Travel...food...it's all good

So many things to talk about I have no idea where or how to start. Let's see...many of you know that I decided to go to WV with my parents the middle of last month. I'm sure some of you may be wondering how I managed that when I announced I had a job. It's simple, yet complicated. Bottom line, the job seems to have fallen through. Not enough funding. So I'm back to looking and talking to headhunters. Oh the fun.

But it did allow me to drive my parents to WV for my mom's 55th high school reunion and some time with family. We got such a late start on the 15th that we stopped for the night in SC. Then we took our time getting started the next day so that we barely arrived at my aunt's house in time for dinner on Wednesday.

My mom's class joins with the class before and after to have their reunion and for the last several they have had a picnic on Friday and a dinner and dance on Saturday. I love going to the Friday night picnic because it's relaxed and they have so much fun talking about all kinds of things. It's also when some of their old teachers show up.This is my mom on the right and the woman who was her "Home Economics" teacher. I was knitting on a sock when she stopped by where we were sitting and she wanted to know if mom had taught me how to sew and knit. My mother did teach me to sew as a child, but never could teach me to knit, my friend Kathe did that. Mom told her yes to sewing, although I never have sewn as well as she has, but that I am a much better cook then she is. My aunt said her teacher wouldn't believe that since mom was always the "golden child".

Coach D'Antoni stopped by...no not Mike, his father.We asked him if he'd been to NYC to see Mike coach and he said yes, but he missed going to Phoenix...NYC is colder!

The evening was held in the school cafeteria. Mullens High School no longer exists, the building is now a middle school. We had a good time talking and having some really good pork bar-b-que.

This trip I managed to get to visit some places I hadn't been. We took a day and went to Fayetteville, WV. We spent some time shopping in the Ben Franklin there. They had some great fabric. I really wish I'd had my box of ornaments that I need fabric for finishing with me. Then we went looking for a place to eat and found ourselves at Cathedral Cafe. I had a veggie sandwich and tortellini salad that was delicious. My aunt had quiche and mom had a Reuben. We all thought it was excellent and would go back again, next time maybe leave some room for desert. I highly recommend it if you're in the area for Bridge Day or some white-water rafting or visiting one of the really wonderful state parks near there. (Hawks Nest comes to mind.)

We also took a day and went to Lewisburg, WV. Eat lunch at The Stardust Cafe. Amazing food. We really should have left room here for desert since the owner's brother is the Crazy Baker and bakes all the deserts for them. I really would have loved something off the pretty red tray the server brought to show us the desert choices. We walked the main downtown street and checked out most of the shops. I even stopped in O'Shea's All About Beauty where you could get your hair cut and find some really pretty yarn. I managed to leave with just some sock yarn, which I don't have a picture of. We took a look through a few antique shops, but didn't find anything we couldn't live without. Finally I scored a glass of Iced Chai at The Wild Bean. My aunt had told me there was a really interesting Irish Pub there we would check out. Unfortunately they aren't open on Thursday's so we didn't get to try it out. We'll be going back though, because they have Irish Stew, Guinness and something called Chocolate Guinness Cake. When I read this description I knew I'd want to start with desert, "Brought to you by the Irish Pub and the Crazy Baker: A deep chocolate cake infused with the elixir Guinness Stout. The cream cheese frosting has a generous dose of dark Jamaican rum." Now that sounds like something worthy of the numerous calories it has to have. What I'd really like to do is stay at one of the B&B's in Lewisburg and be able to hang out one night when they are having traditional Irish music.

Another first this trip was lunch at King Tut Drive-in in Beckley. This is the first place my aunt ever had pizza. Mom & Nora say it hasn't changed much since they first went there in the '50s.
Mom volunteered to hold up my sock at the sign. Have to say that I've always thought the hot dogs at the Dairy Queen in Hinton were some of the best, but the one I had here surpassed it. Now I want to go back and try the pizza which my aunt says is really good. Oh, and again with desert. For some reason we managed to never save room for it and they have home made pies.

So, that about takes care of the trip. There were other side trips, but nothing major. I did I lot of knitting and reading. All in all, a really good vacation.

A Blog Award

Not sure I deserve an award for my blog lately since it's been so sporadic, but my friend Ria over at "Short Attention Span Theater" thought I did last month. How she manages to blog most every day while raising an amazing daughter, working and being married is beyond me. She makes me tired just thinking about it. I met Ria online because we both knit and like NASCAR, which obviously makes her a very wonderful person so go check out her blog. I have to say though we've never met IRL, I just know she's all kinds of awesome, and not just because I'm fairly certain she laughs at my snarky remarks when we're on a chat during a NASCAR race.

The rules of the award are as follows: (oh and let me point out for the non-USA bloggers who I'll be naming you have to read this in your best Scarlett O'Hara or Rhett Butler voice. Carry on.)

Pam says: “In my best southern accent, I would like to say that I have been thinking about a new award and what I would like it to say. People are like Forrest Gump said ” Life is like a box of chocolates and you never know what you’re gonna get.

You can see this box of chocolates is filled with different and unique candies and just like the chocolates we are all different and unique people. We are the same in that we all have common ingredients that make us more a like than not. Except for the frosting, which represents our personalities, we are indeed very similar on the inside.”

And of course there are rules: 1. That you must pass this award to others.

2. Link back to me when you have passed them forward.

3. Write a nice post about this award.

4. You must read this award with a southern accent. I call it southern day where we all have to speak with a southern accent. I know that will be hard for some of you, but for the rest of us, we will be fine. So now, ya’ll just enjoy this little ol’ award and have fun with it.

5. And of course let your folks know that they have a nice award waiting for them.

So who get's the box of chocolate next?

Jill at Stash Collector (maybe she'll post now too!)

Heather at It's Geek to Me (a.k.a. "The Magic that is Heather")

Jackie at Jackie's Stitches (because I just taught her to stitch on linen and she's amazing!)

Grant at Mostly Harmless (because how else would I see lovely pics of England and keep up with the Reading soccer...I mean football scores? oh and I shouldn't forget the lovely pottery.)

Karoline at Karoline's Corner (because she has amazing stitching and the every lovely Rosie, oh and more lovely shots of the UK.)

Siobhan at Notes from Blue Hen Hollow (of the prolific and beautiful samplers and who I hope one day to visit in Ireland when I go to see where my Sullivan family ties came from.)

Melody at Wooley Thoughts (whom I stitch and knit with IRL and who's rugs I think are magnificent)

I hope everyone enjoys their box of chocolates as much as I enjoy seeing a little bit of their world in their blogs. (BTW, I changed the picture of the box of chocolates because...well I don't know why. This picture of the chocolates is from this company in the UK. Sometimes I just drool over what they have on their website. I'm thinking it would be worth the trip.)

And there was much rejoicing!

I just got an email that I've been offered a new short-term contract/consulting job.

That is all.

Another new start

So, I made another new start today. Which looks bad, but it's for a class I'll be teaching Sept. 12th. That means I need to work fast in the hopes it will be finished before class starts. It's a cowl pattern with a drop stitch pattern in it made from Cascade 220. Fairly easy and mindless. That being said, I managed to have to start it twice today because I twisted the join, but once I restarted I was able to get the first repeat finished....just about 13 more to go! No picture yet, there isn't much to see.

Otherwise, not much going on. Still looking for a job. Some things don't seem to change much lately.

So I like people...

Your result for Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test...

Interpersonal

41% Logical, 24% Spatial, 41% Linguistic, 20% Intrapersonal, 49% Interpersonal, 47% Musical, 6% Bodily-Kinesthetic and 12% Naturalistic!

"This area has to do with interaction with others. People in this category are usually extroverts and are characterized by their sensitivity to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations, and their ability to cooperate in order to work as part of a group. They communicate effectively and empathize easily with others, and may be either leaders or followers. They typically learn best by working with others and often enjoy discussion and debate.

Careers which suit those with this intelligence include politicians, managers, teachers, social workers and diplomats." (Wikipedia)

Take Howard Gardner's Eight Types of Intelligence Test at HelloQuizzy

Yarn from heaven

So yesterday was a very interesting day. I set out for my LYS and to meet a couple of friends for lunch later then I wanted. As I was leaving I realized I hadn't checked the mail the day before, so I stopped and did that and found a package for me. It's always nice to get a package, especially when it is unexpected. Inside the package was 2 skeins of this...I have no idea who decided I needed a yarn pick-me-up since so far no one has taken credit and there was no note in the package. I have a feeling I know who it might be. So, if you are the one, then THANK YOU!!!! It's beautiful and I love it and it made me smile, still does.

Now, as I told everyone at the yarn shop, when the yarn gods smile and send you yarn from the heavens you are REQUIRED to start a project. I looked through the patterns over on Ravelry, and decided on Nelly. I think it will be just the right look. I'm doing mine on a size 7 needle to get the feel I wanted. Here's how it looks so far.Oh and if you want some of this yarny goodness for yourself I recommend you go visit Twisted Fiber's shop and purchase yourself some. I'm planning on getting more when the elusive job finally comes along.

After all that goodness you know something has to not go well. Tonight I'm trying to print stuff for tomorrow. Of course I ran out of ink, on BOTH my printers and I can't finish. So, I'll do what I can and forget about the other. I'm very upset, but I did put it off until the day before and that's what I get for procrastinating.

Before I forget my friend Melody is having a contest over on her blog. Go see the yarny goodness and get yourself entered.

Blog Eye Candy

I know, it took me long enough, but finally some pictures.

Let's start with the most recently completed piece of stitching.

Halloween Fairy
by Mirabilia

I made a few changes. First, this is stitched on a hand-dyed fabric in my stash and that meant I had to change one of the orange colors in her dress. I found some beautiful fabric and I'll be making a stand-up box out of her. She should be finished in time to be admired during October.

I don't think I mentioned before, but while we were in WV on vacation, my Mom, Aunt and I went out shopping through some of the antique shops. While this is not an antique it was something that I knew would be very handy to store yarn and would look pretty somewhere in the house. Mom thought it would make a great birthday present. We were both right! It's not where it will end up, but it does look pretty in the corner of the dining room. (And before someone asks, no that's not all of my yarn stash, but the 2nd tier holds all the yarn for my Great American Aran Afghan that I'm working on.)

I do know I mentioned going to Atlanta and spending part of my time stitching with a group of friends there. Well, we do more then stitch...
This was lunch on Saturday, or at least part of lunch. That green stuff is mint pesto left over from the previous evenings Harry Potter part at chez Lott made by the very talented Chef Andy. It was beyond YUM.

We also exchanged our ornament kits.That's what it looks like all lined up before "Santa" hands out the goodies.

There are actually some "ornamentfied" pieces on the tree, but they are hard to pick out. Most of us managed to finish stitching our ornaments and that was good enough to decorate the tree with.

Come back tomorrow for pictures of some of my current knitting WIPS.

I'm so excited

Why am I excited? Because I'm going to corrupt teach someone else the joys of sampler stitching. My friend Jackie, who's knitting and quilting can be seen on her blog here wants to join the craziness fun. She's decided on a pattern, a lovely freebie from Blackbird Designs and I'm going to gift her some linen from my stash. We're going to pick out her thread tomorrow and have our first lesson for stitching on linen Monday.

Stitching is my first love and what I always go back to at some point. I don't stitch every day, but I love what you can do with a piece of fabric, some beautiful thread/fiber and a few stitches. Jackie knows how to cross stitch, and wants to learn other decorative or fancy stitches. I can't wait to teach her. I hope she enjoys it as much as I do. So if my stitching buddies would stop by and encourage her a little I'd appreciate it.

Booking Through Thursday

Since I decided to participate in the Summer Reading Challenge over on GoodReads.com I figured I might as well share some of what I've read with you my fellow readers. Beware, I tend to have eclectic tastes in reading so you never know what you're going to find. I also happened across a meme blog entitled Booking Through Thursday, so here's today's entry.




What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

I'm going to go with the one that surprised me the most and was also good.

One of the challenges was to read a Dystopian novel. I ended up choosing this on a whim while browsing through my favorite used bookstore, Chamblin's. I was surprised to find that although the book made me uncomfortable, I also enjoyed it. The idea of a future world where when you reach a certain age you receive surgery that makes you "pretty" just like everyone else is unnerving and just a little scary. Who decided what is "pretty"? Along the way more questions are uncovered by the main character, Tally Youngblood, who is about to become old enough to be a "Pretty" and leave behind her "Uglies" days. Is the surgery just about changing the way people look, or is there more? Of course, since this is a series all the questions haven't been answered, but that just made me want to read the rest.

"Uglies" and the rest of the series, are considered YA, but I think they are certainly a good read for all ages. I do wish I belonged to an actual reading group and that we were reading it with the group. I think it deserves some thought and discussion to be fully understood.

So, what's the best book you've read lately?

No I didn't break my fingers

But apparently I've lost the gizmo I use to load pictures from my camera to my laptop. Every day I thought I'd find it and would be able to write a blog post with pictures. Hasn't happened yet and I've not broken down and bought a new gizmo, but I did decide I needed to get back to blogging.

So since I last posted I've:
1. Been to West Virginia to visit with family for 2 weeks.

2. Applied for several jobs and spoken to a few headhunters.

3. Went to Atlanta for my birthday and to stitch with my friends.

4. Did I mention the job hunt?

5. Packed my winter clothes away. I realize this doesn't sound like much but it was a major undertaking, and yes, I live in FL so why I have that many winter clothes is the question of the century.

6. Helped out at the yarn shop and even taught a few classes.

7. Went to see a friend play a gig at the Jacksonville Landing. Wait I have a picture. This is Derrick, or if you go to iTunes Ace Winn where his new CD 3127 is available. I'm blessed to sing with Derrick on Sunday's and especially this Sunday when the two of us will lead worship at our 9:45AM service while our regular worship leader is out of town.

8. Finished some stitching and some knitting which I promise to have pictures of later. Started some new projects. I'm trying to finish one stitching project that I've been working on for at least 10 years. I'm so close. Hopefully soon.

I'm sure there's more, but for now that will have to do. I'll try not to go quite so long without a post. Maybe everyone hasn't given up on me and there might still be a few people who will read this.

It's all about the books

Well, I might be, but not any more then normal. I've decided to join in the Summer Reading Challenge on GoodReads.com that started Monday. To actually complete the challenge I'd have to read I think 70 books before August 31st. I don't see that happening. What I do hope to accomplish is to read some of the books on my "to-read" list. Some of them have been on there a very long time. (Small plug, if you are looking for a simple way of keeping track of what you read and for ideas of new books and authors to read I highly recommend GoodReads.com.) I'll have to wait to post my list of books so far, not enough time right now.

But speaking of reading...here's a chance to win a book. Oh and take a stroll through the blog while you're there, it has some interesting material.

A Start & A Finish

First the start.

On Saturday I "taught" a class using the great Ann Norling pattern "The Perfect Tee". This is a great pattern because it has a wide range of sizes and gives you instructions for making the shirt in several different gauges. I decided to make something for my mom so I went with a pretty purple/lavender ribbon yarn from Berroco. We started with the sleeves, so that people would get through their border pattern before they left the class. I've worked on it a bit each day since and here's what I have so far.


I really do love how it's looking, but it's a little fiddly, as I was telling one of my on-line friends earlier. this color will look amazing on my beautiful mother, very much her color. Would be awesome if I could finish it for our family reunion at the end of June. Not sure that can be done, but I can sure try.

Now the finish.

For those who don't know, I also do some beading. I've been known to make a necklace or bracelet in my time. I haven't done much in while, but I've had something laid out on my beading board for months, maybe close to a year. I couldn't get it to look the way I saw it in my head. The other night I sat down with it again and it just clicked...right to the point where I didn't have a clasp that was heavy enough to hold. That meant a trip to get some, which worked out well and today I sat down and finished it. Ta da...


I wish I remembered where I picked up the main piece of dichroic glass but when I got it I knew it was perfect for my mom. It's got lots of other glass and crystal beads. She's tried it on and it looks lovely on her.

In other news, I made a salad today and used the tomatoes and one of the bell peppers I picked last evening. Made a great balsamic vinaigrette with some oregano also from my containers garden. Added in some goat cheese and a little ham...yummy goodness and healthy!

The First Harvest

Here it is, the first harvest from my container garden.Nor much, but still I planted them, and watered them and now I can eat them. There are more tomatoes getting ripe. The non-grape tomatoes are slowly ripening. It's a race to see if one of the red varieties or the yellow variety will ripen first.

They must be good...
...since something decided it would eat one of the ripe Sweet-1000's. I'm betting it was a squirrel, but it could have been a bird. Whatever it is, it's not welcome and if I catch it there could be trouble!

And then there was knitting

I have been knitting a lot lately. Even sick I've managed to pick up and work on something daily. Here's a run down of what I've been working on lately.

First the lace piece from the cruise.

Then there's some socks that I actually finished.These are my "O Dublin" socks. Pattern "Dublin Bay Socks" (you'll have to scroll down and find the link for the .pdf on her blog. I used a skein of Politically Incorrect yarn I had in my stash called "It's All About the O". I love how they turned out. The pattern really worked well with the yarn or is it the other way around? Either way, they are really pretty and very comfortable.

Been working on the scarf that is beyond addictive. I'm using Noro Silk Garden and Noro Yuzen. I finished it the other night and got a picture of it today. It's so hard to show this off. It's a whole lot prettier in person. Plus it's a really quick knit. I might make another couple of these with some other yarn that has a similar color change and give them as gifts.

Haven't worked on my sweater lately, but need to pick it up and try and get it finished. I lost some steam with the cruise.

Have started another pair of socks. The pattern is so easy, but looks beautiful for all it's simplicity.The pattern is Harris Tweed, and I think it would make a great men's pair of socks, but I'm using it for myself. It's easy to remember the pattern, which is nice for socks that have seen the inside of 2 dr. offices in the last 2 weeks. Using Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in Cranberries and some new square shaped cable needles. The square needles are supposed to be easier on your hands, and I have noticed that my hands don't get as tired working with them.

Last, but not least, is a mobius scarf I'm working on as a gift. I'm using the Fibonacci Moebius pattern (that link is for Ravelry and if you knit and aren't a member, well you should be). I'm using 3 different yarns for this one because I wanted some extra color. I hope the recipient will like it.

That about covers the knitting of late. Kind of all over the place, but that's nothing new for me. I'm trying to come up with some things I can make for presents and I'm trying to knit from my stash some. Hopefully that will continue to go well.

This is what happens...

When it rains for 5 days straight this is what my driveway looks like.That's the lake that has appeared in our driveway now that we've had around 12" of rain. It stopped raining long enough for me to run out and take a few pictures. It was actually further down the driveway earlier in the day, but it was raining and I didn't want to get out in it. It spreads from our neighbor's yard into ours. It had stopped raining, but it's started back again. If it keeps up this will get larger again. We could see some of it from the dining room window.

Tomorrow I promise, pictures of knitting.

More From the Garden

It seems there is interest in my garden so today we return to the garden.
The constant rain since Sunday evening has done some good as you can see. The bell peppers are looking good.

The tomatoes aren't looking too shabby either.
These are a yellow variety that I'm trying for the first time.

I love Sweet 100's and mine are looking good as well.


I also planted two Japanese Eggplants. The flowers on these are just gorgeous.


From that comes something like this.


Hopefully the rain won't cause too many problems. A little sun would be nice.

I'm off to teach another of the GAAA (that's Great American Aran Afghan) class this morning. Went out yesterday to the Lowe's grand opening (don't look Ria!). It's a nice store and they did give us a box lunch for free. I was disappointed they didn't have any herbs. I want to add some to my little garden. They did have some interesting perienials that we'll probably go back and get once the rain stops and we can get them and put them in the ground. Some things I haven't seen and thought were so pretty.

That about covers it. Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Becoming a hermit

I feel like that's what I've become over the last couple of weeks and maybe more like the little guy up there then I'd like. Between the upper respiratory infection and the medicine I got last week after the first antibiotic didn't do anything to cure me. Then this week came and with it the rain. And by rain I mean get out the boat because the creek is gonna flood. It's rained continuously since Monday or maybe Sunday evening, I'm not even sure any more. I so want to get out, but don't dare because of how I've been feeling.

The good news is I think this last round of $6 per pill WITH insurance antibiotic is actually working. It makes me sick to my stomach so food hasn't been my friend, but I'm to the point that I just want the URI gone so I'm willing to deal with the yucky stomach. That leads to more good news since I can't take my RA meds when I'm on a antibiotic. If all goes well I'll take the last antibiotic Friday and can then go back on the RA meds. After not taking them for 3 weeks I'm feeling the pain again which just isn't fun and is the bad news.

The other good thing is I managed to finish a scarf I've been working on and did finish the top of a box from one of the classes I took in Oct. But even this hasn't made me feel as happy as I had hoped. Hopefully when I'm feeling better my mood will improve. But right now I don't even feel like being around that many people. I'm supposed to have dinner Friday with friends. Last week I didn't feel like going to meet my knitting buddies nor to go Sunday to the stitching group I belong to. I'm hoping that this Friday I'll feel better and won't miss dinner with my friends. We all haven't been together in a couple of months and I know we have a lot to talk about.

Sorry this post sounds so depressed. But some days I'm not the happy girl and this seems to be one of those days. Tomorrow I'll try and get some pictures of projects and show you some pretty pictures.

Plants, Plants everywhere

Before the cruise mom and I did some planting. We had a huge surprise this year when petunias started coming up in the wheelbarrow. I added some zinias and this is what it looked like when I finished planting. I love the cute little solar light I found at that huge store down the road.
This is what it looks like now! I had to move the little light to the front right side because it was totally lost in the petunias.
We also planted tomatoes, green peppers, Japanese eggplant and some herbs. I've always planted flowers with my veggies to help keep the bugs away. Nothing new there, my great-grandfather did too.
This is what they look like now. There's 2 types of tomatoes, the ones in the black planter are called "Brandy wine".
This is the other group at planting...
And now.
I think I ended up with 3 or 4 different types of tomatoes, including what my Aunt Grace always called "tommy toes" and a yellow variety. There are little tiny bell peppers on those plants and the eggplant have blooms that should bloom in the next day or two. So far everything looks healthy and are doing really well. Can't wait to have fresh tomatoes and some of that basil with some good mozzarella.

Cruise and knitting at sea

Let's start with the fun stuff, like the cruise. Really, I went to knit, no really. Ok, so I went partially to knit. I also went because it sounded like fun.

We left on Monday and got on board early enough to have a late lunch. Have to say that the terminal in Jacksonville isn't exactly the prettiest, but they did a good job of moving us through fairly quickly, at least from what I remember from my previous cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. The cabin was great, larger then I thought since we opted for an inside one and the "not so expensive cabin" at that. Before we left I found out that a friend I used to work with, and whom I have just gotten back in touch with, was going to be on the same cruise. John & I managed to text our way to meeting up before the ship left the harbour and talked for a bit. That wasn't the only time we saw each other, I also managed to get up one morning and meet him for breakfast. For those who know me, this wasn't exactly the easiest, but I got up early that morning to see the sunrise and then went to breakfast. It was a good morning.

But back to knitting and cruising. We had a small group, only 6, but I think we managed to have fun and everyone got started on the lovely design.
That's us. (Thanks John for taking the pictures for us, and you were right, that wasn't a great background.)

Ok, so we spent Tuesday at sea. Being at sea has to be the best in my book. There's so much to do on the ship, plus it's just relaxing to be sailing along. We had at least 1 lesson for the shawl on Monday, and another on Tuesday. I also took some time Tuesday to get a pedicure at the spa. Not exactly the cheapest pedi I've ever had, but it was very nice and it was a treat, plus I had my toes painted to match my outfit, so they were blue! (No I don't have a picture of my outfit that evening or my toe nails, bad planning on my part I know.) I do have this picture...
Yep, that's me under the hat. That hat and the massive amounts of SPF 70 lotion I packed managed to keep me from getting burned. That's a good thing.

Wednesday we docked in Key West. We decided to take the Conch Train. It was a great way to see a lot of the island. I would really like to see the inside of the Hemingway House, but this time just got another shot of the outside.
We dropped in to see "the other KnitWitz" which is really Knit Wits and saw lots of pretty yarn. Yes, I found something I fell in love with, but of course don't have a picture of yet. I'm planning on making one of those lovely open-weave scarfs. We had a great visit there and then headed to find this...
Yep, that's a piece of frozen Key Lime pie dipped in chocolate. So yummy and so worth the calories.

From there we went to Nassau. I've been to the Bahamas 3 other times and have only spent the night in Nassau and really hadn't seen much of the town. Kathe, my friend John and I stood at the front of the ship as we pulled into Nassau. It was so windy, but we enjoyed the view.
I think you can tell from this picture of me and John that the wind was pretty bad.

Not sure I've still seen all that much of Nassau since we mainly walked down to the Straw Market, shopped in some of the jewelry stores and then took a water taxi over to Paradise Island and walked around there some. We did find a nice little hole in the wall place to have conch fritters. No pictures of them, we ate them too fast. I would love to go back and spend some more time exploring.

The next morning I got up early to see the sunrise.The next morning I had breakfast with my friend John. It was a great day to hang out and do some more knitting on the project.

Saturday morning we found ourselves back in Jacksonville. I really had a great time. I hope DF Katha decides to do another one next year.

Indigo girl

Your rainbow is shaded indigo.

What is says about you: You are a proud person. You appreciate cities, technology, and other great things people have created. Friends count on you for being honest and insightful.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Where does time go?

Seriously, where does it go? I know they say it goes faster when you get older, but it's getting a bit ridiculous lately. That means I probably have plenty to talk about on the blog and I promise to get to everything over the next few days to a week. But here are the highlights.

Planted some things, like tomatoes and flowers and such.There's been some knitting

and a cruise
Oh and some goodies received in the mail that apparently I only took a picture of this package from DF Jean:
There were 2 packages with yarn goodness from a raffle that I need to get a picture of for a future post.

So, all in all, busy time. Oh, and I'm again looking for a job, but I've had some calls, so that's good news. Hopefully the right job with come along.

But now I have to get ready to go to a "going home celebration", or as some people call it, a funeral. Ms Joy was a wonderful woman of God who it was my great pleasure to know. She and her husband, Paul, have been a great part of our church for several years now during the winters and for the last few years full time. She taught me a lot about how to live and how to survive in the middle of times of trial. I will miss her smile and laugh and her great stories that taught me more then anything. The last few years she's been very sick with her heart and other things. I can't wait to celebrate her life today with her family and friends. Sure there will be tears, but mostly because she won't be around to give us her wisdom and smile each week.

Until tomorrow...

Time for you all to contribute a little

Here's the thing...I owe you guys a ton of pictures of all the stuff I've been doing lately, but I can't seem to get that done. So instead I'm borrowing this from Min and hoping some of you will comment. (To see my answers to her click the link.)

1. name:
2. birthday:
3. place of residence:
4. what makes you happy:
5. what are you listening to now/have listened to last:
6. if you do, what is particularly good/bad about my blog:
7. an interesting fact about you that I don't already know:
8. are you in love/do you have a crush at the moment:
9. favorite place to be:
10. favorite lyric:
11. best time of the year:

recommend:
1. a film:
2. a book:
3. a band, a song and an album:

plus:
1. one thing you like about me:
2. two things you like about yourself:
3. put this in your blog so i can tell you what i think of you

Really? My life is exciting?

I wouldn't think so, but apparently I would be wrong.

You Live an Exciting Life

You are anything but a bore. You make sure that life is full of excitement. You have an adventurous spirit, and you don't like to sit still for too long. If you feel like doing something, you don't think about it. You just do it. There's no way you could ever live a boring life. There's too much to do and not enough time.

Is Your Life Boring?

Interesting...

You Are Energetic and Productive

When You Are Comfortable: You are a hyper, restless person. You need to keep busy, and you always are willing to take charge in life. People see you as energetic and motivating. You inspire people to be the best they can be. When You Are At Your Best: You are a hard worker. You need security and stability in your life, even if that means putting in long hours. People see you as solid and dependable. You are always able to see the good in situations. Other find this comforting. When You Are in a Social Setting: You are a shy, quiet person. Underneath your shell, you are compassionate and giving. People find you to be friendly and welcoming. Your home is a place of comfort to them.

What Do Your Initials Say About You?