden worried about hurting peoples feelings, if people like me and the such...I am not thinking I like it...It was much easier to not care.

I must also apologize for my crankiness, I don't think I am always like this and if I am it is not my intention to be that way. So for my after 30th birthday resolution I will be kinder and less cranky...but you'll just have to deal with me until then.. ha ha ha

~~**~~On the Knitting Front...because this is supposed to be a Knitting Blog~~**~~

I have finished one of my sockapal2za socks, yeah. I feel much better, but bored... I have decided that I will not buy any yarn until I at least finish my Noro Cardi (I bought all of my yarn at Knit Together for this)BTW, can you tell I feel like a traitor going to other stores, I know John understands and insists there is enough to go around, but I still feel guilty...he he he. Did I tell you that they have been open for 2 years this month and John sold me my first bit of sock yarn and pattern ( I am a self taught knitter in many regards ) and when I had problems with ladders, he calmly showed me how to fix them and pull the yarn in the second stitch to make the ladder disappear...Thank you, John! Did I tell you, he and Dylana have a bond! I must make it a point to try to get there at least monthly. Back to the yarn nonbuying...I just can no longer justify buying more yarn until some of my stash leaves... I have Koigu coming out of my ears, Lorna's Laces spewing out of my nose, Noro, must I mention Noro...must take inventory...I will post a pic of my growing stash in my "Closet" when I have made it a little more respectable looking. I picked up the buttons for "On The Moon" for mom and sock blockers, so I can take purty sock pictures!

Well the rambling must end at some point...so here goes....
By the way, just because I am not buying any yarn doesn't mean that I won't accept prizes or gifts...oh yeah girl that is selling the debbie bliss cotton angora, please disregard anything you read above, I need that for "Katy"

Well I am off like a prom dress...so see ya round like a donut

I guess I should start with sockapal2za...

I know what you are thinking...yeah, yeah, yeah when are you going to be done with this first sock. Geesh, you are right in thinking this way...there are like 7 people done with their pair...I salute them. I unfortunately, am not very faithful when it comes to knitting. Sorry dear sock. I am, however, thrilled to inform those of you not following the whole sockapal2za thing, that there are persons (I am not naming names... lol) that haven't even started yet. See, there is hope for me.

***~~~***

Onto the neighbors...I happened to see the dumbass (this will be her name from now on) outside. I had forgotten my cell phone and had to meet HWWTS&J at the Italian Fest (who have now after all of these years renamed it Festival Italiano) anyways, I was turning around to go back up to the house to get it and happened to see that dumbass was outside...so as I am waiting for Dylana to fetch my cell phone, I am stewing. So, she happens to still be outside when I am passing her house, again. I stop. I introduce myself as the neighbor who owns the dog that she lured into her car and brought to the dog pound (aka doggie jail) I proceed to inform her that my dog is not in fact anywhere near being emaciated and she is eleven years old with a scar on her hind leg that was from her previous owner (you remember dickie, right...if not scroll down) getting her hit by a car and that happened 9 years ago. She then told me that I was crazy and my dog needed medical attention and I informed her ever so beligerantly that she was a dumbass and my dog was just at the vet 2 weeks earlier. She told me I should talk to the dog warden and leave her alone, I told her to let the dog warden do her own job and if i found out she came anywhere near my dog again, she would hear from my attourney. So.....

hows abouts me putting a sign at the end of my driveway that states this...

Ask me why I think my neighbor is a DUMBASS!

With, of course, an arrow pointing in her direction....Any thoughts?

I was going to do stash enhancement, but blogger isn't playing nice...maybe it is karma ;)

Stay tuned, as the saga continues...

Did any of you notice that your unky moods are not working? Check it out. The website is parked...boohoo. Does anybody know anything about this?????
UPDATE: look to the right, they are back!!!! Yeah!

OMG, I completely forgot!!!! HWWTS&J and I have been together for almost 9.5 years. All of this time we have slept in the same bed (different mattress) as the ex. Hence the name of the "Becky Bed"...this past weekend, we went out shopping for a new guest bedroom set. Sonny boy, who shall remain nameless, broke the one that we had. So we go to the furniture store and I fell in love with a sleigh bed...now mind you I have for the past 7 years been begging to get rid of the "Becky Bed". Well, it dawned on me that why would we buy a brand new bedroom set for guests...geesh... so the begging ensued and this is what I got for my bedroom...now affectionately known as the "Christine Bed" Woohoo!!!! The Becky bed is going into the guest bedroom! Thank you HWWTS&J! It is coming on Friday...of course the day I am having company, doh. Oh well, hopefully, sonny boy will keep his word on coming and helping his dad move the old furniture upstairs on Thursday. He should do it for breaking the other bed. (he ripped the frame right off the headboard and it is unfixable) So needless to say, I am doing a dance, doing a dance. Oh, BTW, I got everything 2 nightstand, armoire, tall dresser, triple dresser with mirror, king size sleigh bed w/ leather and a stearns and foster mattress and didn't spend as much as on the site. I love it, love it, love it.

In other news, I still hate the town I live in and if it was not for the lovely ladies I spend Tuesday nights with, I would have nagged my way back to the other town. So, HWWTS&J really appreciates you! Here's the latest drama....

On Friday afternoon, my dog booked out of the house to go potty when I got home...this is normal... She didn't come home. Angel is an 11 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier. HWWTS&J saved her from being put to sleep ~ Background *she was ex's who shall be known just as dickie from here on and my dog* Dickie was moving and wife didn't want him to take her +wife shall here on be named UFSW ~ ugly fat stalker wife~ more on her another day+ Well, that wasn't acceptable to HWWTS&J and we set out to find a house with a large yard where she could live out the rest of her time here on earth in peace. Well she loves it here, likes to chase the deer, also likes to wander a bit...and remember she is old. Well, this wacko next door to me has been calling animal control, saying that there is a dog wandering around that looks emaciated (starved) and has an injury. I can understand the injury part (Dickie got her hit by a car when she was about 2 years old and was so busy smoking crack, he didn't bring her to the vet and the scar looks like dry blood all the time) She is not emaciated, the dog eats everything, we have kids who feed her under the table and we also feed her 2x per day. Well, Angel loves to go for rides in the car (Dickie is a truck driver and she used to live with him in the truck) So this obviously "STUPID" chick opens her car door and Angel jumps in. Stupid chick brings her to the pound and my kids are crying all night because they think Angel is gone forever. I haven't gotten to STUPID CHICK, yet...but, I can't wait to let her know just how stupid she is. Then she gets to the pound and tells the warden "oh yeah, you know, we have new neighbors in the "smith house", maybe she belongs to them" Does anyone know how much I hate stupid people...how hard would it have been to stop by my house on the way to the pound which is across town? And further more isn't it the dog wardens job to catch dogs, not retarded neighbors? Then the next day she called the police on HWWTS&J for blowing off fireworks....come on....it is the fourth of july weekend, and he was blowing them off when the town was doing theirs. Geesh.

Well I guess that would be it for now, I have to make sure the kids get ready for camp and then I have to go to the office for billing...type to ya later...he he he

Lucky for me, I have Internet Explorer & MSN on top of AOL. I posted this morning, duh, and I can't see it unless I go into IE or MSN, WTF! I cleared the cache, restarted, cleared the cache again, shut down and still just the last post from June...blasted! Sorry for the rant...trying to see if this will work!

Where the hell have you been, you might ask me...lol. Well Grace has a cold...just the sniffles, but her first. She seems a tad dazed and confused. Seems HWWTS&J has the magic touch. He was rubbing her feet last night while she was screaming her little head off, and she stopped and smiled. Normally, this would make me mad, but I just wanted her to be comfortable. So, "I'll rub her feet, if you've got five bucks", says HWWTS&J. Not willing to part with 5 bucks (which in some instances could be a skein of yarn, I tell him where to stick it. I rock her to sleep and say "HA"

On other fronts, I am diligently working on my first sockapal2za sock. I am almost getting ready for toe decreasing... or maybe I am delusional.

Oh, and secret pal...if you are out there looking for more information... I have added a link on the sidebar for

more about me

. You can also leave an anonymous comment on any of my posts!

3 of my 5 kids start camp today!!!! Yay for me... Let the camp counselors deal with the whining, attitudes, etc. After all they even get paid for it...lmao.

Pictures coming to a post near you!!! When I get back from dropping the kiddies off.

Hope everyone had a great Fourth!