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Week Twenty Five & Twenty Six – Labors of Love

This week I am playing catch up on my blog posts and so, for the two of you who read my blog, you get two posts for the price of one.  :-)   The kids have come and gone, then come and gone again.  They stayed with us a few days on their way to Disney World and then again on their way back through to the airport in Atlanta.  Everyone is back home in Colorado safely now and life has returned to some semblance of normal.  No major catastrophes to report, except for the kid’s dog (a massive Great Dane) who ate, literally, the banister railing at their home while they were away.  Apparently, he was lonely.

While the kids were at Disney, I had the opportunity to make my son a kilt, which I did not get a photo of…darn it!  I also was able to put the borders on a quilt that William’s Mimi and I are collaborating on.  His Mimi is doing the cross stitch and I am doing the borders and putting the quilt together.

This week I was able to get back to Christmas knitting and completed this uber cute hat for someone special.  The hat pattern is Dead or Alive? by Knitty.  It was a really quick knit and is modeled below by my niece, Martha.  After modeling for these photos, she announced that she would like an octopus hat.  Oh boy…

The Flower Power test sock knit is no more.  Although I really liked the pattern, the socks were not turning out as I had hoped, so frogged they are.  I am using the yarn from the socks for another Christmas present, though, a pair of gloves, and they are turning out much more to my liking.  Photos when they are done.

Finally, Scott was able to take some wonderful photos of Sara, Bryan, William and Baby Luke while they were here.  Below is a sample, but you can see more from the shoot here.

On a fun side note, we (the family when they were here), got to talking about old, favorite movies and who would have them on disc.  I have always wanted to secure a copy of a cheesy movie made in 1981 called Excalibur.  We checked out the local Hastings and sure enough, they had it.  Awesome!

That is about it for now.  We are headed out to the Auburn 4th of July fireworks tonight.  Scott should get some awesome photos of them, as he does every year!  I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!!

Quote of the week: “It is a lonely life, the way of the necromancer… oh, yes. Lacrimae Mundi – the tears of the world.” ~ Merlin, Excalibur (1981)

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Week Twenty Four – Family Visit and Pulling Teeth

This past week was hectic, but wonderful.  Our son brought his family to visit us for a few days on their way to Disney World.  As family visits usually go, this one was like a whirlwind that blew in spun around for a few days and then dissipated.  William had a blast playing with his cousins and hanging out with his Nana and Popo.  He is still terrified of water (wouldn’t wade past his ankles into the pool), but he is making progress when it comes to food.  Five year-olds are so funny.

Bryan was so excited about a present that he has had for me for a month or so.  He said that I would never guess what it was and then he shipped it to me to have it arrive here at the same time they did.  I opened the box and was so excited.  While cleaning out the in-law’s cabin in Colorado, Bryan found this OLD (that is a relative term) sewing machine and he cleaned it up and saved it for me. From what I understand, it was going to be thrown out with the garbage.

I believe the machine works and will be checking it out in the next few weeks.  The best thing about the surprise was that my son thought enough about me to know what would mean so much to me.  When someone knows enough about you to give you a gift that you will cherish, rather than a gift that they would like, it means so much.  But that is fodder for another post entirely.  This week, with my current modern machine,  I will be making Bryan’s kilt, putting a border on William’s quilt, and fixing a few items that the kids needed fixed (hemming a dress and sock repair) before they come back through here on their way home.  So far, the sock is fixed and the kilt is almost finished.

Finally, the visit to the oral surgeon went swimmingly.  The nurse stated, when the tooth was extracted, “I would have bled more than that!”  LOL  The extraction was pretty simple and the hardest thing about it all is having to keep this flipper thing in my mouth.  I will get used to it, I know, but it is so foreign right now that I feel like I have a permanent tootsie roll attached to the roof of my mouth and the spot where the tooth was extracted hurts (boo).  When I have it in you cannot tell which teeth are mine and which are not.  That is the nice part.  That is it for the dental work for a while, save a filling coming up in a few weeks.  Thank goodness!  I will be happy to stay away from doctors for a while now.

Quote of the week:

“Why are you so petrified of silence
Here can you handle this?

Did you think about your bills, your ex, your deadlines
Or when you think you’re gonna die
Or did you long for the next distraction” ~ Alanis Morrissette (All I Really Want)

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Week Twenty Three – Test Knitting

This week I started test knitting the Flower Power Socks I mentioned last week.  I love the way the flowers are turning out.  Test knitting is fun, but can also be a challenge.  You get the pattern for free, which is a plus, but you also get to be the one to find all the errors as you work through it on a deadline, a definite minus.  This designer has done an excellent job at writing the pattern the first go around, so there are not many true errors in the pattern.

I also realized that the holiday knitting I have started was going to have to remain a secret until Christmas.  This just won’t do.  I have to share what I am working on, or else, why blog?  LOL  So, I figured out that if I just show them on my blog without any specific recipient details, it may keep those potential recipients who read my blog from knowing who they are for.  This is the best solution I could come up with for this dilemma.  Of course, the baby and kid items are going to be obvious, but the socks, mittens, etc. shouldn’t be so obvious.

On the health front, my doctor, called me on Thursday and wanted to know why the oral surgeon had me come to his (my doctor’s) office for blood work.  Without my requesting it, he said I shouldn’t need a transfusion before I have the tooth extracted and said he would contact the oral surgeon on Monday to let him know.  I am thrilled to report that they hashed it out and I will not have to have a transfusion before the tooth extraction.  I do have to agree that if it looks like I am about to bleed to death that I will go to the ER for platelets right away…duhhhhhh….  I love my doctor!  He just made my Christmas gift list!!

This week, the kids come to visit us on their way to Disney World.  It will be great to see them and spend some time with them without being in the hospital.  I am really looking forward to that!

Quote of the day: “The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.”  ~Voltaire

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Week Twenty Two – Holiday Knitting

Yes, I have actually started my Christmas 2011 knitting and crafting.  I am hoping to give more hand made gifts this year than ever before.  Unfortunately, I can’t reveal photos of those projects because, as I found out last week, my family reads my blog from time to time.  However, here are photos of the socks that I started on the way to the festival last week.  These are most likely for me and you can find more details on my Ravelry page.

Both pair are now at the turn heel stage.  So, I should have two new pair of socks to show in a couple of weeks.  Also, I was selected to test knit these socks.  Aren’t they a gas?  Of course, I had to order yarn to make them…gotta love stash enhancement!

On the health front, I went to the oral surgeon to see about the third tooth extraction and he does not want to do the procedure until I have blood work done to make sure my platelet count is high enough.  This liver thing is a PITA!  I have had two teeth extracted in the last two weeks and have had no complications.  Because this guy is a surgeon and not a dentist, he wants to “make sure” (read: legally cover his rear) when it comes to my “procedure” (read: pulling a tooth).  I can understand completely, but HATE having blood drawn…  Anyway, after the tooth is removed, I will finally have a partial, something that has been a long time coming.

Quote of the Day: “We are the people our parents warned us about.” ~ Jimmy Buffet

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Week Twenty-One – Exit Stage Left

The National Polka Festival (NPF) in Ennis, Texas has been in existence for as long as I have, 45 years.  This has always made the event seem even more special to me and has been one of the many reasons I have tried so hard to return to the festival of the celebration of my heritage every year.  Slowly, over time, the many reasons for making the trek back to Dallas have dwindled down to just a handful.  I still love the music of my childhood and don’t think I will ever tire of dancing and singing the Czech tunes.

This year, the visit to Dallas was different in a lot of ways.  For the first time, I took a good look at the reasons for visiting this particular festival.  When I was growing up, we went to the NPF to visit with family and friends.  As any good Czech, Catholic family would be, my extended family was (is) huge.  I can remember many cousins, god-parents, grand-parents, aunts and uncles, all visiting and enjoying the atmosphere that felt so familiar complete with the food, beer, music, and dancing.  As time has gone by, many of the cousins have moved on.  Some of my grand-parents have passed away and some of them don’t care to come anymore.  My mother, the 100% Czech part of the family, has passed on and my God-mother, who was always the anchor of the dancing part of my family had a stroke a few years back and is in a home, not doing well, from what I’ve been told.

This year, the festival was fun, as it always is.  However, that is the interesting thing, this year, Scott and I realized that the NPF is always the same.  We always arrive the same day, go to the same venues, see the same art vendors downtown and the same bands in the halls.  The parade never changes and the menu at the dance-halls, although contains some authentic Czech fare, has not changed in at least 10 years.  Seriously, the menu consists of Barbeque Beef & Klobase, Parsley Potatoes, Green Beans (not sure what is Czech about that), Sauerkraut (German?), and Czech Pastries (Kolaches).  If you stay until Sunday, you get Pork Roast and Dumplings (Knedliky).  The tunes played are now 50% Czech and 50% Country and Western.  The one new thing the festival did this year was bring in a magician, yes, that is right, a magician, to entertain.  I think it was this last development that actually sealed our decision (see below).  Although we had a good time, we will not be attending the NPF for several years to come.  Perhaps absence will make the heart grow fonder.

Don’t get me wrong here, I am actually impressed and pleased that the folks in Ennis can still keep a folk festival alive in today’s culture and society.  I know it is insanely difficult to reach the younger generation and I applaud them for trying to do things each year that will draw the younger crowd.  See this post for more information on how the NPF folks could better reach the younger crowd.  The beef I have with the management of this festival is that the young are being reached at the expense of the purity of the culture.  My question is this: WHAT IS CZECH ABOUT A MAGICIAN??

My reasons for taking my money and time elsewhere are not only due to the festival changing, but due to out growing this festival and a desire to see how other Czechs hold their festivals in other parts of this country and beyond.  Therefore, next year we will be heading for the Wilber Czech Festival in Wilber, Nebraska.  In an effort to start a new tradition with the younger folks in our family and to try to carry on the Czech heritage, we have asked our kids and grand-kids to join us in Wilber, as well as my parents.  All have agreed to wear costumes for the event.  I will be making those and posting progress photos throughout the next year on this blog.  It is nice to be excited again about attending a Czech festival.  I am sure the festival in Wilber has many of the same issues, namely, familiarity to those who attend every year, but it will be new to us and we are looking forward to it.

Finally, I leave you with photos from this year’s festival.  I do have a video of Scott and I dancing, but am working out a deal for cash to keep it from being posted.  HaHa!  As I said, we did have a good time, but also a reflective one.  Enjoy ~ až později

The trip to the festival:

The King and Queen Competition:

Czech Musicians (one of these is my cousin:

Random photos of fun:

 

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Week Twenty – Hodge Podge

Nothing exactly concrete to show for this week.  I have gathered together all the costumes, ironed and cleaned up the frills.  I even added more bling to my red skirt in hopes that the swirling and sparkle might catch the judges eyes and we might have a shot at winning this year.  Ha, not!  Anyway, here is a question, have you ever tried to iron a petticoat?  Not an activity that I would want to do often!

I did receive an awesome new t-shirt that I bought last week.

And, also in the mail, a fabulously decorated tatting shuttle that I won from entering a contest on the Lace Lovin Librarian’s blog.  Not only did she send the shuttle, but she included two balls of thread.  Cool!  If you are interested in tatting, I recommend following her blog.  She does great work and makes pretty shuttles, too.

That is about all for this week.  Next week’s post should be a big one from the Polka Festival.  Have a great Memorial Day!

In lieu of a quote of the day, I leave you with my favorite cartoon of all time:

 

 

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Week Nineteen – The Weather Is Here…

I wish you were beautiful…Ah, yes, Jimmy Buffet lives on…

This is the third week of May and it was in the mid 40s last night.  For the past three days we have had rain, wind, and huge clouds covering the sun.  It is Alabama in May, it should be approaching 100+.  Strange!!

With the weather like this, I have had lots of creative time with my knitting needles and my sewing machine.  This week I made a new hat for Luke.

 

While doing this hat, I confirmed that I really like to do colorwork and so you will probably see lots more colorwork socks in the days to come.

I also found a free pattern on the internet for a very simple zippered travel pouch.  Here is a link to several: http://tipnut.com/makeup-bags/.  The one I used is one of these, but I forget which one.  The other day I realized that since I will never have just one project going at a time, I should come up with a way to grab a particular project and go…  This travel pouch is perfect for sock knitting.  I can put the yarn, needles, completed sock #1 and sock in progress #2 all in the bag.  Having lots of awesome prints in my stash from my quilting days makes the choices of fabrics for the bags endless!  Here are two of them…

Saturday, May 14, 2011, was my 45th birthday.  My mother-in-law made a quilt for me and surprised me with it at dinner.  The most wonderful thing about this gift is that it is a quilt.  Since I have been a national quilting teacher and am able to create virtually every type of quilt out there today, everyone just assumes that I would have lots of quilts lying around my house.  I have none.  The ones I made were either never finished, or given away as gifts.  Funny, the last thing you really want to do after working on teaching quilting all day, is go home and quilt.  So, I now have a beautiful quilt to call my own.  Awesome!  Photos to come later, though, since she has not quilted it yet…Boo

Finally, this week, our little blue truck, the one we got from David when mom passed, has died.  On a bright note, we still sold it for a nice sum and the buyer had it shipped to Indiana.  Who knew that we had an enthusiasts vehicle in our possession?  We are back down to one car for a few weeks.  Ah well, life goes on…

Quote of the Week: “Do not use a cannon to kill a mosquito” Confucius (551-478 BC)

 

 

 

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Week Eighteen – It is May, Do You Know What That Means?

It means that it is time to prepare and go to the annual National Polka Festival, of course.  This year I decided not to make new costumes.  I will be doing that next year, hopefully for the whole family.

This year I decided to spruce up and adjust some of the current costume components.  Starting with my red skirt that I made for the festival two years ago.  This skirt had four huge bias panels in it and was ridiculously heavy to wear.  After about 2 hours work, one of the panels is now removed and it is much lighter.  When I made it I was unsure if there would be enough “swing” and so I put in the four panels.  After wearing it at the 2009 festival, I realized that three would have still provided plenty of swing without weighing me down quite as much as I moved.  So, the adjustment has been made.  I’ll be adding a little bling here and there to the red and the purple costumes, ironing, and fluffing, etc.  Then we pack them up and head out for the Memorial Day Weekend festivities in Ennis, TX.  If you actually read this blog and are anywhere in the area (and are not a stalker) come to the festival and see if you can find us.  Sort of a modern day “where’s Waldo”…

 

Quote of the week: “This is Serious!!” Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

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Week Seventeen – Picking Up The Pieces

This week was a devastating one for the state of Alabama and the southern United States in general.  Currently, the death toll is at 248 in Alabama and 345 across the south, with hundreds still missing from the viscous tornadoes that ripped across the south on Wednesday.  Tuscaloosa, AL seemed to be hit the hardest.  Scott ventured up to Dadeville, AL with some people from our church to assist in the relief effort on Saturday.  There is so much devastation everywhere that it is difficult to do anything, because anything you do to help just seems so small in comparison to the overwhelming power of the storm’s wrath and the aftermath.  To see some wonderful photos that Scott was able to capture on Saturday, please see this post.

In crafting news, Sock Madness 5 is officially over for me.  I made it to round 4 and the pattern for that round is one I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the time and energy on.  It was a lovely sock, but the pattern contained too many “omissions” for my taste.  So, I moved on and finished one of the Spider Socks this week.  It was not a hard pattern, but a challenging one.  In contrast to the SM5 pattern for round 4, the Spider Sock pattern is very well written.  I am going to knit a few mindless things before picking up the second sock.  Here are the unglamorous photos:

That is about all for this week.  Happy Knitting Everyone!

Quote of the Week:

“I bought a cheap watch from a crazy man
Floating down canal
It doesn’t use numbers or moving hands
It always just says now
Now you may be thinking that I was had
But this watch is never wrong
And If I have trouble the warranty said
Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On”

Jimmy Buffett, Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On

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Week Sixteen – Blessings Abound

We found out this week that our new grand-baby is going to be a boy.  Currently, the parents plan to name him Luke Alan.  Good thing I started my baby sock adventure with a blue pair.  Here are the pairs I have made so far.

One other thing I made this week was a ring to hold my cable needle (toothpick).  Since I have been doing a lot of cables on socks lately, I have been trying to figure out a way to have my cable needle handy, without setting it down on a table or sticking it into the yarn ball or sock.  Here is what I have settled on thus far:

Finally, Easter is always the most difficult time of year for me since mom passed away (4/9/08).  It is a time for renewal and reflection, but for me it always comes with mixed thoughts of new life and life that has passed.  I hope everyone had a blessed Easter.  Give someone you love a hug today, it may be the last one you give them.

Quote of the week: “Mr. Cromwell, there really is no difference between us, except that I shall die today and you tomorrow.” Sir Thomas Moore ~ The Tudors, His Majesty’s Pleasure