you're it!

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged. Go to your photos folder on your computer. Find the fourth picture in the fourth file and share! Here's mine:

So fun!

Ken and I built these adirondack chairs two summers ago. I painted them fun funky colors and every time I see them outside, even today, they make me smile. They remind me of the good time we had working side by side, completing a project together.

Ok, so here's the real fourth photo:

The chairs are actually fourth from the bottom. But since they didn't specify, I used the better picture. This one evokes memories of sweat and sawdust which ain't all bad but just doesn't hold the same charm. So, good pictures or bad, let's see 'em!

Oh, and if you play along, be sure to leave me a link where I can see yours!

koolhaas hat

This pattern should be called kickhass hat. Number one, it is a totally kick ass pattern. That Jared sure knows what he's doing. Me? Not so much. I seem to be more proficient at UN-knitting this pattern. I need to just relax and trust the pattern. When it says 'knit the next two stitches through the back loops' but doesn't say 'knit them together' then maybe, just maybe I should follow the pattern and not decrease the stitches by half the first decrease round. Maybe it's just me. OK, so it's totally me. I swear, I've unknit the first decrease round about 17 times. But seriously, this is a fantastic knit. The cabling pattern is so distinct it's super easy to find your mistakes. Lucky me! When I did get stuck I emailed Jared and he politely walked me through. How's THAT for customer service?!

I know I've been saying this for the last three days but really, today I will finish this hat!

I got super behind in my blogging. I can't (un)knit AND blog! So, for those interested, I posted some of my Santa collection in my google album. Click the Santa below to visit.

Hope your holidays were merry and bright.

ETA: Koolhaas hat DONE! This is by far, the coolest thing I've ever knit. It's not perfect but it is done and it's still lovely.

santas great and small

I love being a Santa collector. I think some people view him as the father of commercialism but to me, Santa represents the spirit of Christmas. He is the spirit of giving, the wonder and magic of the season.

Here are a few of my favorites:

He's a big one!
and this one was a gift from Ashley:

and this one is Ken's favorite. He's impossibly small and impossibly cute.

11 days till Christmas!
Ornaments coming soon.

what if? a meme

What if...
1....you could bring one character from your favorite book to life, who would it be?
2....you could solve one of history's unsolved mysteries, which would it be?
3....you were stranded on a deserted island, what 2 people would you chose to be stranded with?
4....you could spend a day with any celebrity, dead or living, who would it be?
5....you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
6....you could live anywhere, where would you live?

1. Hmmm...there are a few I could answer here - maybe Colin from Jude Deveraux's A Knight In Shining Armour or Old Dan and Little Ann from Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Or all the carnies from Water For Elephants by Sarah Gruen. Great reads, all.
2. Something to do with God. To prove or disprove his existence completely.
3. my cousin, Cristi and my dog Grizz - does he count? my dog, not my cousin. :)
4. Christian Kane, my current crush.
   
5. my bad eating/exercise habits

if you're reading this, you're tagged. post a comment where to find your answers. I love these things!

incredible find!

Found the best rabbit hole site ever! While it's more website than blog, I still had to post it as my blog o' the day. I guess my tag should be website of the day, rather than just blog shares. What a find! From the site:

"One Pretty Thing is a daily website dedicated to bringing you inspiring projects for a handmade life.

Weekday mornings One Pretty Thing will showcase a different holiday, seasonal or project-specific Roundup compiled with projects from across the internet.

Our evening post, The Daily DIY, is a compilation of the day’s DIY projects and inspiration from around the blogosphere. And on the weekends we’ll take a look at YOUR projects via our Flick community, friends of the site, contests, crafty inspiration and an additional Weekend Roundup!"

Doesn't that sound fun? You know where I'll be weekday mornings!

*******

We got our tree up last night. It was good family time. Both kids were here and Ken was medicated. ;) He set up a video camera and the kids didn't know we were recording at first. They were in rare form, laughing and tormenting each other. The festivities even included the first stanza of "Who Put the Dick on the Snowman" brought to us by Ashley. We were laughing so hard even if we were a little worried she knows the whole song. To those of you with small children reading in shock, this is what those sweet Christmas memories morph into - your sweet little girl singing of the phallic state of snowmen. Merry Christmas!

To continue the holiday merriment, here's a photo share of an advent calendar my mom made quite a few years ago. My kids still fight over who is going to be first. They have it all figured out who does which day till we get to the star that goes on top of the "tree". Each numbered pocket has either a crochet ornament or a snowflake to hang above. I asked the kids last night if one of them wanted to take it home (This is our last Christmas with kids living with us). Before the words were even out of my mouth, Ashley jumped up with her hand in the air shouting, "ME!" :)

Thanks, mom. Merry, merry.

overheard in the hallway

(whispered)"Where's mom?"
(louder whisper)"I don't know!"

Maybe you had to be here to get the humor in this but hearing this out of the mouths of two very young boys you know some serious mischievousness is underway. Made me laugh.

And for the blog o' the day, check out a print a day Yasmine has some seriously cute stuff - free printables to download and other crafty bits.

Not much happening around here. It was a pajama day - chilly outside, warm, knitting in front of a fire, cozy inside.

How about starting the christmas cheer? I'll share some of my very favorite bits of the holiday: traditions, recipes, decorations and other jolly bits.
Starting with a favorite tree ornament:

No, I haven't set up my tree yet. This is from a few years ago but my tree looks pretty much the same every year so let's pretend, ok? This is a cinnamon ornament boy-child made in pre-school, circa 1990. Some years later, girl-child thought she'd found a christmas treat and took a bite. See the little crescent missing from the bottom? Ashley teeth. Probably even her baby teeth. I can almost hear you saying, "Awwwww." :) You can't buy that kind of holiday cheer. My tree is full of those kinds of stories or, it will be once it's up. Soon! I promise!

Blog o' the day

Check out How About Orange

You never know what you'll find there: a crafty, how-to link (such as the Martha craft pictured above - click to go directly to marthastewart.com), a freebie offer, decorating ideas or some other sort of cuteness. Jessica has it all.
Check it.

I'm famous!

The amazing Bakerella, in a video collage, shared my modest cupcake pops on her blog!

Thimbleanna brought it to my attention. I had scrolled through the names and didn't see anyone special in Indiana so didn't think anything of it. I'm listed under the unknown locatiton even though my photo in the video says Indiana. Fun, no?

This is pretty exciting stuff. My name on her blog is like standing one person away from Martha Stewart! Amazing!

Thanks Bakerella!

Has anyone seen November?

Wasn't Halloween just yesterday? November flew by in a flash. I'm expecting Christmas tomorrow. And how fun is Christmas going to be this year with three little ones in the house? I'm trying hard not to think about my own kids not being here this year. Boy-child is moving back to Toledo soon and won't be here at all. Girl-child should be here for dinner as they went to her future in-laws for Thanksgiving but it's just not the same as having them wake us up Christmas morning. I miss them. Little them. These boys came just in time.

We had friends over for Thanksgiving and this year I perfected the art of delegating. I made only the turkey, the ham, stuffing, corn casserole, pies, deviled eggs and ham roll ups. You may be laughing but seriously, last year I did everything and nearly had a nervous breakdown. This year getting dinner on the table was a breeze with others handling their own dishes. We had 16 bodies around the table this year. Good group of folks.

Since nothing too exciting is happening with me, I thought I'd share Ken's follies with you. After 23 years he finally built himself a fort in the back yard. A fully vulcanized structure, awaiting siding in the spring. The man is incredible. Dude built this on his own in about three days. Then he took a nap. It's a woodshop. He's pretty stoked about it and I couldn't be happier for him. I may never see him again once the electricity goes in.

We worked and played out in the yard this weekend before the snow fell. We got all the feeders up, ready for any squirrels and birds that wander over for a snack. We built a tree swing for the boys and laughed for nearly an hour straight watching the bigger boys try to figure it out.

Fall clean up in the yard always makes me a little sad. While Fall is a beautiful season here in central Indiana, the long winter that follows is like watching the world die around you. Summer's splendor is long gone and the beautiful hostas in my shade garden are withered and resting now. It's sad yet hopeful, knowing once again next year in the spring, they'll rise from the ground, strong and green to be lovely again. And do we have plans for our yard next year! I suppose that's the fun of a long winter - using that time to look through gardening catalogs, dreaming of dirt. Listen to me getting all poetic about the weather. How about a picture? The winter garden:

Can't really share pictures of my knitting with Christmas coming but here's a little teaser. :)

And I want to start sharing some of my better blog finds. I have my regulars over in the sidebar but there are tons more I stumble across and want to share. Take a gander at Carla over at Four by 40 for quick little snippets of humor. (thanks, Angela!)

That's about it from the nut house. Christmas pictures coming soon. The tree should go up sometime in the next week. Stay tuned for some holiday cheer.