Story time!

Piper has given the words 'captive audience' a new meaning!
I was lucky enough to catch her and fluffball enjoying the "Legend of the Sleeping Bear Dunes" with my camera.

Happy Birthday Molly!

Sweet 16 !

I know how much you love to have your picture taken.....






















Come on.....just one little smile? You know you want to....




















I think Nanna would still hold you if she could! (What, is that a smile?)
























You've been waiting a long time for a red car, haven't you?






























Happy Birthday Doodle, I love ya!

A New Year

I make resolutions. I think it's a good thing. A starting place, or inspiration for personal growth and change. Sometimes, I make a goal, and stick to it - sometimes, I don't. I try not to stress out about that, and look at it as "well at least I tried". This year, I made resolutions, revised them, and then abandoned them altogether. I am not proud of this, but the entire process was not without some educational value. And I have these thoughts, which in the process of creating resolutions, were pondered at the turn of the new year:

Learned (or reinforced) in 2007:
Don't take your health for granted - you never know when your number might be called
Don't take other folks' health for granted, you never know when their number might be called
Choose your battles - and stick to the ones that will make the most difference.
The most modern technology is not always good.
Doing what is best is not always easiest.
A teenager with a car ,while terrifying, is convenient.
Having no money is hard, having a little money is hard too. (alot? can't wait to tell you)
The older I get, the faster my children grow.
Knitting makes my life easier. Spinning does too.
Audiobooks - Where have you been my whole life?
My husband loves me, even when I'm at my worst.
My kids love me, even when they tell me I'm the worst.
My niece and nephew love me because I always have mints in my purse ( I suspect they would forgive me if I faltered, though)
I still miss my dad.
Hamsters spend all their time plotting an escape.
Marching band is not safe. (don't ask)

This year is bound to be one full of changes. Heather and Molly both reach milestone birthdays - 16 & 18. Molly will be getting a drivers license and Heather, graduating this June. I am hoping that college is on the horizon as well, for her. It seems almost unbelievable that we are at this point in life..... I think I'm in denial. I did order the grad. announcements,cap and gown,etc. - just haven't started planning the party yet. I'm sure I'll get there. At the moment, graduation vs. driving cause equal amounts of heart palpitations - but these are my challenges for 2008. As well as many more, I suspect. It's all good. (or at least, character building). Here's to the New Year!

Houston, we have a problem!

This is the problem:


























I've some UFO's to confess. I know I've been bad - I've started project after project without a second thought. I've abandoned my socks, neglected the Samus, and even dumped intended Christmas scarves into the "catch-all" yarn basket. Here's the breakdown:

Partial "twilled rib" sock (forgotten after Socktoberfest)
One and 1/8 of "waving lace" socks (abandoned sometime in July I think)
One and 3/4 plain sock ( This one has been in the car)
One different plain sock ( I think I lost the rest of this yarn)
2 (yes 2) Stripey scarves (once I figured out Continental knitting I was done)
1 Samus Sleeve partially done (already frogged twice) *sob*
The very beginning of one mitten (I really like these)

I know you must be thinking I am a knitting failure. I mean, someone who can't even finish a silly pair of socks can hardly call herself a Knitter. (take note of the capital K) And TWO unfinished scarves? Scarves are beginners fodder - yet mine sit there looking more like elongated wash cloths. It's not all bad though. I have isolated the cause of this knitting disturbance and come to the conclusion that I might not really be a Knitter......


























I am a Spinner!!!!!!!!!! (note the Capital S)


This is my Kromski Minstrel. Many, many thanks to my husband for getting me such a beautiful birthday gift. I absolutely love it and have been spinning some really nice white merino. I bought myself a belated birthday gift of a few ounces of gray baby alpaca roving, and I can not wait to spin it!




















So what do you think? Any knitting in my future? Mmm, not for a while!

State Finals

Congratulations to the Grand Blanc High School Marching Band!

They traveled to Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday to compete in the 2007 MCBA State Championship and placed sixth with a score of 81.1!!!

Updates...

One week down with no ER visits! Woohoo! (I hope that being grateful is not tempting the fates, believe me, I'm not being smug or taking anything for granted!)


Molly's knee is better. It was not as bad as we expected, but it is still an impressive injury. The Ortho Doc labeled it a "second degree tear of the MCL" with some effusion (fluid build-up) and a possible tear of the meniscus, which is kind of like the padding under your knee cap. We had the MRI Friday to determine the exact status, but haven't heard any results thus far. I am thinking that no news is good news. (Again, no fate tempting here....) Suprisingly, he really didn't give her any restrictions other than not to push it and to know that if she's not careful, she could do further damage. Duh...
With that lack of restriction, and a really good brace, Molly was determined to be on the field marching last night and nothing we could say or do was going to stop her. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the last roadblock she had to overcome was Hutch, and he wasn't so easy to convince. Despite her best attempts, Molly watched the performance with the Pit Crew from the sidelines, even more determined to get back out there for next week's competition. I think she'll do it. It's kind of unnerving that the band director has final say at our house these days....



(Shout out to Theresa Kelly for the photo)










Socktoberfest at the Rainforest was great. There were lots of people, food, dessert, and best of all, yarn. Everyone got a goody bag full of knitterly delight and several hours to sit and enjoy it.
































Even The Flint Journal was there to document the event. You can read the article here at M-Live. Thank you Phyll, and everyone else for all your hard work! It was a lot of fun.

Spinning class at Heritage Spinning and Weaving last weekend was Awesome! This first class was primarily focused on learning about different kinds of fiber and how they are prepared for spinning. We all received a hand made drop spindle and plenty of wool to practice with.















It was great fun and I am totally addicted! I bought more fiber on the way out to practice with and I am happy to say it is all spun and plied. I couldn't resist the calling of the wheel. It didn't take long after getting the hang of the drop spindle to figure out that the wheel works exactly the same way except you don't have to stop every few seconds to spin and wind.























Next class we spend spinning on the different kind of wheels that the shop sells. I know what will be on my Christmas list this year!

What a week....

The folks in the ER at POH Clarkston have grown to love us (or maybe not). We've spent a lot of time there the last few days.

Let me start by saying Grand Blanc Marching Band is standing #1 in the state. (Well maybe not right this second, I haven't checked the scores from today) But if not #1, definitely in the top 3. Those of you who know what goes into a successful marching band know how much time and dedication the kids put in. It's impressive. We started out with band camp in August and have done or thought of little else since then. (I say we, but I really mean Molly). The band is awesome! A few days ago, Molly was running on the field and was cut off by another student. In an effort to "save the trumpet,' which was in her right hand when she started to fall to the ground, she swiveled around to break her fall and landed hard on her left hand. That was a bad thing. Wet grass = bad fall = bad hand.
Off to the ER we went.
The good news was, it was not broken. The bad news was, it really hurt anyway - for days and days. Did I mention to you the story of the missing keys on the morning I was trying to get to the ER? No? I'll save that for some day when I can't think of anything to write about....

Ok, so days go by and things are improving. No one is sick or injured. I get to knit/ listen to my current audio book. Life is good. Just when I'm thinking how great I am for getting so much done, Saturday morning, Heather comes downstairs and informs me that she can't see. What do you mean, you can't see? I say.
I don't know, everything in my peripheral vision is smeary and I have this really bad headache that is getting worse and worse. This is where having a husband that is a physician is a mixed blessing. We all know what these symptoms COULD mean( but probably don't) and you have to ignore that 'probably don't' part and go with the COULD.
Off to the ER we went.
The nurses and everyone are now looking at us with a spark of recognition in their eyes. A shot, an IV, a prescription, a diagnosis of 'migrane', and a couple hours later, we are on our way only a little worse for the wear.

This is the time I start to think, ok, that's it. We've had our dose of ER for the rest of the year. I can relax now and not worry about anything else happening. Life is good. That was really stupid.

Yesterday, I get a frantic call from one of the marching band directors that Molly has 'hurt her knee' and I need to come and get her. Hurt her knee? Can she walk? What happened? Never mind, I'll be right there. Luckily, Chris was home and was able to go with me. We arrived to find Molly not only hurt, but in absolute agony and unable to move any part of her leg.

Off to the ER we went.

The staff greeted us with recognition.
The good news is, we got in and out in a hurry. Everyone knew who we were.
The bad news is Molly's knee is really bad I think. We won't know for sure until the swelling goes down and and Ortho Doc can see her. But it's not looking good. Grand Blanc Marching Bobcats are going to carry on without her, and Molly is very, very sad.

I've learned.

Be prepared. Don't tempt the fates. Be nice to the ER staff.

Keep your fingers crossed for Molly.