A funny thing happened on the way to Community Service

So Sunday was a day my Stepson was scheduled to do some community service. From what I understand, there is a requirement for community service during the 4 years of High School. Being that Chris is part of the football team, his coach provides some opportunities for service. Not a bad thing at all...So Sunday was Chris' turn to work at a fall festival at a local church. We figured that we would drop him off and pick him back up in 2 hours. We had no idea!

Once Rebekah saw the horse and ponies in the back...there was no going home and coming back...we were doomed to stay. And we had a blast doing so!  Chris had his work to do and Jim and I followed Rebekah around as she played on the inflatables, rode the horse and both ponies, played on the inflatables some more, and got her face painted like a butterfly, played on more inflatables and met a little girl with whom she bonded quickly and they played on the inflatable obstacle course together. Jim and I enjoyed some great food and I caught up with one of my cousins who attends the church!  It was great family fun and all because Chris had to do community service!  Gee Thanks buddy!

Learning something new!

 

My Best Friend, De-De, came for a visit in August. We crammed a lot of activities into 10 days!  We cruised in the Dream Cruise in a '63 Cadillac Convertible. We cleaned out my spare bedroom that is a computer room and yarn stash room...wish I had before and after pictures...but I didn't do that. Suffice it to say, it was about a 4 day job to clean that room up and organize yarn and books, and then clean the dining room up and organize the yarn in there and De-De carried it upstairs to help me organize all my yarn into one room. It was such a labor of love and it is truly appreciated!

We stayed up late and knit and watched movies and talked and looked at pictures and just had a fabulous time together!  We visited the Michigan Fiber Festival on Saturday and I learned how to weave a basket...This was one of the new things I learned. I've never done any basket weaving before and this class was a great way to learn it! Just before I left, I shot off an email to a friend of ours, Sally, who lives right near the fairgrounds. She stopped by to visit and invited us to dinner after the Festival closed for the day. What a special treat!!  Sally and her daughter were such gracious hostesses!  They treated us to a meal that would rival any 5 star restaurant!!  Delicious and beautifully served. It was sweet fellowship! It was the cream on top of a great day!

By far the best thing about De-De's visit was learning to spin!!  De-De taught me proper drop spindling and stick spinning. And I was finally able to get the hang of pre-drafting and then drafting fiber while spinning.  Then De-De taught me how to spin on my very own Fricke Spinning wheel. This thing is perfect!!  It has a whorl with 5 different speeds, came with 4 bobbins, and a lazy kate to boot!  I absolutely love it!!! And I realized that I don't have to be afraid of spinning anymore!

De-De takes these awesome pictures!!

You can truly tell this is beginner yarn but I love it!!! Rebekah and I both enjoyed having De-De's attention and even though she is visiting her daughter now, we miss her company!Told you...awesome pictures!

And yet again...It's been a long time

Just the other day my Step son was complaining because his summer is almost gone and he "didn't really get to relax" He's been going to football practice because he'll be playing Freshman Football for the Waterford Kettering Captains!! I've never been a "Football Mom" so there's lots to learn...But it's all good. I'm proud of him.

But I was realizing that my summer is almost gone too...not that I got any time to relax with responsibilities of a home and family and a full time job with overtime required to pay bills...But here it is halfway through August and I'm still wondering where July went! It has been a great summer though. We managed to make it to the beach owned by our association and really enjoyed the sun and sand...and we will still have time to enjoy it more! We also got to enjoy Rebekah's first Carnival. We paid for the wrist band and let her pick the rides...She kept wanting to go on the Ferris Wheel....Mom or Dad had to ride with her. needless to say...she' is still waiting to ride the Ferris Wheel!! She was almost fearless going on those kiddie rides alone. Some even flew in the air...and she loved it...Even put her hands up on the Kiddie Coaster!!  She had a blast and my heart was full of enjoyment at her fun!!! We even enjoyed a few trips to the ice cream store!

In the middle of all this fun, we managed to help Chris get his stuff together for football and starting High School this year. It's a daunting task to take on a child when he is entering High School and try to make that experience enjoyable for him. But I really believe that Chris is not only having a good time being part of a team but that he is also going to succeed in the 9th grade!!

On top of all of this...I managed to knit project one and 2 of the Camp Loopy Challenge. The first project was knitting a shawl using 2 colors. It only had to be a shawlette...but I'm not much of one for little shawls...so I used 6 skeins of yarn!  Considering that I finished that shawl in the one month given (June 15-July 15) and it used 1200 yards of yarn...I should have no trouble finishing the last project...using 800 yards of yarn! Only 800!  That's easy! I knitted my Pamuya and added some yardage. I'll be knitting Old Shale for project 3 and won't be adding any right now. I also managed to finish my Baudelaire socks for Project 2.  So tonight...I plan to cast on my Malibrigo Rios for the 3rd Camp project.  And why, you may ask, do I do this...It's all for Wollmeisse...a free skein of Wollmeisse yarn...That ellusive yarn that is incredibly hard to obtain and so I am doing all of this for a freebie!!

Camp Loopy Cast on!

I've been waiting to Cast on for my Camp Loopy project and then fell asleep before the official time! So I got up early this morning and got started! YEAH! I'm camping with my dear friend De-De and we are both knitting Pamuya but with different yarn. The Loopy Ewe has so many cool ideas and this is a hit for the owner. Have to buy the yarn from them and there will be 3 projects this summer. Very creative marketing!

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Happy Easter!

Rebekah had a blast finding eggs after church today. Then she hid them and made Mom and Dad find them! That was incredibly fun for us!

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HE IS RISEN!

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean In its fullness over me,
Underneath me, all around me, Is the current of Thy love;
Leading onward, leading homeward To my glorious rest above.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, Spread His praise from shore to shore!
How he loveth, ever loveth, Changeth never, nevermore;
How He watches o're His loved ones, Died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth, Watcheth o're them from the throne.


O the deep, deep love of Jesus, Love of every love the best;
'Tis an ocean vast of blessing, ' Tie a haven sweet of rest,
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 'Tis a heav'n of heav'ns to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, For it lifts me up to Thee.

One of my favorite ressurection day hymns.

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A Little More Fiber Adventuring!

OK. 2  years ago my DH, Jim asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I wanted a drop spindle. I found one on Etsy made by Mainewoods. I ended up getting a Top Whorl and a Bottom Whorl and some roving to play with. I got the spindle in 2009 and tried to play around with spinning but had NO CLUE what I was doing. So I  put it all away and went on with my knitting and got into some dying and have had fun...

Recently, my BFF, DeDe decided to have a Fiber Adventure Week. She's been dyeing, spinning, weaving, playing with Silk, all sorts of thing having to do with fiber! So much fun to read her blog posts about what she was adventuring into each day. This spurred me on to doing a little creative dyeing myself with my daughter yesterday. Today I got a different bug.

My husband asked me later why I didn't tell him what I had planned when we came home from grocery shopping today. I scrounged my stash looking for those spindles that I had put away long ago...Ironically, it was Jim who found them for me! And then later had the nerve to ask me why I didn't tell him it was going to take up my time for the next 2 hours! Well what did that matter...he was content to watch the Detroit Tigers beat up the Chicago White Sox. Ah well. So I got on the phone and called up DeDe since she is the one who started all this Adventure stuff..

And I Predrafted fiber in preparation for spinning...I would have never figured this out if I hadn't had DeDe as a teacher...This is why I failed those initial tries 2 years ago! I had no clue how to get started! According to DeDe's instructions I predrafted a bit more...but found I was a bit afraid to really let the fibers slide apart to much. Need more practice!

Once it started to look like this, I was ready to start Spinning on the stick I had...this is practice for a brand Newbie spinner trying to learn over a phone...and let me tell you just having a Smartphone doesn't help in times like these!  Especially when that stupid Smartphone won't email or text pix while you are on the dumb phone...but I digress...

So I followed the instructions that I was given and within minutes I was creating the first steps of spinning yarn!! I was spinning it by drafting ( allowing the untwisted yarn to slightly twist while holding it away from the twisted, or spun, yarn) with my right hand and twisting it by rolling the stick on my leg with my left hand...I immediately changed hands and went the other way...much easier for me. Just a few minutes and some patient guidance via phone from DeDe and I had the beginnings of YARN!!!

I still have a long way to go and lots to learn. I was able to learn how to add more fiber to be drafted and then how to ply a short section together on my hand...I ended up with this...which has a long way to go and a lot of learning ahead...but I loved it!!  I am creating yarn! I still have yet to learn how to spin on my spindles...but I ran out of time..tomorrow is another adventure...

Oh...by the way...my first attempt has already been confiscated as a princess crown! High Praise indeed!

Our Friday Fiber Adventure

I have been watching my Best Friend's adventures in fibering this week and developing a jealous streak a mile wide. She has so many talents when it comes to fiber that I can only help but be jealous. So I got a little motivated to try something new with Rebekah today. It's the time of year we remember Christ's death and Celebrate His resurrection. Easter. Jim, Rebekah, and I colored some eggs as we have each year.

     Then we needed to find something to do with the leftover dye we had. I really did not want to just dump it out without trying something new and fibery with it. So here Rebekah and I used a 10cc syringe and shot little injections of egg dye into already prepped bare yarn. I had already purchased yarn for this from Knitpicks. They have a great selection of bare yarns for dyeing.  So anyhow...I prepped the yarn by soaking in water and as we already added vinegar to our easter egg color pots...I only added another 10 cc to each.  After we were done with our eggs, I let Rebekah choose whatever colors she wanted to inject onto her yarn. She had so much fun!  And I must admit so did I. We used up almost all of the left over egg dye just shooting it onto and into the yarn spread on the plate.

This is the two plates we ended up with...I finished wrapping it in plastic wrap and microwaving each plate for 2 minutes...then swapping plates and continuing that process every 2 minutes for 3 cycles...all of the dye was used and the water ran clear.  After leaving it to cool off on the counter for a while...we rinsed the yarn in cool water with a dab of herbal shampoo...I didn't see any dye come off in the water so I was thrilled that the dye struck.

This is the result of Rebekah's after processing...right now the yarn is hanging in the kitchen to dry...and the process of choosing an appropriate pattern to make up socks for Rebekah and I...

So this is how we spent out Fabulous Friday Fiber Adventure.  It turned out really nice. Rebekah's skein is on the left and mine is on the right. I am having trouble waiting for it to dry!!! I must tell you that this is DeDe's fault...she encouraged me to try something a little different with fiber. Maybe next time I will break out my drop spindle and play with some roving...

Just goofing around

I got a great deal the other day on one of those bags with the plastic picture slots for holding snapshots of your favorite people. I only paid 3$ for the bag from Michael's because of their 40% off coupons. I have been wanting one of these bags and they had some in pink. So I decided to go through some of my recent pix of Rebekah and settled on only 5...because there is only 5 slots....it was a little hard to settle on so few. So I decided to share a couple here. I've already shared the one that I like while making paper mache the other day and here are a few more of my favorite daughter!!

She's a handful during the day but so cute when she sleeps! And she is a total fashionista!!  She tells me what she wants to wear...

And then there is having fun with daddy!
And lets not forget my current favorite right now...my new Droid X will let me take Sepia pictures and I managed to get this one while we were riding the carousel at the mall a few weeks ago. So this is how I spent some time this afternoon. Along with knitting. Yes I haven't completely forgotten my knitting. I have completed one goal this year by trying a new craft with the paper mache. I can't believe that Joann Fabrics had coupons for 5$ off one item as long as it was at least 5$...so I managed to buy some Crayola paints for 2$ after using that coupon. I have been a customer of Joann's for many years and get the flyers sent to the house...and I have NEVER seen this coupon for 5$ off...5@ off a 25$ purchase...but not simply 5$ off...and what do you know...I go the newest coupon flyer for starting Saturday...and it had another 5$ off coupon. I have been trying to save money by couponing and this is a great deal for me! So anyhow...that's how we were able to get the paint for our paper mache project and we painted them last night. I haven't ever tried Paper Mache and I was excited to work on this with Rebekah. we had a blast. Dad took some pictures and I will post them later and get a final picture when everything is dry!

Everyone gets in the fun

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Rebekah pasting

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New Craft for me

Rebekah and I decided to make papermache masks today. We have balloons, newspaper strips, flour and water. Rebekah mixed the paste and together we plastered the newspaper strips in the balloon. They are drying now and we will finish the rest after they dry.

So much fun!!!

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Just getting started on 2011

OK. I actually survived 2010. And I have come to the conclusion this morning that January of 2011 is almost behind us!  I cannot believe it. Seems like yesterday was Christmas. Well, actually, Monday was Christmas Tree take down/takeout day....so last week was Christmas, right????

I took a few days to look over my goals from 2010 and was surprised that a couple of them I actually did meet. I did make some socks from Cat Bordi's New pathways, I listened and read many books, but I don't think I got to the 50 mark. I did finish Jim's Wedding Afghan. And that's about all for accomplishing the goals. I worked toward all of them but I fell somewhat short of most of them. So incorporated into  my goals for 2011 I have many unachieved goals...I'm wondering how many will still be unachieved in 2012? But that's a whole year away! So....

Here is my official list of goals for 2011:
Physical
1. Be 25 pounds lighter by 2012.
2. Exercise 20 minutes a day for 3 days a week.
3. Increase water intake and decrease pop intake
4. Do something with my hair.

Spiritual
1. Read Bible through in 2011.
2. Memorize one scripture at least every month.
3. Get back involved in church regularly.
4. Participate in a Bible Study.
5. Keep a prayer journal.

Home
1. Take back control of CHAOS.
2. Keep laundry under control.
3. Clean out computer room.
4. Clean and organize Dining Room.
5. Develop coupon budgeting.
6. Develop and stay on budget for household.

Hobbies
1. Read/listen to 50 books in 2011.
2. Read something recommended that I would not normally read.
3. Complete 3 Knitting UFO's.
4. Complete 2 projects using stash yarn.
5. Challenge the TKGA Level 1 Master Knitter Program.
6. Learn a new technique in knitting or craft.
7. Keep Ravelry updated.
8. Design socks for Rebekah.
9. Teach Rebekah to knit/crochet/weave/sew...something crafty with Rebekah.

So there it is. My official list of goals for 2011. I can't say that I am unhappy about 2010. I had a lot of obstacles to overcome last year, Jim's Hospitalization in January, Jim's Hip replacement in April, the terrible schedule of classes for May through December, starting Rebekah into Preschool and driving both Rebekah and Jim to and from schools, working midnights and trying to survive on one income, modification of primary mortgage and not losing the house...and so much more!

And through all of the year of 2010, I have not lost my Lord and Savior, He has been beside me all the way every day even when I had little time for Him (to my shame). I have not lost my best woman friend, DeDe. She has challenged me, encouraged me, and lifted us up before the throne of God in prayer when we needed it. I have not lost my dear husband, James. And I am grateful to God for His Mercy and Grace and continued work in our lives and marriage. I have not lost my dearest Daughter, Rebekah, although she is growing and quite a tomboy sometimes and performs feats that make a mother's heart quake! So, in all, I have lost nothing and gained much from 2010 and for all that I have learned and the experiences I have gained, I am grateful!