Accomplishments

Joshua received an award for citizenship. Unfortunately, I didn't get the email in time to be ready but Jill was there and took this picture. Congrats Josh! I asked him what a good citizen is and Josh just shrugged his shoulders. :)

Josh is normally a very bouncy, active boy. He might be borderline ADHD but so far he can sit in class fine. Josh doesn't just walk around the house, he bounces or runs which explains his lack of fat. So today I wasn't surprised when the kids woke me up early on a Saturday morning. I pulled Josh into our bed and he fell asleep.


A rare non-bouncy moment. :) Because he needs his rest.

Mitts #2

Another pair of mitts done. BAM!



I'm finished with the teachers holiday gifts. Booyah!

Sneak Peek

Today is the boys' Halloween parade and here are their costumes. You may remember that they got their Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles hat at the Anime Expo so we got the idea to use them as their costumes. I told them is was a BIG secret because we didn't want anyone stealing their idea.

These were easy costumes to create. Red/blue shirt/shorts and I got some felt to tape on their tummies. Complete!! It was a huge success since I didn't see any other Sonics or Knuckles in the school. I think they looked awesome and when we walked to school, little kids knew exactly who they were.

Later after the parade I went to Tyler's class to take pictures and he looked upset. He said K (another boy) told him someone said Tyler's costume was lame. First, there is no reason to pass along that negative comment if it's going to hurt someone's feelings. It comes from insecurity and meaness. Second, it WAS a great costume in the sea of scary ninjas, Marios & Luigis and super heroes. He was the only boy in his class that didn't wear black.

Of course, as adults we can easily say you can't let it bother you but it does bother an 11 year old boy. I'm sure you remember hurtful comments made to you as a child and for some, the hurt still lingers.

Just be mindful of what you say....

More

Cute, Dustin Brown makes a hit on his baby boy!

Pure Cheese

and I love it! Heh, and we have those figurines too! Snort~

3-D Hockey

Whoa, watch out! Hockey players use their bodies to block pucks so I'm not surprised the camera was destroyed.

Holiday Knitting

I think I found my knitting holiday projects. The fingerless mitts in Noro Silk Garden which takes about 2 days and 1 skein of yarn.

All the lovely ladies in my extended family and each of the boys' teacher will receive a pair. Don't you think they'll love them? Wool, mohair and a touch of silk make them fabulous looking plus soft and fuzzy.

I'm patting myself on the back.

Free Day

No school on Monday so Sherri and I took our kids to the California ScienCenter.
We arrived at 10am and stayed till 3 pm. What a fun-filled day.

We went to all the exhibits plus had lunch at McDonalds, ran around the Rose Garden and fountain and the space museum. Blogger managed to upload one photo and then refused to cooperate. Meanwhile I will have to use Flickr. Stay tuned for those...

Dumpling Bag

Finished another quickie project. I originally saw this cute bag in Interweave Knits Fall 2008 called Dumpling Bag.

Pre-felting.

To give an idea of size. Approximately the size of a personal watermelon.

I knit with 2 strands on big US 13 needles which eats up practically a whole skein of wool. Then I add a chain stitch around the bag with little French knots (a first for me in embellishments).


Felted to the size of a cantaloupe.

 Threw it in the washing machine this morning and voila, a cute bag with handles. I stuffed it with plastic bag and now in the process of drying.

I had to take advantage of the sunshine and take some pictures outside.

Done

I completed another hat called Star Crossed Slouchy Beret. I was sweating thinking I would run out of yarn but I made it. Phew! It fits me but more like a poufier beanie rather the cool slouchy hat like on Josh. He is my sweet model with his daddy's purdy haxel eyes.


I guess the combo of this bulky yarn with the pattern would make this a kid sized hat. The colorway of the yarn in Mermaid which would fit with Josh's love of water.

There is cabling involved.

See? I look like a poufhead. Yes, it's a real word. Google it. :)

On to the next project, here is the neckwarmer from the previous post with the buttons attached. I tried it on and it's not for me. I ran out of yarn so this should be someone with a thin, long neck or a child. It's cute though and would look nice added with a coat when it's chilly.


See,my stubby neck doesn't suit this at all. I'm not posting these to Facebook yet because I'm thinking these will be nice Christmas gifts. So pretend you didn't see them!!

Bugs and Spiders

More pictures from the weekend. I was chopping some kindling (giggle) and looked under the stump. Out crawled this centipide and up the wall so I grabbed my camera.


Checking in the wood shed, I saw lots of huge daddy longlegs.





I picked this pink bulky Manos yarn out of my stash and started a neck warmer. I was hoping to have enough for the length to wrap around the neck and lay flat at the chest but it's pretty short. I tried on Josh's little neck and it might work for a toddler. But if I stand it up and attach some buttons, it might work as a stand up cowl. Hmm..now to find some cool buttons.

I like the texture of the pattern.

Ok Go

The same guys that did the treadmill video but now with DOGS...

Ant Farm

Here is a smattering of what's the latest at Chez Cheese.


We finally got our ants from unclemilton.com. This all started when I was in the garage with Josh and he spotted an ant farm that Tyler received about 5 years ago. Well, Josh was all over it because he really really likes ants. So I opened it up and saw the order form. Josh kept bugging me to order his ants so I finally did which can take 2-4 weeks or so depending on the weather. We had a hot spell for a week then Josh started asking when his ants would arrive.

Well, his precious ants arrived Thursday so we managed to get through Josh's homework and got to work setting up the ant farm. This is not a standard ant farm that you might remember as a kid. No, this model has up to 3 parts to it with connector tubes so the ants can visit the 'desert' or 'rainforest'.

The funniest part is putting the tube of ants in the fridge to 'calm' them down. Josh got a big kick out of that. Once I got the sand in the 3 parts, we (I) dumped them ants in the main compartment. They were sluggish (good) at first so I secured everything and after an hour, the first tunnel was being dug. After 2 days, both tubes were discovered and more tunnels were dug. Very fascinating.

We did get 1 dead ant in the mix and according to Hector's Bathroom Reader ants will bury their dead in the northeast corner. No one knows why and I have noticed one of them will carry the dead one around but he hasn't been buried. There is also a random ant part that also gets carried around. We'll see how long these ants last and so far, they seem to be doing okay.

I'll get more pictures uploaded later...






Blogger is being a PITA when uploading photos. Very hit or miss so I have to upload to Flickr then copy those into the blog. Grr.

Whoosh

I got sucked up into a Vortex (hat, that is) again. Yep, I churned another one out today and used 2 colorways of Noro plus some leftovers to create my swirly, colorful hat.


I did go down to a US size 8 and it fits much better. Yes, it fit my head and Tyler's although the bright colors might frighten most men away. I can turn the hat depending on my many moods and create a multitude of looks.
I just like it because it is unique. :)

and now for something completely different...

A photo tour during our dating leading up to our wedding.

Hector with his first dinosaur snowboard which weighed a ton sometime in 1995 (?). I think he went to Big Bear with some other residents and someone took his picture. He looks very handsome! :)

Grade school photo before glasses so we can see his purdy eyes. It looks like his scar at his left brow is already there but Hector says he got that when he was 14 years old. Looks like something happened before.

At our wedding November 9, 1996 looking very dapper.

Steamboat Springs, CO. Gorgeous weather and snow. We drove from LA to Colorado in 2 days with stops at Park City, UT and Vernal, CO.

Here at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas when the rooms were decorated with this bright floral pattern. After Steamboat (where we got engaged) we headed here for about 4 or 5 days to relax. This picture was set on a timer and I think I was watching TV and Hector did this pose the very last second. He does look happy though....


A shot from one of those disposable cameras at the wedding.

Vortex

We had a nice weekend, how about you? Got to watch a couple of  Kings hockey games on TV (won 1, lost 1), H worked a Saturday and the kids attended a birthday party.

I also started a hat. It's called Vortex and it is completely different from any hats I've knit before. I jumped in feet first and followed the pattern even though I had no idea where it was taking me. I didn't know what was up  or down. By the next day, I began to see the potential and got to grafting the ends together.


I thought at first that the hat would be too big and it sorta is (for normal heads). So that means it fits Tyler and my head just fine. I just need to remember to go a needle size down to get a hat to fit the masses. Other than that, it is a very cool and unique looking hat. There is a pointy version and non-pointy version (which I did but it still looks like a nipple). ;) 

Tyler didn't feel well last night so he got to stay home with me. He says he feels fine but he must be tired of being the resident hat model.

I think I'm making more....

Super Mario

For Tyler's birthday I had ordered some Super Mario decals for his room and had planned on repainting. Tyler asked when I was going to put up the decals and I said first wanted to paint.

This morning, I realized that painting wouldn't be done for a while and since the decals are reusuable, I put them up.

I tried to make a nice setup like the game and with the available wall space, I think I did a good job. I'm sure Tyler will figure out new configurations and that's the fun of these.

Slow Hands

Rainy day today and while making split pea soup, Interpol's Slow Hands came on. So I did a search on youtube,  found a live video and here it is.

Turn a Square Hat

Usually I can knit this hat in a day but other projects sidetracked me for a while so I cranked it out today. I used some blue wool I bought at 50% off (score) along with some Noro (also on sale). :)


Add a simple hat recipe with some stripes and the result is a colorful hat. I will give this to Kat's dad Buddy to take on a monthlong cruise. :) He might need it in New Zealand and those brisk ocean breezes.

Happy cruising Buddy and Carol!!

Unloveable

I couldn't help myself...another song from The Smiths.

The Smiths

The Smiths turn 28. The Smiths and Morrissey got me thru college and well beyond. :) Sure he is the King of Mope but always tongue-in-cheek and somewhat optimistic. There is something about the voice.....


This song reminds me of Hector and I driving on the LA freeways in the wee hours in our wild and carefree days. :)
To die by your side, well the pleasure and privilige is mine.

Dramatic Changes

in our weather. One week ago, we experienced our hottest day ever recorded and today we are a cool 64 degrees with gray overcast skies.

I came down with a cold that started with a sore throat and traveled to my chest resulting in a nice cough. It's kind of weird that my symptoms are progressing faster than a normal cold so for that, I'm relieved.


I finished my Lace and Cable Socks. Started 8-17 and completed 10-3-10 in Alchemy Yarns of Transformation in fall colors. Perfect timing.


It's even predicted to rain the next couple of days so I'll be comfy cozy in my socks sitting next to the fire. :)