The Sound Of Music...

Our house is filled with the 'sounds of music' - no not Julie Andrews - instead it is the sounds of Bree learning to play the French Horn.

I played French Horn in grade school and high school and when she was going thru the various instruments in band to choose - I kept telling her - choose what you like, not because I played it.. But, in the end she liked the French Horn the best.

And it fits her. It suits her. And she is doing awesome with it!


Our local high school has a program for their better upper level band students whereby they take a course and have to pass a test on 'teaching beginners' how to play and the things to teach, how to teach and the like.

Bree takes lessons from Kelsey. She has had 4 lessons and Kelsey thinks she's doing fantastic. Kelsey's Mom, Shelley plays piano and we sit and have coffee and chat during Bree's lessons at their house on Sunday mornings. Shelley comments often on how Bree's 'sound' is getting so much better and how she can tune to Kelsey playing her horn.

Kelsey is a great role model for Bree. Besides being one of the youngest band members to make the senior symphonic orchestra, she is on the swim team and the high school has over 3,000 students - so competition is quite stiff and she's in 'honor' classes and just a great, great kid.

Bree always practices before going to her lesson even though its 'early' because she wants Kelsey to see how good she's doing and she always seems to be uplifted when she's done.

They also have a cool cat named 'Stretch' because he lays on his side and stretches completely out and pulls himself around in circles with his front legs - like stretching across the carpeting. Bree also gets to play laser light with him and she thinks it is hysterical when he climbs the wall (literally) to try to catch the light.

They have a samoid, named Snowball, which fits him perfectly. He is such a puff ball!

Bree's first concert is December 4th - so stay tuned! (no pun intended!)

It's the time of year...

And I don't mean getting ready for Christmas! I mean cool enough to wear my cozy knit socks... Since we ALL know I love to knit socks...

I'm working on these:



The yarn is called Brown Sugar and it is such an accurate description of the color!

The pattern is another from Cookie A (I think this is my 4th Cookie A pattern - I love her stuff!)

And in the spirit of Halloween.. I knit one of these...

These photos are my friend Lisa's - I haven't taken photos of the one I made yet.. But, as you can tell they are BATS - halloween bats and what makes them really special is that I knit the wings with Bernat's Glow in the Dark yarn - which after putting them by the light - the wings GLOW in the dark.. And they DO!!!

I hate making little critters and Lisa is just so damn good at it (see her etsy site here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=77364 )so, I bribed her to make Bree one... Then I felt like it was a challenge so then I knit one - although Lisa did her phenom method of mattress stitching on my wings and ears for me.. LOL! I'll try to get pics tomorrow of mine (it's GREEN..)

Ever Feel Like a Rat??

This is what Bill, Bree and I did on Saturday... But, unfortunately, there was no "cheese" at the end... We went to Jonamac Orchard in Malta, IL (Out by NIU)!

It is a 10 acre cornfield with 3 acres of winding paths... a couple of bridges to see where you're at.. It was fun - ALL of our feet were tired when finished - I think it took us like a hour plus to get thru the whole thing. At night, it is a "haunted" maze - and they only allow glow lights - I think that would be a blast to do (only if a bunch of high-school kids were NOT allowed in)


Our feet were already tired before we entered the maze from walking out to the orchard and picking our own apples: We picked: Jonathans, Jonagolds, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious and Crispins. This was Bree's first time of actually doing the "pick your own" and we had alot of fun. Reminded me of growing up and my Mom taking us! There's just nothing like a gorgeous day with your family, walking thru an orchard, popping an apple off a tree, shining it on your jeans and biting in to a fresh, juicy red delicious (my fav) apple!

From apple picking, we walked over to the 8 acre pumpkin patch - holy moley - do you know how many pumpkins (of all breeds) can grow on 8 acres - trust me ALOT! You can see the pumpkins we picked in my previous blog post - It's nice to pick them off the vine - you get such nice 'handles' on them - the ones at the farm stands don't have them!

Then, the big nasty's favorite part - the country store... He snacked on 5 berry pie (rasp, straw, rhubarb, blackberry and I don't remember the other berry) - I had peach! Then we bought 4 different kinds of handmade fudge - mint chocolate, reg chocolate, cookies and cream and peanut butter - 1/4lb of each - after the big nasty polished off an ENTIRE 1/4lb in less than an hour, Bree and I put a limit on how much he could eat - so there was some left for us! We also brought home their apple cider- oh my - awesome! and a 1/2 dozen apple donuts with cinn-sugar.. My favorite for sure!

The place was clean, neat, people really nice, no one looking over your shoulder at what apple you're eating, and a perfect fall day!!!

They're Creepy and they're Kookie...

They're mysterious and spooky - they're all together "hookie"

Well, we're not the Adams Family - but, we do enjoy decorating for Halloween. Bree LOVES the scarey stuff - forget the 'cutesy' - the scarier the better, the more kids scared off by it, the better. She doesn't get 'spooked' by it - she just laughs...

Here's some pics! The front porch:
















The front flowerbeds:





Over the Garage:

I'm so bad about taking photos...

Half the time I don't update my blog, because it is such a hassle to take photos, download them to my computer, edit them, load them into flickr or such then add them.

So, this blog post is catching up on completed knitting pieces...

First and longest back is Bree's Messenger Bag. It is a Noni pattern and made with 2 strands of Lamb's Pride Nature's Spun Wool and then felted - one strand was purple and the other mallard green. I wanted to "snaz" it up a bit but Bree wanted it just plain - oh well, a mother can dream.. haahha

It turned out really nice - the handle was a 'biatch' - because I wanted it to be sturdy and the pattern just wanted you to connect it up by the flap and I thought it would eventually rip out - so, in the vain of Tim the Tool Man Taylor.. oh, oh, oh... I knit the strap longer. Then hot glued it to the INSIDE of the bag - ALL the way around (provides extra support for the bottom and sides of the bag to stay square/rectangle-ish) and then hand stitched all the edges around the entire strap - so it should be like freaking cement! (My Dad would be proud - hahaha)

She's already used it by taking it to her friend's house to do homework together... Glad she likes it!

It needs a 'shaving' as the felting gave it a little case of the fuzzies!















And anyone who knows me knows that I ALWAYS have socks on my needles. Infact, I cannot remember a time when I didn't. They go everywhere with me, just in case, you never know, when you'll have that 5 minutes!

I picked up this new way of dyeing sock yarn - called "sock blank" - they knit a flat piece of yarn (like a tshirt if you will) and then dye it while its flat (versus a skein of yarn that's in a circle for dyeing) - then to knit it you unravel it (just like a tshirt will unravel if it is snagged) - it was fun to do! And of course, Bree snatched these socks up right off the bat! She loved the colors and wanted knee socks for winter riding - so viola' she has them.

This is what the yarn looked like in the flat and you can see when I finished one sock how the sock turned out compared to how the yarn looked when it was flat.

I wanted to start and the "other" end of the 2nd length but it does not let you as I thought the colors would match up a bit better starting at that end - but they are close - the oranges just started a bit sooner! The pattern is Ruth Greenwald's "Escalator" and it is an easy, nice knit - I love the spiral look!

They should last her a while (ok maybe 6 months they way she is growing). I am still in shock that at 10 (ok in 30 days she'll be 11) that she is wearing a women's size 7 shoe. Holey Schnikes!















And then I wanted to do something nice for my friend who has been helping me rehab Jessie's suspensory ligament injury (which we go back tomorrow for her follow-up - keep your fingers crossed). Stace has just about everything 'horsey' you could imagine and she's not a fan of doing chores in the Chicago WINTER weather...

So, I made her these Alpaca/Wool socks - using a pattern called Thermal Socks by Audrey Paquin - which is an awesome winter looking pattern - It reminds me of the thermal/waffle weave you see in long underwear or those waffle henley type shirts - nice thick and warm!

She normally wears the fat baby boots and these are high enough to work just right! Bree and Stace wear the same size- so measuring works out perfectly! The yarn is a mix of Alpaca and Wool for warmth and yet washable - while having some nylon in it for strength. They are actually pretty soft. It is called "Paca-Peds" by The Alpaca Yarn Company.

And I got to knit socks for someone instead of nding up with a drawer full for myself which always makes me happy! I enjoy making socks for people, just is a tad difficult since they are made to 'specification' and what's worse than getting a great pair of homemade socks that don't fit???

Stace is going with me tomorrow to Purdue with Jessie and since the weather has turned cool here (40's at night and only high of 60 during the day) she is getting these tomorrow in prep for what's to come.

I am now working on a great pair of socks called Mona, by Cookie A with some absolutely wonderful yarn (it's "fierce") from Zen Garden! It's in this rich brown tone on tone. My knitting friends are drooling! Don't you wish you could see a picture? Well, I forgot. And as the first sentence says - you may not see it for a while! LOL!

They're not fuzzy and cute.. Get it?

We like the comedian, Jeff Dunham... He is a ventriloquist and has one guy named "Walter" - I think he created Walter in the image of my Dad - a grumpy crumudgeon with a big heart - LOL!

Well, one of Walter's favorite lines is "Dumbass" - said in kind of growling, raspy voice...

Walter would tell the yuppyville folks around us that they are King Dumbasses for thinking that the wild bunnies are "cute, fuzzie and adorable". If I hear "awww - look at the baby bunny" one more time, I swear I'm going to assault someone.

They need a slap to the head that these varmints are nothing but destructive, pain in the ass, disease carrying, overpopulated nuisances... And I have the damage pictures to prove it!

This is a picture of our JUST one year old cedar (not cheap) fence. These rats with fur have CHEWED the pickets to widen the gap so they can more easily access our yard.. Now, we have two domestic pet bunnies in the house - that Bree got for 4H. They can squish themselves down to basically shimmy under a door - so WHY do these rats with fur need to chew my new, expensive fence? Because they are freaking LAZY (and born in yuppyville and think they are entitled) and when I sick the 3 dogs on them they feel they might need to get thru the pickets quicker? Then stay out of my freaking yard - you dumbasses.

This is a non-chewed picket - it isn't THAT narrow that they can't get thru..

I thought about spraying the chewed area with the bunny repellant (when I would REALLY like to sit at my porch door and blast the little suckers to oblivion) but, then because I am NOT a dumbass realize if I close up that chewed picket to them, they'll chew elsewhere ruining my fence even further...

I'm going to have to get a stealth door for Bailey - she points those bunnies in a nanosecond like a radar and is as stealth like as a big cat (as in tiger, panther and the like) to "release the beast" in her to catch just one of these little varmints.

I have to figure out a way that the yuppyville (a friend refers to this town as "hoo-ville - from Horton hears a hoo - because it's just not "real" - hahah) joneses won't figure out if I'm zapping these guys with a pellet gun, pump bb gun or something of the like - I'd have to find a silencer for it - otherwise I'm sure I'd be arrested...

If you agree with me that these rats with fur are nuisances and should be dealt with, send bail money...

The Man is Bree's Life...

Bree is an avid Indianapolis Colts fan! She also hates and despises the Bears.. (Weird being a chicagoland family) -

A few times a week, on his way home from work, Bill stops in the 7-11 store about a half mile from our house... In the beginning of August, they put up a display.. He thought Bree would go NUTS over the display...

So, Bill asked the guy who he sees most days when he stops and he told Bill that they would be "done" with the display at the end of the month - he took our phone number down.. Well, sure enough right around Labor Day they called.

Bill picked it up last weekend and set it in the garage and told Bree that one of her "friends" had stopped by and was out in the garage.. She about died when she saw it. She moved furniture around in her room - just to find the "right" place for it.

So, Sunday night's football game was the Indianapolis Colts vs the Chicago Bears. Now, Bree has been talking smack with my Mom (who is an avid Bears fan) all week and they even made a $3 bet... So, Sunday night she brought down her "man" and put her team spirit on and called my Mom and was talking even MORE trash as the game started..

Here's her good friend... Life size,(about 6 feet tall) mind you..


Yeup, It's Peyton Manning - the COOL thing is that if you turn it around, Eli Manning is on the other side - there were points in time during the game that she would "talk" to Peyton, turn it around and tell Eli to tell his Brother to get his act together...

She's eating crow this week since the Bears beat her man and her team...

-sorry for the flash "white-out" in the middle of Peyton the glare was awful!