Saturday, August 30, 2008

Movin' on down the road.



Max in his Mexican sombrero, getting back to his roots.



Wow, I haven't blogged for a month. The last two months have been pretty eventful. I decided to list a few things that have happened.


Husband lost job.

Husband got new job.

Went on a week long cruise with a group of family members (total of 15 of us.) I now know that the term "ship-shape" means being shaped like a ship, because they are always offering you food.

Picked dog up from kennel with a royal case of kennel-cough. (He is finally mostly well,after almost 3 weeks.) We decided that it will be his last kennel experience.

Fed my grandson his first taste of carrots while he was with me, on a day that my daughter photographed a wedding. I'm not sure he likes carrots.

Had a computer crash incident and went without a computer for a week or so while our very generous and gifted son-in-law repaired it.


...This is not a complete list and I will say this...being among the "getting older" generation doesn't mean that life gets dull.

Friday, August 1, 2008

The story of a bug.

A while ago, even before I knew there would be a grandchild, I bought this book . In my desire to do all things, I dusted off my knitting needles and knitted one very cute bug. I learned to knit the in the "continental" method from a German born friend, when the mother of my new grandson was 5 years old. Since then I knit just often enough to sort of remember how. (If you are planning to learn to knit, I highly recommend the Continental method since it simplifies the step of passing the yarn over the needle.) The bug went to a shelf in my teenage daughter's room until the four month old grandson and parents came for a visit. Since they were here for 2 weeks and I got to spend a lot of time with him, I got the bug down off the shelf and we had great fun, learning to grab the bug, chewing on the bug, watching the bug with crossed eyes.

That's when tragedy struck. A day or two before they were going to go home, we found the bug on the floor with a gaping hole in it's head, not far from a guilty looking dog. I did my best to repair the little insect, but he was never quite the same.



But still sort of cute. After a second dog attack though, the bug is no longer with us.

Meet bug number 2. A ladybug.



When I noticed that the black yarn in bug #2 was made in China, I was concerned about lead content, and decided not to give it to my grandson.

After a little searching, I found instructions at knitty.com for dyeing yarn with Kool-aid.



The process is very easy. You can also use food coloring and with a little mixing get a wider variety of colors, and more subtle-than-Koolaid colors.





So, I am happy to say that I have a new bug to present to the little guy when we see him on the week long vacation that we will be spending with my daughter and family starting tomorrow.

Which means I won't be checking in till we get back.