Bron's Blog II

Our Mini Vacation....

....or.....

Yet another reason we love Albuquerque.

But first - a tea cozy!:

This is a really fast and (IMO) a really cute tea cozy. There was supposed to be a huge flower on the front, but I left it off. After all, there is such a thing as TOO much, right? ::wink::

I got the pattern from an Annie's Attic booklet, "Crochet - One Skein Kitchen Projects." You know - the one with patterns for jam jar cozies! (Yuck! - LOL)

Now, on to the Albuquerque Aquarium & Botanical Gardens:

Here's a stingray with Dylan's reflection in the glass. I wasn't going for this pic (that's Dylan's shadow on the left) and we were all surprised at how it turned out. Especially since he looks so studious!:

Dylan & Doug, looking at a column of fish -

A really big fish!:

A diver in one of the big tanks, cleaning:

The pelican habitat:

Underwater tunnel - too cool!

A turtle on my head?:

The absolutely best part of the complex is the child's garden. Everything is huge in order to make children feel as small as insects in a garden. Here's Dylan being "grabbed" by a dragon at the gate:

Sitting on an ant:

Climbing through a giant carrot:

Doug standing inside a HUGE pumpkin! (James & The Giant Peach...eat your heart out!):

The garden train - it's a wonderful miniature complex:

Here's the gang hanging out at the watering can:

The building where the more serious exhibits are kept - desert & tropical plant habitats:

We really had a great day. :) We had lunch after leaving, then Doug & the boys went to the Rio Rancho Pork & Brew & watched the pig races. They always have a blast.

Around 6 we went out & looked for houses - we've found a new neighborhood where 4 bedroom/3 car garage homes are going incredibly (well, relatively) inexpensively. We're definitely keeping the Stone Bridge development as a move-to possibility.

Needless to say, I didn't get much sewing done yesterday. But I'll have that top finished this morning & will be posting it tomorrow. Bummer that spring break is almost over....at least I can look forward to a 3 day weekend next week! LOL

Time Is Flying

I'm already looking forward to the 2 1/2 month summer break! But at least when spring break is over, we go back to a 4 day week since we have the vernal equinox holiday immediately after. :)

Then in a couple of weeks it's finals time (yeah - in April!) and May is pretty much fun & games. The grade level field trips are fun - one goes to the local amusement park. But basically kids just check-out during May. Especially this year when we've added an extra 2 days onto the school year. I'd like to take bets now as to how many kids won't be coming to school during those two days.

And discipline in the classroom those last two weeks??? Forget about it!

Sigh. I think I'm depressing myself! LOL

Oh - I must add one thing: Our school days will extend by 10 minutes each day starting April 5th to make up our 3rd snow day.

::sarcasm font on::: Thank goodness we're going to have that extra instructional time. It will certainly make a difference in children's lives. :::font off::: (Yeah - I know by law we have to have 180 instructional days - but I still think this is stupid!)

On to crafting stuff. Remember that Moen commercial where the couple are being shown through an architectural firm? The man shows them all his buildings & awards and finally says, "What can we do for you?" The woman pulls a faucet out of her purse & says, "Design a house around this."

That's how I felt when I saw these buttons at Wal-Mart yesterday:

They come in so many different styles & colors - I was entranced. I could just see these on something really bright & fun for summer or on a child's cardi or dress. There were about 8 different cards but I limited myself to two. Especially since I'm not sure what I'll do with them yet!

I picked up a couple of patterns while I was there. This is just a basic one to use up some of the cotton & cotton blends I have in my fabric stash:

And this I decided would be perfect for my crinkle fabric:

Today I've sworn to get to sewing! Or at least get a couple of projects cut out. :)

I started on my Cable tank. It has an interesting construction. Both pieces are knit from the top down, the straps are on the front and are sewn onto the back rectangle to complete the tank. So my knitting will be pretty boring for awhile as I knit the back rectangle:

I decided to use the new CE in Violet - I just LOVE the color! It'll go great with jeans. :)

I found a few more things in my sewing basket that I'd forgotten I had. This Yule centerpiece just needs quilting:

This is a Halloween door banner panel from Debbie Mumm:

Maybe one of these days I'll get around to sewing it up & using it!

I found this really gorgeous Yule fabric too:

I think it liked it so much I didn't want to use it up! LOL It's just hard to find something Yule/Pagan oriented in the midst of all the angels & trumpets of Christmas. When I do I snatch it up. :) But I do think I need to find something to do with it - to enjoy it rather than hoard it!

Last but not least, I was able to get into my sewing/computer/crafting room & make some sort of sense out of it. I even have a new little area I call, "Dishcloth Central":

Hehehehe....Have a great Wednesday!

On My Mind And On My Needles

Onward & upward, that's what I always say!

I wanted to knit on something cheerful after the Black Lace debacle, so I started a dishcloth from really perky yarn:

I know there are lots of knitters out there (I'm sure come crocheters too) who make fun of "that kind" of knitting but I'm enjoying the heck out of this...so there! ::wink::I can't wait to have a stack of bright dishcloths, ready for my sink or for gifts. :)

As I knit, I keep thinking how pretty a cardi would be made from this pattern. Hmmmm....

Speaking of patterns, I'll be posting the headband pattern tomorrow, named "Bron's Brain Band" since 3 people mentioned it in my comments yesterday. hehehe. I meant to do it yesterday, but I got carried away with other stuff.

I've knit a bit on Something Pink, but there isn't enough progress to warrant another picture.

I'm still working on Holey Cables too, but I AM considering casting on one more project: My old pattern, Nimue, in....wait for it....Cotton Ease! LOL Honestly, I've been trying to think of a yarn that is inexpensive and readily available. The new CE certainly fits the bill, even if it IS only available online at the moment. I have some here in "Berry" but I don't think I want two pink sweaters on the needles at once. I'm going to check the online stores today & see what other color strikes my fancy. It would be nice to get that pattern written up & offered here at Casa De Bron too. :)

We did have some good news over the weekend. When we put the FSBO sign out in front of our rental, we started getting calls. :) One couple came over to look at the house & insisted on being shown inside. Although I was VERY reluctant because it's still a filthy mess, they insisted and were very interested. In fact, he called me again yesterday & said he'll be writing up an offer this week. At this point, though, before we even get anything renovated, we won't be entertaining any offers below our asking price. I mean, why take $10,000 to $15,000 less when $3,000 or $4,000 and some elbow grease might get us what we want?

I wanted to show you one representative picture of the horrible condition of the rental house. I took loads of pictures this weekend of the damage and trash and while I'll spare you the pics of the toilets (I finally put down the lid of the master bath toilet & saw what was behind it....dear gods...), I will show you this one:

This is the light switch in one of the kid's rooms...and no, they did NOT have permission to paint the walls. When they moved in everything was a lovely, pristine white. Now - just imagine that kind of dirt on every single surface of the house. We'll need protective suits to work in there!

Just because I know you're curious, here's a pic of the rental from the outside:

(Hard to believe the horrors that lurk within, eh?) And here's our house, right next door:

See - I knew you were curious. ::wink::

It's 7th grade science today, but they are fairly easy classes so hopefully I'll have a good day!

To all the Bears fans out there, I feel your pain. To all the Colts fan, congrats!

Let's Play Catch Up

Not only did I go off on a nostalgia tangent, I also skipped a day of blogging so I'm a wee bit behind!
I do have lots of progress on both the black crochet cardi AND on a new project, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow's entry. (When I should have even more progress to share.) So - on to a very special Bullet Monday:

• I found a horn button at JoAnn for my purse - here's what it looks like:

• I got motivated to fix my Grape Whip (Licorice Whip) because Jess was so pleased with hers. So, I picked out the first 4 rows of knitting at the neck and voila! That choking feeling was gone. Yay!

The "un-picking" was made easy because it was a top-down design. When you take stitches out there are no live stitches left to mess with. (Which, of course, everyone knows but I just had to mention. ::wink::) Cool! I wore this all day yesterday with a tank top underneath and, although the thermometer said 38 degrees, I was comfy out in the cold. I'm officially moving Grape Whip from the failed pile to the success pile. Woohoo!

• Remember that teacher who commented negatively on my choice of lime green for my Nantucket Jacket? Well, as luck would have it, she came into my room last week while I was wearing CeCe which, as you all might remember, is a very bright, lime green. The conversation went something like this:

Teacher: Is that the same sweater I saw you working on last month?
Me: No - this is a different one.
Teacher: But it's almost the same color! (her voice actually raised!)
Me: Yes, it is actually.
Teacher: If you remember, I asked you before what possessed you to choose such a color for yourself.
Me: YES. I remember. (Believe me, I had tone in my voice!)
Teacher: Well, I'm not trying to be rude, honest.
Me, thinking to myself: (I guess being rude comes naturally, eh?)
Teacher: But I just couldn't help noticing that color again and had to comment.
Me: I've actually worn that other sweater a couple of times, you just haven't seen me.
Teacher: You mean you finished it???
Me: Yes.
Teacher: Well.
Me: (gritting teeth) Good bye!

Sometimes the actions of others just boggle my mind. Truly, that woman is certifiable!!

• I really wish I liked Bernat Boa yarn. You can get a package of 10 skeins for 10 dollars at my local Tuesday Morning and it's in pretty decent colors too. Instead, with kitchen dishcloths in mind, I purchased 3 skeins of Lion Cotton that was on clearance:

To go with the two skeins I bought earlier at JoAnn. (Notice the lime green. I can't seem to stay away from it now! LOL):

So I can make some fun patterns from this book:

• Because I'm not quite done with nostalgia, I wanted to show you my last baby who lost his last baby tooth a few days ago:

He managed to con a fiver out of his bemused & nostalgic Tooth Fairy. Sigh.

Happy Monday!