A super great weekend

This has been a great weekend for everyone in the house almost! Yesterday Cathy and I got our nails done, then off to the yarn shop. She needed yarn for a purse for a felted bag swap and I needed yarn for some socks that I am designing. While at the yarn shop a customer was asking questions about sock knitting and got around to discussing doing two on two needles. So, in the end Cathy agreed to teach a class in two weeks and I get to help her. We both will get paid for the class and I hope I can get some yarn to do the purse I want to design for next summer.

Then it was off to meet Chuck, Jason and the two youngest grandsons at Discover Mills Mall. We met them in the food court for lunch. Chuck had gyros, Cathy and I had Popeyes Chicken----very good-----we thought...lol.

Today, we went to Church and then out to lunch at Red Lobster for all you can eat shrimp----now that was very good! Before we could even get out of the resturant, Cathy and I both were in the bathroom and then again after getting home. We came in the house, Cathy went to her room, Chuck sat on the sofa and I layed down on the sofa with a wet wash clothe. Chuck felt fine, but I finally went and layed down in the bed to nurse my wash clothe and did go to sleep. After getting up, I found out that Cathy was feeling the same way I was. We thought about what we had eaten and figured that it had to be the chicken from the day before. We won't be eating at Popeyes any time soon...lol.

Tomorrow, Chuck has his indeepth memory testing, an all day test. If he makes it through the entire test, we will be there from 9 - 5. I get to go back with him for the beginning to answer some questions, then I'll be banned from the testing area. I am taking a project that I am test kniting for a designer and some socks just in case I finish with the first project. I am going to surf the library site tonight to download a really good book, to listen to while knitting.

Keep Chuck in your prayers tomorrow as he is nervous about this testing. He still has it in the back of his head that they might find something terrible and put him away somewhere away from me. I keep telling him that won't happen, but in his state of confusion he still forgets.

Cathy flies tomorrow, so she will be missed greatly. We have become a little family here.

Then, next saturday, Chuck's brother will be coming down from Indy with his youngest daughter Shelly. I have taken the week off---much needed time---and we are going to Stone Mountain, The Coca Cola Museum and The Georgia Aquarium. Cathy leaves on Saturday, but will be home in time to go to the Aquarium with us. She still wants to go to Stone Mountain and the Coke Museum, but we will just have to schedule them for another time when she is home.

I am going to show Shelly how to make Mama Dot's Hot Gravey while she is here. Chuck's mom made this awesome gravey. I am the only one that has the recipe and knows how to make it. So, I am going to teach Shelly how to make it so that the recipe will keep going strong. It is so simple, but it's one of those that you have to smell of it to know that it is ready to eat. So, on sunday we will have roast beef, hot gravey, potato salad, homemade biscuits and some fresh green beans, maybe even some deviled eggs. So, come on over, there will be plenty, as I don't know how to cook for a small group, only for armys of people.

Miracles do happen!

I finally finished my first pair of socks done on circular needles. I knitted one peach and one pink. The peach ones are for me and the pink ones are for Cathy. She also knit one pink and one peach. When she gets home Thursday night, we will swap socks. The main reason for doing two different colors of socks was to make it easier to learn to do 2 socks on 2 circs. Cathy is an excellent teacher and I'm not a bad learner....lol.

I tried another tutorial that KyleAnn wrote. She put it on one of my WhoDuKnit group and I just couldn't get it. I thought it was just me, but then I heard that several people had the same problems I did, so I felt better and decided I would wait until Cathy moved down here, to try to get it again. KyleAnn has her tutorial posted all over the internet on several groups and blogs and am hearing from others that they are having problems learning it too. Cathy made it so easy to learn and finished my first pair within a week and a half.

And I must say they are beautiful! Now, I have lots of sock yarn to make all kinds of designs and colors to wear.

I am going to create some of my own designs, so be on the lookout for them!

Look What I Brought Home Today!!!!

Today Cathy and I struck out this morning to pick up a sweet puppy named Pete, a doxie rescue, to help him get to a different part of the country with hopes if finding a new forever home. It works like this - dogs are rescued through owner relinquish, abandonment, picking up from puppy mills or shelters, or by getting a call from someone saying there are animals in need. They are fostered and vetted until they are ready to be adopted. All animals are spayed and neutered before going to their forever home. Sometimes they need to get from one city to another or from one state to another to be adopted. Some are adopted before being transported, some just go from one foster to another. Either way they need to get from one place to another and there are no funds to put them on a plane to travel, so a lot of us volunteer our time and gas to pick up a sweet puppy and go part of the journey.

Today, a very sweet lady by the name of Sandra, drove from Hayden, AL to Breman, GA with Pete and a couple of other surprises. Cathy and I drove to Breman, GA to pick up Pete and complete the second leg of his transport. We then drove from Breman, Ga to Buford, GA and dropped Pete off with Katie. She then drove the next leg of the transport. And it went on from there. The transport will take two days and Pete will end up in Baltimore, MD to another foster mom to await adoption. It takes a lot of time out of your day and a lot of gas out of your car, but believe me, it is well worth the time and expense to help save a baby. Two of my three doxies are rescues and I probably will never go to a breeder again for a baby, they will all be rescues from now on.

Well the surprise today was that Sandy had two 3 1/2 week old kittens in her suv that were being bottle fed. I was in hog heaven when I saw them. They are both calico's and beautiful. One is the normal looking calico and one has some tiger striping on her.

Cathy and I had originally planned on stopping at walmart to get our nails done after dropping off Pete, but I decided that I would just let Cathy get her nails done and I would just run into walmart to get some kitten milk and some canned food for the baby's and just sit in the air conditioned car with them. By the time Cathy was finished I had the babies fed and pottied, yes you have to help them go potty when they are so young. Now these babies are 3 1/2 weeks old but look like they are only about 2 maybe 2 1/2 weeks because of the hard start they had. Sandy got a call about a week ago and responded knowing that some animals needed help. When she got there, there were 16 dogs and 16 cats that needed to be rescued, along with these little girls. Their mom didn't have milk to feed them, as she wasn't being fed enough to produce milk for her kittens, so Sandy started bottle feeding them. There were three to begin with, but one, the smallest, did not make it. These two did and now I have them. I get to do what I love to do best and that's being mom and caretaker and it helps Sandy, as she is picking up the rest of the cats from the vet this next week and will have a house full, with her other animals and the 32 new additions. She was excited that she would be able to stop at a real restaurant on the way home to eat instead of having to drive thru a fast food place, as the kittens can't be left in the car very long with the heat.

When we got home and picked up Chuck, we went out to eat at Zaxbys. Then back home to feed the kittens again. After they ate and pottied, they were introduced to the dogs. Star and Emmie were ok, Ripley and Dottie wanted to eat them.....lol. After Ripley and Dottie realized that they weren't stuffed toys, they calmed down. They found out that if they wanted to sit with me when I was holding the kittens, they had to be nice and kind....a little hard for Dottie to do, but she managed. Star even barked when the kittens were crying, she has never had puppies, since she is a rescue, but still had the motherly concerns and wanted me to know that they were crying and to do something about it. The doxies decided that the kittens tasted good after eating, since they had kitten milk and cat food all over their faces. They all three wanted to lick them clean.

The kittens will go to work with me everyday until they are old enough to stay alone and eat on their own. Once they are older, I can come home at lunch and feed them, until they are ready to go to two feedings a day. I can't wait for them to get old enough to run around on the floor to play with the doxies.




Cathy finished her half of the friendship socks while riding, now I just have to finish mine.

Now to the really good part - these little girls need names! So post your suggestions in the comments section of this post and Chuck and I will pick the two we like the best. The winner or winners will receive a neat prize!

My Virtual Vacation package arrived from California

My package came from Natalie! She put together an awesome package and from a place that I have never been before. She did a great job describing the area and included some neat goodies from around her along with some post cards and maps. In the box was also some note pads, four bars of chocolate, some California Pistachio Nuts, some Country Herb Almonds, some stitch markers that she made, some Cascade Pastaza yarn - 50% Llama/50% Wool - it's beautiful, now to find something to knit and felt with it, two skeins of Panda Wool sock yarn in Ultramarine----very beautiful----had to keep Cathy away from it. She stole me magenta Panda Wool, although she did replace it with another wonderful color...lol.

But back to my package, there was also an insulated lunch bag with sheep all over it---how perfect! Then there was a book, called Knitting for Peace. It has some history about war knitting times and talks about all the different causes that need help from knitters. There are lots of patterns to go along with the special causes with do's and don't's for each group. It is really neat.

Thank you Natalie for a wonderful tour of your part of California! It was very special!

My Summer Swap package arrived from Ireland

Fiadhnat was my wonderful partner in the WhoDuKnit Summer Swap. My package arrived last week and I am just now getting around to posting.

Fiadhnat sent me some purple and red yarn from Ireland, some note pads, a ceramic thingy that you would put dried flowers in and hang on the wall, some wine charms, five different kinds of chocolate, some doilies, a memory book, and the most precious of all was a morse code necklass. It had beads on it that spelt out three words....Deb and Chuck. That was the neatest thing every and will cherish it forever!

Thank you Fiadhnat very much!

Christmas Around The World Questionnaire

Are you religious? Yes
How long have you been knitting? 30+ years
Would you consider yourself a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced? Intermediate
Do you have any other hobbies besides knitting? Photography
Favorite color(s)? Purple and Green
Do you collect anything? Yarn and dogs
Are you allergic to any fibers or animals? No
Do you have any pets? 4 dogs, 1 cat, 1 bird, 3 tanks of fish, 4 geckos
Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate? Iced Tea
Cookies or Sweets? Sweets
Do you knit socks? Yes
If not socks then what? (tell us about your favorite knits) Bags
Do you put up a Christmas tree? If not then what do you do? I put out a ceramic tree that I made 30 years ago
Favorite holiday treats? Pie
Favorite holiday smells? Apple Pie
Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional or unconventional way? Unconventional Please elaborate. We celebrate with the grandkids mostly
What are your favorite holiday traditions? Handmade stockings and a ceramic christmas tree
Finish the sentence: “For me Christmas is all about....” Celebrating the birth of Christ
If you were a Christmas ornament you would be…….? A star
What was your favorite gift you've ever received? Don't KnowOr given?
When do you start your Christmas? After Thanksgiving
Do you send Christmas cards? Yes Do you make them or buy them? Make them
What is your favorite Christmas dish? Ham
Carolers are at your door. What do you do? Open the door and listen to them, then thank them
When do you open presents? Christmas eve or Christmas morning? Christmas morning
Do you celebrate with family or friends or both? Both