Puzzeled

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

Today, I found out.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish."

Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone!

Redecorating 101: How not to do it!

Well, we decided to redecorate our house, except that God was ready to start before we were!

On Monday, 12/3/2007 at 5:30am, we were awoken by this super load crashing noise. I jumped out of bed and flipped on the bathroom light. There was a limb from a tree laying at the foot of our bed. We ventured into the living room with a flashlight and a 40 caliber handgun. What did we see, well take a look.......

Yep, hanging through my roof was 30' of a 100' hardwood tree. The top of the tree broke off in the wind and decided it wanted to live in my house. The right end of that tree ended up in Morgan's cage. Thankfully, no one was injured, just tons and tons of damage to the house.

In case you couldn't tell, this is my sectional sofa under all that sheet rock, roof shingles, insulation and limbs.

Yep you guessed it, it's ruined.

We have a great contractor! They are going to replace everything structural that is damaged, including the floor and the ceiling fan.

Then, we get to pick out new furniture, which we have already been looking at. We decided that we are going to go with a sofa and two nice over sized recliners instead of a sectional this time around. We picked out black tables this time, which is so against what we normally do. I think we are even considering putting ceramic flooring down in that room instead of laminate flooring. Never can tell what we may do...lol.

Right now, we are staying in the Best Western Motel with four dogs in one room. It's slightly crowded in here...lol. We may be here for 4 - 8 more weeks depending on when inspectors can be arranged to sign off on the work as it is done. They are having to work on the gas line that ran through the attic and the electric wires that were going through the truss in the attic. Two of the trusses have to be replaced up there. We get to pick out new colors for the walls and ceiling and get the boards on the outside of the house replaced that were rotted. We also get a new chimney too.

So, think about us when you look out in the yard when the wind is blowing and those tall trees start swaying back and forth.....lol!

Sock Blockers

If you are interested in ordering a pair for yourself or as a gift, please follow the PayPal link in the sidebar. They come in three sizes, small fits size 5 - 7, medium fits size 7.5 - 10, and large fits size 10.5 & up for women and all men's sizes. The cost per pair is $25.00 which includes shipping within the US. If you live outside of the US, please email me at gallerybydeborah@gmail.com before you place your order and I will give you the shipping cost per pair. If you are interested in ordering more than one pair, I will give a discount on shipping. There will be a variety of cutout designs available, like a sheep, a sock, a heart, a ball of yarn with needles, and just about anything you could want on a pair. For all of you knitters that are in swaps, these make great gifts for your partners that knit socks.

Contest, Contest, Contest

Here are two contest on other peoples blogs. Go visit and enter, I did!

Dandy's Blog

Jane's Blog

There's always fun on blogs!

New Socks on thier way to the Czech Republic

Here is the very first pair of socks designed by Moi! They are a gift for the daughter-n-law of a very close friend. Jan saw me knitting in Church, yes I knit everywhere I go...lol, and asked if I would knit a pair for her daughter-n-law, Adrianne. Do you think I would turn down an opportunity like that? Nope! The pattern is called Adrianne's Life and is knitted in Louet's Gems yarn in French Blue on size 1 circ needles. They are 100% wool, but machine washable an dryable. Adrianne and Billy Crossan are missionaries in the Czech Republic, where it is extremely cold. They just moved into a new home and have made the choice not to wear shoes inside the house, so these socks will be perfect for her to wear inside or out.

I ran the pattern down the front only, leaving the back in stockinette stitch to blend from cuff through the heel and down. I also ran the pattern down into the toe decreases. I love the look of it.

There is a new pattern in the works for one of the sock groups I belong to. It is for the month of December and will be called "Blue Snow." I already have the chart made and the pattern written. I should get the yarn tomorrow, have my needles in my bag and will be anxious to get them started.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Today at work everyone dressed up except the docs! We had a blast! Both of the docs contributed $25.00 each to the person chosen with the best costume. We brought in an outside judge - Bob from the pharmacy next door - to do the judging. And who did he pick? Yep, you got it right, ME! I won $50.00 extra dollars just dressing up and trying to bite the judge on the neck.....lol. I was dressed as a vampireress. I'm on the right side of the group photo. We are already planning what our costumes will be for next year.....we just had too much fun!

Sock Blockers Are A Hit!

WOW! When I went into the yarn shop on Tuesday, everyone ewwwwed and ahhhhed over the sock blockers. They are a big hit! I am so excited! Now, off to the garage to cut out more for the next order!

On the crafting note!

Still in the middle of sock wars.....waiting for my next set of unfinished socks to arrive to forward on to the next target! Lots of fun. I have knitted so fast in my life!

I just finished one scarf for a coworker and started another one for someone else. While eating in a restaurant on Friday night someone else wanted one just like it, but in bright red. I think I am going to make one just like it for my scarf swap partner. I'll have to go to the yarn shop to get a special color for her. The scarf knits up really fast, so it won't take long to get it done.

I made 6 pairs of wooden sock blockers today, that will be sold in a yarn shop. I will deliver them next Saturday, if not sooner. It is a neat way to make a little extra money to support my knitting habit.......lol. I might even take a day off and go around to all the yarn shops around the Atlanta area to see who else might want to carry them. I am customizing them with the shop's logo. I am also going to sell them here on my blog.

I have also been encouraged to make a pattern calendar to sell. I will design 12 patterns, one for each month, print the photo of the item on the front of the page with the calendar month and then put the pattern on the back of the page. The printer is going to put them on card stock and bind them. The calendar won't be ready until next fall for 2009. It will be an awesome thing to work on. I already have three yarn shops that will carry the calendar. I already have three patterns ready and have started knitting the items to be photographed. This calendar will also be available on my blog as well. I am going to use yarns from several different companies to give some variety and show how the yarns knit up in patterns.

I took Ripley, Dottie and Emmie to Howloweenie on Saturday, we all had a blast and the dogs were so exhausted that they slept all the way home, ate their dinner and slept right on through the night. I entered Ripley in the Hunt in the Hay contest and he came in second. I also had all three doxies IQ tested. Ripley and Dottie scored 19 out of 20 points, but Emmie, being a baby only scored 14 out of 20. She couldn't quite get the idea that she had to turn the empty can over to get the treat out. It was a hoot. The even had doxie races for doxies in wheel chairs! They were so precious. It made me sad seeing these puppies that were paralyzed in their back legs. The owners said that the dogs lived as good a life and any other doxie did and made me wish that I hadn't put Rosie down. I know now that I could have learned to care for her and keep her with me even longer. I'm sitting her crying now, hoping that God will forgive me for not letting her keep on living. She was just the sweetest puppy in the world and had such a bad beginning in life. In the 18 months that we had her, we watched her blossom into a beautiful Rose (my Rosie). I'll always love her!

Changes in Life!

Change is eminent and good, they say! Life in my house is full of changes day by day.

In case you don't know, Cathy has moved out. We told her she needed to move by 11/9/07, but she decided to move out last Monday while I was at work. With the help of God, I made the decision, the week before that she needed to go. Things were way too stressful for Chuck and I, having someone else living in the house.

Chuck was very stressed with everything that was going on, especially with the state of mind he was in since his stroke, and I have to put his health and well being first. He has been my best friend for 30 years now and I'm not going to let anyone on this earth come between us or cause any problems for him if I can help it.

I wish Cathy all the best and hope that she finds someone to settle down with, that will meet her needs.

THE War has begun!

In case you haven't been watching the news, I thought I would update you on the latest war that began on Friday 10/12/2007. Yes, you heard me right a war broke all over the world. There is 167 people involved in this war, but the number of casualties have already begun to add up. The war I'm speaking of is Sockwars, of course! We got our dossier on friday evening. So, 167 of us already armed with weapons (knitting needles) and ammo (yarn) started and went as fast as we could to get a very beautiful pair of socks knitted. On sunday we had our first casualty, but the war kept going.

I knitted as fast as I have every done with my addie turbos - the best weapon for socks - even knitting in restaurants, in church, and in bed to all hours of the night to get my pair finished. I got them done at 11:00pm last night, turned out the lights, slide under the covers and tried to sleep knowing I had to go to work this morning. At 6:00 when the clock went off, I ran to the living room to turn the computer on, to print my express mail label with postage, put the socks and yarn label in an envelope and rushed to get dressed for work. On the way to work I dropped my envelope into the express mail box. My target (Stephane in NH) will be dead (only in the sense of sockwars) no later than 3:00pm on tuesday. Now I have to hide in my fox hole hoping that my assassin has not been as speedy as I. Rumor has it that she out to do me in very soon. Maybe I could just not be around when the mailman delivers the mail.....no I guess that won't work, I'll have to come up with another idea, maybe leave the country in disquise with a false passport.

None the less, the battle continues. I'll keep you posted on my life and death adventure through this war - SOCKWARS - that is!!

Designing my first sock pattern

Well, I sat down last night and typed out a pattern for a pair of socks for a friend that lives in the Czech Republic. It gets pretty cold over there, so Cathy talked me into doing them in Louet - Fine/Sport Weight yarn in French Blue. I started them in church this morning and they look great. The pattern will be called Adrianne's Tree of Life. I'll post a photo as I get more of the pattern done to show what it looks like. Cathy and I even sat at Fuddruckers today for lunch knitting socks. We knit everywhere....lol.

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

I'm so excited!

I just heard from my SP11 partner. She signes her email, Pops and is from the UK! How cool is that. I am so excited to be a part of this swap. I have also been in touch with my downstream partner too.

This is going to be so much fun!

Aunt Pat turned 80!

Saturday, Cathy, Chuck and I went to Chuck's Aunt Pat's 80th birthday party. It was done in an hawaiian theme and was in her senior high rise that she lives in. We got to see family members that we have ont seen in 8 years. It was really neat!
Chuck with his Aunt!

Me with Aunt Pat

Cathy talking with Chuck, he was boring her with all of the details of the dvd that was playing during the party. It was a collection of all the old family films that had been collected over the years.

As you can see, we all dressed the part for the theme!

Helpful Rhymes

A little ditty for teaching kids (or adults) to knit:

In through the front door,

Once around the back,

Peek through the window,

And off jumps Jack.

And another one for the knit stitch:

Under the fence,

Catch the sheep,

Back we come,

Off we leap.

Let's not forget purling:

In front of the fence,

Catch the goat,

back we go,

jump off the boat.

And casting off:

Knit yourself over,

Invite your friend, too,

Leap frog over,

Lie down, Sue.