Monday, April 27, 2009

Flood on the west end today

Looks like we are going to flood from one end of I-10 to the other. This is what we got this morning....3 inches in a few short hours. I prefer that over the length of a day...gives it time to sink into the soil, not run off it. This is looking out across father-in-law's drive to the pasture. That light color in the background is the dry draw that runs across the pasture. It was up and flowing nicely for a while. Kid and I need to trapse out there tomorrow and check the fences to make sure the water gaps are still up. Probably have to do some debris clearing.



And this is my road. I think I will dub it River Road. Hubs and I were discussing hauling up some giant sized flat rocks to put into the big holes that have developed over the years. Sure wish we had a ditch digger to cut some drainage ditches around here.
And this is the view from my front porch, across my yard (the part we call the lane), and across FIL's back yard. Water, water, everywhere. At least the pecan tree is getting a good drink. Maybe it will flower and produce nuts like crazy after this.
I hope your tornado watches and warnings are as unproductive as mine were.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Flash Flood

fire in the midst of flooding>>>>>>>>>>>>>>





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In answer to Otter:

In the spirit of Adam Savage: I reject your guilt-trip and substitute my own.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Forget Waterboarding-Give the terrorists this pattern

I faced a daunting task this morning. I had to frog back from row 90-something to row 27...again. This is the 5th time I have had to frog this sweater right front. There I was, heading into the home stretch and this morning (of all mornings) I held WIP front against FO front. OH S#*&! Decision time. At 6 am my brain is not completely up to speed and I couldn't figure out where I had gone wrong or how to fix it.
So I sat there with the finished and not-so-finished pieces laid across my lap, coffee in hand trying to decide whether I should frog the FOs and find another pattern. Yep, I was seriously contemplating frogging 2 years worth of work.
With the liberal application of caffeine to sleep/stress/frustration befuddled mind, I finally figured out where I went astray. Exactly what I had done wrong on the first half...again...but in a different way.
Have I said how much I now HATE this pattern.
Now it is a matter of pride. There is no way in Hades that I am going to admit defeat to some damned Limey pattern.

Otter: Okay, I just cannot believe you did it again. By now you should be able to do this pattern...correctly...in your sleep. Do NOT let that pattern win!!

Texas TEA Party

Yesterday I went to my first protest. I didn't do things like that as a teenager when it was wildly popular. This was one of thousands held all across the US to protest the indescriminate taxing that the government is doing.
The one I went to was held in Tom Green County. A large county with a city of around 100,000 that I don't think they count AF base people. It draws from a couple dozen surrounding communities. Being a smaller city, I was astounded to find that over 1200 people were on the courthouse lawn. It was a wonderful time of prayer, anthem singing, pledging to the Texas flag, and rousing speeches. I think we did exceptionally well. I had to leave a bit early as it takes me an hour to get home and Lost was coming on tv at 8pm.
The first picture is of when they had the sign holders go up front to the steps. This is only a small section of them.
Again, a small section of the crowd that was there. I took a movie or two to try to show just how many people were there, but my computer is being cranky and doesn't want to open them. Maybe I can upload one of them to Youtube....gotta learn how first.
Today I am so sore I can hardly move. I had spent the day shopping before hitting the protest. My legs are screaming at me, and my back is backing them up.
A promise of rain tonight.....WooHoo!!!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Witch is Gone!

Ding dong, the witch is gone,
The Witch moved on,
The Witch is gone.
Ding Dong the Wicked Witch moved on!

There is a large moving van up at the neighbor's house. YeeHaw! It's official! I was so afraid that since they haven't been able to sell the place, that they would change their minds and stay.

I get crap in town about how nice she is. I tell those people that none...NONE.. of her neighbor's like them at all.
Gone is the voice that cuts through the air like fingernails on chalkboard. Gone is the brats that are perfect. Gone is the town gossip. Gone is the woman who thought she should raise everyone else's kids. Only thing is that no one has found out what lawyer they used to keep the perfect brats out of jail. But at least there will be no more animals tortured to death. Isn't that what they say serial killers begin at a young age?
And the pesky steers that they starved all the time are gone also! WooHoo!!
Got to go into town to do some banking and grocery shopping. It is going to be wonderful to drive by their house and see the van loading things. God is good.

Monday, April 13, 2009

New Shawl

Remember friday when I called you about both of us being blind? I told you I had a vision of what to do with some yarn I had. That evening I found the pattern I wanted to use and cast on. I worked on it all saturday and part of sunday. I am about the halfway mark now. I used the 5 skeins of Plymouth Confusion that I got at Yarntopia and 5 skeins of Trendsetter Madison that I picked up for $4 a piece at Tuesday Morning. I am loving this thing!! I can't put it down because I want to see what yarn is next in the Confusion. It is a simple garter back and forth, increasing at the beginning of the odd rows...which ends up being just one side where you also change yarns. I am trying to keep the different yarns used at equal amounts at a time. After 6 rows, you knit one, yarn over, across the row, then the next row you knit the knit stitches and drop the yarn overs. Lots of room for screw-ups....believe me! I have discovered that I don't like doing drop stitches with eyelash yarn...ugh. I am saving just enough of the Confusion to add more fringe than the new yarn beginnings have. Self-fringing, ya know.
Now I am thinking of a drop stitch shawl I saw in Knit n Style that would look fantastic in the skeins of Kollage Serenity I have. I am wondering if I have enough....or if I have something in my stash that would go with it well. This Confusion yarn has my mind doing flip-flops over the possibilities. I just wish I could weave yarn together like they did in the yarn changes in Confusion.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

On an Easter Sunday afternoon.....

You would think you could crawl into bed with your dog and cat and get a nice sunday afternoon nap. You would think. If you don't have an asshat for a neighbor.

He dug two holes, put crap in them, covered them up, shuffled dirt from here to there, and restacked a huge pile of garbage. Asshat.
CUBEDOG: Ok, I will no longer complain about my suburban neighbors with their early morning lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and circular saws.

More retreat pics

This is a view of the meeting room from the back. Neither I nor Cubedog are in any of the pictures. We were scurrying around together taking the pictures.












I will post pictures of the B&B this afternoon.


Saturday, April 11, 2009

2009 Retreat

Having finally recovered from the LYS retreat in Comfort, I have gotten around to down loading pics and getting blogs updated.

A good time was had by all, and though I haven't photographed the "booty" (not sure I want that debauchery chronicled) I do have pics of the most wonderful stitch n bitch -evah!

Sheryl explaining the breadth of magnificence of something she'd seen.

The room was huge and wall to wall stitchery. The view was best from outside, but I failed to get a pic of it. Otter?

I have pics of the retreat center...just haven't got them uploaded to Flickr yet (sllllooooowwww connection this morning), but if you're ever in Texas, driving I-10 and need a place to stay west of San Antonio, I can heartily recommend the Meyer B&B in Comfort, Tx. Oh, and plan to spend a day in town-wow, great shops!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Ode to April Fool's Day

I will not call
I will not write
No matter the bait
I will not bite

I will not tease
I will not joke
I will not torment family folk

With April first
I am done
When it come to jokes
My Sister won.

Otter: Thank you very much. I'll be here all week. Please don't forget to tip your waitress.