Cookie Recipes

Do you like to bake cookies?  Are you always searching for new recipes or recipes for cookies you love but haven't made in a long time?  Try this website and see if you can't find something to get you baking again.  There are even gluten free versions for those who require that kind of cookie.  My mouth was watering just looking at the pictures.....

World Series

You probably thought I was going to write about the World Series of Baseball, right?  Nope.  I'm here to lift up a new cause that you may not have ever heard of.  It's called the World Series of Quilt Challenge and the goal is to raise awareness and donations for Alzheimer's Disease research.  Eight nationally known quilters have contributed small 16" x 16" quilts, four for the American League and four for the National League.  This is one time when you can cross party lines and vote as often as you'd like.  How can you vote?  By donating $1 for the quilt you like -- feel free to donate more!  Right now Sue Nickels is in the lead.  Take a look for yourself.  I can certainly see why Sue is in the lead but I sure do like the one from Caryl Bryer Fallert too.

Just about every night on the local news there's another family searching for a lost loved one who suffers from Alzheimer's or dementia.  We really do need to support the research for finding treatment and a cure for this dreaded disease.

Door to Door Organics

Week before last I saw a Groupon offer for home delivered organic produce from Door to Door Organics.com.  The offer was the $33 small box for only $16 -- I bought without hesitating.  Today when I got home from work this box was waiting for me in my kitchen:

And here is what was inside: 

(Something for Kevin)

And lots that we both will enjoy: 

Now there are a couple of items in the box that I'm unfamiliar with:  chard, red starkrimson pears, and kiwi berries.  Not a problem though because their website has recipes for their produce, too!  I didn't see anything for these items so I went instead to Serious Eats.com where I found what looks like a yummy recipe to use the chard in.  That will have to be dinner for tomorrow since I need the white beans and canned tomatoes.

Door to Door Organics includes instructions for storing your produce and also lets you know how soon you should consume the items for better flavor.  You can set up automatic delivery for every week or every two weeks and you can stop deliveries if you're going out of town.  I might sign up for every two weeks, just to be sure I'm actually able to eat everything they send me.

I think I'm going to cook the spinach tonight to have with my mac & cheese.  Gotta have something healthy....

P.S.  If you haven't signed up for Groupon yet -- what the heck are you waiting for??!!  You could be taking advantage of great deals like this one!

Worn Out

This past weekend was the Mt Bruce Sheep & Wool Festival in Bruce Twp, MI.  I've done this show for 8 years now and this was probably the weakest yet.  The temps were low and attendance was worse.  My booth was crowded maybe 5 times all weekend.  I work my butt off to create products and put lots of thought into my booth set up and presentation.  I have plenty of bruises to show for my hard work.  Wanna see my shins?  I didn't think so.

The homestead was nicely decorated though I think not as much as usual:

Here's a straight on shot of my booth (lamb meat for sale way back there):

 My tippy mitten tree was less so with the pipe straps I pounded into the ground on the base.

My coat rack worked out well although I'm not sure about it's position in the tent:

I liked the Cranbrook rack for my hats and I think the clothespins worked well for the shoppers:

Here's Hedy before she was brutally attacked by a manner-less little girl who scratched her face up (little sh~t!):

The Etta Hat that she's sporting was the first hat I sold on Saturday.  That was a lucrative sale -- four hats and a pair of fingerless mittens.  I thought things were going to go well but alas, it was very quiet the rest of the weekend.  My sales were down from last year and I thought that was a bad year.  

I always knit at the shows, unless the temps are down in the 40s, and I sold two hats that I made while I was there.  Woohoo!

I'm going to have to let things simmer for a while but after taking an hour to tear down my booth and another hour to load up the T&C, I was just so doggone tired I thought this would be my last time there.  I think the clincher was that they had a window salesman as a vendor.  I truly don't understand why you'd want to take a wonderful event that showcases farm life and country living and throw in a window salesman.  Is it just me?  I think not.

Tick...tick....tick...tick

The time is fast approaching for my first festival of the year -- you can see the deadline is down to mere hours for  the Mt. Bruce Sheep & Wool Festival.  I went out there tonight to set up my booth and big surprise -- the winds had been so strong, 40 mph+, that the tent I'm normally under had come down!

I waited a while for the winds to die down and the tent went back up again.  The winds continued to gust but at least I could get my tent up under the big tent.  All of my display pieces are there except for Hedy (got to remember her tomorrow) and I only need to bring my inventory and sales box with me.  We're expecting spectacular weather for the weekend so I'm hoping that people bring the wallets and are willing to part with some money!

I'll try to take pictures tomorrow and post them soon.  For right now, I've got some last minute finishing work to do before I head to bed for hopefully a restful sleep.

Do-Over

I un-knit the hat I wrote about yesterday and re-knit it today, casting on 42 stitches instead of 48.  It turned out smaller, but not as small as I was envisioning.

It's a super soft microfiber yarn from Muench and I think a young child will love it!

Next is the hat I knit on Tuesday:

Doesn't it look like a snowflake on the top?  I don't remember which yarn this one was (I'll look to see if I can find the ball band tomorrow).  I think it will make a great hat for a boy.  I don't have too many 'boy' items.  Something I need to work on, among other things......

Ouch!

Tonight somewhere between the car and the front door to my house I was attacked.  Something with a wicked stinger set its sights on my forearm and let me have it:

Now I know that it doesn't look like a scorpion or tarantula bit me but I can assure you -- IT STINGS!  I can't imagine what I ever did wrong to that bee or whatever it was, but I'm off to find something in the medicine cabinet to provide relief.

I knit hat #70 today on the bus ride to and from work.  I started another one at knit group tonight but it's bigger than I was aiming for (child size was the goal) with a bulky yarn from Muench.  I'm contemplating un-knitting it and casting on with fewer stitches.  Such a tough decision since I'm actually at the point where decreasing begins.............

Have a Good Laugh

My friend Pat sent this funny video from Bill Cosby's 'You Bet Your Life' show.  Get out a U.S. map and enjoy!

Weekends are for rest, right?

My first show of the year is coming up next weekend -- see map, etc. on the right panel.  I spent yesterday and today making sure that my Is are dotted and my Ts are crossed.  At least I have a list from which I can begin to cross off items.

Remember how I said I thought I had an AT&T problem but it corrected itself?  Wrong.  I spent most of the weekend without TV, phone, or Internet access.  I finally called for service yesterday and the repair was scheduled for today, between noon and 4 PM.  That pretty much kept me confined to quarters for the day.  I missed out on a planning meeting for our next quilt show and a visit with Holly & Mike.

I did, however, get quite a bit done, including the finishing details of my latest wool coat.  That gives me 6 coats for this weekend's show.  If I can, I'd like to get more done, but they're a lot of labor and I still have some buttons to sew on and seams to sew down by hand.

I also updated several bags in my inventory that haven't sold over the past couple of years.  It's amazing how simply adding some needle felting designs suddenly make the bags marketable.  Hopefully that will be the case at Mt. Bruce.

Without further delay, here is the front lapel of my latest coat, a cashmere/mohair blend:

Now, the front is always a preview of the back, right?  Here's the back:

Kevin thinks it is teetering on the edge of gaudy.  I know it's easy to go overboard so if you think it's a bit much, please tell me.  He's a guy -- what does he know????

Here are some close ups of the flowers on the back:

I'm a little worried about the weather forecast for the coming week.  I see a lot of rain and that will make the field where we park for the show very soggy, muddy, slippery next weekend.  The weather for next weekend is looking nice -- 69º and sunny -- perfect for this time of year.  Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have quite as much rain as predicted and more sunshine!

Why I Love Hardware Stores

You can usually find just about anything you could possibly need at a hardware store.  Sometimes the employees come up with solutions you would never have considered for your problem or need.  Today I went over to Home Depot to find a stand for Hedy.  In my mind, I needed some sort of wooden base and a large dowel to screw into the base for the wig stand to set on.  My goal is to keep Hedy from blowing around at shows and make her a little more presentable.

Here's what employee Michelle and I came up with:

A galvanized flange, adapter, and 1/2" pipe -- superb!  Small but with enough weight to keep Hedy on the table.  Here's a close up of the pieces:

So now I can take photos with Hedy not resting on the table:

Hedy is modeling my latest beret made from Berroco Ultra Alpaca in a lovely pea green color -- so nice and soft.  It's raining outside today so Hedy will have to stay inside while the hat dries.

Last night I had no TV, Internet, or phone again.  I tried all sorts of unplugging, re-plugging, resetting, etc. without success.  Instead I worked on more needle felting ideas for coats.

But as luck would have it, when the house phone wasn't working this morning I called AT&T on my cell phone, and after one last reset, everything was back in order.  It feels so isolating when all this stuff goes on the fritz.

I'm off to work on some more wool coats.  I need to get a couple more done today and then I can feel 'well-stocked'.

Another Wool Coat

Expecting rain today, I drove to work and got into the office at 6:30 AM.  I intended to take a half day but that didn't work out.  Even still, I was home by 3:30 PM, so I got right to work designing another embellishment for a wool coat.  

First I had to decide which coat to use:  black, navy, grey???  I ended up with a black Chesterfield coat by London Fog.  I looked through several books for inspiration and decided on a winter theme.  Here's what I came up with:

And a close up of the snowflake:

I really enjoy selecting the roving and needle felting it down but sometimes I get a bit stressed out narrowing down my design ideas.  Not that doesn't happen in other areas of my life.  

I'm glad with the finished look and tomorrow I'll use some fresh eyes to decide what to do on the front of the coat.

P.S.  Happy Birthday Eddie!

Writing Style

I found a website by way of Worldstart.com that compares your writing style to famous authors' styles.  It's called I Write Like and being the curious person I am, I visited the site and found I'm either like Stephen King or Dan Brown.  Does that mean I write like a man???

Henceforth...

and forever more, she shall be known as Hedy:

Seen here sporting my latest hat, made from a Classic Elite yarn called MarL La.  It is actually 4 different yarns, rolled as one.  They aren't twisted together, the way plied yarn is.  If you wanted to, and had plenty of liquor to buoy you, you could try to separate it into 4 different balls of yarn -- but why would you???  

The yarn was actually leftover from a previous project, a felted bag.  I found it didn't felt down much so I knew it was destined to be knit up and left alone.  It makes a cozy hat.

I'm off to get my Treasurer's report ready for tomorrow night's GLHQ board meeting.  See ya!

P.S.  Thanks to all who voted!

Will it be Hedy??

Time is running out to cast your vote for my Styrofoam Wig Head.  C'mon!  Let's give her a proper name -- you've got less than a day to make this important decision.  Ok, so choosing what to wear for the day or what's for dinner might be a littler more important ......

September GLHQ Show 'n Tell

As promised here are some wonderful pictures from last Thursday's meeting.  It started with Kathy giving Becky the photo book of quilts that Becky had shown during her member trunk show earlier this year.  Becky was so surprised!

Next up were quilts from various guild members:

In the bottom left photo is a picture of one of our day groups who got together and sewed dresses for African girls.  Not sure if this is the right one, but if you're interested in this endeavor click here.

And finally, my favorite style of quilts is Folk Art.  Here's one made by Karen from the Cotton & Ewe book.

Such an enjoyable Show 'n Tell!  Our guild is full of talented quilters.

Remember

When the tragedies of 9/11 occurred I was sitting at my desk at work, listening to Good Morning America on my radio with TV sound.  I couldn't see what was happening but I listened to the reporters and wondered how two planes could both have wildly flown into such large buildings as the Twin Towers.  How could you not see something so big in front of you?  I thought at first they must have been those little sight-seeing planes.

I spent much of the next few days glued to the TV, absorbing all of the details, and crying my eyes out, feeling so bad for all of the victims and their survivors.  Like many Americans, I wanted to do something.  I wanted to volunteer to help in some way.

I heard about a group that was looking for volunteers to make memory quilts for the surviving family members of firefighters who were lost in the rubble of the Twin Towers.  I knew this was one way I could make a difference and heal myself at the same time.  I emailed the contact for that group and was given a choice of families.  I chose the King family.  Theresa and her three young children, Thomas, Elizabeth, and Stephen, lost their husband and father, Robert King Jr., a FDNY firefighter from Engine 33, Ladder 9, on Great Jones Street, just blocks away from the World Trade Center.  My mission was to collect meaningful articles of clothing, photographs, and whatever else the family wanted included in their quilts.  Yes, four quilts needed to be made -- one for each of them.

It was a daunting task and my conversations with Theresa were a challenge.  I tried to focus on the task at hand and tried not to be emotional with her.  She sent me a box with Robert's things -- favorite shirts, his FDNY shorts, patches, photos and their wedding invitation.  Wow.  Such personal things.

I designed the four quilt fronts seen in the photo at the top of this post.  Theresa's was a queen sized four block with flags.  The stripes were 13 different fabrics for each block.  At the top were large folk art hearts with a hole in them -- I appliqued a hole shaped piece from his firefighter shorts.  The stars that were in the setting blocks contained embroidered names and birth dates for Robert, Theresa, and the children, something Theresa had asked for.  My friend Mary did the embroidery for me and my friend Jackie did a masterful job quilting it.

The backs of each of the quilts were the memory side.  I created a photo ladder and used photo transfer paper to put the appropriate photo on each person's quilt.  Theresa's had their wedding photo and invitation too.  Robert was a tool collector, going to flea markets and garage sales looking for tools, so I used a fabric that had tools in it for the backing.  Everything went together so perfectly, I knew Robert was guiding me.  Making these quilts was both a creative and cathartic process for me.

As my self imposed deadline neared I called on my Chicken friends to help me get the last of the work done on the quilts.  I was so grateful for their help.  I showed the quilts at the October 2004 GLHQ meeting and I think no one in the room had a dry eye.

The next day I traveled to New York with my friend Sue to deliver the quilts personally to the King family.  Packed carefully in a suitcase, I was so nervous they would get lost.  Sue and I took a train out to Long Island, placing the quilts in a garbage bag to protect them from the rain.  When we got to the King home, I think I was stunned at how welcoming and healed they were.  I expected lots of tears but instead was greeted by exuberant and 'normal' people.  They all knew we were there to give them something special and we had them sit on a couch with their eyes closed as we presented each person with their quilt.  They were thrilled and admired each other's quilts as well as their own.  It's definitely the best project I've ever committed myself to and so rewarding.

In the entryway of their home hung a blackened firefighter's helmet, perhaps Robert's, I thought but knew better than to ask.  Robert's remains weren't recovered from Ground Zero until February 2002, at which time they held a memorial.  I believe he had been in the North Tower.  I've studied every documentary I have seen, pausing the program when I've seen his Engine company.  Something in me just wants to know for sure.

Each year this day gets a little easier to get through.  I keep the photo of Theresa and the children on my refrigerator so I will never forget the events of that day.

September GLHQ Meeting

Last night was the first quilt guild meeting for the 2010-2011 year.  We had invited a mother-daughter duo from the Flint, Michigan area to show us their collection of 19th Century quilts.  The presentation was wonderful and the quilts were stunning.  See for yourself:

More detail of the first set of quilts:

That's Virginia in the top left photo -- she was delightful!  These were very old quilts -- see the signature block in the top row?  It's dated 1808!

While they brought primarily applique quilts to show us (much to the squealing glee of Betsy sitting behind me) there was one paper pieced quilt, seen in the bottom row, which still had the English paper piecing templates inside of the quilt!

Finally, some crazy patch quilts, a Lone Star, and a shot of the speakers, Virginia and April, with April doing her best Lady Gaga impersonation when the battery in the microphone started to go.  Both ladies were really knowledgeable about the fabrics used, the dyes, and patterns.  I really enjoyed their talk.  More pictures from Show 'n Tell coming tomorrow.

Great Day

Don't you just love days when you start with a big, long list of things to do and you're able to check just about all of them off at the end of the day?  I had one of those days today and I feel so much better.  The clutter that fills my mind is slowly dissipating.  Phew!

I finished these bags today:

I used a collection of abalone butters that I acquired a few years ago.  They work well for these bags.  I chose skeins of variegated Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky for the bags and they felted up nicely.

This next bag was ordered by a customer who visited my website.  She liked one of the bags that I had shown at the Mt Bruce show (see notice up above on the right) but I had sold it.  That was OK with her because she wanted a different shape.  She gave me the dimensions and features she needed and voila, here it is:

I wove the cream colored yarn into the bag before it went into the washing machine.  It came out amazingly even and the finished size is spot on with the customer's measurements.

When I sew the buttons and pockets on my bags I don't mess around -- they're sewn on good and tight.  One of the problems with that is :

If you said 'those needles are all broken -- they have no eyes' you would be correct.  There was a fourth one but I had already thrown it out.  Yep, went through four sewing needles today.  I use buttonhole thread for the most part to sew the buttons, pockets, magnetic snaps, etc. on and tug like the dickens to make them stay on.  I guess I need a stronger needle too?

I punched the holes in my 98 laminated hang tags today and now I need to cut 20 yards of rattail into the cord for them. Yippee Skippy!  All part of the prep work necessary for a good show season.

Out of my stash....

...and into my tub of finished hats:

I think it will make a nice child's hat.  I've had the yarn in my stash since, gasp, 2004.  It actually had been sitting beside my bed, in front of my nightstand, in a plastic container and was so neglected.  I've made amends and now it will hopefully find it's way onto the head of some adorable girl very soon.  I used most of a skein of Gedifra Serano, a microfiber/nylon blend, and part of a skein of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted Wool.  It's a simple rolled brim hat, straight stockinette, double D decrease, and an umbilical cord finish.

Tonight I also got the handles sewn on two felted bags that I made last year and found during my hunt on Monday.  Now I just need to sew their cell phone pockets inside and they will be done, done, diddly done!

Tomorrow I've taken the day off of work to get things ready for my shows.  I'll probably tackle the hang tags and hopefully, get a hat knit up to be felted.

For now I'm off to sleep.  It's amazingly chilly right now and makes for an oh so comfortable night's sleep.

Don't forgot to add your 2¢ worth and name my Styrofoam hat stand in my poll on the right!

I Found Her

Today I walked into a world I knew nothing about.  I entered the vast domain that is Cherry Beauty Department.  Who knew there were so many styles, colors, etc. of wigs, various forms of hair extensions and buns available and the people around to buy them???  Certainly not me.  I had no idea so many options even existed.  I remember way, way back my older sisters had some crazy wigs they would don, probably on bad hair days.  I think I may have even plunked them on my head, only to discover how miserably hot they were!

I found the Styrofoam wig stand I've been looking for and for the mere pittance of $1.99 I left the store happy as a clam.  She's not quite as rotund and I was hoping for but for now she will do.  

Here's where you come in.  She needs a name so I've created the little poll on the right.  I'm also open to other suggestions, so by all means, leave comments.

I've already put the yet-to-be-named wig stand to work.  She's modelling my Etta hat, and yes Kim, you were right.  My gauge was 19 stitches to 4" instead of 18.  Next time.......

Excellent shot of the Double D decrease!

Isn't she lovely??!!

She deserves a name so come on -- cast your vote in my poll or offer up a better solution in my comments!

Break's Over

How can I make it so the weekends last twice as long as they do?  Here I am at the end of the three day weekend and it just seemed to go so fast.  I've got a jam packed day planned for work tomorrow so I'm heading to bed soon.

Today I got a bunch of little things done and because of that my mind will be that much more at ease when I put my head on my pillow.  I finished another Button Hat, taking my total hat count for this year to 67, not counting the seven felted hats I've done.  The brown Button Hat I finished today was on the back porch, drying, and missed the photo shoot.  I made up a little spreadsheet this afternoon and set up a chair in the driveway.  I took the tub that contains my hat stash out of the T&C and inventoried them all.

Now I know what colors or styles I need to knit up over the next 4 weeks.  Since I only have 5 berets I think I better crank out a few more of them.  One that I did make last week, the Etta Hat, was designed by our knitting guild president and I think it turned out great, although this is where a wig stand would come in handy:

and a close up of the stitch pattern:

I used a skein of Berroco Ultra Alpaca and I love the feel of the hat.

I was in a bit of a panic today because I knew I had some felted bags around here somewhere that just needed their handles, pockets, snaps sewn on and they'd be ready for my upcoming shows.  I looked high and low and then all over again.  I finally found them at 10 PM, tucked behind some bags of roving.  Now I know what I can do over the new few days!

Because of my frantic search, I managed to tidy up the craft room a bit and now I can walk over to this computer without tripping over things, mostly.  I went through 9 cubes of yarn in one of my Expedit shelving units.  Each is now organized with like content yarns and looks so much more presentable, not to mention efficient.  I yanked out a whole lot of yarn that's been neglected and I will use it all over the coming weeks to make show stock.  Hold me to it!!

One last thing.  The Ford Arts, Beats, and Eats Festival is over.   It's quiet.  Calm.  Peaceful.  I love it.  Although I do have to admit to opening the windows and putting my ear to them to hear the band 'Kansas' playing a half mile away as the crow flies.  Remember them?  Saturday when I went to the festival I listened to a former co-worker who left the company to pursue his musical interests.  Good move.  It's nice to see someone being successful at the something they were passionate about.  When I worked with him he was known as Jonah, but he goes by Nadir now:

He's the one on the left, being introduced by the guy on the right.  See, there is life after Met.

Long Weekends.....

....aahhhhhh!  I love long weekends.  I love it when I don't HAVE to go anywhere.  I can stay holed up in my own little corner of the universe and do whatever I want to do.  I've been a knitting fool lately, cranking out 3 more hats today.  I ran all over town trying to find one of those tacky styrofoam wig stands and could not find a single one.  I'll be off to another store after the holiday and if they don't have it then I'll be wandering all over 9 Mile Road in Ferndale, down Wig Shop row.  Someone has to have what I need.  I think my hats will look a whole lot better on the stand.  It's so hard to get the photograph them when they're lying flat on the floor.

Another task I tackled today was making my hangtags.  I used a two sided business card that I had made up through VistaPrint and then I took it to Fed Ex/Kinko's to laminate them.  I took 100 cards with me today.  I decided to laminate them myself rather than leave them for their staff to do.  It saved me a bunch of money and they came out pretty darn well.  They should have -- it took me 2 hours to laminate, cut out, then laminate once more.  I was on my feet the whole time.  Plus I managed to pinch the palm of my hand when I got a bit over-zealous with the trimming machine -- ouch!  It left a mark -- I knew it would!

I bought the rattail I use for the hangtags the other day when I went to Haberman Fabrics, so now I can cut it into useful lengths, punch the holes in the hangtags, and finish up that piece of preparing for the Fall shows. 

Tomorrow I'm finishing up one more Button Hat, blocking it, and choosing buttons to be sewn on the last few hats I've finished.  I've got to track down some felted bags that around here somewhere that need their handles sewn on.  Lots of little things to get finished up on my last day of vacation.

Hope you're all having a wonderful Holiday weekend.  For everyone else -- have a super week!!

Make a Difference

There are often times in our lives when we hear sad news and think there's nothing we can do.  But here's a super simple way to make a difference.  September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.  One of my coworkers lost someone dear to her to ovarian cancer.  Victoria was super athletic and took great care of herself but in the end, still succumbed to this terrible disease.  

We all say we wish there was something we could do, right?  Well, here is it.  All you have to do is click on this link, follow the instructions, and the wonderful people at Seventh Generation will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.  To learn more about ways you can help advance the efforts being made to combat this dreadful form of cancer click on this link.  By all means, please share this with your friends and family.

No Control

My day at work didn't end until 6 PM so I took the last eastbound bus and arrived home at 7 PM.  I opened the fridge to discover the same nothingness that was there yesterday is still there today.  No problem.  I simply walked across the street and had breakfast for dinner at the Greek restaurant.  I chose a yummy sausage & cheese omelet/hashed browns/rye toast.  I sifted through the basket of jelly packets and settled on strawberry.  Jeopardy came on the TV and I knew I'd enjoy watching the celebrities try to out-do each other.  Everything was going great until --- someone changed the channel after the category was revealed for the final Jeopardy question.  What the #%@^????  Ok, I've gotta know -- who won -- Jane, Isaac, or CC??????  I did not have control of the clicker at the restaurant so I'm out in the dark.

Another thing I have no control over is the Arts, Beats, and Eats Festival being held in Royal Oak for the first time this year.  I hear a myriad of music from the 10 different stages set up a little over a 1/2 mile away from me. 3 more days to go..............

Don't get me wrong.  I know I'll take the bus over to the festival, listen to some music, eat some interesting food, and check out the artists, especially their tent set-ups.  I'm always looking to ways to improve the appearance of my booth.  Tomorrow it's going to be about 20º cooler than it has been so that might be the best day to wander on over there.

Kicked My Butt

Today I had the crap beaten out of me by Laurel.  She was the massage therapist that administered my beating massage.  She had the world's strongest thumbs!  I think there are bruises all over my upper back and chest.  I'm sensing a lot of tenderness already and not an ibuprofen to be found any where in this house.  I'll have to pop a couple when I get to work tomorrow.

I'm just about done with my first Etta Hat, designed by our knitting guild president, Kim.  Loads of people have already knit it on Ravelry, so it's about time I gave it a try.  I've kept everything about it the same, except I'm using the double D decrease.  I'll post pictures once it's been blocked.

Web Love

You've got to love the Internet.  When we were kids and our parents wanted to plan a trip, they dug out maps and contacted AAA for Triptiks, made lots of phone calls to book reservations, and spent oodles of time trying to put it all together.

My sister, her husband, and their two dogs are on their way to NYC to visit their youngest daughter, Erica.  I called Denise tonight to see how far they had gotten and helped them find a motel that was dog friendly.  If you ever travel with dogs you need to check out Bring Fido.com.  It's an outstanding way to weed out the hotels that don't accept dogs -- it tells you where you can stay, the size and number of dogs you can bring and the extra charges if any.  It will even help you find nearby dog-friendly parks to exercise your four legged friends.

Another great thing on the internet is Groupon.com, found in my web links on the left.  Tomorrow I'm taking the day off work.  I'm going to relax by using the massage coupon I purchased from Groupon a few months ago.  I'm hoping to finish another hat or two and get started on another felted bag.  It's supposed to rain so I figure that's a great way to spend the day.