Summer of Yarn Love - July Package(s) Received

I am not working too hard to figure out who my Secret Spoiler is in the Summer of Yarn Love Swap is. All the packages have been coming from the same place and there are two members in the group who are from that area, but there is a clue that I was given that doesn't let me think that my spoiler is either one of those two people. So I will sit in a mystery until the great reveal.

Meanwhile I want to publicly thank my Secret Spoiler for spoiling me this month. I received two surprises and combined them into this one photo. I've never tried Knit Picks Yarn so I am looking forward to diving into the Summer Yarn Sampler I was sent. I collect squeeze balls so love the addition of the Walgreens Pill Squeeze Ball. The Kitchener Stitch pin will go on my knitting bag. The Kitchener stitch is the bain of a many a knitter. I also will enjoy the two new crochet hooks as I did not have either of those sizes. And the lotion sample I plan to use NOW. I cut my finger slicing up bacon for a salad yesterday and I think this will speed healing.

So Secret Spoiler, whoever you are, THANK YOU!

Satire and Humor and Jib Jab

There was a big hub bub earlier this week about the cover of the New Yorker magazine and how it portrayed Barack and Michele Obama. The New Yorker said it was satire but in my own personal opinion it stepped over the line. And I sometimes read the New Yorker. One of my college roommates was a regular reader of the magazine and I love New Yorker cartoons, but this was just wasn't satire and it wasn't funny.

On that note, I know that humor is difficult for many and irony, satire, and sarcasm can be used effectively and can sometimes go overboard as in the case of the New Yorker. Al Franken is running into this problem, as was recently reported on NPR earlier this week, in his Minnesota Senate race against incumbent Norm Coleman. Now I admit that Franken's first book about Rush Limbaugh was one of the funniest books I've read back in the early part of this decade.

Humor is important to me and I like to laugh at least once a day. To that point I want to share with you the latest Jib Jab video on the election season. Jib Jab is a social networking site of sorts that allows you to share all those forwarded e-mail jokes and videos and share them with other people on the site. I was a beata tester for Jib Jab and have a Jib Jab coffee mug to prove it! I know I get excited about the smallest things in this life.

Well my favorite Jib Jab is Big Box Mart, but this one is much more relevant for today.

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Who Said Summer was Lazy and the days were Hazy?

Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer was the title of a song from the era of my parents. If my parents were still alive today they would both be in their 90's. I was a midlife surprise. It took me a long to realize that I wasn't a mistake or an error or even a freak of nature. Actually I've come to understand that as a midlife surprise that there are some very interesting and unique things I can contribute to the world. One of those being cross generational understanding, which I am attempting to discern how to further develop and use.

Considering I'm technically a first year Gen Xer this is always something that makes people take a second look when I tell my sister is in her 60's (the age of my of peer's parents) and my parents, if they were still living, would be the same age as their great-grand parents. This could make you feel like a freak but these circumstances are actually a gift.

I like the fact that my parents were from the GI generation and my sister is from the Silent generation and I looked up to and was influenced by some incredible Baby Boomers and count many of them friend and I actually have some Gen Xer friends too! It is interesting in that my life has been touched and influenced by decades of generations what gets confusing for me is some of the stuff I think about to the point that my brian hurts and that is how different people of different generations bridge or don't bridge the technology gap. I'm very comfortable with adapting and using new technologies. I may ask a lot of questions until my little brain gets comfortable with understanding something new and then if I find it useful, I'll adopt it.

Well that gets me back to the song. Summer use to be Lazy when I was a kid. Summer is Crazy now that I'm a 'grown up.' And Summer is NOT Hazy in Kansas City, for that you need to go to the Ohio Valley where this is no wind and no fluffly clouds and the air just sits in a puddle of humidity. I don't miss Louisville in the summer.

Well back to Crazy days of summer.

I am working on so many projects with tight deadlines right now that I finding myself procrastinating on Facebook, Ravelry, and writing on my blog. Now I know that if I just sat down and applied myself for a few minutes here and a few minutes there that I could have most of these pressing little projects done and I could actually enjoy the rest of the Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer.

Then there is my porch...it's dusk and its not too hot and it might just be time to sit a spell and be lazy.

Ahhhhhhh Summer! Don't you love it!

Favorite Summer Time Memory

The Summer of Yarn Love swap that I am involved in on Ravelry is having a contest for the best summer memory. I think the reason I like my front porch on my house so much is that it allows me to recapture the feelings of some of the best things I loved about summer and my best summer memories.



I've always loved summer and you don't often hear me complaining about the heat or the humidity. I especially love summer in the Midwest because of the wind and the clouds.

The reason why I like my front porch so much is allows me to sit out and enjoy the clouds and the wind and it reminds me of two of my favorite things that I use to like to do during the summer growing up in Grand Rapids, MN (beside the daily bike ride to a local lake to go swimming) and that was sitting on the front porch at night with a flash light and messing with the bats that lived in the Blue Spruce tree in the front yard. I also liked to sit in the chaise lounge chair at night and watch the stars while listening to the radio. I know that in this day and age of X-box, Nintendo, and Wii that these simple and carefree activities seem kinda dull.

They were great because they didn't cost money and they connected you with simplicity and nature. What else could you ask for in a chaotic world.

Oh, I also learned to knit from my neighbor Hazel during the summer. Summer gave me the opportunity to learn new things that you didn't get to normally learn in school...that is why I liked summer school, not for the remedial courses but for the enrichment courses, so I always tried to go to summer school and learn something new. Because of this I can play some chords on a guitar, learned all about the Bicentennial times (I know I'm dating myself) and the arts and crafts of that era. Hey I learned how to use a drop spindle and made the most bumpy and lumpy yarn but loved the feel of the freshly carded wool. And my neighbor taught me how to knit...which is why I am posting this today.

Summers Rock!

Oh the yellow thing is my robotic mower....another reason to love the summer....I don't mow...Edgetta mows....I posted an earlier blog entry on her.

BBQ Swap

The very first swap I did was the Valentines Day 2008 Swap and my spoilee was Carola, who lives in Sweden. She was so easy to put a package together for since what she really wanted was Sugar and Cream cotton yarn. How easy is that here in the US, but not in the EU, where it is not available....so I loaded up a box with Sugar and Cream and some other goodies and she blogged about in on her blog (My Living Room). That was back in Februrary.

Since then Carola and I have become online friends through Ravelry and she is moderator of the BBQ swap. I couldn't resist signing up for this swap since I do live in a cow town and BBQ is the food of choice here in Kansas City. Carola was my spoiler in this swap and I sent a package off to my spoilee in The Netherlands. Of course I'm not going to post a picture of what I sent until I know that my spoilee has received her package.

Meanwhile here is what Carola sent me. I missed listing the tea and several other items in both the personal note of thanks to Carola and on the posting in the BBQ Swap group on Ravelry. She sent so much stuff in a compact mailing enevelope. I can't wait to try the marinades and the hand painted sock yarn.

Carola you spoiled and I thank you for everything!

Knitting and Swaps and such

I really am trouble getting my head back in the knitting game, although I had a lovely afternoon with Sit Sip and Knit group this afternoon. I worked on my Nunkin socks and on DH's sweater, which had been hibernating for a while. I haven't knitted for nearly two weeks due to being at General Assembly.

One thing I've come to realize is that I want to keep this blog for my knitting stuff and use my other blog that I started for General Assembly for my church related comments, so.... that's what I'm doing. If you care to see my views or reflections of a theological or comments on other such stuff go to my other blog Blogging My Way to San Jose.

I've also come to realize that I'm involved in too may swaps at this time. I'm signed up for five and have committed myself to NOT sign up for any more swaps. They are fun and I love getting surprises in the mail but I need to focus my energies on some other task.

Of course I have committed to these swaps so I will fulfill my commitment. I went to my local yarn shop (LYS) and bought all the yarn I needed to fulfill my commitments to my spoilees on Thursday and will be spending the next couple of weeks getting my packages prepared and mailed. I really do like this swaping but I can truly say I've had that experience and need to use the time to experience something else.

I goofed up the Four Seasons - Summer - Swap in that I forgot to contact my spoilee and then sent her a note through Ravelry. It was suppose to be a anonymous swap and I was suppose to use my anonymous e-mail addy for that contact.....OOPS!

Here are the swaps I'm currently doing: Summer of Yarn Love (this is such a cool swap...three months of surprises) I will mail the July package next week.

BBQ swap...I'm late in mailing this one but have been in contact with my spoilee in Belgium and this package will be mailed on Monday...

Four Seasons - Summer - Swap....As I said earlier, I think I messed this one up.

Books and More Swap....I just need to get the book and the rest of the package will fall into place. Borders, where I usually get my books just downsized and moved its knitting and crocheting books and none of us in SSK are happy. I am going to write to the manager about our disappointment....I'll have to go to B&N or JoAnns to get the book for this swap.

and finally Swap on a Budget. This one will get mailed this week or next week.

I'm usually pretty organized, but I have let this get out of hand...so after this no more swaps for a while.

Knit if Forward Swap

This is second round of the Knit It Forward Swap that I've participated in and this once was fun because we have had to knit kitchen items for people. My spoiler Kristen (Angel101580) went over the top. I love kitchen items from kitchen cotton and now I have two new towels and two new dishcloths along with the cutest point protectors for knitting needles (they are socks) and a row counter bracelet and oh who can forget DARK CHOCOLATE. The mug cozy is also really neat and will fit my General Assembly mug perfectly!

Thanks Kristen and I was glad to see you received an equally nifty surprise package too!

Summer of Yarn Love Swap - June Package Received

My secret spoiler for this swap has gone over the top. Here's a picture of the lovely things she sent me. The YARNS are yummy. I can't wait to make the market bag, which she included a pattern for out of that beautiful Bamboo yarn from Southwest Trading Company. It will definitely test my crochet skills. Although this is suppose to be a yarn swap, it is hard to ignore that lovely Muffin cookbook. I will really enjoy using that. Whoever you are secret spoiler...THANK YOU!!!