Death by Allergies

Is it possible to die from allergies? Sometimes I think it just might be. Welcome to spring in Texas. Trees are blooming and eyes are watering. There is currently some combination that is making everyone feel spacey. Not pleasant.

My biggest issue is that we really only have a few weeks when the weather is wonderful; and that's when the allergies are at their worst. Not to worry - we've got plenty of drugs. Although lately, since the actual illegal drug makers use allergy medications as part of meth labs, you have to give your drivers license and sign something I've never really bothered to read, in order to get allergy meds. We're also limited to a certain amount of each med per month, and with so many people in the house having allergies, we sometimes need to stock up in order to have enough for the bad season. I always feel like I'm being interrogated whenever I try to buy Sudafed!

It'll be over soon, then the HEAT will set in :o(

Finished Knitting for Today

First, my Simply Cable socks from Sockamania's March pattern. They're wonderful, but won't be worn again for many months due to the heat!

Next is the illusion cloth from the Monthly Dishcloth KAL.

When you look at it straight on, it just looks like stripes...

But when you tip it, a picture magically appears! See the bunny?

I wanna dye

When I first took the sock knitting plunge I found self striping yarn and was smitten. How could you not love yarn that magically created beautiful stripe patterns with absolutely no work at all!

Then I discovered lace sock knitting and since self striping yarn doesn't show the pattern at all, I moved on to solid colors. Beautiful, but a bit boring.

Then, through luck, I won some beautiful hand dyed yarn from Anni and my journey into fancy yarn began. It is so much fun to see colors you love and watch them emerge as you knit the yarn. The very mild amount of striping (colors seem to change every row), and colors you can't find in commercial yarn make it a treat to use.

Even though I have enough yarn to knit socks for the state, I've been looking for something. Just the right colors, just the right yarn.....

Next logical step seemed to be to learn how to dye my own yarn. Today I took the plunge and ordered some undyed yarn and am excited to give it a go. Of course, if I love dying, then I know that next I'll be learning to spin. And if I learn to spin, I'll want to shear my own wool. You get the picture.

I always knew I liked If You Give a Mouse a Cookie!

Thank You Mr. Rockefeller

Today is Ed's birthday, Sunday is Easter and Monday is dd's birthday.

I had to do some shopping. The kids wanted to get the dog some toys to celebrate his birthday, so we went to Pet'sMart and let him pick out some toys. Actually, he just wanted to smell everything, but he got toys anyway. He also got to go with us to the drivethru at Sonic. I'm not sure how that was a treat for him, but the kids assured me that it was exactly what the dog wanted. Happy Birthday Edgrrr!

Then, since I still have two bunny believers, I had to secretly go get some basket stuff. Monday is also dd's 5th birthday, and I needed to at least get her something to open. We'll probably go do something fun on that day, but a girl needs a gift.

Well, millions of dollars later, everything is put away and waiting to be presented at the appropriate ceremony. So, Thank You Mr. Rockefeller (I'm sure this is going to cost me somehow!).

Socs for Crocs

Some socs for crocs,
Some socs for crocs,
My honey wanted socs for crocs.

Did he want them for his crocs?
Why yes, they should be for his crocs.

Did he want them for the cold?
Did he want them for the snow?

He did not want them for the cold,
he did not want them for the snow.

Did he want them out of wool?
Did he want them to look cool?

Not in the cold,
not in the snow,
not out of wool,
just to look cool.

Baby, It's Hot Out There

Well, the heat is upon us! Time to break out the iced tea. Last year I found Luzianne Flavorings for Iced Tea. If you mix a bit of raspberry with a bit of peach, and a touch of sugar, you get a yummy flavored iced tea - reminiscent of the fancy tea at Olive Garden.

Well, every time I've been to the grocery store lately, I haven't seen these flavorings. I could buy the flavored syrups, but they are made with high fructose corn syrup, and we're trying to avoid that, so they were out.

The flavorings are still made, and should be available. I can order them online, but really want to buy them at the grocery store. My local store lets you request that they carry items, and next time I'm there I'm going to fill out one of those babies.

We need our iced tea!!

Spring Break

What is it about spring break that makes us want to goof off? We homeschool and can take off any day we want, so why are we so antsy? Even dh has the fever.

The bluebonnets still aren't out, and we'll probably have a terrible wild flower season this year. We had a mild winter and dry spring, and that means the wildflowers will be sparse. It's not like we have months of dreary and snow - but somehow the wildflowers are still important to me.

When I first moved here I always missed the fall in New England, but the first bluebonnets of the season have become much more important to me. The thrill of seeing those first lone blooms on the side of the road somehow seem to symbolize new life and hope for the new things to come. It's the last splash of color before the brown of summer hits.

Guess we'll just wear bright colors today and watch a movie. Target finally had Jiffy Pop and the kids are all tickled to watch it pop. Go figure!

I Really Needed It

Had to buy some new yarn today. DS1 asked for socks for his birthday. How can you say no when your almost 24 yo son wants you to knit him socks? He asked for socks for Christmas 2007, and since I didn't know how to knit socks, I learned -- and he got socks for Christmas.

They were poorly fitting socks, but they were mom socks. Now he wants socks for his birthday. I decided that he would need burnt orange socks in honor of his alma mater. Who knew it would be so difficult to find burnt orange sock yarn? I finally found some online, and ordered it (along with some new sock yarn for mom and dad). Then I got the bright idea to make them more "longhorny" and will be creating a fancy pattern for him.

I also bopped into Michael's just to have a look-see and dd started picking up yarn and saying that they were what she needed for the new afghan I'll be knitting for her. She got purple, pink, hot pink, green and yellow Simply Soft yarn. It's BRIGHT! I've got a collection of princess patterns and will apparently be knitting her an afghan of princess squares in very bright colors.

Just when I was finally making headway on my stash busting project :o(

More Knitting and a Drive

First, here's my March cloth for the Monthly Dishcloth challenge. The suggested color was something tan or cream, but since I'm stash busting, I did it in purple. The pattern is "The Empty Tomb" and it caused a ruckus on the group. The moderator told the group that it was "Christian" and a lot of people were offended. I have a feeling that if she hadn't told anyone what it was, not many people would have guessed. DH thought it was a sunrise. It reminds me of a partial eclipse. DD doesn't care what it is, it's purple and she wants it.

We went on a spur of the moment road trip today. Last week we finally decided to stay in our house instead of trying to move up and become more material. In the spirit of staying put, we need to put a fresh coat of paint on the house. So, dh wanted to find a paint sprayer and the closest one was at a Sam's 50 miles away. I put the three youngest in the car and we set off. They were excited because we got to eat at DQ and get ice cream. DS 2 was happy because he got to spend the day alone (and btw he made us a roast for dinner!). DH is happy because now he can have some hope of actually getting the house painted. All around, a great day!