It's Amazing...

...how bad you write when you are tired. My last post is awful. I think it was the three hours of sleep the night before. I kept myself up all day- no nap- so I slept well last night.

Road Trip- a friend adn I are heading out to Austin mid-October to join in a Knit Out at Borders. We think it will be a great trip. To make it easier on ourselves, and because we plan to have a few at dinner, we are spending the night. She's going to leave her car at my house, and I hope the bad golfer doesn't get her car like he got mine. Funny thing is, they are starting beginners classes at the club, and I would pay for this gut to go. It's cheaper than replacing my car's windshields every so often. I could aslo clean out the garage, but then I would have to dump my stash.

One fo my Knit Sistahs over at LSSK asked me to make her a pair of socks and autograph them because I got on the Harlot's blog. Any ideas??

Yarn Harlot in Houston!!

Yup, the Yarn Harlot made it to Houston, and was absolutely fantastic. Went with a good knitter friend, and we had a blast. First we went to Chili's and had dinner- with margaritas (one each)- and drove over to the venue. We were giggling like maniacs. We sat near my neighbor, another Harlot fan. I won a lovely door prize before the talk, too. It was a scarf pattern with the yarn. 100% cashmere yarn. I was being stalked in the parking lot for the yarn. Usually I'm the one doing the stalking!

The talk itself was hysterical. We laughed so hard. We were practically howling by the end of it. I may have howled when she told us about a comment she had from an elderly lady. Then we went and had our books signed and pics taken. Still can't figure out how to download pics very well, so hopefully next time. I found out she was going to be in Atlanta the following night, and almost went on a road trip to visit my sis in Atlanta just so I could see the Yarn Harlot again. Glad I didn't- over 700 people showed up!!

As for the spider soaps, let me explain- first and foremost, my family is a huge Halloween fan. My sister was born on Halloween. So we celebrate in a big way. Our house gets decorated, I carve pumpkins, we have a Halloween tree. Get the picture? Well, this year for my sis's birthday, I am making soap for her and her kids. I saw the spiders and thought they would be great to embed in the soap. So, when the Yarn Harlot wrote about being terrified of a spider in her shower- the one that turned out to be her hair- I knew what I was going to do with those spiders. Living in Texas, spiders are the least of our worries. Scorpions, water moccasins, and hurricanes are a lot scarier. In fact, spiders are nature's way of keeping down the mosquito population in Houston. Good thing, too, with all the West Nile virus and such. So, spiders don't scare me. If they get too bothersome, a whack with a shoe keeps them in line.

But there is something more about my morbid sense of humor, and it has to do with birthdays. Sis was born Halloween, Mom was born the Ides of March (when Caesar was killed) and I was born Friday the 13th. No joke. My daughter was due close to Halloween, but came 9/22, thereby breaking with tradition. But she was born on her great-grandfather's birthday. And, she was born between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and this year her birthday falls on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. We did celebrate early. So, you can imagine the fun we have with birthdays. My son was born on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day. Occasionally mine falls on Mother's Day and my hubby's falls on Father's Day, so we have lots of fun with birthdays around here. And, one of my husband's cousins gave birth earlier this year on our wedding anniversary (15 years!!).

My Knitting McGyver Badge- Level II

This is how I may have earned this badge. I was substituting at my fav HS. They had installed new A/C's that year, and nobody could make them work properly. If one zone was hot, another was freezing. Science was always hot. One of the science teachers asked if I had an extra barrette, so I loaned her mine, not realizing it was the only one in my bag. I did have a pair of bamboo knitting needles, though. A couple of quick twists later, my hair was up. And, yes I did walk around all day with a knitting needle stuck in my hair!! None of the kids said a word. I guess they were afraid that if I could put my hair up with one needle, then 2 needles would make me dangerous. On the down side- I couldn't knit on my break because I couldn't find the needle. Absent-minded professor- forgot the darn thing was in my hair!!!

And if you're wondering- I did cry at the bus stop as the bus was pulling away. I'm a big softy when it comes to my kids. Ask me tomorrow about our afternoon adventures in riding the bus as a Kindergartener. It's a long one, so I'll save it!