We Have a Graduate in our Midst

My baby has graduated. It is so hard to believe that he is old enough. (Since the kids stated very early on into my blogging adventures that they did not want current pictures of them on the blog, I can only share pictures of them when they were younger.) The picture above is of Ls preschool graduation. Can you see the little caps on his vest? I made that for him. He was quite the handsome four year old. That's his lovely sister hamming it up with him. R graduated in 2006.
This was Ls favorite place when he was younger - on his backhoe, Pepsi in hand and cowboy boots with shorts. He cut quite the stunning figure back in the day. His clothing choices have changed a little. I haven't caught him in shorts and cowboy boots for some time now. Thank Heaven!

This is his first birthday. We let him have his own little cake and he looks like he wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Don't you just love those legs? My baby was solid!

And here is old blue eyes looking as handsome as ever.

Still has the gorgeous blue eyes and the cheeks you just want to pinch - although I know much better than to do that!

It is so hard to believe that both of the kids are adults. This wild homeschooling adventure we have been on for the past eleven years has been just that, wild. I wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world. I probably should have done some things a little differently. I could have been a stricter teacher and made sure all those assignments were finished on time. However, the kids have taught me much more than I could ever have taught them. They taught me to slow down and look at all the flowers. To pick some and then find books to identify them. To look at animal tracks instead of hurrying on the walks through the woods. That it's okay to snuggle on the couch with books for the day instead of pouring facts into their heads. L didn't learn to read until he was much older than other children his age. He wasn't interested. Having homeschooled him, we had the luxury of letting him discover reading on his own, at his own pace. When he did decide to read - buddy, watch out, there was NO holding him back! The kid has a vocabulary that won't end. I don't know what he will end up doing. I don't know what R will end up doing. Shoot - for that matter, I don't know what I will end up doing! I'm just thankful for every day that I got to spend with my kids and the sacrifices that RL made so that I could. If they had been in school they never would have had the opportunity to learn the life lessons of the past few years. They wouldn't have been able to spend six days in the hospital with us as my Dad passed away. They never would have been able to go to Florida for a week or two at a time to help RLs Dad while he suffered and eventually passed away from lung cancer. They have seen things most kids their age don't see. Some of it I wasn't so sure they should see, but decided later they were better people for it. Like when Daddy fell and developed a hematoma 11 years ago and was in rehab for months. They went with me to the hospital everyday and got to visit with him. When they got older they were able to physically help him with whatever tasks he needed - many times without being asked. I know I think they are great kids because they are mine - but I know they are great people anyway!

Congratulations buddy! We love you!

Happy Birthday "Little Miss M"!!!!

Our neighbors little girl "M" had her first birthday party today.

They asked R to bake the cake and decorate it like a picture M's Mom had seen.

R designed a cake based on that idea and this was the end product. It turned out great! M's Mom and Dad were going to put a tiara on the top. They asked for this size cake so it would feed 30 people. My guess is they'll be eating cake for a long, long time to come! Happy Birthday M!

More Socks!

Ta Da! I'm finished with another pair of socks. These are Embossed Leaves Socks from the Interweave "Favorite Socks" book.
I just can't accurately capture the colorway. I wish you could see it because it's such a beautiful color. I didn't even realize all the colors in the yarn until I was outside knitting in natural light. I found the yarn in my stash. It's Cherry Tree Hill, Pot Luck Blues/Greens. I couldn't believe I paid $22 for it - and that was a couple of years ago! What was I thinking? I guess I was thinking I had a whole lot more money than I actually did! Oh well, it has been used and I think it looks great in this pattern.

The heel is new to me. I like the way it's garter stitched on each side. The toe is a star toe. I don't mind the kitchener stitch at all, but this was a nice change. Oh, I also did a different cuff than the pattern called for. I think it's okay. What about you?

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day.

This year Father's Day has so many different emotions tied to it. For one, this is the very first Father's Day that RL and I will spend it without a father. We have gone through a lot of things together, but grieving for our fathers at the same time seems a little like a sick joke. Unfortunately, it has become our reality. It would be so easy to just forget the whole day and stay in bed. But R and L have a great father and I'm thankful we can all celebrate him. He's one of the best!
Here's L and Daddy when L was about two or three. L always had to do like his Poppie! I love this picture. Daddy had four grandsons and one granddaughter. He always told R that she was his favorite granddaughter!
Here's Popo. The muscle bound fella on the left is now a computer engineer and the cozy fella on the right is a law school graduate. The adorable babe in the middle is now 21 and my baby girl. Three more grandkids joined the family a few years after this picture was taken. Popo loved his grandkids.

Happy Father's Day Daddy and Popo. We miss you both so much.

I am Officially Spoiled!

I thought I would share some of my b'day goodness that would prove that I am officially spoiled! Above is the cake that R made from scratch. It was wonderful!
Aren't these cool tie-dye candles? I love them! The cake says "Happy Birthday Mom" in cherry juice. It sort of ran, but I guarantee nobody was offended!

Here's a surprise that came in the mail the day before my birthday. My Ravelry buddy dyed this yarn just for me. I cannot wait to knit with it! This picture DOES NOT do the colors any justice. I'll try to get another picture in a better location and maybe the sun will cooperate with me.

She also made this bookmark for me. She sent a book too, so I will be able to get a lot of use out of this. We've been sharing books lately, so I have plenty of use for it.

Now this was a HUGE surprise! As a knitter and book lover, I can NEVER have enough tote bags. Mom took R and L shopping and they decided on this bag. I love it! I had no idea what was inside of it. It wasn't heavy. It was soft. Are you sitting down? You really need to...especially if you love yarn as much as I do!

Thirty skeins of cotton yarn! Our Michaels had their cotton yarn on sale for $1 a ball. I had already gone twice and gotten a total of 20 balls. Now I have 50 balls of cotton yarn (in addition to an undisclosed amount that I previously had)! What am I going to do with all of it? Hmmmm, I'm almost positive I can find something to do with it!
RL and the kids got me an ipod Shuffle - hot pink! And I got some clothes. Mom gave me a great shirt. I love it! I wore it yesterday and it was so comfortable and actually looked nice. Normally I go for comfort or nice. This time I got both! Since my jammies are OLD, but not as OLD as me, they got me a new night shirt and some jammies. I'm set! It felt like Christmas and I feel a little too spoiled, but I'm not complaining!

Thank you guys, you really made my day! And thank you for the comments too. Thimbleanna, I'm so glad to know that 45 is not old by today's standards! I won't be heading down to the local restaurants anytime soon for Early Bird Specials! As for my sister's comment that 45 is a 'little' old....she should know! She's older than me. Zing!

45 is NOT old, 45 is NOT old, 45 is NOT old....

You guessed it - today is my birthday and I am 45! I used to think it was OLD, but I don't feel that way anymore. My great grandma will be 104 in a few weeks and she's not old, so why should 45 feel old? My sister serenaded me on my answering machine. I'm pretty sure she coughed up a lung after hitting a high note. I've gotten some e-mails from some high school buddies I didn't even realize knew it was my birthday, so today has been good so far. L washed every dish in the kitchen last night and straightened it up. R baked me a cheese cake. I have two wonderful kids and they have already given me great birthday gifts just by being them. Mom took them shopping yesterday - I'm a little curious about what they were up to. The quiet time I had yesterday was an early gift from Mom. RL is fixing me dinner. My Ravelry buddy dyed some gorgeous sock yarn (which I will take pictures of and post a little later on) so I have some yarny goodness to dream about. The only thing that would make this day perfect is if my Dad could be here, but we all know where he is and that does make it perfect.

What do you do on a boring, rainy day?

Apparently, you sit in a box! Ginger decided that she needed to spend most of her afternoon right in the middle of the box. I don't blame her. If my butt was small enough, I might have joined her. I had to do something scary - much, much scarier than sitting in a box! I happened to glance at my driver's license a few days ago and noticed that it expired this year...on my birthday...which is on Thursday. ARGH! When we lived in Florida, we would go to the DMV and get a new picture and you were done. Here in NC - they give you a test! A test! The first time I had to get it renewed, I was SHOCKED! It's not a hard test....you just name a few signs. However, if you are not expecting it - it scares you! Shoot! It scared me this year when I did expect it. However it is renewed for the next eight years. Thank goodness and whew!

Summer is just around the corner. School up here just got out, so it seems like summer is just getting started. I guess technically it is. R and I are trying to get L interested in a summer reading program. Nothing like bribery to get someone to read books they should anyway! L is close to naming his price and R has picked some books she thinks he'll be interested in. I'm not sure he agrees though. I thought I might get some bookmarks and a few little things like that just to keep them going. They are 18 and 21, but they still deserve a few little surprises! Any ideas?

Nothing Much New

Not much knitting going on around here. A dishcloth here and one there, but not much else since the socks I posted last time. Sometimes I just think too much about the next project. I need to just jump right in and do something instead.

Other people have been busy around here though. L has been working on some models and painting some little tanks with RL. RL used to do body work on cars and has some great air brushing skills. He's slowly passing them on to L. (Frankly I think RL is enjoying it a little too much to officially pass it on to L!)
Nope, the tanks aren't attacking Gulliver! That's L's foot being attacked by tanks.

R - known as the photo stylist for this shoot - helped L figure out just where to take the pictures.
I like this one the best. Looks pretty accurate! I think L plans on painting some camo on the tanks and then he'll be finished.

Have you ever heard of a 'farkleberry'? Me neither. R is our resident plant expert and that's her guess for this plant. Apparently it's in the blueberry family. Anybody out there know anything about it?
The cactus is in bloom again! We have a couple more blooms just waiting to open. It's always such a surprise to see that splash of yellow!