Raise your hand if you think you know me

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Ok, so here’s the deal………..if you know me, you know some of the qualities I value in people.  I value trust and friendship and honesty and kindness and gentle souls.  I value people who care about people and people with a giving spirit and people who call or e-mail just to say “hey, how’s it going” and not to say “I think about you all the time and just never get around to calling, but now that you’re on the phone, can you (fill in the blank) for me”.

I value peace.  I remember when I was a teenager and we were having the usual Christmas Eve party at my parents’ house and somebody asked “What do you want for Christmas” and I said “world peace.”  Somebody roared with laughter (I won’t name names but I do remember who it was and they were also a teenager so maybe they didn’t get it then – I think/hope they do now).  I do wish for world peace but I don’t think it’s attainable – people are people and we are all just too different.

I value pet-lovers and people who care about the elderly.  I always say that if you don’t love and care for pets and the elderly, you’re not my kind of person.

So…………if you think you know me, you know all or most of that about me.  You also know how very much a gift I received today means to me.  It’s a necklace and my Mom gave it to me today, New Year’s Day.  I love the word on the necklace and hope anybody who reads this has it and gives it and encounters it every day.  (A better picture will be posted soon – my camera is unwilling to free the pictures today for some reason – Joan, I’m blaming you for that!!!).

kindness-necklace

Socks for me (Pair #31)

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**Regia Stretch Color 117 with Regia black for heel and toe contrast**

socks-31These socks just called out for contrast so I did the heels and toes in black.  I LOVE how they turned out.  I made them to wear for “Christmas Eve” at my parents’ house, which is actually being held tonight, on New Year’s Eve, since Mom was in the hospital on Christmas Eve (in total, she was in the hospital December 23, 24 and 25).  So, I hurried and finished them to wear them for “Christmas Eve”, washed them and blocked them last night so they would be ready for the party tonight.

Merry Christmas!

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carrie-and-chloe

Who better to wish you Merry Christmas than our sweet little girls, Carrie and Chloe.  We wish you all as much love and joy in 2009 as these two share with each other and with us every day.

So from all of us (Mark, Teri, Carrie and Chloe)………..to all of you (our wonderful kids – all four of you – our family and friends who have e-mailed, called and shared your concern, good wishes and friendship through Mark’s hospitalization and recuperation, and throughout the year)………..from all of us to all of you…………….

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2009!!

P.S.  I had to add the bonus picture of our little Buddha Belly Chloe in the picture below – it’s from last year but it’s priceless.

chloe

Get Well Soon Socks (Pairs #29-30)

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get-well-soon-socksThese socks were made mostly while Mark was in surgery, during his stay in the hospital and in the days up until today when I finished them.  One pair is for Mark and the other pair is for me.  Mark is doing well – he has pain only when he moves (same old same old but it is getting better).  He was tempted today to have me take him for a ride but the weather outside is frightful and the fire is so delightful (oops – we don’t have a fireplace) – but we will wait for the weather to break a little, which is supposed to happen on Christmas Day.

Here are the ingredients:

**Mark’s socks – Regia Crazy Color 112
Teri’s socks – Four Seasons Hot Socks Spirit Sockenwolle 610**

Happy 25th Anniversary!!!

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mark-and-teri-weddingJune 25 was our 25th wedding anniversary. I’m late in publishing this post because I just never got around to scanning this picture to insert but here it is – finally.

You could say it was our silver (25 years) AND our golden (25 on the 25th) anniversary. It kind of got lost in everything because we were so busy planning and preparing for Mom and Dad’s 50TH ANNIVERSARY!!! This is my favorite picture from our wedding. Anybody who knows us knows that we don’t like those posed, portrait studio photos – we like real-life pictures – those are the ones that depict things the way they really are. That’s probably why I love this one. Everybody thought it looked like Mark was ready to do harm to me with the knife.

I love you Mark Alan – you are my forever.

Love, Teresa Marie

Fingerless gloves revisited

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fingerless-glovesFingerless gloves – can’t get enough of them.  I wanted a pair for myself so I could keep my hands warm and still knit while we’re in the vehicle going wherever.  I showed Danielle and she wanted a pair.  Mom said “nah” but then she saw them coming to life and she said yes, she’d love a pair.  Dad said yes right away.  He said he used to have a pair of leather ones he really liked (shhhhhhhhhh – I may buy him a pair of leather ones too if these don’t wear well for him – he works outside a lot).  Mark wanted a pair also – to wear under his gloves to keep his wrists warms.  I made the wrist ribbing four inches for everybody – everybody wanted their wrists warm.

Here’s the list of who gets what, starting at the top:

  • Pair #1 – Regia Canyon Colors 2804 and black Regia – these are mine – they match a pair of socks I previously made for myself
  • Pair #2 – black Regia – these are for Mark
  • Pair #3 – Regia Stretch Color #82 – these are for Danielle
  • Pair #4 – black Regia – these are for Dad
  • Pair #5 – black Regia and Regia Marokko 5492 – these are for Mom and match a pair of socks I previously made for her

As for the pattern, I tried several patterns and adapted to what we all wanted (longer ribbing, more stockinette between the wrist and the start of the thumb gusset, etc.).  These were all made with scrap yarn so it was a good use of scraps, except for Danielle’s – she picked what she wanted from my stash.

Once in a lifetime……..

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gingerbread-1This is the story of Mark and myself decorating a gingerbread house.  This is something I have always wanted to do.  I now consider it a once in a lifetime experience because I will never do it again – never say never – I would do it again with a grandchild in a heartbeat if we are blessed with one or more of those little gems.

gingerbread-2Mark and I bought the kit for $10.00 at Walmart.  We had a blast.  He even cut some of the candies and made them into little evergreens.  Mark decorated the back of the house (he outlined his path with yellow gumdrops and put a flower on the wall to the right of the back door – yes it IS too a flower – he told me so) and I decorated the front (wreath above the door and a white trash sidewalk).  We both did the rest together. We laughed until I almost cried because really, it looks like a third grader did it (no offense to third graders because they could probably do better).

Enjoy the pics and hold your laughter!

Brrrrrrrrrrr

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**Knit Picks Swish worsted (Dublin) and Knit Picks Essential (Tuscany Multi) added in for the wrist and finger contrast)**

fingerless-glove

Baby it’s cold outside – but that’s to be expected in Indiana in October. This is my first pair of knitted fingerless gloves. They were very easy and more gloves (finger and fingerless) are in the works. This is a fun project with a warm result.

More socks…………(Pair #23)

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**Essential Tuscany Multi 24036 – Knit Picks**essentials2

essentials1These socks started out as just stockinette but were calling out for a pattern. I started over and did the cuff in an the hourglass eyelet pattern from one of Charlene Schurch’s books. What a difference! The foot was then done in plain stockinette. The first picture shows one leg done in stockinette and the other in the hourglass eyelet to show what a difference stitch patterns can make in the yarn.