Knittinggrammy

The Fruits of my Labour

2011-08-01T13:46:00.001-06:00

Four days, 900 grams of yarn, untold hours equals three Christmas gifts ready to be felted in the machine.

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The tools for a great long weekend!!

2011-07-29T15:58:00.001-06:00

Red wine, check!! Knitting, check!! Good book, check!!

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Nudge, Nudge, Hint, Hint

2011-04-17T15:01:00.002-06:00

This cute new little one is brought to you by the letter "Z". Arrived 09 April at 4:23 pm. Weighing in at 9 pounds, 11.6 ounces. Everyone is doing fine and I'm back home after staying with them for about a week!! Boys, boys, and more boys - that makes FIVE!!

Look at the new little family!!

2011-04-03T11:21:00.001-06:00

Can you believe that this little man is only a week old? He was this bright eyed the day he was born!!

For those of you awaiting pictures ...

2011-03-30T13:06:00.001-06:00

I'm a sucker for a man in a suit!!

2011-01-23T19:19:00.001-07:00

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You gotta love knitters!!

2011-01-20T19:11:00.001-07:00

Last summer I was visiting Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and while there had the opportunity to meet some great people at the local Knit night hosted at Hands on Crafts. Like any good bunch of knitters they made me feel welcome on more than one occasion. One of the ladies, Mary, mentioned her that her granddaughter lived here in Calgary. Of course I replied, call me if you're ever in town.

Guess what, Mary's in town and went with our whole "lot" to the Guild meeting last night. Saturday we're planning on yarn stores. If you run into us, say hi!! She's never seen so many knitters in one place than at the Guild!!

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Knit Worthy

2011-01-17T08:12:00.002-07:00

Well, another Christmas has come and gone and just like so many of my friends I knit quite a few gifts. Most of them were loved and appreciated, however a slight few made me think of who exactly is knit-worthy. Stolen from Tabitha Knits (or borrowed as the case may be), here are the criteria for Knit Worthy friends and relatives:

Has graciously accepted knitted gifts in the past. +10
Is not especially conscientious with their laundry. -10
Rolled their eyes when receiving a knitted gift in the past. -25
Regards a hand knitted gift as a cheap gift. -100
Appreciates the time involved in hand-crafted items, even if they're not exactly their favorite color. +25
Has given you yarn as a gift. +25
Has expected you to knit them something from the yarn they gave you as a gift. -35
Knows the difference between cheap acrylic and high-quality wool. +25
Realizes that a knitter can never have too much yarn or too many needles. +100
Has contemptuously said "I don't have the time for THAT", when observing your knitting. -45
Has ever said, "You should sell that; I bet you could get $50 for it." in reference to an intricate, beaded lace shawl.-100
Has said "It itches" when trying on a hand knit item. -10
Has immediately tried on a hand knitted gift. +50
Has showed hand knitted gifts to others. +50
Has given you a knitting related item that you actually wanted as a gift. +50
Is a close relative. +10
Has complimented a knitted item you have worn. +25
Is an elderly relative. +10
Has sold a hand knitted item they received as a gift at a yard sale or donated it to Good Will. -50
Has said "You should have done ______ differently" or "You made a mistake here" when seeing a hand knit item. -75

Scoring
<25>Totally Unworthy Get this person's gift at the mall and save your knitting time for someone more worthy.

25-75 points Slightly Unworthy Unless he/she is a close relative, your best friend or has some redeeming quality that can make you forget their knitting-ignorance, you can save yourself the effort on this person too. Don't knit something too labor intensive, however, because the gift might find its way to the thrift store.

75-100 points Neither worthy nor unworthy Knit at your discretion. They may appreciate it or them may think you were just too cheap to buy them a "real" gift.

100-150 points Mostly Knit-worthy This person's appreciation for the knits makes them worthy of a hat, gloves or other small project. Use washable yarn though because they will ruin it otherwise.

>150 points Totally Knit-worthy Knit this person a sweater. They will squeal with delight when they open your package and oooooh and aaaaahhhhh over every single stitch. They will cherish anything you knit from the simplest hat to the most complicated Fair Isle sweater. They will hand wash each item and lovingly store in it moth proof storage containers far, far away from the destructive paws of pets or children. They would never consider parting with your beautiful knitting and they will wear your gift proudly, even when it's too hot for wool.

I hope you find this table helpful in deciding on your holiday knitting.

Disclaimer: This questionnaire has absolutely no scientific value whatsoever and is intended purely for fun.

Hi Judi!!

2011-01-16T14:34:00.001-07:00

IMG_0184
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

... and you thought I had fallen off of the face of the earth. No such luck for my enemies. Life has been busy, hectic, sometimes chaotic, and always full of love and family at Chez' Nana's. Judi informed me the other day that I had been too quiet, no noise on here and no noise on Facebook. Guess my New Year's resolution will have to be to blog on a more regular basis. So Happy New Year from the little man and all of us!!!

Vacation Part #1

2010-08-02T12:47:00.004-06:00

What can I say, I've been on holidays (ones that didn't turn out so hot) - but holidays none the less. We were away for several weeks and once again visited the Maritimes (don't get me wrong, I love the family I married into, I just hate the driving that goes along with it). Hubby isn't one to plan things so I took it upon myself to make several side trip plans for the weeks we were gone. One such side trip was the Halifax International Fleet Review, it just so happened to be going on when we landed in Halifax. Lots of ships and such but so many people were there we never managed to make it to a line up to get on any of the ships.

Our first week was spent in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia visiting friends and relatives and driving around (alot of driving around). Cape Forchu we've seen a million and two times but yet we had to go have a look. One thing we hadn't seen were the Salt Haystacks of Amiraults Hill so that was pretty interesting. It was basically an old-world way of keeping the hay dry in the salt marshes. That's basically week one, unless you want me to tell you of the untold grocery stores that we visited LOL!!

Yes, actually we were awake

2010-07-29T19:59:00.003-06:00

So much has happened this summer - sadly I have been remiss in not keeping you up to date so now we'll have to play catch up.

This was taken on my last trip down to see KM. Just had to see him before the summer got ahead of me. He doesn't look very happy here but really he was. I am so blessed to get along with DIL's sister (we'll call her littleRN), so much so in fact that she came with me when I headed down south for my quick trip. We were able to spend the night and the better part of another day with everyone and looking at this picture makes me realize how long ago it truly was (almost two months to be exact, my hair is no longer that short or purple).

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

2010-07-27T19:58:00.003-06:00

Calgary, Alberta to Halifax, Nova Scotia
5059 KM (5 hours and 20 minutes by WestJet)

Halifax, Nova Scotia to Montreal, Quebec
1372 KM (22 hours and change by Via Rail)

Montreal, Quebec to Halifax, Nova Scotia
1372 KM (22 hours and change by Via Rail)

Halifax, Nova Scotia to everywhere else*
8236 KM (lost count of the hours by rental car)

Halifax, Nova Scotia to Calgary, Alberta
5059 KM (5 hours and 20 minutes by WestJet)

Total travel distance = 21098 KM
Total holiday time = three weeks
On average 1004 KM per day

Good grief, I need a holiday!!

*Everywhere else includes all of the southern shore of Nova Scotia, all of Prince Edward Island and most of New Brunswick - not to mention the numerous grocery stores that we had to visit!!

How they've grown

2010-05-10T15:43:00.002-06:00

Pictures taken a few weeks ago when we had a "Nana Date Night" at the park complete with a picnic and ice cream.

LP is sporting his new top down sweater from Nana that he received for his third birthday. Mommy said he wouldn't even take it off that night, had to sleep with it on!!

The Proof

2010-04-18T14:06:00.001-06:00

Complete with the time and date!!

Click on the picture for a bigger view!!

Lest you think I've forgotten how to knit ...

2010-04-04T13:06:00.002-06:00

... I give you "Clapotis" - I'm a tad late to the party as this was all the knitting rage in 2004. In true stash fashion I did purchase the yarn then but didn't cast on until the Guild Spring Retreat.

I Know It's Not a Contest

2010-04-04T13:01:00.001-06:00

..... but my Haruni is complete!!

Pattern: Haruni by Emily Ross, free Ravelry download

"Heavened" out

2010-03-08T12:23:00.002-07:00

Third 198 yards of Heaven - time for another sweater me thinks. Perhaps I'll start one for LP for his third birthday (I already made one in January for his spring birthday but he has arms like his Daddy and the darn thing is too small, hello I made a size four). I haven't finalized any pattern yet so we'll see.

Did I lend you my old black binder of ancient patterns? I lent it to someone back in the days of M1 Knitting Circle and for the life of me I can't remember who!!!

Spring Retreat

2010-03-05T12:13:00.003-07:00

It's that time of year - when spring is around the corner and time for a bunch to head out for the annual Gilli-Hook Heritage Knitters Guild Spring Retreat. The date is fast approaching and many knitters contemplate what to pack (for you non knitter types that means projects and yarn, not shirts and pants). I've decided to take the following:

Three skeins of Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in the Desert Flower colorway with the Clapotis pattern. I have preweighed and measured according to the Rules of Fifth and am ready to go.

One ball of Cascade Fixation with an Athletic Sock pattern.

My Ten Stitch Blanket which is a WIP and whatever other WIP I happen to have going at the time.

Some of us where discussing whether to have a Clapotis Knitalong during the Retreat - are you game or what are you going to bring and just remember Iknarf, there are clothing stores in Canmore and really we're not that far from Calgary LOL!!

I'll take the Gold!!

2010-02-28T20:14:00.002-07:00

Cast on during the Opening Ceremonies and Cast off prior to the Closing Ceremonies (fanfare please) - I give you: 198 yards of Heaven done in Opal Sock Yarn with five and a half repeats.

My Australian Comfort Spring/Summer Cardigan, done in Cleckheaton Country Naturals. Mommy gifted me with this yarn on their first trip to Australia when Mr. T. was just a bit of a thing (couldn't talk and/or walk LOL). The pattern is the Summer Open Cardigan #294 Knitting Pure and Simple.

And just because it's been awhile since I've uploaded pictures, here's my Besotted Scarf which I cast on prior to the Opening Ceremonies but the scarf is lovely just the same.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program of Christmas Knitting 2010 .....

What's all the fuss?

2010-02-24T13:30:00.002-07:00

Such a lot of fuss for such a small candy bar. "Pure White Nougat with blended pieces of chewy fruit". Personally, I can't live without it - I hit the candy store on main street in Yarmouth whenever I'm there and eat till my teeth rot and then I bring home a suitcase full. This year I found out I could order them online!! Have you had yours yet? Perhaps we should chip in for a huge shipment!!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-11T09:23:00.001-07:00

2010-02-05T18:22:00.002-07:00

You gotta' love Skype. It's nothing but amazing that I can have conversations with Manchild and DIL and that KM happily tries to climb the computer monitor to give Nana loves.

Blow kisses (smooch)......

In Good Times and Bad Times......

2010-01-30T12:59:00.002-07:00

Keep smilin'
Keep shinin'

Knowin' you can always count on me
for sure
that's what friends are for

In good times
And bad times
I'll be on your side forever more

That's what friends are for

Lord Byron, British Poet born on this day in 1788

2010-01-22T13:13:00.005-07:00

Just in case you're not on Ravelry (KG from Lethbridge, hint, hint) - here are the finished projects for January. The scarf and top down cardigan will both be for Christmas 2010. The pictures really don't do the cardi justice as the drape of the Rowan Felted Tweed is super nice!!

Mr. Grammy has left for rabbit hunting so I'll be glued to the PVR with my knitting in my hands, and tomorrow the Knitting Crew will be heading over for an impromptu Kitchen Party (minus the fiddle music).

In other boring but equally exciting news, the washing machine decided to crap out last night. I swear Manchild jinxed it as he was telling me to buy a front loader in order that he could inherit my old set. Mr. Grammy was able to get it fixed today before he left, which is a really good thing as I wasn't liking the fact of spending money for a new set being unemployed and all.

How's your Charity knitting coming along? I've completed a couple of hats thus far. I'll have to put my mind to it as Charity knitting used to be for driving to and from work but now.........

BTW, the title of this post had nothing to do with the post itself - as if you haven't figured that out yet!

Fun Times

2010-01-21T08:44:00.003-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Mr. T. celebrated his sixth birthday at the Flip Factory. I must say, Mommy and I want to have our next birthday parties there - it was a blast!!

Public Service Announcement

2010-01-13T15:40:00.002-07:00

Be forewarned and read no further, that's your choice but I'm climbing on the good ole' soap box.

Stay at Home Mom, hmmm - years ago I was a Stay at Home Mom until I couldn't handle my only adult interaction being taking the garbage out and hoping that I would run into the garbage man. I went back to work part time then, something I now regret but hindsight is indeed 20/20. Just because you're a Stay at Home Mom doesn't mean you don't work - in fact you're on call 24/7 with no raises, no sick pay, and no adult interaction. Feel free to follow this link to an article I found quite familiar.

I recently had the privilege of spending a couple of days with the Daughter in Law (DIL) and KM and it's easy to forget how much you do and the quality of time you get with your children while at home. At one point the Manchild came home and I was at the kitchen table and DIL was on the floor with KM playing cars (we were visiting) - he asked "aren't you bored?" Bored, are you crazy - that little man will only be little for so long and in the blink of an eye he'll want nothing to do with you so take advantage of it while you can. I truly wish that back in the day I could have stayed home and played cars with my boys. Maybe that's why I play and hang out with all the grandbabies so much, I now have the time and of course a wee bit more patience LOL. I'm just saying that at the end of the day you may not have signed a merger, scheduled staff, or taken a workshop but at the end of the day you were the best Mom you knew how to be and sometimes you just need a few minutes to yourself - to go for a walk, to drive to Walmart for milk, to have a bubble bath, to read a book - any of these things MINUS your kids!!

Whether you're a Stay at Home Mom by choice or because of circumstances beyond your control, today I applaud you and thank you for blessing us with your patience and love - the patience, love and guidance that you show the little wee ones - the little wee ones that will one day be taking care of us all. Hugs and kisses from this Nana and I'm sure many, many more!!

Jammin....

2010-01-09T15:28:00.003-07:00

We took a break Wednesday night from the hustle and bustle of our daily life to enjoy the Blue Rodeo concert that we had tickets for. Alot of their new material and just a sprinkling of their old, but a great time none the less. The warm up gig of Cuff the Duke was pretty good as well. Decent enough that perhaps we'll buy their CD!!

See, and you thought all I did was knit - silly!

Happy Birthday Mr. T.

2010-01-06T13:33:00.001-07:00

DSC00252
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

Six years ago this coming Monday (the 11th), our phone rang while I was busy in the kitchen making cabbage rolls. Daddy was on the other end to gift us with the news of Mr. T's arrival. We hustled on down to the hospital and I met my best buddy Mr. T.

Mr. T. and I have a relationship unlike any other relationship that I have with any of the other just as special grandbabies. However, not a week goes by without our ritual Nana Date Night or a sleepover or a picnic or a trip to the zoo or you get the idea. My buddy is always quick to inform me that when he "grows up" he gonna' move in with me (perish the thought LOL) and more recently he's discovered the word "dead" and where my prized possessions will go when that happens. As in his favorite stuffy "Bob" who resides on our entertainment stand - where will "Bob" go when I'm dead. You've never seen such a happy kid as when I told him he could have him, what a character.

Well, this year on his birthday I'll be heading down to see KM and give the Manchild and DIL a hand with a certain medical procedure to ensure that KM hasn't inherited my bad heart. Consequently and even though I know he won't remember that I wasn't there, I've worked things out so that I will be picking up Mr. T. from the dayhome on Friday afternoon where we will head out shopping (the child is blissfully unaware) for that all important Birthday pressie. He'll spend the night (by himself, no other grandkids) with Nana and Poppy and we'll make waffles (blueberry are his favorite) Saturday morning. At which time I'll be taking him to his Birthday Party at the Flip Factory.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. T. - WHO LOVES YA' BEST - NANA DOES!!

Christmas Knitting 2010

2010-01-04T09:33:00.004-07:00

Don't hate me because I'm organized, hate me because I'm unemployed with copious amounts of spare time. Let me present the first installment of Christmas Knitting 2010. Though a crappy picture, it is destined to be a Neck Down Shaped Cardigan in Rowan Felted Tweed. I've just picked up the first sleeve and am alternating working one ball on this project and one bit of scrap on the 10 Stitch Blanket.

Another Christmas Knit 2010 will be this ball of Opal. I'd like to make a man's scarf from it, any ideas......anyone......

Hard to Believe

2010-01-03T13:36:00.001-07:00

DSC00240
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

....that this little man will be one year old in less than a week....boy, time sure does fly. It seems like only yesterday that Manchild called me while we were vacationing in Nova Scotia to tell us that DIL was pregnant. Happy Birthday KM, Nana sure does love you!!

A New Year is upon Us!

2009-12-31T20:28:00.004-07:00

Merry Christmas from our house to yours! Hard to believe that in less than four hours a new year and a new decade will be upon us. It's been a hectic year at Chez Nana complete with happiness and sadness. 2009 started out with hubby being laid up due to his "Humpty Dumpty" tendencies and even now 2009 will end with hubby being in bed sick (yes, we had seasonal and H1N1 shots).

We began the year wondering if Humpty Dumpty would ever walk again and with alot of hard work and patience he's now up and walking with only a hint of a limp. He didn't go back to work full time until the middle of July. Work on my end, well geez where should I start? But I digress, we don't say or talk about "that guy or that place" anymore - remember, laid off with eight weeks notice in April to train my replacement, 'nough said Hakuna Matata.

One of the best parts of 2009 was the arrival of KM on a stormy night in January. The picture above was taken last week Christmas Eve - Mr. T. will be six next month, LP will be three next April, and KM will be one next week. I had one of the best Christmas' ever this year, complete with grandbabies, chaos, Santa, food, family, and friends.

Another great part of my life is my circle of fibre and knitting friends. Two of them (Spinknit and Iknarf) will be participating in the 2010 Ride to Conquer Cancer . In November I hosted a Conquer Cancer Potluck where we all banded together with yarn and fibre goodness and raised a wee bit of money to contribute to their ride. I don't know what I would do without these girls love and support. They really are an amazing bunch of women and look out when we get together!!

Let's see, hmmm, other than that I joined a Knitting Guild where they have great snacks and through out the course of 2009 I've completed:

Six Toe Cast Covers

Nineteen pairs of socks

One Baby’s Binky Bunny

Four Adult Sweaters

Three Children Sweaters

One pair of Thrummed Mittens

Twenty-Four items for Charity

Seven Scarves

Two Baby Sweaters

One Adult Vest

One Baby Blanket

...... and currently twenty nine inches square of my sock yarn blanket and a Cardigan for Christmas 2010!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

My So Called Scarf

2009-12-16T14:34:00.002-07:00

I gifted Hubby with an Entrelac scarf last year that MizzBananie had lovingly lined with flannel and he has once to wear the darn thing!! "It's too big, I don't yike it" - and he wonders where Mr. T. gets it from.

This one is skinny in width, soft Malabrigo Silk, and not as long (My So Called Scarf) - if he doesn't use this one, I'll strangle him with it!!

Size 13 Socks, Whew!

2009-12-16T14:20:00.001-07:00

Size 13 Socks, Whew!
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

Ever wondered what a pair of Size 13 handmade socks looked like? Well here they are, measuring almost the entire foam block from top to bottom. They will be gifted for Christmas and thankfully said Hagrid's Bigfoot doesn't read the blog.

Briggs and Little Durasport on size 2.5 needles - entire sock done in a 3x1 ribbing.

Hmmmm........

2009-11-17T19:13:00.004-07:00

.........okay, okay - I really don't like to post without pictures (every picture tells a story) but I was just thinking how much I've knit and how little I've blogged. In no certain order I give you "what I've been up to".

Currently working on my last knitted Christmas gift (for obvious reason you won't be seeing any pictures of these other than on Ravelry). These handmade (and no you can't return them) gifts come as twelve pairs of socks, two sweaters, four scarves, and hopefully one Pirate Toque (guess who that's for).
Working hard on the never ending basement "reorg" - currently I only have one room left but am finding it sooooo hard to find the motivation to finish.
Hosted the Conquer Cancer Potluck in honor of Annie and Franki raising money for Cancer Research.
Went and visited with my Mom for her birthday - had a great day as my Sis and her hubby were there from BC - big surprise for Mom and well worth the trip!
Hubby has been hunting so extra time for knitting WOOT!!
Had both my flu shot in October and my H1N1 shot this month - so far I feel fine (touch wood). Mommy, Daddy, Mr. T. and LP are all down for the count in one form or another - only Mr. T. has gone to school this week, everyone else is either in bed or on the couch.
Spent a few days with Manchild, DIL, and KM in Lethbridge.
Wrapped Christmas presents and started Christmas cards - am waiting for the tree until the furnace is cleaned next week.
DIL and KM are here visiting this week so everything takes a backseat as memories are made - such as KM learning how to "wave bye bye" and coming down the stairs backwards on his tummy - great times and more to come (next time with pictures, I promise)!!
I'm extremely lazy this week - I'm not even going to link to anything so there (sticks out tongue).

Let's Rethink This, shall we?

2009-11-05T12:48:00.002-07:00

On 27 April I arrived at the office to find my "Notice of Lay Off" not only on my desk but in my email - I worked eight weeks of that Notice, training each and every new employee that walked through the front door - I NEVER once led anyone to believe that I was going "to retire", those were the words that the Employer told the new employees - I NEVER once told any of the patients that I was being let go - I maintained my own morales and ethics - on 19 June when I walked out of the office for the last time, I knew I did so with my head held high, never once going behind his back to any of his patients and/or suppliers.

This cost me dearly - not just financially but emotionally and mentally - hubby, family and friends were so sick of listening to me rant and rave but they dealt with it - here I sit almost five months later - still unemployed - still on antidepressants and sleeping pills - still trying to save money in creative ways such as drying most of our laundry on the line - still losing sleep over that fr*&^%g idiot!!

Well buddy, what did you expect? You pulled the rug right out from under my feet - you laid me off only to replace me with someone for less money - you say they didn't have the same job description as me but I call bull shit - you tell your patients that it's because I didn't want to drive to your new location (which you didnt have when you laid me off) - how can you possibly expect me to still refer people to your clinic?

OF COURSE I'M REFERRING ANYONE AND EVERYONE SOMEWHERE ELSE - DOES THE WORD "DUH" MEAN ANYTHING?

I Spy

2009-10-19T19:09:00.001-06:00

....... with my little eye ..... something that is blue. Blue and cute and wearing a Nana made sweater!!

Have you met.....

2009-10-08T18:50:00.003-06:00

......my friend, Mizzbananie? She's one of the brave to tackle The Ride to Conquer Cancer. If you're a knitter on Ravelry, checkout the Knitting Room Forum for a Potluck Fundraiser. Go Bananie!!!!

Pirate Hoodie Revisited

2009-10-04T16:11:00.002-06:00

Remember when Mr. T. received his Pirate Tunic (Ravelry Link) this past Spring? It did fit him quite well in March but alas a couple of weeks ago he was sporting it one Sunday afternoon and as Mommy would say "looking a bit daggy". After discussion with him and my promise to return it back to him, I brought it back to Chez Nana and added FIVE INCHES to the body and THREE INCHES to his sleeves!! Hello there buddy, could you not grow quite so fast that a sweater will last ya' at least one year? Pictures to follow after Nana date night when I return it to him.

The Chaos that I Live For

2009-09-28T08:36:00.004-06:00

Yup, I organize and clean like there is no tomorrow but I live for chaos that usually arrives with any of my children and/or subsequent grandchildren. It's a great day when any of them are home and it's always so sad to see them leave back to their own lives. Hubby was surprised at a "surprise" 65th birthday party this past weekend. Family and friends arrived from Victoria, Edmonton, Camrose, Lethbridge, and Brooks. We led him to believe that I was receiving an award at our local Legion so that he wasn't wondering what was going on when Manchild arrived Friday night and my Mom arrived Saturday morning. Here we are four generations on Saturday afternoon. The other picture with KM smiling had Mom looking to the right, but none the less this one will have to be enlarged and framed.

There were 45 people or so at the birthday party and my favorite picture was of our crew (we were missing one son who couldn't make it due to a new puppy and lack of someone to watch said puppy). Of course it's Murphy's Law that we can't all smile and look at the camera at the same time!

Happy Birthday to my one and only!!

The Apocalypse is near....

2009-09-21T09:49:00.001-06:00

.......the vultures cometh.....

OK, not really - but Hubby does call these little ones vultures, man do they ever clean out the bird house of seeds FAST!!

Ten Stitch Blanket

2009-09-19T17:41:00.002-06:00

I've just finished my tenth bit of scrap sock yarn on the Ten Stitch Blanket and it now measures twenty inches square. I am so loving this project even though I've knit for ever and ever and ever and it's only twenty inches. Aunty Tink thinks I should knit large blocks and join them, thus enabling this project to always be portable. However, I'm super excited about continuing - so much so that I've made a Ten Stitch rule in that one ball of scrap yarn and then one ball (skein) of another project. My plan is to post a picture every tenth scrap change!! Have you started yours and joined the Calgary Knit Club KAL?

My Name is Nana and I married a Hoarder

2009-09-15T10:57:00.003-06:00

That should be the first line of a support group for anyone married to a compulsive hoarder. Hubby is somewhat of a hoarder (not unlike me and my stash) but we need to draw the line when he tells me what he wants for his birthday and I later find it in the basement while organizing and cleaning. I've always been able to keep his hoarding to two levels of our four level split home but lately it's driving me batty and when DH decided to let me go from my job I viewed reorganizing the house as my next project. However, this morning after having spent an hour and a half in the basement, I had to come upstairs for a cup of tea just to regain my sanity.

See, and you thought all I did was knit all day - boy, you haven't seen the basement yet - have you?

Cabled Front Cardigan

2009-09-14T12:28:00.003-06:00

Well hello knitting needles, I haven't seen you for a WHOLE FOUR HOURS. Such is the joy of knitting as much as cleaning out the basement. Cast on 01 August 2009 - cast off 06 September 2009. Pattern from Patons Upside-Downers book. Yarn from MacAuslands Mill in PEI which I purchased last year on our Maritime trip from Northern Watters Knitwear located in Charlottetown, PEI. This is definately a "scratchy" sweater and I was a bit disappointed with the fact that three quarters of the way down the color changed which meant I had to overdye the silly thing. But all in all, a good fall/winter sweater which I will keep and not gift to anyone (I know, harsh).

In other knitting news, I'm currently working on a 10 Stitch blanket which amazingly enough hasn't bored me to tears yet. More pictures of this to follow.

It has been busy at Chez Nana this summer with kids and grandkids and all the love and cookies and cake you could wish for - now if I could just start sleeping again at night (with out the help of a drugstore), life would take on new meaning.

Summer Time Knitting

2009-09-11T12:56:00.001-06:00

Just to shut him up

2009-08-25T09:25:00.004-06:00

Okay, so the other day Manchild made the comment on my Facebook that the last time I posted to the blog had been 29 July. My answer was "whatever" - hubby has been gone and I've been purging and cleaning. Today Manchild yet again commented on my Facebook status (which said I was in my pj's and knitting all day) with three words "blog, blog, blog". OMG, put a sock in it - here ya go LOL!

August 9 - hubby left for business trip - Vegetable Sister #2 and Opera came by and we hung out on the deck for the afternoon - had supper and spent the evening knitting.

August 10 - hubby still hasn't arrived at his destination, airport in Toronto closed the night before due to lightning - doctor's appointment in the morning - started my household purge.

August 11 - Tuesday - um hello, NANA DATE NIGHT but before that Manchild, DIL, and KM were up for the day (smile).

August 12 - Weekly visit to elderly friend in a Senior's Lodge - picked her up Tim's and doughnuts (scored big points).

August 13 - Continued on the purge.

August 14 - Continued on the purge.

August 15 - Continued on the purge.

August 16 - Spent the day with Mr. T., LP, and Mommy - mostly on the deck - stuffed and roasted a chicken for supper.

August 17 - Continued on the purge.

August 18 - Tuesday - um hello, NANA DATE NIGHT.

August 19 - Up at the crack of stupid and made three batches of mini banana bread - took some to the elderly friend in a Senior's Lodge with her Tim's - Knitting Guild night where the rest of the banana bread went.

August 20 - Continued on the purge.

August 21 - Continued on the purge in the morning (two floors now complete) - spent the afternoon on the deck with Opera enjoying a light lunch and of course knitting - had my hair cut super short (hubby will pitch a fit) - visited with MizzBananie and Opera at the Knitting Room.

August 22 - Spent the morning with Mr. T. and LP walking to a school about a kilometer away, hanging out at the playground with snacks and knitting - walked back to the house at which point LP raised his arms up to me and said "Nana, I'm tired" - had lunch - put one to bed and the other at the kitchen table for coloring - Mommy came home and we knit and visited for the afternoon.

August 23 - Went to the big metropolis of Brooks and spent the day with my Mom (baked her homemade beans the day before and scored huge points) - dropped off her Christmas presents (don't hate me, I'm unemployed and saving on postage).

August 24 - Spent the day in my pj's - watched Jumper and Seven Pounds - knit - knit some more and knit more again - yes I made my bed but no I didn't brush my teeth.

August 25 - today - Happy Birthday to my Dad - up at 6:30 to put the garbage and recycling to the curb - groceries and errands and home by 9:00 am - laundry done and out on the deck to dry - put together this lame, boring post - now I need to make and pack a lunch - head out to pick up my Avon order and then it's off to M1 for the afternoon to have lunch and hang out with Aunty Tink, Opera, Knitpassport, and perhaps Vegetable Sister #2 if she can make it. Then it's NANA DATE NIGHT and home to get ready to head to the airport to pick up hubby at 8:44 tonight.

See buddy, I told you my life wasn't that exciting but you gave me enough grief that I at least posted. And BTW yes I have finished knitting items but said items are locked in the camera waiting for me to upload them. In the meantime I leave you with a video of KM crawling - the little fart was trying sooooo hard when he was here awhile back and I drove DIL and him home to Lethbridge but wouldn't ya know it, he waited to do it until the next day. He's lucky I love him or I would be tempted to call him a bad name LOL!

Strawberry Shortcake

2009-07-29T19:10:00.002-06:00

Compliments of Auntie Rosalie. Now I'm off to my own fridge to have some Angel Food Cake, strawberries, and Dream Whip - yummy!!

Oh yah, I also knit occasionally - in the process of using up some scrap sock yarn for different socks and currently working on a Top Down Cardigan - yarn and summer don't mix too well and it's pretty hard to get excited when you're melting!!

P.S. Definitely not as hot as BC - whew, I'm sorry for anyone there!!

Summertime Reno's

2009-07-28T20:29:00.002-06:00

Well, okay - not reno's at my place (you would have to dig out the junk wayyyyy before you could find the floor) - reno's they are a happening at Mommy and Daddy's and consequently little boys tend to get in the way when you're demolishing a large portion of your existing structure. Mr. T. (arms out) and LP (arms in) were with Nana last weekend and one day we went to the pool and the second day we had "park" day - packed a packback and walked to three diferent park areas. Just a little something to keep you coming back to say ahhhhhhhhh - more knitting one of these days seeing as I have no job I should be able to hum out those socks extra fast LOL!! At least DH can be thanked for something (my own personal stalker, aren't I lucky).

Telling Nana Stories

2009-07-24T13:21:00.002-06:00

The past three and a half weeks.....

2009-07-14T10:20:00.003-06:00

.......condensed Reader's Digest version.......

had one camera stolen (hubby's fault actually - he took it out of his pack and put it on a seat and forgot about it and walked away - duh!!
had one camera have a "Lens Error" that will now not work at all - am down to one working 35mm camera - must price out new digital ones or you will never see another picture in a blog post.
Gained four pounds which is quite impressive as the doctor has been giving me grief about losing weight with a certain amount of stress (ie. work).
Still taking copius amounts of anti depressants and sleeping pills.
Have an appointment with a cardiac surgeon this week - have been putting this off due to work and they whole sell/not sell bullshit that caused previous two entries in list.
Auntie Bob gave her notice to DH (insert silent laugh) - see, I told you - I didn't need to sabotage him, he would do it himself.
KM had croup.
LP and Mr. T. were both sick, first one then the other.
Humpty Dumpty went back to work full time as of yesterday - thank god for that as remember, I'm now unemployed.
Completed two pairs of socks (one toe up, patooie), one silk scarf, and one five hour baby sweater (see beginning of rant for reasons as to no pictures).
Made yummy cupcakes for the Gillies potluck tomorrow night, just need to ice them tomorrow with cream cheese frosting (double yum).
Nana date night later on with fun to be had by all - so must run and pay bills and get organized with errands and such.....
BTW, everyone say hello to DH in their comments - I've tracked back the visitors from the blog and he's been reading up on his lovely "dhishness".......

It's Official

2009-06-19T12:04:00.002-06:00

I'm now unemployed. That had to be the longest eight weeks of my life. Working the first five and training the last three. Thankfully Auntie Bob kept me sane the last three weeks. I'm quite certain that if it would have been someone I didnt get along with, it would have killed me. Good luck to her - she will need it. Now I'm off to file for my unemployment.

P.S. If anyone needs a hearing aid they should check out the Hearing Loss Clinic - they're located in the North Hill professional centre and are amazing people. See, I can give out the competition names now, I'm no longer employed by DH!!

Yes Virginia, Nana does know how to knit!

2009-06-15T19:14:00.002-06:00

I know, I know - there has been a definate lack of knitting content, or for that matter any content whatsoever!! Life has a way of happening and continuing along it's merry little path without much thought for blogging LOL.

My mom will be gifted with a "Knitters Dozen of Socks" for Christmas this year - now a bakers dozen consists of 13 but a knitters dozen consists of eight (8). Seven Days of the Week and One Spare for Wash Day!! Needless to say, most of the socks this year have been for her. I present to you pairs number 6, 7, and 8.

Number 6 was a pattern from the Make1 Sock Club - Pretty Please Socks by Amy Swenson. These were done in Knitpicks Essential Tweed in the colorway Inca Gold. Completed with size 0 needles.

Number 7 was a pattern that I made a couple of times last year. It's a basic Golf Sock pattern in the "Box of Socks" that is super fast and easy to make. Done in Cascade Fixation in a variegated yarn. Completed with size 3mm needles.

Number 8 is a basic 3x1 rib pattern. Done in Regia Cotton Tip and Top. Completed with size 0 needles. I used some left over black Koigu for the toes and heels to offset it a bit.

Wednesday night I'm supposed to meet with Kittin for a bite to eat - haven't seen her in ages and am really looking forward to catching up. Then it's off to the Gilli meeting.

Of course none of this knitting wouldn't be possible if it weren't for new employee #3 (yes she has a name, but for the purpose of Nana's blog she will be referred to as Auntie Bob). She is catching on quite quick but unfortunately ten to eleven years of wisdom will not be imparted within two and a half weeks. It's rather too bad that Auntie Bob is such a great person, we have had a great time these past two and a half weeks but alas she too will come to the realization that DH is indeed a DH and with any luck she'll dump him for a better job. I certainly wish her all the best no matter what she chooses to do - it's only DH that I hope fails miserably.

These are a few of my favorite things....

2009-06-09T20:18:00.002-06:00

...three grandbabies all in a row......from left to right - Mr. T. - KM - and LP. Manchild was here for the weekend and forwarded this picture. All of the pictures I took are still in said digital camera. I even had KM for the morning on Monday while Manchild and DIL had an appointment elsewhere.

New Employee #3

2009-05-27T19:49:00.003-06:00

Another day of training - another new "potential employee" - another two days of "test driving" the staff - OMG what is he doing? Hiring a new employee, or buying a new car? Speaking of cars, guess who didn't renew his vehicle registration and guess who got blamed for it? We'll see how this one goes - perhaps she won't think it's too much work for too little money, however he did increase the wage offering in the latest advertisement. Only seventeen more work days and counting - lay me off will ya - we'll see who has the last laugh!

Look at the curls

2009-05-26T13:24:00.001-06:00

Oh my Mr. T. - how you have grown!! Was cleaning up my work PC (actually looking for my resume, which BTW I didnt find) and came across some old pics but this one had to be the best!! His little cabled sweater that was too tight for his big head. I wonder if Mommy kept it? Circa 2005 or maybe 06??

Guess who came for dinner this week?

2009-05-24T11:46:00.000-06:00

Look at that face - and those dimples!!

Humpty Dumpty Update

2009-05-15T10:57:00.002-06:00

Humpty Dumpty is partially fixed and started back to work for four hours a day this past Wednesday. He will be on modified duties and modified hours for the next four weeks to see how his heel can handle it. So far it's been not too bad, however by noon when he gets home his foot is horribly swollen and of course that starts the vicious cycle of ice and elevation so that he can get his foot into runners to head to physio. He's been in physio for four hours daily for the past eight weeks for strength training and might even join a gym this summer as he's gotten quite used to exercising.

Thanks to everyone for all their help in the past five a half months - OMG, can you believe it took almost half a year before he could work part time again - never mind, the surgeon originally told him he would probably never do his job again so Way to GO Mr. Grammy, you're my hero yet again with all that hard work getting yourself back in shape!!

This One's for Annie

2009-05-10T12:55:00.002-06:00

Thank God It's Friday!!

2009-05-08T19:37:00.000-06:00

Training Day #2

2009-05-07T20:07:00.003-06:00

See this picture? Yup, that's pretty much me at the end of the day. I dont feel that I'm a good "Trainer" - I like things to go "just so" and when you're training someone it always takes two to three times longer. At least potential new employee #1 has a brain - well maybe not, she applied to work for DH - I'm kind of hoping against hope that DH can be talked into just keeping her and not starting to train employee #2 next week because I'm pooped, already - and it's only Day #2....

Yup, I still knit - four or five stitches before I head out off the door at 6:45 in the friggin' morning, yawn.....soon I'll have oodles of time to knit, in between finding a new job!

Training Day #1

2009-05-06T20:11:00.002-06:00

Introduce self to new employee while trying not to laugh at new employee who will have her hands full of DH in a matter of six weeks and two days (not that I'm counting). Try to sound caring while describing said job duties and listening as to why new employee left current employer (see every reason that I've ever complained about DH). Wish to fall off the face of the earth when finding out that yet another new employee will be in next week at which time I will be asked for my input as to which one I think can do my job - yup, Ativan is my new friend!!

Recession

2009-05-04T19:36:00.003-06:00

The last time that Manchild was here, we were having a discussion about the Recession and he said "hey Mom, do you think we're over the Recession yet?". I laughed at him and replied that when he personally knew at least five people that had lost there jobs, then the Recession was just starting. Well here we are, almost two months since that discussion and I can now personally count the following people:
1. Manchild himself (yup, three days after him and DIL moved into their own place)
2. Engineer from knitting group
3. Public relations person from knitting group
4. Sister in law
5. Yours truly (and, I'm even expected to train the lower waged people that will take over my job).

Happy Recession!!

Message from the Manchild

2009-04-29T13:58:00.001-06:00

GOOD MORNING!!!!!!!!‏

From:	Hidden from View
Sent:	April 29, 2009 11:48:59 AM
To:	Hidden from View

Just messaging you to say that we love you, and that KM loves 
you.  I was talking to KM this morning and he said this word for 
word!!!

" When i grow up i wanna be as smart and cool as Nana "

No bull

Love Ya

Hidden from View

Love you too guys, thanks for the cheerup!!

Happy Birthday to you!!

2009-04-28T12:25:00.001-06:00

Nana and Baby
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday dear LP - Happy Birthday to you!! Hard to believe it was two years since you were born - look how tiny you were and now you leave bruises on my arms when we're horsing around. Yummy cheesecake that Mommy made for dessert tonite to celebrate and maybe, just maybe, Poppy will be "Peepa" for supper - That's Pizza in little two year speak!!

Love you to bits, Nana

Mental Health Day

2009-04-24T08:06:00.003-06:00

I was going to flush myself down the loo but decided to call in sick instead. Left a message on DH's home phone and emailed him as well. Nope, havent quit yet - need to finds me new digs first but the fact remains that I am truly DONE with all the bullshit.

P.S. DH does not stand for darling husband but as Rena says Dick Head. And BTW, she also said last night that I like to stir the pot. Who me? She must be thinking of another Nana LOL!!

What's on the Horizon?

2009-04-23T10:06:00.001-06:00

Easter 2009.11
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

Can you see it? What's that on the Horizon? Me neither but pretty soon, it had better be a different job!! I'm done!!

Hagrid Deux

2009-04-21T08:16:00.001-06:00

Showing Off
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

What can I say? Words cannot describe this pose complete with seven (7) skeins of Cascade 220 Heathers yarn. It really only took me three weeks thanks in part to a charity casino that afforded me two days of knitting time.

Nothing here

2009-04-07T08:53:00.000-06:00

Click to embiggen the cartoon - Happy Tuesday!!

Hagrid Deux is complete and on the spare bed blocking - I wonder how long it will take for seven skeins of yarn to dry LOL!!! Pictures as soon as I'm home in the sunlight.

Happy Spring!!

2009-03-30T19:10:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, we (Mr. Grammy and I) headed down to Lethbridge (after digging out the car) for darling KM's Baby Blessing. Look at how he's grown. DIL says he's thirteen pounds, one ounce. I think he's all cute (I'm a wee bit prejudiced). Knowing I was going to be in the car for four to five hours, I started the Five Hour Baby Sweater Saturday night so that I would have something to work on other than Hagrid Deux (more details at a later date). This little number was super easy and super fast, the only problem was that I used acrylic and my hands get sore so fast when I knit with plastic. I'll be gifting this to Big Red (one of Mommy's friends) later this Spring. I've also posted a picture of my March charity contribution. The weather has been cooperating as well as the traffic so I'm only going to add three to the basket at the next Gilli meeting. Did you get lots of knitting done over the weekend or were you busy digging yourself out?

Ta Da!!

2009-03-11T10:01:00.002-06:00

Really, honestly, truly, Mr. T. can smile but lately not so much. He's all giggles and fun but as soon as you turn the camera on him, it's grumpy gus. Completed his Pirate Tunic on Sunday and steam blocked it so that he could wear it that night. Even though he wanted one BIG skull in the front, he was pretty impressed with his hoody. If he grows too much this spring, I'll frog the bottom and add a bit of length for the fall months.

Secondly, my favorite cardiologist in the whole wide world (calls me at home and at work) is going to retire in April. He has taken care of my heart condition since it was initially diagnosed when I was a teenager. I'm really going to miss him. Next month when I go for my check up, he'll be referring me on to another of his colleagues and I'll certainly be sad to see him go although I'm sure he's seen the inside of the hospital more times than his wife. I thought it only fitting that I made him a heart with love as he's taken care of my heart with love all of these years!!

Take care Dr. Belenkie, enjoy your retirement - you blessedly deserve it!!

It's Hard Work

2009-03-09T17:57:00.003-06:00

.... being a parent.

.... being a baby.

.... being the Nana who lives two hours away.

But JC buddy, quit faking it and put your friggin' arms around that baby before he falls off ya (I can see the start of your smile when the flash went off LOL).....

Bad Things Come in Threes

2009-03-08T07:13:00.002-06:00

Or at least that's what the superstitious believe, just ask Correna. Damn, don't you hate it when your sister is right (LOL)? So Tuesday evening I arrived home after date night to find out Grandpa had passed away. Yes, he lead a long and productive life - 93 and still cognitive of what was going on. Nowadays 93 really isn't that old, it's more like the new 80. For instance, my oldest patient passed away this year - she was going to be 109 and was just put into a nursing home about three years ago - how's that for longevity?

After getting off the phone with my dad that evening I marched downstairs to put in the laundry and start cleaning (that's what I do when I'm upset). Promptly started hollering at Mr. Dumpty as to whatever he bought that was going rotten in the basement. Couldnt find the source of the smell and gave up. Later when I went to change the laundry I heard a "pssssss" sound - turned around and found one of the hoses that hooks up the humidifier on the furnace to the hot water tank - had sprung a leak and hot water was spraying everywhere. Had been as a matter of fact for about a couple of hours judging by the water and mess that I was looking at. I cleaned for about an hour every night this week and then for the most part yesterday and finally it's done. I'd post ya all pictures but frankly, I'm too damn tired.

After cleaning said water disaster I had a nice relaxing shower and told Mr. Dumpty that my luck had changed and perhaps we should go for a drive and pick up the baby pictures I had order of KM from Walmart (104 pictures, three copies each please). Off we went and 312 pictures and a bottle of Calcium pictures later we arrived back home. Home - ya know, where the heart is! Mr. DUMBty was parallel parking MY car at the end of our driveway because dont ya know all his other fucking vehicles are in the driveway including the 40K one that he doesnt drive and the $1300 one that is sooooo long, it pretty much hangs off the driveway (the one he currently drives with no heater because he is the biggest procrastinator that I've ever met, hence my unfinished basement that was a pain to clean up). You know what happened then dont you? I've come home as of late to move his truck up further in the driveway to park my car and told him watch out for the backend of your truck. He was too busy watching out for the neighbors truck that was half a block behind us and yup, you guessed it - plowed the front end of my car into the backend of his truck. Nice sized ding and now I'm irrate because you see he smashed the front end of my previous car when he drove into a Calgary Herald paper box - then of course it was my fault that it wasn't fixed when we tried to sell it. I'm so glad he's off of work because I'm going to make an appointment for the car to go to a body shop and he can friggin do the running around for it (and of course pay for the damn thing)!!!

Now here I sit Sunday morning enjoying my only cup of coffee (granted it's a pretty big mug) and I'm sick as a dog - Grandpa, water mess, busted car, sick - yup I count four too? Do you have an answer for that one?

PS Still working on Mr. T's Skull Tunic, on the last arm then it has to be blocked and the hood casing sewn and he's off to show it to his school chums!

In Loving Memory

2009-03-06T20:14:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Gareau
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

.....we'll miss you always and keep you in our heart.....

Passed away 03 March 2009 in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan at the age of 93 years. Sad but true, my last grandparent to pass away.

Pirate Tunic

2009-03-04T08:32:00.001-07:00

Skull Sweater
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

First date night last night since my jaw surgery in the latter part of November. Honestly, Mr. T. wasn't half asleep - I couldnt get a decent picture of the kid no matter what I tried - he told me he was out of smiles for the day. He also thought it was a) cool to wear a "ninja" sweater as the circs were still in it when he tried it on and b) didn't really want the purple strings hanging from the holes, names the scrap yarn holding the sleeve stitches. Other than that he was mighty happy with his Pirate Sweater and wanted to know how much longer until he could wear it to school.

My Hero

2009-03-03T09:17:00.002-07:00

Let me introduce you to Superhero KnittingGrammy - complete with glasses, short hair and the "K" on her red stole - fun!!! Thanks to Heather for supplying the link!! Go ahead and check it out, you know you want to......

Places I've Been,,,,

2009-03-02T06:52:00.005-07:00

...... since Humpty Dumpty had a great fall on the 8th of December last year......

Foothills Hospital - Trauma Bay, Emergency Curtains, Unit 41, Surgical Unit, Cast Clinic, x-Ray, Outpatient, Grace Hospital Unit, Coffee Shop (which BTW gives me a staff discount when they see my parking pass and computer fob for the office hanging around my neck).
Family Doctor's Office - conveniently located beside one of the driveby shootings pizza joint - fairly safe during daylight hours and truly they make a wicked $9.99 three topping pizza.
Shopper's Drug Mart - aren't prescriptions lovely? You or someone you know is sick as a dog and they give you a beeper and tell you it will be 45 minutes. I have resorted to getting a knitting magazine from their rack, looking through it and putting it back - I know, I'm bad.
Grocery Stores - Sobey's is by far the best, open at 8:00 am and on my way to the office - Safeway in a pinch - Superstore is now open at 7:00 am but the staff are still asleep when you walk in the door.
The Bank - yup, someone has to put that good ole' WCB cheque in the bank account - the one that has more money in it than I knew about, yup that one.
Work - One person working, one on WCB - hmmmm, I remember a time when people accused me for marrying him for his money, well let's see - he lost it all last year when the stock market tumbled and now his paycheque is measly due to WCB, so the way I see it - he's married to me for my money.
Village Square Physiotherapy - every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night from 5:30 until around 7:00 pm - I knit everytime and get questioned everytime from some well meaning Sikh woman or child - thankfully Mr. Dumpty is driving as of last week and the physio appointments are during the day.

So, all in all I've lived as a caregiver and just recently actually went out one evening to the Guild meeting - I lived crazy and didnt come home until 9:30 pm - oops, I lied - I went down to Lethbridge when KM was born but made that trip there and back in one day during a blizzard so as not to leave Mr. Dumpty alone overnight. To all my friends that came over and made sure I didn't go crazy, thanks (Correna, Heather, Marilyn, Judi, and even the boss man). To everyone that kept in touch with me via email and Ravelry (Trish, Franki, Sara, Annie, Sandra, and Amy), thanks. Maybe one day soon I'll be able to actually make an appointment to get my hair cut - it currently hangs at my jaw line and is driving me nuts!!! And maybe one day I'll actually get out to Knit night to see everyone....sigh....

Edited to add: Ooops, this is just like writing a speech for the Oscar's - I of course cannot forget to thank Liza and Angele for "herding my cats" while I was busy with Mr. Dumpty.

If I forgot anyone else, I'm sorry - brain fried early on a Monday morning!!

Did you have a good Weekend?

2009-03-01T18:46:00.003-07:00

I am quite certain that it will be a horrible week at the office starting first thing tomorrow morning. Projects and all and a man who can't think for himself....however I should be happy that I have a job in this economy. I leave you with a collage of some of my favorite pictures of KM that I am having printed up into a 12x18 print for my own Mom for Mother's Day!!

P.S. Notice the lovely hand knit socks in the bottom left hand corner as well as his now too small fall colored jacket LOL!!

February at a Glance

2009-03-01T16:02:00.004-07:00

I have to force myself to blog at least twice a month and that is purely because I'm so busy between work, Humpty Dumpty, and three grandkids, that my head is spinning round and round (and not in a good red wine way).

Let's start with socks, shall we. My goal is to make my mother at least eight (8) pairs of socks for Christmas. These orange, yellow ones are her third pair. Done out of Regia (did you know there is a ten year guarantee on their sock yarn, if your socks wear out send them, a sample of the yarn and they will replace it). And of course KM needs socks - I had Manchild measure his foot to which I was told three and a half inches and promptly made them four inches. Well, KM was here a couple of weeks ago and they are a bit big - I'm sure he'll grow into them (say like next week LOL).

Next we have my traffic knitting aka Charity knitting - five hats this month - what does that say about my commute and in the dark no less. Thankfully we put the clocks ahead next week, my knitting can hardly wait.

And never let it be said that knitting socks is a waste of time. This signed Rental Agreement is proof of a sweet $100 cheque (that has since been deposited). A movie production company has rented all of hubby's hunting socks that I made last year. They damn near died when I quoted them to make them their own so opted to rent Hubby's instead - I personally like the Total Value column, $700 to replace if they frig them up!!

Did you know that if you join the Gilli Hook Heritage Knitters Guild, you receive 10% off your purchases at such LYS such as Make1 and the Knitting Room? The cost of the membership is a measly $25 and the snacks (had to say that for Annie's benefit) are the best, not to mention the amazing yarn conversation and fun - plus they have a library of books that you can borrow!!

Hubby and I went to Golden for the Family Day Long Weekend and while there I decided to do up some Thrummed Mittens - I'm pretty sure I spent close to five hours premaking thrums - can you say never again? Remind me if you see me starting another pair, okay!

Scarves and I aren't the best of friends - quite frankly I find them kind of boring - repeat over and over and over. However, that being said my sister hinted (very plainly I might add) that she would like a scarf for Christmas this year, which in itself is quite comical as we arent supposed to exchange gifts. I produced these two this month, one out of some Ebay scored yarn a number of years ago (Pink Wavy Scarf) and the other from some Manos Silk that I procured from Knit and Caboodle in Canmore on the way to Golden ($14.95 a skein, how much more reasonable can you get?).

All this being said (and if you're still reading, wow, thanks and you might want to blink a couple of times to keep your eyes moist), my most wonderful knitting item this month I dont have a picture of. Check out fakingsanity on Etsy - yummy, scrummy yarn that came to my house!! I know some of us went a little crazy at their shop but I have it on great authority that more will come - dye it and they will come.........

Knit Purl Gurl

2009-02-25T08:36:00.003-07:00

I don't know how many of you now of the Knit Purl Gurl but her post yesterday with Advice to Local Yarn Shops makes alot of sense. Go have a read, I'm sure most of you will agreee.

P.S. Yes I have been knitting and no, I haven't been blogging - I can't seem to locate my disc with my 2007 photos and I really, really (did I mention really) need to find it so that I can get my 2008 photos off of the camera 'cause it's becoming agonizingly slooooowwwwwww and I would love to show you my FO's for February.....soon....soon!!

Talented

2009-02-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Don't you wish you were as talented as this???

I gotta' tell ya, I am ever so jealous of people that can spin - me, I tried once with a drop spindle and made very interesting rope - it hung on the Christmas tree that year and everyone had a good laugh.

January Knitting Recap

2009-01-31T17:17:00.004-07:00

Well actually it's not really a recap so much as a telling of what I have accomplished this month. With Humpty Dumpty, KM, and the impending sale of my place of employment - it's actually quite amazing that I've even knit at all.

First off I had asked DIL to pick between a couple of sweater patterns and she ended up picking Mr. Greenjeans. She picked this when she was still expecting KM and I had decided to try and have it finished for her to celebrate her first Mommy's Day which in effect was the 8th of January when KM graced us with his prescence.

Secondly, after KM decided to grow a wee bit faster than anticipated it only seemed fitting that he be gifted with another sweater - one perhaps that would fit longer than 3.5 seconds. I also made him his first little Bunny to carry around.

And last but not least, my charity hats for the month. It is always so dark when I drive to work that I find it harder and harder to go to the office early because it's always so darn hard to see the dark wool.......so I'm pretty much sticking to hats in the winter months!

In non-related knitting news, Manchild and DIL are up here this weekend with KM in tow for a baby shower that we went to this afternoon. They stayed there longer than we did (it was put on by her sister) and so now I need to get off the computer and get the lasagna out of the oven.

Learnt the hard way

2009-01-22T19:58:00.002-07:00

Remember when Nana's LP arrived and grew in leaps and bounds a couple of years ago? I can't link to the post in particular as someone deleted my life in August of that year (2007) but needless to say I made LP a lovely top down roll top collar sweater with yarn that was gifted to me by Sandra from M1 in order to congratulate Mommy and Daddy on the birth of Mr. T's playmate. That little bugger wore it once to his Poppy's birthday party and then I frogged it and reknit it, thanks in part to him being related to Hagrid the son in law (size huge).

I had the notion that when Manchild and DIL announced their pregnancy that between the two of them they would produce a rather small child - Manchild is only an inch taller than me, DIL is under five feet tall - even my exhusband isn't tall and/or large. Imagine everyone's surprise when DIL's belly kept extending itself and little feet could be seen. The "little" bruiser that graced the world with his presence is pictured above and apparently as Dana pointed out, all my grandkids outgrow their stuff far too soon. His first sweater looks about ready to pop off of him already so I've just about finished his "gender specific" sweater is size "really big for a baby". I just thought the picture above (which Manchild sent this afternoon) was so ironic as I think it truly shows KM and his size when he just barely fits on his Daddy's chest.

KM (and of course his parents, as he's not old enough to drive yet) will be coming for a visit next weekend so if I seem a little punch drunk then you'll know why - must knit, must bake, must cook!! In other non-related baby and/or knitting news, Humpty Dumpty is still broken - will be as such most probably until the summer. He gets his "pins" out on Monday and one of the Vegetable Sisters will be watching the office that day for me yet again. He's pretty down in the dumps about being cooped up within the same four walls. He has the idea that being seen in a wheelchair will make him a cripple but between myself, Mommy, and the doctor we have him convinced to try one out in the mall on the weekend (cross your fingers for the weather). So even though I really didn't want to go out tonite, I went home from work and made supper then drove back downtown to take him to get together with a group of guys for a yak session - it's easier for me to come back to the office for an hour than to drive back and forth home so here I sit and now it's just about time to head back to pick him up.

Stay warm everyone and remember to love each other!!

You would never guess....

2009-01-18T13:55:00.001-07:00

KM48
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

....that this little man was just over a week old but the brightness in his eyes. Not to mention the amazing (if I do say so myself) hand knit sweater and matching hat with the bursting little buttons. Okay, okay - so the little bruisers next cardigan (Knitting Pure and Simple Neck Down Hooded Cardigan if you want to know) is in the process of being made into a size 12 month, and you thought I forgot how to knit - shame on you!!

A Natural High

2009-01-16T09:50:00.001-07:00

What else could bring you so much joy

As the arrival of your baby boy!

His snuggly charms now capture you;

He's in your thoughts in all you do.
Nothing can fill you so full of glee

As bouncing your little boy on your knee.

His precious antics please mom and dad;

He's a bundle of blessings, this little lad!
His boyish grin enchants everyone;

He's just what you wanted--your boy, your son.

A baby boy is a natural high,

So have lots of fun with your little guy.
By Joanna Fuchs

Little Feet in a Big World

2009-01-15T09:32:00.001-07:00

KM6
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

No words needed, just ahhhhhhhh!

Little Pumpkin

2009-01-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

KM.1
Originally uploaded by knittinggrammy84

Now don't you just think this would have been such an appropriate Hallowe'en picture?? KM is putting back on some of his "birth weight loss" and has his first Pediatrician appointment on Friday. OMG, how I wish they and/or we lived closer!!

Wake Up Little Boy

2009-01-10T18:42:00.004-07:00

I tried very valiantly to send this video to my Mom via' her next door neighbor. Mom lives 186 Km away from me and 154 Km away from her new Great Grandchild. A wee bit far for her to travel in these lovely winter conditions to go meet KM. After many tries on her neighbor's email, I have uploaded this video here so that she could see the new Bruiser. Love ya Mom - did you take your tree down yet? PS Mom - are you wearing your new sweater??

Four Generations

2009-01-10T15:37:00.004-07:00

With the arrival of Nana's newest love, the four generation picture was born. My dad got such a charge out of being called Great Grandpa. It's funny, Manchild was his first grandchild so it's only fitting the KM is his first Great Grandchild.

Our little bundle of joy is a wee bit under the weather today. Mommy is resting comfortably after delivering this small "turkey" and Daddy has assumed his new role with great ease. However, KM, might have inherited Nana's heart condition - plus he's a little mucously at the moment and they might have to tube him and clean him out - so please send all your good thoughts to this new little family. After so much difficulty bringing this young lad into the world, I think they deserve a bit of happiness.

Cuteness Abounds!!

2009-01-09T20:45:00.003-07:00

Now, Knittinggrammy spent the day driving down to Lethbridge (in absolutely horrible roads I might add) and when arrived had the wonderful pleasure to meet the newest addition to the family. Introducing Nana's newest love of her life, secretly he whispered that he loves Nana best!! I will have lots more pictures to post but just wanted to give you a quick peek at the cuteness that is Manchild's son. Love everyone to bits - got to spend the whole day with everyone at varying intervals and other than the miniature blizzard that I got stuck in on the way home tonight (but now I'm safe and sound), all is right with the world. Smooch!!

PS - Guess what I'm doing this weekend - knitting gender specific as the baby clothes that I've made this darling bruiser aren't going to fit for much more than a day or two (but I loves him still!!)

IT'S A BOY!!!

2009-01-08T20:07:00.003-07:00

WELCOME TO THE WORLD NANA'S NEWEST LITTLE BOY, "KM" - WEIGHING IN AT 9 POUNDS, 9 OUNCES - Born TODAY 08 January 2009 at 7:13 pm!! ON MY WAY DOWN SOUTH TO GOOD OLE' LETHBRIDGE FIRST THING TOMORROW MORNING - Wish me good roads, will post pictures on the weekend!!

Hello, Nana can't wait to meet you!!

2009-01-06T18:09:00.002-07:00

My baby will be 24 in March - his baby will be a few hours/days/minutes old by the end of the week. Where has time gone? It just seems like yesterday that he saved his precious quarter to buy me a present at a garage sale - one peony decorated ceramic ring holder. I still have it, it's been glued twice - hubby actually bought me another one to use so I wouldn't break my favorite one!! Manchild was born during a spring blizzard on the week before Easter. Back in the day before you were sent home 24 hours later - back when you had to watch movies with the other new moms to learn how to properly feed, change, and bathe your child - back in the day when you smoked in your room, in your bed for that matter - back in the day when pink fluffy housecoats and HUGE eyeglasses were all the rage.

1985 As the spread of aids increases Governments round the world start screening Blood donations for AIDS. On the technology front the first .com is registered and the first version of Windows is released Ver 1.0 . Terrorists continue to perform acts of terrorism including the hijack of TWA Flight 847 and the Italian Cruise Liner "Achille Lauro ". Famine in Ethiopia is shown more on TV News in July and Live Aid concerts around the world raise many millions to help the starving in Africa and the pop industry in US joins together to sing "We Are The World".

And let's not forget that the first mobile phone call was made in 1985 in the UK by a man of the name of Ernie Wise. Now, most probably, Manchild will call me from his Mobile with the news.

You're so Screwed!!

2009-01-05T18:27:00.001-07:00

We've always said that Humpty Dumpty is a little screwy and now I have proof but of course I didnt save the picture so that I could send it to all of you. The surgeon removed the cast today and after careful examination with good ole' xray proclaimed the heel to be progressing along nicely. So nicely in fact that he pulled another surgeon into the exam room and said "remember this guy, he fell through the ceiling - look at how great it looks - this xray is suitable for framing". I kid you not!! As a matter of fact they didnt recast the leg and have left it to blow in the breeze so to speak. The pins have a threaded end and the threads themselves are sticking out from hubby's heel, disgusting I know. They have repacked the pins with about five inches of padding and wrapped it up all nicely in some gauze. Back to the hospital in three weeks time to have the screws removed - thank goodness I booked one of the Vegetable Sisters for the 26th before she left the office today (I'd be so screwed without her, no pun intended). And the best part.....the pins/screws can be removed with a handy dandy drill in the cast clinic with no overnight stay required!! Now the only hard part will be Hubby getting used to sleeping differently yet kind of the same with the plaster gone and his toe cast covers are now useless so I'll have to see what I can whip up between now and when I go back to work tomorrow morning. Take care everyone, talk to you soon!!

Have you hugged your Occupational Therapist today?

2009-01-02T10:55:00.002-07:00

Life has been plodding along and we both wish for it to quit snowing. Our family physician was able to get a copy of the ER report and it shows that hubby has a possible compression fracture in the L2 vertebrae which only time will tell as he's still pretty sore from the fall as it is. We have his appointment with the surgeon on Monday and a follow up with our GP on Tuesday. We had an Occupational Therapist over here this morning who spent two hours with us measuring the house and seeing how hubby could and couldn't take care of himself. She willing be reporting back to WCB and recommending that someone shovel our sidewalks twice a week (thank friggin god for that) - a bath chair/lift and shower head be installed in the bathroom - a commode be provided - a tray and basket be installed on the walker that we have from the hearing clinic office - and a bath basin with a place for your head in order to wash his hair. All in all she left and we had good feelings so that's a step in the right direction. We just now have to get WCB to agree to pay for taxi chits when time comes for physio. We will most likely find out a better timeline on Monday as to the next surgery and stuff like that so we're kind of looking forward to that one. The cold weather is really becoming a nuisance, the plaster bottom of hubby's heel just sucks up the cold and when he gets cold he gets sore and when he gets sore he takes more drugs, which leads to him feeling like crap and a vicious cycle starts all over again.

Back to work on Tuesday for me but I still need to be home right away at the end of the day. The Occupational Therapist is quite concerned with the amount of time that hubby will have to be by himself and wants to get him homecare once a week, you can just imagine hubby's answer to that one - NOT!!

Finished and Year in Review

2008-12-30T21:14:00.005-07:00

See what happens when you don't post anything knitting related to said knitting blog? All of the sudden you have five pictures of completed WIP's. Here we go, Entrelac Scarf that was finished earlier this year but Spinknit sewed some flannel to the back so I could quilt it and gift it to hubby for Christmas (thanks Annie for your sneaky, sneaky help) for him to wear to work (kind of ironic now isn't it?).

Toe covers for Humpty Dumpty's cold feet - cast on 40-50 depending on weight of yarn. Knit one inch of 2x2 rib, then knit in stockinette until measures 3.5 inch. Finish off as for toe of sock and graft closed. He now has six of these including one in Lamb's Pride worsted which is for outdoor use (the snow doesnt stick to it).

Eleanor (archived Socktopia pattern) socks for Mom for Christmas 2009 (yes, I'm a keener) - made from Knitpicks Felici in the Clay colorway. 24th pair for the year.

Monkey socks for Mom (yet again for Christmas 2009) - made from Knitpicks Essential in the Volcano Tomato colorway - 23rd pair for 2008 and I must say, LOVIN' the yarn. Would definitely buy it again.

Cotton sweater that was finished for Honeysuckle Rose that was gifted to her for Christmas. Thanks to J. for modeling the finished product. Yarn from the M1 Summer Solstice sale last year.

And last but certainly not least, the Year in Review (at least in knitting and crocheting):

(1) Cardigan
(6) Toe Covers
(28) pairs of Socks
(1) Entrelac Scarf
(2) pairs of Fingerless Gloves
(2) Toques
(1) pair of Mittens
(1) Beret
(2) Baby Blankets
(1) Spiderman Blanket
(3) Stolen Moments Wraps
(1) Cotton Sweater
Edited to add: Oops, forgot about the (2) Baby Sweaters - now how could I forget that!!

The year is over and what a year it's been - I could go on and commiserate about rotten luck and/or rotten health but hey, when all is said and done we're here - we have good friends, good family, and most important of all - each other. Happy New Year everyone! Hope your sticks are never bare!! Love you all!!!

Gamers Unite!!

2008-12-29T07:58:00.002-07:00

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Hubby has always been one for the hand held games such as Tetris, Yahtzee, and Solitaire. They were originally bought for me when I quit smoking (six years ago, thank you very much) but have since become Hubby's crutch (no pun intended) with him spending most of the day flat on his back. The above picture is purely for illustration purposes only and does not intend to show you my old man (you'll have to come visit for that LOL). Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked here - Mommy and Daddy gifted Hubby with a Nintendo DS for Christmas and at first Mommy was a bit leary of even giving it to him - well, let me tell you it is not far from his reach (left hand shirt pocket) and has to be charged daily. They also picked up Tetris for him and I'm thinking he's just about got one of the six games whipped. I think I'll have to stop at Walmart and pick him up a different game for variety sake.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock.....

2008-12-28T19:29:00.003-07:00

DIL has now had two (yup, that's TWO) false starts of heading to the hospital to grace the world with her precious little bundle of joy. Unfortunately for the new Mommy (and Daddy) to be, the little bundle of joy is quite happy and content to stay inside of Mommy. I keep telling them that it's just the bodies way of getting ready for the actual delivery but she sure is suffering with the back pain and of course can't get comfortable no matter what.

I should mention that both times that the Manchild has called to say they're on their way to the hospital, the roads and weather have been really and truly miserable. So all things considered maybe the little bundle of joy knows that Nana would rather go on the highway without too much hassle (two hours on good roads).

It has been so long since I've posted anything knitting related so you really won't miss it just yet - so let's all think "Baby Time" thoughts for DIL and Manchild and hope the little Bundle of Joy arrives safe, sound, and in good weather conditions.

Reader's Digest Version

2008-12-23T06:44:00.002-07:00

I guess it's quite easy to forget that not everyone is on Ravelry (where the M1 Yarnies have a post dedicated to Mr. Grammy's accident) - so for those of you that don't know, here's a short version:

1. Hubby was at work walking on top of a walk in cooler (the roof of it so to speak).
2. As he kept walking on what he thought was the same cooler, it became the false ceiling.
3. He fell through said ceiling - nine feet, six inches - and landed on the cement floor below.
4. Suffered numerous traumas and was rushed to the Foothills Hospital where he resided for a great many days and had surgery.
5. Is now at home - will most probably be at home - for the next six months where he will sustain more surgery - physio - rehab - and strength training.
6. I truly wanted to smack him when I was finally allowed into the trauma bay to see him but he had already broken enough things without any help from me.
7. Knitting Circle is a thing of the past as long as Mr. Grammy cannot walk and requires help with most of his daily life.

In baby news - it seems as if yesterday was a false alarm and DIL is still at home waiting not so patiently. She has a doctor's appointment this morning and if she's dilated, they are planning on breaking her water.....

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.....

2008-12-22T07:11:00.002-07:00

……Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the Foothills Surgeons and all the Knitting Friends, couldn’t but Humpty together again. But alas, my Humpty Dumpty will be at home for the next four to six months recovering from his “broken eggshells” and spilled “yolk”. The only questions remaining are:

a) Who will do all the yard work with him out of commission?

b) Exactly which job will he be retrained for when he doesn’t recover to his pre work condition – seeing as the surgeon stated that he will most likely never be able to do his job again?

c) Is there a Humpty Dumpty insurance program because compensation only pays a maximum which really isn’t near Humpty’s employment income – guess that means no retirement for me next year…..sigh…….

Thanks to everyone for all the love and support during these past couple of weeks. He sees the surgeon again on 05 January and will definitely require more surgery so me thinks I’ll be taking more time off of work yet again.

BTW not everything is doom and gloom (seriously, I knit four rows a day if I’m lucky) – DIL (Manchild’s wife) is currently in labour and will be gifting us with a beautiful bundle of joy for Christmas……..

I must feel a bit better......

2008-11-28T06:30:00.002-07:00

......as Blogless Correna and I headed on down to the Round Up Centre for the Festival of Crafts last night. The evening ran away and before we knew it we were climbing into her car at 8:00. I of course wasnt going to post about this until later but I just have to let you know about this lady we met, Tracey. She is from Brooks and does some amazing felting, childrens books, and all kinds of neat stuff. Her booth is The Wool Mine (in the 100 Row) and if you stop by there, tell her the lady whose mother is a baker at Safeway in Brooks sent ya.....

PS I'm the new owner of one of her bags and Correna picked up an amazing hat!!

I Owe, I Owe....

2008-11-26T06:17:00.000-07:00

....it's off to work I go....la la la la la....I Owe, I Owe, I Owe, I Owe - because ya know the whole dental thing was pretty pricey and I don't receive sick pay at the office, I don't work - I don't get paid. Hmmmm, I've been up since stupid o'clock - woke up just before 5:00 and started thinking about the chaos that will be the office even though my good friends tried to keep the herd of cats organized (and for that I'm eternally grateful, more than you will ever know - hugs to Liza and Angele). I finally gave up and had coffee, watched a bit of tv (nothing good on at 5:00 in the morning), knit a repeat of the Monkey pattern and am now blogging before getting my arse in the shower and off to the office. I think I may rely on voice mail alot today, the jaw is still pretty tender - we'll see how it goes. Thanks for everyone's good wishes - as my Hubby reminded me that I've been through countless major surgeries and none put me down as did this minor one, whew - maybe I'll be able to enjoy my Turkey next month!!

Dental Update

2008-11-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

.....so it would seem that the Oral Surgeon that performed said surgery has 24 hour emergency care, just call them and be redirected to whomever is on call....WHICH IS WHAT I FRIGGIN' DID TO NO AVAIL. I spent the night on the couch sitting up changing my clove soaked gauze (home remedy #1) every hour and a half. I did place a call to the on call guy yet again at 4:30 yesterday afternoon and was told that it sometimes takes up to twelve hours for him to call back because ya know "he's a busy guy". He never did call back and imagine my own surgeon's horror when he found out that the guy covering his patient's was pretty much AWOL - I'm thinking that my surgeon's office will be kicking ass and taking names to be dealt with later. Here I sit, three hours after seeing my own surgeon this morning. I was a #10 for pain this morning and am now down to a #4 or #5 after they packed my lovely "dry socket". Need to get it repacked again tomorrow and then once more in a week. Still a little throbbing but not to the degree of before. I came home and had a nap, it felt so good!!! Hubby has cancelled his out of town trip to take me back for repacking again tomorrow and then it's back to work on Wednesday. I've emailed the boss and such and even advised the Senior's High Rise Board that I can't attend their meeting tonight. Me thinks I'm gonna have some lunch and then some drugs and then back to bed!! No knitting today...just shut off the phone (in case you've tried to call) and sleep!! Blessed sleep!!