Friday Wrap Up

Oh, yeah...I'm still here. I swear: I tell myself that I'm going to do better at keeping the blog posts coming...and I fail. It's crazy.

Here are a few things that happned since my last post:

• The boys started school (Little Guy is a 4th Grader this year; Mr. Teenager is a Freshman in High School).
• The new dishwasher was installed and is working like a charm. It's not as quiet as I thought it would be, but that's not a big deal. It does a great job of cleaning and drying. Love it.
• Riley Roo is growing into his long, lanky legs. The puppy stage is still at 100%: chewing, etc., is still full-force. He is not fond of water at this point. The boys took him into the lake last weekend and he did the dog-paddle stroke like a pro!
• I decided to re-teach myself how to knit. Wish me luck on that one. I've been crocheting for many years and I find it very difficult to use two pointy sticks after using one hook for so long.
• I downloaded lots of Cast-On podcasts to my iPod. [If you're a knitter, you will soon become a fan of Brenda Dayne. Check out www.cast-on.com for more info. Brenda is a hoot and her podcasts are full of hooty stuff. [Not sure if "hooty" is a word, but let's go with it, okay?]
• Joined Ravelry (feel free to become my freind. My username = craftydad) Go figure!
• Joined the forum at KnitPicks.com (my username = craftydad) Go figure, again!
• I crocheted two wash cloths using 100% cotton yarn (Peaches and Cream brand). Photos? [Insert hearty laugh here] Hmmm, perhaps later.
• A nasty storm came through the area the other night....we needed the rain..but tornados were not on our wish list. We lucked out: no damage at all. The town west of South Bend (where I work) didn't fare so well. Big-time damage there. Why is it that bad weather happens when it's pitch black outside. [That's a rhetorical question....I don't need any scientific answer. Unless you really want to...then that's okay too.
• I got my new sewing/embroidery machine from Ken's Sewing Center. I have only had a few minutes to play with it. From what I can tell, it's a great machine. Does a lot of nice stitches. Has needle up/down setting (a very big 'plus'); has auto thread cutting feature (never had that before...I like it!)
• Lots of medium- to large-scale projects have launched at work (yes...I have a day-job like many of you). I dream of doing this full-time; but I don't think the salary is high enough to support my family and craft lifestyle. [Donations welcome :-) ]
• I've taken a few pictures.
• I sent off the photos Mr. Teenager took during his trip to Washington D.C. back in June.

Here's the Brother sewing/emboridery machine that I got:

So...what have you been up to?

Tonight is the first home football game at Mr. Teenager's high school. Mr. Teenager plays alto saxophone in the marching band and will be performing at half-time. Crafty Mom, Little Guy and I will be there cheering him (and the rest of the band) on. I'm praying for a nice, cool, breezy, DRY evening. You know: sweater weather.*

Oh...almost forgot: next week I'll have a Freebie Friday giveaway going on. I'm giving away a really nice book I found at the thrift shop. Of course I can't remember the title...it's on the nightstand at home. But...it's a nice, hardback book with the words "Seasons" and "Farms" (i think) in it. It's a Country Living book and I think the winner will be happy to have it.

Next week peeps!

Stay tuned for the second Freebie Friday




That's it for now. Have a great weekend.

*Edited to add: Oh, it was sweater weather alright. And rain poncho weather too. Just as the band was taking the field for the pre-game show (National Anthem and School Fight Song), the rain came down. Not hard, but nice a steady, get-you-all-wet kind of rain. Crafty Mom was smart (as always) and brought along sweatshirts, weather-proof blankets and umbrellas. Let's hope Mr. Teenager's saxophone pads aren't all stuck when he goes to play it on Monday (his horn is spending the weekend in its band locker). Oy!