Home For Just A Bit

 We are home from Atlanta and boy am I glad.  I loved, loved, loved staying in this room at The Residence Inn near Buckhead, all by myself.  Yes I will say that again, all by myself.

 It had a bed, kitchen, bathroom and a sofa and TV, what more could you ask for?  I drove kids back and forth through Atlanta traffic, to the pool and home, twice a day.  I shuffled kids to the grocery store and to dinner.  I am tired of shuffling.  And might I add I hate Atlanta's small lanes and rude drivers.  I am not a city driver that is for sure.

 The Aquatic Center at Georgia Tech is really beautiful.  Too bad Mr. 18 year old had a really tough meet.  I guess you can not be on your game all the time.  He is ready to move on to a tougher workout regime in a 50 meter pool. His current coach has been amazing, she has kept him in the pool, remember when he almost quit do to the abusive coach he had for three years?   She has healed him as much as she could physically and mentally, now he is ready to move on to another level.

The week is a long one when your son isn't doing well.  Here he is getting ready for one of his races.  He moves to Ohio State on the 17th, gosh I am a mess about that even though I am excited for him.  I have a lot to do to get him ready, but that has to wait as I am working this week and we are off again on Thursday for a nephew's wedding.  I feel like I am just getting a handle on the laundry and we will have to pack up again.

So if I don't post, please forgive me.  My head is spinning and I am a bit crazy at the moment.  Hope you are all doing well and enjoying summer.

Sad

I am so sad for all the people in Colorado and the rest of the country, after the senseless act of violence that occurred by one young man.  I think it is time for us as a country to make it impossible to buy guns so easily, and 6,000 rounds of ammunition over the Internet.  Watching the news coverage it is impossible to even fathom how many people have been touched by this tragedy personally, or like me watching in disbelief.  I am not a fan of guns and never will be.  I am not a fan of using a weapon to hurt a defenseless human or a defenseless animal.  Something has to change.  This could have happened anywhere and to any of our children.  So sad.

I am off to Atlanta tomorrow for the Y National Swim Meet at Georgia Tech's beautiful aquatic facility.  I am one of the drivers shuffling swimmers back and forth to the pool, running to get lunch and playing Mom to those whose Mom is not there.  Wish me luck.

Variation on a Cardi Shrug Theme

First let me tell you that Max was touched by all your kind comments.  He is very happy that little fluff ball is home where he belongs.  Now he can rest out by the pool without worrying about being sniffed.

 Do you remember the second Cardi Shrug?  Well here it is  all nice and , well for lack of a better word, blocked.  I love the color and I think it will be very fun to wear when it is not 93 degrees with 90% humidity.

 As you know I become obsessed with one pattern and knit or crochet it many, many times.  Maybe I do have a bit of obsessive compulsiveness in me, and it comes out when I play with yarn. 

 So I made Cardi Shrug number three.  But as I was knitting away, minding my own business the Crochet Fairy popped by and simply said, "Hey, what about me?  We have not spent much time together lately!"  I tried to remind her of the crochet ripple washcloth madness, the two major vest projects, but apparently it wasn't enough.

 So I decided to add a bit of granny fun to the Cardi to break up the knitting.  I love how it looks.  Don't ask me how I did it, I don't know.  Don't ask me about the math, or the planning, I winged it all.  But you can ask me about these pathetic pictures that do not do the Shrug justice.  It is so humid outside today that I could not wipe the lens off fast enough to take the picture before it clouded up again.

Remember you can find this free pattern on Ravelry, it is the Cardi Shrug by Jennifer L. Jones.  It is very easy to adapt.  Add more stitches to the arms and back until you have the right number for you.  I have added about 10 stitches to each arm and the back to make the right fit for me.  Easy Peasy.

Have a great day.

Poor Max

 Poor Max!  He has had a visitor this weekend.  The dreaded dog from next door came over for a sleep over. It is bad enough that this fur ball lives next door, but a sleep over?  Really?  How much can Max take?

 This is sweet, innocent Wrigley.  He just wants to be friends.  He was abandoned by his family for a whole 36 hours.  He missed his Mama that is for sure, he followed me everywhere and even slept next to me.  Max just pouted all day and night.

Wrigley never left my side, and Max was quite miffed by the whole situation.

 Come on Max, can't you even try to be friendly?  I believe the answer is no, as he walked off with a big harrumph after this picture was taken.

Ahhhh, that little fur ball is finally gone, now a boy can put his smile back on! 

Ramblings

Yesterday was a stay at home day in order get some thing done.  Don't you love days where you do not have to jump in your car and drive a million places?  I drive a lot for work, so I love a day where I can stay home.

 I made agave sweetened chocolate chip cookies.  Yum!

 I weeded and pruned back all these bushes.  We have had a lot of rain so my plants are growing like mad.  Mind you they are growing, but not flowering, so a good trim was in order.

 Lantana, one of the few plants the deer won't eat.

 Purple loveliness.

 During the summer in Florida it is not unusual to have an afternoon storm.  I watched this beauty slowly roll in.  Not much happened, but the clouds were beautiful in their variations of gray.

There was a bit of rumbling and grumbling, but not much rain. 

I vacuumed and washed to floor, cleaned bathrooms and did laundry, and even managed a bit of knitting on the Cardi Shrug, while watching more of  Downton Abbey Season 2.  I am totally hooked.  And thanks for not making fun of my calling it Downtown Abbey in previous posts.  Typical me, just paying partial attention all the time.

Today a much needed visit to see my Mom in the nursing home, paperwork and hopefully more knitting.

What are you up to today?

Bonus Time

I woke up today with a bit more energy than I have had the last few days.  Do not, I repeat do not ever run out of your thyroid medication.  I called in my script on Friday and as usual my Doctor's (who I love and is my neighbor) office did not get my refill in until late, late yesterday.  Lord, I had no idea what a mess I was going to be without a few days of medication.  I am getting back to normal now, normal you understand with me lately is still a mess!

I cancelled my first patient of the day, hooray!!!!  Okay, I know I should not be so excited but now I have a chance to blog and take my time starting my day.  The poor toad has a sinus infection and bronchitis, but they still wanted me to come over, I think not.

 

 Apparently Max is enjoying his morning by the pool.  He is waiting for the pool to start so he can frantically bark at it until the the water calms down.  It is his daily duty to save us from the pool.

 From where I was sitting you could really see his reflection in the pool, not so much in this picture.

 My husband made this apple honey cake on Sunday.  Kristen over at Cozy Things posted this recipe on Sunday, so I wasted no time, I copied it off and handed it to my husband, who is the main cook at our house.  Mr. 18 year old and I can not have sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, etc because of our hypoglycemia.  But we can have agave nectar and this recipe adapted well to the agave nectar replacing the honey.  I am sure honey makes it taste a bit lighter, but the agave did just fine for me.  Mr. 18 year old was not that thrilled, which is fine because then there is more for me.  I had a piece for breakfast with my tea, yum!

 Cardi Shrug number 2 has been completed for sometime, yet I have not blocked it.  I confess I am horrible at blocking and I will do almost anything so I do not have to block a project.  I never wet block, oh no.  I will block with my iron, even wool.  I just try to be careful and not set the iron on an overly hot setting.  This is made in elizaeth lavold Silky Wool in the color magenta.

Cardi Shrug number 3 was cast on in North Carolina and not much progress has been made since.  same yarn as number 2 but in the color Spring Grass.

Hope your day is going nicely.

Home

We are home, after a lovely long drive yesterday, and way, way to much caffeine in the form of iced tea for me, to get me through the drive.  North Carolina was such a lovely trip.  There was a massive heat wave, and several storms that popped up out on no where, and again the heat, 97 to 102 degrees in town, yikes!

 The boys had a great time.

The skydiving experience.

 The Factory which is an amazing place with games, laser tag, putt putt golf and go-carts.

 

Tubing down the 48 degree river on the 4th of July.

 

 Gem mining.

 While the boys were playing games and laser tag we stole away for a few minutes to The Whistle Stop Antique Mall.  So many lovely things to see.

 My favorite item in the whole place was this lovely sheep foot stool.  At $190 it was too steep for me, but isn't it cute?

 We also stopped by Silver Threads and Golden Needles the lovely yarn store in Franklin, NC where we were staying.  Beautiful yarn, lovely people, gorgeous store, stop by if you are in the area, it is worth a trip.

 Look what I found, a sheep scissor holder.  She is from Lantern Moon, which means that the proceeds help to generate income for families in Vietnam.  In her little crochet basket she has a tiny crochet scarf, can you see it?  And might I add she was much more reasonable than the foot stool.

 I also bought this lovely hand dyed yarn made exclusively for the store.  Maybe yet another shrug?  I am still thinking about that one.

 This corner of the porch is where I sat looking out at the mountains a little bit every afternoon.  Even if the sun was shinning, and it was hot outside I tried to stay out as much as possible.  The air is so clear in the mountains, and even if it is hot, the humidity is not like Florida, which makes it much easier to tolerate.

 This is the view from the porch.  Behind the center trees is the shading of a mountain that my camera just could not seem to pick up.

 Lynda and Bruce have a new rescue dog Howie, boy is he a lover.  He and I spent a great deal of time together sharing a lot of loving.

 There was time for a walk or two in the woods.

And to sit and observe this beautiful waterfall while the boys were tubing. 

I spent a lot of time just being with my friends as they travel this tough road that cancer has led them to.  Bruce had a decent report while I was there although the Doctor warned him that he is still terminal.  I reminded Bruce that technically we are all terminal so that really isn't new information.  He got a chuckle out of that one.  I guess we can try to remember to make the best of everyday, but that is easily forgotten in the daily grind of life.  I feel fortunate to have spent some lovely time with my dear friends even though at times I felt that we were imposing.  But on a selfish note, I wanted to spend time with Bruce as I don't get to see him often, and I wanted to be there for Lynda to show her my support.  

How was your week?