The Scottish Lamb

We Interrupt This Blog Break...

We interrupt this blog break with some actual knitting content.  I know.  You're shocked. 

Note the title of the book:

Baby Knits For Beginners  Key word: "beginners" 

See the simple little diamond knit/purl pattern?  Okay.  I've knit several projects from this book with success and I consider myself a fairly accomplished knitter.  I've been knitting for 20 years (since my first birthday).  If this book is for beginners, why then, am I having such a *((*&&%#$*#* time with this little bitty baby sweater?!  I'll tell you why.  It's because it's knit flat.  I am an Elizabeth Zimmermann baby... okay not really, I wish though, but you know what I mean....  I'm all about knitting in the round.  I usually even change patterns just so that I can knit them in the round.  But I looked at this tiny thing and thought, "Heh.  No problem. Simple little knit/purl texture."  Yeah.  Right.  You can't tell where the heck you are when you're on the back without constantly flipping to the front and thinking opposite (I have a hard enough time with regular thinking).  And then I got to the armholes.  Threw me WAY out of whack.

So I was supposed to have this finished for a baby shower this afternoon.   I thought I could finish it during the shower and be all smooth and hold it up at the end of the shower with a big 'ol, "Voilà!"  Not. I have had to rip out, frog, what have you, more times than I'm willing to admit.  I could have knit three sweaters of this size in the round in this amount of time.  If I ever finish it, I'll post a picture.  Oh, c'mon... have a little faith.   You know I'll finish it.  The baby is due in a month.  I have PLENTY of time!

Okay.... another thing plaguing me this week (besides the obvious absence of my husband)....  I'm missing my Preemie Projects and my beloved ebony double-points. They were my favorites. Seriously, it's driving me nuts.  I woke up at 4am on Friday morning because I've been looking for them all week. I could swear I put them in a bag to take on the road somewhere so I could knit while Dan drove but I can't find them anywhere.  I've had those beautiful needles for probably six years. I'm half expecting hoping Dan to say he found it in his stuff in Afghanistan.  Speaking of... you still have a few more days to get a hat and pair of booties in the mail for the drawing for the basket up in the left sidebar!

It's been a weird week getting used to Dan not being around.  PMS isn't helping the situation, that's for sure.  Here's the first photo he sent me.  We're calling it "Change of Command - CID style".  It's taken in front of their office/living quarters door.

We can't do web cams like we thought.  Their system down there is so bogged down that it's taking several hours for our emails to reach each other. They aren't allowed to use web cams because it just makes it worse. I can't complain.  He's able to call home every day.  A lot of guys can't do that.

Daniel has been really trying hard to be helpful and behaving.   Joseph has been... well... Joseph.  lol.  It's our fault.  We spoiled him rotten and now I'm paying for it.  Being a single parent sucks.  My hats off to those of you that can survive it better than I.  Even Aggie isn't behaving.  I don't know if she's just going through her adolesence or if she misses Dan or what the deal is but she's had accident after accident in the house.  Right by the back door and right after I've let her out.  She's driving me crazy with it.  I've tried everything.  Even starting over with the crate.  She insists on going on the remnant by the door instead of barking to go out.  She did better when she was two months old than now at five months.  All she has to do is look at me with that, "Whaat?"  look and she's forgiven.

I'm really looking forward to Summer.  I think a lot of moms dread it.  I'm looking forward to being able to just kick back and relax with the boys and do our own thing for a while.  It was a busy week volunteering at the school and I have a busy time with Confirmation and 1st Communion coming up at the church.  I also need to start planning the Teacher Appreciation dinner for my volunteers.  Good that it'll all make time go fast, not so good that it's all stressing me out.

I'd really like to thank you for the emails and comments of support.  I'm trying to get through all of them to reply personally so please bear with me.

365 and counting

Yesterday was the big day. It was like slowly pulling of a big band aid. This is us, Dan's troops and their families.  The picture was taken shortly after we all arrived at the Air Base Terminal.  We still had about four hours to wait and then a two hour drive home (ours was the shortest - the other families had at least four hours).  I feel the worst for the two moms and their kids.  The husband and wife to the right of me (wife is in red shirt) are newlyweds.  There are five little kids (the three boys are six), the youngest is two, and two teenagers.  There are also three other kids that aren't in the photo.  This is going to be a tough year.  Especially for the young mom.  This is her first deployment and you can see how little her kids are.  Only one of the soldiers is single.

Joe had the other two boys to play with in the play area so they all kept busy while we waited.  Daniel surprised us and got very emotional.  We did take him off of his meds back at Christmas and have seen a whole new personality (that we love) emerge.  It really hit Joe last night after we got home during story and prayer time.  That was usually Dan and his routine.  Dan had taken a Texas A&M clock that I'd made for him from his office and put it next to Joe's bed.  Daniel came in when we were saying prayers and told Joe that it was pretty cool because he could hear as each second went by to when we'd be closer to Dan coming home.  Joe liked that idea.  He finally went to sleep and about an hour later Aggie woke him up.  She was barking at Dan's side of the bed thinking he was there and wanting to go to bed with him.  So the three of us called it a night and climbed in together.  They went to school this morning but I'm glad it's a long weekend.  We can get this show on the road and settle in to our routine after spending some time just relaxing.

Dan called from Kyrgyzstan this morning before we went out to the bus.  He's just waiting for his flight into Afghanistan now.

Oh!  Valentine's Day!  Seems like Dan and I both had the same idea.  We got each other ipods! lol.  I had his fully loaded and ready to go for his trip.   I loaded just about our entire CD collection (took me days) and some video podcasts.  It'll keep him entertained on the long trip and his down time.  Now I need to work on mine.  I'll download the knitting podcasts to listen to and get the car accessories so I can listen when I'm driving.  I knew I'd figure out a way to knit and drive at the same time!

I did start a new knitting project (baby gift) but didn't get very far.  Didn't think the Polizei would appreciate me knitting on the Autobahn on the way home. lol.  I'm sure I'll finish it this weekend and will post a picture then.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Say a little prayer for our troops, will ya? 

A little lesson I learned....  Don't refer to something HUGELY popular in your blog.   My bandwidth usage skyrocketed this month because of google and yahoo searches about a certain contestant on AI.  I went back to those posts and changed it to just his initials.  Hopefully it'll kick in soon.

Hearts to Ewe

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Make your own hearts: Acme Heartmaker

Cabled Cutie

Don't you just love it when something just comes together?!  The partially knitted sweater back I showed you yesterday worked out great for a sweater for Aggie!  I snipped a thread inside two of the diamond cables, picked up stitches and did a couple rows of ribbing.  Presto!  Leg holes!  I added ribbing around the top for a neck and stitched the sides together into a seam!

As you can see we got lots of snow yesterday.  We did a little sledding today.  The snow was a little deep in spots for Aggie so she got to ride in style:

Sing T! Sing!

Update on 17 Feb ** My bandwidth skyrocketing because of a certain name so from now on I'll refer to him by his initials only and will republish my blog entries doing the same with his name***

Last week I told you how much we enjoyed T.H.'s audition on A I.  What I didn't tell you was that I emailed him to let him know how impressed we were and that Dan and I were rooting for him from this side of the big pond. He wrote back immediately thanking us for serving in the military and offering to send his CD!  It arrived today and I LOVE it!!  His voice has so much soul it gives me goosebumps.  I love that he's real and doesn't try to fit the cookie-cutter mold that AI seems to bring out. Talented and such a nice guy to boot.  We're rooting for you, T!!  Sing your heart out!  I think he's going to make it just fine even if it isn't on American Idol.

In case you missed it, here's his first day in Hollywood.  Even Simon admitted that he liked him this time.  I don't know why I thought it was Paula that didn't like him at the auditions.  It was Simon, still on his "Idol Look" kick.  You think he would have learned by now.

Okay... Knitting:

I found this partially knitted sweater back in my stash when we moved here.  It's the big oversized cardigan from Knitting in America (republished as America Knits) knit in a Classic Elite silk/wool blend.  The problem is that I saw this as one of those projects I'd never finish. I sold the leftover yarn on Ebay years ago.  What a moron I am sometimes.  I so know that I'd finish it now if I had the yarn.  So.  I think with just a little bit of work I have a great sweater for Aggie here.  I'll just make a little strap to go across her belly and start knitting a little ribbed neck in the round at the top.  Stay tuned...

I'll be cheering on all you Knit Olympians and don't forget about my contest for the Preemie Project (click on the basket in the top my left-hand sidebar).

I Got Nuthin'

I have nothing to post but it's been a few days and I don't want to get into that two weeks with no post again.  Causes me too much anxiety.  So.  I'll cheat and lead you to others that have something interesting to say:

I'm just finding out about Podcasts.  Okay.. that's not true, but I'm just finally taking the time to listen to them. You don't need an ipod or itunes to listen.  You can listen through your computer or other mp3 player.  It's great while your reviewing your bloglines, knitting or driving to have something knitterly to listen to.  I really enjoyed this one this morning:

About Time's interview with Yarnharlot.  LOVED IT!!  I'm sure there are more, but here are the knit podcasts that that I know about:

Cast On

KnitCast

Knitting News Cast

Pointy Sticks

We're winding things down here getting Dan ready to go.  He leaves a week from today.  I don't know where the last eight months have gone.  I only hope the next year goes as quickly.

Aggie is pretty much back to normal.  Still a little swelling around her incision.  She's gotten to most of her stitches even though I've felt like I've watched her like a hawk when she doesn't have the ridiculous cone on her head.

Enjoy the podcasts!

A Weem O Wip

Next time Daniel goes in for dental care, and I know he's getting laughing gas, I'm bringing a video camera!  Dan said it was HILARIOUS.  First off, you have to understand... Daniel has Asperger's Syndrome (High Functioning Autism).  He's a pretty serious kid most of the time and dentists make his nervous meter go way off the charts. One of the first words that people use to describe my son... well, it's not usually that he's funny. 

Evidently, all he needs is a little laughing gas.  He started out hollering, "Houston!  We HAVE a LANDING!"  He went on to sing, "Up on the rooftops, click, click, click" and at the end when they turned off the gas and were bringing him down he started softly singing, "A weem o wip o weem o wip..." and gradually got louder and louder until he was hollering " O WEEE-eeeee  oh oh oh oh ooooooh...."  I'd give anything to have seen that.  I just don't understand how they got into his mouth to do the filling with all that singing and hollering going on!

Finished the baby sweater up on Friday night.  I still need to get some buttons to put at the shoulders.  I'm telling you.  If you haven't done cables yet, this is a perfect first cable project!  Trust me.  The yarn I used was some German wool (sport weight) I've had in my stash for about eight years.  I bought it at a yarn shop in Würzburg when it was going out of business.  The pattern is in Knitting For Baby:

Silent Night

It's quiet around our home tonight.  Dan and Daniel took off for a post about two hours from here.  Daniel has to see the dentist there in the morning so they took the opportunity to spend some time alone together and spend the night there.  It's left the house very quiet.  Which is funny because Joe is normally the noisest person in the family.  It's just weird.

I managed to just about finish the baby sweater from Knitting For Baby.  I just need to sew it together.  This was a very easy and satisfying knit. I wish I could say the same for the photo.  It's tough to take good photos without good light and it's hard to find good light in Germany in the Winter.  I'll take it outside tomorrow and take a good shot of it all finished up.

I did a bunch of the knitting last night while watching American Idol.  We're a day behind what you all see in the States.  I LOVE the voice of T.H.!!  SO soulful.  Beautiful voice. I so hope this guy makes it to the top. I can NOT believe Paula Abdul said no to him after she let the crazy person through on the first show.  I predict he'll be the Bo Bice of this season. By that I mean he's older than most of the contestants and he's different.  You can see he really lives for music. If you like Joe Cocker, you'll love him.  He looks much older than the 28-year old Idol cut-off because of his premature grey but I managed to find this photo of him online today from a few years ago. Not bad, eh?  He's kinda got that young George Clooney thing goin' on.  I bet his looks change a lot over the course of the next few weeks of Idol.

When we saw his audition (click here to watch) I told Dan I'd buy his CD in a heartbeat.  Guess what!  He has one!  You can only buy it in two stores in Birmingham, AL, but I'm working on it.  Anyone live in Birmingham that can help me out?  You can listen to him sing three songs here.

I'm happy to report Aggie's doing much better today.  She keeps forgetting that she's sore and she'll jump up and catch herself just wrong and yelp but she's doing good.

You can see her little shaved leg in this photo from her IV.

I'm telling you, I've always been a dog lover.  I have never fallen so hard for a dog in my life. There's just something about her.  I don't know if it's because I've watched her grow since she was three days old or what, but she's the easiest dog I've ever had.  She cocks that little head at me and I'm lost.  I can't believe she's almost five months old already.

She really needs a playmate since Bailey died.  I want another Cav but I think we'll wait until we go back to the States.  Dan said I could get a Black and Tan one because he thinks they're hard to find and I won't be able to. Bwwwaaahahahaha! Kim has two!  Sign me up Kim!!! ;-)  (Oh relax, Dan.  I wouldn't do that to you... I don't think...)

Joe and Aggie enjoying a quiet evening in our casa.

Extreme Makeover

Aggie had the full "extreme makeover" yesterday at the vet's. 

She had liposuction (inguinal hernia repaired), belly button makeover (belly button hernia repaired), nails clipped, unmentionables done to stop scooting (a very unladylike behaviour), microchip and she was spayed to save her future figure.

She was well doped  up as you can see here just minutes after we got her home.  She has to wear the cone when we can't watch her until the stitches come out 10-14 days.  It was funny when we went to pick her up because the vet went to Texas A&M's biggest rival, University of Texas (tsip for you Ags) and he gave her a hard time about it. 

I got her set up in the same basket she used the first couple of weeks we brought her home.  It made it much easier to move her around without hurting her.  She howled and yelped in pain every time we touched her.  This is where she stayed by my bedside through the night whimpering and moaning all night.  This morning she was up walking around (gingerly), ate a full breakfast and water, went outside and has been snoozing by my side on her little blanket since.  By tomorrow I'm sure she'll be up and around even better.

I finished a couple more hat/bootie sets for the Preemie Project.  Don't forget the basket contest!  E me when you've actually sent in a set of hat/booties to Laura and I'll enter you in the drawing for this fantastic basket tote!