An Unexpected Surprise

My Sunday night was starting out as nothing special. Just sitting here in my jammies watching some bad TV, doing a little laundry, nothing special. Then my episode of Ghost Hunters was interrupted by loud banging sounds, and here is what I found in the sky above the barn:


Sunday in the park at Concord Baptist. I totally forgot. It was a pleasant surprise, and I didn't even have to leave my porch, change out of my jammies, or put on shoes. Not too shabby.

Look! I'm Crafty!

OK, OK, so I know that all two of you that read my blog are not going to be amused with my recent cross posting....so shoot me. I am too happy about today's entry not to share. I knitted a dog sweater! Yes that is right, the gal you know that isn't much of a cook, not the girlie-girl, and would rather clean a barn than her own house is now crafty! I am so amused. Gidget came over to me a minute ago shivering and I was actually able to say "I knitted you a sweater. What else do you want me to do?" It was almost as gratifying as the time my niece and nephew asked me why they had to do something and my reply was "because I said so".

You Want Me to Sit on What?!

I have to say that now that I am pushing 30, I don't get asked to babysit anymore...thank goodness. I don't consider it a job or favor if Grant or Gentry stay with me, which means I was probably 16 or so the last time I babysat, a child anyway. But puppysitting, I'm not sure at what age you outgrow that, but I can tell you that it ain't 27. I'll let you all know if 28 is the age limit, just give me a few weeks. All I can say is I had better be getting wonderful birthday gifts from Chad, Brock, and Shanna. No actually, it isn't so bad, I have the house to myself, a TV, and a stocked pantry, so this critter-sitter can't complain. I'm not hearing any complaints out of Gidget either. She seems to be making herself right at home.

Are Digital Cameras Making Us All Seem Crazy?

That is the question I asked myself a while back, as I was taking this picture after finding a solution to my twisted yarn problem:

It is something my mother has been accusing me of for months now. I am accused of being weird/crazy/off my rocker, etc. solely based on the photos I take with my digital camera. Oh but I'm not alone, she teases me about what other bloggers photograph and then publish.

Personally I like to look at it as taking full advantage of a situation. I mean, I remember just a short time ago when all I had was my Canon EOS Rebel and a camera bag stuffed full of rolls of film. Oh the good old days. You were limited to 24 or 36 photos before you had to stop, wind, and reload. Then there were the developing fees. If you were lucky, as I was, you occasionally caught a break from a pal that worked at a pharmacy photo lab and you could get them free to cheap. But those places weren't great for those who dabbled in photography as an art form. Sure the pharmacy lab was great for the photos from dear old Grandma and Grandpa's 60 Wedding anniversary, but those artistic photos you took of that new Hemlock blanket, those needed to go someplace nicer...the photo lab. The place where you could not set foot in the door without spending at least $15.00. I mean sure you could wait two days and get them cheaper, but who wanted to do that when you could get them in 1 hour and not lose quality?! I certainly didn't!

Now you have your new pictures, some of them good, some of them embarrassing, but you have them...FINALLY. So what now? Some go in a photo album maybe, a few in the photo box, if you are real good maybe one or two in a frame, but what about the ones you want to share with friends across the globe. That is what the scanner is for. I can hear the cranking and the grinding now as the scanner scanned my pictures I wanted to email. Oh the old days. You know, five or six years ago. LOL.

What is the point of this long and drawn out blog post you might ask? It is to say that I don't care if I seem crazy, I am going to enjoy every single minute of my digital camera, the free space on my hard drive, and the fact that my camera fits in my purse or pocket. You see, several of my near and dear friends live in other states, heck one even in another country, but why should that stop us from sharing our day-to-day lives with one another? AT&T unlimited mobile-to-mobile is a huge helper with that, but why not take it a step further? My friends and I certainly do. It helps strengthen relationships, build bonds, and lets us be a part of even the tiny, seemingly unimportant aspects of each others lives. I won't even bore you with the benefits it provides on Ravelry and flickr to let you see how a knitted keepsake looks as the pattern progresses. Folks, we are living in the information age, like it or not. The way I see it you can either join us by taking pictures of your feet, favorite cupcakes, the handmade invitations you are so proud of and want to show your crafty pals, or you can make fun of us and miss out on the entire experience. Who's with me?

Mohawk Monday

Grant has a new haircut. He has always wanted a real mohawk, not just a "faux-hawk". He let me spike it up with gel. I think it is hilarious. Gentry and I decided to give Gidget a similar do. Now if I can just figure out how to get Gentry's hair into a mohawk without her mother killing me!

Ravelympics

I'm doing a bit of cross-posting here, but not much else is going on so I thought I'd talk about my latest knitting project. Still awake? Well you won't be for long...

CJ told me about an online knitting event on Ravelry: the Ravelympics. Sign up to complete a knit or crochet project during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. I was enticed with the promise of a fancy little medal to decorate my blog. That was all it took, I must be hard up for blog decorations.

I signed up to make a baby blanket. It wasn't very challenging to make, but making ANYTHING under a deadline is challenge enough for me.

Well I finished! Just a few days ago I finished my blanket. What am I going to do with it you ask? Well I haven't decided yet. I may wrap it up and give it to Jason as a baby gift, or I may donate it to the local women's shelter.

Oh and I almost forgot, I got my medals, sure did. They SUCK! Glad I didn't see them before I signed up.

Photo Friday

Cousin Itt, I mean my niece Gentry

I have so many photos and so little to talk about I thought I'd start a new feature and call it "Photo Friday. Here you go, this is my niece doing her best Cousin Itt impression. Funny thing is she has no idea who Cousin Itt is. (yeah I know, I'm getting old) Anyway, Gentry, if you are reading this (and I'm sure at some point you will drop by to feed my fish and will) this is Cousin Itt.