The Scottish Lamb

Salsa Anyone?

Scored some awesome, soft baby yarn for hats and booties for the Preemie Project. Don't forget to send me an email when you've sent in a bootie/hat donation and I'll add you to the basket drawing. 

The balls of yarn I found are perfect colors and it's oh-so-soft microfiber.  At a Euro a ball, I couldn't complain about the price either.  This should keep me busy for a while.  I got two more sets done watching TV on Friday night.

My mother sent me a bunch of flannel to get started on blankets.  Just waiting for some solids to sew as the backings so I get more mileage out of the prints.  These were exactly the types of prints I was hoping for when I asked her to keep an eye out.  Fabric over here is so ridiculously expensive compared to some of the deals you can get in the States.  Fabric stores are one of the biggest things I miss from back home.

These fabrics will do very nicely.

  We had company all weekend (the friends that we visited in Belgium over Thanksgiving).  They came to say goodbye to Dan.   As always we have a great time with lots of gut-busting laughter. 

They got in late Friday night.   Saturday morning I got up to make breakfast burritos.  Now, I know you're going to find this very hard to believe, but I did the stupidest thing.  No, really... really  stupid.  I was going to put the salsa in a bowl. *Someone* had already loosened the lid and just left it sitting on top of the jar.  The sad part is I couldn't blame anyone because I was the only one up yet.  Yup.  You see what's coming, don't you.  I gave that jar one good shake and was instantly mortified as salsa flew all over my kitchen and all over me (in a white shirt no less). Somehow, Aggie, who was at my feet, was spared.  I think I was a human umbrella for her.  Did you have any idea how much half a jar of salsa really is?  Seriously.  My kitchen and I were completely covered. I calmly called to Joe and told him to go get his dad up **NOW**.  Joe ran by and hadn't seen the mess so he calmly told Dan that I wanted him to get up. Dan comes down the stairs with Daniel in front of him and hears me give Daniel the same instructions I'd given his brother but with a slightly shrill voice.  He comes out to see what's wrong and had to walk away instantly.  I know he was cracking up.  I'm on my hands and knees trying to clean up the evidence mess when my friends both come to the kitchen doorway and just stand there looking at me with their mouths gaping open in shock.  They are both huge smart alecs and I knew it was killing them as they had to wait a few seconds to see if I thought it was funny yet.  I just sat there looking at them for a minute and said, "We'll be laughing about this later".  I'd give anything to have had a picture of them.  I think it may have been funnier than the sight they saw.  Okay... maybe not, but I can wish, can't I?

We all went to Mass this morning and lunch before they hit the road back to Belgium.  They used to be our neighbors so it was good for them to see old friends at church again.

It hit me during Mass that Dan only has two more Sundays left with us.  Ugh.  I always hate these last couple of weeks before a deployment.  You're just waiting for the ax to fall.  The worst part of deployment for me is that I'm usually in a boat by myself.  It's a very lonely feeling. Because Dan doesn't deploy with a huge unit, I end up without a "deployment buddy" to commiserate with.  You always feel like a third wheel with intact families because you're the only one who's husband is gone. This time I'll have someone to share it with.  Another woman who's husband just left a couple of weeks ago (even though he just got back less than a year ago).  Daniel and her son have been in the same class together since 3rd grade so it'll give the boys someone to share with also.  Anyway... enough dwelling on that for now.... too depressing.

Contest Time

Time for a contest but first you have to suffer through a meme.  Blame Kim.  She tagged me.

Four jobs you've had in your life:

Waitress, Ice cream scooper at Sea World San Diego, Soldier, Mom

Four movies you could watch over and over again:

Hope Floats, A Cool Dry Place, Sound Of Music, Peyton Place

Four places you have lived (pfft!  Only four?  I've been military my entire life!):

Virginia (born there but lived there only six months), New Hampshire, Texas, Germany

Four t.v. shows you love to watch:

Two and a Half Men, Everybody Loves Raymond, Lost, Survivor

Four places you've been on vacation:

Egypt, All over Europe, All over the U.S., Greece.....

Four websites you visit daily:

I'm not even going there....  to be fair, I don't read every day but there are so many that I keep up with that I couldn't possibly pick only four.

Four of your favorite foods:

Mexican, Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Grilled Cheese Sandwich and tomato soup on a cold day, Antipasti

Four places you would rather be right now: Anywhere warm and sunny, Scotland (I know it's not sunny and warm, but I'd be warm with glee), My Grandparents in New Hampshire (okay not warm again, but warm with love), Texas with my in-laws

I'm not gonna tag anyone.  You're all off the hook.

Here's the contest.  I found these VERY cool seagrass baskets that would be perfect for knitting.  Here's what you have to do to get one:

A.  Come visit me in Germany

B.  Knit one hat and one pair of booties for the Preemie Project.  Mail it in to Laura and then send me an email letting me know that you actually mailed it in.  You actually have to have put it in the mail already.  That's the hardest part, I think.  I'll run the contest through to the end of February.  Tracy and Megan - you're already entered.

Teensy

As promised to Tracy, I knit one preemie hat and one pair of booties last night (these things are QUICK!).  Of course, I don't read directions very well and made them from wool (merino superwash that is oh-so-soft) but I'll send them in anyway and stick to acrylics and cottons from now on.

Fun, cute, quick and for a very good cause.   What more could you ask for in a project?  So I'll *have* to go back to the yarn shop and find some more appropriate yarns.  Yea... like I'm not always looking for an excuse for that little trip.

I finished the back to the baby sweater from Knitting For Baby.  It's a very easy pattern as all the cable patterning is done on only two rows of the eight rows total.  Very easy and quick.  Perfect for those of you that haven't tried your hand at cables.  Really.  Would I steer you wrong?

Did you all see this in the new Martha Stewart Kids magazine:

Way cool little book that you can take out of the center.  Lots of pictures of sheep and stories and then this very cool page.  It'll be perfect for using when I do demos at the elementary school.

Fantabulous!

I have to say this was my favorite trip to London.  The hotel was perfect.  Budget (for London), in a quiet neighborhood (Southwark - near London Bridge Station) and CLEAN!  Breakfast was terrific in the attached pub.  Across the street was a great restaurant called Nando's.  Terrific, filling chicken meals for about $50 for the four of us.  That includes the pints of African cider Dan and I had.  Nummy. The hotel is right on the river.  The first night we got in and threw our bags down so we could go find something to eat.  We saw Nando's but thought it looked expensive so kept going.  The first thing we saw on the river was Tower Bridge.  Beautiful all lit up at night.  We also saw the dome of St. Paul's.

As you know we were going to see The Lion King.  I'm telling you.  Where ever you are.... GO SEE IT!!!  I bawled during the opening it was so beautiful.  We had an aisle seat in row L, so they were great seats.  During the opening song an elephant (huge puppet with people inside) brushed right past Joseph.  All of our mouths were just hanging open.  Dan turned to me after the opening and said, "We could leave right now and I'd be satisfied"!  Seriously, it was that good. 

The next day we went to see if we could get tickets to see Stomp but it didn't run on Monday nights.    We went to see Mary Poppins instead.  It was Supercali... well, you know.  While Lion King was more about the special effects, Mary Poppins was more about the singing and dancing (they had a few special effect tricks up their sleeves too).  Because we didn't buy the tickets until that day we ended up in the first balcony, 2nd row.  Wouldn't have been bad if Bouffant Hair Lady in front of me would have stayed sitting back in her seat instead of leaning forward.  I didn't want to get in the way of those behind me and there were side balcony seats open.  At intermission I asked if we could move into one of them.  They let us so we had an unobstructed view for the 2nd half.  At the end Mary Poppins flies across the stage and then comes out over the audience.  I wish you could have seen the boys' faces (probably ours too) as she came straight for us.  She went up just as she got to our balcony.  We could have reached out and touched her foot.

Before we went to find the tickets on Monday we went to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guards.  The boys didn't get to see it last time we went and Daniel doesn't remember when he went the first time.  I hope that's the last time we have to do that one! lol. The crowds were bad enough in January.  I can only imagine what it's like in the Summer. 

It was a fantastic trip.

I'll give you a sneak preview of the baby sweater:

Insomnia

Can't sleep.  It's almost 4am here in Germany and I have to get up in four more hours to get ready for our flight.  This happens every time we travel.  I layed there for at least an hour trying to get back to sleep.  Why fight it?

Checked the weather. 

It's London so it's pretty much as we expected but it would have been nice to see one little sunshine in there.  At least the temps are balmy compared to here in Bavaria where we've been freezing our patooties off all week.  I wish I'd kept the cheap little plastic raincoats we had to buy the boys in Italy.  Handy little things.  Kept the boys bone dry without worrying about an umbrella.

Worked on Dan's V-neck last night while we watched TV.  I'll take it along for the three-hour car ride to the airport but I doubt I'll risk trying to take it with me since we aren't checking any luggage and the flight is only about an hour and a half anyway.

The bucket hat for Ann at Elann is finished.  It's Elann's own Pure Alpaca in color #3727 (the name escapes me). The alpaca felted just as nicely as the Highland Wool always does.

Here it is before I felted it.  The color is much more accurate in the felted photo:

I also cast on this little beauty from Knitting For Baby:

I had some German wool that I bought about six years ago when a store in Würzburg was going out of business.  A friend/neighbor that works in the office at the school is due next month.

I think the Sandman is calling my name.  Maybe I can get a few winks in before it's too late.  I leave you with a picture of Daniel and Aggie.  She has definitely helped all of us with the loss of Bailey.  An update for those that I didn't tell via email...  the final diagnosis was a tumor in Bailey's spleen.  It was about the size of my fist.  One thing we learned is that if your dog starts drinking ridiculous amounts of water... get her to the vet.  It wouldn't have mattered for Bailey, but in a lot of cases it could help.  See you when we get back from England next week!

Okay... I can take a hint

Yeesh.  Okay... last year I made JenLa's Best of Knit Blogs list for "Wow she's a real knitter".  Good news... I made their list again!!  Bad news.... I made it because I haven't been a very good blogger lately. Case in point it took me two weeks to realize I made the list!  And they're one of my favorite blogs!  I swear I'm not just cheezin' up.  Really.  I'm not.

I couldn't even get this title on my own!  Seems I have to share it with Stitchy McYarnpants.  I guess if I wanted to share a title, this would be the one.  I know I've been a bad blogger.  It's been a tough six months or so.  Personal stuff aside, there was the whole Brad, Jen and Angelina thing.  That alone threw me off for at least three months!  Kidding... I'm just kidding.  Sort of.

So here's the plan... I have a year to rectify myself and get back into Jen and La's good graces.  First of all, I have to finish Dan's simple V-neck sweater before he leaves so he can try it on.  That gives me three weeks.  Then I have a couple of baby gifts I need to get done.  I made a promise to Tracy over at Wool Windings that I'd do some things for the Preemie Project that I intend to keep.  You have to go check out some of the things she's done!  She's incredible.  I especially fell in love with these and informed her that photo *has* to be her Christmas card next year.  Adorable.

Besides knitting content, I need to get back into reading my favorite blogs.  I am months behind so instead of trying to catch up, I'll just start all over again.

So don't worry faithful friends, I'm getting my stuff together and coming back full force.  Dan leaves in one month.  I'll have to find something to keep busy at nights.  Nothing else will be going on if you catch my drift.  Just sayin'.  Look out Stitchy!  ;-)

We leave tomorrow for London and will be back on Tuesday night.  I'll post pics and stories then (though I doubt they'll top our Christmas story unless the Queen invites us to tea).  I'll also post a picture of the bucket hat that's about to be thrown in the washer to felt.

Have a great weekend!

Bloggers Strike Again

I'm beginning to sound like a broken record.  It never ceases to amaze me how the blogging world can be so very supportive.  I'd like to collectively thank everyone for your support, prayers and well wishes about Bailey.  She was a very sweet and loving dog and she'll be missed.  Aggie still looks for her and they only had about six full weeks together. 

Because it was drawn out over several days we were prepared for it.  In fact, since about the second day I just wanted her out of her misery.  She was obviously suffering and I couldn't take it.  So to see her peaceful face in the end was actually a relief.  Hard to accept we'll never see her again but it's part of having pets as part of the family.  It's a good thing we already have Aggie or I think it'd be a very long time before we got another dog.  It's just too hard to say goodbye but a relief that she isn't suffering any more.

Onward...

  As you all know, we went to Italy over Christmas.  It was a bus trip through the Army MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation).  We got on the bus in the evening and arrived in Pisa the next morning.  You can imagine how pretty we all looked.  Note that you don't see me in the photo.

We were only there for about two hours (not much to see in Pisa) and then headed further south to Florence.  Beautiful city.  We saw the church of Santa Croce where Galileo and Michelangelo are buried.  We saw the statues of David and Neptune and pet the lucky pig in front of the market place.

The tired travelers boarded the bus again that afternoon and headed for Rome.  We arrived at the hotel late that night.  We were one of the last families to check in and they didn't have a room for us.  That was actually a lucky break because they gave us two adjoining rooms so we now had two showers to help out with the rush in the morning.

The main reason we went on this trip was to go to Midnight Mass at the Vatican.  We'd always planned to do it our last Christmas so the boys would be older and hopefully remember.  Obviously, Dan won't be here next Christmas so we did it this year.

After visiting the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum our guide informed us that they didn't have the tickets to Midnight Mass that they'd promised and because it's the Pope's first Christmas, they'd been gone since early December.  Decision time.  Most of our group decided to go anyway.  They went to dinner first and then stood out in St. Peter's Square for about six hours. It was freezing and they watched the Mass on huge screens.  We decided to just go to Mass in the morning.  It's probably one of the best choices we've ever made.  We had the best Christmas ever.

We thought Mass was at 9:30 and I was freaking out a bit because we didn't get there until about 9:00.  Our guide and a couple of people that go to church with us here went with us.  We were in jeans and travel gear because we fully expected to be out in the rain in the square.  We walked right into St. Peter's Basilica and it was virtually empty.  We were stunned. Suddenly all the disappointments of the night before were gone.  We were in the Vatican for Christmas Mass!  Come to find out, we were early.  Mass didn't start until 10:30.  So we waited for them to move the rope so we could sit down.  We're were right up front of the line.  Actually there was no line but by the time it was 10:15, there were a few hundred people behind us. 

A priest standing next to me warned me to hold onto the boys when the opened the ropes.  He wasn't kidding.  Daniel was immediately squished between me and the woman in front of me.  We grabbed the first seat we came to (in the back) to get out of the mob.  The man handing out the leaflets in Latin ran out just as he got to our pew.  He shrugged an apology and I shrugged a "that's okay" back.  He made his way down the pew and said something to us in Italian.  Dan told him we were American and asked if he spoke English.  He asked if we'd like to bring up the gifts!  Is the Pope Catholic?! 

So he tells us that we must wear our jackets (we were a little embarrassed at the way we were dressed, but we didn't think we'd get in).  When he saw my bright red coat he said that he was sorry but that was too bright.  An American woman a few pews over was already ripping off her black coat and saying, "Take mine!  Your boys can't miss this!"  He took us up to show us exactly what to do (we've done it in our own parish, but it's a little fancier at St. Peter's).  He was worried about Joe.  He joked with him not to mess up because the Pope would be watching. lol.  We got to sit in the very first pew and when the choir starting singing, I started bawling.  The whole service was a beautiful experience that we will never forget.

After wards we went out to the square to watch the Pope's Blessing.  Oye!  The people! For as far as you could see.  Tens of thousands of people.  Just as we were trying to figure out how we were going to get through them we were guided to a spot corded off for those that had been in Mass.  We ended up right under the balcony!  This day couldn't get any better.  Why.. oh... why didn't I bring the telephoto lens?!

Dan called his mother in Texas on our cell phone to tell her what had happened and where we were.  It was hilarious because I was trying to explain to the boys how special this was and Joe said, "But can he make it stop raining?"  I know. I laughed too.  But it stopped raining the minute that man came out and it started pouring the minute he went back in.

What a lucky day, but it wasn't over.  We were walking by the Spanish Steps and the Kinder Chocolate (big chocolate company here in Europe) people had a Christmas tree lit up and were playing music with their little Kinderegg guy running around.  Then a Santa came over and gave each of the boys a huge red bag filled with their chocolate products.  It was about six pounds of chocolate each!  Don't ask me why we didn't buy a lotto ticket that day.  lol.  It poured all day and the rest of our group was miserable.  The four of us couldn't be brought down from our cloud for anything.  Smiles all day.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel and headed to Naples, Pompeii and the Island of Capri.  We could have spent days at Pompeii.   Incredible.  I had no idea how large that city had been.  It was very interesting to see how advanced the people were.  We took the train to Sorrento so that we could catch a boat to Capri.  It got dark less than half an hour after we arrived on the Island, but we were able to get a quick photo:

After all the miles we traveled, it was time to head back up through Italy to Germany.  As we got closer to Venice the weather turned pretty ugly.   For the fourth time in my life I was within an hour of Venice and didn't get to go.  No worries.  The guy that will be Dan's Detachment Sgt. in Afghanistan lives in nearby Vicenza.   We've already made plans to visit each other while the guys are gone.  We stopped instead in Innsbruck, Austria and visited their Christkindlmarkt.  We found a great little cafe and had a cup of cocoa to chase away the cold before making our way back to the bus and back home. 

So that was our Italian journey.  It was a lot of time on the bus time.   You'd think I'd have gotten a lot of knitting done, but I didn't.  It was dark most of the time and I didn't want to bother my fellow passengers with the light.  I managed to finish Felted Bucket Hat for Ann at Elann.  She collects them each December 29th (I know I'm late) for cancer patients in memory of her dear mother.  I'll share photos in the next post.  I still have to felt it.

Next week is our last journey before Dan leaves.   We're headed to London to see The Lion King (click the link and check out the video clips in the top right).  The boys are so excited... okay... so are we.

Good-bye Sweet Girl

It's been a roller coaster week.  Bailey spent a couple of nights at the vet clinic on post while we waited for her blood test results because she needed to be on IV.  When Dan took her in we had no idea it was as bad as it was.  We were hoping that it was just an infection that could be fixed.  It took a day longer for the blood tests to come back.  We went to visit her each day.  They finally came on Friday.  She had hepatitis, we just didn't know what caused it.   

The military vet referred us to a German specialist for an appointment this morning for an ultrasound hoping that it was "just" gallstones. We were going to pick her up on the way this morning but the vet called last night.  Bailey had blown her catheter and she couldn't get it back in because Bailey's blood was clotting too much. She said there was nothing more she could do for her and we might as well let her have a night at home before we took her to the specialist.

It was a long night.  I woke up several times expecting to find she'd already passed away and a few times because she kept getting sick.  I'm glad we got to have her for a bit though here at home.  She laid in her favorite spot along side the sofa while we watched TV and it almost seemed like everything was back to normal.

We got to the German vet this morning and as soon as she looked at the blood test she gave us the bad news.  Her kidneys and most of her other organs were badly damaged and it was best to just put her down instead of letting her suffer any longer.  She did an x-ray and found a large tumor or mass (it was hard to understand her english) just under Bailey's kidneys.

I held my girl and sobbed while they put her to sleep and we told her that we loved her and would miss her.  It was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever done but I'm glad I stayed. When she was gone she finally had a look of peace on her face after all week of being in severe pain.  We are actually slightly relieved because she is comfortable at last.  We pretty much knew this was going to be the outcome but had a glimmer of hope for her.

The boys took the news pretty well.  We all cried and talked about how she's with our Blue Heeler, Dallas, now and they're taking care of each other and how Bailey was so sick and in so much pain it wasn't fair to her.  They were prepared for it all week so I think that helped.  It also helps having Aggie around.  She makes us all smile. 

We had 5 1/2 good years with our girl.  The pictures above are from a scrapbook I did shortly after we rescued her from the pound in Clarksville, TN.  They were going to put that adorable dog to sleep the next day.  When we took her to the vet that day, he told us she was very sick and that we could take her back for another dog or get our money back.  It'd only been a few hours but we'd already bonded with her and we couldn't do that to her.   Three weeks later we got back a healthy dog that has been a good friend to our boys.

I took this one on the right and the one below within the last year or so.  I'm glad we have pictures to remember her by.  She'll be missed but I'm glad she's not suffering anymore.

Already?

How is it that it's already January 2006?  For our family it means we're just a few weeks from Dan's deployment.  Counting the time he'll be away for training, we have about three weeks left.  I'm trying to stay positive but I gotta admit... it ain't easy.  I've had a couple of breakdowns.  Usually when I wake up in the middle of the night and have nothing else to think about.  This too shall pass.  We've been through it before, we'll get through it this time. It's just not an easy thing and I'm looking forward to it about as much as someone looks forward to a root canal.  In fact, I'd rather have a root canal.  ;-)  Pfft. I jinxed myself.

Like I said, we're trying to remain positive and make the best of the time we have.  How do we do that?  By cramming 2 1/2 years worth of travel into a few weeks.  We came home a few days after Christmas.  Look what was waiting in the mail for me from my friend, Jessica!

Isn't it beautiful?  I wish you could feel how soft it is.  Thank you so much, Jess!  There was also a Texas A&M fleece blanket from my Elann pal, Bets. Thank you, Bets!!  I've met some wonderful friends via the net.

Speaking of A&M...  I haven't shown you a picture of Aggie lately.  Here she is at 15 weeks.  Tell me how anyone could not love that face?  I think you can tell a lot about a person, dog lover or not, who doesn't at least smile at that.  Seriously. 

Please say a little prayer for Bailey.  She isn't doing very well.  She's going to the vet today.  She's been really out of it and throwing up for the past two days and today doesn't seem to be any better.  Hopefully it's nothing a little antibiotics won't take care of and she'll be rolling around the floor with Aggie again soon.

Okay... I know you're dying to hear about our trips. I'll start with Ireland.  Dublin was fun, but it was very busy with the Christmas shoppers and all.  I was feeling guilty about not bringing the boys at first, but we would have lost them for sure in all the crowds.  They had much more fun staying with our long-time friends than they would have had being dragged around Dublin anyway. 

The hotel, The Westbury, was FANTASTIC!  We felt very pampered.  Everyone should treat themselves to this kind of hotel once in a while.  Evening turn-down service complete with complimentary slippers, robes and Godiva chocolates... Aveda (my personal fave) products in the bathroom, beautiful warm decor and a fantastic full Irish breakfast on china and silver with waiters in uniform ready to whisk away your empty plates so you can have room for more.  Pure luxury.  If you get on-line you can get some great deals.   We paid about the same price for this as we are going to pay to stay at a budget hotel in London!  Yes... I said London.  I'll get to that later....

The highlight of the trip for Dan was the Guinness Brewery tour and the bus trip to the Wicklow Mountains. Dan's been a long time fan of Guinness so it was great for him, but I have to admit, I enjoyed the tour also.  Very interesting.  My favorite part of the trip was the visit to Avoca Handweavers:

You can't see it in the shot above, but the weaver's sweater is beautiful.  Of course I knew you'd all like to see it so I took a close up.

It's Ireland so we saw a lot of sheep.  I managed to get a few good shots.  Even had some made into pretty note cards by Shutterfly.  On the last day I got to meet up with my friends, Janet and Ian, from the Spinning Retreat in Scotland a couple of years ago.  I wish we could have spent more time together but I'm glad we got to at least meet over coffee at Bewley's Cafe.

If you're ever in Dublin and want the best scones ever... just around the corner from the main tourist info in the old church... go to the Keogh's Cafe on Trinity St (almost on the corner of Dame St).  It's right across the street from the Banker's Pub.  We went back a few times and even grabbed a couple to take on the plane ride back to Germany.

Okay... before I bore you all to death, that's enough for today.  In the next post I'll tell you about our awesome Christmas surprise in Rome and our upcoming trip to London.

UPDATE:  Dan just called from the vet.  It's Bailey's liver.  They took some blood tests but they won't be back for about a week.  They think it's either cancer or hepititis.  My poor girl.  Please say a little prayer for her.