Movie Fun

I stole this from Kaity because it looked fun!
***
The rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie (or get them out of your capacious memory).
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly in the comments, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t!

***

1. "I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request." Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl by Kate

2. "I swear I've seen a lot of stuff in my life, but that... was... *awesome*." Tommy Boy - Yay for Sheila! I'm so glad somebody else has seen this!

3. "You think he's gone? He's not gone. That's the whole point! He's never gone!" What About Bob? - way to go Leslie!

4. "They should have bought a squirrel." Rat Race by Lynda

5. "Reverend Mother, I have sinned." Sound of Music - Lynda again!

6. "I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh?" Natl Lampoon Vacation - Lynda (who I clearly need to have a movie night with)

7. "The flash of light you saw in the sky was not a UFO. Swamp gas from a weather balloon was trapped in a thermal pocket and reflected the light from Venus." Men in Black by Becca

8. "There are two kinds of people - Greeks, and everyone else who wish they was Greek." My Big Fat Greek Wedding by Kate & Stephanie

9. "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming." Finding Nemo - Lynda & Stephanie

10. "Well, I know all the guys that you'd hire to come after me, and they like me better than you." Ocean's Thirteen - Lynda & Stephanie

Proof of Life

I'm. Still. Sick.

I'm not happy about it. I started an antibiotic last week and there are some signs of improvement. For example, I'm not sick enough to get away with laying around listening to audio books and knitting... but still sick enough to be wiped out by the little things.

The last couple of days were spent out of town with #2 son at a basketball tournament. We shared a suite with good friends and in spite of being a bit run down, we had a great time. I've never been much of a basketball fan, but let me tell you, if you're thinking of getting your child involved in a sport, it's the way to go! It's fast paced, lots of action, and, most importantly, has a time limit. Do not underestimate the beauty of the time limit. Baseball, for example, does not have a time limit. A little league baseball game can go on for hours. HOURS! Basketball... an hour fifteen tops.

Anyway, I have actual knitting pictures!

Blue Sky Eyelet Cardigan



Talia from the spring Knitty



They both need buttons and blocking, so I'll share the details once their done.

I have also started a Shetland Triangle shawl with some Dream in Color Smooshy in Chinatown Apple.




Well now it's time for some laundry. But first I must give you a heads up on one of my favorite new TV shows of the season, The Big Bang Theory on CBS. It's on Mondays at 8:00 out here. If you catch it this week, let me know what you think.



I love these guys! They crack us up.

It's Madness Alright

HAPPY EASTER!!

We are actually postponing our Easter celebration this year for a few reasons... the main one being that the kids and I are almost all sick and no one wants us around. We sound like a chorus of coughing so church didn't seem like an apt place to visit, I was feverish yesterday so I was unable to do any Easter treat shopping (yes, I wait to the last minute and no, nothing is likely to change that), and my mom most graciously informed us that, well, she would prefer that we confine our germs to our own home.

Fortunately, with March Madness in full swing there's been no shortage of college basketball games on the TV to keep the crew entertained while I've discovered a new passion.

I've had an i-pod in my knitting basket since I received it for my birthday last July. My intention was to listen to audio books but I never got much further than downloading a few essentials like Billy Don't Be A Hero and Come On Eileen and I haven't even listened to those.

I did sign up for a rental audio book club but the first CD they sent me was a children's book. I gave it to my son, nobody listened to it and we lost it. It turned up about 2 months later so I figured I'd better cancel my membership when I returned it.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally signed up with www.Audible.com and downloaded Tears of the Giraffe (the 2nd in the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series). It sat there on my unused i-pod for a couple of weeks until yesterday when the "madness" of college basketball began to set in and I finally put the earplugs in my ears and started the book.

Wow! I have discovered that if my brain is engaged, I can knit virtually non-stop for hours on end. Hours I tell you! Remember the back of the Eyelet Cardigan I told you I pulled out on Friday? I finished it! Seriously. And let me ask you... how can you not feel productive when you've "read" a book and knit an entire sweater in one weekend? I'm quite sure that laundry never makes me feel this productive!

Well, my book is almost over and I'm almost done with the back on Talia so I must run. I am busy, busy, busy! And not moving at all! Bliss I tell you... I have found bliss.

Now hopefully I'll find the battery charger for my camera.

Don't Try This at Home!

So I finally finished my Merino Lace socks at 8:30 last night just in time to watch LOST. Boy, that show never fails to surprise me!! Today I pulled out the Blue Sky Eyelet Cardi that I started almost a year ago and decided to finish it up. But I continue to be stuck in a time vacuum that is reducing my productivity to almost nothing. I blame some of it on illness... and the time I spent looking for my camera charger (still no luck)... but I just can't account for it all.

Fortunately, I suppose, DH has caught a bit of the blogging spirit and sent me a picture from his camera for your visual entertainment. It appears he made a made a remarkable catch on his lunchtime mountain bike ride today.

Yes, that is a rattle on its tail if you are uncertain.

Please know that no animals were harmed in this capture (I know how worried you must be about that). No, it was just a simple catch and release.

My husband lives for this kind of stuff.

He also goes to great lengths (and through poison ivy) to make sure that our sons are well educated in the "beauty" of snakes. (His word not mine.) This was a few years ago in Texas. It's a Copperhead.

Yes, I touched it too. (And no I don't think any of this is normal behavior.)

In case these pictures have filled you with a desire to catch your own Rattlesnake, you should know that the tiniest of bites will land you in the hospital for at least 24 hours where you will be pumped full of antivenin... if you are lucky enough for the hospital to have it on hand. The antivenin itself (which I agree should be called anti-venom, bit isn't) can make you severely ill and runs about 5 grand a vial. Hopefully this will curb your enthusiasm just a bit... 'cause it sure hasn't curbed my husband's.

It Was Such a Simple Plan

We are all sick here again (or "still" it seems like), so I knew I'd have some down time today. My plan for today was to finish the toe of my last sock-in-progress (actually, I'm sure there are others but I don't know where), and then cast on for some Endpaper Mitts with my recent Koigu purchase. I even printed out the pattern before I went to bed so I wouldn't get sidetracked finding it this morning.

Then this morning, while I was innocently visiting a few blogs and checking my e-mail, I was exposed to the new Spring/Summer Vogue Knitting. I almost didn't look further due to the extreme nature of their Winter issue, but I really liked the cover jacket (and I plan on knitting lots of summery jackets soon) so I had to click. Surprisingly, I found myself so smitten by several of the previewed patterns that I felt compelled to muster the energy to drag my sick body to the LYS in order to acquire my own copy.

There were a couple of patterns that I though I had yarn for so I came home to check my stash (a job made much easier by Ravelry) because I'm really trying to use my stash whenever I can instead of buying more yarn. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that I have the ideal color for any of the projects I want to knit.

So I finally decided to gather all my wips (well at least the ones I'm acknowledging at the moment), several patterns, and handfuls of wound yarn including several possible shawl options (since I have a hankering to knit a shawl even though I'm unlikely to wear one) so I could snap some pictures and ask for your opinions on colors and patterns. After much effort, I had everything spread out on the kitchen table and ready to photograph.

My camera battery died as I was taking the first shot.

I guess I'll just finish my sock.

And see what else I can not get done today.

American Idolzzzzzzz

A second Beatles week? Yeah, yeah... I know last week was technically "Lennon/McCartney" week, but us lesser musical minds have a tough time distinguishing between that and "Beatles" week. Assuming there is a distinction.

Maybe it was just me. Maybe I'm just not a big enough Beatles fan... because in spite of a few good performances, my overall feelings would best be summed up as follows...

So what kept me sitting here for the whole 2 hours? I have no idea.

Quick Diversion

Our schedule may be crazy, but I did manage to squeeze in a quick trip to an LYS about 20 miles up the coast within 24 hours of receiving an e-mail notifying me that they were now carrying Koigu! Not so happy were the 3 boys who were trapped in the car with me between events when I realized that I could just make it if I went right then. They claim that I always take too long in yarn stores. What-Ev.

After much consideration, I chose these 2 colors for some fair isle mitts. But for now I'm just gazing at them with contentment.

Too Tired for Words

We are in the midst of the flurry of activity that sweeps through our house each year when baseball and basketball seasons overlap. This week alone featured 8 baseball games, 4 baseball practices (not including my oldest son's daily after school baseball practices for the high school team), 3 basketball practices and 2 basketball games. And only 3 of my boys are playing!

Unfortunately I can't be everywhere so this week I only managed to make 4 baseball games and 1 basketball game.

I thought I'd share my view of the 4th game of the week...


Okay, so it's my view of most games... but baseball is slow that way so it makes perfect sock knitting. Thus, another pair of finished socks.


Sock Pixie's Groovy Rib Socks
Dream in Color Smooshy in Cool Fire
Fun and Easy

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this yarn. If you haven't tried it yet, you must. If the name itself isn't enough, just click on the photo to enlarge and check out all the color variations.

I also started Talia from the new Knitty. I've been dying to knit a garment of sorts with some Malabrigo and a vest seemed like the perfect option for our climate.

Now I must return to reclining semi-comatose on the couch. We are watching a Who documentary on Vh1. I can't even begin to tell you how much this excites me. I much prefer the Who's that Horton hears. Speaking of which has anyone seen the new movie yet? How was it? I'm looking forward to it.

Plodding Along

Did you know turtles can climb? Maybe everyone knows this but it was news to me. A neighbor gave us a couple of Red-Eared Sliders that are, without a doubt, the easiest pets we've ever had. Of course, that's assuming we're past the years of toddlers dumping full jars of fish food into a tank to "help". (Incidentally, fish don't just grow bigger and bigger until you need a swimming pool to hold them as the childhood tale would have you believe.)

Anyway, they do climb. It's fascinating to watch really. And they aren't as slow as I'd been led to believe. No... slow is a 10 year old picking out baseball cleats. Agonizingly slow actually.

So frustratingly slow that it provoked a brief lapse in the calm, cool, model of motherly kindness that I usually posture when I'm shopping with 4 of my children at a time.

After an hour of watching other customers come and go while my 8 yo begged for scuba diving gear and JoJo demonstrated his endurance for whining, I felt I had earned a pair of the Mary Jane Crocs that were on display right in the middle of the shoe section.
However, in spite of the extensive time and care spent selecting the perfect cleats, I was informed soon after we got home that they "bothered" his feet. He offered up some lame excuse of feeling "stressed" at the store. I explained that I was merely simplifying the decision for him when I requested the salesman bring us one pair of everything under $40 in his size then directed him to choose one "NOW".


Although I briefly debated the idea of telling him to tough it out, deep down inside I knew a good mother would sacrifice both time and money to ensure her child's comfort.

I got this Saturday when we exchanged the shoes.
Speaking of baseball, I finished a pair of socks at our first games yesterday...


A Swell Yarn Duet Middy in Bauer Blue with forethought heel on size 1 needles.

The heel put up a decent fight but I think we managed a compromise in the end when I went back and stitched up some gaps at the color change with extra yarn. The yarn itself feels wonderful and the thin stripes of color delight me to no end.

The Grand Canyon (or Where I Left My Sanity)

Well, I don't have much in the way of knitting to share... but since I just found all these old photos on my computer, I thought I'd share some family fun. Because, really now, who doesn't love looking at somebody else's family photos?!

About 5 years ago, we took our 5 boys (all under the age 11) to the Grand Canyon.


Wow! Look at that view! Look at what side of the fence my oldest is on. Fun times like these are so hard to come by.



Breathtaking isn't it? And look... no railing! Just warms a mother's heart.


Check out this scenic picture. Memories like this are just too precious for words. Although I seem to recall that I did have a few.


And isn't my husband a crack-up?

Oh how I treasure these pictures...


because they're as close as I'm ever going to get to that horrible, harrowing place again. Ever.

Pre-School!

This is my first year, in eleven years of homeschooling, that I haven't had a toddler in the house. I thought it would be easy-peasy with 1 in high school, 3 fairly independent home students, and a 5 year old. A sweet, loving - yet somewhat temperamental - 5 year old. A lad who is used to having his every need catered to by one of the many bigger people in the house and knows how to use his voice if it's not. Ahhhh...

I found some old pictures that I didn't even realize I had on this computer today and the timing was perfect because I was just thinking about these days this morning as I walked JoJo down the street for his first day of preschool. Oh yeah... you heard me.

Now this is not the most pleasant (or glamorous) way to carry a child... but at least they can't run away from you. Unfortunately, when you are 8 months pregnant in August, camping in a barren dirt lot leaves a bit to be desired. Actually, I'm not sure there is really any appropriate time for this, but we eventually learned to seek out grassy locations.

Here's our first (and last) post-baby camping trip. JoJo hated the swing. Who hates the swing? Ugh! I managed to capture one of the 45 seconds he wasn't screaming on this trip.

Cheerios and a high chair were a sure thing for a while.

Who needs water to have fun in a baby pool? Nah... all you need is someone to retrieve your toys after you toss them out one by one.

The boat was fun for a while.

Then he got really into football cards.

The stroller... why can't they ride in a stroller until they're 10?

But today, it was a scooter. (Of course since there wasn't going to be yarn, I forgot my camera and had to settle for the fuzzy cell phone pic instead. Maybe we'll pretend Wednesday is his first day and try for a real picture.)

Yes, it's the middle of the school year and he's really been doing Kindergarten work at home, but I wanted him to be able to have some fun with kids his age... and give us some more quiet time to get schoolwork done at home. (A gal does have limits you know.)

There was one opening at the church down the street where my oldest had gone some 11 years ago. I remember when it was time for him to go to pre-school. I did tons of research and toured my top 6 picks asking all the right questions. I worried so that he was going to be exposed to naughty boys, bad words, and awful things like Power Rangers.

It wasn't quite the same with #5. I called the pre-school down the street and asked if they had room. "For the summer or fall?" the girl asked.

Me: "Uh... now?"

Well, yes they had room... would I like a tour and/or a chance to meat the teacher?

Me: "No. How much is it? When do you need the money? And can he start Monday?"

So this morning, big brother Daniel and I walked him to school. He was beaming, while I was worrying about what he might say (especially since he has an older brother who thinks everything is "gay" - ugh!), hoping he wouldn't pull any Power Ranger moves on his new playmates, and contemplating how humiliating it would be to have a child kicked out of pre-school.

But all went well. They made green eggs and had a blast! He was so happy and polite when I picked him up. As we held hands across the parking lot, he looked up at me with his cutest smile and said, "Can I play X-Box when I get home?" I replied, "No Honey, not today. We're going to go home and have lunch." Then he kicked me.

I wonder if they have military pre-school.